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Messages - Morningshark

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TalkBack / Re: Cat Mario and Cat Peach Amiibo Revealed

« on: September 03, 2020, 07:33:56 PM »

Quote from: Kairon on September 03, 2020, 04:50:23 PM

Yesssssss they'll have to pry these amiibo from my cold dead hands!

I was just about to ping you. Oh Caaaaaaarmine!

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Celebrates Mario's 35th Birthday in Style

« on: September 03, 2020, 07:33:06 PM »

I would have expected a bit more then just ports (with upscaling and some aspect ratio changes). Especially when Super Mario All-Stars was shown right before it and casts a bit of a shadow. That said, I'm happy to have Sunshine finally free of the GameCube. Even if it is still everything that Sunshine has to offer

TalkBack / Re: Super Mario All-Stars is coming to Nintendo Switch Online Today

« on: September 03, 2020, 07:29:46 PM »

Why didn't they remove the white background in the "A's" of the logo

TalkBack / Re: Kingdom Hearts: Melody Of Memory Launches November 13

« on: August 26, 2020, 05:02:28 PM »

Is "Let it Go" still a song people flock to on the regular?

TalkBack / Re: Second Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase Shows Multiple Games

« on: August 26, 2020, 04:59:50 PM »

One of the YouTube comments on this Direct Mini was, "More like Nintendo Dire: The Musical" because of the abundance of music-based games. Got a good chuckle from me.

TalkBack / Re: Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Drops In December 8

« on: August 26, 2020, 04:55:25 PM »

I recall holding off on the first title around the Switch launch. Then after Tetris 99 was released, I removed it from my Wish List. For those who want it (that online 4 player looks like a good time), cool. I think I'm gonna pass though.

General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2020 - Primed and Ready to clear some backlogs.

« on: August 26, 2020, 01:03:08 AM »

I’m a bit late to the party but I figured I’d throw out that I have been replaying Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, and Skyward Sword. Admittedly, I’ve beaten all of these before but I’m replaying to get footage for NWR. I don’t think that really fits in with the rules of a backlog but I thought I’d at least share. I have finished both of the Mario RPG’s and I’m about halfway through Skyward Sword at this point.

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo News Report: A Return, And Also Manifold Garden

« on: August 26, 2020, 12:55:02 AM »

It was a pleasure listening to your guests! I really appreciated William Chyr’s insight in the making of a puzzle game

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Super Mario Maker 2 - Did anyone here get it?

« on: August 25, 2020, 02:55:47 AM »

Hey Mop it Up. Thanks for always playing my levels! I promise I'll finish my Odyssey levels.

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Coming to Switch maybe someday?

« on: August 25, 2020, 02:23:48 AM »

After seeing this in the news, I decided to revisit it. I beat it back around Christmas of 2015. Some enhancements I would suggest / hope they would address.

Nitpicks:
Remove the animation where Link picks up an item and you see where it is in the inventory upon every new play session.

When dropping to the surface, show the actual map where each bird statue is, because I rarely remember the specific spot without seeing the map. The painting is pretty, but it would be nice to be able to zoom into it.

Add the ability to go from area on the surface to another area without having to jump from.

There aren't that many quests, but a small quest log would be handy.

Options to filter how much Fi talks with Link about gameplay content vs. story content

Content changes:
(These change the fundamental game and may work better in a direct sequel so they might not even be worth mentioning but ah well)

Button controls. I don't know how they'd do it for combat, but a lot of things like flying, swimming, using the beetle or really any of the items, would be great. I speak for accessibility more than anything. Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee having required motion controls when docked was very disappointing to read about. Wii MotionPlus worked great, albeit not perfectly. It still works great. But the option would be great.

More content in the Sky. Add some puffy clouds for Link to shwoomp through, or some weather effects, or rainbows, or lightening you have to avoid. Maybe a few islands that the Skyloft people haven't cultivated yet that you can explore and find specific crafting materials and / or insects. Maybe there are some characters like the Rito who also live in the sky that you can find later in the game like in a segmented area. Or maybe it's just a few and they are endangered and you have to bring them crafting items to help rebuild their home like with Tarrey Town. Lots and lots of ideas here. But more than anything....

Let me fly at night

Make all three segments of learning the Goddess Song (that notorious padding after the Fire Sanctuary) optional. That part really kills the enjoyment. You'd have to rework / change the pacing of the story a bit.

Very new content that I don't expect but hey it'd be cool:
Groose Tower Defense side game?

Impa / Zelda side mode where you get to experience Zelda's experience on the surface running from Ghirahim rather then watching it in the credits.

Configure all three Imprisoned fights into one fight were each stage has the Imprisoned change.

