When I heard there was a co-op 2D platformer better than Donkey Kong Country Returns, I was skeptical. But Rayman Origins is clearly my favourite game of this year, in fact it would be my Game of the Year except in came out in 2011. It is so good.
From my perspective there was a lot of hype for it, but that hype is so justified. Ubisoft and Michel Ancel came back and really put a lot of love and effort into making this the next Rayman successor.
Speaking of him, I find it interesting that each of the four “main” Rayman games features kind of a soft reboot. Rayman 2 was so different to the original, and while the third is quite similar to 2 there are few returning enemies or locations. (Although I haven’t played 3 so I’m generalising a little). Origins makes a worthy attempt to reconcile the seldom-revisited characters and locations from the original bright sugary game with the darker tone and characters of 2-3. Before this game, I think making an overall timeline or setting for the Rayman universe would have been a lot more difficult.
Of course, I say this, but the truth is I had little interest in Rayman before hearing about how great Origins is (and it is really great). However, as I like to do with games I get into, I dived deep into the leading fan wiki. I also picked up Rayman 2 for iOS for a dollar for a bit of background there (it was very hard to control, but nostalgic as a 90s 3D platformer). This prepared me for the game pretty well, although in some ways there are just as many new or different concepts to Rayman’s world as previous games had introduced.
Having a bit of context is always good for games with callbacks, and this game had lots. It uses both Lums and Electoons, collectibles from 2 and 1 respectively. Teensies and Globox from 2 and 3 help you out, with Betilla the fairy/nymph and the Magician from 1 as NPC helpers, although I’m convinced it’s not supposed to be the same Magician. Mr. Dark, also from 1 appears finally as the big bad, although I think you would need to have read the blog and the cut script from the demo to make that have more impact.
Incidentally, this development blog often featured characters, concepts and even basic setting that were changed before the final release, making it very interesting to go back and read after playing. The original setting, surviving in subtitle form in the final game, was that of a prequel. As it is it could be set anytime after 2.
Of course, there are many more games in the Rayman series that the “main” 4, but I’ll save that for another post.
Anyway, as for the basic gameplay of the game it’s a smooth-flowing, fast-paced 2D platformer with collectibles and secret areas and gimmicks. There’s also the usual levels with completely different gameplay that are often seen in 2D platformers, in this case side-scrolling shmups. A staple of modern 2D throwback games such as DKCR, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Kirby’s Adventure Wii, etc is the co-op feature. These vary from the more co-operative (DKCR with no collision and teaming up to help each other) to more competitive (NSMBW with tons of precision-destroying collisions and trolling). Origins compromises very effectively I feel, with no collisions but the ability to use attacks on the other players to knock them around without doing damage. It’s a good system that lets you either help or hinder your friends. Naturally, I played most of the game single-player as my brother and I now live in different states (we had loads of fun with DKCR last year).
Rewards for getting more collectibles are fairly satisfying, more Lums in a level gets you more Electoons, which unlock more levels (often) and character skins (less often). The skins are a great idea that other games should do way more often *cough*NSMBW*. Even DKCR could have used Funky and Dixie as swaps, but I digress. There are also optional challenge levels, and if you do them all, a final super-hard level in a unique environment (seen in the game’s intro). This was good as something to work for, and plenty challenging for me. There’s enough levels generally too that the single one as an end reward was enough.
But let’s talk about the best aspect of the game by far, and the one that always leaves me smiling and happy. The sound and visual design were just beautiful. The cartoony/painterly art style is wonderful, and the ridiculous music was a joy to listen to, one of the few straight game soundtracks I can listen to outside the context of the game. The characters are all exaggerated and funny, and most of them speak Pig Latin in silly voices which is very endearing.
But let’s wrap up. Rayman Origins, as I’ve said, is my favourite game I’ve played this year. It’s just so well-designed, every aspect. From the look to the sound to the very solid gameplay, it’s just great to play. There are of course one or two niggles like mid-air attacks cancelling momentum, the majority of skins being Teensies, or the large amounts of plot and dialogue that were cut which I at least would have enjoyed. But as a game, and as an installment in the Rayman universe, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. It certainly breathed new life in a big way into the Rayman franchise, which had stalled after the Rabbids overtook his popularity. Fantastic, big hand to Ancel and Ubisoft. Thank you for making a game I love so much.
Wife’s comment: “It was too hard, but the flying bits were ok. It was pretty.” I managed to get her help with the shmup sections, it makes them much much easier with 2 people, even with an inexperienced gamer.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot, I played the demo on 3DS, DO NOT BUY. From my experience and what I’ve read, the 3DS version is a really crappy port. Slow interface, gameplay elements too small and blurry, overall a lazy port. Get a console version for goodness sake! I have no idea how the Wii version compares to the HD consoles, but it was perfectly fine for me, absolutely no complaints RE: resolution or anything.
Ok, one more quick review before I go back to Pokemon (I’ve been playing it all day). Golden Sun is a fantastic series and you should play it. No wait, I hate when people say that, it’s obnoxious. “I love Golden Sun.” Better.
Played the first two, loved them. So good. Unfortunately, they were stolen. This was a pretty big event in my gaming life. While on a family trip to America, our rental car was broken into and bags stolen, containing our whole Magic card collection and our Game Boys and all games. All we had left were a few at home and insurance money to buy new ones, which we did. But this left us bereft of some of our most cherished, memorable games. Anyway, I had the chance to play this sequel when I borrowed it from my brother this year.
Actually I started playing last year, at a family get-together. But now I’ve finally finished, I can say I was a little bit disappointed. Maybe it’s my rose-coloured memories, but the scope, length, and plot seemed lesser than my recollection of the first two. In terms of gameplay though, DD is streamlined and improved in all sorts of little ways.
There were plenty of callbacks to the GBA games, with returning characters (and some, oddly, repeatedly mentioned but never seen), concepts renewed, and many of the same items (weapons have more special attacks here though, which is a good thing). The return of the same weapons though raises an interesting implied narrative. In the 30 year gap, is it possible the Warriors of Vale travelled the new world, seeding appropriate items in different places according to the strength of monsters there? Hehehe, now that could make an interesting game…
What’s different though is the look. Changing from sprites to polygons is common in the GBA->DS transition, as indeed in the SNES->N64. I feel that the areas have a similar feel though, Camelot has done a good job of capturing the tone of the previous installments, with their varied environments, distinct cultures, fantastical monsters with little relevance to imagery in the game (except bosses). Also, all the Djinn look different now! It’s awesome!
The new characters are pretty cool, I especially liked Sveta and being able to control Eoleo, the pirate’s baby from The Lost Age. The villains were totally boring though. Not as mysterious as Saturos and Menardi or as well-developed as Karst and Agatio, Blados and Chalis (while very similar in style) just show up, drop cryptic statements and leave. Snore. They don’t even get a proper fleshing out later on, just more hints. The whole game feels inconclusive, like it’s just setting up a sequel that will really explore things properly, a game which hasn’t happened yet. And we all got it was Alex under that mask, give us some more!
As a sequel it was simultaneously gratifying and disappointing. It continues from the previous in a great way, and sets up some very cool things, but being such an obvious interlude it lets you down hard in the end and little is resolved. And only letting you explore 1/3—1/4 of the world makes it feel small, even if it is quite large. I suppose it’s a realistic depiction of life in an era of limited communication and travel options, and it made you feel part of the world with events happening offscreen. This is a good thing.
As its own game, it gets a lot of things right and has some inventive ways of filling in backstory for new players. It does a good job with providing vague direction but letting you wander, which is refreshing to me. It looks great and controls very well, with easy-to-use menus and smooth events. Cut-scenes can be a bit jarring and tend to drag at times, though. Smaller and more often, I say.
I played all the Final Fantasy Advance games, so coming from that Golden Sun is a nice change of pace. As RPGs go, the series is a fine example with a very well-developed world that doesn’t get too crazy. The world-building really is a highlight, as is the Djinn system of pet/class customising/summons/special attacks. I can’t call it unique, because of the vastness of RPGs I haven’t played, but in my experience it’s one of my favourites. I had a very good time with this one, too. Until next time: it’s wise to keep one’s mind and body strong.
I have been playing other games amidst this Pokemonning and comicing. However, one of them is a Pokemon game. I got to the credits screen, so I guess I finished it, but I’m still using it. It’s a useful tool to get some different Pokes, and also very good for elemental stones.
I suppose in that sense I’m not treating it as a game, more as a task in order to enhance my White 2. Same with the Dream World, but everything’s really cute there so it has that going for it. Dream Radar, on the other hand, represents all Pokes apart from the Kami trio as flying spheres. And AR games are really more interesting when virtual things actually interact with your environment, like the surface warping in the “?” AR card games. Here your surroundings are just a static backdrop.
I seem to have got through it fairly quickly, but I think if it dragged on too long it could get old fast. I have played it almost every day though. It’s quite good for the small price you pay, there’s a nice ramp of upgrades and unlocks and such. The new Pokemon professor has kind of a silly design, like many characters from Gen V and indeed most Pokemon games in general.
