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| chazumaru 1152th Post
  
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|  "Random GAMES! Thread #22: Thanks Odama" , posted Thu 6 Feb 06:01  
Thanks Odama.
>> #21
quote:
Seriously don't know what to think about it, it seems that many games are rushed to the next gen instead of taking their time. Evil Within, Murdered and MGS V are all announced for next gen as well I fear we'll got no more than some polished effect and models but no real improvement on other standpoint. Ah, usually don't give a crap about EA/Activison/Ubisoft ports so I speak only for the Japanese developers (I assume westerns are used to this due to years of AAA PC market).
Btw got finally a WiiU (ID: Nekr0s) and I find Miiverse and video chat very appealing. Also liked the Karaoke but I'm not sure of its actual audience for the west. But I use it to sing Japanese songs so I don't care much. Very fun tough, it was unexpected. I don't play games very much now and the title bundled with the console (Mario U) felt ok to play but lazy and uninspired nearly in every aspect. Sure thing is Nintendo games in HD have beautiful renders and amazing colors. Any hint on what to buy? On my radar are W101 (will buy next week), Rayman, Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong. Some people moans about too many platformers but since is one of my favorite genres and I complain about too many fps on other systems, I call it even :P
I am also planning to get a PS4 in late spring or summer but haven't decided yet, mostly because of the lack of games that I like (only Infamous and WatchDogs).
Mario 3D World is amazing. That would be my priority over anything else (including any other console, or any other activity, for that matter). It's also a blast in multiplayer. And Donkey might be out by the time you are done with it.
I felt stupid for a while with my stance of waiting for the Japanese PS4, when no Japanese publisher seems inclined to really care about this new generation, the Japanese line-up sucks as much as the Western line-up despite the four extra months and the console is region-free anyway. Basically, I was importing for principle and the O button validation. But with the sudden crash of the yen, the console will cost me €300/£250 at launch. Now I feel like a genius!
i n t h e f a s t l a n e ♪
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| nobinobita 1252th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(1):X means cancel" , posted Thu 6 Feb 13:57
quote:
O button validation This is the most underreported humanitarian issue of our time! Every time I move, I become an oaf who cannot even confirm or cancel a menu selection correctly! Right now, I have a foreign-made PS3 and confirming with X makes me throw up. I cannot imagine what psychopath decided to switch this confirmation (how could X mean anything but cancel?), but as far as I know, FF VIII is maybe the earliest known iteration of this diabolical de facto region-locking (for the clumsy).
Even if you get a confirms-with-O PS4, though, you unfortunately will have bought a PS4. You lose!
TT_________TT Feel you bro
It drove me nuts trying to adjust to the sudden reversal of the cancel and confirm buttons that took place in the late 90s. It felt so arbitrary since the SNES and all early PSOne games already setup the convention that the far right button is the confirm button. Intuitively this makes sense as that's often the attack button while the bottom most button is usually for jumping (that makes sense to me at least).
Dunno why it changed. I also, to this day hate using the shoulder/trigger buttons to fire weapons, so maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon.
Anyway, here's a nice interview with, Teiyu Goto, the dude who designed the PSOne pad.
http://www.1up.com/news/playstation-1-design
Here's his reasoning for the button mapping, in his own words:
"I gave each symbol a meaning and a color. The triangle refers to viewpoint; I had it represent one's head or direction and made it green. Square refers to a piece of paper; I had it represent menus or documents and made it pink. The circle and X represent 'yes' or 'no' decision-making and I made them red and blue respectively. People thought those colors were mixed up, and I had to reinforce to management that that's what I wanted.""
www.art-eater.com
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| Nekros 589th Post
New Red Carpet Member
| "Re(3):X means cancel" , posted Thu 6 Feb 16:54
quote:
Not using the start button to select menu items and shifting it to A was such a change of convenience for me!
The metaphor of the "action" button gets weird with the SNES controller for me, because it made the "B" button jump (wtf!), and the "Y" button the action button (e.g. shooting in Contra 3). So by that thumb position mapping standard, the square button should've been accept! It makes me wonder, in Japan do people normally rest their thumb on the circle button? Resting my thumb on the x button just seems more comfortable, and since that's where my thumb already is, doesn't it make sense for that to be the primary action button?
It took me ages to consciously think of the face buttons in terms of what they're called rather than what position they are. No matter what a menu told me, I'd have to do it with my hands to remember.
This is and interesting concept, I think X or O are linked to school system (in most games if you pass you get your score circled and if you fail a cross is put over it), correct me if I'm wrong.
I never figured out square is considered "pink paper"...I mean why pink? In Italy there is a newspaper entirely in pink paper (it's a daily sport news) but that's all, never saw pink paper in a office. Maybe post-it paper, but who knows.
Interesting fact is Chrono Trigger on PSX mantain the japanese button layout as default even if it was released after FFVIII.
Returning on WiiU, I found VERY disappointing the battery duration, it's a chore. Not a big deal since you basically can't leave the room but swinging the charge cable around with you is annoying.
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| Iggy 9725th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
     
  
| "Some game has been released on WiiU" , posted Thu 13 Feb 23:21
And it's really awesome. OK, the monkeys look horrible (but I never liked anthropomorphic whatever is not a human to begin with), but the rest of the game is jaw-dropping beautiful.
The two main issues of the Wii version have been mended: controls are streamlined (no stupid wiimote jerking, and DK lost the blowing action which didn't have much purpose), and the levels have much more visual variety (at least what I could see this morning and through videos of later stages). Everything puts a smile on my face, especially the music: in the Wii game, it was mostly an homage to the SFC series, but the new game has been replaced by authentic new David Wise compositions.
There are less levels but they are longer and richer (which you could consider a plus or not, according to taste), and really, the game is the most beautiful and colorful ball of joy to fall on the WiiU. Visually, it's the equivalent to when Galaxy hit the Wii. I love it just that much.
Also, the villains of the day are mean invading viking penguins, for the special needs of our special members.
---
Ah, and speaking of WiiU.
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| Pollyanna 3612th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Wed 19 Feb 22:07
Random things...
*The Japanese PS4 PSN Store is up.
You can get 3 months of free PS+! Yaaaaaaay! Not even being sarcastic here!
Not much else to do, though. Buy the new Ryu Ga Gotoku if you're really excited? Or Musou if you can't wait a month for the US release?
*Bored PS4 users can download the Final Fantasy XIV beta now. I'm hugely fond of the game myself, though I play on PC. On a side note, I'm a bit relieved to hear that the PS4 version, while good, will not outperform max settings on PC. (Also for bored PS4 users, Strider demo...)
*I played the Titanfall beta a bit (for PC) and was pretty impressed! I admit, I mostly signed up for the "take that, Xbox, I can play your biggest new game at a higher resolution on my PC!" factor, but I left with a strong desire to buy the game. It has lots of fun ideas and all of them are super easy to get into. As someone who doesn't generally like FPS games (Why is my head so low? Are my arms coming out of my chest?), you can either take my endorsement as untrustworthy, or very positive. Also, as another undeserved middle finger to Xbox, I played it with a PS4 controller.
*Lightning Returns is really interesting. I won't say "good" and I don't necessarily recommend it, but it's daring in a way that endears it to me and will inevitably be unpopular. It reminds me a bit of a SaGa game in that it has plenty of ways for you to hunt down challenges that you can't possibly meet. I won't go on and on, since people who are interested in it have probably heard about the details anyway, but I'm extremely glad that I tried it, whether I end up putting a lot of time into it or not. There are some games with interesting ideas that are amazing in practice (Gravity Daze), but sometimes interesting ideas are intriguing enough on their own.
*Udon has released the second Monster Hunter Artbook in English. Super highly recommend it to Capcom art fans, whether you're into Monster Hunter or not. Amazing that they drew the skeletons and muscles under the skin of some of the monsters. Like the game, it's fun to look at the individual parts, compare them to real animals in nature, and think about how they work in action. Looking carefully, you may notice things like "this dragon has front legs like a seal and uses them like that in the game!" or "this thing has this kind of beak because it eats these things" or whatever. I can see where that might not be a point of interest for many people, but for me, I almost get teary-eyed when I realize how thoughtful some of the designs are and how well they recreate elements in nature (in 3, 3P and 4, at least).
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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| Ishmael 4824th Post
PSN: Ishmael26b
XBL: n/a
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Thu 20 Feb 00:28
The penguin liberator has returned in Strider. Actually I'm not certain what I should call this game. Strider 3? Strider(2014)? Whatever it's called it's a game that features Strider doing his thing, which is hopping around a lot and mashing on the attack button until everything dies.
In the short time I've spent with the game it plays like the NES Strider except with decent controls so I'm a happy ninja right now. I think what is appealing to me most right now is that Hiryu feels very Strider-ish. It's obvious that the programmers loved the previous Strider games and tried to inject as much of that into the game as possible. Hiryu even has his MvC launcher. I have no idea what it's good for but if I feel like popping some nameless grunt into the air before he dies I have that option.
I'm also enjoying the feel and placement of the power-ups. The new abilities, such as the floor smash, are great fun and are spaced just far enough apart that I don't get bored between upgrades. The carrot and stick approach is very important in this type of game and so far the pacing seems to be well done.
I'm even enjoying how the game is trying to cover its low budget. For example, after the obligatory fight against Ouroboros the wounded boss can now be seen flying around the background. First, I like this because it makes it feel more natural when Ouroboros will inevitably show up again for a recycled boss fight. Second, it spices up backtracking through samey-looking backgrounds when a big, angry thing is flying around and roaring. Third, it gives the impression that Strider has only been on his mission for a short time but he has already caused an incredible amount of havoc.
Even with my enthusiasm there are some things I'm not thrilled about. The levels are often too dark and feel limited in scope when compared to the globe trotting of the previous games. I miss the gorgeous character designs of Strider 2 but since that may be the most Capcom looking game ever made it's probably unfair to hold this game to that standard. But even with its faults the game is inexpensive, it's fun and it's Strider.
quote:
*Udon has released the second Monster Hunter Artbook in English.
Nuts, I wish I didn't know about that book. I don't need another art book in my life but I know I'm going to get it!
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| karasu 1327th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(5):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Sun 23 Feb 03:19
quote:
The penguin liberator has returned in Strider. Actually I'm not certain what I should call this game. Strider 3? Strider(2014)? Whatever it's called it's a game that features Strider doing his thing, which is hopping around a lot and mashing on the attack button until everything dies.
In the short time I've spent with the game it plays like the NES Strider except with decent controls so I'm a happy ninja right now. I think what is appealing to me most right now is that Hiryu feels very Strider-ish. It's obvious that the programmers loved the previous Strider games and tried to inject as much of that into the game as possible. Hiryu even has his MvC launcher. I have no idea what it's good for but if I feel like popping some nameless grunt into the air before he dies I have that option.
I'm also enjoying the feel and placement of the power-ups. The new abilities, such as the floor smash, are great fun and are spaced just far enough apart that I don't get bored between upgrades. The carrot and stick approach is very important in this type of game and so far the pacing seems to be well done.
I've been hesitating to post anything about Strider just yet since in my short time with it I felt... let's just say not as positive as you did. But I'm giving it time, so no more out of me on the subject just yet!
I did however enjoy playing through the astonishingly short Lords of Shadow 2 demo last night! I guess my lack of high expectations might have something to do with it, but I found it to be actually pretty good! Or maybe I'm just prepared to enjoy any game where you get to vomit blood all over the control mechanism of a giant golem to destroy it! I did, however, find myself wondering where the hell all those soldiers, gold-armored flying dudes, siege engines and golems were in the last game when it was just me, or for that matter where's my army of fleamen, axe armors, and bone-throwing immortal red skeletons is in this one. Oh, riiiight! "Dracula has to rebuild his great powers", hahahahaha!
Anyway, it's not bad.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Ishmael 4827th Post
PSN: Ishmael26b
XBL: n/a
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Mon 24 Feb 01:19
quote:
I've been hesitating to post anything about Strider just yet since in my short time with it I felt... let's just say not as positive as you did. But I'm giving it time, so no more out of me on the subject just yet!
Actually, I would like to hear some constructive criticism of the game. While Strider is pushing my buttons it's certainly not without its flaws. For me, the game is a perfectly decent example of this genre that thankfully does not feature that stupid Ikaruga-esque plane shifting that was found in Guacamelee, Outland, and too many other games of this type. Then again, I'm playing EDF 2025 so I obviously don't know how to distinguish good from bad.
quote:
I did however enjoy playing through the astonishingly short Lords of Shadow 2 demo last night! I guess my lack of high expectations might have something to do with it, but I found it to be actually pretty good! Or maybe I'm just prepared to enjoy any game where you get to vomit blood all over the control mechanism of a giant golem to destroy it! I did, however, find myself wondering where the hell all those soldiers, gold-armored flying dudes, siege engines and golems were in the last game when it was just me, or for that matter where's my army of fleamen, axe armors, and bone-throwing immortal red skeletons is in this one. Oh, riiiight! "Dracula has to rebuild his great powers", hahahahaha!
If the LoS2 turns out to have some sort of mini game where you have to raise and train Medusa heads in order to re-stock your castle I'll run out and buy it immediately.
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| karasu 1329th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(7):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Tue 25 Feb 02:14
WOW, I step away for a day or two to fly to a sunny place and now look at all this writing I have to do!
quote:
Actually, I would like to hear some constructive criticism of the game. While Strider is pushing my buttons it's certainly not without its flaws. For me, the game is a perfectly decent example of this genre that thankfully does not feature that stupid Ikaruga-esque plane shifting that was found in Guacamelee, Outland, and too many other games of this type. Then again, I'm playing EDF 2025 so I obviously don't know how to distinguish good from bad.
OKAY. Since I wrote that I played a bunch more of the game and I have some solidified thoughts to mention.
