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Messages - noname2200

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1526
I actually found the exclusion of IR to be less annoying than the fact that you can't order your army to hold position while you take just a few units with you. As someone who has played Pikmin extensively, I found the lack of IR to be much easier to compensate for than the fact that you have to take twenty targets with you when the obstacle you need only needs four units (but the other sixteen troops will be needed in just a short time).

1527
My problem with SMB3 was its level design. Sure the levels had variety, but variety very rarely existed in the same level. Each level had it's own gimmick then it moved on. SMW is a much more complete and complex game in terms of level design.


This is true, but I think you're taking a positive as a negative. I DO enjoy the longer levels of World, but at the same time the fact that 3 kept everything tight and focused helped to make progressing feel fresh; you only spend three or four minutes on each gimmick, after which you are rewarded with a completely different gimmick. This helps with the pacing, as it means that I get a few minutes of creativity, and then I usually get to try something completely different. This isn't the case with World: because many of the levels share the same tricks, the levels start to feel too similar for my tastes.

If I had to come up with an analogy, I'd say that 3 is akin to a buffet where you can take small samples of a ton of dishes, while World is closer to ordering the T-Bone Steak; tasty, but once you dig in things aren't going to change much.



One shortcoming of most Mario games is that exploration is often rewarded merely with coins and one-ups; as a kid I really derived great satisfaction from discovering a second gate by flying under the first gate on Cheese Bridge. Star Road and the Special World really buck the trend in Mario level progression.


I agree that finding an entirely new level is probably the best way to reward exploration, but I think you're selling the other Mario games short. In the first one, exploring netted you new lives, which in that game were otherwise as rare as splinters from the True Cross: they meant more than they do in any other Mario game. There were also plenty of warps, which can't be understated. Mario 2 often gave you more lives or health, as well as level warps of its own. Since 2 is a pretty challenging game, all of those were more helpful than World's rewards.

 Mario 3 had extra lives buried in nooks and crannies, which admittedly were less valuable than in the original, but it still took a skilled player to keep their life count in the double-digits. Exploration was also how you found those rare suits, flutes, clouds, and other power-ups that made progressing further that much easier.

 I think you're getting spoiled by World's extra-life system, where you get a 1-up for walking at least ten feet, to remember just how precious a reward that green mushroom could be. While I actually prefer that extra lives be plentiful, and I kind of hope that future Mario games altogether abandon the pretense that running out of lives means anything, the rewards in the NES Marios were very well tailored for their respective games.

Having said all that, I did like exploring more in World than in 1 or 3 (but still less than in 2).

1528
I'm starting to remember why this game was my least favorite 2D Mario.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a fun and well-designed game. It has some variety, and it has 99% of platformers beat. The problem is that, compared to the NES Mario games, World just seems to lack imagination. The first Mario had an Italian plumber stopming his way through an army of evil turtles in order to free a land of mushroom-people. The second "Mario" game was a trippy journey through a dreamworld. Mario 3 had a ton of bizzare power-ups and themes. By contrast, World just feels like a by-the-numbers platformer.

The fact that it released relatively close to Mario 3 only heightens the disappointment. Mario 3 let you turn into a racoon who could fly or turn into a statute, a frog who swims in water and awkwardly hops on land, or a turtle who can throw hammers and duck into his shell for protection. You could even hop into a giant mechanical shoe and literally stomp your way through enemies.

 Mario World replaces these with a cape and a ridable dinosaur, the latter of which almost never really adds anything (although I always take perverse pleasure in making him jump into lava. Seeing Yoshi slowly sink into a river of fiery death always makes me smile). I actually think the cape was a good power-up, as with enough skill it lets you fly through a whole level and dive-bomb enemies, but it still feels less imaginative than Mario 3.

The levels are also a big letdown compared to Mario 3. 3 led you through worlds where the enemies were four times your size, where you explored stages made of clouds, where the whole place was made of pipes and piranha plants, and where you found out that Bowser had a very threatening military, complete with a batallions of tanks, a massive air force, and a complete navy. Every world in Mario 3 had something new, creative, and different to offer, so progressing through the game always feels fresh.

