#kill you it just makes you think God i need to buy a nintendo wii. Lord almighty i need to buy a nintendo wii. many such cases | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cyberramblings · 3 years

Text

3DS: Time for Playtime

It's been fun getting a Wii U lately, but I wanted to look back on all the use I've gotten out of my 3DS in the last year by running down my most played games.

Super Smash Bros. - 154 Hours

This is still my most played game after recently getting back into the 3DS, despite playing zero Smash in that time. I played a lot of this game when it came out and then leading up to the release of Ultimate. This game was a godsend for someone like me who didn't own a Wii U but wanted to stay involved with the series.

Pokemon X - 56 Hours

Again, this is from when I first got my 3DS. I played this one over a whole summer vacation off and on! I still can't decide how I feel about XP Share.

Pokemon Ultra Moon - 51 Hours

Okay, this one is this high because after beating the game, my girlfriend tried to catch all the Pokemon and collect all the totem stickers. I really enjoyed this one, but the Ultra Necrozma fight kicked my butt.

Link Between Worlds - 49 Hours

I actually own the special edition Triforce 3DS which came bundled with this game! As my first game on the system, it is no surprise to see it so high, even though I got stuck on the final boss. I consider this to be one of the best Zelda games.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - 41 Hours

This one makes a lot of sense. When I played all that Smash Bros before the release of Ultimate, this was the one other game I played during that time, to the point of actually beating it and a good chunk of the daily puzzles! I even missed a college lecture because I was so wrapped up in the climax.

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire - 27 Hours

Finally, a game I played recently with no shenanigans or excuses. This was an interesting "book ends" with Omega Ruby, as OR was the first Pokemon game I played in my recent endeavor to play them all, while AS was towards the end. Backwards of their names, huh?

Pokemon Omega Ruby - 26 Hours

Fitting that this game should be so close to Alpha Sapphire. I would think that one of these two games would've been left running overnight or somehow had the playtimes differ more, but it somehow makes me hapy to see them side by side. I appreciated Wally's Theme much more the second time through.

Pokemon Y - 23 Hours

Considerably less than the time I spent in X all those years ago. This was one of the last Pokemon games I played in my recent playing of all the games, since I had already technically beaten X. It was a lot of fun to revisit though, and I love Sylveon!

Ocarina of Time 3D - 21 Hours

This one also makes sense, since I owned it during my original teenage years of owning the 3DS. I can't believe I paid 40 bucks for this just to get stuck on the Forest Temple for years! OoT doesn't resonate with me the same way as everyone else seemingly.

Pokemon Red - 19 Hours

Again, this makes sense. I think this was the third game of my recent Pokemon marathon, right after Alpha Sapphire and Ultra Moon. It was a short run thanks to an overlevelled Venasaur and the three legendary birds. I enjoyed crushing this game.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy - 16 Hours

This is the game I just finished. I love the series and it was nice to finish it out. I think the ending was silly but the presentation value was nice to see.

Pushmo - 14 Hours

This was my go-to breakfast game for weeks, but phone-scrolling has replaced it as my morning activity while eating.

Shovel Knight - 14 Hours

This used to be the premiere downloadable title on 3DS. I think this game still holds up, but it has lost the sheer novelty of being a Kickstarter retro success over time.

Shin Megami Tensei IV - 13 Hours

I liked Persona 4 so I thought I would like this. It was too difficult for me back then, but now I don't have the patience. This was one of the games I actually paid 15 bucks to download back in highschool.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - 13 Hours

The first of my several attempts to get into Monster Hunter. I bought, played, quit, and sold this game all back in high school. I would later go on to buy, try, and sell Monster Hunter World as well. It just isn't for me.

Metroid: Samus Returns - 12 Hours

I tried and hated this game on PC emulator, but it has a lot more charm on the actual system. I still generally dislike the melee mechanic but I generally enjoyed this game. It helps that I even beat the original first! Hopefully Dread fixes the few things wrong with this game.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - 12 Hours

I don't know if I ever fell in love with the "unique" control scheme of this game, but I definitely fell in love with all of the characters! This was a great one to play with my girlfriend watching. It's also great to have more of a context for Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit in Smash now!

Pokemon Sun - 11 Hours

I haven't beaten it yet, whoops.

Rhyhm Heaven Megamix - 11 Hours

One of the last purchases I made before the Switch came out and killed my 3DS playing nearly permanently. I paid 30 bucks! As much as I love this game, I don't know if it was worth that.

Super Mario 3D Land - 10 Hours

A rare game that I played before AND after the rift of me playing 3DS. It's...fine. Definitely Mario.

Picross 3D: Round 2 - 9 Hours

I have always loved Picross and this is no exception. I really should dive back in sometime!

Animal Crossing: New Leaf - 8 Hours

I just can't get into it, I've tried but I can't.

Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright - 8 Hours

This was actually a birthday gift! I was very excited for the concept but hugely turned off by the time travel and setting. I need to give it another shake, perhaps after replaying some of the Ace Attorney games.

Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D - 7 Hours

One of my few highschool digital purchases. I played a lot of Mercenaries in 6 and 5 (which this is based on, seemingly). It's...fine. But I should have just replayed Revelations on 3DS instead.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - 6 Hours

It was 7 bucks at GameStop used, so I guess I almost got a 1:1 ratio of hours to dollars. I would've enjoyed this game more now, after playing FF7 Remake.

Pokemon Picross - 6 Hours

Free AND Picross? Yes, but also grindy and scummy. I wish you could just buy a physical copy of this game with everything unlocked.

Paper Mario Sticker Star - 5 Hours

Ten dollars on clearance was too much for this game. Maybe I will try it again sometime knowing ahead of time that it is a joke of a video game. I spit on this game's grave.

Mario Tennis Open - 5 Hours

A lot of the games I acquired within the last year have much lower playtimes, so I was not expecting to see this game this high. I guess I played a few tournaments. I feel like I quit because Waluigi cheated, then played just the tutorial of Mario Golf before quitting that too.

Elite Beat Agents - 4.5 Hours

This game rules.

Tetris Axis - 4.5 Hours

This game drools.

Kirby Planet Robobot - 4.5 Hours

Cute game, but I only play it with my girlfriend.

New Super Mario Brothers 2 - 4.5 Hours

I am surprised it is this low considering I got stuck on the final boss in single player and beat around 2 worlds in coop.

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - 4 Hours

I need to play more!

Super Smash Brothers Demo - 4 Hours

Hell yeah this was such an exciting time to be a Nintendo fan! Trying to get ahold of this demo was like getting a Willy Wonk golden ticket. I was so excited to play as Mega Man, Villager, Mario, Link, and Pikachu even if just on Battlefield.

Kingdom Hearts 3D - 3.5 Hours

A surprisingly competent action RPG. This game kind of reeks as part of the PS4 collection, but it really shines on the original version.

Layton's Mystery Journey - 3 Hours

I like the idea of playing as Layton's daughter, but I don't like having a talking dog and an insufferable simp as sidekicks. I hope the next game just returns to the original crew.

Mario Kart 7 - 3 Hours

It's...Mario Kart. Not a ton more to say.

Mario Party Island Tour - 3 Hours

I have trouble keeping the different 3DS Mario Party games separate in my mind, but anything that's not Top 100 is fun with friends. Top 100 only has one, miserable board! Why???

Ultimate NES Remix - 3 Hours

A great game for pick up and play, but not for long sessions.

Art of Balance Touch - 3 Hours

Recently got into this. Tons of fun until the difficulty gets a little too high!

Warioware Gold - 2.5 Hours

I completely beat this game and it is still this low. Fun, but hard to recommend at any price but free.