So alright, I've softened a bit on the game since last time, having played through about 2 hours worth of it. I like it more, for one thing-- it's well made, clearly, the controls are nice, although in a few cases a little strange (for example, I kept doing this diagonal downward dive that felt way too slow for a while with no clue how I was pulling it off. Come to find out, it's what weirdly happens when you are doing your slide move and you encounter the edge of a platform.), and it recalls nicely both the first and second games in its setting-- and at least on the PS4 the setting is jaw-droppingly nice looking (god those gold onion domes!). I appreciate that it's similar in makeup to the NES game which like Ishmael I inexplicably love. It's also a technically accomplished platform game, make no mistake. And fun! I'm having a good time playing it, and at least one boss battle was exciting, Oroboros.
The things that start to bug me are instances where they took no risks at all in making this yet another metroidvania, even going to far as to slip in things like the 'flying eagle' or whatever it's called-- this game's equivalent of the transport rooms from SoTN and every other one of the 10,000,000 metroidvanias made in the last year. Granted, I know that the NES Strider was really a metroidvania long before the term was coined, but the more I play the more I'm convinced that these guys never played that game but instead just started up their metroidvania clone software, slotted in the art and the power ups, pressed the button, and that this is what we got. I guess it's a symptom of how tired I am of this 'genre' rather than an actual complaint about Strider, but after going back and playing the first two games in anticipation of this, Strider is a franchise that deserves a better, more well-thought out, more original, harder, less cookie-cutter game than this. I know, everybody just had to see Solo, Oroboros, Ton-Pooh, the Grandmaster, and all that in the same exact setting as the first game yet again because ZOMG THER SOOO COOOLLL but I would have loved something even a little bit more original.
That said, I'll go on and recommend this game to plenty of people since it's well made and fun, and because the designs from 1989 still hold up today, and because it's nice to hear people who usually hate Japanese games (yes, those barbarians) gush over this game so much.
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If the LoS2 turns out to have some sort of mini game where you have to raise and train Medusa heads
Haha, that would be a perfect fit for a mobile phone 'companion app', that's for sure!
See, and now after bitching about the same old stuff in games I have to jump in here and state that I like a game that's a lot of the same old thing. Ah well!
I think Mercurysteam is at least making some attempt to change things up a little bit with their 3D Castlevanias (we'll never discuss the 3DS game again), and the results are mixed. LoS2 will be big and dumb, with plenty that I dislike, but it will be fun at the very least.
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CITIZENS
Damn you, Treasure, for making the port PC-only! I would have bought it in a second if not for being away from my PC at the moment.
quote:
Alternate alternate review: Based on the role-playing heroic feeling of the above, Ikaruga is secretly an RPG disguised as a shooting game.
That's some dangerous business to be talking about! In the writing mood that I'm in, I'm tempted to gush for a monumental TLDR about how Ikaruga works so magically as both a puzzle game and a shooter. Let me just make the broad and video game journalism style unsupported flat assertion that Ikaruga is the shooting genre from Space Invaders all the way up to itself, magically distilled into the perfect expression of its genre.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Iggy 9726th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Tue 25 Feb 03:49
quote:
Strider is a franchise that deserves a better, more well-thought out, more original, harder, less cookie-cutter game than this.
And here's my main issue in a nutshell. Is it, really?
To me, it merely is a good game for its time, supported by a very good redesign of the main character late after its first release, and then a cameo in a popular fighting game series allowed this design to shine amongst an audience far greater than what the original games ever received.
Granted, I don't have anything against Strider, it's a game from the great history of great games of the good times of the Capcom of the old.
But it has aged, and the only thing that saves it from the likes of G&G or Final Fight or Rockman is the cool ninja design. I don't think it ever was a class A franchise.
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| nobinobita 1262th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(9):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Tue 25 Feb 04:25:
quote:
Strider is a franchise that deserves a better, more well-thought out, more original, harder, less cookie-cutter game than this. And here's my main issue in a nutshell. Is it, really?
To me, it merely is a good game for its time, supported by a very good redesign of the main character late after its first release, and then a cameo in a popular fighting game series allowed this design to shine amongst an audience far greater than what the original games ever received.
Granted, I don't have anything against Strider, it's a game from the great history of great games of the good times of the Capcom of the old.
But it has aged, and the only thing that saves it from the likes of G&G or Final Fight or Rockman is the cool ninja design. I don't think it ever was a class A franchise.
I'd say Strider was a class A franchise for its time and platform. I remember the game being a big deal in the arcade and if memory serves me correctly, it was the first 8 megabit cartridge! Aside from the marketing jargon (which seeped deeply into my brain--i can tell you the cart size of any SNES or Genesis game off hand) I think you could actually feel the difference that made in the game. It just felt bigger and more robust than anything else at home at the time.
It was loved by the press too. EGM awarded the Genesis version "Game of the Year" and "best graphics."
I think the first game actually holds up very well today. Everyone seems to think it was about speed, but I think it was really about agility. The feeling of jumping over an enemy and then slashing it in the back multiple times before you land is still mostly unmatched by other action games. And man, the cold war inspired art was just fantastic. Has some of the coolest art direction in any game. Great characters, great environments and a great sense of danger.
I was prepared to write off the new game completely after the initial videos. It's hard to explain, but it just looked so much like a typical Unity game to me. Something about the expansively laid out platforms (i was pretty disappointed when I heard that the reason the stage elements are laid out so far apart is cos he happens to run faster in this game) and lack of a cohesive sense of scale. Also the art doesn't uphold the impossibly high standards of the previous 2 games.
But I think i'll give it a shot after hearing all the nice things you guys have to say.
Still, if i may be petty for a moment. It really really bugs me that in the new game, his hoop belt lies almost flush parallel to his hips instead of tilting to one side.
http://www.6aming.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/a00_city_gate_temp087rhszb.jpg
This makes him look fat!!!
More reference:
Original game:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/strider/strider-6.png
MvC:
http://wiki.shoryuken.com/images/8/82/Mvc2-strider.png
Reboot:
http://gamerspack.com/gpEN/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/strider-customize-4.jpg
Notice how his torso is constantly hovering in the middle of the belt with an ring of negative space around it at all times as if it's floating.
www.art-eater.com
[this message was edited by nobinobita on Tue 25 Feb 04:34] |
| Ishmael 4828th Post
PSN: Ishmael26b
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Tue 25 Feb 12:14
quote:
Strider is a franchise that deserves a better, more well-thought out, more original, harder, less cookie-cutter game than this. And here's my main issue in a nutshell. Is it, really?
Now that I think about it Strider has always been a franchise that has been in the wrong time period. The arcade and Genesis versions of the game did everything they could with the technology on hand and didn't have anywhere to go as far as sequels went during that generation of hardware. The NES game was overly ambitious so instead of being a trailblazer in its genre it simply ended up being a bit weird. By the time technology had advanced to the point that a sequel could do something new other franchises had gained in popularity, leaving Strider in the retro gutter. During the brief moment that Strider was at the top he was so far up there that the only place he could go was down.
This leads us into the other problem with the game...
quote:
The things that start to bug me are instances where they took no risks at all in making this yet another metroidvania
One of my major complaints is the nostalgic, safe vibe the new Strider is riding. I can understand their love for the series kept them from doing anything too radical (who wants to be known as the guy who screwed up Strider?) but too often the game feels solid and workmanlike when it should be crazy. Where is the pilot who would rather jump to his death than face Strider or the loony flying tiger cars? I hope this game is successful enough to spawn a sequel that can truly bring back that nutty design sense Strider was known for. I also hope that would let Strider have a new story to journey through instead of regurgitating the arcade plot yet again. The world of Strider is large and colorful, he should have more to do than just hacking Solo out of the air again and again.
quote:
1998 was the year of SF3:2I and MvC and SFA3, and at that point in time I think the biggest associations with Capcom would surely be fighting games. Arcades were still doing alright in 1999, so I wonder if Strider 2 had a limited arcade release. Or maybe its console release was just totally overshadowed by SFA3's. I don't know the entire story!
Strider 2 did have an arcade release but I don't know how much distribution it received outside of Japan or even in Japan for that matter. To this day I'm still not certain what they were trying to do with Strider 2. It's a gorgeous game but it's not the sort of thing that's going to relaunch a franchise. Was it just made for the programmers and the few people like me who are inordinately entertained by Strider?
quote:
Still, if i may be petty for a moment. It really really bugs me that in the new game, his hoop belt lies almost flush parallel to his hips instead of tilting to one side.
If I had to guess I would bet that the belt was shifted because it's now separating the top and bottom half of Strider. Since he no longer has that red sash around his waist he needs something to help separate his torso from his legs and not be just a big, blue blob running around the screen. If the belt was in the old position he would look lopsided. At least he's no longer wearing that mirrored glam rock hoop belt. That was not a good look.
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| fingersmaloy
2th Post
PSN: USAMaloy
XBL: USAMaloy
Wii: n/a
New Customer
| "Re(4):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Wed 26 Feb 10:41
Hey guys, long time no everything.
I was summoned by the Maou to share my thoughts on Strider, because I have them. I guess I'm already a little late, but who wants to talk about Ikaruga anyway? #YOLO
1) As some of you may recall, I was the Capcom community manager for the new game. I don't want to make you uncomfortable to share your honest opinions, but I will just note that I have heard fans come up with a number of unofficial nickname candidates, so as to distinguish this game from the other two games also called just "Strider" (that is, the arcade one and the NES one, which are, to be sure, completely different games with the same name).
As of now, my two favorite candidates are "Strider Helix," because Double Helix, and "Metstroidvanier," because let's just watch the world burn.
Okay okay, the latter was coined by me.
Oh yeah, and some are saying "Strider 2014," but I don't really get that one.
2) I am thrilled to see any amount of love greater than zero love for Strider NES. In fact, I feel like the last time I posted here--ages ago--was in response to that same thing happening. But in any case, I frequently find that the NES game is underappreciated while the original arcade game is, frankly, greatly overappreciated. I say this as a guy who has revisited both games many times as an adult. The NES game is full of ambitious ideas and a relatively coherent story. It doesn't FEEL amazing, but it's INTERESTING. There are also lots of weird programming quirks that are funny enough to add to the experience rather than detract, like how you appear to "acquire" NPCs when you talk to them.
All the love for the arcade game, as far as I can tell, seems to stem from the art (admittedly superior, but also totally schizophrenic) and the fact that that was the one people played when they were young. I CHALLENGE you to try and have fun playing arcade Strider. I challenge you.
3) Did you know that Strider was originally planned as a weird sort of multimedia experiment? The arcade game and NES game came out within months of one another (which makes it all the weirder how different they are--even Hiryu's design is different), and both just months after the release of a Strider Hiryu manga. The story, cast, and designs of the NES game was based directly on the comic, while the arcade game was just kind of...uh, I don't know. The only thread of commonality seems to be "Kazakh" as one of the settings and the presence of a ninja-like guy with a "cypher." Not sure where the robo-gorilla, gravitron ball, or dinosaurs came from.
4) Even weirder is that the NES game, though based wholly on the Japan-only comic, never came out in Japan. A Famicom version was developed, but ultimately canceled. Allegedly there is a cart floating around for an exorbitant amount of money.
5) Don't waste your time searching for that when the true holy grail of Strider collectibles is THIS: http://strider.wikia.com/wiki/Strider_Hiryu:_Original_Music
Apparently some crazy bastards recorded STUDIO VERSIONS of the NES songs, including a version of the opening theme with lyrics. This cassette was allegedly available only as a mail-order item to people who bought the comic. I'm pretty sure nobody from Kadokawa is still curating it, and Capcom definitely isn't. The recordings exist nowhere online (to my knowledge), but there is this one NicoNico video of some OTHER crazy bastard singing the alleged lyrics over the 8-bit version of the opening theme.
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm9673479
It's a weird brand, guys! I'm pretty glad it's still got life in it, and the response to the new game has actually been pretty swimming. Good timing, I reckon.
Anyway!
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| fingersmaloy
3th Post
PSN: USAMaloy
XBL: USAMaloy
Wii: n/a
New Customer
| "Re(6):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Wed 26 Feb 11:14
quote:
Hey, I like arcade Strider a lot still. One of these days I'll one CC it. I can still make it to Second Moon on one coin most of the time. Oh, and the dinosaurs are because Grand Master is going to replace all life on Earth with life of his own making or some shit, and he's just starting the process of creation again or something. "All sons of old gods, die!"
Oh. That's a pretty good explanation, actually.
And yeah, if you can actually find a way to make that game a playable game, then by all means! I would love to actually get to a point where it doesn't just seem like a methodless, logicless circus of enormous hitboxes, disjointed settings, and people barking foreign languages at each other. Really I would!
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| HAYATO 1176th Post
PSN: Lord-Hayato
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(7):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Wed 26 Feb 20:08:
quote:
Hey, I like arcade Strider a lot still. One of these days I'll one CC it. I can still make it to Second Moon on one coin most of the time. Oh, and the dinosaurs are because Grand Master is going to replace all life on Earth with life of his own making or some shit, and he's just starting the process of creation again or something. "All sons of old gods, die!"
Oh. That's a pretty good explanation, actually.
And yeah, if you can actually find a way to make that game a playable game, then by all means! I would love to actually get to a point where it doesn't just seem like a methodless, logicless circus of enormous hitboxes, disjointed settings, and people barking foreign languages at each other. Really I would!
Hahaha, oh wow.
I know everybody is entitled to their own opinions, but this is the first time I ever read such a negative review of the Capcom classic. It certainly reads as if you were talking about Cannon Dancer/Osman (the game Isuke designed under Mitchell Corp. in the mid-nineties), rather than Strider... Now you piqued my curiosity: how could you find such a finely tuned game disjointed? We are talking about a game whose stages and layout were carefully and purposely built around the main character's abilities to give players the most seamless, streamlined, action-filled experience available at the time. Sure, there were other impressive arcades out there (such as Sega's Out Run, Konami's TMNT), but in terms of action side-scrollers, Strider was king (Konami's Contra being the only contestant on his league I can think of right now).
