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Messages - Mashiro

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1
General Gaming / Re: The Starcraft mega thread - Rising from the ashes.
« on: October 11, 2008, 07:59:38 AM »
Quite possibly the worst news ever for starcraft.

I don't give a rats ass about how many missions their are. If it isn't all 3 campaigns in one game the game is simply not complete.

So now we are stuck buying three games that should really be one.

I'm sorry I love blizzard but this is a terrible decision.

2
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
« on: September 29, 2008, 01:37:19 AM »
Ah good to know thank you =D

3
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
« on: September 29, 2008, 01:16:50 AM »
Yeah the order of powers isn't obvious at all.

As far as I can tell here is what works against each robot master:

(My brains a little tired I may get some of the robot masters names wrong lol)

Galaxy Man = Mega Buster

Splash Woman = Mega Buster

Concrete Man = Splash Woman's power

Jewel Man = Black Hole Bomb (Galaxy Man)

Plug Man = Jewel Man's power

Tornado Man = Spark Shot (Plug Man)

Magma Man = Tornado Man's power

Hornet Man = Magma Flame (Magma Man)


4
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
« on: September 24, 2008, 02:15:54 PM »
The thing is the Retro Design will not work with all franchises.

Mega Man is special.  Look at the graphics, it is obviously dated, but the style is so great that it still feels fresh and special.  Not every 8-bit game can have that feel. 

I believe Mario still can, but I don't believe the same about Sonic. 

It has to be truly, truly iconic characters that are special. 

I dunno, I disagree.

I think the whole thing about the retro design that works is, at it's core, it's really not about the graphics. More so, it is about the overall package you are getting. Great gameplay, music and stage design. At the end of the day the core of the game is what matters and not so much the graphics.

Give us a good sonic game with the style of sonic 1 and 2 (or 3) and I think we could see similar results.

Now why is the "retro design" important? I think the main thing the retro design does is place limitations on the developers. In a good way. For example, the developers forcing themselves to use the mechanics of Mega Man 1 and 2 only made Mega Man 9 a more rich experience.

It brings the game and its design back to basics and I think that's why this could work for most 8 and 16 but franchises so long as it's done with the same care that Capcom has put into Mega Man 9. If every developer treats the game as if it's their next big game to be released on a system and not just a retro rehash we could see some truly great series revivals on our way.

I for one am crossing my fingers that this does happen ;)

5
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
« on: September 23, 2008, 07:28:16 PM »
Yeah X2 still had some kick ass music (Zero's theme comes to mind . . . actually the whole zero sigma scene with the music was just pure greatness ^_^).

I also love your math lol it makes perfect sense!

6
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
« on: September 23, 2008, 04:31:42 PM »
To be honest, X2's music felt much weaker than the first X game.

Not to say it was bad but it just felt different.

X1 just hit it right on the head with nearly every musical piece it had. Though I think there was a change in musical talent between X1 and 2 which would explain the difference.

X3 was certainly the weakest of the bunch of SNES X games but as others have said it was no where near the level of poor music that the latter X games saw.

With that said, a return to greatness for the X series would be most welcome. If Capcom could do it with MM9 I am sure they could do it with the X series as well.

7
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
« on: September 23, 2008, 02:32:54 AM »
WOW . . . I LOVE this game.

I forgot how much I missed 8 bit gaming. The newness was just a breath of fresh air!

I got up to the last Wily stage but man did it take a lot to get there.

Many many many many deaths . . . each stage took a lot of practice at some areas just to get to the robot masters (and then they would kick my ass).

Lots of fun, worth every penny.

I hope they make more games like this and maybe even other companies will begin to do the same if this sells well.

I am pumped it's just so much fun, welcome back Mega Man. Welcome back.

Edit: I would just like to say one thing about this game, it made me feel like a kid again. Honestly, I had felt like I just got back from the video game store and was playing a brand new NES game.

It really succeeds at it's goal of not only being a REALLY good Mega Man game but it also succeeds in making you feel like you're playing a real, quality NES game.