Add some upgrade options to the Stamina Meter...this could maybe tie into some of my ideas on beefing up the Sk

General Gaming / Re: What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

« on: August 25, 2020, 01:52:54 AM »

Played both Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) and Partners in Time. For "reasons" I won't divulge, the last few hours of Partners in Time were horrible because of some frame rate drops. That said, I had a great time revisiting them. It's been years. Of the two, I enjoyed Superstar Saga more, and of all of the Mario & Luigi titles, it seems like the most versatile in terms of hardware it could be played on because it's a fairly brisk play through, with zero reliance on touch screen, microphone, dual-screen mechanics. I'm hoping we get a new Mario & Luigi title, despite the sad closure of Alpha Dream, but if we don't, a port of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga in HD would be great!

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 683: Reggie's Strangely Square Back

« on: August 25, 2020, 01:48:47 AM »

Quote from: wcmullins on July 29, 2020, 06:11:03 PM

I feel like everyone who is in the more like thousand year door hasn't played it recently. I remember Guillaume way back criticizing it and I was not in agreement. I loved that game. I played it nearly straight through when it came out.

I played it a few years ago and it's just okay. Maybe barely okay. I did not enjoy it and was very bored at the end.

They just need to re-release it so everyone remembers

Quote from: Pandareus on August 04, 2020, 01:59:25 PM

Haha, folks on The Thirsty Mage also replayed TTYD recently and had the same epiphany, I think. They didn't hate it, but they talked eloquently about the flaws they saw in the level design, especially.

I'll play Origami King whenever it shows up from the library. I do enjoy the style and humor of those games, I just think personally that the original Mario & Luigi is even funnier than TTYD, and doesn't drag on in the way that I think TTYD or even ulterior M&L games did.

I can't remember if this showed up in that very long discussion or not, but I did replay TTYD back in January when I working on making some Paper Mario content. It's still a great game for me nostalgically, but the flaws are way more present. Think as more people return to it, they see those flaws, and I think the common desire is to have an iteration build off of what people did like about that and the original.

I replayed both Superstar Saga and Partners in Time last month (yes...I'm about sick to death of the Mario RPG brand for the time haha) and that series is an example of taking the same game and iterating on it, arguably not enough. But is probably closer to what fans of the RPG Paper Mario are looking for.

TalkBack / Takeshi and Hiroshi (Switch) Review

« on: August 20, 2020, 04:45:00 PM »

You play as a game designer, coding a game, while someone else plays a game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/54666/takeshi-and-hiroshi-switch-review

It’s not very often you see stop motion animation puppeteering these days, let alone in a video game. That animation style on its own gives Takeshi and Hiroshi, from Oink Games, a distinct look in a day and age where it can be hard for games to stand out on the Nintendo eShop. That said, looks aren’t everything and while the use of a charming filming technique and adorable writing do deliver, there are some slip ups in the gameplay that hold back this experience from being something truly special.

Takeshi and Hiroshi are siblings that share a strong brotherly bond. Takeshi is in middle school and has a keen interest in designing video games, and his younger brother Hiroshi is in elementary school, loves to play video games, and suffers from asthma, which leaves him hospitalized. Takeshi wants to encourage his younger brother and has him play his work-in-progress game, as he somehow manages to code it in real time. The story is very simple, but pleasant all around. The writing draws strong inspiration from traditional anime storytelling language, and the dialogue of the characters is endearing. My two and half hours with these characters wasn’t something that I expected to leave a lasting impression on me, but I did enjoy the story overall, even if it was pretty brisk.

So what is the gameplay exactly? Whenever Hiroshi starts playing his brother’s game, this is when the player steps in. Takeshi’s game, “Mighty Warrior,” is an incredibly barebones and traditional RPG combat system, where you fight enemies in several rounds. It has a twist though. Rather than you encountering enemies, you actually pick from a pool of enemies to fight, each ranging in difficulty and ability. This is supposed to mimic Takeshi “coding” in enemies for his brother to fight in real time. The objective is to raise Hiroshi’s “joy” meter to a certain point depending on the level. To do this, you have to balance the types of enemies that Hiroshi fights. The harder the enemies, the more stressed he becomes. If Hiroshi is able to achieve victory, then the numeric value in the stress meter is added to the joy meter. If you send easy enemies, Hiroshi will be disappointed with how easy the game is and lose joy. If he successfully defeats a collection of hard enemies in a stressful situation, then he becomes more joyful. You only are given five rounds to strategically pick a line of ordered enemies for Hiroshi to fight. It’s a clever mechanic, but it is extremely limiting, to the point where success often felt random. There were instances where I was sending groups of enemies, that would result in a huge increase in joy, and then when trying to replicate my strategy, I would get wiped out completely.

