| Original message (9145 Views )
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| Pollyanna 3575th Post
  
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
     
     
|  "Re(2):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Sat 16 Nov 02:26:  
EDIT:
I picked up The WiiU Battery Pack which is fairly reasonably priced and also available in Europe. Why they don't have it in America is beyond me, but whatever! Regions don't rule me! You can't region lock love batteries, Nintendo. I would make a jab about how it's perfect for "extended WiiU play sessions" (as if such a thing exists), but the new SMB is coming out, so I would look like a fool.
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Also, I want to make sure there is no funny business like that Vita TV surprise (it's impossible to use a non-Japanese account on Vita TV). My main account is Japanese so I want to make sure I can use it rightaway / not have it gimped (or blocked) because I first entered a European account.
This is actually one of the reasons I ordered a Vita TV. Switching accounts is annoying and the increasing prevelancy of DLC makes it a real frustration. Now, the Vita TV can be my "Japanese account machine." Although I question the necessity of a US Vita account in the coming months, the Vita TV will probably see more play anyway.
Of course, having everything on one account is ideal, but I already threw that out the window anyway and it's not worth paying import prices on DLC for games that release domestically.
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I'll have both consoles at some point anyway so let's get started with the one that actually has a few identifiable exclusives. I am expecting to spend most of my time making fun of Killer Instinct and making excuses for Crimson Dragon.
This is sound logic and I have to admit that the XB1 launch lineup has a lot more games I'm at least interested in trying. I've flip-flopped on if I wanted to preorder one or not, but since I'm not exactly hurting for games and I'm not convinced that its lineup will continue to appeal to me, I'm going to practice patience for once in my life. I've found myself saying "Oh God, the last thing I need are more games!" lately, so maybe the PS4 is perfect for me.
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I'm still not sold that I need to abandon our perfectly good current generation of consoles for something new.
Such a strong word and I'm not sure an appropriate one! Did your parents have a second child and say "Sorry Burning Ranger (your real name, I'm sure), we're throwing you to the curb!"
Then again, I don't have much room to talk, since I just got done talking about putting the 360 away to make room on the shelf for the PS4. No way in hell I'm putting the PS3 away, though.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
[this message was edited by Pollyanna on Sat 16 Nov 02:40] |
| karasu99 1247th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(3):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Sat 16 Nov 04:39
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Then again, I don't have much room to talk, since I just got done talking about putting the 360 away to make room on the shelf for the PS4. No way in hell I'm putting the PS3 away, though.
It's funny but I just that exact same thing. I haven't even turned on my X360 in more than a year, so there's no reason to keep it around. I can set it up to play... well, something, I guess... if I even need to.
I knew that eventually I would end up with a PS4, so I just took the plunge. In all these years of new console frenzy, it's the first one I've actually had the sense (and the money) to preorder super early, ensuring I'll get one on launch day (I did camp out for the Wii though-- and decided I'll never do that again!). I use my PS3 for all kinds of TV and movie viewing, so it will be nice to have a new machine that's presumably faster to do all that, in addition to any games that might be interesting.
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Injustice
I've been troubled by the lack of info on this version too. News sources that are gushing over PS4 games have hardly mentioned it, and the trailer they released doesn't much help. Is it prettier than the PS3 version? Who knows! All I know is that I held back on getting the PS3 version since the aesthetic seemed pretty off, but I figure it will be a nice distraction and something I can play for a few minutes here and there when taking a break from other games.
I can't remember the last time I thought a system's launch games were any good-- certainly the PS3's launch lineup had problems, if I recall correctly. Maybe... the Dreamcast?
www.secret-arts.com
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| Burning Ranger 1754th Post
Silver Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
| "Re(5):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Sat 16 Nov 05:36
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I think we kind of forget how few launch titles some old consoles had. The SNES launched with F-Zero and SMW! Now, the quality of those two titles was extremely high, but it was just two titles. The Saturn launched with like 5 games in the US, and even though 4 of those 5 I can remember as being good to great (DAYTOOOOOOOOOOOOOONA), it was still only 5 games.
I still think Excite Truck was an awesome launch (haha?) title for the Wii.
I also think that it seemed like many consoles had tons of games because getting the console at launch was simply not an option for me until the last few years, so I was never in a position to criticize the launch lineup.
But it's not about launch titles. Look at the evolution of consoles throughout history. The SNES was a big leap forward from the NES. The Dreamcast was a big step up from the existing consoles of the time (Playstation, N64) [Disclosure: the DC was the system I purchased at launch]. The PS2 was a big step up from the PS, and the PS3 was a leap forward from the PS2 in terms of capability and game quailty.
From my perspective, the PS4 doesn't offer much more than the PS3. Graphics don't look much better to me, and it's seems like more of the same when it comes to games. Honestly, what's really new? A touch pad, some social features??? There's nothing earth shattering here... And I feel the same about the Xbox One. Nothing new, nothing revolutionary is gained from both systems.
This new generation of consoles--to me--seems unwarranted and in my opinion, doesn't take any chances. It seems like just more of the same.
Now I realize that in time, there may be a game or something else that comes along that may make me change my mind. Until then, I'm simply not impressed with "the next generation..."
The only silver lining is that the last generation will still have some games worth playing (BB ChronoFantasma, Ultra SFIV, MGSV:GZ)... that is unless, the powers that be decide that the last generation doesn't matter anymore and force these games to be exclusive to next gen...
So much to do so little time...
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| Gojira 2993th Post
PSN: Gojira_X
XBL: Gojiraaa
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Sat 16 Nov 07:26:
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From my perspective, the PS4 doesn't offer much more than the PS3. Graphics don't look much better to me, and it's seems like more of the same when it comes to games. Honestly, what's really new? A touch pad, some social features??? There's nothing earth shattering here... And I feel the same about the Xbox One. Nothing new, nothing revolutionary is gained from both systems.
We're just approaching that point where technology is going past human perception.
I think the HD generation of consoles got incredibly lucky when televisions changed. When you think about what upgrades to graphics are doing, you're really thinking in terms of microscopic scale now. In a decade that scale is going to be at the atomic level. Unfortunately we are (most of us) human; we only have mortal eyes. We can barely spot a single pixel of a 1080p display, and that is going to seriously hamper our ability to judge how much better a game can look before those "AAA" visual upgrades become something innocuous.
I've said it for years, I'll say it again: the next step in console evolution is going to be towards gimmicks, and it won't be pretty. This "new" generation will most likely be a generation that stays for a long, long time. Beyond that it'll be all stuff like, say, Oculus Rift.
[this message was edited by Gojira on Sat 16 Nov 07:27] |
| Pollyanna 3576th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Tue 19 Nov 03:15
In the event that anyone knows this, I'll ask: Is it possible to transfer save files from one PSN account to another on Vita? Like, I want to transfer my Vita saves for Japanese games onto my memory card for my Japanese account that I'll be using with the Vita TV.
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In terms of pure objective success, having both Twilight Princess and Wii Sports at launch was an incredible combo for Wii.
Twilight Princess was such a cheat, seeing as it was developed for their previous console, but having 60 hours of Zelda to play on day one was pretty compelling, even from a non-Zelda fan such as myself.
The PS4 launch, has a few big name games that were developed for other platforms. Having not launched in Japan yet, there was pretty much no way it was going to be an exciting launch for me, but it is valuable in that it gives players something meaty to play with, I guess.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| karasu99 1252th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(9):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Wed 20 Nov 03:13
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The PS4 launch, has a few big name games that were developed for other platforms. Having not launched in Japan yet, there was pretty much no way it was going to be an exciting launch for me, but it is valuable in that it gives players something meaty to play with, I guess.
I can't claim to have been excited by the launch titles, but I was very much excited about the console itself, and after a weekend with it, I'm still pretty excited. I appreciate the ease with which you can post screenshots and video or steam from it, I like how fast and quiet it is, and I really love how it can handle so many discrete moving elements in games that are otherwise a little lackluster, like Knack and Resogun. I'm anxiously awaiting some better games though, which I know are coming.
The drawback of getting a launch console these days though is that you encounter those little hiccups (in my case, the console freezing while in the Amazon Video app, the internet connection disappearing suddenly, and not coming back until reboot, and the sound dropping out entirely, again only coming back on full shutdown and startup). I think if anything this has only gotten worse since the PS3's launch, since the system was damn well going to ship on 11/15, whether bugs were resolved on not-- they can just patch it all after the fact, right? I'm not complaining, just observing how things seem to be going.
Oh, and Polly: I think there's very little difference between the PS3 and PS4 versions of Injustice. I'm sure the graphics are a little bit better but not in any appreciable way.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3577th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(10):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editi" , posted Wed 20 Nov 03:52
My PS4 got lost in the mail! Also, Amazon delayed my Mario 3D World shipment by a week. I guess that means they sold out, which is a good sign.
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If you have PS+, then just upload all your normal Vita game saves to the cloud then download it using the Vita TV.
If not, then backup your Vita to PC then restore from PC to Vita TV.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work, because as Iggy was saying, I was trying to transfer Pollyanna to "Pollyanno." Thank you anyway, though.
I read that in the past you could transfer save files (it would lock you out of trophies), just not anything else, but they changed the way switching accounts on Vita works. I'd transferred saves to other PS3s in the past and PS+ advertises this feature, so my plan was to upload my Vita saves to the cloud, DL them on my PS3, then put them onto the Vita, but it blocks you at every possible point in that venture. Oh well, this is only as big of an inconvenience as I allow it to be.
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The drawback of getting a launch console these days though is that you encounter those little hiccups (in my case, the console freezing while in the Amazon Video app, the internet connection disappearing suddenly, and not coming back until reboot, and the sound dropping out entirely, again only coming back on full shutdown and startup).
These are real problems! Still, as it seems that they'll be patching in a significant number of advertised system features later, it's probably safe to bet that short of problems like overheating, everything will be fixed.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| Grave 1491th Post
PSN: Drakee
XBL: eccothedolphin
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editio" , posted Wed 20 Nov 11:17
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Going to snag the DS4 controller for my PC. Console can wait.
I did this and I highly recommend it. Can't believe I'm saying this but: Sony totally nailed it. DS2 and DS3 were fine because I was used to the shape but every change they've made here is meaningful. Well, I can't judge the touchpad but I don't really care. Better triggers, better d-pad, better sticks, better grip. Worked instantly over USB with Win8.1 and once I paired it via bluetooth it worked perfectly wirelessly as well. Just a heads-up: doesn't include a micro USB cable, so snag one if you need an extra.