BTW,reading your statements about Strider's lack of plot and clumsy mechanics made me wonder, how old are you? Don't take offence, but you write as someone who missed the arcade original, or even the 80s-90s arcade cultural wave in its entirety. Your speech made me think of someone who grew up in the 64-bit era, or even later, when cinematics, character development and technical specs became prominent in the industry, even more so than fun or creativity. If that's the case, that may be the reason behind your lack of interest in Strider and your inability to appreciate its merits...
As someone who has been playing Strider (both Genesis and Arcade versions) for about 20 years and first 1CC-ed it at the age of 13, I can tell you are sorely mistaken in your assumptions, and I'll suggest you to give it another try with a broader mindset. Strider's mechanics may feel awkward at first but, once you study the level layout, everything will come into place, you'll learn how to use Hiryu's moves to your advantage and you'll enjoy making progress on his wonderful, timeless adventure towards the Third Moon.
UPDATE: Here's an insightful 1CC, no miss run for those interested. I'm not nearly as good as this guy, but I usually take some quicker, unsafer chances when attempting my 1CC runs.
[this message was edited by HAYATO on Wed 26 Feb 20:34] |
| Pollyanna 3615th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Wed 26 Feb 22:55
quote:
Elsewhere, I'm not too big a fan of how this game feels and plays, but boy does it look and sound good!
Ultionus
The protagonist's funny walk animation reminds me of an old (poor/brilliant) movie called "Star Crash." There was a scene where a bunch of space warrior women were ordered to leave/go to battle (I forget) and all awkwardly shuffled out of the room in their high heels, which prevented them from actually moving quickly with any degree of grace. It was great. Or maybe "moe" as people say today.
Anyway, I'm not sure if it's awesome or not to have "a B-movie bikini babe horse woman" that used to haunt my late Saturday nights with questions of "do guys really like girls like that?" as a protagonist, but they seemed to have hit the nail on the head for what they were going for! Really really don't like the physics in the game, though.
quote:
Ikaruga is secretly Dance Dance Revolution 4
I thought DDR 4(th Mix) was DDR4, but hey.
I don't think Ikaruga will beat 3rd Strike as my "most purchased" game even when I inevitably get the PC version, but it's up there. Hmm...if you count Vampire Chronicles, I think Vampire Savior is my #1.
quote:
Strider
Although I don't necessarily agree with all of Hayato's opinions on the original Strider, I do think it's an exceptional game. If I want to play a really good old Capcom arcade action game, I'd still go with Ghouls and Ghosts/Dai Makaimura, but Strider has such an "epic" feel to it. The stages feel so "big" and it just hurls one idea at you after another. You can't go 20 seconds without something new and exciting happening.
It feels like one of the big-budget titles of today that dazzle you with death-defying action sequences that dazzle you with (ideally) creative visuals. Even if you have a small move set, the way that you interact with the world and the rich number of locations, enemies and "scenarios" really tell a story. The stages have a sense of narrative to them that excite the imagination and carry you beyond the concept of a 2D character moving from left to right again and again until everything is dead.
Hmmm...I thought "what Hayato said feels like hyperbole to me," but when I look at what I just wrote, I might be even more guilty.
I'm admittedly not an expert on retro games. I have a grudge against nostalgia and when I play an old game, I try to judge it by its own merits, not just "for the time" sort of thing. Mechanically, I think Strider just gets the job done, but it's good enough as a vehicle to explore all of its fantastic ideas. Even today, playing it excites my imagination.
I haven't played the NES Strider in too long to make an accurate assessment of it, but simply watching it being played, I don't feel like I could enjoy it outside of its perspective as a classic game. That being said, it really was ahead of its time on a lot of ideas and its interesting that the new Strider sort of cashes in on that?
Also
quote:
Even weirder is that the NES game, though based wholly on the Japan-only comic, never came out in Japan. A Famicom version was developed, but ultimately canceled. Allegedly there is a cart floating around for an exorbitant amount of money.
This is insane. I had no idea! It's always weird when things like this happen.
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 9729th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(9):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Thu 27 Feb 00:26
quote:
Hmm...if you count Vampire Chronicles, I think Vampire Savior is my #1.
You and me, Polly. You and me.
As for Strider... first, as far as I know, the NES version wasn't released in Europe so I only heard of it very recently. And visually, the arcade (and Megadrive) ones were gorgeous, that's for sure, and visually inventive, and clever, and, well... Capcom at that time, absolute kings of eye candy.
But I never had any fun to play it.
Or rather... I loved playing the first stage because it was the only one I could manage, and indeed moving Strider on the screen was absolute bliss. I can still remember up until the mechanical gorilla, but after that, everything is a blur of "oh god" "how am I supposed to" and "urghhhhh".
In a sense, it's the Capcom equivalent to Magician Lord: a great looking game with a character with cool powers, but one I was never able to master or even learn properly.
(That's probably when Red Falcon stops talking to me forever).
My time in the arcades at the time was more settled around G&G, and the heroic fantasy clones of Final Fight (D&D / King of Dragons / Knights of the Round), so my lack of found memories of Strider leaves me a bit out in the whole debate. I also have more found memories of MvC1 Strider than of any of his games.
Adversely, Arthur in MvC3 was the most awesome addition to the whole cast, even though that was a party with a very limited attendance.
That being said... The Double Helix Strider seems to have more things going on for it than Goku Makaimura, so at least that's something.
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| Spoon 2563th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(9):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Thu 27 Feb 03:53
quote:
The protagonist's funny walk animation reminds me of an old (poor/brilliant) movie called "Star Crash." There was a scene where a bunch of space warrior women were ordered to leave/go to battle (I forget) and all awkwardly shuffled out of the room in their high heels, which prevented them from actually moving quickly with any degree of grace. It was great. Or maybe "moe" as people say today.
Anyway, I'm not sure if it's awesome or not to have "a B-movie bikini babe horse woman" that used to haunt my late Saturday nights with questions of "do guys really like girls like that?" as a protagonist, but they seemed to have hit the nail on the head for what they were going for! Really really don't like the physics in the game, though.
Oh, the feel of the shooting, the movement, and the jumping is terrible in my opinion. The backgrounds and many of the entity sprites are quite pleasant, the gigantic HUD-thing at the bottom of the screen is just like plenty of old DOS games (probably Amiga ones, too), and the music/colors/swirling stuff in the menu screen remind me of the old demoscene/crack scene stuff.
But I definitely wouldn't pay $10 to actually play the game.
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| red falcon 6195th Post
PSN: Rugalbgood
XBL: RugalBGood
Wii: Doesitmatter?
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(9):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Thu 27 Feb 08:20
quote:
It is like watching someone convincingly defend Mario USA/"2" as their favorite Mario, or people who truly, earnestly love Street Fighter Zero 1 the best (one day I will meet such a person (it is not that unreasonable (really))).
Mario USA is awesome, and that guy dancing in Ken or Nash's BG (I forget which) is boss.
In all seriousness, I don't think arcade Strider is that difficult beyond the last stage, it's just all memorization and killing things before they can even do anything. It's worth pointing out I love games where through practicing the controls and memorization of what's going to happen you can really blow through them (people who have known me on this site for a long time will remember my love of Magician Lord and the arcade Super C). Also, I really like Osman too (any REALLY old members here remember me recording and posting some vids before it was emulated? ;D) but it definitely has more problems than Strider (it's certainly glitchier... this is probably a budgetary thing, Mitchell Japan had no money at all. Their last game... I forget the name of it right now, Gamshara, I think, was a Nam 1975-esque game where you shot at a walking castle and stuff, and it was obviously made on a shoestring budget... but I digress!) I really like the feel and presentation of the game though, and the female counterpart to Grand Master, "Abdullah the Slaver", is pretty awesome.
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| Ishmael 4829th Post
PSN: Ishmael26b
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(10):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Thu 27 Feb 09:55
quote:
3) Did you know that Strider was originally planned as a weird sort of multimedia experiment? The arcade game and NES game came out within months of one another (which makes it all the weirder how different they are--even Hiryu's design is different), and both just months after the release of a Strider Hiryu manga
This is probably another reason why Strider has only been able to maintain a cult following. Taking a basic premise for a character and then releasing competing, contradictory stories in an attempt to make a franchise is crazy. It reminds me of the Blood: The Last Vampire franchise where they have the very simple "protagonist with a sword" template and keep shoving her into different plots in the hopes that something sticks. Instead of having one idea rise to the top Strider has become an amalgamation of different bits and pieces. At this point the only thing left from the manga is Strider's costume while his motivation is an obscure quest to face off against a wizard who throws fish at his enemies. Again, I really hope that when Strider comes back he gets to have a brand new adventure that will help expand the poor guy's borders a bit.
quote:
As someone who has been playing Strider (both Genesis and Arcade versions) for about 20 years and first 1CC-ed it at the age of 13, I can tell you are sorely mistaken in your assumptions, and I'll suggest you to give it another try with a broader mindset. Strider's mechanics may feel awkward at first but, once you study the level layout, everything will come into place, you'll learn how to use Hiryu's moves to your advantage and you'll enjoy making progress on his wonderful, timeless adventure towards the Third Moon.
I wonder if fingersmaloy was most recently playing the PSX version of Strider? When he mentioned large hitboxes it put me in mind of some of the glitches in that game, such as how you can hit the gravity core when it's on the other side of the room.
At least your post reminded me of what an imaginative arcade game Strider was. It was so intent on constantly throwing wild and weird things at you that even the corners of the game you didn't interact with were filled with detail and dangers. I love that you can easily skip the fights with Ivan Drago in the first level and the girls on the Third Moon without missing anything. One of the reasons that Strider is considered such a classic is that level of craftsmanship. When you play everything feels like it is falling into place where it should. (The exception being that bit on the Third Moon where you have to blindly jump upside down and if you get it wrong or hit an unseen hazard you'll go spinning off into space. That was bullshit from day one and has not improved with time.)
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| karasu 1331th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Re(10):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Fri 28 Feb 07:10
quote:
At least your post reminded me of what an imaginative arcade game Strider was. It was so intent on constantly throwing wild and weird things at you that even the corners of the game you didn't interact with were filled with detail and dangers. I love that you can easily skip the fights with Ivan Drago in the first level and the girls on the Third Moon without missing anything. One of the reasons that Strider is considered such a classic is that level of craftsmanship. When you play everything feels like it is falling into place where it should. (The exception being that bit on the Third Moon where you have to blindly jump upside down and if you get it wrong or hit an unseen hazard you'll go spinning off into space. That was bullshit from day one and has not improved with time.)
I recall some 'bosses' being just goofy excuses for a different sprite and some dialog-- even Solo was never much of a challenge. Years later, when I had read up on some of the characters and played MvC1 (where Ton Pooh was a striker) I remember going back and having to to specifically hold back on attacking some of these folks to keep from obliterating them instantly. I'm not sure if this is due to a glitch or to difficulty settings but it sure was weird. Oh, and another way I felt like Strider succeeded was how you could get the impression that there was a bunch more in each level than there actually was-- partly because you could do things like just jump at the right point and thereby skip entire swaths of the game.
On another note, the voice samples and music in Strider were always extremely evocative for me, probably in part due to when I first heard them. In fact I'm guessing I could perfectly emulate a lot of the samples myself I recall them so well (Solo's I GOT YOU is particularly memorable.
So in response to a few of things everyone has had to say (sorry, I've been reading but not writing for a bit): fingersmaloy-- I'm hoping Strider (2014) will be a springboard to a potential future sequel that maybe has a higher budget and is a little more daring. But who knows! I like the new Strider but don't really love it, mostly because of its lack of innovation. Nostalgia's tough though! Keep it too close to the source material and people bitch that not enough chances were taken, but diverge too much and people scream that you've murdered their childhood. Personally speaking I'd rather games keep changing and trying new things, even if it means I don't get to play the exact same metroidvanias until I'm 115, but I'm probably in the minority (*cough* Megaman *cough*).
I'll have to go back and play the NES and Genesis Striders to try and have some modern perspective on them. It's been years since I played either. It's funny to look back through the older games and see just how much Strider's design got changed between the first game and MvC1, by the way.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Spoon 2566th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 2025" , posted Fri 28 Feb 14:51
On the subject of games that have outrageous hitboxes and combat arenas wonderfully tuned to the enemies you fight them in, EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 2025 was released in North American about 10 days ago. It is EDF 3 but with character classes inspired by EDF:IA, but without the progression system of EDF:IA. something about it seems less shiny than EDF 3, but I haven't got an Xbox handy to do a side by side comparison. The civilians make an infuriating racket, and while you can bounce them around with rockets you can't kill them. It is very much an incremental improvement of EDF (more classes, more enemy types, more stages, more weapons, more multiplayer options, more of the radio play, etc.) and I love it to pieces.
I tell people that EDF can be described in a simple two word phrase:
"EDF! EDF!"
but pronouncing it with the correct nuances of mania, cheesiness, earnestness, fake-military-gruffness, and so on requires practice.
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| fingersmaloy
4th Post
PSN: USAMaloy
XBL: USAMaloy
Wii: n/a
New Customer
| "Re(8):Re(10):Japanese PS4 Store" , posted Sat 1 Mar 09:30
quote:
I know everybody is entitled to their own opinions, but this is the first time I ever read such a negative review of the Capcom classic. It certainly reads as if you were talking about Cannon Dancer/Osman (the game Isuke designed under Mitchell Corp. in the mid-nineties), rather than Strider... Now you piqued my curiosity: how could you find such a finely tuned game disjointed? We are talking about a game whose stages and layout were carefully and purposely built around the main character's abilities to give players the most seamless, streamlined, action-filled experience available at the time. Sure, there were other impressive arcades out there (such as Sega's Out Run, Konami's TMNT), but in terms of action side-scrollers, S
-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --
I will say that the fact that 1cc runs of this game exist gives me hope that maybe I've just been missing something all these years. My experience when playing this game has always been extremely frustrating, and--while I probably shouldn't say this given my position--I always get the impression that a lot of the design decisions stemmed from a simple desire to devour people's quarters. This was true of a lot of arcade games at the time, none of which I find fun to play now.
