WELL ideally I will be getting a certain amazing game later today. So I've decided I will keep progress here for posterity or something! I will be updating this post continuously throughout the day with my progress and thoughts on the game, and that'll be pretty sweet I think.
First, I'll put down some pre-play thoughts:
*I fully expect Galaxy 2 to be better than Galaxy
*I hope the final boss is tougher and less anticlimactic
*I hope the story makes more sense and ties into Galaxy in some way rather than just being a "reboot"
*Rosalina had better make an appearance, and not just as the Space Witch lady
*I hope there's a third playable character, even if it's just Yoshi solo or something
*I hope there's at least one more new power-up we don't know about yet, like Flying Mario was in Galaxy
*Speaking of Flying Mario, I hope he's in and used more
*I really hope that power-ups like Fire Mario don't have a time limit any more!
*SO PSYCHEDDD
(NOTE: There will be spoilers in my descriptions. You have been WARNED.)
1:11 - Suuupppeeeer Marrriooo Galaxxxyyyyy 2!
1:14 - Interesting opening sequence, but with the classic 1-1 block formation. Niiice.
1:16 - Oh, hey, uh, Bowser. You're looking large today!
1:19 - That whole bit about making more sense than Galaxy isn't looking good. XP
1:29 - It seems like levels are longer and have more coins. I wonder if there are any 100-coin Stars? Also, Mario is still abusive to Piranha Plants.
1:30 - Ooh, a running coin total? I wonder if I get to buy anything...
1:43 - How you know a game is awesome: Banzai Bills on stage 2. HECK YEAH. Also, a use for crawling???
1:57 - Yoshi is amazing. Predictably. Also, I have 33 lives already! XD
2:04 - THIS is what Galaxy was missing: the pwnage of Lakitus.
3:06 - Didn't I own you last game, Bugaboom? Eh, whatever. STOMPITY.
3:09 - First death. On "The Puzzling Picture Block", trying to get the Comet Coin. 70 lives left. XP
3:19 - Dash Yoshi is kind of tough to control! Several deaths ensue.
3:46 - Music is fantastic, btw. Cosmic Cove Galaxy has especially amazing music. Club Nintendo should have the soundtrack as the Platinum prize this year. :D
4:22 - So the STARS are the steroids! Got it. Oh, and Bowser 1 = defeated. To the face.
4:35 - Hit the 99 lives limit. The lives are like NSMBW. SO MANYYYY. I actually hope it doesn't save the lives so that I can collect more later!
4:37 - No hatless Mario with 99 lives? Aww.
4:40 - The remixes in this game are GREAT. :D
4:55 - IT'S WEEGEE TIIIME. Honestly I'm not sure why I would ever play as Mario again.
5:56 - Okay, Dinner time and then homework. I guess that's all for the moment! Overall consensus so far is that it is a LOT of fun, and quite possibly even better than Galaxy! I'll keep this post updated.
8:02 - Playing again. Really the biggest disappointment of Galaxy 2 is that some songs seem to be reused from Galaxy... slackers. >:o Also, lives don't save. This is actually a good thing.
8:03 - OKAY the game just HEAVILY implied Rosalina exists. I'm happy with that!
8:05 - Still can't jump on Bullet Bills. Dang.
8:30 - Y'know, these Wigglers are actually really small if you compare their size to the Goombas (Supermassive Galaxy - Huge Trouble with Big Wigglers).
10: 29 - Okay, I'm officially done for the night. *yawn* Final totals: 55 Stars, on World 5, 26 Comet Coins, 1366 Coins, and 2089 Star Bits.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing Demo - Impressions
So. Because the game has been interesting me for quite some time, I downloaded the demo of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (it's not over!) With Banjo-Kazooie (whew!). Now, I've been sort of debating whether I should get the Wii or 360 version, so one of the main reasons for getting the demo is to see how much shinier the 360 version is and how it controlled. And, of course, I want to know whether Sega Racing (why couldn't they have called it that?) has any chance of beating out Mario Kart for the best wacky kart-based game. I'll give it to you now: based on the demo, Mario Kart is substantially better, big surprise. Now for the rest of my thoughts.
First off, the game controls quite well. The controls are quite responsive for the most part, if the default scheme is a bit weird for Mario Kart fans.The only issue I saw here was that occasionally I would accidentally drift the wrong way, and using the same button for drifting and tricks seems quite haphazard as I'm fairly sure that if you're doing a trick when you hit the ground you get penalized... problematic if you want to immediately drift.
The game is also fairly pretty. The actual models seemed a biiit last generation, but it doesn't really matter in a game like this; as you're speeding along you don't notice any graphical "issues". It certainly looks pretty enough, and the track seemed very nicely made, a pleasure to look at.
But neither of these aspects matter all that much. The gameplay is what everyone wants to know. Is it a Mario Kart clone? Is it better or worse? Is it... fun? Well, it's certainly fun when you're in first. Everything is bright and cheery, the drifting mechanism works well, and you'll likely cruise along at a solid pace for the most part, tossing some items behind you as you drive. Then, however, comes the beginning of the race and if you get caught near the end of the pack. When you're actually competing with opponents, they feel very... stiff. The game has a distinct feel that you're racing alone. The items don't seem to do all that much, and you'd have to REALLY try if you want to knock anyone off the track... it's nothing like the frantic contact sport of Mario Kart. And it's not nearly as fun.