In a way, it’s like playing a game of cards: you have to deal with the deck and hands you are given. But you don’t have many choices. You can use a dodge move and even deal triple damage once per round after sending out enemies, but otherwise you’re a bit of a sitting duck. All of this adds up to a very inconsistent experience. Some fights took me over a half hour to get through via trial and error and luck, whereas the last chapter took just over ten minutes. It’s a flawed system that blemishes and overshadows the good. There’s one mini game called “500m Zombie Escape” that is largely optional, which actually outshines “Mighty Warrior.” And narratively, this actually makes sense. However, it doesn’t excuse the issues with “Mighty Warrior.” Essentially, “Zombie Escape” is an endless runner in 3D with an isometric view, where you are an endlessly pivoting character. You just press A to take one step forward while continuously spinning. The goal is to get as far as possible whilst surmounting the obstacles in your path, and it’s more a game of skill with learning the controls than anything.

Like I mentioned before, the visuals of Takeshi and Hiroshi are what stand out the most. The puppeteering is very impressive, and while plenty of shots are reused, it never felt like overkill. The puppets are detailed but stylized so they aren’t realistic, and the designs of the characters stand out. The world these characters inhabit is interesting, too, because each shot has that world in a monochromatic, minimalist shot. The school is yellow, and is filled with yellow items, same with the purple hospital or the blue bedroom. It’s an interesting style choice that draws a little inspiration from a Rankin/Bass styled production. “Mighty Warrior” abandons the real puppets and opts instead for the now-common illustrated puppet animation. It’s not bad, but the style change is worth noting so that you don’t expect the entire game to be in stop motion.The music doesn’t stand out as much, but it’s definitely not trying to. It is very much supplemental to the experience, mostly being a mix of bells, a marimba, and occasionally a synthesizer. I won’t be humming any of these tunes later, but they work well in conjunction with the art style and animation. The one thing that did stick out like a sore thumb was that every so often, I noticed that some of the sound effects were considerably louder than anything else. There’s definitely a sound mixing issue present. Takeshi eating a donut, or the knight Hiroshi plays as will complete actions that were really distracting in how loud they were. You can turn off sound effects, but there isn’t an adjuster. It’s by no means a game breaker, but it has a noticeable effect on the experience.

At the end of the day, though, I can say I enjoyed my short time with Takeshi and Hiroshi. It has some gameplay issues, and while the luck element of the barebones combat does make the experience drag at points, the novelty of the idea in the combat, as well as the impressive visuals in the story components are appreciated.

TalkBack / We Are Doomed (Switch) Review

« on: August 13, 2020, 05:00:00 AM »

Why are we doomed? I don’t know why. That’s just the name of the game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/54594/we-are-doomed-switch-review

Let’s face it: a ton of shoot-em-ups are available on the Switch. Picking one to play can be hard, as they all have different quirks to try and grab your attention. So what does the latest shoot-’em-up, We Are Doomed, do differently? Frankly, not much. And that’s not a bad thing by any means. We Are Doomed is by and large a standard twin-stick-shooter affair with dazzling visuals and that classic arcade addiction. I didn’t want to put the controller down.

In terms of context, not much is there to grab on to. You take control of a small, spiky-shape character and use one giant laser to fry various geometrical enemies that are zooming all around the small area, whilst avoiding any of them or their attacks, and trying to collect enemy drops to increase your score. Like many titles before it, scoring the high score is the real goal of the game, and thankfully, the inclusion of a leaderboard for both world scores and scores on your friend list is available from the get-go. There is no shop to spend anything on or abilities to buff up yourself. It’s simply a start-and-stop experience. Once you run out of health, you’re out and have to start over. There are only two modes, both of which offer a similar experience: Wave Mode and Endless Mode. I didn’t see an option for multiplayer, which is a bummer exclusion. In the mode where you fight waves of enemies, you can restart at different checkpoints that are unlocked after completing every tenth wave. Sure, you lose your score, but it makes it easy to go back and try to get more hands on time with the harder waves. HD Rumble is used lightly in this regard. When you take the last hit you can afford, you feel it in the controller, and it’s devastating.

Instead of having an array of bullets being shot from your character, you are equipped with a trusty laser that is always beaming. As is the case of the twin-stick shooter genre, you navigate with one stick, and aim with the other. It can get tricky at times because of the lack of the ability to aim and shoot, instead having to navigate through swarms of enemies and have the laser on enemies long enough to destroy them. Because the laser isin’t screen wide, you always have enemies within a dangerous distance of your ship, which creates a satisfying amount of tension and challenge. Difficulty wise, it’s definitely not a complete walk in the park, but you can spend several minutes on a single run and feel every sting when you lose a pip of health...and there isn’t a way to recover any. This feels intentional to the game design. That said, I still managed to see all 30 waves in one afternoon. Each wave is handcrafted, so you can keep coming back and expecting to a degree what is in store for you. Enemies are designed with unique abilities that intentionally try to get around your laser and mess you up. For example, an endless chain will spawn around the perimeter of the arena or on set tracks. Some enemies can fire back at you, while others only move diagonally or take multiple hits. Once you’ve got a feel for the various enemies, you can also take on endless mode where just about anything goes, and it’s ultimately a survival test.

