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Messages - Sean

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1
Nintendo Gaming / RE: Why is no one talking about Prince of Persia?
« on: November 29, 2003, 06:20:40 PM »
Part of me dies each day I don't have this game.  As for Mario Kart: Double Dash, I love it.   My pals and I have beaten all but the very last uber-special Cup Mode (I won't mention what it is in case someone doesn't know about it).  I must say, though, that I wish Nintendo had put more time into lengthening the game.  Don't get me wrong, you'll play the multiplayer for AGES, but  just a glance at "chock-full" games like Super Smash Bros Melee shows just how much more the Big N could've added to the game.  It's actually VERY bare bones, which is part of Mario Kart's charm AND one of its drawbacks.  Anyway, that's it.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Fire Emblem. Is it doing well?
« on: November 19, 2003, 10:25:13 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Grey Ninja
I still haven't bought it yet myself, although it's on my to-do list.  I am hoping that with my new GB Player, I will revive some of my interest in the GBA.  


I know what you mean, Grey.  I love, love my GBA, but mine's been sitting for a couple months even though I'm in the middle of various games.  It's that darn lighting issue, often, but perhaps there's something else to it.  I need to break down and trade in mine and get an SP or go ahead and get a Player.  Can't wait for this game, though.  Of course it'll rock.

Side note: many people bash the Player, but don't most of us spend an AWFUL lot of time playing the GBA in our own homes?  It just makes sense.  It's great to have a portable for that 20% of the time you need it, but really, it seems like most people could put the Player to great use.
 

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:anybody got billy hatcher
« on: November 19, 2003, 10:21:59 AM »
I haven't heard for sure about the Sonic deal, but I'm sure he's got at least a cameo or something.  I'm really not that interested in BUYING the game, but I bet it'd be a fun rental.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Fire Emblem
« on: November 19, 2003, 10:16:22 AM »
I really want this friggin' game.  Alas, finances....

Where would you rank it with other GBA games?  Try to set aside that I-just-got-this-game-and-it's-the-greatest-thing-ever fervor for a second and look at it from a step or two away, hehe.  If you like FE, did you like Advance Wars?  Just curious.

Oh, and it does seem like they are developing one for the GCN.  I don't recall.  A quick Google search brought all sorts of sites with news posts from the last three months or so that say it's in the works.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wind Waker 2: Christmas 04!
« on: November 19, 2003, 10:08:05 AM »
It seems a bit sad to me that so many people are clamoring (if we are to believe it) for the "next step" for Zelda which is a) "realism" and b) full-on, conventional production values (i.e. voice acting, elaborate CGI, etc).  We've talked about this here before, but since Aonuma-san brings it up, it's worth mention again: Link's lack of speech and the fact that you have to READ text in the game is just part of the game's aesthetic.  Engine-based cut-scenes also add to the overall cohesion of the game.  It's rather telling about most gaming journalists that they put what they want (which is typically what the mainstream wants) over the artistic sensibilities of the creators.

I'm always astonished when people try to argue that Nintendo avoids these kinds of prod. values out of some sort of Scrooge-like frugality.  (In the case of Mario Sunshine, I wholeheartedly agree that Nintendo dropped the ball on the CGI and voice acting--it was wretched, even if the game was well-nigh brilliant).  Wind Waker is a fantastic game, and it's no less good because it goes in a different direction than a game like Final Fantasy [insert Roman numeral VII-XI here].  Some would say that Wind Waker "lacks" in this area.  I say Wind Waker is the better for it.  

But, it's not hip to be old-fashioned, nor is it a good idea to not give gamers precisely what they want.  But if we're to believe for one second that games are an artform, even in the slightest degree, we need to understand that the creators, lo and behold, sometimes know better than we do what makes something truly good.  It's different for every game (although, in my opinion, RPGs are like playable books, and are worse off the more voice and less text they have), and if every game looked and sounded like Final Fantasy, I'd cry my eyes out.  Heck, Tidus in FFX makes me want to cry just thinking about his horrible, horrible, nearly-game-ruining voice.

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Nintendo Gaming / FF:CC needs more than one GBA?
« on: May 11, 2003, 08:52:51 PM »
Grey Ninja, you're not alone in feeling like you're bashing your head here.  This is ridiculous.  