But my biggest issue with SSASRwBJ (JEEZ) is the items. In kart-based game, you'd typically expect items to really help racers who are falling behind, preventing the race from becoming too one-sided. In this game... well, items are practically useless in this regard! Not only do the items not DO all that much (they just spin you a little as opposed to Mario Kart's style of stopping you completely), but you're pretty much getting the EXACT SAME ITEMS no matter what your place is! For a few races I was stuck in the back of the race, in seventh or eighth place, and I pretty much got the same items that someone in third would get: triple boosts (not as effective as in Mario Kart), triple rockets/boxing gloves (the shell equivalents), and an occasional SHIELD. Yes, apparently I need a shield in last place, thanks!
And then there's the fabled All-Star moves... claimed to be able to turn the race on its head. As you might have guessed by now, they don't do that. At ALL. Several times I sat in eighth place, waiting for a good item to save me, while watching the seventh place car get the All-Star. This coupled with the facts that apparently only one person can use an All-Star at a time and that if you DO get the All-Star you're likely so far behind (the pack gets separated FAST) that it will do nothing for you makes the item nigh useless.
As it turns out, Sega Racing is really quite fun on lower difficulties, as you'll likely lead with little to no issue and hit people with a boxing glove occasionally. However, much like Mario Kart Wii, it gets frustrating when you put the difficulty too high, but for completely different reasons. I must say, being stuck in last with no chance of coming back might be even more frustrating than being in first before being bombarded with various items! At least in Mario Kart Wii I knew that if I fell back I could get back up with items.
It's a shame, really, that Sega Racing is plagued by these balance issues, as they really keep it from being anywhere near the caliber of Mario Kart. I'll remain optimistic for the moment and hope that perhaps the final game is more balanced, but until then the demo remains as proof that, no matter how people complain about it, Mario Kart really does know what it's doing for the most part, and is the best kart racer on the market.
First off, the game controls quite well. The controls are quite responsive for the most part, if the default scheme is a bit weird for Mario Kart fans.The only issue I saw here was that occasionally I would accidentally drift the wrong way, and using the same button for drifting and tricks seems quite haphazard as I'm fairly sure that if you're doing a trick when you hit the ground you get penalized... problematic if you want to immediately drift.
The game is also fairly pretty. The actual models seemed a biiit last generation, but it doesn't really matter in a game like this; as you're speeding along you don't notice any graphical "issues". It certainly looks pretty enough, and the track seemed very nicely made, a pleasure to look at.
But neither of these aspects matter all that much. The gameplay is what everyone wants to know. Is it a Mario Kart clone? Is it better or worse? Is it... fun? Well, it's certainly fun when you're in first. Everything is bright and cheery, the drifting mechanism works well, and you'll likely cruise along at a solid pace for the most part, tossing some items behind you as you drive. Then, however, comes the beginning of the race and if you get caught near the end of the pack. When you're actually competing with opponents, they feel very... stiff. The game has a distinct feel that you're racing alone. The items don't seem to do all that much, and you'd have to REALLY try if you want to knock anyone off the track... it's nothing like the frantic contact sport of Mario Kart. And it's not nearly as fun.
But my biggest issue with SSASRwBJ (JEEZ) is the items. In kart-based game, you'd typically expect items to really help racers who are falling behind, preventing the race from becoming too one-sided. In this game... well, items are practically useless in this regard! Not only do the items not DO all that much (they just spin you a little as opposed to Mario Kart's style of stopping you completely), but you're pretty much getting the EXACT SAME ITEMS no matter what your place is! For a few races I was stuck in the back of the race, in seventh or eighth place, and I pretty much got the same items that someone in third would get: triple boosts (not as effective as in Mario Kart), triple rockets/boxing gloves (the shell equivalents), and an occasional SHIELD. Yes, apparently I need a shield in last place, thanks!
And then there's the fabled All-Star moves... claimed to be able to turn the race on its head. As you might have guessed by now, they don't do that. At ALL. Several times I sat in eighth place, waiting for a good item to save me, while watching the seventh place car get the All-Star. This coupled with the facts that apparently only one person can use an All-Star at a time and that if you DO get the All-Star you're likely so far behind (the pack gets separated FAST) that it will do nothing for you makes the item nigh useless.
As it turns out, Sega Racing is really quite fun on lower difficulties, as you'll likely lead with little to no issue and hit people with a boxing glove occasionally. However, much like Mario Kart Wii, it gets frustrating when you put the difficulty too high, but for completely different reasons. I must say, being stuck in last with no chance of coming back might be even more frustrating than being in first before being bombarded with various items! At least in Mario Kart Wii I knew that if I fell back I could get back up with items.
It's a shame, really, that Sega Racing is plagued by these balance issues, as they really keep it from being anywhere near the caliber of Mario Kart. I'll remain optimistic for the moment and hope that perhaps the final game is more balanced, but until then the demo remains as proof that, no matter how people complain about it, Mario Kart really does know what it's doing for the most part, and is the best kart racer on the market.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Top Five Features I Want on Nintendo's Next Console
Let's face it: the Wii, while a good gaming system in its own right, is fairly far behind the rest of the Generation when it comes to features and technical specs. The reason why this is is fairly obvious, and it was a smart decision, but all the same I want the Wii 2 (it won't be called that) to be a MUCH more top-notch system and a top-notch system needs fancy STUFF, right? So here I'm going to list my top five things the Wii 2 (still not called that) should have.