Eh I don’t feel like structuring my paragraphs too much because there’s not much to say. Don’t get this game if you don’t have B/W2, it’s not the successor to Pokemon Snap. Nowhere near. It’s not even a successor to the Pokewalker because that was more varied and a much lengthier proposition, whereas I’ve already got most of the Pokes out of this that I can (and overdosing on Bronzors). But as a distraction, like Face Raiders, it’s nice for a while but it can also give you a head-start for your team. Also, transferred Pokes’ levels scale with your progress so you can use one right away. Also also good for elemental stones, like I mentioned.
I’m the collecting type, so completing the Pokedex is actually a major goal of mine. For this reason, I’m glad I got Dream Radar. It’s got original art too and I wanted to get a more full Pokemon experience here. If I’m getting a new main series game on day one, I wanted the whole deal. So yeah. Ok, back to Pokemon! I just beat Skyla so I’ve got a tower to explore! Smell you later!
Well, I’ve been busy with a few projects lately. After I posted that last comic, I’ve been working on another one. It’s fun, and rewarding. I also picked up Pokemon White 2, and have been playing through along with my wife who has Black 2. I’m falling right back into the Pokemon groove after many long years. That’s for another day, though. Now I’ll address Sony’s family-gaming poster child.
When we bought our PS3, we borrowed LBP 1&2 from my brother’s friend, and I’ve finally managed to finish them both to my satisfaction. I’ll mainly talk here about the second, as I see it as mostly an upgrade and evolution over the first. Through both games, what impressed me most was the developers’ willingness to continue updating the game with fixes and content, some of it even free! The other impressive thing was the community levels, which are very often spotlighted by the Media Molecule team. I played some clunkers but some very interesting ones too.
So Little Big Planet is a series that Sony, or at least game journalists, are trying hard to set up as a Mario rival, I feel. I’m not sure if this is accurate, but I gotta say the feeling is very different. It’s a platformer, sure, but the similarity ends there. The focus in LBP is on customising, community, and gimmicks to modify the gameplay beyond run'n'jump. All these are successful to varying degrees. Overall it tries to do a lot of things, and does them fairly well, but it is also flawed.
My main annoyance with the game was with the community aspect. Frankly, I’m not a social person, and much of the game encouraged multiplayer. I did try to play multiplayer for most of LBP2, but was blocked from a truly great experience by the often bad lag (probably my crappy Australian internet), and other players. I’d say half were as good as me or better, but those with much worse skills were frustrating to play with, and some were downright obstructionist. Often I’d just be denied my requests for multi though, so I’d play levels by myself. Many levels are easier this way anyway, as “lives” are too finite and divided among players, so repeating levels from the start was a too common and frustrating experience. The main levels should have taken a page from many of the best community levels, and used infinite life gong checkpoints throughout.
Community levels, as I’ve said, were also hit and miss. Long loading times leading to a very barren and disappointing level discouraged discovery, but going by number of likes gave greater success. I also played a great series of Donkey Kong Country-themed levels with an original plot. These types of levels were amusing as they tried to recreate certain gameplay styles in the not always suitable LBP engine.
Gameplay in the main game itself was servicable, the highlight being interaction with the environments and objects. However, I feel that the heavy momentum made precision platforming difficult, the jump was too short, and the three-plane 2D movement was often poorly implemented. This was disappointing, but the grappling hook sections were very good, and other twists and gimmicks could be interesting. Once I was used to the physics and conventions, the variations often made for fun levels.
The collecting aspect was a big part of the game, and I always enjoy this. Every level is packed full of little prize bubbles, with stickers, costumes, and decorations. I took joy in creating new outfits for my Sack thing often, but didn’t use stickers much except to unlock things in levels (rarely). I also neglected the decorations for the most part. Personally I don’t have a taste for creating content in games, it’s just my nature I suppose. But since that was emphasised here, I felt I was missing out. Still, I liked finding objects to use in that mode, even if I didn’t use them. The other thing with cotumes was the obnoxiously high prices demanded for simple costumes as DLC. I don’t care how cool the IP you’ve licensed is, $10 for some clothes is way too far! *sigh*, that’s just the way the world of gaming is now.
So I feel this game had highs and lows. I had some very nice multiplayer experiences when latency was low, and some of the directions the game went were better than others. But other segments, such as the sidescrolling shooters, were buggy and less fun. The aesthetics of the game were very creative and made for beautiful levels in worlds with strongly cohesive looks. Overall there was an arts-and-crafts theme that carried throughout, and was very effective. Good voice acting too, in the cutscenes, although the plot was necessarily a bit silly. To be expected.
The extensibility of the engine to many gameplay types was definitely a strength, but I feel the basic controls were a little awkward. I think what stopped me playing it more often was the slow menus, lag and loading times. I wonder if people in Amurrica have a much better experience with games with a strong online aspect. Well, it makes me prefer offline games like Nintendo’s stuff, and retro games. They’ll drag me kicking and screaming into modern gaming over my dead body!
Wife’s comment: “It looked cute, but it was too hard.” I tried to play local multi with her, but unfortunately the difficulty ramped a little too quickly and later levels were sometimes downright brutal. Final boss was pretty easy though, just long.
Haven’t been here in a while, I’ve had other things on. My brother’s wedding, and I was reading comics instead of playing games (they were game-related comics, though—I’ll post about that later), and yesterday I marathonned the first half of Dark Harvest. The “big 3” Slendervlogs, which I follow, are kind of in a lull so I decided to expand my horizons. Plus the Marble Operator discussion podcast is starting to cover the series so I watched it. Had to figure out the order things came out in from the two or three Youtube channels, two blogs, two Twitter feeds. Par for the course in a SlendARG, really, and most of them are active for only a short time anyway. Unfortunately, unlike EverymanHYBRID, there isn’t a well-maintained wiki with a handy timeline. And I’m kinda off Unfiction at the moment, so i did the legwork myself. Anyway, how about some games!
Yoshi’s Island was a huge game of my childhood, very high in my estimation of gaming joy. I have a lot to say about the series consequently, but I’m aware of post length getting ridiculous so I will save some content for two extra posts later: words about redesigns and character interpretations, and an overview of the Yoshi series as a whole. For now, let’s talk about YIDS!
Since I found out about this game, naturally I’ve been interested. Similar to how Jungle Climber interested me, it was another developer making a latter-day sequel to a series I love on a handheld. But unlike Jungle Climber, a lot of what I read about YIDS was quite negative. Words like “romhack” and “awful soundtrack” got tossed around, which quite put me off. In the end I decided screw it, I’m going to play this game and love it anyway, it’s the only unambiguous sequel to the great original. And I did!
The original game was made by Nintendo EAD, the main first-party studio with many sub-divisions. I guess they were too busy with NintenFerrets or New Super Mario Bros 15 or something,(NOTE I wasn’t too far off, the team that previously made Touch&Go on the DS now make NSMB and the only director for YI not now a General-type Manager is Hideki Konno, who heads the Nintendogs & Mario Kart team) so it was outsourced to Artoon, who have previously been caretakers of Yoshi with a tilt-based thing on the GBA. I’ve played Universal Gravitation (or Topsy-Turvy as you might know it), and since I was expecting a spinoff and not the second coming of Island, I though it was ok. It’s a bit odd but I just like any little thing in a great series.
The Yoshi series is one of those B-list series that gets shipped around to lots of different developers. Fans of series like DK, Wario, Star Fox, Metroid, F-Zero, etc can be very bitter and resentful towards Mario and Zelda who get rampant sex parties thrown for them by Nintendo every other week, while they get shared between teams or developers and shifted around like a semi-popular show on a commercial network. Artoon (who also made the pretty bad Blinx the Time Sweeper) are competent enough I suppose, but I feel their games lack polish. They put a fair bit of fanservice in YIDS, but also added their own things that are weird or jarring. Some say they mishandled the development of this game. I think it could have been done better, but I’m just happy it exists really. I guess I’m just a few steps away from abandoning real games and only playing fangames and truly good romhacks. :-p
So the main difference between the original and this sequel is the baby-swapping mechanic. This is a cool idea, which allows the Mario continuity to become even more twisted and impossible, especially when you add that adult Bowser travels back in time, and Kamek may or may not have. But it also allows each baby to give different abilities to Yoshi. It’s cool and you use each one often, but like many things here it could have used some work. Some of the abilities are underused, like DK’s shoulder-barge. Peach only has one advantage that is context-dependent, and her eggs are worse, so she seems nerfed compared to the others. Wario is also very situational, but his specific sections are interesting, puzzly bits. Baby Bowser is just bad. His fire breath is annoying to use and is made redundant by placing fire pots in a level you can eat. The three heavier babies also make your jump worse, so there is a trade-off for their advantages and often Mario is just the go-to pick for many levels (but DK’s mixture of abilities make him very useful too). But switching can’t be done in a map screen and if you’re in a harder level where there is no stork drop-off for a while, or they are few and far between, it can get very frustrating. You have to go back to World 1, play through an easy level and finish with the baby you want.