Luigi's Mansion 2 - 2.5 Hours

Cute game....but feels hard to play for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Dead or Alive Dimensions - 2.5 Hours

Again, all I did was beat the game and then quit. Surprsingly competent for a 3DS fighting game, but too barebones with content compared to Smash.

Boxboy - 2.5 Hours

I feel like I played this game way more. It's cute and fun, but now I have a hard time picking up the puzzles where I left them.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Demo - 2.5 Hours

This tricked me into buying the game! Dangit

Mario Party Star Rush - 2.5 Hours

Oh god, I can't keep this one and Island Tour straight.

Pokemon Shuffle - 2 Hours

I feel like I played this one way more, but that is probably because the phone version also exists.

VVVVVV - 2 Hours

Beat the whole game! Not a bad way to spend time, but this makes it worth only 2 dollars according to my 1:1 ratio of dollars to hours.

Final Fantasy Explorers - 2 Hours

I like some things about this game but I just cannot play anything related to Monster Hunter.

Tri Force Heroes - 2 Hours

This suffers from "Overcooked syndrome" where you have to rely on your teammates so much that it becomes a total chore.

Theatrythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 1.5 Hours

I played that much just to unlocked multiplayer.

Super Street Fighter IV - 1.5 Hours

I think I paid for this game full price back in high school and then barely played it. I've always tried to delude myself into thinking that I can play real fighting games that are not Smash.

Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX - 1.5 Hours

Again, I feel like I played this game for days and days. I suppose rhythm games feel like time slows down when you play them. Thumbs up for including Puyo Puyo! I am surprised this game released in the West at all.

Rune Factory 4 - 1.5 Hours

I got this far as a favor to a friend. I just can't play any game where there is an optimal way to act that sounds exhausting but possible to me. I know I could easily talk to all the NPC's every day... but I do not want to.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - 1.5 Hours

This was exclusively played with friends. Not a fan.

Pokemon Rumble World - 1.5 Hours

Free games. Novelty as a kid. No time for them as an adult. Nothing about this game is appealing beyond the price point.

Attack of the Friday Monster - 1.5 Hours

My biggest memory of this game is playing it on the schoolbus when a little kid asked if he could play/watch and I told him I was playing a boring game that he wouldn't like. As cute as this game is, yes, it is boring and not very fun.

Sonic Generations - 1.5 Hours

I somewhat enjoyed this game until the Shadow boss fight. Can't figure it out. Not fun.

Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn - 1.5 Hours

Cute, played it with girlfriend.

Super Mario Land 2 - 1 Hour

I think I got this with Club Nintendo points?

Rage of the Gladiator - 1 Hour

Medieval offbrand Punch-Out.

Mario Party: The Top 100 - 1 Hour

ONE BOARD?!? At least it has the storybook minifame from gamecube Mario Party.

Trace Memory - 1 Hour

Bought used from GameStop. I was told it was a hidden gem, but I didn't have the patience.

Mario and Sonic Rio 2016 - 1 Hour

Cute game to play with friends but some of the minigames suck. Thumbs up for less common Sonic characters.

Azure Striker Gunvolt - 1 Hour

Not bad, just helped me realize that I don't really like Mega Man style games all that much. The genre of "Mega Man" just feels like a Metroid with no exploration or meaningful progression.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - 1 Hour

I tried to get into this franchise but it is so booooorring and slow and unappealing to me.

I've been rounding to the half hour, so the next game is Zelda Oracle of Season at 44 minutes, which would round down to half an hour. I will take that as my cue to finish here.

In conclusion: games I owned longer tended to be played longer. Shocker. This was all just an excuse to ramble about Nintendo games anyways.

#3ds #ds #nintendo #mario #zelda #pokemon #metroid dread #sonic #kid icarus

0 notes

steeltypeloverbecca · 6 years

Text

Golden Sun feelings

Lately I’ve been watching videos discussing Golden Sun/ listening to the soundtrack and I’ve been wanting to replay it for years but unfortunately I loaned it to a friend a long time ago and they seemed to have lost it at some point, so my current choice would probably be an emulator. Except that I want to throw what little money I have at the series as I remember liking the series a lot and want to bring back financial hope that Nintendo/Camelot would try to revive this series. As well while the first two games were praised and sold okay for their time and Dark Dawn sold a little less than. So I don’t think they sold the numbers Nintendo needed making this series heavily neglected with a dedicated fanbase that is still wanting more (I mean especially after that Dark Dawn left soooooo many loose ends).

Unlike other things I may have obsessed over in high school that I said were super underrated and deserve more love Golden Sun actually does deserve that more love. It’s a game that pushed the GBA to it’s limits with its graphics, soundtrack. and game play. Okay sure the story of the Golden Sun games are not the best as I feel even the weakest of some modern JRPGs have stronger stories but it is very much serviceable with the first two being fairly open ended to the point where there are very little points of no return and you can skip some events outright and it wouldn’t hurt your progress through the games story. However the real appeal in the games would be the dungeon puzzles and battle as both require you to use various magic or as the games call it psynergy to solve them but with the battles there is a lot of freedom with customizing your party for battle as each character has a set of weapons that they can equip and there’s the djinn system which can allow you to mess around with your party’s classes as well as thy psynergy everyone can learn depending on which djinni you equip. Oh and like other RPGs the djinni are used for summoning fucking gods ... and a meteor for tons of damage even if it temporarily lowers your stats.

And the setting of the world isn’t just some stock whitey European fantasy world like so many others all right your party is pretty white but don’t worry the third game does somewhat rectify this with half of your team being various flavors of Asian coding (Like two of the characters are south east Asian coded, one is more Mongolian coded, while one is Japanese coded) but the rest of the fantasy world you end up saving has a large variety of settings that resemble fantasy places of east Asia, south east Asia, the middle east, sub Sahara Africa, India, Aboriginal Australia, the Americas and even fucking Antarctica making this one of the most diverse fantasy worlds I’ve run into. And did I mention that soundtrack like holy shit if you ever play this game play it with the sound on because the soundtrack is fucking amazing like some of Matoi Sakuraba’s best pre-Zestiria work. Hell even if you don’t have the game listen to the soundtrack because it is so good! And it’s not just the world but the dungeons come in many fun varieties like there’s this one where you need to go up the outside to get an item before going inside the dungeon itself or the one where you are using a healing spell to activate traps and the like a literal fucking healing spell that just heals you for the rest of the game outside of this one dungeon and then there’s the one where you’re grabbing a big ass bird’s kidney stones.

Okay enough gushing as it does have its flaws like the story, the dialogue heavy first chapter of each game. I honestly can’t tell you much about any of the characters outside of Isaac is different from Matthew because he has silly looking boob plates, Mia had a job before she joined the party, Sheba was worshiped as a god, and Piers is probably immortal with my gay ass admitting that he has nice thighs. Dark Dawn being really flawed even if it does have the nice addition of adding the weapon skill upgrade system and that cool easter egg from the north american commercial for the first game (which by the way has absolutely nothing to do with the game but still looks pretty cool). Hell one of the biggest flaws is the main character of Dark Dawn isn’t really the hero of the game’s story but that title goes to a character that you meet like halfway through the game, and before you meet her the main character is just kind of bumming around going on various fetch quests. With the puzzles and battles honestly being way too easy. Dark dawn is just really the weakest of the games that kind of came as a result of most of the original team leaving right after the second game and the series being on hiatus for almost a decade. I wouldn’t say it’s awful but I feel that it failed to live up to the previous two games and the baggage from those games caused major set backs for newcomers. Plus the development hell that it suffered through it kind of is a miracle that Dark Dawn is even out.