You have TWO TYPES OF CUT-SCENES:

(A cut scene is an edit, or jump or "cut to," hence the name, an EXPOSITORY SECTION--a non-playable time wherein the story is furthered.)

1. FMV=Full Motion Video.

2. Real-Time Cinema=Game Engine rendered graphics, non-video.

Final Fantasy X has FMV cut-scenes, very often.

Zelda The Wind Waker DOES NOT HAVE FMV--IT DOES NOT CONTAIN FULL MOTION VIDEO EVER EVER EVER.

It does, however, contain cut-scenes created not by FMV, but REAL-TIME (BY DEFINITION, REAL TIME MEANS "NOT PRERENDERED"!) CINEMATIC GRAPHICS using the game's graphics engine.

Now, whichever way you prefer (FMV or Real-time), well, that's completely up to you.  It works sometimes either way, and sometimes it doesn't work, period.  

I'm freaking done here.  This is so, so, so stupid.  

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Nintendo Gaming / FF:CC needs more than one GBA?
« on: May 11, 2003, 09:21:48 AM »
Zeth writes:

"yes.
And last... what the heck.. How is FMV Ok in Resident Evil but not OK in Final Fantasy? That's just stupid."

Yes?  Yes to what??

Anyway, I don't know how said FMV was okay in RE and not in FF, but that's not at all what I'm at least talking about.  I've even said that I love the FMV in FF, however, I do think that there's too much emphasis on it as the series progresses.  It's still breathtaking.  And in RE, the FMV doesn't clash with the in-game graphics at ALL, so that's a terrific choice, especially in the GameCube version of the remake.

What I object to is people being disappointed because there ISN'T any FMV.  To me, that's unfair, because in Wind Waker, for instance, it works so beautiful artistically.  Surely you can see that if you try.  It's NICE TO HAVE DIFFERENT VISIONS in different games.  That's what it's all about.  Embrace variety, and at least try to see what developers are trying to do before you start calling them cheap for not using what's popular or more accessible, which many have said about Nintendo.  Anyway, that's beside the point.

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Nintendo Gaming / Gamecube Wars
« on: May 11, 2003, 09:13:18 AM »
I know how you feel Gamefreak.  I know at least two other people that I have immediate access to with GBA's and we've almost never played multiplayer.

The problem is: we all buy games, but we like to buy games the other doesn't have because we can trade out.  I'm sure many of you do the same thing.  Anyway, most of the time for significant multiplayer, you need extra carts, and this tends to get expensive as a group.  It's a minor problem, I guess, but it has kept me from multiplayer on the GBA, for the most part.  Not complaining--it's just how things have gone.

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Nintendo Gaming / FF:CC needs more than one GBA?
« on: May 11, 2003, 09:07:26 AM »
Mouse, I don't recall any CGI FMV in Wind Waker.  If it's "real time" it's not "pre-rendered."  Hello?  This is very, very widely misunderstood, and you seem to have fallen into a similar trap.  

I'm not being a smart-aleck--I'm just saying that you have cut-scenes, which are those things that progress the story and are non-playable (generally).  BUT, not all cut-scenes are FMV.  Not all cut-scenes are "real-time."  To my knowledge, all the cut-scenes in Zelda are "real-time" and thus not FMV or "pre-rendered" or CGI.  This suits the game to a tee because you are never taken out of that world.  It's called artistic continuity.  Artistically, Nintendo obviously thought it was better to use their spectacular in-game engine EXCLUSIVELY to provide both gameplay AND storyline exposition.  I haven't finished Wind Waker yet, so unless it's at the VERY END, then it doesn't have CGI or pre-rendered or FMV cut-scenes: only real-time, engine-run cut-scenes.

By the way, I'm pretty sure Reivned is aware enough of things to know that you don't need 4 GBA's PERSONALLY.  He very clearly says that buying ONE GBA for himself alone is out of the question for him personally, and he probably doesn't know 4 other people with GBA's.  Give him a break.  Be reasonable.