A major element that We Are Doomed has going for it is it’s direction in the visual department. It goes for a minimalist color look, with only a small palette for each thing on screen, but dances over into being cluttered with just how much is on screen. I really enjoyed watching all of the effects, but at the cost of in the early moments it was a little over stimulating and distracting. I got used to it quickly, however the initial moments of trying to survive, look at everything happening, and play the game itself were overwhelming. Unfortunately, I did not see any accessibility options for those who may find the visual effects too much, or may struggle with the color schemes if color blindness is an issue. That said, there is a remarkable amount of polish here. It’s clear some serious effort was put into making the visuals, and also juxtaposing them to the gameplay. For example, the background is usually the same magenta to orange gradient, but will shift and create a green gradient that hones in on where the enemy drops are. Contrasting lines also show up where enemies are about to spawn, and occasionally they would spawn on top of my character which felt unfair, it wasn’t anything that ruined the experience for me. Handheld mode too showcases the very nice visuals, with everything running smoothly.I will say, I preferred playing in docked mode with a Pro Controller just because of the Joy-Con joysticks not feeling as great to use. That said I landed my high score in handheld mode so it’s not like it’s that much worse.

We Are Doomed is a great, easy-going experience that can easily be picked up and played at any time. It boasts some beautiful visuals, feels smooth and polished, and while it doesn’t offer too much in terms of innovation for the genre, what it is doing is great. There isn’t a lot of content to explore, but what is here is a lot of fun. Check it out if you are interested.

TalkBack / Treasure, Max Hearts, Ninja Toads, The Ringer Guide

« on: July 22, 2020, 08:15:21 AM »

Puzzled on where certain things are or what to do next? We got you.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/54436/treasure-max-hearts-ninja-toads-the-ringer-guide

Paper Mario: The Origami King is filled to the brim with secrets, collectibles, and all sorts of doodads to find. This guide is here for anyone who is stumped and needs some help finding any of the collectible treasures, the Ninja Toads in the Ninja Attraction for Treasure No. 51, all the MAX UP Hearts, and the solutions to The Ringer levels in the Battle Lab. Best of luck!

Timestamps!

00:04 Treasures 1-10
7:46 Treasures 11-20
12:43 Treasures 21-30
14:45 Treasures 31-40
17:07 Treasures 41-50
20:48 Treasure 51 and all the Ninja Toads
27:37 Treasures 52-60
29:39 Treasures 61-70
31:20 Treasures 71-80
33:18 Treasures 81-90
42:54 Treasures 91-100
44:55 Treasures 101-110
47:14 Treasures 111-120
48:46 MAX UP Hearts
54:05 The Ringer: Level 1
57:25 The Ringer: Level 2
1:00:00 The Ringer: Level 3

TalkBack / Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase Announced

« on: July 19, 2020, 05:20:00 PM »

Only focusing on previously-announced titles.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/54399/nintendo-direct-mini-partner-showcase-announced

The next Nintendo Direct Mini has been announced via Twitter, with the focus being a "Partner Showcase" on previously announced titles. It debuts at 7:00 am PT / 10:00 am EST tomorrow. The Japanese Twitter account has announced it being roughly 10 minutes in length.

TalkBack / Don't miss the Shoe Goomba in Paper Mario: The Origami King!

« on: July 19, 2020, 09:23:51 AM »

Sometimes you should walk instead of driving.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/54398/dont-miss-the-shoe-goomba-in-paper-mario-the-origami-king

If you’re playing Paper Mario: The Origami King right now, and are hoping to complete the game in its entirety, then I’m here today to tell you to make sure you don’t miss the Shoe Goomba in Breezy Tunnel. This is very important. To complete the game, one of the challenges is to fight at least one of every enemy in every region of the world. That doesn’t mean fighting just one Goomba, it means fighting at least one Goomba in each region a Goomba is available to be fought. One particularly elusive enemy is the Shoe Goomba which I could only find in Breezy Tunnel. I suspect most players will miss this enemy because upon entering this area, you are provided with the Shoe Car, which can pulverize enemies in the overworld. This means most players will likely drive over one of the enemies in Breezy Tunnel that contains a Shoe Goomba to be fought, never to see this mythical shoe-clad minion again. Sometimes it pays to walk instead of driving! But that Yoshi mileage though…

TalkBack / The Future of Paper Mario (ft. André from Gamexplain)

« on: July 19, 2020, 05:14:00 AM »

Is the Nintendo Machine out of paper?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/54359/the-future-of-paper-mario-ft-andre-from-gamexplain

With Paper Mario: The Origami King now unfolding onto the Nintendo Switch, NWR's reviewer: Xander Morningstar and founder of Gamexplain, André Segers, sit down to talk about the series history, how Paper Mario: The Origami King stacks up to it's predecessors, and where the series can go from here. Check out their discussions over at GameXplain as well!