So now Golden Sun is at the point again where no one has heard from it for almost a decade and people are starting to lose faith that Golden Sun 4 will never come out. However with the Switch being early in its lifespan I think there is a glimmer of hope for Golden Sun to return. But I do feel that it needs to return through a reboot of the first two games hell maybe combine the two into one game like it was originally planned, though Isaac and Felix being silent protagonists would have to be scrapped as it would be just jarring for someone who talks in one part of the game suddenly ends up being completely silent in the other game. Heck I think it would be cool to push the switch’s graphical capabilities like the original GBA versions did for their respective systems, like give some tweaks to the story and characters give the game styleized character models and hell why not some voice acting as I think Laura Bailey would totally nail Jenna and/or Sheba, Robbie Daymond would make a good Isaac, and either Matthew Mercer or Yuri Lowenthal could work as Felix. But then goes the issue of the fact that Nintendo reboots tend to not sell as well as the original even if its something the franchise really needs to hook in new gamers for a Golden Sun 4 and that remake needs to about four times as much as the just under 2 million copies that the original games each sold. So I feel that Nintendo and Camelot when dealing with Golden Sun should first give the reboot of the first two games whether they be one or two games, a remake or updated rerelease of Dark Dawn, a few spin off games still dealing with the world of Weyard then give us Golden Sun 4 and after that they can do what they wish with it like make spiritual successors, or make it like a Final Fantasy or Tales series where everything after 4 could be unrelated to the main 4 games. However I have no idea on how to ensure that the first part of this idea, the reboot, would rake in the 10 million plus copies it needs to not kill Golden Sun. Maybe updated graphics and voice acting would work maybe it won’t. Though in anycase I do encourage buying the first two games on the Wii U virtual console and I’m pretty sure you can get Dark Dawn for cheap as DS games are still selling as they still work for the 3DS. And if you like the games enough I encourage trying to bring in support ... or ask for Isaac to be playable for the new Smash.

#Golden Sun #long post #gushing #like tons of gushing #and ideas on what could be possible for the future of this great franchise

1 note · View note

pywackett-barchetta · 7 years

Text

E3 2017 Impressions (6/12/17)

Miscellanous

Forming a chatroom with a few friends across social circles expressly for the purpose of E3 commentary was nice

Story modes in sports games seem to be a thing they think people want. I appreciate yearly entries in a franchise getting to be distinct games with their own unique reasons to pick each up, at least

I should’ve known to tune out as soon as it opened with a drumline of people in Patriots jerseys

I felt so confused during the FIFA segment, even allowing for the fact that I’m not in the target audience there

I refuse to acknowledge anything in Star Wars canon from VII onwards so Battlefront 2 is gonna be a pass. I’m sticking with Battlefront II

Hearing people complain about Boba Fett, clones, and Darth Maul co-existing tells me they never played the original Battlefront games

Need for Speed: Payback looks like they’re quintupling down on literally everything the fanbase has ever unanimously asked them never to do again

The car customization’s still sweet, though, and it’s got a 350Z

I don’t know why NFS has decided it needs plot and grittiness, but it clearly did not work for Undercover or The Run or Rivals or the 2015 game or rival franchise The Crew

I didn’t give a flying frick about Battlefield before, but them testing out the new map was really fun to watch and a genuinely enjoyable experience

Even my mother was pissed off that the post-show interview about Madden was just the actors “bro-ing” out and talking about nothing in particular for twenty entire minutes on camera

Every presentation of NFS: Payback used the exact same scene played the exact same way, which is how a vertical slice works but not usually this blatantly, and not usually the exact entire scene from the trailer you released before the show even began

Nobody will agree who won E3, but we all know EA absolutely lost.

Xbox

Even with the acronym, Xbox One X makes the Wii U sound like a good name for a console

Was thrilled for the annual reveal of a car on-stage but was underwhelmed by it being Porsche

Whole thing about Porsche being a lot harder to take seriously if you’re keenly aware that they just got out of an exclusivity contract with EA and now every racing dev’s trying to court them to their side

I was excited by Forza 7, but moreso massively disheartened by people really being jerks and scoffing at racing games for some reason

EXCLUSIVE

DBZ basically won the damn show out of completely nowhere with a slick, beautiful fighter that hearkens to nostalgia but doesn’t rely on it. Also it has Majin Buu and he’s cute and terrifyingly powerful and I ask little else

No but seriously, I understand the decline of motor vehicles as a ‘cool factor’ in modern culture but why are people so actively disdainful of racing games

EXCLUSIVE, WORLD PREMIERE

Crackdown 3 massively underwhelms by trying to be an Old Spice ad to distract from the fact that all the promised monumental destruction was cut at some point in development and replaced with stuff I can already do in Saints Row 2. If Terry Crews cannot save you, there is a problem

Wasn’t particularly floored by The Last Night, but that might just be too much time on Tumblr talking

Like, racing-wise, I’m just talking silly arcade/simcade stuff and not the cesspits of the sim-racing community that actually would be contemptible, but just “oh, cool, cars!” is worthy of scorn somehow nowadays, come on

Anyways, I just want all this stuff on my PC anyhow so this was probably the most relevant conference in hindsight

EXCLUSIVE

Would’ve been nice if they ever actually stopped to explain what Mixer was; I’m still hopeful that those Mixpot things go through for me

Forza 7 having character customization and being on PC in full makes it a strong contender, so now it just needs stock car racing and I’m probably happy.

Bethesda

I went to bed before this went on

Skyrim re-release announced

Oh my god, Wolfenstein II looks absolutely captivating and nicely topical, and as much as I love The New Order, it’s genuinely impressive they got me to care at all after how awful The Old Blood was in comparison

Creation Club does not bode well and I will leave it at that

Devolver Digital

I fell asleep and had to check this one in the morning

Early contender to win E3

“I bet you want that game. I bet you wanna buy that game. You will buy that game. I believe in you. Buy that motherfucking game”

It didn’t have to go as far as it did but it was great anyways in my book, but granted, I probably would’ve shut it off partway through if I was watching it alone

Please watch their press conference if you hadn’t already and are willing

PC Gaming Show

“Cool, am I right?” *complete silence* “...Jesus, thanks, audience!”

XCOM 2 gets that expansion released on my dad’s birthday. He doesn’t play anything besides Smash Bros, but I might get him XCOM anyways, might be up his alley.

The announcer panicking in the Killing Floor 2 trailer instead of playing things viciously straight seemed actively unfunny and forced. Background music was hella rad, though

Ubisoft

I just read the bullet points on my phone while at my doctor’s office, and looked up individual trailers later

And by that I mean someone forwarded me The Crew 2 which was all I was really gonna watch anyways

The Crew 2 actually looks bright and happy and fun and about enjoying motorsports and extreme sports and anything with an engine, and it absolutely should be this because the grimdark crap sucked the fun out of the first game

Every motorsports title featured (besides NFS: Payback) was genuinely enthusiastic and vibrant, which is how it should be

That Olympics expansion for Steep looks rad. I love when real-world sporting events end up in extreme sports games; tends to work a lot better than when they’re contract jobs for standalone licensed titles

Playstation

Undertale coming to PS4 and Vita makes me somewhat less of a screaming frothing madman over the Touhou fangame ports, but I’m still going to be absolutely outrageously unhealthily unnecessarily bitter over Udonge’s ULiL console exclusivity until either she’s ported back to PC or I literally die

They started at a disadvantage here, because usually Xbox does a dumb consumer-unfriendly thing and Sony capitalizes on it, but here, Xbox was touting more backwards compatibility while Sony execs were telling fans “ha, no, that’s stupid, old games look bad, buy new games”, which basically tore asunder any last shreds of illusion I had about the gaming industry being benevolent

Concert opening went over well with my family, who are Niyaz fans

Uncharted being inaudible

Skyrim re-release announced

“Oh, is this Last of Us?”, I say, during the Days Gone trailer

I spent the whole Detroit announcement going “is that the guy from Grey’s Anatomy” which is not descriptive but I meant Jesse Williams, and considering other people understood who I meant, I think it is

“I’ll choose my own adventure! What if I choose, uh... none of this? What if I don’t play this game? How about that!” - My mother, on Detroit

“This better be Spider-Man” - Me

“YES” - Also me, several seconds later

“WOAH” - Also me, every couple of seconds in the trailer

The quick-time events concern me and if there weren’t so many of them conspicuously strewn about, Spider-Man would be the winning presentation hands-down

Distinct feeling of “that was it?” after it ended

Nintendo

I don’t have any of their hardware since the Wii, so.