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Nintendo Gaming / Animal Crossing 2
« on: May 11, 2003, 07:11:51 AM »
Perm, I hope you and Pikkcuber are kidding.  Those ideas are contrary to every facet of the Animal Crossing world.  It's not just a drastic change--it's a completely different game.  Alliances?  Overthrowing?  Yeah, and it can be called Animal Crossing: Irontown or something, and you hire peasants to work the mines and the blast furnaces.  And if someone gets out of line, you can cut their hands off.  Come on people.

I'd rather a slight update than that kind of "drastic change."

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Nintendo Gaming / FF:CC needs more than one GBA?
« on: May 10, 2003, 09:02:31 PM »
This is an example of me being a moron, probably.  I believe I had most of the extra graphics turned off most of the time I was at PGCF after the latest restart.  I sort of came back by today and I have no recollection of the avatars.  Anyway, ignore my ridiculous comments.  It's very, very late, and I'm delirious...and going to bed.

12
Nintendo Gaming / Animal Crossing 2
« on: May 10, 2003, 08:58:11 PM »
Oh lordie.  I love the first game oh so much, and because I love it, I have dreamt of many and sundry changes for the next iteration.  It has so much potential, and believe it or not, it doesn't have to be online, although that would help, I admit.  Let's look at some.

1) Online trading/train visiting.  This could be very, very, very simple, like just having the ability to establish an internet connection to trade things.  I'm not really all that interested in some kind of MMORPG type thing, because I get so sick of dealing with people being jackasses online, and the first guy who trampled my flowers would find themselves getting a real scolding!  Still, online train visits would be supremely awesome.  But it'd be cool if they only let you visit every so often so that you weren't abusing it.

2) More hobbies/recreations.  I want to see more people doing more things in the town.  Bonfires with marshmallow and frankfurter roasting, sideshows, perhaps small circuses or carnivals (in the right scope, that is; nothing big), more work opportunities like, let's say, item delivery (JUST KIDDING!  Hahaha...), gardening, running mini-games, etc.

3) FASTER MENUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  OHHH LORD!  *weeps*  Just a HINT OF INTUITION would help. Just a HINT.  I love this game so much, and the more you play it, the more you hate parts of it.  The menus are NUMBER ONE.  "Hello there!  *pause pause pause* What can I do for you?  *pause pause* *make selection* Oh, is that all?  *pause pause pause * [Long goodbye spiel]."  EVERY TIME!!!!!  *weep*

4) When there're things going on like games at the town fountain, I expect to PARTAKE IN THEM.  I refuse to stand by while everyone plays tug-o-war and I can't.  That's really disappointing, and it really makes you reflect on what exactly you're doing with your life.  And I don't want that.

5) Did I mention better, less talky, menus????

6) Of course more NES games, but that seems to be the overwhelming plea at this thread.

7) Allow to carry more items and to organize FASTER, EASIER, and BETTER.  This is a HUGE deal.

8) Nintendofy it.  I just basically want them to pour that special Nintendo magic all over it and blow away all the ideas we can come up with.  It's 2am and I'm going to bed.

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Nintendo Gaming / FF:CC needs more than one GBA?
« on: May 10, 2003, 08:28:13 PM »
I understand Nintendo and Square's reasoning behind pushing the GBA-GCN link (financially), but to me, depending on the exact nature of the connection, I think this could be one of the worst ideas ever for a high-profile game like this.  I mean, GBA's are not controllers (although I love this idea as a secondary use)--they are systems, and they are FAR from cheap (it's nice that I know three people nearby with GBA's, but how common is that, really?).  

As I see it, a game of this stature should include GBA linkup as a bonus--purely optional.  I don't know.  I've just got a really bad feeling about this.  I really hope that regular controller support is fully functional and the GBA is a neat bonus if you have the ability and means.  *shudder*  Thar be a cold breeze-a blowin' matey!  Aaarrrrr....what's that?  An albatross????

Mouse Clicker writes: "Have fun watching your customized, consistent, horrible quality cut-scenes."

Mouse, you seem to have a really low opinion of in-game graphics engines (I kid, I kid--I know what you're getting at, really, I do).  I'm so glad Wind Waker, for instance, didn't have GCI cinemas.  There really is something to be said for continuity, but I will not deny that the FMV in games like Final Fantasy is really quite breathtaking.