Super pleased and super happy.

A MUST DOWNLOAD.

8
General Gaming / Re: The Best Cooperative Games
« on: September 03, 2008, 08:18:47 PM »
No one mentioned Bubble Bobble?

BUBBLE BOBBLE FTW!

9
Yeah it's the wrong move given the characters but it's been like that since the SNES release. It's artwork from Akira Toriyama (one of several) which could have been made during a time when she had fire moves or he just wasn't aware of the move sets.

10
General Gaming / Re: iPhone gaming- actually viable
« on: August 14, 2008, 10:29:20 PM »
Yes I do own an iPhone, it's a 1st gen and it fits my business needs.

I'm not touchy I just don't think any sort of generalizing for well anything is really intelligent. It screams ignorance.

11
General Gaming / Re: iPhone gaming- actually viable
« on: August 14, 2008, 10:18:10 PM »
I have a hard time not thinking lowly of anyone that would buy an iPhone, as the price and useless features negates any semblance of necessity that mobiles telephones could have (as stated above). Then again, Apple is good at marketing hype and little else... just look at the iPod. If anything, the iPhone's existence goes even farther in proving my point that mobile telephones are more of a fad than anything. At least I only had yuppies to dislike a decade ago--only lawyers and brokers could afford them. :P

I have an even harder time not thinking lowly of people who are thick headed enough to think that their opinions are the only ones that matter.

So you feel a device has useless features and anyone associated with buying it is pretty much a tool?

Perhaps you should realize that *gasp* the device has features that people actually use and enjoy.

Just as the iPhone might not be for everyone maybe the Wii isn't or maybe a certain TV isn't or maybe a watch isn't or w/e innanimate object fits the bill.

Different people have different needs and wants in life, who are you to really judge a person on a single item they own?

Just a thought.

12
General Gaming / Re: iPhone gaming- actually viable
« on: August 14, 2008, 12:38:55 AM »
I think people need to better grasp what the term "fad" means . . .

Furthermore, I think people are underestimating just how well the iPhone's app store is doing, in particular with its game sales.

Super Monkey Ball has already had 300,000 copies downloaded in a month.

This isn't to say the iPhone is going to rival the Nintendo DS or even the PSP but I do think that given the current tend in sales the iPhone app store is only going to keep raking in more and more sales for it's paid for apps, and this includes it's games.

The device is more than capable of producing crisp graphics and the touch controls with accelerometer is something that is right up the alley for those who are getting into gaming with the explosive success of the Wii.

Again, will it be as successful as the DS or PSP? No. Will it show that there is a mass market for downloadable games? Absolutely. The form factor and power is there as is the delivery service and monkey ball and other apps show people are certainly down for buying the games.

13
General Gaming / Re: The smartest person on the Internet
« on: August 05, 2008, 08:52:55 AM »
I'm behind with the times, PS3 jokes are outdated haha.

14
General Gaming / Re: The smartest person on the Internet
« on: August 04, 2008, 10:37:18 AM »
Actually lets be fair, some people don't even know how many DS's have been sold worldwide.

In fact, my friend and I had a similar "techie" discussion about the iPhone vs the DS. It ended once I wiki'ed the sales numbers of the DS.

Outside of the nintendo fan camp those numbers aren't that well know.

But yeah saying the iPhone is competition to the DS is like saying PS3 is competition to the *insert console name here*. ;)

15
General Gaming / Re: The smartest person on the Internet
« on: August 04, 2008, 02:12:04 AM »
"Second, the Wii is still sold out in the United States. The i-Phone is still quite available. "

I lol'ed

16
General Gaming / Re: Soul Calibur IV First Impressions
« on: July 31, 2008, 11:45:58 PM »
Nonsense, I have the 360 version =)

17
General Gaming / Re: Soul Calibur IV First Impressions
« on: July 30, 2008, 12:40:23 PM »
Yep, the Xbox 360 has the same Quick Match, Custom Match and Create Session like the PS3 version. There must be more Xbox 360 owners of the game (that are online at least) as I have only gotten "This game session is full" a few times before I get into an actual match.

