Messages

126

Podcast Discussion / Re: Poll for RetroActive #14: N64 Edition

« on: September 18, 2010, 12:13:37 AM »

I'm voting for Ogre Battle.  I bought the game years ago, but never got into it.  I'd be interested in checking it out again and seeing if I can understand the battle system.

127

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 210: An Unhealthy Obsession

« on: September 15, 2010, 12:24:25 AM »

What came to my mind with those over the shoulder moments was that they always seemed to precede cinematics.  I wonder if they put them there so there wasn't a jarring transition between running/jumping/shinesparking into a cinematic where Samus is just walking.

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TalkBack / Re: Super Mario Collection Special Pack Revealed

« on: September 13, 2010, 10:30:21 AM »

Looks like it's just straight up Mario All-Stars.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Metroid Other M

« on: September 06, 2010, 11:38:37 PM »

Holy crap @ Japanese box art.  It's more than you think.

Wow.  I may have to import a copy just for the slip cover.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Metroid Other M

« on: September 06, 2010, 01:23:20 PM »

Just beat the game and I have to say I basically loved it overall.  It's not perfect, but I still had a lot of fun.   I don't understand the poor reviews the game has gotten. Under some fairly surface level complaints, the game is still very much Metroid.

I really didn't have any issues with the story personally.  Of course I'm the type that has read all the Metroid comics and what not, so I've never really had this "Samus must be a lone warrior" conceit for the series.  Also having played the previous 2d Metroids it's pretty obvious the Metroid series was headed this way.  Metroid Fusion received a lot of the same complaints.  I guess a skip option for the cutscenes would've appeased some people, but I would never have used it.  The whole story/cinematic aspect of Super Metroid is one of the reasons it had such a great impact on me and remains my favorite game ever.  So I won't begrudge a Metroid game for expanding in that way.

The controls are not nearly as awkward or funky as you would think controlling a 3d game with a dpad and switching between 3rd and 1st person perspective.  However it is obvious to me that using a nunchuck would have been a great option to have.  But even so I was still able to switch fairly quickly and dodge and all that fairly easily.  Later I found out you actually can dodge in 1st person mode.  RTFM I guess.  And I would've loved to see melee utilized more.  I just really enjoyed that aspect of the combat.

For my actual issues with the game, which are very minor.  The pixel hunt scenes in the game.  It seems that the target area you have to scan is pretty small.  It's not enough to scan the dead guy, you have to scan the emblem on his chest.  But like I said there are only a few of these scenes so it doesn't affect the game overall, but it is weird that it's even in there.

My only other real problem is with the music.  It's not bad or anything.  But it is more subdued that what Retro did in the Prime series.  The music in Prime takes what was done previously in the Metroid series and then expands on it greatly.  So the understated music in Other M is somewhat disappointing for me. 

Like I said it is overall a great game.  I love how it ties to the main line Metroids, especially Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.  And you have to give the game some love for having the speed booster and a bit of shine sparking.

131

TalkBack / Re: Metroid: Other M Review

« on: September 06, 2010, 12:37:24 PM »

I basically agree with everything GoldenPhoenix says.  The game feels like a Metroid game.  I had a lot of fun with it and my only real issues were with the pixel hunts and was somewhat disappointed with the subdued music.  Although it was orchestrated.

132

TalkBack / Re: Buy Metroid: Other M and Get a Bonus

« on: August 26, 2010, 12:28:05 AM »

I didn't realize until I saw the Art Folio image of Zero Suit Samus that they gave her high heels.  Sexy!   

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TalkBack / Re: Buy Metroid: Other M and Get a Bonus

« on: August 21, 2010, 05:44:49 PM »

You can't wait 3-5 days?

Not for Metroid!  There are a very few games I don't mind spending money on and Metroid is one of them.  And I'm happy some people have no trouble with Amazon.  I shop there often, but I never trust them to get a game quickly.  I've been burned far too many times.

Even if you paid the $10 for release date shipping on Amazon, you'd still come out $10 ahead in the long run because of the credit.

But I wouldn't get the bonus, and I'm a Metroid whore.   

134

TalkBack / Re: Buy Metroid: Other M and Get a Bonus

« on: August 20, 2010, 11:59:26 PM »

You can't wait 3-5 days?

Not for Metroid!  There are a very few games I don't mind spending money on and Metroid is one of them.  And I'm happy some people have no trouble with Amazon.  I shop there often, but I never trust them to get a game quickly.  I've been burned far too many times.