World offers a series of places named after various foods, but which are mostly indistinguishable from one another. I can't recall seeing a single donut or other pastry in the Donut Plains, someone replaced the Soda Lake with water, and the Chocolate Island simply takes the prior levels and replaces all the colors with brown (which shows that Nintendo was once again years ahead of its time).

In this recent playthrough I've only just reached the Forest of Illusion, so I may be forgetting something from later in the game, but I can't recall there being all that much diversity or imagination in any of the levels outside of the Star Road. I can still remember several levels from each of the NES games, but despite replaying much of World just a few hours earlier, I'm hard pressed to remember anything special about any of them; World's levels don't leave any particular impression on me.

I know I'm coming off like I hate the game. I don't; I actually think it's a very well crafted and enjoyable platformer. But at the same time, I have to say that it feels more like a lost opportunity than any of the other Mario games. It feels like Nintendo had spent most of its ideas on Mario 3, and the small window between 3 and World left the latter with a lot less imagination. I'll keep playing to see if this impression holds up, but after almost twenty years I don't think my opinion is going to change much.

1529
I prefer brick and mortar stores, unless there's a great online deal. Dunno why, to be honest. But since I'm still going through LKS' Tyrant Mode, and have Broken Sword+Boom Blox+Wii Sports Resort all waiting in the wings, it'll be a while until I need to track this down in earnest. Thanks though!

1530
I'm curious if anyone here knows what the scarecrow in the forest is all about. I've seen him with Verde in some artworks, but I can't interact with him in any way, and I've already beaten the game.

I'm still early in the game, but so far I've run into two scarecrows.  Not sure if either of these are what you're talking about.

The first is in an alcove directly to the east of the spa next to your village (near the guy with the art gallery).  You fight him during one of the early quests.

The second is in the middle of a water melon patch to the southwest of your village.  He attacks automatically, so I doubt this is the one you're referring to.

If neither of those are what you're talking about I haven't a clue.

It was the first one, actually. Thanks! I guess I just never wound up getting that quest assigned to me. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

1531
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rune Factory Frontier
« on: August 07, 2009, 07:22:09 PM »
What exactly makes those dungeons seasonal?  I've noticed my spring crops takes forever to grow inside Green Ruins.

They're each the same season no matter what time of the year it is, i.e. you can grow Spring crops in the Green Ruins even if it's Summer/Fall/Winter outside. The Lava Ruins are always Summer, and the Snow Ruins are always Autumn. Whale Island can grow any crop from any season at any time. Runey prosperity rules also apply in all the dungeons.

Take advantage of this to grow the most expensive flowers starting early in the game, because those can take up to a full year to grow (so obviously they can ONLY be grown in the dungeons).

1532
I'm sure I'll find it sooner or later, preferably sooner.

1533
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Tales of Monkey Island (WiiWare)
« on: August 07, 2009, 11:17:36 AM »
I have to agree with Mr. Jack on the not being adept at the wii programming.  Remember the fans made it possible for them to get a wii development kit.   I am willing to give them time.   I wont buy anything until they use that time though.

Monkey Island.  Making me think about playing it every 10 years or so...

Actually (and oddly) the issues I've heard with Monkey Island are mostly limited to Monkey Island. There WAS some stuttering now and again in Sam & Max, but it was very rare, and the game ran great 99% of the time. I can't recall any problems at all in Strongbad's games, but I've only played the first two. I intend to finish that series, and then get these games as well.

1534
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rune Factory Frontier
« on: August 07, 2009, 11:15:05 AM »
GOT ME SOME IRON

EAT ****, GAME

I learned that all the Runeys are extinct in 2 of my districts.  LAUGH-OUT-LOUD.

The seasonal dungeons' floors each have a different main ore, so while iron is plentiful in the late Green/early Lava ruins, the game will make you wait a while before you can finally track down some silver.

Just to rub that part in, now that you finally found that precious iron ore the game will start shoving more iron down your face than you can handle, while simultaneously taunting you with silver and gold recipes that you won't be able to make for hours.

This game is cruel that way.

A small hint though: using your hammer's special attack on rocks increasing the chance of getting something besides junk ore, and it's the best way to get higher-level ore. Since the gemstones are almost impossible to get any other way, this comes in handy.