5. HD Graphics
YES, gameplay is much more important than graphics. That's why this is at number five! But the point still stands that prettier looking games look, well, prettier! The proposition of an HD Nintendo system becomes that much more sweet sounding when you realize that Nintendo would do much more with it than Sony of Microsoft. Nice graphics shine best with style, not realism!
4. Backwards Compatibility
The next console being able to play Wii games should be a high priority for sure. It just expands the library and makes the console that much easier to buy! I mean, I almost certainly would've gotten a DSi if it had played GBA games! The Wii 2 (not the name) being able to play Gamecube games would be amazing, too.
3. Achievements
Achievement unlocked: Write a blog post!
...That was so lame. I'm sorry. Anyway, achievements (or trophies or stamps or whatever) are awesome in general. It's just undeniably cool to be able to feel more sense of accomplishment throughout the game! The Wii has some games with these (Wii Sports Resort comes to mind) but the Wii 2 (that is so totally not what it's called) really needs to make them a standard for all games and add a point system, like the other consoles. Maybe with Nintendo's magic, they could even do something like unlock system menu skins by having enough points?!
2. Better online
Gosh. Freaking. DANGIT Nintendo! What is wrong with you here?! Friend codes would be fine as long as they're optional, but please just let people who want to have online friends have their online friends! Do you know what Friend Codes are doing? They're making little kids go to evil places like GameFAQs *shudder* and find "friends". You're making them more vulnerable to online predators, not less! Even outside of Friend Codes, make the online better. Make games like Brawl not suck online. Seriously.
1. Bigger, Better Hard Drive
If there is anything that I find more annoying about the Wii than its general incapability for DLC, I don't know what it is. It's just frustrating when people want to add shiny DLC things and can't because of the Wii's inability to hold them and use them! And I'm sorry, but when SD Cards are your main source of a hard drive, you know there's a problem...
You know what'd be funny? If someone was looking back on this blog post after the next console's release and it was called the Wii 2 (IT WON'T BE).
5. HD Graphics
YES, gameplay is much more important than graphics. That's why this is at number five! But the point still stands that prettier looking games look, well, prettier! The proposition of an HD Nintendo system becomes that much more sweet sounding when you realize that Nintendo would do much more with it than Sony of Microsoft. Nice graphics shine best with style, not realism!
4. Backwards Compatibility
The next console being able to play Wii games should be a high priority for sure. It just expands the library and makes the console that much easier to buy! I mean, I almost certainly would've gotten a DSi if it had played GBA games! The Wii 2 (not the name) being able to play Gamecube games would be amazing, too.
3. Achievements
Achievement unlocked: Write a blog post!
...That was so lame. I'm sorry. Anyway, achievements (or trophies or stamps or whatever) are awesome in general. It's just undeniably cool to be able to feel more sense of accomplishment throughout the game! The Wii has some games with these (Wii Sports Resort comes to mind) but the Wii 2 (that is so totally not what it's called) really needs to make them a standard for all games and add a point system, like the other consoles. Maybe with Nintendo's magic, they could even do something like unlock system menu skins by having enough points?!
2. Better online
Gosh. Freaking. DANGIT Nintendo! What is wrong with you here?! Friend codes would be fine as long as they're optional, but please just let people who want to have online friends have their online friends! Do you know what Friend Codes are doing? They're making little kids go to evil places like GameFAQs *shudder* and find "friends". You're making them more vulnerable to online predators, not less! Even outside of Friend Codes, make the online better. Make games like Brawl not suck online. Seriously.
1. Bigger, Better Hard Drive
If there is anything that I find more annoying about the Wii than its general incapability for DLC, I don't know what it is. It's just frustrating when people want to add shiny DLC things and can't because of the Wii's inability to hold them and use them! And I'm sorry, but when SD Cards are your main source of a hard drive, you know there's a problem...
You know what'd be funny? If someone was looking back on this blog post after the next console's release and it was called the Wii 2 (IT WON'T BE).
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Because Pokemon Cards are SRS BZNS
This post is not to rant, nor is it for me to share with my readers some opinion or another that I have. No. This post is for something much more serious. It is for posterity.
You see, there is this goal I have of collecting a whole bunch of Pokemon cards. Specifically, to collect at least one card for every single one of the creatures, currently at the count of 493, as well as a single card for each of the creatures special Formes, bringing the count to somewhere over 500. Well, I'm posting this to make note of all the cards I don't have, as that is a much smaller list than all the cards that I do. As said, this is mostly because I want to be able to look back at this in the future and see my progress. It's also sort of to brag. So, without further ado, here are all the Pokemon and Formes that I don't have a card of:
#018 - Pidgeot
#031 - Nidoqueen
#034 - Nidoking
#045 - Vileplume
#062 - Poliwrath
#069 - Bellsprout
#071 - Victreebel
#080 - Slowbro
#097 - Hypno
#115 - Kangaskan
#121 - Starmie
#144 - Articuno
#164 - Noctowl
#176 - Togetic
#189 - Jumpluff
#193 - Yanma
#197 - Umbreon
#201 - Unown H
#201 - Unown J
#201 - Unown N
#201 - Unown R
#201 - Unown X
#201 - Unown !
#201 - Unown ?