In particular, I feel like I experience a lot of cheap shots from projectiles from unseen enemies which are 1) nigh-impossible to avoid given the player's natural understanding of his/her toolset (that is, what abilities the player could logically deduce are at his/her disposal from playing the game and not doing granular background research on exploits, etc.), and 2) often randomized with each playthrough, such that even memorization doesn't seem possible.
Not only are projectiles often unavoidable--they seem to almost invariably knock Hiryu off whatever platform he's on, but with seemingly inconsistent laws as to whether or not he can catch himself on said platform.
The vine physics in the Amazon stage, in particular, seem utterly indecipherable.
Obviously someone out there is deciphering these things, but for the record I've revisited this game many times, from my first experiences on the Genesis version at probably age 9, to the PSX version at age 15 or 16, to the PSP port (one of the Capcom collections) and MAME emulation several times over the last three years. I've never gotten to a point where anything seemed fair or consistent.
It's funny you ask about my age because of my remarks about the story, etc. I'm 30 this year, and actually very outspokenly in the don't-give-a-shit-most-of-the-time-about-game-stories camp. It's not that I need a game like Strider to have a story. It's just that the NES game, to me, seemed like it was much more a part of this cohesive, inspired vision of a character in a world with a story, while the arcade game seemed like a bunch of disjointed locales--i.e., just a slipshod thing they slapped together to devour our quarters. But I do also think, now that I'm really thinking about it, that the mecha-gorilla and Amazon stage account for about 99% of that sentiment.
I definitely discovered the NES game earlier in life than the arcade/Genesis/et al one, but not by that significant a gap. It's only in my adult life that I've realized how much I genuinely like the NES one.
What I'd really love to see is a high-level playthrough of the arcade game with commentary that sheds some insight on how one "learns" the game. I play and enjoy plenty of arcade games, but something about this one is apparently just over my head. Not the case at all for Strider 2, but frankly that one just loses my interest after about ten minutes of play.
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| karasu 1332th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(1):Castlevania Sad Times" , posted Sun 2 Mar 08:09
quote:
Well, you can't trust everything you hear, certainly not in reviews, but I had decided that I would have to be talked into LoS2 and this is not doing it. The first game was good enough to leave me hopeful for a sequel, but flawed enough to make me wary. Maybe like Mirror of Fate, I can enjoy the joys and sadness of Castillovania vicariously through some of the more bold people here.
I'm just settling down to some spare time with it now that I'm done traveling for the time being, so look out for some info from me in the near future.
I'm not sure how spoilery you consider to be too spoilery, so: I'm troubled at how you initially start the game in 'modern times' and that your first mission involves 'investigating a corporation'. It may turn out to be okay though-- it's too soon to tell. Also, there are humanish bad guys who look like the armored suits from Warhammer 40K. Again, maybe not bad, but not the best sign early on. And so on.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Grave 1494th Post
PSN: Drakee
XBL: eccothedolphin
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(1):Castlevania Sad Times" , posted Sun 2 Mar 13:59
quote:
Lords of Shadow 2 has gotten some fairly damning reviews, but this and this might be even worse.
Well, you can't trust everything you hear, certainly not in reviews, but I had decided that I would have to be talked into LoS2 and this is not doing it. The first game was good enough to leave me hopeful for a sequel, but flawed enough to make me wary. Maybe like Mirror of Fate, I can enjoy the joys and sadness of Castillovania vicariously through some of the more bold people here.
Oh my. Well, I really did enjoy Mirror of Fate and I do plan to play it again with the pretty 360 version, but this is all very troubling stuff. I decided not to pick up my preorder last week and I'm feeling much better about that decision.
Once this game gets its ass in the bargain bin then I can judge for myself but that $60 would be much better spent on the new PC I'm building. Maybe it'll actually be good enough to run Strider, ha ha! The PC version requires DirectX 11. Really. I bought it on 360 after that disappointment and I do like it so far. I'm far more enamored with FF14 ARR on PC right now, but so far Strider's much, much better than Moon Diver, so that's... something?
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| Pollyanna 3618th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Castlevania Sad Times" , posted Sun 2 Mar 17:44
Totally random:
I played the Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan demo for PS4 and it drives me crazy that while you attack with a sword and a gun, the enemies take just as many hits as before and are decidedly less brutalized by the the end of the battle. Like "This guy has 45 gunshot wounds and he's just a little out of breath."
quote:
Once this game gets its ass in the bargain bin then I can judge for myself but that $60 would be much better spent on the new PC I'm building. Maybe it'll actually be good enough to run Strider, ha ha! The PC version requires DirectX 11. Really. I bought it on 360 after that disappointment and I do like it so far. I'm far more enamored with FF14 ARR on PC right now, but so far Strider's much, much better than Moon Diver, so that's... something?
Well, if you make a nice enough PC, then you can play it at a higher resolution with better performance after it's $10 in a Steam sale, when and if people decide it's actually decent in retrospect.
Speaking of superior PC ports, it seems like Dark Souls 2 won't be awful on PC this time and while I'd rather have a PS4 version, my PC is about PS4-level, so I'm hoping for good news on that front.
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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| badoor 364th Post
PSN: BadoorSNK(forPSVITA:BadoorUSA)
XBL: BadoorSNK(ForWiiU/Steam:BadoorSNK)
Wii: 3DS:4253-3532-0341
Silver Customer
| "Re(2):Castlevania Sad Times" , posted Sun 2 Mar 18:13:
quote:
Lords of Shadow 2 has gotten some fairly damning reviews, but this and this might be even worse.
Well, you can't trust everything you hear, certainly not in reviews, but I had decided that I would have to be talked into LoS2 and this is not doing it. The first game was good enough to leave me hopeful for a sequel, but flawed enough to make me wary. Maybe like Mirror of Fate, I can enjoy the joys and sadness of Castillovania vicariously through some of the more bold people here.
I've played it yesterday for a few hours and well, that news you linked to totally makes sense now. I don't think I've played a more disjointed game like this in a while. Some parts look amazing, while others looks pretty average. The "Baby's first stealth game" sections are just outright awful and are unnecessary (Why does DRACULA needs to hide from some random goons?).
That said, the parts where it plays like classic Lords Of Shadow are great. The boss fight inside Dracula's castle set against a scenery of beautiful gothic architecture was a great high-point of the game (those Spaniards sure know how to make some great Gothic architecture). Also, I really like that levels are quite more open & more exploratory, especially considering it's an outright action game (again, some parts feel more open, while others not). It's definitely more open than God Of War or DMC or Ninja Gaiden or any of that type of game.
Really Spoilery stuff but. Scene I Like:
Scenes that were icky:
So I guess it's filled with lots of ups and downs. Sometimes I love it, especially when it hues back to the first Castillovania, other times I'm just bored or a bit offended by some of the stuff it's doing. All in all, I'm way too invested in this to quit now & will definitely try to finish the thing, whether it's wise to do or not.
EDIT: I'm playing Lords Of Shadow 2 on a PC and it looks and plays really nice. I have not experienced any problems at all. So if you have the PC to run it, definitely go for it now or wait for a steam sale.
http://100daysofmegashock.wordpress.com/
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[this message was edited by badoor on Sun 2 Mar 18:16] |
| Ishmael 4832th Post
PSN: Ishmael26b
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 2025" , posted Mon 3 Mar 01:44
quote:
Building up Fencer gear is a bit of a drag solo because even if you have a horizontal jet and mash it with all your soul, it still takes a long time to get around.
Wing Diver seems very effective. She has a very eclectic mix of weapons that do extreme damage (one of them fires a shot with <2s reload time that does 2000 damage!), or have extreme precision (long range lasers), or have bizarre characteristics (e.g Pandora, or the Thunder Sniper rifles). Being able to run the hell away from spiders at higher difficulties is really handy. In fact, quite a number of players seem to report that they feel Wing Diver makes the other classes feel useless!
I can see how the Wing Diver would be useful since getting out of a bad situation is one of the most important abilities to have in the game. Right now I'm still trying to play with the Fencer even though you have to pick weapons based on whether or not they will help you move. What a strange way to build a character. Anyway, after fooling around with all the characters I think each one has their pros and cons but the poor Air Raider has more cons than pros. From his silly super soaker gun to his vehicles that handle in that special D3 sort of way he does not have a lot going for him. Perhaps someone, somewhere will figure out how to make the Air Raider viable but I'll have to look up the replays on YouTube because I'm not going to be the player who masters that guy.
Speaking of mastering games...
quote:
In particular, I feel like I experience a lot of cheap shots from projectiles from unseen enemies which are 1) nigh-impossible to avoid given the player's natural understanding of his/her toolset (that is, what abilities the player could logically deduce are at his/her disposal from playing the game and not doing granular background research on exploits, etc.), and 2) often randomized with each playthrough, such that even memorization doesn't seem possible.
I think the variables in arcade Strider is one of the factors in its success. The method for beating most arcade games of that era involved pattern memorization and discovering holes in the AI that you could ruthlessly exploit. Since all you were doing was constantly doing the one correct action at the one predetermined moment you might as well have been playing Dragon's Lair. Strider changed that up a bit. While memorization is the main thing needed for getting through most of the game -you better know where that machine gunner is on the Third Moon before he starts shooting- there are points where the game will slightly change so you can never become complacent. Instead, you need to be able to react to problems instantly as well as be a bit lucky. That mix of memorization, skill, and blind luck is a mix you are more likely to find in a fighting game than an arcade adventure title. It gives Strider a slightly different feel than some other games that you could probably beat blindfolded if you were so inclined.
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| Spoon 2570th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Castlevania Sad Times" , posted Mon 3 Mar 16:08
I love Dead End Thrills!
There's a Killer7 gallery there where through some emulator hacks he hides the game UI and can adjust camera position and FOV, and the shots are just beautiful.
EDF 2025 update:
Air Raider with Fencer is INCREDIBLE fun. The way the guided missile system works is that the Air Raider paints a target point (ANY point, even the ground), and the Fencer locks on to it. Once the lock has finished, the missile can be launched. Once the missile is in the air, the missile will head towards whatever spot the Air Raider's guidance ray falls on (if there is no point in range, the missile just keeps travelling in its current direction). This directional guidance applies to ALL GUIDED MISSILES IN FLIGHT! This means that the Air Raider can paint the ground to get an easy lock, then guide missiles into arbitrary enemies! Because you can have many guided missiles in flight and keep adding to the count, you have to play games with the guidance beam to keep them in the air rather than wasting them all on one target! The damage of the missiles is also monstrous: Leviathan missile which is available just from Hard difficult in the first dozen or so stages deals a whopping 4000 damage! There is even a guidance gun that fires marks onto things, and each of the marks functions as a painted point!
The Fencer can deal incredible damage, and with just 2 Fencers holding up shields and going back to back, they can become impervious to many kinds of attacks. The Fencer also gets a weapon called Javelin Catapult that when equipped in a pair fires javelins in an arc for a sustained 1000 dmg/s! But the natural firing angle is so high that in order to hit anything in front of them, they need to either have lots of distance or have to face the ground, necessitating a spotter. Using Wing Diver's laser rifle as a laser point to point things out to my teammate and using her flight ability to get onto vantage points, we could bombard spawns or Hectors. It's incredible.
And the friend I played with doesn't even like FPS games, but was sucked in for nearly 8 solid hours of EDF 2025 in a single day.
EDF! EDF!
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| Ishmael 4833th Post
PSN: Ishmael26b
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(5):Castlevania Sad Times" , posted Tue 4 Mar 23:13
quote:
EDF 2025 update:
Air Raider with Fencer is INCREDIBLE fun. The way the guided missile system works is that the Air Raider paints a target point (ANY point, even the ground), and the Fencer locks on to it. Once the lock has finished, the missile can be launched. Once the missile is in the air, the missile will head towards whatever spot the Air Raider's guidance ray falls on (if there is no point in range, the missile just keeps travelling in its current direction). This directional guidance applies to ALL GUIDED MISSILES IN FLIGHT! This means that the Air Raider can paint the ground to get an easy lock, then guide missiles into arbitrary enemies! Because you can have many guided missiles in flight and keep adding to the count, you have to play games with the guidance beam to keep them in the air rather than wasting them all on one target! The damage of the missiles is also monstrous: Leviathan missile which is available just from Hard difficult in the first dozen or so stages deals a whopping 4000 damage! There is even a guidance gun that fires marks onto things, and each of the marks functions as a painted point!
You're not going to trick me into getting into the Air Raider van no matter how much candy you offer me! Still, the information about the guided missile lock on is interesting. It certainly makes target painting a lot more viable than having the Air Raider standing out in the open for ages with a laser pointer.
I fooled around a bit more with the Wing Diver and I can see why she's considered so good. Being able to fly up to any vantage point means you're never going to be at the mercy of incoming swarms. Seeing the game from the top of a building makes the chaos look almost peaceful, as if you are watching insects inside an ant farm. That sense of calm is short lived since I then start blasting everything in sight. I'm certain everyone living in that neighborhood was safely evacuated before I vaporized several blocks! But while the Wing Diver has her charms I'm still far too entertained by the Fencer. There's nothing like the thrill of putting on heavy, unwieldy and useless power armor and fighting giant bugs. EDF 2025 is a goofy, sloppy game but it is far more fun than many more expensive AAA games I've played.
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| HAYATO 1181th Post
PSN: Lord-Hayato
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Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "More Strider shenanigans" , posted Wed 5 Mar 01:39:
On the original arcade game:
quote:
In particular, I feel like I experience a lot of cheap shots from projectiles from unseen enemies which are 1) nigh-impossible to avoid given the player's natural understanding of his/her toolset (that is, what abilities the player could logically deduce are at his/her disposal from playing the game and not doing granular background research on exploits, etc.), and 2) often randomized with each playthrough, such that even memorization doesn't seem possible.