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I've been troubled by the lack of info on this version too. News sources that are gushing over PS4 games have hardly mentioned it, and the trailer they released doesn't much help. Is it prettier than the PS3 version? Who knows! All I know is that I held back on getting the PS3 version since the aesthetic seemed pretty off, but I figure it will be a nice distraction and something I can play for a few minutes here and there when taking a break from other games.
Ha ha! I was wondering this too. And having played the PS4 version only after playing the PS3 demo: I have no idea! I asked the guy who I was playing it with, who happens to run my local game shop... and he had no idea either!
Still, uh, it was pretty fun. I think I might like to play more of it?
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I still think Excite Truck was an awesome launch (haha?) title for the Wii.
Best game on the system. Still. God that game rules with the proper custom soundtrack.
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| Maese 717th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(2):Re(10):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles" , posted Wed 20 Nov 11:39
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History has also taught me that the best time to buy a console is when the first model is in it's last production run; but that's just personal experience talking.
Pretty much this.
Granted, my main gripe is that I still see no next-gen games that can sell me the system. I'm sure they'll eventually pop up, but as of today, there isn't any compelling reason to pick up a PS4, let alone an XBone. But the thing is, rather than picking up a console on launch day and having to deal with a lot potential issues (lack of games, annoying bugs, design flaws... you name it), I personally prefer waiting for a while just to be on the safe side. This way you are gonna get a (possibly) better product for less money, and with better games to play with. I don't mean to criticize early adopters, though. You prefer having a new machine early on, more power to you. I still have PSX games from circa 1997 on my "to play" list, so what do I know.
And now, in totally unrelated news, Ueda talks about Last Guardian and basically doesn't say anything at all.
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| karasu99 1253th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
|  "Re(1):New consoles, new problems" , posted Thu 21 Nov 02:43
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http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-xbox-one-hardware-test
It takes more than a minute for Xbox One to boot up from power on (18 seconds from standby). It takes 20 minutes to finish the mandatory disc installation of any game. This generation will teach us about patience.
At least the console is silent. By comparison, the PS4 screams at a whopping 747ontherunwayish 78 decibels when running games. The fan alone would probably wake up my flatmate even without the TV sound and my emotional responses to Nathan Drake's bullshit approach to shooting bullet-sponge pirates.
Wow, I hadn't even noticed the fan in my PS4. At the very least it's quiet compared to the PS3. I'm happy for the noisy fan though if it prevents overheating, especially given that the power supply is internal now.
Something I've been interested to see about these launches is the what availability of consoles is in the weeks and months following their release. Given that the PS2 and PS3 were both really hard to come by (short of online scalpers) for months after they came out, I half expected the PS4 to follow suit. It looks like Sony at least expects to be able to meet demand up to the holidays. I always suspected (with absolutely no evidence) that the scarcity of the 2 and 3 were a delicately balanced play at drumming up excitement over the newness and coolness of the consoles, so it's refreshing to see that even the eBay scalpers are ONLY charging around $100-$200 more than list price, on average (although awwww, it brings back such nostalgia to see the random listings in excess of $10,000 just in case someone doesn't notice that they can buy it for $500).
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3579th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):New consoles, new problems" , posted Thu 21 Nov 18:58
Got my Vita TV in and signed up for the Japanese PSN's free 15 day PS+ Trial. This is worth checking out without a Vita TV of course, but it gave me a good opportunity to test the system on a bunch of different titles.
Anyway, the Japanese PSN has a RICH RICH selection of PS1 games, if you didn't know and PS+ gives you access to an obscene number of them. If you'd like to take a trip down memory lane or try out some titles you may have missed, this is the time! It took me quite a while just to get through the list.
As for the Vita TV itself, although the lack of touch controls makes some Vita games bothersome to play, it's a great way to play PSP games (full screen!) and PS1 classics. I was a bit afraid that the upscaling would look bad, but I was pleasantly surprised. Anyway, the system does everything promised conveniently and well, especially considering the extremely low price. For the right consumer, I think it's a good buy.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| karasu99 1256th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(5):PSN hacked? / FF13-3LR ending" , posted Sat 23 Nov 14:06
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But I do not love VII.
Maou, as always you say the things I don't have the guts to say. Sorry VII fans, it's the game that made me begin to dislike the series.
So, I've been holding out on getting Shin Sangoku Musou 7 until its inevitable US release for PS4. But in the meantime, those fortunate folks in Japan can regain precious health in real life with a Spicy Mabo Tofu Nikuman at Lawson! I can see it being either amazing or terrible, but nowhere in between. Professor, Maese, anybody, we need to know, can you investigate?
www.secret-arts.com
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| karasu99 1257th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(7):PSN hacked? / FF13-3LR ending" , posted Sun 24 Nov 00:51
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Mario 3D World is as fun as it looks. A monumental accomplishment.
After the mediocrity of NSMBU, I was really waiting for this, and I haven't been disappointed. The first Ghost House is perfect! It's exactly how a Ghost House should be, from the asshole ghosts to the mirrors to the music. And that's just the start! I played so long last night that my gamepad ran out of battery. Twice. It's an absolute stroke of genius.
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Did anyone here try Mario and Luigi: Dream Team? It's adorable, with fantastic sprite work. Really lovely...kind of reminds me of Xenogears (in appearance). The use of 3D is great as is the (Yoko Shimomura) soundtrack. It's chopped up into delightful little chunks that are engaging, though not terribly challenging. Although it rarely fails to charm, it feels a bit unexciting. Games can be charming and boring, right? I thought Okami was like that...
I've been debating whether or not to mention this game, but in short I bought it on a whim (on sale) after being unexpectedly charmed by the demo. It's charming, the writing is excellent, the creativity is remarkable, and somehow everything just ends up perfect. I'm not usually an RPG guy so this was all a bit of a surprise, and it just keeps on surprising me at how good it is. Has anyone played the rest of the series? Once I'm done with it and Zelda I'm considering trying Bowser's Inside Story if it's any good.
Oh also-- I think it feels boring because it's rarely a challenge. I mean none of it. I had trouble with one boss until I figured out the trick. That's it. But... but... but... it's got the viruses from Dr Mario as enemies! How can it not be great?
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Yeahhhhh, when they announced this I was like "Well, poop. Not playing this on PS3 anymore." I like thegame enough to buy it twice, but not enough to waste my time unlocking every little thing twice.
My feelings exactly. I hemmed and hawed over buying it for PS3 and then didn't since I had so recently played 6, but at this point I suspect I'll just wait.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3582th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(1):3DWoooooooow" , posted Sun 24 Nov 04:31:
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I just completed World 4. Who do you maiiiiin?
Luigi all the way. He's my favorite character and I thought when I played with friends, it would be a disaster if anyone else tried to use him. He also provides a convenient excuse for failure. You can yell "Damn it, Luigi!" and everyone will understand. And yet, so many times I've found myself thinking "how would I have done that if I wasn't using Luigi!?"
Peach is indeed too adorable and it's great to see her with so many different animations (spinning, handstands) and costumes for once. I like her Tanuki outfit the best. Giant poofy tanuki bloomers! Too cute! I assume you get the other character (I won't spoil it in case some people haven't seen the trailer) after finishing the game? Hopefully not after getting all the stars, as that wouldn't leave me much to do with them. I really love being able to use different characters, though, specially since I sort of dislike Mario.
I have this deep reluctance to say that the game is better than Galaxy 2, but it's not like I'm forced to pick favorites, I suppose.
This is probably a silly thing to say, but if they made a Super Wario Land download that was like NSLU and added a Wario/Waluigi Peach and Toad equivalent, I would buy it yesterday for $200.
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The first Ghost House is perfect! It's exactly how a Ghost House should be, from the asshole ghosts to the mirrors to the music.
Yeah, I loooooved the music in the Ghost House. The first boss level theme as well as the Bowser car theme are great, too. I'm not personally fond of a lot of the songs, but the soundtrack as a whole is wonderfully done, whether it tickles my fancy in particular or not.
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Dream Team
I forgot to mention, Mario is actually cute in this game to me. Normally I find him totally gross and weird.
EDIT
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After the mediocrity of NSMBU, I was really waiting for this, and I haven't been disappointed.
I was debating if I wanted to trash talk NSMB, but you've given me a great opportunity here. I find it impossible to enjoy NSMB single player, whereas 3DW would be great even without multiplayer. People still seem to like NSMB for some reason, but I feel like the next game has really got to step it up after this. I want to say "NSMB can go to hell," but I guess I'd be happier if it just got better, since I'm likely to buy the games to play with friends anyway.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
[this message was edited by Pollyanna on Sun 24 Nov 04:52] |
| karasu99 1258th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):3DWoooooooow" , posted Sun 24 Nov 06:06
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Yeah, I loooooved the music in the Ghost House. The first boss level theme as well as the Bowser car theme are great, too. I'm not personally fond of a lot of the songs, but the soundtrack as a whole is wonderfully done, whether it tickles my fancy in particular or not.
I'm rarely thrilled with music in games, but this OST I might actually buy. And as for the Ghost House, I honestly think my opinion of a Mario game is directly correlated with how well they handle Ghost Houses.
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I forgot to mention, Mario is actually cute in this game to me. Normally I find him totally gross and weird.
Hahaha, yes I often wonder if someone could get away with making a game that has a Mario-ish character who's literally portrayed as this gross weirdo. I never get how anyone could find him cute or compelling. Wario is more compelling than Mario is, somehow. (also, regarding New Super Wario Bros, I was kind of hoping that the secret character would be Wario instead of you-know-who. But after New Super Luigi Bros I wouldn't be surprised if he's added in an expansion)
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I was debating if I wanted to trash talk NSMB, but you've given me a great opportunity here. I find it impossible to enjoy NSMB single player, whereas 3DW would be great even without multiplayer. People still seem to like NSMB for some reason, but I feel like the next game has really got to step it up after this. I want to say "NSMB can go to hell," but I guess I'd be happier if it just got better, since I'm likely to buy the games to play with friends anyway.
It's not that I hate NSMB-- I played it to death and I think it was a nicely done game. It's just that a Mario game has to wow me these days. It's not good enough to be simply adequate, which is what NSMBU is. And no amount of "OMGLOLWTF RACCOON SUIT" (or whatever) is enough to make it better. Galaxy 1 and 2 were phenomenal, so I had high hopes for 3d World, and... just wow. It's like they saved up all the innovation and playfulness for 3d World. And the cat suit does exactly what a new suit should do in one of these games-- provide new ways to approach the game, not just a new skin on a suit that lets you hover or fly, but a whole new move set.