And yes, I realize that we're "beyond" the whole "Gee it sucks about the GBA thing, eh?" thing.  But oh well.  I wanted to address it again, just for you, Mouse.  ;-)

Oh, and Grey, I can't get past your avatar...it's just not you!  Maybe it'll grow on me....hahaha.  I expect everyone's avatars to be approved by me of course...haha.  I've been away from these boards for too long!  I'M HOME DADDY!  Or...nevermind.  Anyway, nice to see familiar faces still, haha.

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Nintendo Gaming / Billy Hatcher Discussion
« on: April 20, 2003, 02:01:28 PM »
I don't know what to think.  I don't form many opinions about early games like this, because it's oh so pointless, but I will admit that my impression isn't all that good.  First off, the name alone is so uninspired, I can barely stand it.  And the shots themselves don't really say much.  So, I'm anxious to see more because I'm a huge Sonic Team fan (since the "blast processing" days, of course), and I know they'll make something worthwhile, but it sure doesn't have HOPE written all over it.  Still, very often, it's just those kinds of games that surprise you.

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Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo should pull out of the consol race.
« on: April 08, 2003, 07:39:19 PM »
Is this a late April Fools joke?

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Nintendo Gaming / PilotWings - Am I the only one?
« on: April 07, 2003, 12:56:13 PM »
I think these games have a good following, but I've always found them intensely disappointing, if not outright aggravating.  I love challenges, but I've never found any of the Pilotwings games to be fun, and I'm sad about this.  I remember getting so fed up with the N64 version that I would just spend hours falling through the sky changing the angles, enjoying the beautiful sunset backgrounds.  It really was stellar back then, and perhaps even today.  But, skydiving movies don't have that much longevity...hahahaha.....

17
NWR Feedback / So now that the PGC Birthday contest is over....
« on: April 01, 2003, 05:09:54 PM »
Hey, great tattoo!  Very nicely done.  Althought I'd never get a tattoo of any kind (I have an acute skin disease that disallows any human contact*), I can admire them.

*Okay, that's not true--I just don't want one, okay?  Okay????

18
For me, Wind Waker is one of the few games of the last decade to really remind me of the powers of great games.  It's certainly filled with that undeniable sense of awe and exploration that makes Zelda so wonderful.  It's a world of mysteries, and there's no pressure to hurry about anything.  You can spend hours just charting the ocean, if you want, or you can embark on one of the myriad subquests or actually send the storyline (a story more vast and fulfilling than anything in any past Zelda, by far) on it's merry and extremely clever way.

Sailing in Wind Waker is, for me, like the first time I lifted off the ground in Super Mario 3 or Mario 64, and up there  with other great gaming moments like seeing the opening cinematic of Final Fantasy 6 or playing Gunstar Heroes for the first time.  It's not just an extension of Ocarina of Time, it's a full-bodied game that perfects Ocarina's framework and then takes a stark departure from that game's agenda.

People decry Nintendo's reliance on sequels, but when they make sequels this NEW and satisfying and flat-out fun, they prove that the best sequels aren't sequels at all, but unique and singular accomplishments with the added bonus of nostalgia and familiarity.  And with Wind Waker, Nintendo also proves, with a hugely popular entertainment, that there's truly more truth in fiction than fact, and when you begin to mistake the cartoon ocean for a real one, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

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TalkBack / The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker RELEASES!
« on: March 27, 2003, 06:06:44 PM »
Come on Grey!  Be a man and import it!  ;-)

No, seriously, I'll try not to rub it in--but when the epitome of beauty and fun falls onto one's lap, one can't help but wet oneself profusely and without care.

As for the difficultly level of the game, many say it's too easy, but I think it's perfect.  It's not exactly challenging, per se, but it's just pure fun--you don't worry when playing this game, you just drink it in.  Still, the puzzles are extremely clever and fun and at-first-puzzling, and the boss fights are so fun, that the fun-ness overrides anything else.  Basically the game is fun.  There's fun here.  Fun.  Joy.  Happiness.