There are only 5 worlds compared to the original’s 6, but there are 2 extra levels per world. The original had a sceret level in each world, and the Advance remake also added an extra level per world, so this is a slightly shorter game. But I didn’t mind about that really. What I minded was the removal of all inventory power-ups. They were cool, and they were an extra help if levels got tough, especially for some quick stars before the end. YIDS is overall a much easier game, I blazed through with tons of lives. However, near the end the difficulty spikes in a few stages, and the extra levels are especially brutal, made more so by the lack of items to use. Getting 100% on all levels is also very tricky, but I think that is no different to the original. I enjoy the challenge of the secret levels though, and they are optional, but I don’t know if I will 100% them. There are also extra collectibles in the form of big coins for specific babies to find, one per stage, which was good. I also liked the museum feature where you can run through and view all the baddies you’ve egged in their natural habitat.
Let’s say something about the graphics & sound. I’ve looked at spritesheets for this game so I believe when people say that Artoon blatantly ripped many sprites from other (Yoshi) games. Koopas and others from YI, Yoshi’s sprites are from Touch&Go, adult Bowser is from their Universal Gravitation. And their new enemies and elements for this game look out of place often, with different styles and even differently done outlines! It adds up to make for a quite inconsistent presentation. After a while you get over it though, you just have to accept it and try not to dream too much about what could have been. Say what you like about Yoshi’s Story (I will play it soon), but its visual style was internally consistent. The sound design for this game was also just, just bad. At first I minded the new “hup” “yow”, etc sound effects of Yoshi’s voice. But that’s just because he didn’t have that in the first YI, and he’s consistently used them since YS, so that’s fine. But the music is the truly awful part. Boring tunes, short loops, massively overused main musical riff. Have some variety! The main theme is ok, they used it in Brawl and it’s not too bad, but it gets old real fast. I would have preferred if this game just ripped the whole soundtrack from the original. I normally play handheld games with the sound turned off anyway, so I guess I didn’t have to endure it.
Ok, stream of consciousness time. Bosses were pretty good, a lot of gimmicks were underused, interesting level archetypes and combinations, some very cool twists on level design and some pretty boring or confusing levels. I liked the cutscenes and the fact that certain babies joined and left, so you don’t have to play all levels with Baby Bowser on rotation. General gameplay was just like the original, big plus for my nostalgic bones. Many returning enemies, new ones were kinda weird, but the return of those Klaptrap-type guys from DK Jr that aren’t Klaptraps. Museum was cool but not well explained (need to throw egg at enemy for them to appear there). Each baby had their time to shine, and were made to feel useful, except maybe Bowser. But Peach should have had at least one more thing to recommend her. General plot a bit off and confusing, but an interesting addition to Mario canon with the concept of the Star Children. Yoshi series should get away from Bowser as the bad guy so much. Nice length and good replayability. End-of-level bonus games not as interesting with only lives on the line, no items. Also in-level minigames not as good as original and nothing at stake there as far as I can tell. Two-screen mechanic interesting and cool, levels were generally designed around it too so that’s a plus.
All in all though, I liked YIDS. If nothing else it reminds you why the Yoshi series is so great and makes you want to play the original again. But it has its own charms and benefits too, which in some ways make it unique to the original and worth playing, such as the babies and the dual-screen. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten to Yoshi’s Story yet so I can’t compare it. But I had a lot of fun, and I’m still going improving my scores and unlocking extra levels so I’d recommend it for anyone who’s played the original. If not, play that one (SOMEHOW—it’s not available on any download service so you have my permission to emulate either version for now). In fact, you could emulate this one too as (aside from no touchscreen or microphone use) there is zero chance of reprints, there is no DS download service and Nintendo (and Artoon) makes no money from second-hand sales. I am still not entirely convinced that anyone gets data from second-hand sales either. I bought this second-hand because it’s a complex game, which is easier to play on the proper hardware, and I enjoy things better on the real console, especially for handhelds. But anyway I shouldn’t talk about this so much. Fun game, but hey I say that about pretty much all the games I play. Also I’m a Yoshi fan.
Wife’s comments: My paragraphs are too long, it makes my reviews hard to read. Erm.
With all the games I’ve been playing on and off, I managed to finish one of them. Sometimes I’ll play one game for too long and run out of steam, then come back and pick it up later. In this case, I was playing on my wife’s iPad, since it’s a Universal app. After I got about ¾ of the way through though, it started crashing all the time. And hardly any games take advantage of iCloud saving. Luckily, I’m a nerd. Using a program called iExplorer (it’s not Internet Explorer), you can look at a horribly organised list of apps on your device, open them up and check the contents. It’s easy to do through Finder with apps in your iTunes library, but if you want the saves made on the device you have to use this program. It’s ugly and not optimal in a lot of ways but it works. So I copied the saves, installed the game on my iPhone, used the program again to dump the save in the game’s proper folder and bingo, works perfectly. I also use this program to back up my saves when I’m done with a game and want to delete it, because I’m always running out of space on there but I don’t want to lose the save forever.
Anyway, I moved to the smaller screen and finished the story mode. Now I’m doing Free Play, trying to at least unlock Snape. Our dream team for the other iterations of this franchise is Neville and Snape, for whatever reason. It’s one of the most fun parts, teaming up all your favourite characters. Like imagine if in Empire, Vader and Boba Fett went on adventures in between trying to capture the Rebel scum. Well you can do that.
So speaking of other games in the Lego series, this particular iteration is, as far as I know so far, unique to most others. It has a fixed isometric perspective rather then the moving 3D of others (although handheld versions are usually more fixed than console ones, and the older GBA versions were isometric), it features many more but shorter levels, rather than the usual 6 levels per episode. It has RPG-ish qualities of collecting items in an inventory and doing small tasks for people. There are gameplay elements that require use of the touchscreen, such as Cooking Mama-style potion making and drawn symbols to cast spells. And perhaps most significantly, there is a large amount of written dialogue in this game, which allows greater clarity of what you are to do, and interaction between characters and NPCs. While the silent recreations of famous scenes and expressive grunts and expressions has always been a core part of the Lego games, the two newest installments (Batman 2 and LOTR) have introduced spoken dialogue. This game was the first, however.
Traveller’s Tales have always made the console games, and I have noticed that in some ways the quality or perhaps polish has dropped off a bit in more recent games. This may have to do with playing Wii ports of games primarily for more powerful consoles. The Wii version of Saga was a port of the two Star Wars trilogies from the PS2, with the PS3 and 360 versions getting a graphical upgrade from this. After that, games were developed for the PS3 and 360 then downgraded for the Wii, which may explain the drop I noticed.
On the other hand, the handheld versions are developed by a subsidiary, TT Fusion. Now I haven’t played that many of the handheld ones, but most ape the console ones, being mainly stripped-down conversions. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the formula is so solid. But HP1-4 portable represented a big departure from this formula, and its inventiveness and willingness to try new things must be applauded. In fact, I think it is a much better game for it, having seen parts of Star Wars Saga and HP5-7 portable. It just seems like it’s more suited to the platform as it was made from scratch, not beholden to its console brother. Instead of inviting comparison in which it would most likely come up short, it differentiates itself.
So I’m a bit of an aficianado of the Lego series, having played Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (PC), Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Wii), Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii), Lego Pirates of the Carribean: The Video Game (Wii), and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Wii). Also demoes of the two Batman games. I also rented Indy 2 with my friend once, but that was only to hack his Wii and install homebrew. My first one though was one of the Star Wars ones on PS2, I don’t remember which. So it may be a little late for this, but they work like this. Lego licenses a good IP, and makes some physical sets. I guess the popular ones then get handed over to TT, who makes a game out of it, mostly following the same formula: recreate the plot of the media which was licensed, abbreviated and with humorous touches. Set levels in the most significant or most gamey segments (sometimes having to make things up to add, to make for a whole level). Fill the levels with collectables and destructable objects. Include an appropriate hub (the Cantina or the Leaky Cauldron). Finally, make just about every character from the series playable, with some abilities shared between them.
The strength of the formula is its simplicity for novice gamers, making for family-friendly gaming sessions; the ubiquitous co-op, which means that you can have fun together; and the worlds and characters attached to the strong IP they have licensed, which let you relive your favourite stories in amusing Lego style. Of course, handheld games have less reliance on co-op. They do multi-cart multiplayer apparently, but not this one (at least, not on iOS). So no family together gaming, but the rest of the formula is there, along with the strong collectathon focus (a favourite genre of mine, having grown up on Rare’s N64 3D platformers).