Anybody else get the new Zelda? I did, but I can't play it till I finish Dream Team.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Maese 718th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(5):PSN hacked? / FF13-3LR ending" , posted Mon 25 Nov 10:40
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I'm surprised they basically copypasta'd the lifestream from FF7's ending. Why isn't that game getting a remake again, SE?
...because people would realize that it just doesn't have the legs to stand on outside of some bizarre nostaglia?
Perhaps the same could be said of all religions RPGs... But enough talk! Have at you!
No, seriously, as much as I love FFVII, actually you have a point there. I played VII in its day and it absolutely blasted my mind, but probably because it was my first (maybe second?) RPG. Some years later I played VI and then I saw the light.
I do think, however, that VII really deserves some sort of remake, homage or whatever, if only to do some justice to the game that made Japanese RPGs "big" on the western world. I mean, VII has aged really bad. You can still play the SNES original ones without much trouble, and I'd say VIII and IX can hold their own pretty well even to this day. But VII looks plain hideous, the designs look terribly weird and, worst of all, every western language version is such a mess that there is no friggin' way to get what the hell is going on with the story. Maybe the original Japanese is not much better, for all I know. So, if any game on the series is in any need of a remake, that's VII for sure.
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Musou nikuman
Woah, thanks for pointing this out, Karasu! Don't worry, I will happily oblige and write an extensive report on this!
And regarding Bowser's Inside Story, well... I have not played it myself, since I prefer my Marios to stick to platforming and nothing else. But for what I've heard from people that have had an extensive contact wit the game, it's petty much on the same alley as Dream Team. So probably it will be worth giving it a try if you happen to find it out on the discount bin of your local game store!
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| Pollyanna 3584th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):3DWoooooooow" , posted Thu 28 Nov 04:23:
A Lightning Returns demo is out on the Japanese PSN for those curious. (I still recommend getting in on the free PS+ trial while you're there!)
I've been disdainful to the point of being grossed out by most of what I've seen from the game, but I can't deny that I enjoyed the battle system. With Square providing a dual-language option on the English version, I might be persuaded to pick it up when it comes out in America. It's not like I can really be disappointed at this point, right?
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I may have been hasty in calling NSMBU medicare, but here is how I'll describe it: Mario games have been so good in the past (SMW, Mario 64, Galaxy 2, and now 3d World) that I feel like they have a ridiculously high bar to clear.
Yes. I agree with Chaz that it's the best in the series, but it's a series that fails to live up to my expectations of the (non sports/party) Mario franchise. The fantastic sales of the DS version always upset me, because I think "Is this what people want from Mario? This is what they think is best?" I mean...I know the platform and timing are why it was so successful, but still, I worry.
EDIT: Actually, apples to apples, on the same consoles, looking at the success of the comparatively bland NSMB games vs the (in my opinion) outstanding 3D Mario games, my answer is tragically clear.
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Persona stuff
-I don't need a Persona dancing game, but the promise of dancing Kanji might convince me otherwise.
-Speaking of Kanji, I didn't realize the repercussions of having shadow characters in Arena until I heard Shadow Kanji's voice. I wonder if he'll be popular.
-If they're going to put the P3 characters in high school uniforms along with the P4 ones in PQ, they can at least add some SMT characters or Persona 1/2 ones.
-Because it's called "Etrian Odyssey" over here, people don't seem to realize how closely related PQ is to the series.
-Persona 5 has broken Atlus' excellent record of not announcing a game a million years before it comes out
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
[this message was edited by Pollyanna on Thu 28 Nov 08:52] |
| Pollyanna 3585th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):3DWoooooooow" , posted Fri 29 Nov 08:23
quote:
I'm enjoying playing old JP PS1 games I missed out on, especially Gunner's Heaven. Not enough Contra/Metal Slug clones in the world these days.
UGH. That game was so harrdddd! Ah, but the memories! It was my 2nd PS1 game, after Toshinden and before Tekken. I got an import PS1 when it launched because my dad got a nice bonus that year and I got to be spoiled rotten. I remember writing on the back page of one of my school notebooks "So, do you have a Playstation yet? How about a Neo-Geo CD?"
Okay, memory lane aside, I got Gunner's Heaven because I loved Gunstar Heroes, but I never had much patience for the game, so I can't remember how good it was or wasn't...just that I wasn't very good at it.
quote:
However, it is sad to note that, despite of all that platforming greatness, SM3DW is scoring the poorest sales figures for a Mario game in the last years. Mankind is doomed for sure.
Although I didn't expect big numbers for 3D World, since the WiiU install base is so low, as I was saying before, the numbers for 3D Marios on a whole are a bit sobering. More disappointing is how few WiiU systems it moved, making me wonder if Nintendo's plan of eventually turning people around with a strong lineup will work or not. It certainly turned things around for the 3DS, but we'll see after Mario Kart and Smash Bros...and (someday) Zelda on WiiU.
Although I've never been that big on Nintendo in particular, I'm finding myself in a position that must've been similar to what fans went through during the N64-GC era, where Nintendo's home consoles weren't hugely prominent. I had friends that were happy to buy the systems because they couldn't afford to miss Nintendo first party games and were grateful that portable sales/Pokemon allowed Nintendo to keep making exceptional console titles. Thinking of it that way, I can make my peace with NSMB, so long as they keep making these amazing 3D Marios.
By the same token, friends that say "I'm thinking about getting a WiiU for some reason" are now told "well, if you have to get the Nintendo titles, 3D World is worth it" instead of simply being admonished by me.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| Maou 2567th Post
PSN: zonepharaoh
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):3DWoooooooow" , posted Mon 2 Dec 06:30:
quote:
Nintendo is nothing if not resilient... and even during lean times, they can knock out some amazing games.
Yeah, I feel like their software creators (well, Miyamoto, mostly) are just so impressive that they are really succeeding in spite of the hardware these days. Maybe it's their penance after the N64 being literally created to run Mario 64 at the expense of all other games (right down to the idiotic controller, and probably the suicidal plan to use cartridges instead of CD's), or maybe it's a sign that these underpowered, goofy machines are no roadblock to the true geniuses. That said, I wonder what would happen if they made a technologically mighty console again...remember when the Super Famicom was the most impressive item on the market for the price?
It's probably a sad sign that I was reading this thread and thinking "man, I should get Mario 3D World" and then suddenly groaning (almost out loud), "Oh. It's on the WiiU?"
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Mon 2 Dec 06:32] |
| mbisonhatclub 596th Post
PSN: hadoolket
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
New Red Carpet Member
| "Re(2):Re(10):3DWoooooooow" , posted Mon 2 Dec 16:12
I just did get a WiiU (last Friday night), for about 50 dollars more than I was initially willing to spend on it, but Super Mario 3D World is so fun that I don't really regret the extra 50. And already, I'm up to about 275 stars. Also, Rosalina without powerups is very strong, despite some whiners saying otherwise, or people complaining about how she loses her advantage of double jump on powerup, where she essentially becomes a higher jumping non-floating Peach. Unlike them, though, I'm actually ok with the tradeoff.
join the m.bison hat club today
i'm not just the president i'm also a client
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| chazumaru 1127th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(64):3DWoooooooow" , posted Tue 3 Dec 09:31:
I finally unlocked the ★★★★ save file. That one requires 380 stars + 80 stamps.
Getting the final [five] stamps is also proving a bit less time consuming than I initially expected, especially when [I remember to summon a second player right next to the pole and complete the level with two characters for the price of a single run]. The last few levels will prove difficult, though. I am not sure I can complete [Championship Run] two more times without getting a heart attack...
quote:
Also, Rosalina without powerups is very strong, despite some whiners saying otherwise
Ros is completely overpowered compared to other characters. Her extra attack is not only a free hit with a rather comfortable hitzone, it acts as a much more flexible jump delayer than Peach's float. It's true that shes loses many advantages when you use costumes but the easy solution is: don't upgrade her. She doesn't need it. She is the best character to complete the true last level [Championship Run] and many of the "post-game" levels, which makes sense since many original levels after the Staff Roll are heavily influenced by Super Mario Galaxy. Her only downside is how slow she is to accelerate. This can get her in trouble in some levels, especially when the cat disguise is necessary.
However, overall my favourite character to play is Luigi. His jump is more versatile than Peach's (because it also affects verticality) and he is pretty fast; I think his speed combined with his jumps make him a better runner than Kinopio/Toad. When transformed into a cat, he basically becomes the next protagonist of Assassin's Creed.
i n t h e f a s t l a n e ♪
[this message was edited by chazumaru on Tue 3 Dec 09:58] |
| karasu99 1266th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(5):3DWoooooooow" , posted Wed 4 Dec 09:48
quote:
A Lightning Returns demo is out on the Japanese PSN for those curious. (I still recommend getting in on the free PS+ trial while you're there!)
I've been disdainful to the point of being grossed out by most of what I've seen from the game, but I can't deny that I enjoyed the battle system. With Square providing a dual-language option on the English version, I might be persuaded to pick it up when it comes out in America. It's not like I can really be disappointed at this point, right?
I wasn't super enthusiastic, even as far as getting the demo goes, but seeing that Chocolina will be in this abominable game has suddenly made my ears perk up. Polly, knowing that you undoubtedly played the demo by now, give it to me straight: is it even marginally good enough to justify me taking the time to download it?
It's... not that I don't think SE makes amazing looking games, it's just that they are amazing looking games that have *that particular look* that instantly identifies them, and worse yet, it's a look I don't care for especially. And then this game-- it's pretty much pre-cosplayed (if that makes any sense). Not an aesthetic that I really enjoy.
And now a palate cleanser: I've been playing the new Zelda, and it's great! I was skeptical at first that it was a sequel, and that it took place in the venerable old Hyrule of LttP (my favorite in the series!), since it sounded as though it could have easily drifted into pandering to the fan base. Surprisingly though it's a well made game with clever(ish) puzzles, a well-executed mechanic (the painting stuff), and it's all around fun. Since I'm familiar with LttP almost to the degree that I am with Symphony of the Night (i.e. I could probably play it blindfolded), I can't speak for folks who never played LttP, but as for me, nostalgia almost acts as a mechanic of its own-- I keep finding tiny differences in the layouts, I'm fascinated with the ways in which Lorule is a different but still similar mirror to Hyrule when compared to the Dark World, and it's just one discovery after another to see how you get to have just about all the special items up front, if you so choose. It's as though it was made (in some ways) to be a remix and a new game+ to LttP.
All that said, I still think the combat is pretty simple for the most part, and the bosses so far have dead-obvious 'hooks'. But still, this is probably the best approach to a sequel I've seen in forever. If those are the biggest complaints I have, this still ends up being the best Zelda game I've played in forever!
