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What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

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Luigi Dude:

--- Quote from: azeke on April 20, 2023, 01:46:13 AM ---"Gotcha" secrets like that make me glad both 2d and 3d series evolved to explicitly mark items on the map.

--- End quote ---

This is something that drives me crazy about a lot of these indie Metroid/Metroidvania titles.  They love to copy the map system of Super Metroid, but refuse to mark items or tell you if you've found all the items in a certain area, something all the 2D Metroids after Super did.

It's like seriously, this was such a great QOL improvement that actually makes it fun to get 100% completion in later Metroid games because it removes much of the tedium in trying to find everything.  If I beat the game with 91% completion, it's nice to know what parts of the game I found everything in so you don't waste time looking in those again.  This is something that should be standard in every Metroid style game and yet it seems to be the opposite from most of the ones I've played.

Ian Sane:
So here's a funny one:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Wii U.

With Tears of the Kingdom out in less than two weeks I figured I should go back and wrap up the earlier game so I would know exactly what's going on story wise.  I had played the game when it was new and did something that I've had a tendency to do where I finish the entire game except the last boss.  I don't really find that kind of thing that fun so I tend to leave games hanging like that.  Zelda in particular has the problem where the story is not usually very interesting and the gameplay I like the most is exploring the world.  So when I've explored the world, I've essentially gotten everything I want out of it.

Turns out I was really close to the end because I wrapped things up in one afternoon.  Prior to storming the castle I did the Xenoblade 2 mission (which I guess downloaded at some point?  Didn't remember anything about) and found a shrine as a warm up.

This game is really hard when you haven't played it for five years and don't remember the mechanics.  Somehow the button mapping seems completely different than anything else I've recently played.  As I expected I was getting destroyed by routine enemies.  As a result my approach to get into the castle was stealth.  Still had to beat Ganon though and I'm rather surprised I did so since I was so inept at the combat.  I barely beat his first form and took three or four tries to his second.  I had to look up how to use updrafts which are required as I just don't remember how the game plays at all.  The horse in the final battle also kept running in the wrong direction.  Is this a random horse or one the ones from my stable?  If so I was training a new one up so maybe it picked one I hadn't tamed yet?

But I'm happy to have wrapped it up.  Ending is not much beyond "hooray you saved the world!" which is precisely why I so often don't have the drive to beat Zelda games.  Though now I'm a little more hyped up for the sequel, having gotten that little taste of the gameplay again.  It will probably be really fun when I'm learning the system again and not throwing myself into the final boss battle without remembering how to play.

azeke:
Pikmin 3 (Wii U):

Pikmin (and the rest of Nintendo games) finally went HD, and it's probably the most beautiful game on the console. Natural miniature landscapes really pop and whimsy pikmin and weird monster designs really benefit from increased resolution.

3 lost swarming functionality from 1-2, so there is less control over the shape of your pikmin crowd, pikmin following you are more of a mob retreading your tracks, and it's hard to bunch them in a compact formation. Pikmin are a bit "smarter", but their AI can still lead them falling off bridges or just walk into the water. 3 games in and that's still an issue. Another aspect of "smarter" pikmin AI is that for jobs that are continuous like building a bridge or collecting spice berries they go back the mining place instead of staying near spaceship landing zone. It's good if you just want to assign 2-3 guys to farm berries at the start of the day, provided you don't forget to pick them up at dawn.

Bigger problem than pikmin just walking into water are boss battles which require quick and precise positioning. To somewhat fix this, Pikmin 3 introduces dodging so you can command your entire platoon to jump away from boss attack. Coincidentally, Pikmin 3 also introduces lock-on for easier targeting. With both lock-on and dodging Pikmin is now officially more of an action game than real time strategy. Now that i think about it, "Charge!" command is also yet another replacement for swarming mechanic they took out.

Though i suspect lock-on was introduced because Pikmin 3 was after New Play Control version on Wii and going back to previous analog control scheme feels super bad after precise targeting with a wiimote. I played with wiimote, but the game annoyingly forces to use gamepad for map. Having to switch controllers and screens isn't as bad as how the map is displayed as bird's eye view making parsing environment harder than actual proper abstract map where you can clearly tell if there is a lost pikmin or a treasure or whatnot. At the start of the campaign i was losing a lot of pikmin in the field because i couldn't understand the map and couldn't see where strayed pikmin are. "Go here!" UI also took me a while to get the hang of.

Game structure went back to Pikmin 1 levels, thank god no more 15 floor deep caves. Each Pikmin game so far (and even upcoming Pikmin 4) adds new types of pikmin so switching between different kinds of pikmin and captains becomes more and more cumbersome.

Final level took me a long time and many retries. Just getting to final arena is hard enough let alone also fighting the boss itself. Thankfully final level is designed to replayable as you open more and more shortcuts to get to final arena faster. I really liked the concept and design of the boss and other enemy for that matter -- signature Pikmin monster creepiness is at the height in this game.