135

TalkBack / Re: Buy Metroid: Other M and Get a Bonus

« on: August 20, 2010, 06:08:48 PM »

The amazon deal is quite good, but I Metroid is a game I can't wait for.  So I'm going to do the instore pickup at Gamestop.  I have a $25 gift card to use anyway.

136

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive Game Nominations

« on: August 09, 2010, 12:26:19 PM »

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword - Team Ninja, great use of the touch screen, non-RPG length, really cheap on Amazon.com.

I also think Bangai-O Spirits and Advance Wars: Dual Strike would be good games to play.  Bangai-O is also pretty cheap on amazon, Advance Wars less so.

137

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 204: James and the Giant Pitch

« on: August 03, 2010, 11:48:35 PM »

The original F-Zero on the SNES is still my favorite in that series (the first GBA game is pretty similar in gameplay).  I much prefer the skill involved in learning how to take each turn and deciding when to use your very limited boosts.  Whereas X, GX and the second GBA game have the boost/health dynamic.  That's cool, but basically you just memorize where boosts and health are located on the track so you can keep your speed up.  It's a rush, but not as satisfying as taking a corner just right.

F-Zero GX is only balls hard in story mode.  If you play regular circuit mode it isn't more difficult than any other F-Zero game.  Yes it gets insanely hard at the higher difficulty levels, but so does every F-Zero game. 

And my favorite obscure sidescrolling shooter/platformer type game is Metal Storm for the NES.  I go back and play that game all the time. 

138

TalkBack / Re: Club Nintendo: Tips for Reaching Platinum Status

« on: July 26, 2010, 11:45:03 PM »

I have a few tips myself. 

1. If you buy a used game from Gamefly you still get the Club Nintendo code. 

2. Relieve your friends/family of their codes if they don't use Club Nintendo.

139

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #13 Poll -- GBA Edition

« on: June 28, 2010, 12:28:17 PM »

At first I wasn't too enamored with the line up.  I heard the Pokemon Pinball games are good, but they've never excited me.  I remember loving Golden Sun, but I have no desire to play through a RPG right now.  I don't care for Sonic games.  And Mother 3 has never interested me at all.  So at first I voted for Drill Dozer because I really enjoy the game (although my rumble is going out).  But then I ended up on Mario Tennis.  I never played any Mario Tennis, and the RPG side of it sounds interesting.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Metroid II: Return of Samus - RetroActive #12 Discussion Thread

« on: May 02, 2010, 04:14:43 PM »

I was only vaguely familiar with the  original Metroid, so this was really my first experience with the  series.  I had a Nintendo Power subscription back then so the issue  with the Metroid II maps definitely got worn out.  Not only from my  use, but surprisingly it was a game that my sister and father played  as well.  I remember a page got torn out and lost, so I went through  a drew a map by hand for the areas that were lost.

 
So with the early exposure of a map and  having played through the game several times Metroid II has never  been much of game where I wandered aimlessly.  Knowing the location  of the metroids, upgrades and shortcuts you can determine the best  path to take and the game does then have a nice flow like other 2d  Metroids.

 
But that doesn't mean I never explored  the game.  I remember Spider Balling a decent amount (especially when  drawing that map).  And for some reason those long vertical shafts  that you spider ball up and down to get to certain areas always felt  like I was really delving into the depths of SR388.   

 
Exploration was further aided by the  Space Jump.  It was much quicker than the spider ball, but it took  more skill to operate.  This is made apparent by the developers'  inclusion of hazards in areas where the space jump is required.  Once  you have both upgrades it's up to you whether you're going to take  the risk of falling all the way back down if you mess up with the  Space Jump, or if you're going to be patient and use the Spider Ball.   It's interesting that a game that most people consider as the most  linear Metroid introduced two of the most exploratory upgrades in the  series.

 
However, my favorite upgrade in the  game has always been the Varia Suit.  I think Samus looks a hundred  times cooler in her Varia Suit than the standard one.  And there is  something always very satisfying about the visual upgrade of her  character.  It's just one of those moments I look forward to every  time I play the game.