PS: I hear that a lot of people hate the Rabbit guy who sells you items. I actually kind of like him!
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3587th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):3DWoooooooow" , posted Wed 4 Dec 14:01
I've been playing Street Fighter X All Capcom, because I can literally play it while I'm doing my job (which is pretty much all the time). Gameplay mostly consists of forming a team, then pressing a button that gives you MORE CAPCOM every so often. It plays Guile's theme constantly. You can barely even call it a game, but the social/team/competitive aspects are very well managed and seeing which characters pop up next is a delight.
quote:
I wasn't super enthusiastic, even as far as getting the demo goes, but seeing that Chocolina will be in this abominable game has suddenly made my ears perk up. Polly, knowing that you undoubtedly played the demo by now, give it to me straight: is it even marginally good enough to justify me taking the time to download it?
It's... not that I don't think SE makes amazing looking games, it's just that they are amazing looking games that have *that particular look* that instantly identifies them, and worse yet, it's a look I don't care for especially. And then this game-- it's pretty much pre-cosplayed (if that makes any sense). Not an aesthetic that I really enjoy.
Was that...a video full of people talking ABOUT Nomura without anyone actually talking TO him? That's really sad.
Anyway, like XIII-2, XIII-3 is probably as much of a Tri-Ace game as a Square game, so like a Tri-Ace game, I would recommend checking out the demo based on how interested you are in the battle system. Other than that, it has a stupid, overblown opening you could watch on youtube and some mostly nonsensical plot snippets.
Having mostly negative expectations, I was pleasantly surprised, though...enough so that I'm strongly considering picking the game up. Again, that's looking at it from a Tri-Ace fan perspective. As a Final Fantasy fan, I'd rather keep playing FFXIV.
So, yeah, if you're curious about the battle system, I say try it. It was as incoherent as XIII-2, but more exciting.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| Iggy 9693th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Consoles emulating older consoles" , posted Wed 18 Dec 19:31
quote:
Am I the only one really enjoying M2's fantastic 3D Sega Classics?
I'm in the M2-goodness train as well! I don't do well with 3D, I generally let it off, but the collection is too good to pass even for weaklings like myself.
Bare Knuckles and Shinobi 2, despite being 2D games, play really nice (and Bare Knuckles looks quite funny when the characters move to the background). As for real 3D games, Galaxy Force 2 is fantastic, but it forces me to rest after a while.
I haven't tried Afterburner yet, and I'm really curious to know what the second batch of 3D ports will bring. Normally, I shouldn't be that excited for these, but with the Virtual Console on 3DS and WiiU being a shadow of the Wii's, it's a welcome improvement.
SPEAKING OF, Roma Sa.Ga 1 arrives on (japanese) WiiU! Get it even if you have to kill him for it!
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| HAYATO 1161th Post
PSN: Lord-Hayato
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Hyrule Musou" , posted Thu 19 Dec 07:21
quote:
Well, and speaking of Musou games. I certainly didn't see that one coming...
I guess everything will be a Musou game at some point. I do like that the primary Zelda theme has been redone in the squealing guitar style of the usual Koei game. But one of the main selling points in a Musou game is having dozens of playable characters. How is this going to work with Zelda? Judging from the number of odd jobs Link has to complete in his games it seems he's the only person in Hyrule who is competent enough to tie his own shoes. Who else in the franchise would be able to go out and get 1,000 KO's per stage?
I'm no Zelda expert but I guess princess Zelda, Ganon, Tingle and that Wolf-Link from Twilight Princess could be easily buffed up to meet Musou-esque standards of badassery...
Not that I'm very excited about the announcement (it's no Hokuto Musou 3, after all), but I find the concept mildly interesting, and a great spin-off to the series, with the potential to play the same role that "MGSR: Revengeance" does for the main Metal Gear universe: the bringer of fun, quick and mindless escapism many fans are in so much need of...
And the most important question of all: will this game be alluring enough to make Maese buy a wiiU? 
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| Pollyanna 3590th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(1):Hyrule Musou" , posted Thu 19 Dec 08:10
quote:
Sega
I do so love Shinobi 3, so I'll be up for that, but I am continually frustrated that the MD versions of Sega's arcade games keep getting remade. The answer to why they did the home version of Altered Beast instead of the arcade one was something like "well, we're doing MD games..." I can understand that (in this case), but I don't know that there's ever been an arcade Altered Beast re-release. It's a little funny to continually work from an inferior version when the technology of the systems you're working on have far surpassed the superior version.
On a side note, I really want a re-release of arcade Ghouls and Ghosts.
quote:
I guess everything will be a Musou game at some point. I do like that the primary Zelda theme has been redone in the squealing guitar style of the usual Koei game. But one of the main selling points in a Musou game is having dozens of playable characters. How is this going to work with Zelda? J
Judging from the trailer, Link has an awful lot of moves/weapons for a Musou character... like the game is designed around just using him. It would be really stupid if you couldn't at least use Zelda, but it doesn't seem like we can expect many characters.
quote:
Zelda
Holy crap, I am nuts about the 3DS Zelda. I don't even like Zelda that much. I finally got fed up with the ludicrous amount of overexplaining in Mario and Luigi: Dream Team and was thrilled to play a game that lets you discover things for yourself.
I don't want to speak in general terms of how good the game is, because the obvious response will be "duh" from anyone who's played it, but I will say that the game excels at "popping out of the mold" in amazing ways. The first time you see Link hop off of a platform and "jump" out of the 3DS in 3D, it sets the tone for the rest of the game. It seems that the theme is "the intersection of 2D and 3D," where you're obviously on a 2D plane, and as soon as you get in that mindset, something 3-dimensional happens. The camera pans out and changes perspective, something pops out of the screen, you have a puzzle that utilizes vertical space, you enter a wall and move around a cube shape. Link makes the world 3D by becoming flat. You're playing on a system that makes a 2D world 3D. Somehow, in a world where most games are already in 3D, Zelda makes 3D seem meaningful and fresh.
I guess those remarks are pretty "duh" as well, but this game has me shaking my head in delighted disbelief again and again (and I didn't even care for LttP).
quote:
I'm hoping for Dixie Kong, even though her chances are quite small. Then again, she will be present in the next Donkey Kong game, so there's hope.
I'm afraid that science may progress to the point that you can become Dixie Kong before you'll be able to play her in Smash Bros.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| Baines 398th Post
Silver Customer
| "Re(1):Hyrule Musou" , posted Thu 19 Dec 14:40
quote:
Not that I'm very excited about the announcement (it's no Hokuto Musou 3, after all), but I find the concept mildly interesting, and a great spin-off to the series, with the potential to play the same role that "MGSR: Revengeance" does for the main Metal Gear universe: the bringer of fun, quick and mindless escapism many fans are in so much need of...
I thought it was a great idea at first. This is the kind of thing that Nintendo should have been doing for a while. (And something that they've done with varying degrees of success in the past.)
But after watching the video a second time, I've become underwhelmed. The game shown in the video simply doesn't look good. Maybe it is an early alpha, but if it is that early, then Nintendo probably shouldn't be showing gameplay at all.
There are a good number of grunt troops onscreen. The problem is that they all just stand in place waiting to be hit. For most games, that would be a sign of a game that is early in development. But Koei for many years has had a distressing tendency to treat grunt troops almost exactly that way. In too many Warriors games, grunt troops just stand in place.
Stage design is non-existent. Koei could have knocked out some slightly interesting terrain for a demo video, but they didn't here.
I can only hope those are placeholder grunt troops on both sides. The whole thing looks graphically weak. Not in a "too few polys" way, but rather just in boring models and simple textures. (Compared to something like Xenoblade. Or most of the PS2 Warriors games. Or even to a degree N64 Ocarina of Time.)
I think in the end, while I'm a fan of Koei's Warriors games, I can't really trust Koei not to phone in the whole project. Because it is Koei making a Wii U game for Nintendo, if someone swore that the video was from final release code, I wouldn't be able to 100% disbelieve them. I could see Koei doing such a thing. And that cools any excitement, because even if that worst case scenario is pure fiction, with Koei the final product really could be anywhere from "horribly flawed/disappointing" to "decent".
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| Maese 726th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member+
| "Re(3):Hyrule Musou" , posted Thu 19 Dec 16:23
quote:
HYRULE MUSOU
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :: : ::: : : ⊂⌒（ `Д´） ＜ NEO TOKYO MAESE'S HEAD IS ABOUT TO E-X-P-L-O-D-E!
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Seriously, I'm having a HUGE hype crisis right now, I'm not able to think nor even type properly. I'll be back with you guys when I manage to calm down, probably in a year or two.
Wow. Much Musou. So Hyrulean Knights. Such awesome.
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| Iggy 9695th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Famicom Remix" , posted Thu 19 Dec 23:41
quote:
The answer to why they did the home version of Altered Beast instead of the arcade one was something like "well, we're doing MD games..." I can understand that (in this case), but I don't know that there's ever been an arcade Altered Beast re-release. It's a little funny to continually work from an inferior version when the technology of the systems you're working on have far surpassed the superior version.
Fortunately, I think Altered Beast is the only arcade game for which they used the MD version as a base instead of the arcade. I believe that Afterburner or Galaxy Force use the arcade version [citation needed].
The general good opinion of this thread on Hyrule Musou shows how little I know about gaming as a whole and the strange organisms who buy games. The reveal during the Nintendo Direct almost convinced me that Nintendo was finally Nintendoomed for good, there was nothing to save, and Zelda was going to be ran to the ground after Mario in a futile attempt to save a console for which even them had lost hope.
I sincerely wish I am dead wrong and the people excited for that thing are more numerous than I gave them credit for.
Still on the topic of yesterday's Nintendo Direct, I was extremely skeptical when they showed Famicon Remix. Yeay, Nintendo is selling rom hacks, yeay.
My opinion changed totally when I played it. Each game is actually broken into tiny fragments, Warioware-bites of instantly edible action that are at least as much about teaching how to play old games as they are about having fun or providing challenge. It also has remixes with silly effects or challenges (the zoomed-out Mario Bros is amazing, and the ice ring-level 4-1 of SMB is dumb fun), but you can't really enjoy them without understanding the core of each game. And Famicom Remix does an amazing job at teaching that.
The teaching aspect is especially interesting here because most of the games are minor, have aged pretty badly, or, let's say it bluntly, weren't even good to begin with (Clu Clu Land, I'm looking at you). Breaking them into smaller parts not only make them more edible for a 21st century audience, they also fundamentally change the relationship we could have had with the games had we played them as they were on VC for example. Even a mediocre game can become really fun if it is presented as a challenge within a broader perspective.