#217 - Ursaring
#225 - Delibird
#230 - Kingdra
#236 - Tyrogue
#251 - Celebi
#268 - Cascoon
#269 - Dustox
#282 - Gardevoir
#289 - Slaking
#306 - Aggron
#334 - Altaria
#337 - Solrock
#346 - Cradily
#350 - Milotic
#351 - Castform
#351 - Castform Sun Forme
#351 - Castform Rain Forme
#354 - Banette
#369 - Relicanth
#378 - Regice
#379 - Registeel
#386 - Deoxys Defence Forme
#398 - Staraptor
#414 - Mothim
#423 - Gastrodon East Sea
#461 - Weavile
#464 - Rhyperior
#466 - Electivire
#468 - Togekiss
#469 - Yanmega
#475 - Gallade
#477 - Dusknoir
#479 - Rotom Fan Forme
#479 - Rotom Heat Forme
#479 - Rotom Mow Forme
#480 - Uxie
#481 - Mesprit
#482 - Azelf
#484 - Palkia
#487 - Giratina Altered Forme
And that's it! Well, unless you want to count specific Arceus Formes, but I don't. That's actual a longer list than I really expected! Oh well. No big deal, I'll collect as I go! And I believe I notice a blatant pattern... here's a hint: I don't have a lot of the rare Pokemon cards in comparison to commons! Also, I started collecting like this recently, so most of my cards are EX series and newer. So yeah!
I would also like to use this space to say that I officially have two Shiny cards (not Holo, Shiny), both obtained just recently! This is a big thing for me, as one of my biggest wishes in getting the cards was for a Shiny, and now I have two, one of one of my favorite Pokemon! I guess this is some of the bragging part, huh? Well, they're a Shiny Shinx and a Shiny Drifloon and I keep the two of them at the very end of my collection, in a special page just for them. Yay.
You see, there is this goal I have of collecting a whole bunch of Pokemon cards. Specifically, to collect at least one card for every single one of the creatures, currently at the count of 493, as well as a single card for each of the creatures special Formes, bringing the count to somewhere over 500. Well, I'm posting this to make note of all the cards I don't have, as that is a much smaller list than all the cards that I do. As said, this is mostly because I want to be able to look back at this in the future and see my progress. It's also sort of to brag. So, without further ado, here are all the Pokemon and Formes that I don't have a card of:
#018 - Pidgeot
#031 - Nidoqueen
#034 - Nidoking
#045 - Vileplume
#062 - Poliwrath
#069 - Bellsprout
#071 - Victreebel
#080 - Slowbro
#097 - Hypno
#115 - Kangaskan
#121 - Starmie
#144 - Articuno
#164 - Noctowl
#176 - Togetic
#189 - Jumpluff
#193 - Yanma
#197 - Umbreon
#201 - Unown H
#201 - Unown J
#201 - Unown N
#201 - Unown R
#201 - Unown X
#201 - Unown !
#201 - Unown ?
#217 - Ursaring
#225 - Delibird
#230 - Kingdra
#236 - Tyrogue
#251 - Celebi
#268 - Cascoon
#269 - Dustox
#282 - Gardevoir
#289 - Slaking
#306 - Aggron
#334 - Altaria
#337 - Solrock
#346 - Cradily
#350 - Milotic
#351 - Castform
#351 - Castform Sun Forme
#351 - Castform Rain Forme
#354 - Banette
#369 - Relicanth
#378 - Regice
#379 - Registeel
#386 - Deoxys Defence Forme
#398 - Staraptor
#414 - Mothim
#423 - Gastrodon East Sea
#461 - Weavile
#464 - Rhyperior
#466 - Electivire
#468 - Togekiss
#469 - Yanmega
#475 - Gallade
#477 - Dusknoir
#479 - Rotom Fan Forme
#479 - Rotom Heat Forme
#479 - Rotom Mow Forme
#480 - Uxie
#481 - Mesprit
#482 - Azelf
#484 - Palkia
#487 - Giratina Altered Forme
And that's it! Well, unless you want to count specific Arceus Formes, but I don't. That's actual a longer list than I really expected! Oh well. No big deal, I'll collect as I go! And I believe I notice a blatant pattern... here's a hint: I don't have a lot of the rare Pokemon cards in comparison to commons! Also, I started collecting like this recently, so most of my cards are EX series and newer. So yeah!
I would also like to use this space to say that I officially have two Shiny cards (not Holo, Shiny), both obtained just recently! This is a big thing for me, as one of my biggest wishes in getting the cards was for a Shiny, and now I have two, one of one of my favorite Pokemon! I guess this is some of the bragging part, huh? Well, they're a Shiny Shinx and a Shiny Drifloon and I keep the two of them at the very end of my collection, in a special page just for them. Yay.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Mega Man 9 Through 10
Okay, so Mega Man 10 just got announced in the newest Nintendo Power. Absolutely sweet! It sounds great already! But... then I read the internet and it occurred to me that Capcom almost certainly won't improve the problems with Mega Man 9. Why? Because most people are blinded by sheer nostalgia and don't see those problems. I, however, am immune to nostalgia, having not played the Mega Man games until getting them this year in Mega Man Anniversary Collection, and thus... well frankly, I'm worried.
Mega Man 9 is a beautifully presented game. The 8-bit style coupled with the current-age presentation makes it leaps and bounds above any previous Mega Man game in this category. However, its greatest strength and weakness lie in its association with a certain other Mega Man game: Mega Man 2. Mega Man 2 is typically universally praised, and often even considered the classic Mega Man game. Why? Well, mostly because it was so much better than Mega Man 1. Its controls and overall gameplay were refined to being downright amazing, not to mention Mega Man 2's great soundtrack. Simply put, it was a very good game by perspective. But, contrary to popular belief, the Mega Man series didn't stop evolving after that. And therein lies Mega Man 9's problem...