Post-Review Discussion at GameXplain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WAuvknkin4&feature=youtu.be

TalkBack / True Ending and 100% Completed Museum Tour in Paper Mario: The Origami King

« on: July 18, 2020, 06:29:00 PM »

Is it Toad-ally worth it in the end?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/54356/true-ending-and-100-completed-museum-tour-in-paper-mario-the-origami-king

Paper Mario: The Origami King has a lot of collectibles! What happens if you find everything and complete the Musée Champignon?

Timestamps:

00:06 Completing the Musée Champignon
1:35 Touring the Concept Art Gallery
14:16 Touring the Origami Toad Gallery
19:59 Touring the Treasure Gallery
30:06 Looking at the Trophies
32:00 Touring the Origami Character Gallery
42:48 Touring the Sound Gallery
48:48 Credits with 100% Completion
52:54 Post-Credits Scene

Apparently, the final image of Mario and Peach in the credits can have Toads holding banners. If you avoid getting a game over, it includes a heart banner. If you avoid using accessories, it also includes a fist banner. Strange that these are included, as the game actively reminds you to use your weapons and accessories, and the quicktime events make it easy to get a game over.

TalkBack / Re: Deadly Premonition 2 Can Be Outperformed by Super FX Games

« on: July 15, 2020, 02:28:57 PM »

John, you have a great sense of humor. This, and the Xenoblade grass video.

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 200 - The Big 2-0-0

« on: July 15, 2020, 02:25:43 PM »

Congratulations gentlemen on 200 big ones. Thank you for having me on, and I can't wait for 200 more.

TalkBack / Re: Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch) Review

« on: July 15, 2020, 02:11:47 PM »

Quote from: dfields90 on July 15, 2020, 01:55:59 PM

Great review very fair and all your positives outweigh the negatives for me. One question - you mention that you really liked collecting everything. I know that was appealing to me in Color Splash but I recall reading about say you filled all the colour in a world but someone would suck up the colour and you would have to return - making 100% pretty annoying and difficult. Is this the same? Is there anything that un-does your progress?

Thanks for reading! I can confirm there is no mechanic that undoes any progress like that. Once you have the collectible, it's yours. Once you have restored a hole, it is patched up for good.

TalkBack / Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch) Review

« on: July 15, 2020, 02:00:00 AM »

It’s “turn-based.” Get it?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/54341/paper-mario-the-origami-king-switch-review

Experimentation is a core attribute of the Paper Mario franchise. Each game is very different from the next, even if aspects are carried over. Iterations try to push game mechanic systems to their height. The latest title in the series, Paper Mario: The Origami King is a puzzle-based adventure collectathon that feels like a sequel to 2016’s Paper Mario: Color Splash on the Wii U. Even with that cohesion, the new Switch release carves its own path with a new battle system, more open world, and many new flourishes. While aspects hit high highs, this game might not quite be the answer to everyone’s Paper Mario questions.

The Origami King starts off with Mario and Luigi journeying to Toad Town for the Origami Festival. When they arrive, the town is deserted as King Olly of the origami is setting a plan into motion to refold the world in his image. Mario teams up with the king’s sister Olivia to rescue Peach and put a stop to the king’s plans. Along the way, the duo find themselves meeting different characters that join for a period of time and add to the ongoing adventure. Obviously, I won’t spoil what happens, but this is the most story-focused game since 2007’s Super Paper Mario on the Wii. Admittedly though, it pales in comparison to previous title’s attempts at telling a story, but it does succeed at making you care about its characters, with Olivia and Bob-omb in particular standing out. This adventure is much more about the time spent with characters and the situations they find themselves in on the journey rather than the catalyst. The overarching narrative is serviceable, but doesn’t do enough to support its own characters. It might seem small, but the awesome cinematics add grandiose excitement and weight to this new, unexplored world. And this world is vast.

The most apparent part of the world is the excellent presentation. The music is incredible, right up there with the rest of the awesome soundtracks the series is known for. Much akin to other titles in the series (and frankly many other Mario games), a common musical rhythm motif is reused and shaped to fit the context of the world. I really enjoyed listening to these songs, and I felt like when I returned to areas I had already visited, I was often greeted with something I hadn’t heard before. Couple this with the delightful art style, and this artistic duet is breathtaking. I know that some find the paper-focused environments to be borderline distracting, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I really liked the “stationary” streamers that painted the sky. They looked pretty and tied the world together. This world might be the best one in the entire series in terms of its design. Environments rarely feel like they’re jarringly changed as instead, everything flows seamlessly together. This success made me believe that the characters in this world actually lived there and made it more immersive, despite the fact that Toad still seems to be the primary NPC. Environmental puzzles also are abundant and are cleverly used as you would expect. A new feature called the 1,000-Fold Arms is used a lot. Essentially Mario grows extendable arms and can reach various parts of the world to complete puzzles. Motion controls are the default, but the option of button controls are available from the get-go. Frankly, the options and accessibility are great. If a younger player is struggling, the ability to streamline the puzzles with a helping hand / guide becomes available, without ever feeling pandering.