Adversely, I found out that playing the games that not only I knew best, but also I played often through the years (SMB, Zelda) were also the least interesting. SMB still managed to surprise me because that's how flexible and rich that game is, but Zelda, while it started as my main goal to play Famicon Remix, "I hope I can unlock Zelda quickly to see what they have done with it!", ended up being extremely dull "do this, do that, do this, do that". I love Zelda 1 and I still think it's one of the best, if not the best, game of the series and out of Nintendo's whole historical output, and I love all of it as it stands in 2013, not merely through nostalgia-tinted lenses. For that reason, the "breaking into pieces" didn't work very well on me. Maybe someone who loves modern Zelda but hates the first one because it's "too archaic" would enjoy that part as much as I enjoyed, for example, Ice Climbers: a whole gameplay broken into pieces, clear objectives, failure doesn't jeopardizes anything, etc.
As I was playing, I was already hoping they would follow-up with another version of the same concept, with Mario USA, or Adventure of Link, or Kid Icarus, or why not, Rockman 1 and Castlevania 1 (it's called "Famicom" Remix, not Nintendo Remix). But as I became more familiar with what I was playing (the whole package, not just the individual elements), I understood that it would only work on someone who would either not like these games, or like them but find them too difficult to play in 2014. I happen to still like all these games I just listed, I remember most of them in detail and I'm able to play them fairly well, so I might end up being quite underwhelmed by such a Famicom Remix 2, despite the luxurious line-up.
On the other hand, the Lost Levels, or Ghost&Goblins, or Spelunker, would work perfectly. 16 games is a perfect number for the ambition of Famicom Remix, because you need to have a fine balance of legitimately good games, to pick people's interest (you won't catch many customers by having 16 turds and advertising "we made these turds actually tasty!" even if that's what you did) and games that people don't like to play (and more of the later than of the former).
As it stands, Famicom Remix is sure to get a spot around the top of my GOTY list. For the same reason as Rockman 9 in 2008: for the game itself, but also for the logic, understanding, and new horizons the game opens for "outdated" games and gaming concepts.
If SQEX weren't the dumbest company on earth, they could do the same for Romancing Saga for example: breaking RomaSaga 2 into pieces may not work well, but doing that on RomaSaga 1 would be perfect. "Steal that ice sword!" "Go through the pirate cove without having any pirate telling you they are pirates!" "Use the petrify bug to kill the final boss with a non-leveled up character!".
----------------------
I'm just saying that because RomaSaGa1 was just released on WiiU VC, paving the way for the holy trinity to advent on the console and ultimately reversing the odds and making it a success worldwide, like all the consoles who received the 3 holy artifacts of our lord Kawazu.
Who has started tweeting to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Saga next year. Praise the lord!
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| Iggy 9696th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Famicom Remix" , posted Fri 20 Dec 05:30
quote:
Iggy, how do you feel Nintendo Remix compares with the NDS Game Center CX games?
For some reason, Game Center CX never really clicked with me, so I cannot really say. But GCCX is a nostalgic game, and tries to recreate the "feel" of old games, the atmosphere of the time, etc.
Remix, on the other hand, asks "how can these outdated games be adapted to the tastes of the players of 2014?"
I think the starting point is different, even if they seem to reach a similar finishing line. Plus, the fact that Remix works on real, existing games (that were originally conceived poor and unfair for reasons that don't mean anything to us anymore) makes it quite different. As faithfully crafted as it is, GCCX is an homage (or a parody if you want), while Remix doesn't have any misplaced respect for the source material: for it, the source material is inert, and it tries to make something entertaining out of it.
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| Iggy 9698th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Random Game Thread #21 - New Consoles E" , posted Fri 20 Dec 22:03
quote:
It's not as much that it works poorly with Zelda, as it is that the entire Zelda segment is more like a huge tutorial for the game (the eShop button is not there by accident). But one cool thing is that you can think up a lot of metagame with the Zelda challenges. For example, in the challenge that gives you 300 seconds to collect a certain number of rupees makes it possible to think up really dumb made-up quests.
That's something that could be improved in the next game: more creative challenges. Finish a level of SMB where all the blocs are already bumped. Time-attack portions of Zelda. Or a challenge "clear the levels in a specific, counter-intuitive order". Beat a boss without a sword.
It's obviously much more difficult to do with the older games like Ice Climbers, Pinball or Clu Clu Land, but if they go with more recent games like Metroid or Adventure of Link, they should be more creative. The issue being that if the challenges are too wide, it basically mean you have to allow the player to reach most of the game, which defeat the purpose of "having players buy the game on eShop".
But Zelda highlights what I was saying about "games you don't like". If you like the game as it is and it's still fresh in your mind, then the whole thing is a drab tutorial. But for someone who wouldn't, playing just the highlights of the game and cutting away the "fat" is probably a great opportunity.
There is a difficult balance to find here.
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| Pollyanna 3595th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):HEY POLLY" , posted Wed 1 Jan 05:45
IMPORT IOS GAME RANT
quote:
Polly, please write about these! In particular SF X All Capcom and Sangokushi Rumble! I definitely care, and I've been looking for a reason to make a Japan region App Store account as it is.
Those are the ones I've played the most, for better or worse.
Let me start this by saying that I don't believe these ftp money grabs are in any way a replacement for "actual games." The ones that are closer to "real games" are viewed less favorably to me, because I could just be playing something genuinely great. These games fill the 2 minutes you might spend on the toilet or waiting for something to happen. Some of these "games" I've actually been able to play while working.
Also, all of these games follow the "Puzzle and Dragon" structure where the game is free and you pay for "gacha" attempts at getting rare characters. Repeated logins get you free stuff and there's some connectivity between other players and "friends."
Anyway, here goes.
B-Kyu Kanojo- Level 5 (Dropped)
I mentioned this one before. It has lots of cute girls, funny enemies and slot machine combat. At first, it was a good diversion, because it's easy to just keep playing slots again and again, especially if you're winning and there's cute artwork involved. The "gameplay" was limited to building your team and deciding when to use your special moves, which do damage, or increase defense or whatever. When you get all 7s the girls transform and you do massive damage turn after turn. I actually enjoyed the "luck element" a little bit, because if something seemed too challenging, you could hammer at it until you got lucky and move on. Evidently, people were tearing through the content too quickly, though, so they kept increasing the "difficulty" until the game was very unpleasant to play. Slots aren't fun if you're ALWAYS LOSING, especially if you're used to winning. Suddenly, the bosses that I was farming to beat harder bosses were more impossible than anything I'd encountered before. So yeah, screw that. They've updated the game several times since, so they may have found a more pleasant difficulty balance.
Dragon's Dogma Quest-Capcom (Dropped)
I wrote about this one before as well. It's actually a pretty decent game, especially for ftp standards...maybe even the best I've tried. However, it has constant constant loading and downloading that rendered it completely unplayable. Maybe I should try it again for Vita.
Monster Takt-Silicon Studio (Dropped)
This is a cute RPG-ish game from the creators of Bravely Default (it even looks like it). You arrange your party on a grid and have a series of enemy encounters each stage. You can attack, use special moves or re-arrange your party to optimize offense or defense in each situation. It's actually reasonably deep and well-managed. However, the simple renders didn't fill me with a lust to collect them and most of my team did not endear itself to me. This sounds like a minor thing, but I believe that the collection aspect of these games is very important. Anyway, that coupled with a litany of glitches made me drop the game, but not with hard feelings. I think it has a lot going for it.
Blade Fantasia-Capcom (dropped)
This is a very nice-looking RPG from Capcom with a more fleshed-out battle system and a bit of story with decent-looking dialogue pictures for the characters. However, its social elements are weak and if I wanted to play an RPG, this would rank very low on the list...so yeah, not worth my time. Also, I hate the main character. If I had been able to create my own, I might have stuck with it longer.
Melpharia March-Square Enix (Dropped)
An adorable 2D RTS game that was fun to play, but had grossly unresponsive menus and long loading time. It actually seemed pretty decent, but I don't have patience for things like that in games that I'm only playing for a few minutes at a time.
Otoranger (Capcom) (Still playing-on hold)
This is a music game from Capcom with a super sentai theme. All of the (many) characters come from multicolored, usually music-themed teams. You have magical girl teams and idols from hell and lots of cool-looking monster people bands and...yes. Great great great characters. The game itself is fairly fun, especially the challenge levels, which really get you tapping like a lunatic. On the downside, it's very difficult to manage your team cost and you have to level up a lot to use the stronger units. Also, although you are 100% in control of what beats you hit or miss, there are a lot of walls that you simply cannot overcome until you get a stronger team. Because of the strict team cost requirements, the game kind of shoots itself in the foot for taking your money, as even if you get a super cool character, you're likely to be unable to use it. So yeah, fun game, cute world, bad difficulty balance. I still log in every day for my bonuses, but I don't play the game often...partially because I have to put on headphones to do so, so it feels like a "commitment."
Divine Gate- Acquire (still playing-on hold)
This is Gung-Ho's big "followup" to Puzzle and Dragon, which uses a sort of rapid-fire card matching RPG battle system. The artwork is SUPER CUTE and they have a lot of anime collaborations (Stein's Gate, Fairy Tail and right now, Shingeki no Kyojin). I like the game's system okay, but they're very greedy with bonuses, harsh on team cost and super unreasonably harsh on how long it takes you to level your characters. Like, if you're "lucky" enough to get a "+1" character, which literally has ONE MORE STAT POINT in a pool of 1000+, it takes exponentially more XP to level them. Like so much that you might as well quit the game, which I almost did. Still, it looks slick, is reasonably fun and is worth a try, though it does demand a bit of your time, as some of the levels can be a bit long for this sort of game.
Sangokushi Rumble- Square Enix (still playing-on hold)
This is the first good example I have of a non-game presented successfully. You have 6 units that you arrange in a grid. They have a rock-paper-scissors strength and weakness system and some can attack from back rows (archers, mages, etc.) Battles are in real-time with enemies running at you in waves. You do nothing but decide when to use your special moves. Each unit has one and you share a gauge that fills up over time. Battles are fast and there is little to do.
However, the game is a success, because its online elements are so strong. It's fairly generous with its free stuff and is constantly running different promotions. If you want to spend money, they have frequent "first-time" bonuses on gacha, where you can get 11 rare pulls for 850 yen. HUGELY cheaper than something like Puzzle and Dragon. There are also lots of limited-time challenges to try your hand at, many of which drop seasonal items you can spend on special gacha. You also have a team with ranks and battle against other teams in a simulated vs mode (the other teams are real, but they're not being played by anyone live). There's a good pacing to the difficulty and you feel like you're in control of what you earn in the game.