#e3 2017 #rambling #profanity #long post #text

1 note · View note

plufim · 7 years

Text

E3 2017 predictions

E3 predictions

In general these come from my thoughts, but also include ideas I’ve heard floated around the web which I completely agree with. Avoiding the already announced/leaked stuff, since that’s not fun!

I’ve sort predictions for all main presentations into 3 different categories based on likelihood (“Lock it in, Reggie” (very confident), “50/50” and “swinging for the fences” (super unlikely but I gotta go all in)). Also, because I’m Connell, this skews Nintendo, but I do have thoughts on everyone! And almost entirely positive ones!

These are in order of the presentation times, hence Nintendo being last. Oh, and a shadow drop is an unannounced game or feature being available for download immediately.

General Predictions/Trends:

- One final push for remastered collections.

- The PC gaming show will be a shit-show again.

- After “Seven Nation Army” did so well for the Battlefield 1 trailer, at LEAST 3 other trailers will use a contemporary song for a game set in another time.

EA:

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Need for Speed will have a Cops vs Racers mode. Because it is always the best thing. Shutting down fools for daring to turn MY roads into a race track is always the best.

- FIFA presentation will not mention the Switch version at all. Info will only be turned up at the show floor, with 2-3 units available. There will be a very simple token minigame so they can justify it as being “built for switch”, but it is 99% the PS3/360 version.

50/50:

- Mass Effect 1-3 Remastered collection, for PS4 and Xbox one. Designed to win back trust from gamers who were burned hard by Andromeda, which really damaged the brand. This leads to my further prediction (not for this though) that ME5 then connects both stories together, where the Andromeda crew find a device that allows them to send a message with information back in time to Shephards brain and bam, you’re playing with the character’s people liked again.

- Sim City. It’s been long enough since the last Sim City, which was disastrous. Time for EA to show they learned from their mistakes and can take on city: skylines

Singing for the fences:

- Mass Effect Trilogy also for the Switch. Despite the only support being a terrible FIFA game thus far, the actual sales of the system will be seen as an opportunity… to sell old games again with very little extra work. Perhaps some token amiibo functionality in the character creator.

Microsoft:

Obviously, this will be all about Scorpio. Every game will make a point to include something about how the Scorpio version is enhanced. Also apologies, don’t really have much

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Forza 5.

- Scorpio will have VR featured heavily

50/50:

- Scorpio’s final name will be: Xbox Scorpio. Microsoft is done with numbers.

50/50:

- It will be revealed that Scorpio, unlike PS4Pro, will have games exclusive to it.

Swinging for the fences:

- Crackdown demo shadow drop

- Exclusive John Wick videogame for scorpio

- BATTLETOADS

Bethesda:

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Wolfenstein Titan(?) official reveal.

- Prey DLC chapters.

50/50:

- Switch Skyrim has Zelda content in it. Because why else would someone pay $60 US for this game for a third time?

- Elder Scrolls VI revealed. Will feature at least 2 of the regions. Possibly Elsweyr and Valenwood

Swinging for the fences:

- Elder Scrolls finally bring back the Dwemer, either by reviving them or setting it in the distant past.

Ubisoft:

So… most of this conference is already leaked, but still…. Uh… hm. Well here’s a few somethings.

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Rabbids/Mario will have a CG teaser. Gameplay saved for Nintendo.

50/50:

- On stage reveal for Farcry will include not only making fun of the people who got so angry that the villians are a white Christian cult, but there will be an embarrassing on-stage play where people pretend to be storming the stage to protest the treatment of horrible people.

Swinging for the fences:

- A switch exclusive Assassin’s Creed side-story, much like they did for Vita around Assassin’s Creed 3.

- Rabbids/Mario features a cover of “All Star”, covered by Rabbids themselves, because this game will be drowning in memes. And I will hate this while secretly loving this.

Sony:

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Sony saves IO interactive, Hitman 2 will be PS4 exclusive. Microsoft SHOULD do this, but… this feels more like a Sony move.

- MASSIVE Spiderman blowout, including a lot of show floor stuff. Playable demo. No tie in to the movie, but instead a new story with Goblin and the sinister 6 as the villians. And there’ll be some shitty day 1 pre-order crap, probably involving a Black Cat side story. F4 will cameo, but play no major roles – however Insomniac will be building a shared games universe. Yes, even with the Squaresoft stuff.

- Bloodborne 2. It will happen.

50/50:

- A real, honest to god Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer, with worlds revealed, including Moana and Frozen.

- Shenmue 1+2 Remastered announced. With Shenmue 3 delayed (and that having been inevitable for some time), this would be a smart move to capitalise on the clear demand for more Ryo.

- Another Last of Us Part 2 teaser, but no gameplay yet.

- English Dragon Quest XI release date, mid 2018.

- Red Dead 2 trailer, first with actual gameplay. I also think this will reveal that Zelda-like free climbing is being implemented.

Swinging for the fences:

- The vita returns as a phone. The switch has shown portable games are still viable, vita has some life in Asian territories, and Sony want to keep the remote play train going. Destined to still fail? Probably! But let’s not let reality kill HYPE.

- Last of Us Part 2 prelude chapter available now, for free. One hour of set up, basically a demo. But that’s what they do to get the kids excited.

- Spyro Trilogy remastered. Activision gotta do something with the guy.

- Red Dead 2 trailer showcases a train heist. I LOVE train heists.

Nintendo:

In general, there won’t be much or any 3DS. They’re getting a lot of that out of the way this week already.

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Xenoblade 2 is not delayed, December 2018. Playable on show floor.

- Mario Odyssey for October 2017. Massive show floor presence.

- Mario Kart DLC, same format as for WiiU – 2 packs of tracks, but this time it’s 8 racing and 2 battle tracks, as well as 3 characters and karts each. A shadow drop of the ability to buy the

- Zelda DLC part 1 shadow drop. Teaser for the rest of the DLC.

- Picross Switch, available now. Not Picross 3D though, they’ll hold off on that.

- Rabbids/Mario gameplay demo

- Dragon Quest XI for Switch officially announced

- Everyone on stage will wear goofy hats because of Mario Odyssey, because hats is a big thing in that game. Hats will grant abilities.

- Splatoon 2 test fire round 2 will be announced to begin the next weekend, with significant tweaks.

- New ARMs content announced, with new ARMs avaialable immediately and

50/50:

- Massive update to switch UI, shadow dropped. Includes multiple UI styles, with Badge arcade built in for further customisation, folders, linking to old Nintendo friends lists, musical themes. Further themes will be on eshop going forward, like 3DS. And finally, this also includes the new online system, hence the new details revealed about it last week.