Levels have hidden cards with digits on them, i wondered if that these are some kind of collectible for 100% but apparently these are secret codes. Player was supposed to use Wii U internal browser to go to the game's official site and enter codes manually to get a short video. Really, Nintendo? I kinda wanted to collect them all but after looking it up and realizing it's just a video (not even in-game) i gave up on it.

Just like 2, 3 has some of challenge levels (including DLC levels i got from gold coins on My Nintendo) and bonus modes, but i guess i am good for now.

Overall Pikmin 3 is probably my favourite game in the series, looks great, great bosses, weird enemy designs, i just wish map wasn't on the gamepad. I looked up videos about Switch Deluxe port and some of the features there look really nice, but i really don't want to throw pikmin with analog stick.

Adrock:
This ended up being longer than expected. 🤷‍♀️ Also, unmarked spoilers.

Metroid Prime Remastered

This was a rare full price game for me. I read conflicting reports on whether this was intended to be a limited physical release so I picked this up ASAP just in case.

I can't find the interview, but I vaguely remember reading the developers didn't want to change too much because they considered Metroid Prime to be perfect already. To that: Ehh, the game is still good though it definitely shows its age in certain aspects. Game development and design have advanced to much in 21 years so what was fine in 2002 feels kind of janky in 2023 like the platforming.

Some thoughts:

1. The texture work here is amazing. I probably wouldn't have fully appreciated it had I not seen it side-by-side with the original. The remaster looks the way I remember the original.

2. The original controls are... fine. I opted for the default dual stick though switching between beams and shooting missiles felt less natural. Overall, movement felt better while combat felt worse.

3. Morph Ball jump was added though I would have preferred it be mapped to the B button like in first person mode, or for an option to swap jump and boost in Morph Ball mode.

4. Beams no longer cast dynamic lighting that illuminate the environment. Digital Foundry speculated that this may not play well with the new lighting system or it could be a performance issue. I didn't think I'd noticed when I watched their video, but I definitely did because...

5. While the lighting system is collectively much better in Metroid Prime Remastered, some halls and rooms are really dark now making navigation more difficult since you can't see as well (not the rooms that are pitch black on purpose). Adding new/more light sources and/or being able to shoot beams into those areas for depth perception and overall placement of self and other objects/enemies would have gone a long way.

6. In my old age, I simply cannot stand any area in games where it's pitch black. I get the effect the developers are going for, but you know......... don't. It isn't fun. In this game, this is usually accompanied by enemies you can only see with a different visor. Collectively, all of that is a bad time.

7. I forgot how Chozo Ghosts just start popping up in other rooms at a certain point. They're just as awful in 2023. Sometimes you can simply walk by them to the next room while others you actually have to fend them off because you have to do a thing in that room. And fellas, y'all didn't have to go so hard on the Chozo Ghost music.

8. The world is not as connected as it should have been. Going back to Phendrana Drifts and especially the Phazon Mines often felt like a chore. There's an elevator to the Phazon Mines that leads to the Frigate Crash Site but the door isn't accessible from the ground. I understand gatekeeping during the first pass, maybe even the second. After that, it's just a pain in the ass to navigate. Adding some floating platforms later on would have been a game changer.

9. I'm a little disappointed Nintendo didn't throw in Jennifer Hale's narration that leaked like 15 years ago as a bonus.

10. The Spider Ball sound effect is 🤌.

11. Semi-hot take: There should have been a third person mode added in Metroid Prime Remastered (similar to Capcom with Resident Evil Village). Granted, that would have been a ton of work. While Metroid Prime doesn't need a third person mode, it would have been nice to see the game in a new way after all these years.

Anyway, I probably won't play Metroid Prime again. I really should stop replaying games I loved as a much younger person. I'll always remember how I felt playing certain games for the first time. And while those memories remain, there's no way to recapture that feeling so there's at least a tinge of resentment when a game isn't as good as my memories of it. For that reason, I probably won't replay Super Metroid ever again either (will likely play a remake though). Still, I try to be mindful of this when assessing a game years down the line.

That said, while Metroid Prime may not be as good as it was 21 years ago, it still mostly holds up, and this is a great remaster. A lot of care went into sprucing up the visuals without negatively affecting the original's absolutely wonderful art design. While it was nice to revisit the game, I need to start crossing games off my backlog. Speaking of...

Metroid: Samus Returns

I started a new save file since I hadn't played the game in nearly six years. I wanted to officially finish Samus Returns before returning to Metroid Dread which I also didn't finish. I'm also stalling on returning to Breath of the Wild because I haven't found the motivation to practice Trial of the Sword until I'm good enough to beat it.

I previously dropped Samus Returns in 2017 because I couldn't beat Diggernaut. This is especially hilarious because if you forgo 100% item collection after this boss, there's maybe like an hour of game left. The Diggernaut boss has one move that sucks you in and causes an egregious amount of damage. If only there was a way to remain planted on the ground to prevent this. Straight up bush league game design. Not really. You're supposed to use Spider Ball. My dumb ass straight up stopped playing a game because I forgot that one of the game's most used mechanics existed. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, this remake is fine, good even. Some thoughts:

1. The gameplay is on point. It has the requisite exploration and hidden upgrades the series in known for. The Melee Counter feels like a natural evolution for the series, like a better implemented SenseMove/Counter Attack from Other M.