The game is also full of great artwork and the concept behind the characters is "historical version/cute girl version/hot dude version." I felt like it was pretty even-handed and a lot of the artwork of the women in the game was superrrrr gorgeous, but it's delving into fanservice territory a bit much now. It was classy-sexy before and now we're getting "98% naked with boobs as big as their head" kinds of things.
So yeah, not much of a game, but a nice low-commitment way to enjoy some lovely artwork.
On a side note, there's a nice balancing feature in the game where you "evolve" your units by merging them with the same unit again. This gives an advantage to less-rare units and a sort-of penalty to rarer ones. It also makes it less crushing when you get the same unit twice. You actually want that here.
Street Fighter X All Capcom- Capcom (playing)
Even moreso than Sangokushi Rumble, this is the worst game in the best package. It's kind of just a Capcom nostalgia machine where you hit the "more" button from time to time. It plays Guile's theme INCESSANTLY. It plays the Wily stage theme from Megaman 2 on special levels. Ken's theme for boss fights. They know their strengths!
The "stages" aren't even a game. You just press a "go" button and your character goes until they run out of stamina. Sometimes you run into barrels that give you new, useless characters. Mostly, you just get EXP. Eventually you reach a boss.
Battles are played with a team of 8 characters, each with an innate skill that requires careful arrangement of your team. For example, you'll have characters that do DEF 20% up with a 65% chance to the character in front of them.. or 20% attack to the right and left. Some characters affect the entire team, or just characters of a certain color (red, green or blue). Roll, for example, does an 8% attack up to all reds.
You create two teams...one for bosses and one to fight against other players. The battles play themselves. Once you've arranged your team, you've done your part. The animations can even be skipped.
Your favorite character decides your team. I'm on team Gyakuten Saiban. I feel sorry for Team Son-Son (they really should combine some of these). You have a smaller team you're randomly assigned to after that, and then a "circle", which is like a small group of friends that you can unlock stat boosts for.
All of these groups compete and all of them are ranked. You have an individual ranking in each category as well. Each day, your team is pit against another team in a series of boss battles. In the "stages", you sometimes randomly run into a boss, which is then sent to the front page for anyone in your team/the opposing team to fight. You go 5 turns against it, but it takes many many more to defeat it. If the other team is winning, you might want to expend items to keep fighting it and win the points for yourself/your team. The game showers you with rewards for every victory and you get huge rewards at the end of every week, when they do a weekly ranking. The social aspects are far-reaching and well-implemented. The real-time competition aspect motivates me to keep at it as does the extremely small commitment the game requires.
There are certainly some problems, though. For example, many of the rewards you get are awful and useless. You get coins for various different gacha machines and really only the gold and platinum ones are worth a damn. The bronze ones are more like a CURSE, since the drops from them are completely useless and you can only have so many of them in your inventory before they start clogging up your reward box. This is compounded by the problem that rare cards are fairly easy to acquire and team cost is EXTREMELY LENIENT. Like, even if I had all Super Rare cards, I don't think I could fill my team cost. It used to be harsher, but then they patched it to its current, broken state. The result is that all of the lower-level cards are completely useless. So they made tons and tons of artwork for cards that no one will ever use for more than like...a few days. Nice job.
Also annoying are the fucking barrels that give you these useless cards. Finding a barrel is like a curse. It's like: Barrel...loading...do you want to break the barrel...can't say no...loading...press again for a breaking animation...loading...shows you your useless card...loading. I HATE that you can't say "no". This hate is compounded by the fact that there are rare barrels with actually useful cards that can only be broken with silver and gold hammers (which can be purchased). However, even if you have no silver or gold hammers, you can't NOT break the barrel. Instead you have to select the hammer that DOESN'T WORK and watch it FAIL TO BREAK THE BARREL. Then, after more loading, the game kindly tells you that you failed to break the barrel (no shit) and you tear your iPhone in half. Seriously Capcom, what the hell?
WonderFlick- Level 5 (pending)
This is a great-looking game with an Uematsu soundtrack and a super-cute character creator and GLITCHES GLITCHES GLITCHES rendering it unplayable. They've updated a few times since I got the "prelude" version, so it might be decent now. Who knows.
On a side note
I know it was free for a while and pay for a while, but I like Square-Enix's Bloodmasque, which is available in America. I would say it's worth it for the soundtrack alone, almost. If you haven't heard of it, the game lets you take a photo of yourself and stretch it over your render. It will undoubtedly make you look ugly, but it's fun...and there are lots and lots of people who use pictures of their pets...for their face.
So I say, get a iTunes card (I get mine from j-list) and try some games out. You do have to have a paid card to sign up for a Japanese account, since they don't accept foreign credit cards, but they aren't that expensive and it opens up a world of little things to try for free or for money.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| karasu99 1286th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(4):HEY POLLY" , posted Mon 6 Jan 09:53
quote:
IMPORT IOS GAME RANT
Sorry it took a while to write back despite having asked for the info in the first place. Thanks for talking at length about these, and in the future, feel free to rant about anything and everything, since like you've said elsewhere, we have pretty similar taste it seems, and I'll at least enjoy reading about it (I'm sure the rest of Cafe goers will as well).
I'm still unfortunately on the fence about SF X All Capcom, since what attracts me is almost exclusively new artwork of obscure characters, some of whom I'm not sure will obtainable short of sinking a ton of money into it, which I probably not be willing to do.
On the other hand, I had been more lukewarm about Sangokushi Rumble before your writeup, but afterward I feel like I might enjoy it quite a bit!
It's pretty funny that for the most part I just reject many US iOS games out of hand (even funnier since I'm as iOS developer), since they always always always come across as money grabs of the most puerile sort, especially the free to play ones. If not for how strong console and non-phone portable releases are these days I might be more worried about video game quality going into the toilet. Somehow, though, Japanese games at least seem likely to give you quite a bit of nice art to look at in between outrageous plays of getting you to open your wallet. So, given your info, I'll take the plunge into the Japanese app store and see if it stands up.
quote:
So I say, get a iTunes card (I get mine from j-list) and try some games out. You do have to have a paid card to sign up for a Japanese account, since they don't accept foreign credit cards, but they aren't that expensive and it opens up a world of little things to try for free or for money.
Thanks for the tip about j-list. I didn't know them at all until you mentioned them, but their prices on PSN cards are also pretty competitive. 3000 yen sounds like it would last forever in the app store (it won't).
www.secret-arts.com
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| karasu99 1288th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(1):IGS and Cave emulation news" , posted Wed 8 Jan 01:54:
quote:
Now that we are talking about different Musou incarnations, and given the great appreciation many Cafers have for Chinese historical brawlers, I think some of you may find the latest IGS emulation exploits mildly interesting: Shen Jian/ Road of the Sword/ The Gladiator, reached playable status on the latest MAME/UME official build. Plus, its emulation led to a better understanding of the PGM board and thus, to improvements on Oriental Legend Plus and Knights of Valour 2 as well.
And at last,after so many years of waiting, MAME/ UME officially supports Cave SH3 games now! That means the following games reached playable status (on custom MAME/UME builds which include the new cv1k.c driver, and on the latest version of MAMEPlus):
-Dodonpachi Dai-fukkatsu 1.0
-Dodonpachi Dai-fukkatsu 1.5
-Espgaluda II
-Ibara Kuro Black Label
-Pink Sweets Ibara Sorekara XX
-Death Smiles MegaBlack Label
-Mushihime-Sama Futari Black Label
-Muchi Muchi Pork
-Puzzle! Mushihime-Tama
-Medal Mahjong Moukari Bancho
What a wonderful New Year present for Danmaku lovers and 2D Chinese Brawler fans alike! 
Hahaha, that's especially great news given that a few of those games have never been released for the X360 in Japan (my secret shame). Ibara Kuro I'm especially looking forward to, especially since the PS2 version is one of those games with a true LOL price (when you can even find it).
I've lost track of MAME over the years, especially since the romsets for some of my favorite early 80's games completely changed at some point, rendering my existing sets useless (and the new sets are really hard to track down), but I may have to look into this.
Thanks for posting, and I keep forgetting that you're a danmaku fan as well!
EDIT: Oh, and I keep meaning to post about the new US 3DS demo for Bravely Default that came out not long ago. I had already planned on getting the game when I heard it was being localized, especially since folks here had loved it so much, but WOW, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying the demo. I'm sure it has nothing to do with its similarities to Final Fantasy V or anything 
www.secret-arts.com
[this message was edited by karasu99 on Wed 8 Jan 04:06] |
| HAYATO 1167th Post
PSN: Lord-Hayato
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(3):IGS and Cave emulation news" , posted Thu 9 Jan 21:29:
Since the launch of their own arcade hardware back in 1996 (the PGM board series), IGS has become one of the most respectable developers into the field of 2D brawlers and action side scrollers. In addition, they usually make more than one revision for each game they release (constantly adding new charachters, paths and secrets on them), they develop their own obscure and missed hardware (PGM 3 was released just some months ago)... IMHO, IGS has become today's equivalent to 90s Capcom and SNK, and now that CPS-3 got emulated they have become, along with Cave, the only two companies whose arcade games' emulation I'm genuinely interested in.
Theirs are some of the most entertaining games I've ever played on MAME (as they never received any console port, aside from Spectral vs Generation and Cave games running under PGM hardware such as Ketsui or Dodonpachi Daioujoh). Any Chinese folk lover should try their wonderful Three Kingdoms-based beat'em ups (Knights of Valour series) or their "Once upon a Time in China"-inspired, VS fighting masterpiece Martial Masters. There's a list of IGS' most notable PGM works available in MAME, sorted by genre (sequels or improvements over the same game come after the "/" mark and red titles show my personal faves):
VS Fighting games:
- The Killing Blade/ TKB Plus
- Martial Masters
- Spectral vs Generation
Beat'em ups:
- Oriental Legend
- Knights of Valour/ KoV Superheroes
- Knights of Valour 2 - Nine Dragons/ KoV-ND 2 Plus
- The Gladiator: Road of the Sword
Run and Gun side scrollers:
- Demon Front
Sadly, Poly Game Master 2 emulation is still under development, so we'll have to wait some time before we can play some of their finest creations: "Journey to the West"-centric Oriental Legend 2 and Knights of Valour 3. I had the privilege to play OL 2 in Akiba's Hey! about 5 years ago and to this day, I just can't describe with words how awesome it was!
[this message was edited by HAYATO on Thu 9 Jan 21:30] |
| karasu 1297th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(4):MOMO IS BACK" , posted Sat 18 Jan 06:43
quote:
I guess this is why Momo wasn't included in Namco High, eh?