Not only are projectiles often unavoidable--they seem to almost invariably knock Hiryu off whatever platform he's on, but with seemingly inconsistent laws as to whether or not he can catch himself on said platform.
The vine physics in the Amazon stage, in particular, seem utterly indecipherable.
The only randomized pattern I can think of is at the end of stage 2: once Hiryu gets on a helicopter towards the airship where the Kuniang/ Tong Poo sisters await him, bombs in parachute will come down in no fixed order. It's arguably one of the trickiest and most demanding (in terms of button-mashing) parts of the game. If you clear this part without losing too many lives, it's very likely you manage to the Third Moon in the same run without problems (Battleshib Balrog and Amazon levels are shorter and easier than Siberia, or not so punishing at the very least).
Any other issue you comment (getting hit out of nowhere by tricky bullets etc) can be avoided by anticipating your enemies' moves. Take into account that the classic arcade encourages you to play aggresively and mow your enemies thanks to Hiryu's superhuman abilities. Embrace the concept and let yourself loose, approach your foes and slash them without respite!
About Amazon vines... The first time Strider stomps on one of them, they begin a recoling motion (first they go down, an then they bounce up again), forcing the player to concatenate two jumps. I'd dare to say that, once you jump over an ascending one, Hiryu will get a fixed multiplier to his standard jump height value so, no matter how inclined the vine is, he'll get catapulted upwards. Once more, timing becomes the key factor here: stand too much on a vine and you'll end up sleeping with the pirannhas, stand too short and the vine won't trigger its recoiling motion... Getting used to them requires a bit of practice, but once you get the right timing, the level can be cleared like a breeze. In MD, though, things could get a bit hairier, due to some collision/ grab detection problems when the vines were excessively combed, leading to undesired deaths/hits when trying to make your way while hanging on vines for too long (the last one before the rolling boulders being the worst of the bunch).
On Strider 2014:
Now that I finished it, after spending about 10 hours to get almost every secret (it seems I missed a costume and a couple of backstory/art pieces) I can give a solid opinion: this is the best non-linear exploration, action/platforming Metroidvania game I've played in years, far superior to Mercurysteam's Mirror of Fate (#2 in my personal ranking until now)in almost every aspect, but not as good or engaging as Guacamelee, which still reings supreme in its genre this generation.
The mechanics are well thought and fun. Hiryu's grappling abilities, paired with the new power-ups added by Double Helix work like a charm and feel integrated in the game. The different stage layouts are designed with them in mind, and it shows: exploring the environment is no more a chore, but a joy in itself. I often surprised myself trying to create my own shortcuts, or trying to land on a seemingly unreachable ledge that may lead to some helpful upgrade, not as the usual grindly chore but just for the sheer fun of it.
The sondtrack, comprised mostly of remixes of previous arcade (S1&S2) and NES themes is excellent: sometimes vibrant and enticing (the Raid and Kazakh themes are particularly noteworthy), most of the time moody and oppressive (take Cybernetics as a fine example), it fits the new art direction like a glove, bringing us the sense of a suicide mission set on a cold, barren and dystopical Neo-Soviet state on an unprecedented scale.
Of course, this remake/reboot/reimagining has also its own set of flaws...
- First, navigating through the different zones takes longer than your average Meroidvania game: sure, there are shortcuts between some areas (mostly via Option C- Panther robot), but they're far fewer than say, Symphony of the Night (forget about teleporters here, Strider will walk so much that he'll need to order a new set of tabis if he ever leaves Eurasia alive).
- Second, the area map annotations leave much to be desired: sometimes it's a bit difficult to discern whether that darkened corner of your map is a part you haven't visited yet or just an exit (they aren't marked anywhere in the map) so, once you get about 60% of secrets (mainly the vital upgrades/abilities) you'll end up spending a long time bactracking to a former position after reaching an undesired exit.
- Third, loading times. This may be a console-only issue (I'd love to know whether PC versions suffer from the very same problem), but loading times between different areas become tedious really soon. It isn't a major issue, but it ruins the breakneck pace of the game (it's perhaps the quickest Metroid-styled game ever) so, if loading times bother you, you may like to test the PC version before getting any console release.
- Fourth, jagged textures. They are impossible to appreciate while playing, but character close-ups and cinematics suffer greatly for it. This one seems to be a PS360 issue, as HD screenshots and videos of the PC version look much, much better than last-gen consoles'.
- And last but not least, the final boss and ending. Albeit entertaining, it was a bit of a downer for me: when fully upgraded, it's not much of a challenge but a button-mashing duel against a mildly aggressive AI. Well, perhaps it was an homage to the original "Strider vs Meio" fight to the death over the Third Moon...
All in all, I found this "Mestroider" a well thought, compelling and highly entertaining game worthy of bearing the name of Strider and approaching Capcom's classic to a new generation of players.
I find the new Double Helix really talented. Now that they are under Amazon's grasp, I don't know whether that'd be even possible but, if Capcom would hire them to create a sequel in a more action-oriented format (Strider 2 remake perhaps?) we would be talking about a game which may even surpass the original arcade...
EDIT: Spelling and grammar corrections. Derp
[this message was edited by HAYATO on Wed 5 Mar 08:47] |
| karasu 1334th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Strider X LoS2" , posted Wed 5 Mar 03:02
quote:
On Strider 2014:
I've softened a lot on it since my original posts about it. It's a well made game that suffers from pretty much only the limitations of its genre. Like I said earlier, I'm also hoping that Double Helix gets to make a followup, hopefully learning from this game.
I've put way more hours into LoS2 than I had thought I would by this point, so I feel like I can discuss it a little bit now. It's pretty crazy to see just how horribly it's been reviewed, but I can definitely see where a lot of the reviewers are coming from. Having said that, I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit, and finding it to be in no way an excellent game but far from a trainwreck.
Spoiler alert to Ishmael: I'm quite a bit into the game and I've yet to encounter a medusa head, (although oddly enough Medusa does figure into the game) sorry!
I think the bottom line is that if you enjoyed LoS1 you won't strongly dislike this one, although it definitely falls into 'more of the same' territory. You'll still basically be a guy running around with what is more or less a whip and more or less light and dark magic. There's still a well thought out and complex combat system with bunches of upgrade possibilities. You'll still be in some gorgeous locales and fight against big and small bosses, some that will impress you and some that won't. Along the way you'll still find yourself wondering why there aren't more enemies or for that matter more enemy variety (probably the most notable problem with the game-- even the original Castlevania was known for having tons of different enemy types).
There have been some changes for the better this time around-- the game is a lot more about exploration, and you'll be moving between Dracula's castle and the modern world, with all kinds of side paths and hidden stuff around. As you move through the game you'll keep seeing paths and things that you'll clearly be back to later after a powerup of some sort, just like back in the SoTN days. It's got that interesting way of progressing through the game that Mirror of Fate has, with lots of uses for your light and dark magic. MercurySteam has given thought to how you're Dracula, and so you should have lots powers and things that indicate what a phenomenal bad-ass you are, like turning into a rat and special finishing moves that restore your life by biting your enemies.
But a lot of these upside are also problems, unfortunately. The baroque and complex nature of the environments mean that you'll probably miss things or even possibly have trouble progressing since sometimes the tiniest detail is what you'll need to investigate to move on. I know this sounds like a strange complaint about a game that's about exploration, but since the game makes that standard decision that even though you can walk on this thin beam or climb around on that tiny and fragile looking wire, you for some reason can't do the same thing to plenty of identical beams and wires because REASONS. These are all perfectly acceptable decisions made by the development team because you've got to limit player access to everything to avoid game-breaking exploration, but it's similar to the 'low wall problem' that plagues a lot of other games. To make up for this, weird and noisy clouds of bats mark many of the 'jump on' points of exploratory routes. I'm guessing that this because they realized that the climbing routes were impossibly generic.
Another significant problem has to do with Dracula's 'powers'. Doesn't it sound great that you can turn into a rat? It sure does! The problem is, you can't just do it anywhere you want, since you're actually possessing a rat, so most points where you can turn into a rat are tied to the game's stealth segments (more on those in a second), with just a few here and there that are exploration-based. I like how you end up being one of a swarm of rats that represent a sort of life bar, but the constraints placed on being a rat make it not a lot of fun, since the segments are almost exclusively just scripted and narrowly directed. But the worst part is that the transformation sequence takes FOREVER and is uninterruptible.
So, okay, the stealth parts. So much has been said about this in other reviews that I agree with, but I'll just add one little addition-- any stealth game has a set of rules that you need to follow. Don't let the light illuminate you, don't let the guard see you, don't make noise, etc. In this game, those rules are so incredibly arbitrary feeling (or more likely just sloppily implemented) that they're incredibly frustrating. One of your 'powers' is to throw a completely random cloud of bats at an enemy to 'distract' them. If there are two enemies and you distract one, the other will go over and check on them, ultimately bringing them out of the distracted state. You can also possess enemies if you sneak up behind them, but the possession animation is so damned obvious that if another enemy sees it happen, it's game over (never mind how once you possess someone they stagger around like Frankenstein-- not obvious in the slightest). So you have to possess them while the other guy is still in his distracted state. For some reason (and it might just be me) the timing on when you have to possess the inspecting guard felt extremely arbitrary to me, as did when you could sneak up to him (can he see you or can't he, even if he's pointing in your direction?). Likewise, it's almost as though the stealth 'rule' is that if the guard is stopped, he can pretty much always see you, rather than just if he's facing your way. The stealth parts aren't in themselves a bad idea, they've just been sloppily implemented. Also, on the subject of 'stealth rules' it seems that Dracula can grunt and groan as much as he wants to while scampering around on wires and beams and ladders without alerting the guards. It's pretty funny!
So to bottom line it, I appreciate that MercurySteam has tried some different things. Certainly the Castlevania franchise is in need of new ideas since it's gotten to be a series known for its repetition. The problem is a lot of the new ideas feel tacked on. I wish that you could actually feel like a tough guy in the game, but so far Dracula feels close to identical to a Belmont in more ways than he should given the game's story.
I'm not sure I'd suggest this as a full-price buy. I think it's pretty standard to say that if you haven't preordered it and paid full price to start with, you should probably wait until its inevitable and rapid price drop, although I think it's probably at least worth $30, desire its flaws.
OH, one other observation. At one point early in the game, you're in the modern world and Dracula just effortlessly operates an elevator. I was all ready to roll my eyes about this when it occurred to be that there's been elevator technology in his castle for centuries, haha! Still, it's pretty weird that Drac has no future shock whatsoever at understanding what a 'corporation' is.
www.secret-arts.com
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| karasu 1341th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Shinjuku Dungeon" , posted Wed 12 Mar 08:54
quote:
Shinjuku Dungeon That is such an excellent idea. True to life, I hope that the dungeon includes a Final Fantasy IV-style series of completely unmarked, invisible secret passages in the walls that 100% unintuitively "connect" the Tokyo Metro and JR sections of the station, and occasionally spit you out randomly in the Odakyu department store anyway, even after having played the dungeon for years.
Edit: Proposed top-secret post-ending optional dungeon: find the route between Shinjuku Dungeon and ancient sealed-away mystic dungeon Toei Shinjuku Station, with lines taking you to obscure stations nobody knows about, filled with treasure.
Edit edit: Unfortunately, this may require a one-way ride on the Phantom Train.
If that's not actually how the game ends up playing, that game NEEDS to be made! Well, I've downloaded the game but haven't played just yet. Standby for the gruesome details (or not).
Following up about Lords of Shadow 2, I finished it this morning (a true rarity!) and it doesn't ever really get any better than I had mentioned before, and the ending has got to be the most disappointing and half-assed ending of a game I can recall in recent memory. For those poor, lost souls who care to have it spoiled completely: you think you're fighting Satan, whose design is seriously bad-ass, but then they pull the rug out from under you and you end up fighting a complete pushover version of Alucard. What a waste! And what obvious asset-conservation, since they didn't have to rig a boss version of Satan but already had the Alucard model hanging around.
Still, the gameplay's not half-bad, and finding weird tucked away little corners of Drac's castle are still a little thrilling, although the game's still got serious 'how do I get there from here' problems in some places. Another positive note: this is supposed to be the last LoS game, right?
www.secret-arts.com
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| Maou 2612th Post
PSN: zonepharaoh
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Shinjuku Dungeon" , posted Thu 13 Mar 02:50:
quote:
I've used that station over a hundred times and I never knew that existed
That's the most amazing thing about the Ikefukuro: as a landmark, he is impossible to find. Part of the issue is that he is a few steps inside the station and faces OUTWARD, so you would have to walk past him to notice him, at which point you are already lost. Putting it back into RPG context, Ikefukuro is the FFVI Gogo's underground island of landmarks.
Professor, the map is indeed accurate, and is basically looks like it belongs in a Dracula game. There's a bunch of Estpolis/Lufia style block puzzles, which is fine. Ironically, I started getting terribly lost in the game last night at the exact same exit where I always get lost in real life: the hated B13 exit from the Tokyo Metro lines, miles from JR and the Southern Terrace. Art imitating life, I suppose.
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 Thu 13 Mar 02:52] |
| Spoon 2575th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Shenmue" , posted Fri 21 Mar 10:21
quote:
The Shenmue keynote for those who missed it.
Negatives: not a real post-mortem, ends abruptly after the release of Shenmue in December 1999, no Shenmue III in sight.
Positives: many cools anecdotes, many cools anecdotes about the SegaSaturn, no Cammy clone involved.