Mega Man 2 had a glaring weakness, and that was artificial difficulty. For example, in Heat Man's stage there is a long disappearing block puzzle, a staple of the series. Very near to the end, there is a situation where a block appears above you mere moments before the block you're standing on disappears. Well, you're almost definitely dead now because you didn't know it was coming, timed your premeditated jump wrong, or tried jumping from the side and failed due to the imprecise physics (they got better in later Mega Man games, meaning the same puzzle in Mega Man 9 is a good amount easier). Does anyone else but me see the problem here?
But, as you may have heard in a certain song, having a certain Item 2 makes it much easier to make it through that level. Item 2 is guarded by Air Man, who also has a bit of a cheap tactic. Now, Air Man isn't a hard Robot Master at all, really, especially if you have the Leaf Shield weapon. But the trick is... well, one of his attacks is literally impossible to dodge. Literally. No joke. Completely impossible! And the rest are quite hard as well. Does... anyone else see the problem?
And finally we come to the infamous Quick Man. His stage was entirely about memorization because the primary hazard were large speedy lasers that kill you instantly if you touch them. You had to memorize where they came out and dodge accordingly, and it was nearly impossible to get through on your first time unless you were incredibly lucky. Am I... really the only one who notices these things and realizes it shows lazy level design?
Mega Man 9 is heavily inspired by Mega Man 2, which makes sense. However, 9 fails to remedy 2's problems and, instead, builds upon them! For example, 9 has a HUGE amount of instant-kill spikes in each and every stage, a hazard classically used only occasionally or in water-based stages. Also, it introduces fast-moving streams of lava that kill you upon contact that are rather reminiscent of Quick Man's lasers. A huge quantity of the game becomes frustrating due to constant and unfair deaths, and Capcom gets away with it. Why? Quite simply because most people playing Mega Man 9 now played previous Mega Man games in the past, when they were, say, five or six. Thus they weren't quiiiite so good at video games and misremember the games as harder than they actually were. Mega Man 9 is easily the hardest of the classic Mega Man series to date, with the possible exception of Mega Man 1, but no one notices that because they remember the past games as harder than they were.
Level design ruined for me what would have otherwise easily been the best Mega Man classic game yet. I very much hope to see Mega Man 10 evolve past 2 and see that Mega Mans 3-6 were just as good, if not better, and to pull away from artificial difficulty. If so, Mega Man 10 could very easily be the best in the series and even pull in brand new fans to play previous Mega Man titles. After all, they're on the Virtual Console!
---
Just for kicks, here's some more things I would like to see in Mega Man 10:
-better menu music
-Roll as playable, and actually competent unlike in Powered Up
-a "Dr. Wily was behind it" that actually feels somewhat surprising (haha, as if)
-less DLC that should've been included in the first place
-Mega Man with his abilities past Mega Man 2 (Mega Buster and slide)
-the other playable characters having very distinct playing styles, like Vile and X in Maverick Hunter X
-maybe some kind of collectibles like the cards in Mega Man & Bass?
-Bass
-Robot Masters from previous games?!
-Co-op
-Proto Man being really cool
-stuff from previous games, like maybe an unlockable Break Man costume??
-another amazing disappearing block puzzle like Spark Man's
Mega Man 9 is a beautifully presented game. The 8-bit style coupled with the current-age presentation makes it leaps and bounds above any previous Mega Man game in this category. However, its greatest strength and weakness lie in its association with a certain other Mega Man game: Mega Man 2. Mega Man 2 is typically universally praised, and often even considered the classic Mega Man game. Why? Well, mostly because it was so much better than Mega Man 1. Its controls and overall gameplay were refined to being downright amazing, not to mention Mega Man 2's great soundtrack. Simply put, it was a very good game by perspective. But, contrary to popular belief, the Mega Man series didn't stop evolving after that. And therein lies Mega Man 9's problem...
Mega Man 2 had a glaring weakness, and that was artificial difficulty. For example, in Heat Man's stage there is a long disappearing block puzzle, a staple of the series. Very near to the end, there is a situation where a block appears above you mere moments before the block you're standing on disappears. Well, you're almost definitely dead now because you didn't know it was coming, timed your premeditated jump wrong, or tried jumping from the side and failed due to the imprecise physics (they got better in later Mega Man games, meaning the same puzzle in Mega Man 9 is a good amount easier). Does anyone else but me see the problem here?
But, as you may have heard in a certain song, having a certain Item 2 makes it much easier to make it through that level. Item 2 is guarded by Air Man, who also has a bit of a cheap tactic. Now, Air Man isn't a hard Robot Master at all, really, especially if you have the Leaf Shield weapon. But the trick is... well, one of his attacks is literally impossible to dodge. Literally. No joke. Completely impossible! And the rest are quite hard as well. Does... anyone else see the problem?
And finally we come to the infamous Quick Man. His stage was entirely about memorization because the primary hazard were large speedy lasers that kill you instantly if you touch them. You had to memorize where they came out and dodge accordingly, and it was nearly impossible to get through on your first time unless you were incredibly lucky. Am I... really the only one who notices these things and realizes it shows lazy level design?