- Animal Crossing Switch. Early 2018, with much improved social features. Massive amiibo functionality, much like New Leaf now has. It’ll have a new hook, not sure what though. My guess is some Sim City style mayoral stuff like setting up and supplying utilities.

- Warioware Switch, holiday 2017. It’s been a while for the Rhythm Heaven/Warioware team. I NEED THIS ONE NINTENDO.

- Smash Brothers 4 Switch, Q2 2018, rereleased with the best levels from the WiiU and 3DS levels, plus an expanded single player mode. It’s just too crowded for this game yet, but they don’t need to hold off for too long, because it’ll be an evergreen. There will be a teaser though, starring Inklings, Ice Climbers and Spring Man.

- Mario Maker Switch for Q1 2018. It can’t release this year, it needs space away from Mario Odyssey. The game will include a new “switch” block which when hit in game alternates the game style. There will also be playable Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad for each game type, each with different styles, and a different switch block or pipe that changes your character mid-level.

- Skyward Sword HD for switch, with optional non-motion controls for boring people. Q2 2018.

- Partnership with Activision to make an Amiibo action game. You might think this is a swing for the fence, but: Toys for Bob is out of a gig right now. And this would sell better than any recent Skylanders game. Activision would release special versions of select characters, so they can get their cut from the toy sales.

- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3, Q1 2018, by Monster Games. They’ve been quiet for a while, they ported Returns to 3DS, they assisted Retro on Tropical Freeze, this is what they’ve been working towards.

- Dead Cells announced for Switch.

- Layton Collection announced… for phone. Lady Layton western release date.

- Retro’s game. And it’s NOT Metroid, but a sci-fi Western RPG.

- This is a long shot, but T2 is relatively impressed by the switch, so: GTA5 for Switch. With a chunk of the DLC included.

- Switch Sports, holiday 2017. The return of the king. All the games as released for WiiU, plus a few from Wii Sports resort (airplane), with additional modes for each sport. I do have a “swinging for the fence” on this though…

Swinging for the fences:

- …Wuhu World. Remember Pilotwings 64? Where Little USA was a huge island with different activities, sights to see, and so on? Well, take Wuhu Island, scoot up the detail and resolution, include the small surrounding golf islands, and add a few other themed islands the same size as Wuhu (snow island, city island, etc). It’s a free game where you get the islands and one activity per island, and can walk/drive around each island. Dotted around each is various locations that count as home bases for various sports/vehicles from Wii Sports, Pilotwings and some new items. Each of these is paid, and comes with various different modes and missions. This could be further expanded over time, and allows Nintendo to make money from series that could no longer be sold alone.

- Mario Kart DLC includes mission mode, which is available day 1 with missions on existing courses and expands with the DLC.

- New 2D Metroid by a small team from within Retro. There is a 3D game teased to be in the works also, but not from Retro.

- Splatoon 2 Octoling content and Amiibo, including Octoling mascots. I need this, Nintendo.

- EXCITE. TRUCK. 2.

- Nintendo Pinball. Remember Pokemon Pinball? And Metroid Prime Pinball? That but across multiple Nintendo series.

- Sonic and Mario All Stars Racing Transformed. Sumo has to have been making something aside from Snake Pass, and Sonic Racing 2 sold extremely well on the switch.

- Assault Android Cactus Deluxe for Switch. I believe in you Tim! Even if you aren’t even attempting this!

#oh my god can i sleep now

1 note · View note

neon-serpent-llc · 7 years

Text

Here’s to 365 days of polygonal worlds, shot point-blank at our grey matter, some catching fire, others fizzling to the void! It must be that oh-so-pointless time to give out video game awards! For the third year running I present a cheeky list of spills and chills like no other (spoiler: Overwatch wins nothing). Anyway, blahblahblah, here's the awards already:

Game I Forgot Existed Until I Looked Up "Game Releases of 2016" Award

Quantum Break

Like previous winners Watch Dogs, and Evolve, this is a shining example of a game that simply vanished after it was released. Probably took hundreds of Artists four years to make, and then *poof* gone overnight. But alas, most games do, eh? Was the TV show any good?

Best Case for Virtual Tourism Award

The Division

Say what you will about the game itself, but this lovely facsimile of NYC is killer. And super accurate. If it weren't for all the invincible, hoodie-wearing street thugs it would be a pleasure to cruise this digital remake of my favorite city.

Genius or Madness Award

Zero Time Dilemma

A game that walks the line perfectly between the two. So clever, and yet maybe too clever? The twists are ridiculous when they work and outrageous when they don’t. Even so, its sheer confidence of going eight steps beyond everyone else, narrative-wise, is so refreshing. Truly a piece of Art that only works in the video game medium. Speaking of Art...

Most Unplayable Work of Art Award

The Witness

Conceptually, The Witness is flawless. Especially once you've seen the "real" ending, that perfectly frames the point of the whole experience (I watched it on YouTube). Unfortunately, to get that real ending is a monumentally painstaking chore. But, this isn't "difficult" Art in the sense that its meaning is opaque or it’ll challenge your worldview. Its simply that I have zero patience for puzzle games. If The Witness is an encapsulation of what it means to be Johnathan Blow, then it's clear that he and I couldn't be more different. And that's why it works as Art.

Don't Want to Be the Guy That Says, "I Told You So," but.... I Told You So Award

No Man's Sky

Even with its countless features, the spiritually-similar Spore got boring fast. How, then, was this bare-bones knock-off, No Man's Sky, going to keep people interested? And that was with the assumption that it would at least look nice. However, it absolutely did not. The novelty of seeing procedurally generated ANYTHING gets old fast, and it's made far worse when you're presented with a never ending stream of ugly, barren planets made of mud and more mud. Next year’s winner: Star Citizen?

Biggest Social Phenomenon Since the Wii Award

Pokemon Go

It didn't last long, but for a month this summer, everyone was out hunting in the parks of the world. Sure, we still mostly ignored each other, but there was a touch of bizarre camaraderie knowing we were all playing the same giant meta game. Like the Wii before it, it was a game-related subject you could talk to ANYBODY about, and they'd not only know what you meant, but have an opinion on the matter. How often does that happen? How odd was it to see a fifty year old business man asking where the nearest Clefairy could be found?

Welcome to the 90s Loading Time Award

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

I think I spent more time riding the subway in this game than I have in real life.

You Don't Know Your Audience Award

Metroid Prime Federation Force

As a new Nintendo IP this would have got tons of attention. Who doesn't like crazy new Nintendo ideas? But as a Metroid game it could only possibly get bad press. Why play as Samus when you can play as more-generic-than-Master-Chief, chibi space marines instead? A top tier faux pas.

They Finally Got it Right Award

Dragonball Xenoverse 2

After decades of awkward DragonBall games, they finally hit the sweet spot for over-the-top action with fun controls and interesting content (granted, I never played the first Xenoverse). In the year of Street Fighter 5, who would have thought I'd prefer the new DragonBall fighting game?

Well Deserved Retirement Award

Dark Souls 3

Still fun despite almost no alterations in what is clearly a formula now, but I'm glad this is the last hurrah, at least for a while. As I said when Dark Souls 2 came out, the magic is less pronounced with each additional entry. None will have that Demon's Souls impact anymore. But when it returns in 5 to 10 years, it'll be nostalgic to see the old tricks in action again.

Everyone's An Asshole Award

Dishonored 2

At least that's what the talking Heart makes it seem like. Half the populace has secretly killed their husband/wife, whereas the other half have burned down orphanages or something.

Late to the Party Award

Steins;Gate

Another game I played years after release. And damn it's good. Far more novel than game, but I don't mind for a story of this quality. Why wasn't I reading this earlier? Haven't got to Steins;Gate 0 yet, but I'm working on it.