The Mushroom Kingdom in Origami King is not really an open world, but these are the biggest environments in the Paper Mario series. The locales are also very diverse, peppered with many areas never before seen in a Mario game, which is incredibly refreshing. The quest is linear, with little to no backtracking if you follow the story. However, an assortment of collectibles have flooded the land of Paper Mario, making this partially a collectathon. The world is littered with different collectibles, including hidden Toads, blocks, and trophies. I’m a sucker for this type of stuff. I love watching percentages max out and clearing areas fully. Pinpointing the exact amount of time it can take to finish the main quest is tricky because it depends on how much you put in. I spent over 30 hours from beginning to credits looking for secrets. But if you’re not about the exploration, I would say you’re looking at about 20 hours or so. Another big part of the environment is that giant papier-mâché enemies have eaten away holes in the world that need to be repaired. Mario can collect confetti from just about every interactive object in the overworld, which can be used to cover up these “Not-Bottomless Holes.” With a small handful of exceptions, this mechanic and the majority of other collectibles are all optional. Completing them in each region of the world nets you goodies like concept art and music in the in-game museum. I enjoyed doing this because it gave me something to work towards whilst exploring. If you played 2016’s Paper Mario: Color Splash on the Wii U, it’s an identical process with just a lot more to do. I couldn’t help but notice though, that if the collecting didn’t grab you, you’d be looking at a lot shorter playtime because again, this is optional.

The big “twist” on this particular entry is that combat blends together a circular puzzle with the timing-based / turn-based combat system that has been in nearly every entry in the series. The Origami King makes sure you understand the new system, because there are a lot of unskippable tutorials. If you’ve played almost any Paper Mario game, you won’t struggle at all with learning the new nuances. But unfortunately, they hammer home how to jump, how to complete action commands, etc. and each specific new element is its own tutorial. For older players, it’s a little grating, but it’s not the worst thing ever. Upon an encounter with an enemy, Mario is faced with the timed task of rotating and sliding rings to align enemies in a large circular arena. If aligned, or grouped two-by-two, an attack increase is given. The battle then shifts to the more familiar process of choosing an attack and demolishing the enemies. The number of enemies in an arena determines the number of moves you are given to rotate and slide as well as attack, with the perfect amount being provided to solve the puzzle. If you are able to complete the puzzle, the enemies will very likely be defeated on the first try, assuming you nail the action commands (and in the later parts of the game if you have strong weapons). I really liked this puzzle battle system; I found it very novel and rewarding to complete. That said, a few glaring issues became apparent as I played. You fight an enemy every time you bump into one in the overworld, and more often than not, these encounters are the same puzzle through the majority of the adventure. Sure, they iterate slightly and some types of enemies make the fights more involved (Boos become invisible, for instance), but the difficulty of fighting enemies in the overworld becomes repetitive very quickly. Plenty of instances occur where enemies show up in a scripted fashion, whether it’s by popping out of a bush to scare you or stealing a key item you need. These battles are largely the same, but are where I saw the difficulty beginning to increase. I was seeing more complex layouts in the ring arena in those fights, and they, like the boss fights, felt more handcrafted.

Each puzzle has a correct solution, and as previously stated, if you complete the puzzle, you’re more than likely going to win the fight after you attack. It’s not mindless, as you have to think about what kind of enemies you're fighting. It’s better to group up Spinies so you can hit them with a hammer, or just jump on them with the iron boots. There is a level of self-induced difficulty that I was picking up on. If you want the challenge to solve every puzzle, then by all means go for it. You are also able to brute force things by not bothering with the alignment puzzles and just bashing the enemies willy-nilly. You’ll definitely take damage, but it’s very easy to restore health. I never felt in danger even in fights where I experimented with this process.