 
Another feature I always enjoy when  playing the game is the music, and lack thereof.  Running through  rooms where there is only the sound of Samus' footsteps is always  cool to me.  Also somewhat satisfying is when the music reengages.   It usually kicks in when you're heading to a new area.  It just kinda  emphasizes that you've completed an area and are ready for the next  one.  The music itself isn't the best (although the opening gets  quite good if you let it fun), but I think it's used very well.

 
I think the game itself it overall  designed very well.  There are many parts were the developers play  with expectations set up in the game.  There are areas where you  expect the lava to drain like it has in the previous levels, but it's  not that lava pool you just passed up, it's another one.  Or you  expect it to drain after an earthquake only to find out that you have  to go back up and fight another Metroid to proceed.

 
The Metroids themselves can be somewhat  interesting fights.  The first two mutations are pretty easy to  defeat, but I find it fun to use the environment to get them exactly  where you want them and destroy them with missiles.  The Gamma and  Zeta Metroid fights however, are basically just shooting them with a  lot of missiles and hoping you have enough ammo and energy to last  the fight.  The Queen Metroid can be similarly about ammo and energy  if you defeat her the standard way.  But you can also Morph Ball into  her mouth when she's frozen by your missiles and then roll into her  stomach to lay bombs.  It seems like I knew this before, but reading  up a bit up the game for this RetroActive I discovered/rediscovered  this method out.

 
An interesting tidbit I noticed about  this game while playing through this time was how selective you could  be with what beam you use.  When you first find the Spazer and Plasma  beams they are located basically right next to each other.  And just  a little bit later in the game you have the option to choose from  every beam.  I guess if you regretted choosing the Spazer over Plasma  beam you could switch.  At least until the end where you need the Ice  beam to take care of the standard Metroids.   

 
I also have fondness for the very end  of the game.  Running through the passages with the baby Metroid  helping you out always made me want a game where the baby could be  present throughout.  I also always enjoyed striving to beat the game  in under two hours with all items.  I think this playthough I missed  one missile and got a time around one hour and forty five minutes.  I  restarted my play though half way after realizing I totally passed up  the High Jump Boots and was struggling to get to certain areas.  So  that's partly why I got through so quickly.   

 
I guess seeing how much I have to say  about the game really shows how much of a landmark game this was for  me.   

141

Podcast Discussion / Re: Metroid II: Return of Samus - RetroActive #12 Discussion Thread

« on: April 29, 2010, 11:49:14 PM »

Before I post my thoughts on the game I have what I believe to be a somewhat interesting story about how I first got the game. 

Back when I was a kid my family drank a lot of Kool-Aid.  Which meant that we accumulated a lot of Kool-Aid points.  My siblings and I would take turns on getting a top tier item from the catalog.  We couldn't afford to get new games all that often, so I jumped at the chance to get a Gameboy game.  There were two games to choose from and since I already had Mario Land 2, I got some game called Metroid.  Not having played the original, I got this game just because it was basically free.  And now Metroid is my favorite gaming series.  All from drinking way too much Kool-Aid as a kid.

And if you think the Queen Metroid fight is boring you must not know the other way to defeat her.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Metroid II: Return of Samus - RetroActive #12 Discussion Thread

« on: April 28, 2010, 05:30:49 PM »

I've heard several people say they weren't aware that the Game Boy Player played GBA games.  Do you guys not read the manuals - or even the packages for the merchandise you buy?  I had to go back and double check it's right there, on the back of the cardboard sleeve that wraps around the disc case so that you can see it from the back of the blister pack that holds everything... "Plays more than 1,000 games designed for the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance handhold game systems!"

I barely used my GB Player, let alone read the box or instructions.  I regretted buying it at the time because I had basically no use for it. 

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Metroid II: Return of Samus - RetroActive #12 Discussion Thread

« on: April 27, 2010, 08:31:34 PM »

I think there may have been some misinformation out there about the GB Player because I also thought that it was GBA only until well after I stopped using it.

Well, I imagine it's largely the same experience on   the GB Player as the Super GB, which is how I've been most recently   playing it.

Actually as discussed in the voting thread, the GB Player has better color hooks for the game than the Super GB.  It's not a huge difference though.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 17, 2010, 12:41:26 AM »

The Game Boy Color displays original Game Boy games using up to ten different colours, so it is true that games will look better on them since the Super Game Boy displays only four colours. Its advantage is that you get to choose those colours, instead of choosing a preset. Since the Game Boy Advance (and Game Boy Player) use actual GBC hardware to run Game Boy games, they also offer the same colour schemes as the Game Boy Colour.