1535
I keep meaning to buy this, and I keep not finding it anywhere. I did finally find a copy of Broken Sword though, so I basically replaced one good Ubisoft game with another.

1536
I'm curious if anyone here knows what the scarecrow in the forest is all about. I've seen him with Verde in some artworks, but I can't interact with him in any way, and I've already beaten the game.

1537
Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #8 Poll - SNES Edition
« on: August 07, 2009, 11:05:54 AM »
I'm going to credit my vote for Ogre Battle tying for last place, rather than being solidly in last as I initially expected.

Time to find and dust off the old Super Mario World cart.

1538
Welcome Noname/Nemo.

Aww, I'm not the "cool new person" anymore.

I may be newer, but I assure you that you retain the title.  ;)

1539
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rune Factory Frontier
« on: August 05, 2009, 03:06:35 PM »
Well I'm sure i was using ingredients of level 4 and higher because i sold anything level 3 and under (had an abundance of them and needed to clear my pockets!). Perhaps I'm just mistaken, though.

By the way, are you new here or just the smartest bot we've ever had?  :P

Actually I'm certain you did, but remember that your tool also counts as an "ingredient," so even if all the other materials are at level 10, upgrading a level 1 tool still results in a level 1 tool. It's ultimately worth upgrading, because a level ten tool seems to use much, much less RP per use (which is critical when the best watering can gobbles up 50 RP per square!), but it is a very big pain.

And like Stratos said, I'm a newbie around here. RFN's latest poll brought me over the edge into joining up.

Well thanks again for the tip! Now that you actually have an avatar, I can believe you are not a bot. So welcome aboard, please introduce yourself in the thread which was linked to above me. It's only common courtesy around here.


RFF Update:

Beat my first boss today. I feel kinda dumb, cuz over the last few play sessions, I've tried exploring all of the Green Ruins just so I could at least know where the boss is, even if I wasn't ready to face him/it. No luck, or so I thought. I resorted to searching for a map of the dungeon, and found one, only to see that I'd passed by the Boss door multiple times! I'd gone thru there and never once noticed that the odd little alcove with nothing in it was actually a door lol

Happy to help. Anyhow, if you ever need maps of any of the dungeons, a user at another forum kindly uploaded detailed scans. You can find them here. http://vgchartz.com/forum/post.php?id=2062042

1540
Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 156
« on: August 05, 2009, 03:02:00 PM »


I've never personally played FF9 though I did watch a friend play it but I got the impression it was Square trying pacify fans of the old games. Not saying that is good or bad though.

That sounds about right, actually. But then I (and a couple of others) am a fan of the old games who needed to be pacified, so I guess I was solidly in the target demographic.

1541
Hate to interrupt the "Is Atena a real person?" talk, but I've been told that my existence shan't be acknowledged until I introduce myself here.

So, er, howdy y'all!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

1542
TalkBack / Re: Sega Reports First Quarter Losses
« on: August 04, 2009, 08:44:27 PM »
"Go to where the market is"

Now if they focused all their efforts on the Wii, they'd be in business.

If they focused all their efforts on the Wii, we wouldn't have Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3 (and soon to be PSP) and the world would be a much sadder place.   ;)

While it's true that a VC-less world would be a less happy world, a world with VC on the Wii would have personally made me a happier man. I'm going to have to go with Yashogi on this one.

1543
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rune Factory Frontier
« on: August 04, 2009, 08:35:07 PM »
Well I'm sure i was using ingredients of level 4 and higher because i sold anything level 3 and under (had an abundance of them and needed to clear my pockets!). Perhaps I'm just mistaken, though.

By the way, are you new here or just the smartest bot we've ever had?  :P

Actually I'm certain you did, but remember that your tool also counts as an "ingredient," so even if all the other materials are at level 10, upgrading a level 1 tool still results in a level 1 tool. It's ultimately worth upgrading, because a level ten tool seems to use much, much less RP per use (which is critical when the best watering can gobbles up 50 RP per square!), but it is a very big pain.

And like Stratos said, I'm a newbie around here. RFN's latest poll brought me over the edge into joining up.

1544
Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 156
« on: August 04, 2009, 08:30:45 PM »
I can't dismiss a game that I played for over 80 hours. I just think it's the worst Final Fantasy (though I haven't played X-2 or XI).