With the battle system in place, the important matter of the reason for battling and how Mario progresses through the game comes up. Your reward for fighting is an abundance of coins. You get more depending on if you solve the puzzle or if you didn’t take damage. Coins are used for a variety of purposes: buying items, weapons, accessories, collectibles, occasional key items, paying for help from Toads in battle, and obtaining more time to complete puzzles. The weapons you obtain are stronger variants of the traditional jump and hammer attacks you have, but they degrade over time and need replacements. The accessories you obtain by and large are focused on increasing your stats in battle. You can increase your defense when taking damage, your health, and the time allotted for solving the puzzles. There are others, but those are the ones focused on in battle, and are about the extent of customization. Oddly, you never see Mario's stats. You also never see the enemy’s health; you just see them sort of bend over and look a little tired when they’re close to defeat. Boss fights have health bars, but there aren’t numbers. And yet, when Mario attacks, you do see the number of damage dealt. All of this to say that these are all very base level RPG concepts that aren’t being used fully.

When I think of an RPG, I think that the player’s character customization is a core aspect of the genre. All of the elements in The Origami King are trying to merge into a system that looks like that at face value, but really isn’t needed. The game pretends to be an RPG, when its RPG mechanics are actually holding it back. There is no form of experience or progression when fighting enemies. In a generalization, it’s a loop where you fight enemies to get coins to buy weapons to fight more enemies. I don’t think this experience needs to be one thing or the other; it just needs to pick a lane and stay in it without trying to jam in unnecessary elements from other genres. I admire that there is a level of difficulty accessibility in the decision of using the various equipment that makes combat even easier. This follows Nintendo’s record of making games accessible for kids and adults alike. That doesn’t excuse the Frankenstein approach of trying to make this clever puzzle system work like an RPG without actually treating it as one. The need to fight overworld enemies feels pointless because of this problem. When you talk to other people who have played this game, their experience really won’t be that different from yours despite the attempt at personalization with the accessories and weapons because those elements don’t matter as much as they try to.

Boss fights branch out differently than normal combat, focusing more on the puzzle aspect. I enjoyed fighting the Legion of Stationary considerably more than the Vellumentals. The Legion of Stationary are the “arts and crafts” bosses that guard each streamer that ties down Peach’s Castle, whereas the Vellumentals are origami creatures that lurk in temples around the world and provide special abilities to Olivia upon their defeat. Basically, the boss is in the center of the arena, and Mario has to use the same rotating and sliding mechanics to create an optimal path to the boss or specific area on the arena to complete a task. The early fights telegraph well enough the best way to deal damage, but things get a little obtuse later on. They certainly come across more handcrafted then the previous fights, but can dance between aggravating and satisfying. They largely rotate around experimentation, but some of the solutions are multistep processes that can be punishing to players who are encouraged to try out different ways to attack. The Vellumentals in particular are the culprits of this.

I liked playing Paper Mario: The Origami King. It has such high points with the music, the visuals, the comedy, and the willingness to try new ideas. I love how experimental the adventure is with the large variety of situational humor and mini-games. This world was such a treat to journey through, and it was nice to have more then one meaningful emotional moment again in a Paper Mario game. It’s so clear that The Origami King is trying to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to its combat system. It’s so strange to me how optional the game is to play. I did go for completing every challenge presented to me, but I can definitely foresee players skipping ahead because of the lack of incentives. I applaud Paper Mario: The Origami King for trying something new, but am worried that the friction between its ongoing genre identity is going to keep the series running around in circles.

TalkBack / Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch) Hands-on Preview

« on: July 09, 2020, 02:00:00 AM »

It’s time to round up those enemies.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/54292/paper-mario-the-origami-king-switch-hands-on-preview

The Paper Mario series puts the Nintendo community in a whirlwind every four years or so, and that time has come once again. Paper Mario: The Origami King is about to drop on the Nintendo Switch and after spending some time with the game, I have some thoughts to share with you. Some parts feel fresh, others harken back to the older RPG titles, and some feel stagnant at this point in the franchise.

While Paper Mario was originally named for its emphasis on the storybook / pop-up book component, that was downplayed significantly beginning in 2012 with Paper Mario: Sticker Star. A slightly stronger, albeit admittedly still fairly barebones narrative was implemented with it’s follow-up on the Wii U, Paper Mario: Color Splash. And now, Paper Mario: The Origami King advertises itself as having a bigger emphasis on plot. And that it does...sort of. The Origami King takes several swings at creating beautiful, epic cinematics in its set up. Peach has invited Mario and Luigi to the Origami Festival in Toad Town. When they arrive, the town is deserted and they investigate at the castle. There, they find Peach has been transformed into an origami version of herself, and that Bowser and his minions are being turned into the Folded Soldiers, the minions of the nefarious King Olly. While there, Mario encounters King Olly’s sister, Olivia, and the two begin a quest to stop her brother from folding the world in his image. They travel around the kingdom to destroy magical streamers that are keeping Peach’s Castle imprisoned. This serves primarily as context for the adventure that is happening with Mario and Olivia. The two encounter countless Toads with witty dialogue and explore very unique locations like the holy site of a religious deity that Koopa Troopas worship, or a traditional Japanese culture theme park. While the overarching narrative falls into the background, the adventures so far with Mario and Olivia act as memorable experiences between the player and character. The Origami King is determined to make sure you are swept away in its charming world and characters, and its comical writing, while banking on you not thinking too hard about its narrative.