It doesn't matter to me though, as I tend to choose black and white for Game Boy games. They just don't look right with only a few colours.

I remember playing some games where I'd change the colors basically every level.  I loved messing around with them to see what would look best with the limited palette. 

I played a decent amount of it on the Super Gameboy.  My Super Nintendo is hooked up to my plamsa through RF so it does look kinda fuzzy (I've been meaning to get a S-Video cable which I believe is the best hookup for the system).

Keep in mind, if you have an SNES-mini, you can't use the S-Video cable with it.

Yeah I have an original SNES.  Being someone who regularly goes back and plays old games, I've actually researched the best cables available for each system.  Also I feel very stupid for not knowing the entire time I used my GB Player that it could play GB and GBC games.  For some reason I thought it only played GBA games.  I probably read some misinformation online and never looked into it again.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 17, 2010, 12:01:25 AM »

I agree that Wario Land 2 is a superior game. There are far too many instances in Wario Land 3 of having do a sequence of events exactly right to get the treasure or whatever else. There are some really frustrating moments in that game for me.

Yeah I remember being very frustrated at parts in the game.

I think I'll play Metroid 2 on my Super Gameboy.  It's been years since I've busted that out.

Oh! Great idea! I'll do the same.

I realize many people are still somewhat far away from even getting the game.  But I just finished my playthough.  I'll wait for the thread to talk specifically about the game, but I just wanted to post about some technical stuff.

I played a decent amount of it on the Super Gameboy.  My Super Nintendo is hooked up to my plamsa through RF so it does look kinda fuzzy (I've been meaning to get a S-Video cable which I believe is the best hookup for the system).  I also played some on my GBA SP+.  Not only did it look nice and crisp, but it actually has a bit better color output. 

Both have hooks for the game so they start up without having to mess around to find something that works.  But the Super Gameboy only has the four color setup.  Samus is her traditional red and yellow, which means basically everything is red and yellow.  Then there's a black outline for everything and a blueish-green background (which I like to change to black).

However, the GBA has a few more colors.  Samus is red and yellow with a dark red outline, but the environment sprites are two shades of blue with some white thrown in and there's a black background.  The separation of the moving sprites and the background sprites is very nice.

I don't have my Gamecube hooked up and my sister has my Gameboy Player so I can't try it out.  But it looks like it has the same setup as the GBA.  So it looks like that's the one to go with if you want to play on a TV.  Otherwise a GBA SP+ is your best bet if you want portable.  If I can get my GB Player from my sister I may go through again to try and find those two missile upgrades I missed. 

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 16, 2010, 12:10:59 AM »

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I really think Wario Land 2 is vastly superior to Wario Land 3.  Maybe it was because I played them back to back, but I kinda didn't like WL3 after loving WL2.

147

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 15, 2010, 05:49:41 PM »

I think I'll play Metroid 2 on my Super Gameboy.  It's been years since I've busted that out.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 08, 2010, 11:15:59 PM »

Metroid II was the first Metroid game I ever played, and I hated it. Now that I've become a fan of the series it'd be interesting to try it again. Unfortunately, I have no means of playing Game Boy games; I was recently bidding on a Classic NES GBA SP, but I lost.

As cool as the design for that is, you'd be better of getting a SP+ with the improved screen.  It's the best portable for GB/GBC/GBA games.

149

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 04, 2010, 06:48:11 PM »

Bionic Commando is pretty much the same game as the NES game and the recent remake.

I disagree.  Yeah the original gameboy version is essentially the NES version and Rearmed is a HD version of the NES game.  But the Gameboy Color game is quite different.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #12 Poll -- Game Boy Edition

« on: April 04, 2010, 09:55:51 AM »

Hmm... Interesting poll.  I own all games except Pokemon Pinball.  I'd also have to rebuy Bionic Commando since the copy I bought a few years ago (lost my original) is buggy.  But I love that game so I wouldn't mind.  Metroid 2 is still one of my favorites ever.  I don't remember much about Metal Gear other than I really liked it.  And I didn't love Wario Land 3 like I expected coming off of the second game. 

I think I'm going to vote for Metroid 2: The Return of Samus.  Like I said the game is fantastic.  And I already know that I have a lot to say about it.  Plus like Zelda 2, it seems to be somewhat of a black sheep of the series and I like that for some reason.