What an interesting speech! I wonder, how would history have remembered Shenmue if it had been released as a single game, such as seen in that VF RPG pitch? Would it be remembered as an early example of a modern AAA game that features many gameplay elements in a massive, open world? Or would it have been eclipsed by those titles? Part of me thinks that Shenmue's legacy comes from the idea that its preoccupation with minutiae overwhelmed the game to such a degree that it bloated into a ridiculous 11 game epic. This would be viewed as a problem in other games but I suspect this is where Shenmue's long lasting appeal comes from. By trying to be everything at once Shenmue suggests the potential of games. Small wonder so many people in the game industry are fascinated with Shenmue; it's the game in which there are no limits to its ambitions. The fact that it will never be completed helps add to the impression that Shenmue is an unfinished masterpiece that can only be imagined. Shenmue is a beautiful failure but those are often more loved than an adequate success.
Yes, I'm simply rambling. What of it?
Although I thin
-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --
Igarashi has a talk here tmrw about metroidvania, which i am now very interested in attending.
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| Pollyanna 3621th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Shenmue" , posted Sat 22 Mar 12:58
Although I can't possibly argue with anyone who complains about the price, I was both hugely satisfied and hugely excited after playing Ground Zeroes. I'm encouraging my PS3/360 buddies to wait (especially if they haven't played Peace Walker, yeesh), but for bored PS4 players, I think it's worth the purchase. Did anyone else pick it up?
Also, PSA, because I was late on it myself, I finally played the DLC scenario for Last of Us and was hugely delighted. If you liked Last of Us and passed on this for whatever reason, I would highly recommend it. It made me feel like maybe I didn't praise Last of Us enough when I played it.
quote:
Although I think this thread has already reached its Castlevania quota with LoS2 it should still be noted that Koji Igarashi has left Konami. I wish him the best and I hope he doesn't pop up next month with a Kickstarter for Mighty Castle No.9.
I'm really in the middle on this. I'm very big on "following the creator, not the series" (paraphrased from Iggy). I liked DMC3 a lot and then Bayonetta became an all-time favorite, for example. I'm not a huge Megaman fan, but I backed Mighty No.9 in hopes that it would stack up to the few MM games I am crazy about.
With "Metroidvania games"...well, there's a lot out there already, so in a way, it would just be another "clone," but I haven't been fully satisfied with a game like that since Order of Ecclesia, so I'd love to see the "king" set things straight.
I think if he genuinely wants to make a game like that and it would open up avenues for more things in the future, I'd be happy. If he really has another idea he's passionate about, I would rather see that, I suppose.
I feel dirty being 50/50 on this, because I always prefer siding with creativity over tradition, but the lack of a 2D Castlevania has left a real hole in my heart.
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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| GekigangerV 1856th Post
PSN: gekijmo
XBL: gekijmo5
Wii: n/a
Silver Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
| "Re(3):Shenmue" , posted Sun 23 Mar 14:55
quote:
Although I can't possibly argue with anyone who complains about the price, I was both hugely satisfied and hugely excited after playing Ground Zeroes. I'm encouraging my PS3/360 buddies to wait (especially if they haven't played Peace Walker, yeesh), but for bored PS4 players, I think it's worth the purchase. Did anyone else pick it up?
I was gonna wait, but my brother in Japan said he liked it a lot and highly recommended it. I was able to pick up a physical copy on PS3 for $20 due to some reward points at Best Buy. There were no surprises about length since I have been following the game fairly closely. I had more fun with this game than I did with South Park (I am a HUGE South Park fan by the way). I was REALLY surprised by how well the enemies could see in the game though. I was glad to have a challenge in a stealth game for a change. The game really forces you to check around every corner and to always watch your back. The reflex mode isn't as overpowered as I thought it would be. In fact, unless the enemy is within 20 feet of you and in a clear line of fire, you are pretty much screwed. Enemy searching patterns are very intense well. You see them sweep an area very thoroughly.
Did you try the iDroid app on your smartphone/tablet? It is a GREAT companion. It is pretty much the same set up as the in game one, but without having to "pause" the game to access it and with touch controls. It updates marked enemies/stuff you get from interogation in real time as well as being able to call your helicopter.
I was kind of dissapointed by the story. It was this weird inbetween of an epilogue to Peace Walker and a prologue to Phantom Pain. Not much was really revealed. Kiefer Sutherland barely spoke in ALL the missions. The ratio of Master Miller lines to Big Boss was 100:1. It was borderline "silent video game protagonist." There are times where you would think it is Miller doing the mission and not Big Boss. I was hoping at least some banter when you called on the radio, but nothing. I hope Phantome Pain isn't like that as well.
But maybe I should be grateful that the story was limited since I was not a big fan of Kojima's handling of MGS4.
All in all, I enjoyed it very much. If you aren't one to do side missions and the like I would hold out a little bit. I am sure this will FLOOD the used market in a week or so and you will have able to get a physical version for $15. Or if you have access to game rentals pick this up for sure for a nice little weekend.
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| Pollyanna 3622th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Don't fight it" , posted Mon 24 Mar 17:35
METAL GEARRRRRRRRRR
Before I get into replying, I just want to say that the "camera" in the cinemas in this game is just...the maximum level of radical. It's this rough, close up "first person" sort of feel. Kind of like you're a...well...a phantom watching these scenes that you're helpless to stop. The fact that every scene in GZ is pretty much unpleasant and something you "wouldn't want to watch" really makes this an outstanding feeling.
I'm not saying the game will make you squirm, but it was the closest I've come to squirming while playing a game.
quote:
I was REALLY surprised by how well the enemies could see in the game though. I was glad to have a challenge in a stealth game for a change. The game really forces you to check around every corner and to always watch your back. The reflex mode isn't as overpowered as I thought it would be. In fact, unless the enemy is within 20 feet of you and in a clear line of fire, you are pretty much screwed.
I don't know that I found the game much harder than other Metal Gears, but it certainly required more strategizing. They did a good job of making the enemies stupid enough that it wasn't frustrating while making their actions believable. I like how they would be afraid when they didn't know quite where you were and would fire wildly. I also like how they're more lazy in the daytime mission. Everything is a bit more complex, but it's all in ways that feel natural and make sense, so while there's more to keep track of, it feels good.
quote:
Did you try the iDroid app on your smartphone/tablet? It is a GREAT companion. It is pretty much the same set up as the in game one, but without having to "pause" the game to access it and with touch controls.
Yes, though I didn't get it until after finishing the main mission. The menus on the PS4 multitouch giant button thing worked fairly well, too.
quote:
The ratio of Master Miller lines to Big Boss was 100:1.
This is maybe my only complaint. Not that there was so much Kaz (I love Kaz), but that Snake very rarely had any sort of reply to him. I understand that the main scenario was a bit "heavy" for comical quips, but I would've appreciated a little more back and forth. (I haven't done the gag scenario yet, for what it's worth though.)
I didn't have a problem with the "amount" of plot, though your feeling that "nothing much was revealed" might be because so much was spoiled in the trailers. I think if you went in blind, it would've been quite chilling. Certainly very important things happened. But yes, thanks to them showing such revealing trailers, the players get precious few new details.
On a side note, I love how punishing it is to listen to the Chico tapes, because they're like...supposed to be a "bonus." And yet every time I find one, my stomach kind of sinks.
quote:
But maybe I should be grateful that the story was limited since I was not a big fan of Kojima's handling of MGS4.
I hate hate hated the ending to MGS4, but 5 seems to be a different kind of insane (hopefully).
They seem to have taken all the good ideas from Peace Walker (which I liked in theory, but hated to play). I'm looking forward to managing the base and repeating missions and rescuing people and such within the frame of a game with stronger mechanics. I can see myself playing Phantom Pain to death and I'm not usually a "collector" sort of player. The immense variety of ways that you can tackle situations really lend itself to repeating missions, though.
Speaking of Peace Walker vs GZ, the voice direction seems a lot stronger. I don't know if I should blame Konami for not giving them proper resources, the schedule/budget for making them rush or the director for not doing their job, but there were so many bad reads in PW. A lot of lines that were like "I can understand how you would read it that way, but if you knew the situation, you would read it differently." Kaz's performance is hugely improved in my opinion, though his sort of oddball sound worked in a way in PW.
Still, despite the impressive execution of the cinemas, it feels like "voiceover work". The camerawork is better, but the characters don't feel as seamless as they do in Last of Us. This is likely because they have different voice and motion actors, whereas they actually played out (many of?) the scenes in Last of Us.
Amusing (?) Story:
In the main mission when I was rescuing you-know-who, I killed a guy with a knife on top of them while they were laying on the ground. When it was time to run to the helicopter I grabbed THE DEAD GUY instead of the person I was rescuing and bolted for the helicopter. My friend who was watching said "I'm sure you've got a plan, but...what are you doing with that guy?"
I was like "What guy? This is---oh...oh...oops."
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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| Pollyanna 3623th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Don't fight it" , posted Tue 25 Mar 09:18
quote:
It stinks that it's relatively expensive for what I've just acknowledged is pretty demo-like, but... ah well.
I wonder if the inflated price is the result of their desire to get it on store shelves. It is very misleading for the uninformed, though, and I feel sorry for people buying it an expecting a real game. At $15, people might want more, but not expect much. $30 is half of a game. This is too robust for a demo, but it's not half of a game by any stretch.
Again, not complaining about my personal experience as I'm 100% satisfied and think the game is absolutely stellar. I wouldn't have been more or less happy if it was cheaper. Still, on principle, the price is ridiculous and I do worry about it hurting the game's reputation.
That said, I would really like the console-exclusive scenarios to eventually be added for free. That's some consolation.
quote:
About Ground Zeroes, I just have one question. The one thing that for me has defined a good MGS game is the depth to which you can go messing around. It's never something the game explicitly tells you to do, just a lot of "I wonder if I can do this," and you do it and it's fun. Is there a good amount of that in GZ or is it too serious and stringent for that?
If you consider this "the beginning of the game" where naturally, you don't have all of your weapons and tools immediately available, I would say that the "I wonder what happens if I do this" factor of GZ is hugely greater than any other MG game. The more varied and realistic ways that the enemies respond leads to a bunch of scenarios that you wouldn't see normally. Being able to use vehicles certainly adds to this as well. I felt like the open nature of the map called for much more strategizing than usual too.
I don't want to engage in hyperbole here, as I imagine the most creative MGS4 player could do a ton of clever and interesting things, but I will say that the setup of GZ encourages experimentation and adds a number of fun and unique factors to the mix. It may be because I don't have a 20 hour game ahead of me to play and I'm required to enjoy the intricacies, but I find myself thinking of how I could have done things differently after every mission and I'm eager to try new strategies.
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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| karasu 1349th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(3):Don't fight it" , posted Wed 26 Mar 02:48
quote:
I wonder if the inflated price is the result of their desire to get it on store shelves. It is very misleading for the uninformed, though, and I feel sorry for people buying it an expecting a real game. At $15, people might want more, but not expect much. $30 is half of a game. This is too robust for a demo, but it's not half of a game by any stretch.
Again, not complaining about my personal experience as I'm 100% satisfied and think the game is absolutely stellar. I wouldn't have been more or less happy if it was cheaper. Still, on principle, the price is ridiculous and I do worry about it hurting the game's reputation.
That said, I would really like the console-exclusive scenarios to eventually be added for free. That's some consolation.
Well, personally I'm not all that worried over the price, and realistically there aren't a ton of middle of the road Kojima fans out there-- people seem to either really love him or hate him. And serious fans aren't likely to sweat a mere $30. But I suspect you're right, that it was ultimately a matter of getting it out there in physical form for people to see on shelves.
I WAS, however, amused to see GZ in the Redbox located in my local grocery this morning. This a machine whose video game highlight was the "Smurfs 2" game until about a month ago. Although I assume there are probably some promotional considerations as to what games are featured.
I debated waiting, since used places are probably already swamped with copies, but 1) I can't stand Gamestop and its ridiculous ilk and their idiotic used game policies, so I won't be supporting them anytime soon and 2) I figure I should vote with my cash for games that I actually think contribute to filling the world with better games.
quote:
I don't want to engage in hyperbole here, as I imagine the most creative MGS4 player could do a ton of clever and interesting things, but I will say that the setup of GZ encourages experimentation and adds a number of fun and unique factors to the mix. It may be because I don't have a 20 hour game ahead of me to play and I'm required to enjoy the intricacies, but I find myself thinking of how I could have done things differently after every mission and I'm eager to try new strategies.
I wish more games had the sense of play that MGS (and Platinum) games have. I can see myself spending a fair amount of time on GZ this week! Thanks as always for the thoughts Polly!
In other news, this is just fantastic news. When No More Heroes 2 ended up being disappointing in a lot of ways, I began to worry that we would perpetually see more of the same from Grasshopper. To hear that Suda51 wants to keep changing is encouraging, since so many other development houses seems remarkably static. It takes a lot of guts to do something different when the same old stuff sells.
www.secret-arts.com
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| nobinobita 1273th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Don't fight it" , posted Wed 26 Mar 08:06
I had really mixed feelings about Ground Zeroes. I love LOVE LOOOOVE Metal Gear and was absurdly excited for the game, going into it with incredibly high hopes. All those hopes were met. The game is visually asontishing (probably the most impressive looking 3d game I've ever seen)and incredibly fun to play. Then it just ... ended. So abruptly. After one level.
It was such a great experience, but it was so dang short!
At first I was angry. Then I was worried for the future of the series. I mean, I'm a super fan and I'm feeling gypped. How is the public at large gonna react? Will this be the death of MGS as I know and love it?
I fell into a troubled sleep on the couch as my buddies continued the extra missions. I had really vivid nightmares that night. I dreamt that I was watching an old children's show that had just taken a dark turn where the host, a beautiful young woman was being tortured in front of the cast by a tall man who looked like an SS General. He was doing unspeakable things to her and asking "are you sweet?"
I later found out I was having intense nightmares based on the Chico tapes my friends were collecting and listening to in the game. This is the darkest Metal Gear yet.
The next day I continued to feel frustrated with the game, but I also kept thinking about the missions. How to approach things differently next time. In spite of my massive initial disappointment I just couldn't wait to play Ground Zeroes again.