All this adds up to an enjoyable game, and especially in this case the novelty of its mix of familiarity and differences to other Lego games made it fun for me. It can be a little rough around the edges, but frankly all of TT’s Lego games are like that and aside from some awkward controls there’s not too much to fault it for. Many faults can be forgiven because the gameplay is simple and doesn’t rely on strict timing or precision. It’s just exploring, puzzles, some light action. The faults are also of lesser magnitude than the console’s, which more often than you’d like could lock up or glitch objects or characters very badly, forcing you to either restart the level or in some cases power off the console.
But I should wrap this up. This game was great value (on sale for $1, sure beats the $50 DS version), and its uniqueness within the Lego game family is appreciated, makes it stand out. It’s unfortunate that Fusion seems to have gone back to their previous model of cut-down console remakes. This style could have developed to give handheld iterations their own identity. As it is, there’s not as much motivation for people to get both if they’re too similar. So if you like Lego games, this is worth checking out more than any other portable version, especially with its easy availability on the App Store. I love digital distribution, you don’t have to deal with stupid stores, it’s all the same price. Ahem, anyway, having said that there are many portables I haven’t played, I’d especially like to try the GBA ones since they’re also in a different style. But it’s a fun little game, not too hardcore, and could still probably be played together with a kid on an iPad perhaps. Nice little time-waster. Ok, until next time then.
Still working away at several games at once, but I managed to finish the plot of this one the other day. That’s by no means the end of the game, of course, and I will still enjoy playing it for a while.
This one is unusual though, in that I’m not the only one in our household playing it often. Most of our games are primarily for me, except for the Lego games which we all enjoy. In this case, I bought this game with a few others using my tax return money. I was interested, as Katamari obviously is well known for innovative gameplay, and I hadn’t played a proper entry as yet. This particular game won me over, as it was touted as a sort of best-of of the series, containing many past stages and remixes. The Japanese name is even Katamari Damacy Tribute. Anyway, I expected to enjoy it, but what I didn’t expect was for my sister-in-law to enjoy it as much or even more.
The hugely wacky presentation was a factor, but I think it’s mostly the simple but deep gameplay that makes it addictive. It’s also so unusual among games, and just very satisfying. This game in particular just grabs you though right from the start. After the obligatory Playstation updates & installs (I don’t mind this as much as others seem to), the opening cutscene is just mind-blowing. Equal parts baffling and fabulous, full of bright colours, ducks, dancing pandas, it’s distinctly Japanese.
This theme carries through the game. While the text itself has been translated (except in one egregious example near the end), much of the aesthetic, environments, objects, signs and packets are all so Japanese. It helps that we are familiar with the culture, I feel that might be a roadblock for some people. But I find it very evocative, especially since I am such a fan of Studio Ghibli and pre-Ghibli Miyazaki and Takahata films. It makes me feel somewhat nostalgiac for a culture I am on the fringes of, but is so engrained in my chosen medium and so must know about. Some games bleed Japanese much more strongly than others, and once you’ve played Okami you start to recognise mythological and cultural references in many other games. But this one is very strongly flavoured, and I’ve had a lot of fun just reading descriptions of all the items I’ve rolled up, much like in Pikmin 2.
Anyway, it’s been fun playing this game but also fun watching. The last few years I lived at home I gradually dropped off being a PC gamer and toook to just watching my brother play games, and that was hugely fun. Gaming together is better than gaming alone, most of all on a large screen. So now my sister-in-law and I take turns, and we can give each other advice and get a better understanding of the game, but mostly it’s good because it’s something we can share. Finding common ground is a basic human joy, and it makes me glad I picked this game.
I said before I hadn’t played any main Katamari games. My first experiences in the genre were a few cheap knockoffs, but I knew they were copying and I had so much fun that I knew I had to play the real thing. So I bought the first Katamari game on iOS, I Love Katamari. This is before the second one came out. It was fun, but I had big problems with the controls which made it very hard. It also was a bit glitchy, the menus were poor and there were few levels. So a bit disappointing overall but the basic concept and presentation were good enough to warrant me forking over for an even more genuine experience a few years later. Don’t regret it at all, the console game is so much more polished and smooth and fun. Many more levels and modes keep it varied too, and more characters and costumes. Great music too, but it can get annoying when you have to repeat levels several times.
So a big feature of this game is apparently the graphical filters you can apply, but I haven’t figured out how to unlock them. This, coupled with the extremely condescending remarks of the King and Robo-King when you finish a level, make me feel that I’m always just scraping by, but hey I get to play the next level so screw you, King! I was stuck on the first proper level for a while, but I think that test honed my skills enough to get me through most of the game. The most troubling levels are of course the gimmicky ones, like rolling up flammable things to make a flaming Katamari or the “first bear or cow ends the level”. But like I said there’s lots of variety so if you get stuck there’s plenty of others to do.
Since I did the research, I have to finish this review with a general look at the extent of the series as a whole. Each new installment adds new cousins so they build on each other in a way. The first two games on the PS2 started the whole thing, and they weren’t intended for international consumption until people got interested and pressured Namco. I don’t think exporting them changed the series itself though, as I have indicated it’s Japanese to the core. The original creator, Keita Takahashi, has not been involved in the series since these two, but the caretakers at Namco have done a good job as far as I can tell keeping the formula but also putting some twists on it. There was the PSP one, then the next console one which after some confusion turned out to be 360 exclusive. They made up for that by making this a separate game, and now the Vita has a new one at launch. In between these 6 main titles, there have been a few Japan-only mobile phone games. But don’t worry, we’ve received most of them in one form or another. Katamari Damacy-kun was included as a minigame in the PSP version (actually, this came first, they spun it off into a mobile game). Katamari Damacy Mobile, for a strange Japanese cell phone with motion controls, was ported with improvements (especially in music) to iOS (and Android and Win Phone 7) as I Love Katamari. This has been followed up with the iOS-exclusive Katamari Amore, which adds a virtual thumbstick for more accurate control. Another mobile game, Rolling with Katamari, has been released in English. It’s an isometric take on the series, but don’t ask me how to get it, cell phone game distribution is weird. Speaking of which, in 2010 a Japanese cell phone service came out with two Namco-Hudson collaborations, Pacman X Bomberman and Takahashi Meijin X Katamari Damacy. This would take too long to explain. Suffice to say it’s a crappy cell phone game where a fat dude rolls bananas (from what I gather from two screenshots).
The Japanese DSi store got a tetris-style puzzle game with a Katamari skin. There has also been an official 2D flash game, and the obligatory Korean MMO version. There’s some nice Youtube videos of this, but don’t expect to ever play it.
And that’s the Katamari series. It has a very distinct and unique character, which along with the gameplay is the strongest characteristic of the series and the reason it has become so well-known. I don’t know how the games sell, but I think it at least has widespread recognition, if only on the Internet. I certainly knew about it without playing it, and now that I have, I love it. I’m happy with just the PS3 version, there’s certainly enough replay value for ages.
Having said that, there is a footnote worth mentioning. I mentioned Keita Takahashi not being involved since the second game. He’s apparently quite the eccentric guy, but Namco kept him around for his good ideas. He’s since left to work on indie games and designing playgrounds, but before he did he made one more game for them, Noby Noby Boy. It shares much of the strange atmosphere and strongly playful design of the Katamari series, with very different gameplay. I picked it up and it’s simple, crazy fun. Probably not as deep as Katamari but worth checking out. There’s also an iOS version that’s also different but contributes to the community goals of the main game.
After my huge work week, I finally have the energy to write a post. I actually finished this game late last week, and in the meantime some games I ordered arrived. New Deus Ex and Katamari for PS3, old Yoshi’s Island and Lego Star Wars Saga for DS. Explaining all these would take so long, but I was giddy with excitement for YIDS, and it turns out my sister in law really loves Katamari. I love sharing my games.
So onto the real issues with playing Shantae. I think the used game market is very sleazy, and the App Store has trained me to view the Virtual Console as a bit overpriced. I still use it though, except I have a big problem with the 3DS one in particular, for this reason: the games they sell are incomplete. Game Boy games were originally in B&W, yes, but hello Super Gameboy? My favourite emulator can reproduce the conditions of a SGB, so the handheld VC would be a hell of a lot more appealing if it did too, even if it was optional (if they’re somehow concerned about the purity of the experience or something). In the case of Shantae, it is not on the VC. Would I buy it if it was? Tricky question. You want to support small developers, but the best transformation would not be available, as you unlock it (and an enhanced palette) by playing the game on a GBA (or an emulator with a GBA simulation switch). Another example of incompleteness.
I did buy the sequel, though, which was why I wanted to play the original first. Incidentally, the developer’s blog pretty much says that the original is extremely hard to find (it is), so you should watch a Youtube Let’s Play before playing the new game. Of course, many people interpret this as implicit permission to emulate. The original did have a very small print run, and the sequel being digital is not limited in this way. I bought the iOS version, as the DSi version is not available in my region (grrrrrr), another problem with mainstream distribution channels.