Xenogears Disk 2 Award

Final Fantasy XV

Like Metal Gear Solid V last year, another all-around excellent game that suddenly sprints to the end, jumping vast stretches of story in an instant, clashing hard with the slow burn style of storytelling established before that. Much like Xenogears of yore, this is a game that tried to be far bigger than time/budget allowed.

Honestly, I wish these overly-epic games would get chopped in two, a la Kill Bill. At the point where the story would start getting rushed, end part one. Just end it. Then let its sales fund part two, the remainder of the story. Then again, you run the risk of a Too Human situation where you announce a trilogy and then don't sell enough to finish it. But honestly, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear would handily sell enough. I’m sure they’ll make a FFXV-2, but at best it’ll attempt to reassemble the pieces of its predecessors fractured ending.

Didn't Burn the House Down Award

Uncharted 4

The writers said the ending would "burn the house down" in terms of closure. But it didn't, at all, even slightly. Uncharted 5 could EASILY be made based off this exact ending, with no retcons and no changes to the game’s formula. They'd just have to make Drake constantly say, "I'm too old for this shit!!"

It Shouldn't Work, But it Soooo Does Award

Dragon Quest Builders

I don't like Minecraft. As a professional level designer, I find Minecraft‘s game building tools too crude to enjoy using at length (what a snob, eh?). And I don't like Dragon Quest. Too much grind, not enough story. Too simple. But for some reason when you combine the two it's fucking great! Dragon Quest adds the personality, charm, and flavor Minecraft was sorely lacking while also bringing enough story and tangible goals to make the building feel like a game and not like a chore. Plus, the game’s worlds are fairly handcrafted and feature proper level/zone design, which is greatly appreciated. The surprise hit of the year.

Best Game Industry Trend of the Year

Virtual Reality

I'm glad we're all working on it seriously now. Sure, the current headsets are uncomfortable as fuck, (can’t emphasize this enough), but its a step towards sunglasses-size VR in about ten years or so. Plus, by then everyone will be over their VR sickness so we won’t have to keep watering down the experiences we create. It’ll be sweet!

Worst Game Industry Trend of the Year

Infinite Sales

Between Steam, Good Old Games, Humble Bundle, Greenman Gaming, PSN Store, etc there is always a massive, store-wide sale going on somewhere. Wait a year and any game you want will be a mere $10. Why buy an unknown indie game when you can get a supremely polished, lengthy triple-A game for the same price? Indie developers basically need to charge $1 to get anyone's attention. Or make their game free *cough* ULTRAWORLD.

Best Game Awards of the Year

Obvious

Worst Game Awards of the Year

The Game Awards

A transparently corporate affair, the winners have all be carefully selected based on what needs to sell at Xmas. Companies won't even show up if one of their high profile games doesn't get an award. Even setting those complaints aside, it's hard to get interested or excited about a 2016 award show that happens with over a month of 2016 left; when wonderful games like The Last Guardian haven’t even been released yet. Speaking of which...

Game (Experience) of the Year

The Last Guardian

There's a layer of disconnect between the player and Last Guardian. The boy, Trico, and the camera all seem to disobey the player constantly. Many marked this as a flaw, but I think it's 100% intentional and part of why the game is so cohesive, thematically. For me, there's an added sense of surrealism when things are out of control. The chaos of physics interactions seem like they shouldn't work, yet suddenly you've made it to the next section of the castle. Did you really play that last section, or merely guide the chaos? Since you’re playing as a helpless child, lost in towering labyrinthine passageways, this obtuse disconnect feels entirely appropriate.

I feel it's intentional because Fumito Ueda and his team have managed to capture this sense of surreal play for three games in a row. Everyone manages to get to the end despite the feeling of disconnect. Trico is so aloof, yet will always get you where you need to go. Eventually. If everything functioned 100% predictably, God-of-War-precise, it would be FAR less memorable...as an experience. You, like the boy, legitimately struggle to escape the castle. Who has the guts to purposely make their controls imprecise to service the game, and theme, as a whole? It's amazing. A true work of Art. Game of the Year.

Non-Game of the Year

ULTRAWORLD EXODUS

The expansion and finale to whatever the hell this thing is. I liked it, but I think I'm literally the only one.

---------------------

So that's the year, says I. Looking over my list, its clear I didn't play many indie games, even though I complained about people not buying indie games (which is bad Karma for me, but I'll live). As always, if you disagree: good. All awards are pointless, just fluff opinions with a bow on top. Your awards are as good as mine, good as the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, etc etc forever. Til next year!

2015 Awards 2014 Awards

1 note · View note

operationrainfall · 5 years

Text

Title Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Developer Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. Publisher Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. Release Date January 18th, 2019 Genre Action Platform Nintendo Switch Age Rating M for Mature 17+ – Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence Official Website

Let me clarify something really quick. Travis Strikes Again is NOT No More Heroes 3. That was my initial assumption, and it’s important that those of you reading this understand the difference. See, Travis Strikes Again is a gaiden game, and that shows in many ways. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very much No More Heroes, and is pungent with that insane musk the series is known for. Suda51 has crafted an entry that often defies expectations and regularly defies logic. But in some ways, it’s very much the first of its kind. The question then, is if that’s a good thing? And more importantly, does Travis Strikes Again make up for the nine-year hiatus since the Wii?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Travis Strikes Again starts with an epic cutscene that I’m sure most of you have already seen. Badman, the father of the murderous, bat-wielding Bad Girl, wants revenge on Travis for her death. He hunts him down, and finds Travis roughing it in his outdoor trailer. Banter is exchanged, winks are made at the audience, and then things get especially weird. Apparently, at some point Travis found a nigh impossible to locate game console called the Death Drive Mk II. Think the Virtual Boy combined with VR and you’re on the right track. Somehow the game machine suddenly comes to life and sucks both Travis and his assailant into a strange game world, and thus begins our story.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the first world, Electric Thunder Tiger II, Travis quickly finds out that the Death Drive games are all full of dangerous bugs, who are all out to kill you. The system itself was created by an ahead of her time genius, Dr. Juvenile. Not only does her system draw in the players, but there’s also a myth about the game cartridges, called Death Balls. By collecting six of them, the owner can have their dearest wish granted. If that sounds familiar, then just wait, cause Travis Strikes Again has a shit ton of references to popular culture, from anime to other video games and much more.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While I was drawn in quickly by the opening sequence, once you beat the first world the plot meanders unexpectedly. Badman was initially hellbent on murdering Travis, but after they both come out of the game, it seems things have changed. The game doesn’t really address this change of heart, mind you, and you’ll see Badman wandering the trailer between stages. Though his presence does serve a functional purpose for co-op, his sudden lack of menace really hurts the urgency of the story. It wasn’t clear to me what exactly was happening, and it isn’t til much later that it seems apparent Travis and Badman are suddenly working together. It’s possible I missed something in the copious amount of dialogue in the game, but if not this sudden shift was puzzling. Thankfully, while the story in no way is actually about Travis vs Badman, the other tangents it goes on are pretty interesting by themselves.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Each of the Death Ball titles is a reference to popular culture’s past. For example, Life is Destroy starts off with a bloody sequence that made me instantly think of Night Trap. Another, Golden Dragon GP, has vector graphics that strongly reminded me of Tron. They all have their own vibe, and that goes double for the epic Archive material about them. These materials are a nod to old Nintendo Power style magazine coverage, and feature commentary, art and even secrets that you can check out in each level. I was frankly stunned by how much work went into making a bunch of flavor text that the majority of gamers won’t even bother reading, though I’d say those gamers are missing out. The essential flavor of this game is one that embraces and parodies the video game phenomenon. I loved all the little nods to classics, both obvious and more esoteric.