And of course while in this world, you encounter the Folded Soldiers, which are origami versions of Bowser’s minions. Let’s go ahead and rip the band-aid off now: I think this new combat system, so far, is “okay.” The Paper Mario series has become known for its constant changing of the combat system in its games with Origami King adding another shake-up. Every time you encounter an enemy, you begin a ”Ring-Battle.” Mario appears in the center of a dial that can best be described as the appearance of a dart board. Several enemies then hop on to the dial and Mario has a set number of time and moves to spin rings in the dial as well as slide slices of it to align enemies in a way that can maximize damage. Once aligned, you are given a set number of moves (this changes per battle depending on how many enemies there are) to attack the enemies around you. If you aligned your enemies right, you get an attack boost, ensuring your attacks will K.O. the enemies. Every one of these puzzle fights has a correct solution, so in theory you can align your enemies and then attack them without them ever interacting with you. So far, I have found that to be the case with the majority of my encounters. The puzzle difficulty varies, but so far I would say the majority of them have been laughably easy. Hours into the game, I’m still finding encounters that are: move the Goombas up one spot, and then rotate them over. There are definitely a few that have wracked my brain because the solution isn’t obvious, but those are few and far between.

Boss fights act slightly differently in that the boss is the one in the center of the dial, and Mario has to rotate and slide arrows along the dial to create a path to the center to deal damage. And so far, these have been rad. They feel much more handcrafted rather than the overworld enemies where the puzzle solutions can be so obvious it feels like you’re spamming to get through them. A lot of scripted fights pop up where you are exploring and suddenly a barrage of enemies appears and you have to throw down. Usually these seem to be where the puzzle difficulty shows itself evolving. But even if you don’t get the right solution, you can easily block and minimize damage taken, and then wail away. I have yet to feel like I am ever in danger in any of these fights, even if I got a puzzle wrong. Powerful weapons are plentiful and while they do break over time, much akin to the stickers and cards of the past Paper Mario games, they aren’t the focus at all. In short, the experience has been laughably easy. And unfortunately, the incentive for battling the optional overworld enemies is odd. You are flooded with coins depending on your performance in battle. Coins can be used to buy more time in the puzzle segment, pay for Toads to assist in the fight, buy items, weapons, and accessories at shops, or for the odd collectible or key item in the overall journey. Coins seem to be what The Origami King is trying to use as a form of progression. But the ludicrous amount you earn even from the scripted battles and boss fights, have left me feeling like the need for battling is obsolete. You can flee from many of the fights with the note that Mario fails fleeing half of the time, and the enemy will have disappeared as if you have already won. Sure you miss out on the coins but it makes it quicker to get back to exploration. Maybe this changes up later on in the game, but so far, I’m not encouraged.

Several of the Origami King’s levels are considerably larger in scope and allow Mario a lot of room for free exploration. Linear dungeons still happen and the hand of the narrative is there to string Mario along from place to place, but it is very possible to often get a key item prior to needing it in the adventure’s context. I found a bunch of mysterious orbs scattered around a mountain, and later found that they were needed to open a door. That free roaming feeling is very appreciated because there are an abundance of collectibles in the world that make exploring these large environments more rewarding. There are so many, that it has come to the point that I strongly believe this game is part optional collectathon. Toads are hidden all over the place, and finding them has various effects. Sometimes they unlock a shop, sometimes they go back to town to repopulate it, and most of the time they stand there and provide comical relief. Hidden Question Mark Blocks with various items and Treasure Chests containing little trophy models are abundant around the world, too. And lastly, hundreds of spots can be found where the paper of the world has been eaten away leaving a hole. Mario can repair these holes by throwing confetti on them. Collecting these items and fixing these holes unlocks content in the museum at Toad Town, which can be rewarding if you enjoy looking at that type of content. If you played Paper Mario: Color Splash, it’s an identical process, with just more to do.

My experience with The Origami King so far has been very charming with a lot of great comedy along the way. I question the purpose of the battle system given its very low difficulty, and while the collectibles haven’t been that substantial, they have added to the thrill of exploration. I will be curious to see where the narrative goes because aside from the strong opening, not much has happened aside from Olivia making occasional reminders why the duo is on the adventure.

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TalkBack / Pokémon Direct Reaction 6-24-20

« on: June 24, 2020, 11:30:51 AM »

This ain't my first Pokémon Presents. (It's my second)

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/54145/pokemon-direct-reaction-6-24-20

Week 2 of Pokémon news is here. Xander Morningstar is back to check things out. What'd you think of the announcement of the latest Pokémon game?