Anyway, on to the game. I actually had to fiddlequite a bit with the emulator settings to make it look better. I should have done this several games ago, as it did look much better after I removed the simulated LCD motion blur and discrete pixels. Also, before starting I read the manual from the Internet, it was great. I miss the manuals of the old days.
Ok, so the game. Fun game. At first I had trouble distinguishing foreground and background, platforms you could jump on and walls. You get used to it, but it takes a while. Fighting can also be tricky, and you can lose health quickly if you’re not careful. I guess the items are supposed to help with that, but I didn’t use them much, I often don’t in games. Once you get the transformations, they are useful but also add more complexity to the movement system. The aforementioned Advance Tinkerbat transformation is so liberating, it has the basic powers of 3 other forms, and a decent attack. The combination of various factors results in some slightly awkward gameplay that I associate with certain games of this early generation.
It absolutely oozes charm, though. The game world is so well crafted, getting around is very natural. Some of the environment transitions are abrupt, but the areas are organic and the characters look great. Each small background NPC is different and interestingly designed, and their dialogue is at times funny and informative. I did use a walkthrough to find some of the hidden items, but much of the fun here is finding your own way around, figuring things out. It does take a while to get places though, even after you get the warp dances.
It’s a great little game, especially as a prelude to the new game (which I haven’t yet started). I just love delving into a series’ history if I’m going to get into a game. It helps if the history is short, too! Oh, one thing I forgot. Matt Bozon, the creator of Shantae, also made a Warioware DIY microgame that was featured in the famous creators download section. It was based on GBC Shantae. So yeah, that is also part of Shantae’s video game history (it had a unique background). The DSiWare version also has some small connectivity to WayForward’s other games on that service, but again most of them are not available in our little hole in the world.
All in all, it’s almost like a Metroidvania, but with less vertical movement I suppose. You do end up flying by the end. It’s a neat action platformer, and its obscurity despite its relative quality appeals to me. It’s also an important part of indie gaming history. I would recommend it for anyone looking to branch out into some third-party stuff, who isn’t afraid of a little piracy. Buy the iOS sequel if you do though, it’s only a couple of bucks.
Wife’s comment: “It’s good to see a woman in a starring role.” I agree. I even saw Shantae mentioned as a possible Smash contestant (near the bottom of the list) when people were thinking of female characters for the next installment. Strong female protagonists are so rare, and Shantae is a great example with an interesting personality and design, who experiences growth over the course of this game. Not only that, the antagonist and two of the major supporting characters are also very unique females. It’s another reason I wanted to play this game, and another reason I endorse it.
I’ve been sick the last couple of days, and so have just been playing lots of Shantae (GBC) and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS). But I haven’t finished them, and I generally like to review games I’ve finished. So I’ll talk about a game I finished a few weeks ago, one of the main reasons we got our PS3.
Journey has been talked up in a lot of places, but it was seeing the footage in ABC’s Good Game review that convinced us. Since then, John Siracusa has also been raving about it on his podcast Hypercritical, that me and my wife listen to together. The way he talks about it, you’d think it was the only game that ever mattered.
I don’t think that this game changes the face of the industry or anything, but it certainly is one that should go near the top of developers’ to play lists. I think that is why most people see it as important, because it represents a design philosophy inconsistent with major sections of the industry that are going astray. In other words, it’s really good and other people could learn something from it.
But how is it as an actual game? It’s a statement, certainly, and arty enough. Perhaps not as arty and more gamey than Flower, the previous game from these developers. Or is it? Maybe it’s the type of game that invites this kind of meta-analysis, or maybe that’s just been done so much that I can’t help but associate the game with these kinds of debates. I decided long ago that I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. I don’t pretend to know that much either about what makes a good game, but I know when I like a game. This is one I like. (I don’t think it’s art, by the way, or at least not more than other games. Eh, maybe it is. Oh God now I’ve brought up whether games r art ABORT)
This is the sort of game that, well, my wife and I played through once each and haven’t touched it since. I think you don’t want to play it too often because that would dilute the experience. Related to this is: it’s short, and on my playthrough I was helped by a big pro with a white robe, who helped me find all the symbols so now we have a white robe if we want it. This is a game to be played multiple times, and we will. But not right away.
This is also the type of game that people go, “Ooh, I won’t say anything about it. It’ll spoil the experience.” Bugger that. Spoiler time! The pacing of the game is fantastic, it introduces elements one at a time while changing the environment. You can then identify these elements and environments (like the cloth birds, the underground tower etc.) in murals that you find or are shown in cutscenes between areas, which is cool and adds to the world-building. Getting to the snowy windy mountain and slowing down makes you feel vulnerable after you’ve been through the liberating tower, leading to the lowest point on the mountain. You collapse, but are then revived by the big white guys who are presumably the previous keepers of the magic you have inherited. You then become a superscarf flying magician in a huge expanse, it feels great and all very natural. Then you get to the end, and go back and start again. It’s not an unsatisfying ending; after all, the journey is the important thing I guess.
It’s important in this game to find a companion who will stick around for a bit and stay close to them. The limited interaction mechanisms forces you to be creative and playful with the other, and it’s fun jumping and singing with them. Co-op is generally good for me anyway, in fact I even considered playing TF2 again for the first time in ages because they just announced a new co-op mode.
Anyway Journey is really good. It’s short but beautiful. As long as you play it a few times it’s probably worth the cost, especially if you want to “see what everyone’s talking about” but not talking about cos they don’t want to spoil you or whatever. Sorry, I find it annoying if someone will venture zero reasons for the quality of an experience and insist you just do it. Please, try and articulate people. It’s a fun little runny jumpy explory story game, but quite subtle. Maybe wait for the retail disc, with their other two games.
Wife’s comment: It was fun! I think Flower will be more fun though, because some bits of Journey were a bit scary. And hard.
So it does engender an emotional connection, although some of the platforming was a bit challenging for the proverbial inexperienced gamer. Sorry felt like expanding that comment. Ta ta.
iOS has rapidly become a major platform for mobile gaming, and is a big part of the reason the 3DS and PSVita are not getting as much traction as Nintendo and Sony would like. That’s how I see it anyway. I of course am a big Apple fan at this point, so I have been doing a fair bit of gaming on my iPhone 4. It’s really disrupting my perspective on pricing, at least for handheld games. I find myself unwilling to spend money on the eShop or even on retail games when $1 or $2 can get you so many quality titles on the App Store. But then the quality and the IPs of the dedicated gaming handhelds wins me over eventually. Point is, I use both. Obviously my iOS games tend more towards the casual, as is the nature of the platform, but I have played Rayman 2 on there and I have Final Fantasy 3 (DS version) queued up to play soonish.
The App Store is great because of how flexible pricing can be. It’s set by the developers and they hold sales for any old thing. In this case, I managed to pick up the latest successful Mario Kart competitor (or at least the mobile port) for free. There’s obviously in-app purchases I have no desire to partake of, but it feels a little weird playing through a game like this not having paid for it (hypocrite, you use emulators)(yeah, yeah ok, I’ll post about that one day).
So most of my life I’ve been a NIntendo fanboy. I really only know about Sega from acquaintances’ consoles (most of my friends had Nintendo as well) or, later on when they dropped the hardware game and started bringing their software to our platform. I didn’t know that we’d won that war, in my little zone there was no war. There was only Nintendo. So I’d read about a few interesting looking games in N64 gamer—it wasn’t until my family bought an Xbox (for the DVD player) that I actually played a Sega game. We had the double set of Sega GT 2002 and Jet Set Radio Future. Both great, great games. We later bought the super Sonic collection from the bargain bin, and played about ten minutes of it and got bored. More recently I also picked up ChuChu Rocket and Ecco the Dolphin on, yes, iOS for a buck each. And that, apart from a short turn on a department store Dreamcast and a rented copy of NiGHTS into Dreams, is my Sega experience.
Having said all that, this game interested me. Maybe because the 360 version is DKU due to Banjo and Kazooie appearing. Maybe it seemed like what Mario Kart could have been if it was a more interesting crossover game. I don’t know why ROB and the Blue Falcon in MKDS excite me so much; I am a huge Smash Bros fan though. Crossovers are just interesting, especially when you have such a stable of creative characters that Sega does. Even if I don’t recognise half of them.
Well, the game was free and there were enough characters I knew, I couldn’t not give it a try. And it was quite fun. The simple pleasure of earning points after races, saving up and buying new characters is a compelling incentive for me to come back. The missions were fun, if a little imbalanced in difficulty between each other. The weapons are ok, nothing too special (although I may have missed some references they were making). The individual super weapons were silly though. They all seemed the same and just were underwhelming. The tracks were varied and very much had the flavour of their originating series, although that Eggman casino one was just too hard.
By the way, I should say here that the mobile version of this game is very stripped down compared to the console. I don’t really know what elements they have in common, but the mobile one has many less characters and tracks, for all I know the modes and mechanics are very different, the controls are certainly different. I don’t think I ever played a racer with no accelerate button! It’s automatic, you just brake and slide. Steering is either tilt or on-screen slider (I used that, tilt controls can be annoying if not implemented well). For what it is though, it’s a fairly significant little piece of game, and there was a content update recently so that’s cool.