Mega Man 9 is heavily inspired by Mega Man 2, which makes sense. However, 9 fails to remedy 2's problems and, instead, builds upon them! For example, 9 has a HUGE amount of instant-kill spikes in each and every stage, a hazard classically used only occasionally or in water-based stages. Also, it introduces fast-moving streams of lava that kill you upon contact that are rather reminiscent of Quick Man's lasers. A huge quantity of the game becomes frustrating due to constant and unfair deaths, and Capcom gets away with it. Why? Quite simply because most people playing Mega Man 9 now played previous Mega Man games in the past, when they were, say, five or six. Thus they weren't quiiiite so good at video games and misremember the games as harder than they actually were. Mega Man 9 is easily the hardest of the classic Mega Man series to date, with the possible exception of Mega Man 1, but no one notices that because they remember the past games as harder than they were.
Level design ruined for me what would have otherwise easily been the best Mega Man classic game yet. I very much hope to see Mega Man 10 evolve past 2 and see that Mega Mans 3-6 were just as good, if not better, and to pull away from artificial difficulty. If so, Mega Man 10 could very easily be the best in the series and even pull in brand new fans to play previous Mega Man titles. After all, they're on the Virtual Console!
---
Just for kicks, here's some more things I would like to see in Mega Man 10:
-better menu music
-Roll as playable, and actually competent unlike in Powered Up
-a "Dr. Wily was behind it" that actually feels somewhat surprising (haha, as if)
-less DLC that should've been included in the first place
-Mega Man with his abilities past Mega Man 2 (Mega Buster and slide)
-the other playable characters having very distinct playing styles, like Vile and X in Maverick Hunter X
-maybe some kind of collectibles like the cards in Mega Man & Bass?
-Bass
-Robot Masters from previous games?!
-Co-op
-Proto Man being really cool
-stuff from previous games, like maybe an unlockable Break Man costume??
-another amazing disappearing block puzzle like Spark Man's
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Super Smash Bros. - The Greatest Advertisement in Gaming
It's no secret that I absolutely love the Super Smash Bros. series. Ever since I ran across the original N64 game due to a combination of Nintendo Power and the official website, I have completely loved the series and followed it through three platforms. The reason I loved Smash Bros. so much was simple: it was a cartoony, fun crossover game that took characters from all over Nintendo's library and made them fight each other in any way they could. The funny thing is, at the time I really wasn't a big Nintendo fan. Like, at all. Super Smash Bros. was only the third Nintendo franchise I really got into, believe it or not, after Pokemon and the Mario spinoffs (I hadn't even played a Mario platformer yet!). And boy did Super Smash Bros. expand my horizons in video gaming.
Now, before I start explaining, let me make a point. Here's a list of franchises I have played after being inspired by Smash Bros. in some form or another:
Super Mario Bros. (the mainstream games and certain spinoffs)
The Legend of Zelda
Kirby
Metroid
Star Fox
F-Zero
Metal Gear Solid
Kid Icarus
Earthbound/Mother
Mega Man (through Smash Bros. forums!)
Hotel Dusk
The Legendary Starfy
That's a long list of franchises, isn't it? The point becomes obvious when one realizes that quite a few of the above franchises I have gotten very much into and have purchased quite a few games in! That is a lot of money for Nintendo, and even other companies in some cases! And, even if a character doesn't necessarily show up in Smash Bros., I may still run across his series on a message board and be inspired to play their games, prominently shown in the Mega Man series. Heck, I could probably list a few more franchises, such as the Ace Attorney franchise, but I don't want to be here all day.
If you haven't guess yet, my point is that Super Smash Bros. has a, perhaps intended, side-effect of making people want to look into other games to find out more about their favorite fighters and the like. This should be a surprise to no one. This view lends a definitive reason for a character to be playable in Smash Bros., one that has already been used on one occasion before: Roy.
Roy, if you didn't know, technically debuted in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Why? Because Melee came out just a biiiit before his first Fire Emblem game. So the Japanese designers decided to add him to promote his game. In a similar fashion, the two Fire Emblem characters in Melee inspired many gamers to take interest in the series and got it taken out of Japan! That takes some series advertisement skills!
Where am I going with all this? Simply, the next Smash Bros. game needs more new franchises represented through playable characters. Playable characters are the ultimate way to advertise your franchise, because people will inevitably play as them at some point and from there they will take interest. I firmly believe the series hasn't been taking enough advantage of this: Melee only introduced three new franchises through characters, of which only one was still being made games for. Similarly, Brawl introduced six but two of them were "retro", one of them was a Mario spinoff, and two more were third party. Why is Pikmin the only recent Nintendo franchise being playably represented?! It's a waste of potential advertisement they could've given for plenty of other "deserving" franchises, such as Animal Crossing (represented through everything but a character, annoyingly enough), Custom Robo (has an Assist Trophy), Golden Sun (an Assist Trophy), The Legendary Starfy (another Assist Trophy, and was Japan-only), and maybe even the Wii franchise (no real representation).
Basically, my point is this: as great as it is to add characters to existing franchises, the next Super Smash Bros. should instead focus on playably representing new, recent Nintendo franchises that the audience can easily get a hold of, as well as Japan-only franchises that need introducing to foreign audiences. I believe this could do wonders for smaller, failing franchises and pump up already-popular ones as well.