Those things aren't mutually exclusive, Anti-Bravoman (originally black Bravo, I think, but the comic went for a sillier approch) from the Bravoman comic is both in the game and Namco High.
Wonder Momo just has a much much smaller core cast, something even Namco X Capcom had problems with, and probably why the comic starts the daughter of the original in order to expand the cast a bit more freely, if not by much - not many characters left that work decently outside their own context.
I'm still going to take a deep breath, close my eyes, and think only of the Namco Encore disc version of Wondermomo, which I still have a strangely nostalgic view of, despite having played it long after its arcade release.
I also hold Taizo Hori as the hallmark for Namco playing around with their older franchises. Wondermomo can't be that much harder to deal with.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Iggy 9717th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "tl;dr post about Basara 4" , posted Tue 28 Jan 09:44
So after spending the week-end on Basara 4, I found out it was quite an interesting shift in the series.
To jump to the conclusion: if you haven't played Utage (or even better, if you haven't even played 3) and you want a good and stupid action game (emphasis on "action") with a lot of characters (32!) that control vastly differently, with plenty of silly jokes, some grinding and some creativity, you should definitely give the game a try.
If you have played Utage, maybe wait for a while. I'm not sure if a 4++ version is coming or if they are going to deliver the additional pieces via DLC, but there is some content blatantly missing. The game does offer a huge package though, more or less on par with Utage and much more than 3. The campaign mixes the regular "conquer all Japan" from Utage with some "branching into scenario sequence
" from 3, and strikes a very good balance (except for the character who don't get any scenario branch because their time under the spotlight has passed)
It is, however, extremely close to 3 and Utage in term of controls, and the engine is exactly the same. Since the characters are the core of the game, you are basically trading the 6 not-completely finished characters from Utage against 8 new finished ones (3 returning from Basara 2 adapted in the new engine, and 5 brand new ones), 42 new stages (in my opinion some of the best of the series) and the promise of maybe something more if/when Capcom decides to update the store. All returning characters are identical, and none of them got any new move. Your call, really.
--------------
Now, for the in-depth bits.
The jump between 2 and 3 was huge in terms of gameplay. It upgraded a nice shallow game into a full-fledged action game that could almost pass for a dumbed-down DMC, where each weapon would be an independent and charismatic character with its own system (and 32 dumbed-down DMC-ish characters is much better then what most non-Platinum action games offer). The gap with Musou became a huge rift, for the better.
The rest remained exceptionally similar: same system of progression between the difficulty levels, same system of similar items obtained in the shop or the stages, same system of weapons upgraded according to the difficulty levels with slots to equip the items...
4 is making the same amount of changes, but in the menu side instead of the action side. As I said, the game controls almost the same as 3 baring a few minor updates on blocking, evasion rolls, partner, and the possibility to use even more moves simultaneously. However, all the menus got entirely changed, and sometimes, you can't shake the feeling that they replaced something that wasn't broken with something... that still needs quite a lot of polish.
I haven't played a lot of Musô games, but I am sure I have seen some of those new things in those: the weapons are consumables that you fusion in order to get the best enchantments all on the same weapon; the enchantments replace the old items; you get "free" XP that you can use on any character (so you can take a character you just unlocked and make him level 50 immediately if you have the XP available)...
Another new thing: the way you perform in the stage controls what you receive at the end: at the beginning, you can see a table "at 1000 points you'll get this, at 3000 points you'll get that, at 10000 points you'll get that..." and each action within the stage gives you some points that help you reach the highest price. Generally, getting the 3rd price is easy, but the two highest require to pay attention to what you're doing, either by keeping the combo counter rolling, opening all the boxes, achieving each stage's hidden objectives, fighting very well with a lot of blocking, basara moves, etc, etc.
The new weapon system is clearly unbalanced and boring, as it is quite easy to create a very strong weapon with the materials obtained by finishing the game in normal and hard with one character, and I'm not sure getting the additional bonuses of higher difficulty levels are going to improve it that much.
It also adds a layer of inventory micromanagement whose absence we didn't know we enjoyed very much in previous games.
On top of that, exchanging all the pretty and easily recognisable icons with kanjis was not a smart idea. And you obviously lose the flexibility of changing the items you want to equip before each map, or having all characters accessing the same pool of unlocked items.
Oh, and worse change yet? They removed each character's special item that had been a stable in the series; they were either laughingly useless (Oichi who was one of the strongest characters in 3 could waste 4 item slots to resurrect once if she manages to die, yeay) or hilariously broken (your charging character doesn't need to charge anything to make all his moves max-powered, or the insane power-up mode that you can only keep for a few seconds and drained your life while active becomes perpetual and free), but they added a huge amount of personality to each character, and they are sorely missed. Their removal also hurt several characters that needed the boost deeply, like Ieyasu or Tenkai. I really, really hope they find a way of reintroducing them to the game in an elegant fashion.
Some good things, though: since the weapons don't have any particular stat, they become entirely cosmetic and you can pick any of the 7 designs and raise it to the max (no more stuck with an ugly sword "because it's the best").
Other objects have moved to a different category: it is for example possible to select some perks for each level, some entirely positive (start with your Basara max, deal more damage to the boss, show the 尋ね者 (whose system has also been revamped with a 尋ね者 bingo system) on the map...) some with a drawback (you get more XP but the enemy's life regenerate, you get more money but each time you're hit you lose half of it, etc). It's also where you can select the music you want to play in the stage (up to 3) and if you want your soldiers to say special things (cheering, being depressed, having a drink with pretty girls, listening to Ôshû's twitter radio, or to Naoe Kanetsugu's self narrated 無敵伝説). The good part is that all these elements would have taken an item slot in past games, and thus were rarely used; the fact that there are dedicated slots for these now allow to take them more freely used.
The new characters are all nice and well done, there is not much to say about them. Like with each new batch of characters in each new game, what they lose in term of wacky designs (who clearly peaked in the first game; as Polly said when they first showed Sakon and Shibata, Capcom drew so much inspiration from Musô they now copy their bland and uninspired designs) they gain in control systems that make them even more interesting to control then the characters from the previous batch.
Sakon is the new Fûma, with stance switching on top of the fast aerial moves; Shibata needs to charge the rotation of his weapon to keep going, and thus find opening within his own combos to charge more; Shikanosuke is partly about controlling the deer's movements (the obviously stronger and cleverer half of the duo) and partly about noticing all the references to Saint Seiya and Meitantei Conan (even the first measures of his theme sound like those of a Saint Seiya opening), etc etc. Hanbê, Hideyoshi and Nagamasa all transition nicely in the post-Basara 3 system, and all are a blast to play as.
However, Matsu, Shingen, Kenshin and Kasuga are back to being non-playable => 2/10, no buy until the next DLC.
So what is so interesting about a game that seem to downgrade one thing every time it upgrades another?
Obviously, the last thing I haven't covered: the stages.
We are back to 3's system of having forts all around the place that you need to destroy to go forward, but with much more variety. Some stages have gates you can only unlock by taking the forts, and play just like 3. Some others look a lot more like 2's stages, with the forts being just extra objectives on the map while you can rush to the boss almost immediately, or, like in Shikanosuke's stage, coexisting with another progression system altogether (finding and killing 9 guardians that are surfing throughout the stage, because sandsurfing is the best way to avoid wild desert tigers when you stink of deer). Some stages have a timer and you need to reach the end before the boss wakes up or some other nonsense. Some stages, like in some of the biggest stages in 2, have some actual level design in order to make them linear yet challenging and last long without the artificial barrier of the forts. Some other stages (most notably the Kyôto matsuri stage) pack up a huge amount of goons in a confined area for you to combo into oblivion, or get crushed under mountains of sweaty dancers. Some stages are hugely gimmicky and have hilarious (or obnoxious, according to your tastes) mini-games that need to be played along (my favourite is the giant rotating Shingen Statues that require you to reach them while they are watching away, and freeze when they look in your direction, while Shingen's army chants 親方様が転んだ at various speeds to make you fail - basically playing sengoku 1-2-3-Soleil)
There has been complains about the game having less enemies than previous games, and that is indeed true in most stages. However, stages like the Matsuri having as many or even more show it was a design decision, not a technical limitation. The most surprising evolution of Basara is the huge improvement in goons types, attack patterns, IA and strategy, to the point that if you simply go forward and press square mindlessly in certain stages, you will very likely be killed without even reaching the middle boss. In other terms, after all these years, a Musou clone finally made the mobs a real threat! It's refreshing to pay attention to the kind of mobs walking towards you, and think about the strategy you need to pick to survive, according to your character's moveset.
Finally, another type of stage appears, that one totally new in Basara yet heavily inspired by Musou: the stages where you need to keep your eyes on the map at all time to react to the enemy's progression and sneaky surprise attacks in the middle of the round, and move quickly from one angle of the map to the other. Unsurprisingly, they are the only maps with a horse (except yet another boring race against Masamune, this time in a maze to make it even worse), whose use is this time very Musou-ish: a fast transportation device to react to unexpected events throughout the level. This coupled with the increased IA and attack patterns of the enemies makes for real challenge at adequate difficulty, mixing Basara's best action with Musou's best strategy.
So all in all, these extremely varied stages make the core of Basara 4's experience, and I keep my fingers crossed for Capcom to add more stages down the road. Paradoxically, I also want some stages from Basara 2 and 3 to come back, and I would gladly pay for them as it may solve 4's biggest problem: not all types of stages will click with everyone (notwithstanding the masses that simply wanted an easy game with hordes of passive goons on xanax to kill like sheep at a slaughterhouse), and one person's favourite stage could become another's bane. If 42 stages is a lot, divided by roughly 4 types of levels, it doesn't leave much variety if you only like one of the flavours of the challenges.
So, yeah, I like the new direction the series, even if we're not quite there yet.
Also, since it's a 2014 Capcom game, of course it has plenty of DLC; fortunately, none of them (for the moment) is necessary. Most seem to be about unlocking stuff faster (having all the characters from the start, get plenty of moneys, receive already forged super powerful weapons...), or in other terms "pay to get some fun sucked out of the game".
70 musical themes from previous games (including the PSP ones or ArcSys' fighting game) are also available in case you want some variety (but the game already has plenty on its own, including a lot of remix-straight up ports from 3). Finally, you get DLC clothes, which, while expensive (300 yens) fortunately come on top of the regular set of alternate outfits you unlock for each character by finishing a campaign (and the ones in the game are better than 3's horrendous ones, so everybody wins!).