I've never been so weirdly appeased and let down by a title. In the end, the absolutely excellent execution won me over. The main story itself is not long, but man, it's a really damn fun game.
quote:
METAL GEARRRRRRRRRR
About Ground Zeroes, I just have one question. The one thing that for me has defined a good MGS game is the depth to which you can go messing around. It's never something the game explicitly tells you to do, just a lot of "I wonder if I can do this," and you do it and it's fun. Is there a good amount of that in GZ or is it too serious and stringent for that?
The messing around is what makes this game worth it. If you've watched the trailers, you already know most of the story. But even if you've watched lots of gameplay footage, it has nothing on actually playing the game itself. This is the best playing MGS yet. The controls are complex, but very very intuitive. They use every button on the controller, but it becomes second nature within a matter of minutes. The animations are excellent and responsive and everything just FEELS really great. And more than any MGS before it, this really is a sandbox game. There's just so many different ways to approach missions, so many awesome ways to mess around.
If that's what you're looking forward to the most you won't be let down. For sheer fun and replayability ... i guesssssss... it's worth $30 as long as you know what you're getting into.
www.art-eater.com
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| Pollyanna 3625th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Don't fight it" , posted Wed 26 Mar 10:00:
I can't really complain about the length of Ground Zeroes, because it told the story it needed to tell in exactly the number of scenes and words necessary (arguably an improvement for the series). I don't believe there's any reasonable way to extend the experience that wouldn't harm the integrity of the story.
However, since people tend to say "it's over" after the credits, despite having several other missions, I do wonder if they would have done better putting like, 2 side missions before the main story. Since it seems like many people are ending the story and feeling disappointed, rather than excited about diving into the side missions (which they would likely enjoy), would it have been better to "force the player to enjoy themselves" on them first? Or would they just complain that they can't jump into the story?
Unlike many players, when the credits rolled, I felt very satisfied. I might have even said "that was perfect." But as I said before, it was not perfect at that price point. Again, I'm hoping for the console-specific DLC at a later date and perhaps Metal Gear Online Beta access or something to mitigate the cost, but I don't want more from GZ in specific.
EDIT:
Delighted to hear that for at least one person, the Chico tapes were literally nightmare-inducing.
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 Wed 26 Mar 10:01] |
| Pollyanna 3625th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Musou Report" , posted Wed 26 Mar 11:33
So DW8 Extreme whatever is out on PS3/PS4 today. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend the addon version for PS3, for those who skipped the original and have a PS4, you might want to look into it (though the system doesn't really do any favors for the graphics). On the upside, the PS3 data transfer is painless, you can actually see who you're attacking and the game runs much better. There is a huge amount of content, as usual and the game is good for Musou fans.
ON THE DOWNSIDE, we don't even have the first patch, so we can't turn off the retarded depth of field...for some reason the Japanese voices were not included on the disk and we have to wait for a download on those (not that the English voices are particularly worse for most characters, though) and none of the DLC is available. So...yeah...I stopped playing the PS3 version to wait for the PS4 version, which I am still waiting to get its shit together before I can play properly. I'm sure I'll have fun eventually, 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.
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| Pollyanna 3627th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):IKARUGA LIVES" , posted Wed 26 Mar 11:58:
quote:
Does anyone have a controller they like for PC games? I guess maybe I could hook up a PS3 controller but would need some drivers?
For Ikaruga, I would use a joystick. My Hori Soul Calibur whatever edition works great without drivers, as do many joysticks. Normally I use an XBox360 controller, as it is plug-and-play and most games have an automatic setting for it.
Recently, however, I've turned to the "DS to Xinput Mapper", which allows you to use a PS4 controller and fool the PC into thinking it's a 360 controller. You can also use the touch panel as a mouse and change the color of the light bar.
EDIT: I do believe you have to jump through a few hoops to get a PS3 controller to work, but if it's your only option, why not, I suppose.
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 Wed 26 Mar 12:00] |
| HAYATO 1189th Post
PSN: Lord-Hayato
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(3):IKARUGA LIVES" , posted Thu 27 Mar 01:13
quote:
Does anyone have a controller they like for PC games? I guess maybe I could hook up a PS3 controller but would need some drivers?
For Ikaruga, I would use a joystick. My Hori Soul Calibur whatever edition works great without drivers, as do many joysticks. Normally I use an XBox360 controller, as it is plug-and-play and most games have an automatic setting for it.
Recently, however, I've turned to the "DS to Xinput Mapper", which allows you to use a PS4 controller and fool the PC into thinking it's a 360 controller. You can also use the touch panel as a mouse and change the color of the light bar.
EDIT: I do believe you have to jump through a few hoops to get a PS3 controller to work, but if it's your only option, why not, I suppose.
For those interested on using their DS 3/4 gamepads on their respective PCs, I'd strongly suggest those fanmade XInput wrappers:
- Dual Shock 3
- Dual Shock 4
I only tested the DS3 one: simple and quick to install, it works like a charm on my 8+ year old Pentium 4 (running under Windows 7). I usually play emulated arcades (via MAME, FBAlpha and such) with my PS3 "Hori RAP 3" joystick, but it seems Windows 7 (or the PC games in which I'd love to use it) hates it with a passion, so DS3 has become my staple plug-and-play controller since I discovered this driver. If I'm not much mistaken, the DS4 driver is the one Polly just told you about, so I guess you won't have any problems with it either.
Oh, BTW, I can confirm that Ikaruga supports DS3 flawlessly. I wish I could say the same about my poor Hori RAP 3... 
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| karasu 1352th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(1):Musou Report" , posted Thu 27 Mar 02:01
quote:
So DW8 Extreme whatever is out on PS3/PS4 today. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend the addon version for PS3, for those who skipped the original and have a PS4, you might want to look into it (though the system doesn't really do any favors for the graphics). On the upside, the PS3 data transfer is painless, you can actually see who you're attacking and the game runs much better. There is a huge amount of content, as usual and the game is good for Musou fans.
ON THE DOWNSIDE, we don't even have the first patch, so we can't turn off the retarded depth of field...for some reason the Japanese voices were not included on the disk and we have to wait for a download on those (not that the English voices are particularly worse for most characters, though) and none of the DLC is available. So...yeah...I stopped playing the PS3 version to wait for the PS4 version, which I am still waiting to get its shit together before I can play properly. I'm sure I'll have fun eventually, though!
I've been unable to get my hands on a copy just yet, in part because my go-to retailer (Amazon.com, these days) doesn't happen to be selling it for some reason, and I refuse to buy from Gamestop. I suppose I should download it? Maybe that's my best option, but more to the point of future purchases, for those of you in the States, who do you buy US region games from? I've used Amazon for a while now since they've always seemed to have just about everything, but maybe I should consider changing it up?
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3627th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Musou Report" , posted Thu 27 Mar 07:54
quote:
I've been unable to get my hands on a copy just yet, in part because my go-to retailer (Amazon.com, these days) doesn't happen to be selling it for some reason, and I refuse to buy from Gamestop. I suppose I should download it? Maybe that's my best option, but more to the point of future purchases, for those of you in the States, who do you buy US region games from?
UGH. This was such a nuisance for me, too. I can't figure out why Amazon wouldn't have it. I kept putting it off because I didn't want to buy it from a store. I'm not a fan of Gamestop either and while I used Best Buy for a while because of their gamer club whatever rewards, they have screwed up over and over and over again with my orders/bonuses. Still, they're right down the street, so they were my reluctant pick for Musou. I always do online order/store pickup on release day because it ensures that they'll have it for me at the checkout, possibly leaving one less employee for me to interact with and avoiding the problem of the game being in the back with no one bothering to bring it out.
But yes, unless there's like a "buy 2 get one" or some other crazy deal, Amazon is usually my choice, even if they aren't the cheapest. I occasionally catch myself getting caught in the antiquated idea that you're supposed to go to the store to purchase things you like. This inevitably results in me running all over town, wasting time and money and never finding what I need. Best deal or not, "just click a button and don't worry about it" is the way to go.
On a side note, Fry's used to be the bargain place with the smarter employees, but they're only somewhat better than Best Buy these days. The only place I've been able to go where I can actually talk to educated employees (usually about computer parts) is Micro Center.
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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| karasu 1353th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(3):Musou Report" , posted Fri 28 Mar 01:21
quote:
UGH. This was such a nuisance for me, too. I can't figure out why Amazon wouldn't have it. I kept putting it off because I didn't want to buy it from a store. I'm not a fan of Gamestop either and while I used Best Buy for a while because of their gamer club whatever rewards, they have screwed up over and over and over again with my orders/bonuses. Still, they're right down the street, so they were my reluctant pick for Musou. I always do online order/store pickup on release day because it ensures that they'll have it for me at the checkout, possibly leaving one less employee for me to interact with and avoiding the problem of the game being in the back with no one bothering to bring it out.
I'm glad to hear I'm not completely alone in using Amazon as my source. Typically they're a great option, and every now and then they have that 'release day delivery' option for 99 cents, which is pretty nice. This is honestly the first time anything remotely like this has happened!
I'd love it if there was a reasonable local option I could use, but the few independently owned places near me are either gross, stock nothing but the currently fashionable era of retro games, or get their stock in weeks after a game comes out and/or don't offer preorders. I'd even consider an online shop like NCS, but I'm pretty sure their domestic stock is targeted toward folks outside the States, since their prices are often around $5 more expensive than retail and on top of that it's often around $15 to ship things.
In a nutshell though: Don't all these companies know just how badly I need some Musou?
quote:
So yeah, my advice is that if something doesn't SEEM to be on Amazon, that doesn't mean it isn't. Don't ask me why this happens, though.
This is the first time I've ever had a non-obscure, just released item be completely absent from Amazon (other than their notoriously crappy track record with games for Nintendo consoles-- which is apparently a thing of some sort). I searched just about every possible search term, and even browsed the 'just released' category, something I never bother to do, and Musou 8 Complete's just not there-- except the Japan version of course.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Baines 402th Post
Gold Customer
| "Re(4):Musou Report" , posted Fri 28 Mar 02:33
quote:
This is the first time I've ever had a non-obscure, just released item be completely absent from Amazon (other than their notoriously crappy track record with games for Nintendo consoles-- which is apparently a thing of some sort).
Wow, it's not there, is it? Amazon has the UK and Asian versions, but not the US. Gamestop and Best Buy list the US PS4 version, but some other stores don't.
As for similar events with other games, while not at all the same, the closest I can think of is the US Wii Samurai Warriors 3. There seemed to be some confusion online about its release date. Some online stores had it listed as out of stock at release. The physical game apparently didn't reach many stores by release day. I ended up driving around to pick up a copy, including visiting a store that said that they had it, only to find it wasn't there. Ended up finding a copy at a Walmart that, despite having said it wasn't carrying the game, had somewhere from 20-30 copies sitting in the bottom of a display case.
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| Pollyanna 3628th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Dragon's Crown Sorceress" , posted Sat 29 Mar 07:57
The Sorceress is perfect in the game and in Kamitani's art, but even some of the other Vanillaware artists can't get her right...and when she's wrong, she feels...wrong.
quote:
In other news, I don't suppose I'm the only one here who's excited to hear that Hero 30 Second is being localized? Sheesh, they took their sweet time doing it too!
I guess it has been a while! Looking, it was one of my "games of the year in 2011." The fact that they never released a soundtrack is CRIMINAL. I'm hoping that the PC release will allow me to rip it in some way. I'm normally the type to win a game, then move onto the next, but I wrung all I could out of that game, partially thanks to the in-game music player you unlock at the end.
There are some really epic moments in the story I'd love to relive, but I think I have too many games to play to look back...
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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| badoor 364th Post
PSN: BadoorSNK(forPSVITA:BadoorUSA)
XBL: BadoorSNK(ForWiiU/Steam:BadoorSNK)
Wii: 3DS:4253-3532-0341
Silver Customer
| "Yumi's Odd TowerFall" , posted Mon 31 Mar 07:23
Hey. I played some good games too.
Yumi's Odd Odyssey/Sayonara Umihara Kawase
So this may be my game of the year already. I became a fan of the series after getting the DS release, which combined both the original Super Famicom and the PS1 sequel into one package. And I was highly anticipating the 3DS sequel ever since the Japanese announcement. And it totally delivered. It's a game that feels like no other. Understanding the physics of the fishing line is so crucial in order to progress. And finding out ways to reach the secret doors or get the hard-to-reach bags is quite a challenge. I already played 18 hours of it, and that's more than any singleplayer game I played in the last few years (although a couple of those may be due to me listening to the music player mode since the music is so great too). $30 may be considered high but that's up to each person's decision. Watch a video of it somewhere and if you think you'll have fun playing it, go for it.
TowerFall Ascension
I bought an Ouya from a disgruntled friend who kickstarted the console last year. Aside from emulators (which weren't really good anyway), the only thing worth it on the console was TowerFall, the 4-player Smash bros. style combat game. The game was good but because I had problems with the Ouya itself, we never managed to play it as much as we wanted. So I was happy to hear TowerFall getting an enhanced port to PS4 and Steam. And so far I played more TowerFall than any other PS4 game. These Smash-style (or The Outfoxies-style for you cool people) type of non-conventional fighting games have been in a resurgence lately, with Nidhogg and Samurai Gunn. But while Nidhogg relies on mastering the fencing controls, and Samurai Gunn relies on precise timing of the sword slash, TowerFall heavily relies on how to maneuver (and learn how other players maneuver) around a level, and how to aim the many different types of arrows, which all feel very unique and have their own smart uses. The game also feels quite deep, as if it's the 2nd or 3rd sequel to a more simpler version of TowerFall, with piled on mechanics. Things like the ability to grab arrows shot at you by dodging towards them, or the hundreds of different variant you can customize a match with (free aim and random arrows are great ones). It's just guaranteed couch-multiplayer fun.
http://100daysofmegashock.wordpress.com/
http://badoorsnk.wordpress.com/
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| Pollyanna 3629th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(1):Late to the Dragon's Dogma" , posted Mon 31 Mar 08:25
Played some PS4 Musou split-screen last night and it worked very nicely! There is a drop in (already mediocre) performance, but it's a huuuuuuge improvement over the usual. I've never been able to enjoy split-screen action with friends in past Musou games because you really couldn't see anything. This was the most important upgrade they could've given me.
quote:
I remember quite a few people played and enjoyed the game here. Any advice before I make a big mistake? I just created my main pawn and made her a mage because I remember reading somewhere "make your main pawn a healer if you're not one yourself".