Now, before I start explaining, let me make a point. Here's a list of franchises I have played after being inspired by Smash Bros. in some form or another:
Super Mario Bros. (the mainstream games and certain spinoffs)
The Legend of Zelda
Kirby
Metroid
Star Fox
F-Zero
Metal Gear Solid
Kid Icarus
Earthbound/Mother
Mega Man (through Smash Bros. forums!)
Hotel Dusk
The Legendary Starfy
That's a long list of franchises, isn't it? The point becomes obvious when one realizes that quite a few of the above franchises I have gotten very much into and have purchased quite a few games in! That is a lot of money for Nintendo, and even other companies in some cases! And, even if a character doesn't necessarily show up in Smash Bros., I may still run across his series on a message board and be inspired to play their games, prominently shown in the Mega Man series. Heck, I could probably list a few more franchises, such as the Ace Attorney franchise, but I don't want to be here all day.
If you haven't guess yet, my point is that Super Smash Bros. has a, perhaps intended, side-effect of making people want to look into other games to find out more about their favorite fighters and the like. This should be a surprise to no one. This view lends a definitive reason for a character to be playable in Smash Bros., one that has already been used on one occasion before: Roy.
Roy, if you didn't know, technically debuted in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Why? Because Melee came out just a biiiit before his first Fire Emblem game. So the Japanese designers decided to add him to promote his game. In a similar fashion, the two Fire Emblem characters in Melee inspired many gamers to take interest in the series and got it taken out of Japan! That takes some series advertisement skills!
Where am I going with all this? Simply, the next Smash Bros. game needs more new franchises represented through playable characters. Playable characters are the ultimate way to advertise your franchise, because people will inevitably play as them at some point and from there they will take interest. I firmly believe the series hasn't been taking enough advantage of this: Melee only introduced three new franchises through characters, of which only one was still being made games for. Similarly, Brawl introduced six but two of them were "retro", one of them was a Mario spinoff, and two more were third party. Why is Pikmin the only recent Nintendo franchise being playably represented?! It's a waste of potential advertisement they could've given for plenty of other "deserving" franchises, such as Animal Crossing (represented through everything but a character, annoyingly enough), Custom Robo (has an Assist Trophy), Golden Sun (an Assist Trophy), The Legendary Starfy (another Assist Trophy, and was Japan-only), and maybe even the Wii franchise (no real representation).
Basically, my point is this: as great as it is to add characters to existing franchises, the next Super Smash Bros. should instead focus on playably representing new, recent Nintendo franchises that the audience can easily get a hold of, as well as Japan-only franchises that need introducing to foreign audiences. I believe this could do wonders for smaller, failing franchises and pump up already-popular ones as well.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Other M - After the Storm
Okay okay okay. Metroid: Other M looked absolutely fantastic when it was shown at E3, and it was shown in an incredibly epic way as well! I mean, I know I freaked out when I heard "Any objections, lady?" from Adam! But. BUT. I now worry that Other M might actually not be quite as good as it once seemed. An unfortunate prediction, yes, but it had to be done.
First let me clarify: I am NOT going to complain about the art style or graphics or some nonsense like that. What I am worried about is the gameplay. And even then, I'm not worried that the game won't be fun. I'm SURE it'll be loads of fun! But... I'm worried that it won't be a Metroid game's style of fun. Let me elaborate:
Rewind with me, if you will, to the original NES Metroid. Now, admittedly, I didn't actually get itno the Metroid series until much later, but bear with me. So, first Metroid. You're dropped on an alien planet without any particular celebration, only knowing that you have to stop some aliens from abusing crazy creatures to take over the universe. And at that you go into the depths of the planet without so much as a line of dialogue or hint of another civilized being even existing. What was the key that made that atmosphere so effective? Isolation. And that is exactly what I fear Other M will lack.
Fast forward a bit. We've had Metroid II: Return of Samus and Super Metroid, both adding in more and more story while still leaving you stranded on a planet to figure stuff out for yourself. And then we hit the Metroid slump and the only time we see Samus is in Super Smash Bros. Fast forward a bit more and we have a BRAND NEW Metroid game on the horizon! Finally, we get a new Metroid, and it's called Metroid Prime. Now, Metroid Prime is amazing and easily the best game in the Prime trilogy. Why, you ask? Because it managed to do the following:
A) It tuned down the difficulty of the series just enough for newcomers while still keeping people on their toes,
B) It fit very well into the Metroid timeline (well, except with Ridley) and had a lot of very fun power ups spaced well within the game,
C) It wasn't Echoes, and
D) It fit in a LOT of story and even some "dialogue" through scans while still maintaining the sense of isolation.
Read that last one again. Metroid Prime did it wonderfully. Sure, your ship would occasionally pipe in with some scan data from the area telling you where to go next, but that was IT. No other humans, no "real" dialogue, just you on an alien planet fighting a terrible poison of sorts. And therein lies out problem with the direction Other M seems to be taking. Let's look at two more Metroid games, shall we?
Metroid Fusion came out simultaneously with Prime and was also rather amazing. It took place after Super Metroid and introduced a new threat to the series among other really nifty things. It really had a great story going for it, but therein lies one of the reasons a good amount of people dislike it at least somewhat: it really didn't feel like a Metroid game. Sure, it had Samus in it and it had Metroids in it and it had Space Pirates and the Galactic Federation and power ups and it was the same genre, but it felt less like Metroid than Prime did, despite the fact Prime tried a lot of new things, including a new genre. Why? Because for the most part you were being told outright what to do by your little computer buddy, Adam.