My only real complaint is that the stages themselves don’t start offering really standout features until later in the game, about four stages in. Keeping in mind there are only six stages in the game, that was a bit of a letdown. Mostly because without unique aspects like Golden Dragon GP’s racing, stages mostly break down to ‘fight all the enemies, kill the boss, rinse and repeat.’ I guess part of my issue with the relative monotony of the experience is I have fond memories of the NES-styled minigames from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. The amount of diversity in those was really great, and though they could get frustrating, I enjoyed their inclusion. Which brings us to the combat in Travis Strikes Again, and how different it feels from the rest of the series. Note that I didn’t say worse, but it is worth covering how significant a departure it is from the first two games.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

More Travis on Page 2 ->

While the first No More Heroes games were action adventure games more in the vein of Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, it would be easier to compare Travis Strikes Again to Gauntlet. You’ll wander forward, get gated in areas with enemies, and need to kill them to proceed. Don’t get me wrong, there are still recognizable features like how Travis “charges” his Beam Katana and flashy super attacks, but in every other way they are something different. For one thing, you have zero control over the camera now, and Suda likes to move it around to display the action in unique ways. Some stages will have a top-down view, others you’ll be able to see a more open area, and some function like 2D platformers. Another stark departure? There are no wrestling moves (well, almost), no blocking and no QTEs during regular combat.

Things have been stripped down in many ways, though perhaps not bad ones. Yes, I had fond nostalgic memories of the combat in the first games, but after watching them again, I realized something: there was a lot of unnecessary and frustrating elements to the combat before. I don’t miss playing around with the camera, I don’t miss blocking tons of attacks and I don’t miss the QTEs, but I do still wish there was a bit more nuance to combat here. You have a weak attack you can literally swing rapidly in succession, a heavy attack, jumping attacks, a dodge and that’s pretty much it. Beyond that, there is a feature where you fill up your katana charge meter and, when full, can unleash a massively powerful series of attacks, as well as skills. Skills are totally new to the series. As you progress, you’ll unlock skill chips, and can equip up to four to any of the directional buttons. By holding L and pressing a directional input, you’ll unleash the skill. There’s a wide range, from lightning blasts that stun foes to bombs that detonate after a set amount of time to a healing field and much, much more. Each of them has a cooldown until you can use them again, so it behooves you to use them sparingly and carefully.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Point being, it probably doesn’t sound much like a No More Heroes game right now. And that’s both good and bad. While I did grow to enjoy the combat, it tends to get a little monotonous, at least for fighting regular enemies. The variety comes from the enemy diversity (there are a lot of different types) and playing around with your skill loadout. Another unique aspect is that Travis gains EXP and can use it to level up. Sadly, all that does is increase his ATK and HP. I really would have loved a skill tree or something similar. I also miss learning optional techniques in the first games. But having said that, there is one area where Travis Strikes Again truly feels like a Suda51 game: the epic boss fights. Though there are only six total, they each are dripping with style and creativity. From a teleporting serial killer to a old man in a wooden mech suit to a supernatural skeletal avenger, you won’t get bored with any of them. Best of all, they all battle very differently, which requires you to fight smart, pay attention to attack patterns and not rush in blindly. I tried hack-and-slash a couple times, and was always met with painful failure. While it goes double for the boss fights, all these tactics are also important for regular combat.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You’d think this review was almost done, having covered the plot, style and combat, but there’s another area that I need to spend more time: the references. Earlier I talked about some of the popular culture nods, but I doubt you understand the extent of them yet. One example? Practically all of the T-shirts Travis can buy in this game are from indie games. Even some that aren’t out yet, like Wargroove. I had a blast rocking out with Bit. Trip. Runner, Hollow Knight and Dandara shirts, but there’s so many more. Despite having beaten the game, I still need more cash to purchase all of them, as there’s 60+. But that’s not all. Another area where you see Suda’s love for gaming is in the text-based interludes between stages. No, you didn’t hear me wrong. There are many sections where Travis rides on his Schpeltiger with his kitty Jeanne and searches for more Death Balls. These segments are completely linear, but god are they entertaining. All sorts of crazy cameos abound, such as Travis searching in a Romanian Castle for a certain Count, to characters popping in from The Sliver Case and The 25th Ward, to even more I’m afraid to ruin. Best of all, during these sections Jeanne is magically able to talk, and she’s one sassy feline, even for a fat cat. One of my favorite nods is whenever you boot up a Death Ball, and the Death Drive logo sounds, reminding me of Sega’s old tune. Point being, if you love fourth wall breaking shennanigans and referential nods to pop culture, Travis Strikes Again is chock full of it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As for the aesthetic design, for the most part I love it. There’s a purposefully grungy, old school vibe to the way every stage is presented. While it may seem primitive, I suspect it’s a completely intentional move on Suda’s part. After all, the Death Drive Mk II is supposed to be an old, esoteric game system, so why wouldn’t the stages on it look like old games? Having said that, there’s a lot of beautiful art in the game. While the bosses are all full of color and chaos, the enemies are also varied and strange. Going with the “death” theme, each of the bugs has a skull face, and their bodies can be wildly different. Some are humanoid, others have tentacles and some are gargantuan hulking beasts. I also loved the variety of art used in the game introductions, as well as the green-hued art in the Travis Strikes Again text segments. The one area I felt that the art fell short, however, was how small the character models generally were. Often that was due to the camera placement, but when comparing it to the older games, it was really striking. Musically, the game is a wonder. Each stage has their own tunes, and the sound effects are perfect. Travis grunts, swears and yells as he fights, which does a great job of conveying his intensity. While there is a bit less profanity than in previous games, there’s also less voiced dialogue. While unfortunate, again it makes sense given the focus of the game taking place in a old game system. After all, most older games didn’t have voice acting. Overall though, the art and music come together beautifully to represent this strange game.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Most of my 14 or so hours with Travis Strikes Again were positive, but there are some areas I feel it could have improved. A more minor complaint is the load times. Frankly, they are way too long, lasting upwards of more than a minute. Another complaint regards the combat. Though it’s pretty simple, there is real satisfaction to be had when you’re going for a high score, since doing so requires smart dodging to retain your katana charge. The problem is that a couple of factors work against you: the camera placement and enemy aggression. If you take too much damage, you’ll lose your charge level, and many times I would get hit by a projectile from off screen doing just that. Later in the game, they introduce some rather aggressive foes, including one that fires a barrage of bullets at you. That same enemy also likes to rush you, pushing you into the corner, and attack you frenetically to keep you from responding. This made it very hard to retain my full katana charge for extended periods, and of course the game grades you on exactly that.