Wow, that's surprising, especially since many fans of the older Final Fantasies apparently thought it was something of a return to form (granted, that's not a universal opinion). In any case, it does seem like that style of story/characters/gameplay is going to be abandoned entirely by the series, so at least you'll be happy.

In any case, you seriously should look into Little King's Story. It's a fantastic title that's unfortunately flying under far too many people's radars.

Also, as always, the four of you did a good job on the podcast.

1545
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rune Factory Frontier
« on: August 04, 2009, 11:26:04 AM »

One thing I don't get is how there are multiple recipes for the same tool. For instance, you can make a Cheap Axe with a required forging skill lvl of 5, but then its listed again @ a higher req. skill lvl of like 15. The second one also uses an extra ingredient (usually 2 pieces of iron) but I didn't really see a difference when i forged them for the hell of it. It wasn't a higher level than the other axes i'd made. Weird.

The second recipe is how you're supposed to level up the tool. By using the regular tool and two peices of scrap metal, you can raise your tool's level by one every time. The reason it didn't work for you is because when you forge an item, its level is equal to that of the lowest-level ingredient. For example, a level nine hammer plus a level ten scrap metal plus a level one scrap metal gets you a level one hammer.

What you want to do is to take your tool and add two peices of scrap metal that are BOTH at least one level above that of your tool. When you start the forging meter, aim for the small green tabs; hitting one of those means that your tool's level will be that of the lowest item+1. In the above example, that would mean your hammer would be level two, even though you had a level one ingredient in the mix.

Hope that helps, and that I was clear.

1546
Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #8 Poll - SNES Edition
« on: August 04, 2009, 11:18:54 AM »
Welcome to the forums, noname!

I like Ogre Battle as well, but I chose not to vote for it because of the inaccessibility of the game. I don't think a lot of the people here would appreciate it in the same light. And considering I was one of the bigger supporters of Ninja Spirit I don't want to take a risk like that a second time in a row.

Random fact: did you know that the word 'nemo' is Latin for 'nobody'? So I could give you the nickname 'Nemo' since you have no name. What say you? ;)
Thanks!

You're absolutely right that the game is anything but friendly (how many important things, such as the Alignment system, go completely unexplained?) but I've always thought of the game as the digital version of dating the head cheerleader; it's intimidating and occasionally very frustrating, but once you get the hang of it it's well worth it. I'd just like it if more people would take the chance to play this title, since I know that a lot of people would fall in love with the series.

The fact that more purchases of this game heightens the chance for the 64 version's release is merely a happy coincidence.  ;D

As for the nickname, fire away! It's certainly more dignified than having random digits for my last name.

1547
Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive Game Nominations
« on: August 03, 2009, 10:29:47 PM »
Yeah Stratos, I want to do WiiWare when the time comes.

Are there really WiiWare games that people might have overlooked, though?  The great and even just-above-mediocre ones (ex: Lost Winds) get plenty of hype when they come out, just because they're such a contrast to the usual trash on the service.
Oh sure there are. Everyone knows about the big ones, but great titles like Toki Tori, Target Toss Pro and both of Hudson's FPS games rarely get any love, let alone the amount they deserve. I'd argue that even Swords and Soldiers gets less attention than it should have, since apart from a few "this looks like Castle Crashers!" comments it got at its announcement and release, no one's really paid it much attention. It's a pity too, because it's one of the service's best (in my opinion, of course).

1548
Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #8 Poll - SNES Edition
« on: August 03, 2009, 10:22:27 PM »
I've been listening to the podcast for a while (great job by the way!) but I joined just to vote for Ogre Battle, a truly underappreciated gem. That said, I'd be happy with any of those titles; you know things are going well when the weakest title on your list is ActRaiser.

1549
I'd been looking forward to playing this game since it was first announced, primarily because of the pedigree and artstyle. I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint in the least. The game does have several shortfalls, most notably how the camera is mysteriously restricted in a handful of areas, but all in all I have to say that this is my favorite Wii game of 2009. There's tons of great things about this title, but the battles with the other kings were especially big bright spots.

If you haven't played it yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up soon. You won't be disappointed.

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