2. The level design is not as refined as I'd like it to be, making SR388 feel disjointed. The various areas flow sequentially and are not interconnected in any way. Warp points feel out of place in Metroid. However, they're kind of functionally needed in Samus Returns due to how self-contained and isolated each Area is. Super Metroid had intentional shortcuts between sections, allowing you to consider the best return path. Without those, backtracking can be kind of a slog.

3. There were some places where you have to go through a few rooms to get a power up. The developers could have added a crumble block in the last room to drop you off at the first room. Instead, you just have to backtrack through all those rooms. The strangest thing is they only do this sometimes; other times they don't. It's such a weird design choice.

4. The Metroid fights were not particularly fun which is a bummer in particular due to how many there are. It's a lot of waiting, usually for a Melee Counter white flash. Also, some Zeta Metroids flee to different rooms. Why? Overall, just a bad time.

5. MercurySteam did its best with the controls. Not being able to run and aim hurt the combat particularly in some boss fights. There are too many functions for the limited inputs of a regular 3DS. Mapping beam and missile switching to the touchscreen is less than ideal. Mapping instant morph ball to the touchscreen felt intentionally offensive (especially given how some of the collectable upgrades are obtained).

6. A New Nintendo 3DS control option would have been greatly appreciated.

7. Samus Returns looks good for a 3DS game though it could definitely use a Switch/Switch 2 remaster. The textures are pretty muddy, and some areas are just Purple, The Room®.

8. There are too many lights on Samus' suits, ultimately bogging down the design. Every upgrade just adds more lights. Generally, these kinds of design cues are intended to make a character stand out. That isn't really the case here. I never had trouble seeing Samus. Silver lining: nothing is worse than the last suit in Metroid Dread (which got spoiled for me). Yikes.

9. Adding Ridley was a mistake. I like the surprise of a new final boss; I just wish it wasn't Ridley again.

10. The extended Last Metroid sequence felt tacked on. From a gameplay perspective, it functionally acts as the final power up but only for collecting optional upgrades. This only drags out the end game similar to Other M's epilogue. And while it may add depth and context to other games in the series, it's an unnecessary change. That one particular scene in Super Metroid doesn't require further contextualization. It accomplishes the same thing on its own more effectively and in far less time.

11. Yo, that part in Area 8 where the Metroid counter increases was 🤌.

12. Feature locking Fusion Mode behind Amiibo was pretty crummy. Mind you, I won't even touch regular Hard Mode. I don't support the practice of locking this kind of content behind Amiibo out of principle. The Samus Returns 2-Pack Amiibo was really hard to get at the time and is hella expensive now. Granted, you can get unofficial NFC cards on eBay for like $15. You shouldn't have to do that though.

I realize these are mostly criticisms. However, I actually liked Samus Returns. Collectively, it's a good game, and I don't regret spending time on it. I won't play it again, not on 3DS anyway. From what I played of Metroid Dread, some of these issues have already been addressed such as the controls though admittedly, that's more a criticism of the hardware.

Ian Sane:
So over the weekend I beat Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.  So it took me about six months and this was pretty much the only thing I played on Switch, aside from the odd demo here and there and little bit of Addams Family pinball.  I didn't 100% the game but unlike Breath of the Wild I actually did complete every shrine.  I wasn't originally thinking of doing so but realized as I got close to the end game that I was only a few shrines away so I gave it a go.  Had to resort to a map to find the last one though as it was in a cave I had visited at some point but gone past it and forgotten about it.  It was a Shrine quest that some person gives you but for whatever reason I never talked to that person so it wasn't in my Adventure Log.

Ending wise, it's Zelda so it's pretty much just saved the day, everything's great, etc.  The experience of playing the game is where the enjoyment comes from in Zelda, less the story.  My brother had beat the game months before and had warned me about the last boss battle and then he sat dumbfounded on the couch as I almost effortlessly beat it.  He noticed I used a defensive approach while he's more offensive and it seems that my approach was the better one.

This is one of the best games I've ever played but I will say I was getting bored by the end of it and ready to play other things.  The game is maybe a little too big or would benefit from taking breaks in playing it so everything freshens up each time.  Or just don't go for every shrine I suppose.  I was worried that the re-used map from Breath of the Wild would be a problem, but it isn't really and having played both games it is fun to see how things have changed.  But a third game using this map would be overkill.  They had their one chance to recycle things and have it not seem like a cop-out.  Though it does result in a strange situation where I feel like this is the better game but it works best if you're familiar with first game.  So you have the play the weaker first title and if you were to play them both back-to-back it would probably be a slog.  You need a few years between them.

My favourite part of this game that made it better?  Weapon Fusion.  The constant breaking of weapons was such a pain in the first game and while the feature is still here, the ability to fuse weapons with other items makes it fun.  The fused weapons tend to have a longer lifespan and the customizations gives it more of a strategic element.  I think it "fixed" the breaking weapons concept.

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