Adam really had two major effects on the game. One was that it made it harder to get stuck and made it easier to add in a compelling plotline. Two was that he basically removed the sense of isolation! You don't have isolation when you're being told what to do all the time, and that brings us into Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Currently the newest game in the series (excluding re-releases), Corruption was very very good. But it was worse than Fusion when it came to isolation!
At the start of the game you go through a well-populated command ship, talking to troopers along the way. Then you meet two other bounty hunters who are going to work alongside you. Later on you lose the other hunters but throughout the entire game you are constantly being fed objectives by another talking computer. And even then there are parts where you end up with the Federation again. See where the problem is? The most memorable part of Corruption to me was at one point where you teleport to the other side of a planet and lose communication with your computer-lady. It was short, but tremendously sweet to feel that seclusion that Corruption so desperately needed.
And finally that brings me to Other M. What have we seen? That it will delve into the story of Samus, that there are definitely new NPCs and that Samus will be beating things up outside of shooting them. I for one am tremendously worried that we will have another case of a quasi-Metroid game that ends up focusing too much on story and not enough on telling it in a way that lets the player really feel like they're stranded on a planet with little hope for survival, like the "classic" Metroids did. I sincerely hope this won't be the case, but at this point I find it hard to believe. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic?
Oh yeah, and while I'm at it I might as well warn you that I may or may not rant later about why Other M will mess stuff up by having Samus talk. I'll leave you with this for now, though, in sympathy for your own sanity!
First let me clarify: I am NOT going to complain about the art style or graphics or some nonsense like that. What I am worried about is the gameplay. And even then, I'm not worried that the game won't be fun. I'm SURE it'll be loads of fun! But... I'm worried that it won't be a Metroid game's style of fun. Let me elaborate:
Rewind with me, if you will, to the original NES Metroid. Now, admittedly, I didn't actually get itno the Metroid series until much later, but bear with me. So, first Metroid. You're dropped on an alien planet without any particular celebration, only knowing that you have to stop some aliens from abusing crazy creatures to take over the universe. And at that you go into the depths of the planet without so much as a line of dialogue or hint of another civilized being even existing. What was the key that made that atmosphere so effective? Isolation. And that is exactly what I fear Other M will lack.
Fast forward a bit. We've had Metroid II: Return of Samus and Super Metroid, both adding in more and more story while still leaving you stranded on a planet to figure stuff out for yourself. And then we hit the Metroid slump and the only time we see Samus is in Super Smash Bros. Fast forward a bit more and we have a BRAND NEW Metroid game on the horizon! Finally, we get a new Metroid, and it's called Metroid Prime. Now, Metroid Prime is amazing and easily the best game in the Prime trilogy. Why, you ask? Because it managed to do the following:
A) It tuned down the difficulty of the series just enough for newcomers while still keeping people on their toes,
B) It fit very well into the Metroid timeline (well, except with Ridley) and had a lot of very fun power ups spaced well within the game,
C) It wasn't Echoes, and
D) It fit in a LOT of story and even some "dialogue" through scans while still maintaining the sense of isolation.
Read that last one again. Metroid Prime did it wonderfully. Sure, your ship would occasionally pipe in with some scan data from the area telling you where to go next, but that was IT. No other humans, no "real" dialogue, just you on an alien planet fighting a terrible poison of sorts. And therein lies out problem with the direction Other M seems to be taking. Let's look at two more Metroid games, shall we?
Metroid Fusion came out simultaneously with Prime and was also rather amazing. It took place after Super Metroid and introduced a new threat to the series among other really nifty things. It really had a great story going for it, but therein lies one of the reasons a good amount of people dislike it at least somewhat: it really didn't feel like a Metroid game. Sure, it had Samus in it and it had Metroids in it and it had Space Pirates and the Galactic Federation and power ups and it was the same genre, but it felt less like Metroid than Prime did, despite the fact Prime tried a lot of new things, including a new genre. Why? Because for the most part you were being told outright what to do by your little computer buddy, Adam.
Adam really had two major effects on the game. One was that it made it harder to get stuck and made it easier to add in a compelling plotline. Two was that he basically removed the sense of isolation! You don't have isolation when you're being told what to do all the time, and that brings us into Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Currently the newest game in the series (excluding re-releases), Corruption was very very good. But it was worse than Fusion when it came to isolation!
At the start of the game you go through a well-populated command ship, talking to troopers along the way. Then you meet two other bounty hunters who are going to work alongside you. Later on you lose the other hunters but throughout the entire game you are constantly being fed objectives by another talking computer. And even then there are parts where you end up with the Federation again. See where the problem is? The most memorable part of Corruption to me was at one point where you teleport to the other side of a planet and lose communication with your computer-lady. It was short, but tremendously sweet to feel that seclusion that Corruption so desperately needed.
And finally that brings me to Other M. What have we seen? That it will delve into the story of Samus, that there are definitely new NPCs and that Samus will be beating things up outside of shooting them. I for one am tremendously worried that we will have another case of a quasi-Metroid game that ends up focusing too much on story and not enough on telling it in a way that lets the player really feel like they're stranded on a planet with little hope for survival, like the "classic" Metroids did. I sincerely hope this won't be the case, but at this point I find it hard to believe. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic?
Oh yeah, and while I'm at it I might as well warn you that I may or may not rant later about why Other M will mess stuff up by having Samus talk. I'll leave you with this for now, though, in sympathy for your own sanity!
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