You don't need to worry about committing to one job. I had maxed out...well, not quite everything, but tons and tons of stuff by the end. There are lots of fun skills and since combat is the game's strong point, I think it's good to give everything a try. Your pawn will certainly run out of things to learn anyway, since they have a smaller skill set to pull from.
On a sidenote, I wasn't really nuts about the game until I got to the Dark Arisen stuff, which was totally outstanding. I haven't played in months and months but I still catch myself thinking about it.
Here's a quick question, since I'm waiting on the PC Dark Souls 2...is the physics engine any better? My favorite thing about DD vs DS is the way you feel like a part of the world. In Dark Souls (and Demon Souls) you're more...floating on top of the world. Walking on a beam with both of your legs floating in mid air really makes that feeling palpable.
quote:
Yumi's Odd Odyssey/Sayonara Umihara Kawase
I don't have anything to add, but you've put the game on my map at least. I didn't have much interest before, but that's a fairly mighty recommendation.
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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| badoor 365th Post
PSN: BadoorSNK(forPSVITA:BadoorUSA)
XBL: BadoorSNK(ForWiiU/Steam:BadoorSNK)
Wii: 3DS:4253-3532-0341
Silver Customer
| "Re(2):Late to the Dragon's Dogma" , posted Mon 31 Mar 09:48
quote:
Here's a quick question, since I'm waiting on the PC Dark Souls 2...is the physics engine any better? My favorite thing about DD vs DS is the way you feel like a part of the world. In Dark Souls (and Demon Souls) you're more...floating on top of the world. Walking on a beam with both of your legs floating in mid air really makes that feeling palpable.
That is something I really respect in Dark Souls. Other games would change the movement animation when walking on tight-beams to be more, which necessitates a change in control. So maybe you move slower or you can't attack or your attacks are more limited etc.. But in the case of Dark Souls, you are as much capable as you ever were whether on flatlands, hills, or on beams. I hope that aspect is kept in the sequel (which I'm also planing to get on PC).
quote:
Yumi's Odd Odyssey/Sayonara Umihara Kawase
I don't have anything to add, but you've put the game on my map at least. I didn't have much interest before, but that's a fairly mighty recommendation.
I'm glad to hear that it's on your radar. It's kind of a miracle that Agatsuma Entertainment, the labeled developer of Yumi's Odd Odyssey, brought back the old developers of the PS1 and Super Famicom Umihara Kawase games to make a 3rd mainline game. Agatsuma also brought back some of the Treasure developers of Guardian Heroes to work on Code Of Princess so I'm curious about how they work these out.
http://100daysofmegashock.wordpress.com/
http://badoorsnk.wordpress.com/
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| Pollyanna 3630th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Late to the Dragon's Dogma" , posted Mon 31 Mar 12:53
quote:
Should I assume that I should not venture too far into that Island right away ? Or is the DLC conceived in a way that all sorts of levels can enjoy it? I manage to clean out a few rooms but I am under the impression my (PSN) friends' pawns were doing most of the work thanks to their clearly better stats and skills.
Personally, I would save it for post-game, unless you get sick of the main story and it's either "island or quit playing altogether."
You can wreak such beautiful havoc by the end that the pawns felt (to me) like accessories more than party members.
UGHHHHH...I want to play again. I have so many complaints about this and that, but as long as the game gives me ass to kick, I'm thrilled.
quote:
That is something I really respect in Dark Souls. Other games would change the movement animation when walking on tight-beams to be more, which necessitates a change in control. So maybe you move slower or you can't attack or your attacks are more limited etc.. But in the case of Dark Souls, you are as much capable as you ever were whether on flatlands, hills, or on beams. I hope that aspect is kept in the sequel (which I'm also planing to get on PC).
The precariously-balanced battles while descending or ascending were certainly very exciting, but when I'm delicately maneuvering a beam that no part of my body is touching and I'm held up by an invisible sort of...platform extending from my crotch, it's a little nerve wracking in the wrong way. I wouldn't replace it for a "balance beam" animation with no fighting, but there has to be a happy medium here.
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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| chazumaru 1182th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(2):Late to the Dragon's Dogma" , posted Mon 31 Mar 22:31
#Dragon's Dogma
Thanks everyone for the replies. Then I'll proceed with the main story.
#Dark Souls 2
quote:
Here's a quick question, since I'm waiting on the PC Dark Souls 2...is the physics engine any better? My favorite thing about DD vs DS is the way you feel like a part of the world. In Dark Souls (and Demon Souls) you're more...floating on top of the world.
It plays very similar to Dark Souls, which had a bit of a heavier feel compared to Demon's Souls because gravity was much less lenient and they added the poise element. Poise remains very important in this episode.
Dark 2 is also a bit more lenient than Dark 1 with the hitboxes, which you could say is less realistic but works both in your favor (if you want to backstab) and against you (when it comes to a couple of Bosses' grab/special move validations). They added a malus if you run out of stamina ; a sort of freeze for a few frames that prevents you from performing certain moves right away (such as running), so you have to be very careful when you decide to empty the bar.
Other than that, it still relies heavily on Havok, for better or for worse. So yeah, the characters are a bit floaty. You'll get those moment where is seems like the character is slipping on a perfectly waxed hardwood flooring even though the staircase is made of rugged, ancient stones. But the characters still properly adjust their footing according to the terrain's slant, which is surprisingly important for me to enjoy the physics of a third person action game.
#Sayonara Umihara Kawase
quote:
Agatsuma also brought back some of the Treasure developers of Guardian Heroes to work on Code Of Princess so I'm curious about how they work these out.
I am not sure how it worked for Umihara Kawase, which I believe had a different publisher for each version(!) since the Super Famicom era, but in the case of Code of Princess, my understanding is the developers in question were already working for Agatsuma before that specific project started.
はじめてじゃないのさ、いつでも一緒なら、さ・わ・や・か・ＴＡＳ～ＴＹ☆
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| karasu 1356th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Karasu's Big Musou Adventure" , posted Tue 1 Apr 01:21
So despite being disgusted by the idea of Gamestop, I swallowed my pride and went there to get Musou PS4, since both nearby Best Buys were showing it as being out of stock. I had a whole list of suggestions for both Gamestop and their customer base (e.g. Gamestop, have more than one dude working on a Saturday afternoon, Gamestop customers, please start using deodorant, et c.) but I decided that everyone here undoubtedly 'gets' it as it is without additional dumb jokes on my part. The punchline: the sales guy tried to sell me Xtreme Legends PS3 add on disc. The punchline punchline: I'm not sure what I was quite so excited about. After all, even though it's Musou, it's still Musou. Oh well.
In other news, I was able to successfully play Ground Zeroes this weekend, finally. I was a little worried since previous PGS games have felt a little fiddly for my game playing taste, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself moving through the game pretty quickly by accidentally shooting a guy to resolve having accidentally triggering an alarm, accidentally breaking another guy's neck, and accidentally shooting out a spotlight from long range. After the fact I realized that it wasn't so much a series of accidents as it was me expecting that all these things should be hard to do as a player.
In short, I'm really glad that the mountains of Dragon treasure gathered from the MGS series over the years have resulted in an extremely fine-tuned and approachable control system. Good stuff!
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3632th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(1):Karasu's Big Musou Adventure" , posted Tue 1 Apr 08:01
quote:
But the characters still properly adjust their footing according to the terrain's slant, which is surprisingly important for me to enjoy the physics of a third person action game.
I was delighted to see that in Monster Hunter 4, the characters change a number of their animations depending on if they're moving up or down a slope. That was immediately noticeable, making me wonder which other games had done it and realizing that a lot of games are confined to flat surfaces. Actually, it's probably no good for me to think about this, because I'm going to start noticing it too much in everything and get irritated like with the floating crotch barrier in Dark Souls.
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The punchline punchline: I'm not sure what I was quite so excited about. After all, even though it's Musou, it's still Musou. Oh well.
Maybe you need to spend money on crazy costumes! I'm hoping we'll get stuff tomorrow. Ugh.
I can't blame anyone for having Musou burnout, but I really think this is the best game in the series, particularly with its performance issues ironed out on PS4. The addon seems kind of weak, but the addition of a second EX move is nice.
A little unsolicited advice that might help after a few hours in Ambition Mode:
-Upgrade the barracks until you can go to Yan Provice
-Spend 7000 gold to send men there and you'll get a panda to sell every time (they're worth a lot)
-Do not FULLY upgrade the shop where you trade weapon materials for building materials until you don't need to take advantage of the "trade 1 weapon materials for one building material" thing anymore. After you max it out, it becomes a 1:1 trade, so you'll want to build everything before then
This will all make sense soon enough.
Although I've seen some people complain, I really like the Academy (spend money to level characters), so if you have a friend who wants to use whoever, you can just -POOF- make them your level (assuming your level isn't super high). For a game with SO many characters, I feel like this is the way to go.
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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| karasu 1357th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Karasu's Big Musou Adventure" , posted Tue 1 Apr 08:38
quote:
Maybe you need to spend money on crazy costumes! I'm hoping we'll get stuff tomorrow. Ugh.
That's ALWAYS the right answer! I nearly never buy ludicrous outfits for games but Musou is where I always make an exception. I have a sad suspicion that even if you've bought them in the PS3 edition, you'll have to re-buy for PS4. SIGH.
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I can't blame anyone for having Musou burnout, but I really think this is the best game in the series, particularly with its performance issues ironed out on PS4. The addon seems kind of weak, but the addition of a second EX move is nice.
Oh, don't get me wrong: I'm playing it like crazy. Two years ago I bet I spent more time between DW7 and Xtreme Legends than I did on any other single game. I think the last game I played quite this compulsively must have been Power Stone 2, but that was a much shorter game overall. I get kind of obsessed with Musou! It's sad, it's pathetic, but I know the Cafe won't judge me, right? 
I think you're likely right-- this is by far the most fun I've had with the series, even more so than the revered DW3. Koei gets a lot of crap for just repeating essentially the same game ad infinitum, but there's some impressive honing of the gameplay and systems as they do it. Plus the music is so great in this one!
quote:
A little unsolicited advice that might help after a few hours in Ambition Mode:
Hey, I appreciate it! I've been trying to decide where to even start once I've cleared Story Mode, so Ambition Mode is as good a place as any! Thanks for the advice!
quote:
Although I've seen some people complain, I really like the Academy (spend money to level characters), so if you have a friend who wants to use whoever, you can just -POOF- make them your level (assuming your level isn't super high). For a game with SO many characters, I feel like this is the way to go.
What, 82 this time around? It's nuts. When you say Academy, do you mean spend actual money, or in game gold? I usually bristle at such things but I find myself wondering if that might be an option here.
One thing I've noticed while listening to the English voice acting: are the exact same people cast for all these games? I could swear that Xiahuo Yuan's English VA is the exact same guy as back in DW2.
www.secret-arts.com
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| Pollyanna 3633th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
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Wii: n/a
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Karasu's Big Musou Adventure" , posted Tue 1 Apr 09:36
quote:
MUSOU
I believe the DLC does transfer across versions, which is not a huge stretch, seeing as you can exchange data across three different systems. However, it's still a nuisance, since we don't know when they'll release the PS4 versions of DLC...so even if we don't have to pay, we still have to wait.
The Academy uses in-game money. That's one of the advantages of the elephant strategy I listed above. You get money/resources from your farm and horses and such as well. You can probably make a lot of money doing one short mission, elephant, mission, elephant, mission, etc., but that's not much fun and I'm not into doing stuff like that.
Despite having purchased the game twice, I haven't played it all that much, but most of my time has been put into Ambition Mode.
As for the voice actors, well, people flip out if they change an actor, even if they sucked, so it wouldn't surprise me if they'd kept as many as they could. I believe the game is a non-union dub, however, which means that the actors go uncredited. People figure out who they are, or they say it outright at a convention or something, but there's "technically" no way to tell.
A few years ago, I would mock someone for spending too much time on Musou games and there are certainly many Musou games not worthy of your time, but Koei's been on a good run lately. I've gone from "You're STILL playing Musou?" to "You STILL think Musou sucks?"
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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| Pollyanna 3636th Post
PSN: Lilly_Dopamine
XBL: n/a
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Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(1):So back to DW..." , posted Sat 12 Apr 12:54
quote:
Maybe the thread can be revived with mlre Dynasty Warriors discussion?
Polly! I need advice about weapons. There are like a hundred weapon types. Which are the most fun/combo-ey/coolest?
Which weapons are actually new? Are the charms/talisman things carried over from SW? I do like the stiking sword, who has ex moves with that weapon?
Striking sword is Sima Zhao. Each character has one weapon and each weapon has one character, so you'll be using their "signature" weapon plus whatever they have a good affinity with. There are 4 classes of weapons (it's like...wind, dash, shadow, diver, I think?) Personally, I'm still at the point of trying out every character, so I haven't chosen complex favorites for secondary weapons, as I've focused my efforts on getting better primary ones.
I don't recall what the charm system was like, but this time you just have weapon attributes (musou up, elemental, whatever) and different weapons have different numbers of slots and different levels of these attributes. You combine weapons to get your ideal setup.
You will definitely want Velocity, which raises attack speed. The results can be quite impressive.
My personal favorite weapon is Ma Dai's brush, though Lu Xun's swallow swords and Cao Cao's general's swords also stick 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.
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I take it that lived up to expectations.
"Re(1):Dragon's Crown Sorceress" , posted Sat 29 Mar 01:09
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