I haven't tried friend matches on the 360 yet.

18
General Gaming / Re: Soul Calibur IV First Impressions
« on: July 30, 2008, 10:57:20 AM »
I'm going to have to back Mr. Jack fully on this one . . .

SC isn't button masher friendly. Sure, you may pull of some cool looking moves but you won't stand a chance against an actual good player.

Range really has nothing to do with it (although Kilik is my favorite character), when I play against those who really have no clue what they are doing it's extremely easy to pick just about any character and use the gameplay mechanics to your advantage.

Waiting for an opening is the easiest way to exploit someone who just button mashes (when you play long enough you pretty much learn how each move effects the character, including how much down time it gives them) or just parry their attacks.

Show me a button masher and I'll show you a win with an experienced play ;)

19
General Gaming / Re: Soul Calibur IV First Impressions
« on: July 30, 2008, 06:58:57 AM »
I played the game serveral hours yesteday for the 360 and here is what I can say:

1) So far it doesn't seem like Vadar is in the 360 version, but as others have said I wouldn't doubt it if they include him as part of a DLC package. (In fact when you start up the game it checks for downloadable content immediately).

2) The story mode is pretty weak. While it does continue the progression of each characters own story line it does so in a very . . . rushed fashion. It's 5 matches and you're done for each person and the 5 story matches don't vary much from one character to the next.

3) The matches on normal mode in story would be considered "VERY EASY" back in the soul calibur 1 days. Not very challenging at all.

4) Character customization feels somewhat strange as the whole process seems somewhat more convoluted than it should be. With that said, there is a much greater level of customization this time around than in Soul Calibur 3 including stat boosts from specific items, the physical build of your character, and a greater range of voices (to name a few improvements).

5) The Star Wars characters don't steal the show, which is nice. Although Yoda being in the intro movie felt so . . . out of place, the rest of the time you barely notice they are there.

6) The original cast play just as you would expect them to and while I don't really like some of the art direction with some of the characters (*nitpicking*) at the end of the day you feel right at home playing the game as the core formula hasn't changed drastically.

7) The inclusion of the instant finisher system is weird but not game breaking, thankfully. For those who don't know, this is a new system in the game which is supposed to prevent people from just blocking all the time. I never saw this as a problem before but whatever . . . anyway . . . there is a green orb next to each characters life.

If you keep blocking the orb changes colors slowly until it gets to red. Eventually your life bar will start to flash and if you keep blocking still the orb will just shatter and go black. At this point if your opponent hits ABKG the match instantly ends as they perform a finisher.

It's not an each thing to do (that is, get the orb to get to black) as you practically have to block from start to finish. Also when you land a strike your orb fills back up with color.

All in all its a somewhat weird but interesting addition to the game, though I don't see it playing a huge role in many matches.

9) The breakable armor system is neat although it's odd to be fighting against female characters and have their armor ridden pants literally blown away. (Doesn't work with all characters but it happened twice to me so far lol).

10) Of interesting note, the biggest change to the series gameplay is the "cancelation" system. It seems the most if not all cancels are handled differently this time around. Example, Xianghua's cancels are now performed by simply holding down the button combination of the original move: So say you are pressing down X + Y to perform an attack, if said attack has a "cancel" you simply continue to hold down X + Y and the move cancels. I think I like the new system of canceling but only because I sucked at doing them in previous titles lol.

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

So, in the end, it's not the best in the series (Sorry, Soul Calibur for DC remains the best IMHO) but it certainly is a worthy addition to the franchise.

If you're a Soul Calibur fan I'd recommend getting it, especially with the inclusion of online play and soon-to-be (I hope) downloadable content.


Edit: Online Play Impressions and "Style Level" impressions

I didn't think Soul Calibur would play well online but I was wrong.