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TalkBack / The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker RELEASES!
« on: March 25, 2003, 05:17:10 PM »
Free overnight shipping from IGN Gamestore is mighty fine by me.   Got it at 1pm today.  I've been playing it ever since, essentially.  I can't describe how breathtaking this game is, but I can say this game is taking my breath away.  Haha...

Even my highest hopes were dashed as this game showed me I could never have guessed it would be this good.

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Nintendo Gaming / Zelda: Wind Waker Screen Saver
« on: March 22, 2003, 05:18:25 PM »
YES!  Isn't that freaking awesome?  It even has the sunrise music from Ocarina.  Just wow.  Hahaha...

A screensaver can't be this neat.

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Nintendo Gaming / Zelda: Wind Waker Screen Saver
« on: March 22, 2003, 04:57:23 PM »
Wind Waker Official Site

The above link will take you to the official Zelda site, and you can download a beautiful little screensaver there.  It's just incredible.  I downloaded it and left the sound on, and I've so far been startled by it thrice.  The first time I could've sworn a bird was around the corner, but it was a gull on the screen, flying across, calling out.  

Later, I was downstairs watching television when I heard *SSSSSssssssssssSSSSSSS[crack]SSSSssssssss[rumble]SSSSSS* and ran upstairs thinking somehow I'd left a TV on or something only to find that the main island in Wind Waker was shrouded in a stormy night, just like Snoopy would've written.  (Sorry--it was there.)

This last time, an animated pig wielding a burning staff ambled by, and it was only after I saw the pile of dung in my room that I realized it had nothing to do with the screensaver itself.  It was just a pig.  With a staff.

Anyway, the point is, this screensaver is just another reminder of the craft and joy that is injected into games like Zelda.  The screensaver itself has all sorts of Animal Crossing-esque surprises that you'll just happen upon as I did.  It's mesmerizing.  Sometimes I just sit and look at it for hours.  Dreamy.

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Nintendo Gaming / Gamespot can go to hell
« on: March 22, 2003, 04:34:21 PM »
For years now, I've lost faith in any score system.  I read the reviews first and foremost.  The scores mean little to me because I find that they are for the Thumbs-up/Thumbs-down people of the world, too lazy to read reviews and contrast their own views.  Of course, it's more than that, but that's my take on it.  I enjoy scores for the technical side of things--but scores fail very badly because technical numbers can't be applied easily--if at all--to art.  I was more than surprised to see a 9.3 at GameSpot, and my initial reaction was, "Leave it up to Jeff Gerstmann!" but that's infantile.

The truth is--and I am speaking for myself here as well--as much as we'd love to believe there's an underlying anti-Nintendo movement among certain mags so we could point accusative fingers with self-righteous glee, we don't know for sure, and the fact is, we all have a lot growing up to do, both young and old.

A 9.3 really is stellar, but for Zelda, it seems like a slap in the face.  That's just because people who love Nintendo games (NOT FANBOYS) really believe they are above and beyond many others.  There's not a thing wrong with that.  But we still have a long way to go before we truly rise above all this partisanship and just enjoy games again.

24
With me, unless an FPS has something really different to offer (non-graphical, mind you), I honestly don't pay any attention to them.   I've always been very picky about them, and only a handful have ever really made me love them almost instantly (Doom II, Half-Life, Metroid Prime [leave your FPS/FPA arguments at the schoolhouse--I'm just talking about games that are set in the first person, simply]).  I'll give XIII a look, but I haven't kept up with it enough to really have an opinion on it.  Looks "interesting."

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Nintendo Gaming / Penny-Arcade: Gabes take on Wind Waker
« on: March 20, 2003, 05:58:56 PM »
What Gabe said was more succintly and better put than most anywhere else I've seen.

The thing I find most incredible is that so few people actually understand even the most elementary concepts of art, in general.  The main problem may be that most people aren't really ready to see games as an artform (in an admittedly incubative state, of course), and so their perspective on the medium itself is fairly unimaginative and narrow.  Subtlety and nuance aren't easily recognized by the masses (I know that sounds snotty, and I don't mean it to), so it's that much harder for such concepts to really be appreciated in a medium so stereotyped by the extreme.

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