As far as characters go, fortunately the ones I liked had fairly good stats. The ChuChu mouse was a powerhouse with low acceleration, and Beat was fairly all-round. I couldn’t give two tosses about the Sonic cast, who as in most Sega crossover games seem to be over-represented. The Jet Set tracks just made me want that HD remake of the original sooner. I can’t wait, after having so much fun with the sequel. I don’t know or care who that douche on the motorbike was, probably Generic Fighty Game 2000. Every studio has a franchise like that, or several. Two different monkeys was amusing, with me having no experience with their source. Pretty solid cast all round I think. If only there was an Ecco track (don’t know if Sega actually has the rights there. Oh well).
Not sure what else to say about this game, I just played it pretty casually, and the mobile version at least seems to encourage that style. I mean, I didn’t try to master it, and I essentially stopped playing after beating all the GP cups on easy mode. I quite liked it, I just didn’t have the Sega history to appreciate all the details. But the parts I did get made it much more rewarding. I haven’t actually played any handheld Mario Karts to compare it to, but I played the free trial of Konami Crazy Racers for 5 minutes. Compared to that the controls and gameplay were way better, the characters and licenses were more interesting, so I guess it’s pretty close to the top of mascot racers on handhelds, at least for me. Glowing endorsement I know. Definitely worth it for free, probably worth the $2, especially if you’re not a sheltered Ninty boy like myself.
Man, I love crossovers. If only we had Captain Rainbow over here. Well, soon I’ll be playing Yoshi’s Island DS, that’s close to one. Still really enjoying Melee too. And I should unlock Indy in Lego Star Wars….(mumbling continues)
Wife’s comment: “Oh yeah, I tried that game. It’s ok, but it was a bit slippery. And I didn’t know any of the characters, so I didn’t care.” Wise words. We need to care, or we won’t play. The characters are all informed, like the game doesn’t attempt to set anything up, it assumes Sega literacy. Well, what can you do. Until next time.
Recently I had kind of a bad time for about a week and a half. I sometimes have anxiety attacks or feelings of inadequacy that go through stages. I guess it happens to lots of people. Fortunately, I have things that can help me out in these times. Faith, loved ones, and video games.
So for that reason and general tiredness, I didn’t play much games for a little while. But this weekend I jumped right into some stuff with a vengeance. I played through a few worlds of Little Big Planet 2 (still on loan), but mostly this weekend was Pikmin. I clocked half the game in one day.
So previously, my bro (hi bro) had bought me Pikmin 2 a few birthdays ago. Great present, as was Donkey Kong Country Returns from my other bro the previous Christmas. Both of these came at a time when I wasn’t super interested in video games at that stage, and they along with some other notables (SSBB and Okami) brought me right back in, to the point where I’ve been in the thick of gaming culture since. So I’ve completed Pikmin 2, I think. But importantly, I’d played a lot of it and developed skills.
That was a necessary preface because I thought Pikmin 1 was quite easy. I think going about it the other way around would be a really great experience, as Pikmin 2 (although not one of the sequel games that picks up near the top of the difficulty curve of the previous, and assumes the previous as a prerequisite) builds on a lot of the concepts developed in 1. Playing them in order would also give you a good introduction to the world and characters, particularly Olimar. His introspective musings on his situation and the things he encounters are truly one of the highlights of both games. More on that later.
So it was easy. I sort of expected that I would find it so, so I was very supportive of my wife having a go. She played through the first few days, maybe a week I guess in game until it got to the point that it was too hard and stressful. I don’t blame her, the Forest Navel was quite hard compared to later stages, it might have been better swapped with the spring. And the final level was just a puzzle-type thing, I would have liked to see more areas like that actually.
Anyway, I took over at that point, and played a bit more and polished it up in a marathon on Saturday. My impressions were good, but it shows that it was such an early title, and perhaps could have used more content? The execeution was brilliant, though. And even the plot was handled very well, for Nintendo. It’s a fine game, worth buying for the low price it is now, but perhaps not the high initial price. The sequel is leagues better and as I can attest, stands on its own.
I was playing the New Play Control! version, which from what I can tell had loads of improvements, unlike a few games in that series that were apparently simple control updates, or like Jungle Beat which radically changed gameplay (and was apparently the worse for it). Improvements like yellow Pikmin holding bombs when whistled, and throwing them at enemies. Or Pikmin surviving longer on fire. And the day rewind system. Not to mention widescreen support. This is good, and in my opinion that rerelease brand should have lasted much longer. On the other hand, another way to fix things is sequels—in this case, the whistle was better in Pikmin 2, although the first game seemed a little better at handling extracting lots of dudes at once from an Onion.
Now seems like a good time to talk about the Pikmin series as a whole. It’s not just two games, you know. The NPC! versions of both games are greatly improved, as I mentioned (and the US is only just getting 2 that way, without NPC! branding. So slow NOA!). Also, Pikmin 2 has lots of brand name products and other treasures that are different between regions. So there are different iterations of the same 2 games. The 3rd is also on the way for WiiU, and looks great. However, there are 5 other additions to the Pikmin universe that I, as an avid completionist, consider important.
1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This game did a huge service to many Nintendo franchises, by remixing songs, making stages, showing off artwork in stickers (trophies were slightly less impressive, they were only existing renders which led to over-representation of some series), and of course making new, highly-detailed character models for the fighters. Brawl also took some liberties with characters for playability, so Pikmin & Olimar are much larger than they really are, and also Reds & Yellows were granted the ability to produce fire & electricity, instead of just surviving it. On the music side, Pikmin tends to be more atmospheric in that regard so Brawl also included the Japanese pop singles released alongside the two games (and a French version). Incidentally, did you know they also bred a new flower species and named it after Pikmin, as part of the marketing? Oh, and Brawl had an awesome model for Olimar, way more textured and interesting than his model in his own game. I don’t blame Pikmin for that, it’s meant to be zoomed out. But yeah Brawl Olimar looks amazing, and he’s high on the tier list. Thanks Sakurai! He’s my main by the way, but people get annoyed cos he’s too good. ;p
2. The Pikmin 2 e-reader game. Oh, Japan. When will you share your goodies with the rest of us schmoes? The Gameboy Advance add-on that read barcodes off collectable cards was incorporated with the GCN-GBA link cable, but only in Japan. So if you get a lot of different cards and scan them in, you can play levels of 3 different puzzle minigames! Apparently. I’ve only seen 1 shaky YouTube video of this, but it looks kinda cool. Since I love obscure stuff like this, I wish they would release it on the DSi store. *sigh* A fanboy can dream. Worse, e-readers can’t be emulated at this stage as far as I can tell.
3&4. Warioware microgames! 9-volt and 18-volt’s stages are the best part of these games for fans like me. Warioware DIY had a game in the non-Japan version (so I guess we got something they didn’t after all) where you throw a Pikmin onto a rock for nectar. The fun part about this microgame was the pixelated painterly art style, one of the best looking games in DIY. The other is featured in Smooth Moves for the Wii: you control the Empress Bulblax from Pikmin 2, rolling to crush Piks on either side of you. This not only let you control an enemy creature, it established that there exist Pikmin of giant size, almost as big as the Empress herself. Canon? Sure, why not! How either of them got into that cave, though, is beyond me.
5. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN). Interestingly, hitting a ball in the rough sometimes caused Pikmin to burst out. How did they end up in the Mushroom Kingdom, since Pikmin ostensibly takes place in a future Earth? Iuno, magic? Mario and logic are essentially incompatible. Canon? Eh, maybe.
Well, I’m glad my review of this gem of a game let me splurge out some obscure stuff like that. So I’ll reiterate that it’s worth playing at least one Pikmin game, but if it was only one, go for the sequel. It has more features and content, as well as more fascinating little quotes from Olimar, and some interaction that wasn’t possible with only one stranded character. But I’m glad I’ve played both. If I main Olimar I should know his whole story I guess. Until next time, friends.
Well I just finished the easy scenario mode of the Zero Collection. This won’t be a full review, there is too much game and too much love to go over it all.
When I found this game, I was ecstatic. I have mentioned that the Zero series is my favourite Megaman iteration, because of its depth, pacing, plot treatment, and smooth-ass gameplay (when you get good), but most importantly, because I played loads of it during my developmental years. In this case, during high school me and a friend had Japanese copies of the first two and pretty much knew them back to front. We had our own names for the characters that turned out to be different to the localised ones, names I think are superior (we called Harpuia and Elpizo: Hyperia and Elpis, for example). Later, I bought the 4th installment in English, which was a very different experience. But now I’ve played them all in a row and got the complete overview.