A similar complaint is that your chip attacks can be interrupted by enemies, and then you have to wait for them to recharge. This was beyond irritating, especially when the game gets super frantic later on (and I played on Mild). Also, apparently some skills don’t work on some enemies. Once I tried using my standby Wing Chip at a foe, which fires a paralyzing bolt of electricity, only for it to be unaffected. It would seem some foes have elemental protection to certain attacks, but given there’s no bestiary, I was never clear on that. And while this last one isn’t about something Travis Strikes Again does wrong, it is about something shockingly absent from the game: the gratuitous violence. I remember blood gushing, beheadings and all sorts of mayhem in the first games, but that’s barely present. Again, that may be an intentional thematic choice by Suda, but if so it was a bit perplexing.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the end, I did enjoy Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, but it felt like a placeholder until we get No More Heroes 3. It’s not all bad, and I did enjoy a lot of it, but when everything is coupled with a very perplexing ending, I wasn’t sure what to think. Thankfully, it’s pretty inexpensive at $29.99 for the digital version, and if you are a completionist, there’s a lot to do after you beat the game, such as finding secrets, buying T-shirts and getting better scores. I only managed to get one A in my time with the game, and many Cs and a couple Bs. If that wasn’t enough, a recent update added New Game+ and the Spicy difficulty, if you feel like a tough guy. And if you bought the physical version, you’ll be able to try out two DLC adventures in coming months (or pay for them individually digitally). Sure, the game didn’t go at all where I expected, and played rather differently from previous games, but it’s also a good reminder of the mad genius of Suda51. His capacity to constantly take risks and reinvent his games is impressive, even if it does occasionally provide mixed results. If nothing else, at least it seems likely we won’t have to wait too much longer for the next game…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3.5″]

Review Copy Purchased by Author

REVIEW: Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Title Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

#Goichi Suda #No More Heroes #oprainfall #Review #side story #Suda51 #Travis Strikes Again #Travis Touchdown

0 notes

concentratedevil · 7 years

Text

My Breath of the Wild impressions

The new Zelda is out and the hype for it has been... Well, typical of Zelda games. I remember people were declaring Twilight Princess as the best Zelda ever when it came out and months later after the hype died down, people came to their senses and admitted that it was just OK. Similarly, I've heard one hyperbolic statement after another in regards to Breath of the Wild. I read somebody say it's the best Zelda in 10 years, for instance. (Motherfuckers, did you play A Link Between Worlds?)

I initially wasn't going to buy the game since I wanted to wait and see and the launch day DLC was very souring. But I admit, I got sucked in to the hype a bit after watching some Twitch streams and reading a couple of reviews from people I've known to be critical of Zelda in the past.

I've put in quite a number of hours into the game -- enough to feel comfortable sharing my thoughts on it. Since this is a new kind of Zelda game, I thought it might be appropriate to compare it to the three most recent open world games that I loved to see how Nintendo stacks up. At the end, I'll also compare BotW to the rest of the Zelda games I've played. So let's start.

Graphics The Witcher III > Dragon Age: Inquisition > Metal Gear Solid V > Breath of the Wild

I mean, really? There's no comparison. Breath of the Wild looks like a very nice game for 2007, not 2017.

I'm guessing this game doesn't look better because the hardware (Wii U here) struggles to render the game as it is. I would like to have seen better lighting, better models, better textures, better view distances, better anti-aliasing, more lush environments, and generally more pizazz. Wandering a forest in a Zelda game should feel majestic. In BotW, it's nothing you haven't seen before. In fact, it’s pretty underwhelming compared to the forests in The Witcher III that come alive and react to the weather in astounding ways.

Plain as BotW is visually, it would still look far better with a higher resolution and better framerate. So here's hoping that Wii U/Switch emulation really comes along!

Music Dragon Age: Inquisition > The Witcher III > Metal Gear Solid V > Breath of the Wild

Here again, Breath of the Wild is a let down. There's really not much music in BotW. Unfortunately, it's mostly ambient instead of melodic. I remember how jazzed I was to hear the main theme when exploring in A Link to the Past and how hummable and memorable that score was. BotW is completely forgettable. I guess it's a good game to play while catching up on podcasts.

Story The Witcher III > Dragon Age: Inquisition > Breath of the Wild > Metal Gear Solid V

What's cool about Breath of the Wild is that the story is revealed to you as you play. Although the tutorial is still maybe one to two hours long depending on how quick you are, it doesn't feel like a tutorial because you're actually playing and exploring the game instead of talking to some dumb farmer about wrangling animals and having to slog through endlessly banal conversations like you would in Twilight Princess. (I hear Skyward Sword is even worse, but seeing as I abhor motion controls, I’ll probably never play it.)

Once you start getting the bits and pieces of the story, it's fairly good for a Zelda game. I'd argue that story only became a thing with Zelda games from Wind Waker on and so far I'm enjoying what I'm seeing.

Voice Acting The Witcher III > Dragon Age: Inquisition > Metal Gear Solid V > Breath of the Wild

This category is confusing. Nintendo is one of the biggest game companies out there, so wouldn't it make sense that they would have quality voice acting? Well... Breath of the Wild's voice acting ranges from poor to mediocre at best. It's also strange the King of Hyrule and Princess Zelda have different accents. Thankfully, not a lot of the game is voiced, but I would have rather this been an entirely text-based game if Nintendo wasn't going to make the effort in the first place. (Thankfully, it’s not Other M bad, however.)

Transportation Options/Exploration Metal Gear Solid V = Dragon Age: Inquisition = The Witcher III > Breath of the Wild

You know what sucks in Breath of the Wild? Horses. They're damn near useless. Unlike Roach in the Witcher III who magically appears near you whenever you whistle, in BotW you have to hope that your horse is close in the first place. If you're in a different part of the map, they won't even attempt to come to you. On top of that, there's a very annoying mechanic where you have to tame a horse and make them mind you by mashing L1 whenever you're riding them to build affection. So you have to deal with their disobedience and hope that they don't randomly decide to start running a random direction. (Yet random desert walruses behave just fine.) Oh, and your horses can die too. Yay!

The other thing that really sucks for exploring is your stamina meter. Nintendo thought it would be fun if you had to manage your stamina as you run about the massive world. So you can't always run and climb like you would like to because you're worried about maintaining your stamina instead of focusing on playing the game. It's a fun-killing mechanic to me.

Also why is there a run button in a 3D game? Super Mario 64 was smart enough to realize that the analog stick gives you all the range of movement you need, so why do so many modern games ignore this?

And fast travel works OK, but you can only travel to shrines and the regional watchtowers. You can't even travel directly to towns which kinda blows. It's not so bad though once you start collecting these points of interest, but it still takes quite a bit of time to walk from point A to point B -- especially since you can't run the entire way.

Overall The Witcher III > Metal Gear Solid V > Dragon Age: Inquisition > Breath of the Wild

As an open world game, I've played much better in the past year or two. But perhaps it's not really fair to compare them to Zelda. I wish Nintendo was as ambitious as CD Projekt Red, but that's sadly just a dream I have.

If Breath of the Wild were a PC game, I think I would like it way more since it would undoubtedly look better and I would immediately install mods that grant infinite weapon durability and infinite stamina since those two mechanics are super NOT FUN. A mod that makes horses useful and adding equipment storage would be great too.

As it is, stuck on two hardware systems that are woefully underpowered... It's pretty good, but it's far from "perfect". For the next Zelda, I'm hoping that Nintendo will combine the best elements of A Link Between World and Breath of the Wild. That game, I think could be really be great. Oh, except it will probably only be on the Switch... So it's still going to look underwhelming. But as long as it plays great, right?

But really, after all the complaints (because a major Nintendo title will always bring high expectations), I still like this game a lot. I like the direction Zelda has been going in ever since A Link Between Worlds where some of the more annoying things have been curbed. Breath of the Wild features plenty of good puzzles (and a few bad ones -- need I say more than "motion controls"?) and I really appreciate that townsfolk aren't ultra creepy like in Majora's Mask and that I haven't made hide nor hair of abominations like Tingle or the Ooccoos. So thank god for that. If Breath of the Wild is a rough draft of the Zeldas to come, then I remain pretty optimistic.

My Ranking of the Zelda Series A Link to the Past = Wind Waker > Link's Awakening > A Link Between Worlds > Ocarina of Time > Breath of the Wild > Minish Cap > The Adventure of Link > Twilight Princess > Phantom Hourglass > The Legend of Zelda > Majora's Mask

#games #gaming #Nintendo #Zelda #the legend of zelda #breath of the wild

0 notes