I'm around 27 matches in and so far it plays extremely well (for a fighter). Loading is near non-existent even with custom characters, which is quite a feat IMHO and anyone with a lag rating above 3, from a scale of 1-5, equates to a pretty damned good online match.

Finding opponents is quick and easy with Xbox Live (as most online matches are) and you can choose to either join a match (via quick play) or host your own (where you can choose the time limit and such for a match).

The ranked battles is really all I have touched upon and it's a pretty fair rating scale. You face off against opponents with a 3 match win scale and if you win you gain points. Bonus points are awarded if you do certain things in a match, ie: get a ring out, get some extra points). If you loose you loose points. If you gain 400 points you gain an online level. Your level is what ranks you on the leader boards but it also will show your win and loss record.

While there are some frustrating moments (like, say for example, a hit goes right through a player even though it should have connected due to lag), these moments are few and far between and it goes without saying that this is a TON of fun for any soul calibur fan.

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

One thing I kind of noticed in story mode but certainly noticed in online play was the new inclusion of the "Skill Level" scale.

As you progress through the game with a certain character (online play, single player mode, etc) you will start to gain skill levels.

As far as I can tell, the skill level of your character is what gives you access to more complex movesets for said character.

Example: I played practice mode with Kilik to see how much they changed him and I noticed holding down and using his mid attack only did a 2-3 hit combo as opposed to his previous 3-4. Another words, the final part of the move was "missing".

I thought this was a simple change till I built up the skill level and then all of a sudden the move, and others, began to return.

I don't know quite how I feel about this, it doesn't seem hard to gain levels (it just kind of happens) but it is another intriguing game elements they have added to the franchise.

20
General Gaming / Re: Summer Drought Time! What will keep you busy?
« on: July 26, 2008, 11:26:19 PM »
I picked up Final Fantasy Tactics A2 the other day out of boredom . . . happy to say it is a very good game and I'm enjoying spending an hour or two a night relaxing and doing some quests.

21
Nintendo needs to pull a Capcom and go back to classic 8/16 bit style games for the VC.

Shorter development times and it would appease the more traditional gamer.

Just a thought.

22
General Chat / Re: So...the Dark Knight?
« on: July 21, 2008, 11:43:29 PM »
Saw the movie last night . . .

it wasn't "The Best movie EVER" as some of my co-workers had described it, but it was good.

Ledger was, for lack of a better word, phenomenal. In fact, he was the movie. It makes me wish there was just a movie about the Joker, he was that damned good. Probably one of the best villains in a movie I have ever seen. Truly brilliant.

Things I didn't like:

- Batman's voice
- It didn't feel much like Gothan City to me
- Lack of any sort of *get ready for this in the next movie* scenes. The tank-bat-car thing was destroyed and I was so hoping for some sort of hints at future batmobile designs throughout the film. Also, no build up for the next villain.
- It felt a bit lengthy

Also, in terms of the films next villain, my friend pointed out a very subtle statement made in the movie. When Batman gets his new suit and is hearing about it's trade off of mobility for less protection, he asks if it can stand up to dogs, to which Fox says something about small dogs and maybe cats. I didn't even think of Catwoman but the whole cats line would make some sense. Just a thought.

23
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Chrono Trigger DS = REAL
« on: July 06, 2008, 01:04:32 PM »
http://www.chronotrigger.jp/ now has a movie preview thing though it doesn't show off the dual screen use. ::glee:: I can't wait.

24
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Chrono Trigger DS = REAL
« on: July 04, 2008, 03:55:15 AM »
Insta-buy!

Thank goodness they aren't changing it <3 the original style!

25
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Chrono Trigger DS = REAL
« on: July 03, 2008, 09:38:02 AM »
Well, CT already had a sequel, Crono Cross.

I dunno how I feel about another CT sequel. Unless they bring all the original main team members (aka "The Dream Team") back for another go at the series I would say its best to leave it alone . . . as Crono Cross did not live up to many peoples expectations.

I'm very curious if the extra dungeon will be "singing mountain" as it was never finished for the original title and it had awesome BG music and all ::fantasizes::

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