Well, I say complete. Easy Scenario mode drops you in Ultimate mode automatically, which normally requires you to totally clock the game and rewards you with ultimate power-ups, after you’ve struggled through the hard way. This means you can breeze through it, and I did. The game ranks you at the end of missions, and I usually scored very high, except in damage. I got damaged a lot. I had loads of health, I could take it. Need to work on that in normal mode. It’s not really the Zero experience to breeze through like that. People shouldn’t buy this game and just play that mode. The games are about dying a lot, learning patterns, honing your reflexes. When you play it as much as I did, you get good at that.
So which games emphasise this feeling? I think maybe 2 is the hardest, 4 is the easiest. But all are rewarding in this way. To really judge that, I probably need to play again in normal mode. But I can say other things comparing them all.
The games form a cohesive, complete story. Not all of them are strictly necessary, though. Each game could be the end of the series, some more open-ended than others. They do build on each other, though, so playing any of them requires the ones before in terms of plot (and sometimes gameplay). The way they are connected is really gratifying, as we see characters return and in some cases grow. The threats reveal larger threats behind them, which develops over the course of several games.
This developing threat comes to a head in 3, where early on you confront a terrifying robot from the games’ backstory, Omega. (Later you find its true identity, which makes it more significant.) It is then joined by the Dark Elf, the antagonist of 2; Copy X, the antagonist of 1; and Dr. Weil, who becomes the antagonist of 4. This combination of strong enemies makes me think of Zelda 4 Swords Adventures, wherein you fight Vaati, Ganon AND Dark Link. Imagine if Mario fought Bowser, then Donkey Kong comes out, Wart jumps up behind you and Wario starts laughing at you. It’s awesome.
Which brings me to 4. When you defeat three of these threats during Zero 3, the 4th installment only has Weil, which makes its scale seem a little smaller. Its design aesthetic is also very different, as it had a different lead designer than the other three. All in all it feels different, a little tacked on. It makes sense when you find out that a bit like the X series which was supposed to finish with X5 (and thus continue to the Zero series), the original plan was for a trilogy. I’m not complaining that they added another, and it certainly rounds out the story in a conclusive way, but it is somewhat different.
The Four Guardians are major characters in the first three, but are conspicuous in their absence in 4. Official word was they were elsewhere during these events, but later statements retconned this, saying they died during the climax of 3. This ties to the artwork featured in one of the soundtracks (although labelled “fanart” officially, it was produced by the developers of the game) which depicts *SPOILER the Guardians as Cyber-Elves with X, watching the fall of Ragnarok.* Anyway, whatever happened, they are great characters and lend some continuity to the series as they return for revenge, and eventually sort of join your side. They are also very important to the two ZX games.
The other characters are also unique, especially unique in the fact that this game HAS characters, unlike some other Megaman series games (although I haven’t played the later ones with cutscenes). A cast of varied Resistance members, even some humans in 4. The important ones though are X, Ciel, and to a lesser extent Cerveau the engineer. They don’t interact all that much, but they have personality, especially when you read into it.
This brings me to the issue of supplemental materials. I love the style of the official artwork of these games, it’s very beautiful and in addition to the manual and many examples on MMKB wiki, there are unlockable galleries in the game. A cool feature, and it even includes the gameplay-modifying e-Reader cards for 3 that never made it to Australia. The Japanese advertisements for this game were wonderfully animated in anime style, even if it’s only 15 second spots. And developer Inti Creates very lovingly constructed multiple soundtracks for the series, with great art, remastered and arranged tracks, and even spoken drama audio tracks that flesh out the story. However, the manga produced for this series is utter tripe. A dull, watered-down story, ugly art, butchered and maimed characters, dumb Mary-Sue little boy protagonist (an unfortunate trend in shonen manga). It’s pretty bad. Granted, I haven’t read the 3rd volume, which seems like it takes itself less seriously.
Anyway, the best part about these games is the games, and I loved playing them again, and 3 for the first time. I look forward to playing them in normal mode (Ultimate mode already has the collectibles, so you literally just rush through). Before that, I might play ZX first as I acquired it at the same time. Haven’t decided yet.
I might finish up here, this wasn’t a complete review or anything, as I didn’t exactly have a full game experience in easy mode. But it reminded me why I love Megaman, and it’s because of Zero. It actually made me want to play more X series, at least the ones with playable Zero. Anyway I recommend the Zero collection for those who like the X series if you haven’t given it a go, it’s available for those in the US on Capcom’s online store (if you’re inlcined to give Capcom money, which many people aren’t at the moment for good reason). It’s a hard series though so keep in mind that you need the skillz that pay the billz. (The z is for Zero.)
Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love rentals.
I’d like to admit up front that my feelings about the Mario series in general these days could best be described as “contempt”. Since New Super Mario Bros. (DS), I think the series has been pretty stagnant, relying too much on rehashing and nostalgia. Now I’m a fan of nostalgia, but I don’t think interesting things are happening in mainstream Mario. Interesting things are certainly happening in the RPGs and some other spinoffs - I’m a big fan of the Paper Mario series - but I resent Nintendo for showering Mario with so much attention, to the detriment of their other IPs and especially the Mario series spinoffs (DK, Yoshi and Wario).
Having said that, I’d heard too much praise of Mario Galaxy to pass on it. I feel sorry for 3D platformers, they’ve kind of died out after the 64 era and I loved the games in that era. Not Super Mario 64 specifically, I feel that Rare’s games were a vast improvement on that formula so I didn’t care much for it. But hey, Mario’s apparently still doing it while Rare isn’t. That’s a topic for another post however.
When I decided I needed to try Galaxy, I looked around and many shops are still charging almost full retail for the damn thing. All too common with Nintendo’s A titles. I did find the Player’s Choice reprint or whatever online (from the UK) for a fraction of the price, however. I wasn’t completely sold though, so I bit the bullet and rented it. Game rentals are very expensive most of the time, and often short, but when they’re a few years old they apparently become weeklies and the price drops. So I have been playing it to a deadline.
First point: I find it addictive. Perhaps it’s the mission structure, and the fact that they are not too hard or long. Or it could be the fact that I have to return it after a week. I generally like to complete (as opposed to finish) games that I own, because I might as well if I’ve paid for it. I obviously won’t have time with this one, but I don’t feel the need to buy it after playing it for almost a week. So this is why I’ve come to accept rentals. As a result I’ve decided that I don’t need to buy it after all, I’d just overhyped it in my head.
But I’m getting ahead of myself (I often do). I’ll say that Galaxy is fun to play. My wife joined in for a little while as the P2 cursor. Not a great multiplayer mode, I must say, P2 just shoots things and collects star bits. But the single player is solid. Despite the years in between, it seems firmly grounded on the structure of SM64. I never played Sunshine, but I get the impression it had a much more developed world. Galaxy then heads back in the opposite direction, Galaxy 2 even more so from what I’ve heard. Chaotic worlds with no thematic cohesion, sometimes even within a “galaxy”. No plot to speak of. Forgettable characters. Maybe it’s the fact that I was raised on Rare and expect well-built worlds married to good gameplay. A lot of the time Nintendo, and particularly Mario games, are about gameplay first, second and third, and to hell with whatever else makes a game. This frustrates me. On reflection I am annoyed. Of course, while I am playing I just switch off I suppose and have fun.
This is an issue of competing game design philosophies, I feel. Like I said, the game is fun while you play, but there is little to make you think about it while not playing. But there is no reason why a game cannot be fun in this way, but also include other compelling aspects. The medium is not just an endorphin delivery mechanism. Anyway, high horse time over. I think I have to get my big ideas out before I can go into more detail.
So detail. Characters. Mario is boring as ever. And as my wife said, he looks shiny. It’s weird. A lot of promo renders have this problem too, they don’t look real. But yeah, boring. I want to play as Luigi, but you have to finish the game first or something and I don’t have time. I’m glad he has a significant part in the game, though. And his first appearance is in a haunted mansion, which is nice. It’s amusing how he gets lost and just gives up and says “Bro, help me!”. The toads are a nice addition, the concept of them journeying to space to help you, then popping up in various worlds is very cool. I just wish the Red Toad had a blue jacket. The strategy guide says that he is “the” Toad, but I really want Nintendo to give characters more individuality and continuity. He should say to you, “Hey Mario, space is pretty weird huh. Even weirder than that time we went to Subcon. I wonder what happened to Wart anyway…” Peach is just as much a non-entity as always. Not worth commenting on, really.
Which brings us to the most significant addition to Mario “continuity”. Considering she’s been in a few sports games since, Rosalina could be considered quasi-important. I thought from all the fanart that she would have, you know, a character. But she’s just a Peach clone with emo hair, and literally all game the only thing she’s said to me is “Get more stars, then we can rescue Peach.” It’s true I haven’t read the storybook yet, but for goodness sake, develop your characters during gameplay. She could not exist and the game itself would be no different, Polari could say useless things to you as well as being the map guy. And she looks way too much like Peach! It doesn’t make sense! Needless to say, I was disappointed, as I was expecting some depth and story to this game and character and it just didn’t happen.