All in all, the package is quite tight as it is, and I'm afraid it's going to be difficult to provide enough new stuff to warrant a new full-price Basara 4 Utage edition in one year. If you're hesitant, it might not be a bad idea to wait a year anyway: even if nothing comes, you'll have a better view of what amount of content have been added via DLC in the meantime and whether Kasuga and Maria have been made available or not. Since if you care about Basara, you obviously don't plan to jump to the next-gen bandwagon and will probably still keep your PS3 for quite some time. After all, the game is probably a way for Capcom to go through the difficult console generation shift in Japan, and I think it has played out quite nice for the series.
And even if it hasn't and Basara dies with this game, like Onimusha (more or less died) on PS2... well, it was a fun ride, and every (major release) was worth it, including this one.
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| Pollyanna 3603th Post
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):tl;dr post about Basara 4" , posted Wed 29 Jan 09:41
quote:
Basara 4
Thanks for the in-depth and even-handed review Iggy. What I had read before was mostly just complaints about things that were different from the perspective of people who were too into the series for me to relate to. I hope that makes sense. Like a review from someone who had never played Basara would be useless to me, but a review from someone whose head is deep up the Basara anus might not offer a useful perspective either.
Anyway, I do think I'll sit out for a while and see how the DLC/new version situation evolves. Capcom's recent announcement of Monster Hunter 4G as well as their supposed financial woes gives me the impression that they may be milking their assets for another title sooner than later. I think I'll be enjoying my bloated backlog for the time being. (Wow. I have a way with words today. "Milking, bloated, anus")
I'm really excited about the stages and Shikanosuke though (especially after hearing his theme song). He looks like he might be my new favorite, which is quite an accomplishment.
I don't have anything useful to contribute to this conversation, but I really am grateful for the writeup, so I felt obligated to say something.
quote:
Ishmael and Shinobi III
So glad you picked this up for the first time! Having just played it myself, I feel like it holds up very well. With the controls (or just playing on 3DS) I had to tell myself that even if it's not ideal, it's probably still better than a Megadrive controller. Boy do I ever hate that soundtrack, though. If only I could take the Shinobi II soundtrack and stuff it in there.
Also, Sega's choice of skipping Shinobi II is frustrating, when we have both Sonic 1 and Streets of Rage 1. If they were going to skip to the sequel in any series, I would want it to be those two.
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| karasu 1306th Post
PSN: robotchris
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Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(4):wonder nono" , posted Thu 30 Jan 03:04
quote:
Changing what was originally a beat-em-up to a platformer is the weird choice here, time will tell how it ends up...
I don't think it's so much an issue of changing the genre-- the original was a single-plane beat em up as it is, so platforming doesn't completely bust it. My only thought is that in a marketplace that's so saturated with 2D platformers at all, how will it distinguish itself in any way?
quote:
While I may not hate Wayforward, I do agree that a lot of their bad games get a pass simply because they're 2D platformers with sprites. And that's partial to Wayforward themselves in a way with their worst games (BloodRayne Betrayal. And I kinda didn't care much for the original GBC Shantae). They think that as long as they focus on drawing pixelated cute girls with lots of animation frames, the rest of the game is just secondary.
I agree entirely. I thought the... second? Shantae (I think it was the second game) was decent, but like you said, it's just a 2d platformer with sprites. They do a good job making a completely bland but in no way objectionable platformer, nothing more. BUT, I'm not sure that the game-playing community in general expects anything more out of their stuff than a pixelated cute girls with lots of animation frames.
But the whole question of 'wouldn't it be great if there was some innovation in 2d platformers' should probably be shelved for another day.
Oh, and the original Wondermomo was not bad at the time, but it definitely shows its age. It had big huge sprites though at a time before games like Cadash or the early NeoGeo stuff made them commonplace!
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| chazumaru 1150th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(6):wonder nono" , posted Thu 30 Jan 08:05
quote:
why would a studio that consistently does that keep getting work?
Well, most likely because they are cheap and reliable? I guess your quixotic question wasn't necessarily calling for an obvious and pragmatic answer, but for the impressionable children watching at home who might take to your dangerously romantic ways too literally, reliability (= delivering on time and producing predictable quality) seems to be of upmost importance for most video game publishers. For instance and to play Devil's Advocate, I would argue it's probably much, much, much, much, infinite echo of the word much safer to hire WayForward than Platinum Games. I am not saying me or my employer would do that, if that specific choice ever came to be (weirder things have happened!), but I don't blame those who do, especially when the industry rewards its overstressed underpaid producers far more for not failing than for succeeding. And it seems that WayForward are one of the very few remaining successful 2D specialists in the traditional industry, keeping afloat the jobs of a few talented graphic artists who would otherwise have to switch to very different industries or take the risk of going indie, so I can't really blame anyone. But you can! And that makes you the special, rough diamond we love.
They did Contra 4, right? I was quite disappointed by that game, past the initial excitement.
I heard their Batman Brave & Bold game on Wii/DS was pretty good and bought it at launch; however I never played it.
I can't see how anyone has hope about this Wonder Momo, though, and my pessimism has nothing to do with WayForward.
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| badoor 360th Post
PSN: BadoorSNK/PSVITA:BadoorUSA
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Silver Customer
| "Re(7):wonder nono" , posted Thu 30 Jan 22:04
quote:
why would a studio that consistently does that keep getting work?
Well, most likely because they are cheap and reliable?
That is very true. It's even obvious to me as a complete outsider. They always seem to have 3 to 4 ongoing announced projects simultaneously (they announced 2 Shantae games within weeks from each other). In 2011 they developed 9(!) games. And they make about 5 to 6 games a year. So that's commendable I suppose.
quote:
I think the main problem with WayForward is just that their game design lacks the same spark that makes their visuals shine.
Yep. I played a lot of WayForward games (I guess I'm a fan?) and they either are underwhelming copies of old games: Shantae, Contra, the first Adventure Time game, or Hotel Transylvania, which was pretty bland (Shantae on DSiWare is the best one of these). Or they are games with genuinely interesting new mechanics that just do not seem well thought-out. These are mainly Alien: Infestation and the Mighty Switch Force games.
Alien had limited number of lives, literally. The game had permadeath but you could play as long as there are marines in your party. Once all are dead, you had to start over. But it kind of didn't matter in the end since there were so many savepoints & health pick-ups in the game. It wasn't balanced at all to give the perma death part any relevance. Also, movement is a lot stiffer than you're standard 2D run-n-gun game. At first I thought "Prince of Persia but with guns? Cool" but it's even more stiff than that. You couldn't jump at all. So the map ended up being a boring series of hallways and ladders/elevators. Also, you could take-cover behind boxes and blindfire at Aliens. And because you mostly fight Aliens, it's nigh-useless. Yes, it may be a cool looking little sprite animation but why would anyone use that when fighting Aliens is beyond me. But I still liked Alien: Infestation attempt to try something weird and new for a "metroidvania" game. Also I am a big Alien fan.
Might Switch Force is 2 games built on a singular "block-shifting" idea that would probably be like cool idea number 5 in one level of a Treasure game. You also can jump and shoot in Mighty Switch Force but it is by no means a Mega Man-ish game. The shooting part only serves the puzzle platformer part in the rare parts its needed. The sequel changes the protagonist's gun into a fire-hose. And that's the only new thing they added. They're both still fun puzzle platformers though. And I like the music.
So that's my defense (apology?) on behalf of WayForward? Maybe?
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| exodus 4314th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):wonder nono" , posted Fri 31 Jan 05:09
my questions of course was rhetorical. I know exactly why they get work, and I probably couldn't say it without getting some people in trouble, but suffice it to say they are cheap, and because a lot of people are fooled by animation and nostalgia, their games are rated well, which means publishers still presume their games make money. I'll just leave that statement there for now.
As for whether they're keeping a set skill afloat, well, you could argue that. you could also argue that their studio is verrrrry close to one of the best animation schools in the world and college kids like the idea of working on games. I'll leave that statement there, too.
I feel that making a mediocre game, making a bland game, is worse than making a bad or interesting but flawed game. So while I understand that someone might make the choice to hire wayforward instead of platinum, that's the kind of choice made by a company that "needs to have X games out in this quarter," not by a company that wants to make a game because they want it to sell. and there are a lot of companies like that!
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| chazumaru 1152th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(9):wonder nono" , posted Fri 31 Jan 07:52:
you could also argue that their studio is verrrrry close to one of the best animation schools in the world and college kids like the idea of working on games.
I obviously know the US West Coast development scene much less than you so, in your opinion and from your observations of the video game job hunting scene in California, how many of those kids would get a similar job anywhere else in the games industry fresh out of college? Isn't this exploitation part of the "system"?
From the elements of information you provided, my expectation would be that such a guy/girl with no previous experience would precisely have the opportunity to get a decent job at a better developer thanks to their time at WayForward, on the basis of the shared Metacritic-enforced perception that WayForward is a talented company. So, even if they indeed exploit young talents, it would be corruptly in the interest of those talents to maintain the illusion created by WayForward. It's like The Wire with nerds and vanity mugs. Am I missing an element here that makes my reasoning incorrect?
To be fair, your latest post implies that the questionable politics of the company influence your opinion on the worth of their actual output. And I am totally fine with, say, people struggling to appreciate Altman or Polansky movies on the basis of what they know about those two people.
That's the kind of choice made by a company that "needs to have X games out in this quarter," not by a company that wants to make a game because they want it to sell.
Unfortunately I am not sure Platinum Games qualifies for either goal  but godspeed Bayonetta 2.
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[this message was edited by chazumaru on Fri 31 Jan 07:55] |
| exodus 4316th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(10):wonder nono" , posted Sat 1 Feb 18:28
quote:
Isn't this exploitation part of the "system"?
oh, it is indeed, and I wouldn't judge their quality of output based on that. I judge the quality of their output base on the quality of their output, which speaks pretty well for itself :P
I think your reasoning is solid - but if those kids have actual talent, and there's a market for this sort of thing, they should be making their own companies and doing something better!
I've seen more people being successful by going off and doing their own thing than by joining some company, but that's a different story.
I will say that for all their faults, they do pay some friends of mine for contract work pretty frequently, but I wish they weren't the "only" 2D house in town.
I guess you're correct in that they're preserving something, in terms of classical animation in games, but they do such a bad job with the rest of it that they may as well not.
I wouldn't be so frustrated or critical if they ever made good games!
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"Re(10):Random Thread #21 - New Consoles Editi" , posted Wed 20 Nov 03:58
"Re(1):PSN hacked? / FF13-3LR ending" , posted Fri 22 Nov 20:09:
). Now I'm curious to unlock REDACTED and see how REDACTED looks in various suits. 