The game, however is pretty fun, as I’ve said. From the persepctive of strictly the jumping and collecting, it is pleasingly similar to SM64 with the locations themselves being even wackier and often building on established series archetypes. The powerups are a bit weird (spring mushroom? seriously?) and not very fun, but the controls are nice. There are two big problems, though. The camera angles and movement can become very disorienting on the smaller or strangely shaped planetoids. And the game is way too linear. Again, this may be the Rare fan in me talking, but SM64’s worlds were also very open, while this feels very restrictive. I suppose it could be seen as a way of applying 2D level flow to a 3D game, and it is nice and easy to just pick a mission and play through it, but it felt a little off.
I’m going to purposefully finish now so i don’t just talk forever, so closing comments. Galaxy is a fun game, but not a satisfying game. I hope I’ve made clear exactly why, but I am glad that I didn’t pay for this game. I am glad though that I got a chance to play it and experience it. I feel that in some ways it’s an interesting extension of the 3D Mario forumla, but in other ways it has not advanced anywhere near enough. I guess my expectations were high. I’d recommend it, but not at the full price most stores are selling it for. Chances are one of your friends own it, if you haven’t played it, borrow it and have a go.
Wife’s comment: It made me dizzy, so I couldn’t watch it.
The first game I’d like to talk about here in detail is Megaman X. Ugh, OK, before that I’d like to get 2 things out of the way. First, the internet and I can never decide whether he has a space in his name. Rockman is always Rockman, but if want to search for Megaman games on an online shop or something I always have to try both spellings. It’s nobody’s fault really, but it’s annoying. At least you can say that all the games in the uberfranchise have that word in them (except Misadventures of Tron Bonne, but I’m not gonna play that. And Rockboard doesn’t contain Rockman but never mind that one) Anyway during this I am going to omit the space because it’s easier that way. The other is that I have really grown to hate the name “Blue Bomber”. It just sounds stupid. It’s a real lame nickname that only barely describes the guy, and I just wince every time I read it. Maybe I’ll get over this eventually. Anyway, this point is kinda irrelevant to the subject at hand, which is X1.
So for the first time, I got some Wii points recently. I had gone through the store and checked it all out, and decided the first thing to try would be X1. In my Super Nintendo days, I liked games like Yoshi’s Island and DKC2. Megaman was not really on my radar. I definitely remember playing some X game on a friend’s console at some point, because I remember the multiple levels of charging. But my first real introduction to a love for the series was with Zero for the Gameboy Advance. Me and my friend bought the first two on a trip to Japan and played them to death. It didn’t matter that we didn’t understand the story, the characters and cutscenes were enough for us to piece something together and the replayability is very high. My first and greatest love in Megaman canon is the Zero series. And really, I haven’t actually played many other games in the series—so what kind of MM fan am I?
A few years ago I got back into gaming in a big way, after having a dry patch through part of high school and uni. Part of this involved researching series I used to be interested in, and getting back into them. Unfortunately, some of the games that are essential playing to some series are hard to come by. But there is plenty for fans to see, especially if they’re catching up. I read many wikis, found tie-in comics, watched some YouTube videos. I also scouted some fansites, and picked up a bunch of RSS feeds. The most dedicated sites are a joy to read, because they are passionate about their series. Two great examples of this, in their own ways, are the DKVine and the Metroid Database. The best fansites also have a podcast, and I found the TMMN Megacast an enjoyable listen on my commutes. Adam, Jesse, Tabby and Andy are highly entertaining hosts with a deep knowledge of Megaman and even I, with no actual game experience, had a great time listening. I think someone can be a fan with no game experience, but I also happen to love gaming. I am slowly working through many games, and as I think Megaman is a very strong series, I picked up a few of his games. I breezed through Megaman 2 (iOS port) on easy mode, and loved the extension of the Zero series that was ZX Advent (DS). The first ZX is next on my list. Which brings me to X (finally).
The Megacast reviewed X1 at one point, saying it was the best X series game, that it was all downhill from there. I also had at this point basically mastered the Zero series, so my expectations for this game were high. Too high, as it turns out. What I experienced was a strange beast, so obviously an extension of the Classic series, but not extending far enough. I could also see the bones of what it could further evolve into (Zero). Apparently somewhere along the way the series got bogged down and bloated, but this game was a little barebones. I had fun with it, but it didn’t come close to matching Zero in my eyes (or my fingers’ muscle memory.)
The first thing I noticed was how different the controls were to GBA Zero. I don’t know why, but I expected it to be closer to that. In fact it’s essentially a Classic game with the Classic formula, with some changes and additions. Even the Maverick intro theme is the exact Robot Master intro theme! Anyway, as I played through the game that same idea kept coming back: This is a halfway point. Too firmly rooted in the Classic series framework, but with interesting advancements. More complex controls and powers. More interesting characters and dialogue scenes. I didn’t enjoy it as much as those who grew up with it seemed to though, because I had seen where this direction was heading: the Zero series, which just seemed better in every way.
Still, I very much appreciated the complexity of the game as compared to what I had experienced of Classic, Megaman 2 (also regarded as the best entry in its series). From what I understand, some elements of this complexity were backported in a way into 7, M&B, and 8, but here I only have the “best games” of the series to compare. And there is no comparison. Perhaps it was the fiddliness of the iPhone controls or the inherent dislike I have for NES fidelity, having grown up a generation later, but X surpasses Classic by miles. If only because it is closer to my Zero ideal. Let me go into a bit of detail.
X1 doesn’t do a great job telling a story. The opening cinematic is very evocative but not expository. Not necessarily a bad thing, but after going from the title screen directly to the intro stage, I was a little lost. At the end of the intro stage, suddenly things start happening. Vile shows up, he demolishes you, Zero comes out of nowhere like a badass and says some stuff. But all the dialogues are a bit out of context. At this point I realise that games from this generation, I should probably read the manual. This helps, but it’s a little threadbare. I’m not sure if this is a localisation thing, but the whole premise was not well established. Par for the course for Megaman in general I think, though so whatever. It’s about gameplay, right?
The gameplay is pretty good, especially after you get the dash boots. It felt so wrong after Zero, not having dashing. I don’t expect the little peeny Classic guy to dash, but X should dash! Luckily I knew to do Chill Penguin’s stage first, and after I got that first capsule things really picked up. Of course, the physics are a little weird, and I really miss the Z-Saber, but hey most of ZX Advent you don’t have a sword so I told myself it was fine. And after a few Mavericks down, I enjoyed the weapon changing mechanic. It took way too long to get charging for them, though, and you end up with a lot you don’t use. I feel like most Classic and X games are probably like this.
The Mavericks were cool, but as a Megaman fan, I feel they are extremely under-characterised. I know a lot of devs only care about gameplay, but c'mon, give them a line before I fight them! I guess I can always read the manga or something. And for that matter, what is Sigma really about? How does he present himself to his henchbots? Are they just infected by an incurable virus or is there an attractive ideology to this guy? I expect this to be developed in later games, but apparently the gameplay starts to suffer down the track as well. Maybe I’ll get to them one day, but this game didn’t exactly convince me playing the whole series was essential, except that I would one day get to control Zero. :D
The different power-ups hidden in the stages was a great idea, well implemented, and I felt good for finding these rewards. I feel like they helped too (well, except for the block breaking helmet). I was frustrated that use of a sub-tank completely drains it, no matter how much energy it restores, though. Ah well. Oh and the hadouken was awesome.
The final boss? Climbing that shaft each time you die was annoying, but at least it let you farm those worm guys for health. The dog was interesting, fun to dodge and shoot. Sigma’s first form was OK, not enough moves and when you learn how to game him fairly easy (just like Harpuia in Zero 1&2). His second form was just plain bad. Only like 2 attacks even damage him, and it’s hard to hit. His attacks aren’t very interesting either, they just do loads of damage. It doesn’t feel dangerous, not within the game. The strength of his attacks made it feel exciting to fight him, but I feel like that’s a little artificial. He just sits there and moves his hands. And any boss where you stand on his hands always seems a little silly. “Hey, I’m just gonna stand on here. Hold still while I shoot your face”.
OK this is getting very long, I do apologise. Congratulations if you read down to here, I’m still learning how to write well really so thanks for reading. Wrap up time.
All in all I think X1 is a good game, I don’t regret the purchase. But I really just view it as backstory to my favourite Megaman series, Zero. As far as that goes, it’s good to see the origins of something you love and I enjoyed it while I played. But I got the hadouken, I saw the 2 or 3 stage variations, I saw the Bubble Bat in Armored Armadillo’s stage. Now that it’s done, I don’t feel I ever need to revisit it again. But I do recommend it for those who are willing to do a bit of outside research to flesh out the world a little more than the game did.
Oh and my wife’s comment: “Looks hard and not fun. Too much of the same! And dying.” Maybe that says something about my skills, eh? Until next time.
