Messages

476

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 227: National Pastime

« on: January 20, 2011, 10:29:41 PM »

Haha! 

I just got around to listening to this week's podcast, and heard I got name-dropped.

My legend is growing, muahaha!

Though when I heard Greg call my Pac-Man CE DX score "silly, scary", I hope it's in a good way. I mean, earlier this week someone told me trying to beat my Marvel Pinball scores was starting to make him like the game less. That's not what I want at all! I want the people in my friends list to be motivated and keep challenging me.

In my defense, you don't have the context of my Friends leaderboards, on which I have some crazy competitive people. From my perspective, I'm really just a few points above the next person. I'm first only on the first two tables, the only ones I've truly spent any significant time on.

I actually don't think I have Johnny on my friends list, though. Add me (PSN name, Pandareus)! I don't play multiplayer games much (or at all), but I do enjoy competing on leaderboards obviously: Marvel Pinball, Pac-Man, Shatter...

477

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Retro games - just as fun as modern games

« on: January 17, 2011, 12:59:34 PM »

As far as I'm concerned, good design is timeless. Mario and Mega Man games are still fun to play today because they were well-designed. Sure, they were difficult, but if you died, it was your own fault. You had all the tools needed at your disposal to finish the game.
 
I guess you could say they didn't contain "BS difficulty".
 
Compare that to Rayman on PSOne, which I recently tried to play for the first time. Beautiful, beautiful game, much better looking than either Mario or Mega Man. And yet, if you were to tell me it is one of your favorite games, I'd have to assume you're saying that because of nostalgia. The game doesn't have, and never had, good design.
 
It's just so difficult for all the wrong reasons. Like, they designed the levels just to frustrate you, or made sure Rayman's abilities would be nearly useless in them. He's really slow, they make the enemies fast. It's a pain to attack while jumping, they put flying enemies in there. Tiny platforms? Let's put enemies so small your attacks can't touch them on there. You can't spam your attack since you gotta wait for your fist to come back to you? Let's make sure we have enemies that take a dozen hits to kill in there.

I can go back to Mario and Mega Man, no problem. Rayman, which is more recent and more beautiful? Eff that game.
 
As for the topic; are retro games as fun as modern games? If they were well designed? Absolutely. Sure, today's games are better-looking and everything, but there are a tons of games out there that I find badly designed, and no matter how beautiful they are, or how vast their worlds are, I think the classics compare favorably to them and are more worth sinking time into.
 
And this is not me putting Mario up against shovelware, either, but against well-regarded games such as Assassin's Creed 2 and Kingdom Hearts, though I don't know if I want to get into that.
 
If you want to, you can probably look for my Kingdom Hearts rant here on this forum.

478

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 224: Boxing Day

« on: January 09, 2011, 02:00:45 PM »

Heh, I disagree about the Spider-man table, I will probably never play it again. I think it's unbalanced. The ramps are super easy to hit, and when you do you're always starting a "fight" against a villain, and whenever you lose the ball during a fight, it doesn't count. The mode ends, but you don't lose your ball, so it's very easy to keep playing and playing until you're actually looking forward for the game to end.

The Wolverine table is my favorite, I think. It's challenging yet fair.

479

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 224: Boxing Day

« on: January 05, 2011, 04:34:04 PM »

Already said it: Pandareus!

480

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 224: Boxing Day

« on: January 05, 2011, 04:19:38 PM »

I've been catching up with a few podcasts in a row so I'm not totally sure, but I think it's in this one that Greg mentioned not having anyone on his PSN friend list to compete with in Pac-man, right?
 
Well, I wouldn't it if he added me (same as here, Pandareus on PSN)! I know he doesn't know me IRL (and I don't even post here that much), but I would be competing with a celebrity.
 
Hey, anyone playing Marvel Pinball on PSN and reading this can add me as well, though I warn you, only 30 people or so can look at my score for the Spider-Man table without crying...

481

TalkBack / Re: Fluidity Review

« on: December 21, 2010, 10:59:42 AM »

I'm not sure if it's possible to "blast through the game in 5 hours", is that really what you did, Neal? I went and faced the last gauntlet of enemies almost as soon as I could and had sunk 12 hours into the game already at that point.
 

At any time, at predetermined points or simply starting the level sometimes as ice or cloud?

Always at predetermined points, and you always start as a liquid.
 
I love this game, I really do. 76 out of 89 drops collected so far, and 48 out of 60 puzzle pieces. I still have a lot of "obvious" drops to pick up in unexplored parts of the last chapter, but there is at least one drop in each of the previous chapters that I have no idea how to get.
 
In chapter 1, that long corridor (above the bathtub) with a puzzle piece behind a breakable wall and a flower at the very end. I have no idea how to break through that wall. Any way I look at it, I can't get there in solid form. There must be another route somewhere, but hell if I can find it.

482

TalkBack / Re: Fluidity Impressions

« on: December 20, 2010, 10:55:38 AM »

^^ Er... you're entitled to your opinion, but I like having buttons for some of the powers later in the game.
 
Anyway, I actually wrote a review for this message board I post on the most. Check it out if you're interested (am I allowed to post this here?). I changed my tune about the game being less deserving than Braid. It's true that the puzzles never challenged me to think in new ways, but they still challenge me (at least some of them late in the game).

483

TalkBack / Re: Fluidity Impressions

« on: December 17, 2010, 03:10:54 PM »

I've just started the last chapter, got all of the skills, 54 drops collected.
 
I have to second the strong recommendation. I don't know if I can bring myself to rate it 10/10 as Braid kind of warped my expectations for puzzle platformers: if it doesn't make me think in new ways, if the puzzles aren't something I've never done in a video game, then it doesn't reach Braid's level.
 
But even if the puzzles are not super challenging, I can't help but be impressed by the sheer diversity. You rarely do the same thing twice (and there are 80 drops to find, not to mention hidden puzzle pieces!). And they all have several steps for completing them, and they keep you engaged the whole time: you're always jumping and activating switches and changing states. They just flow (oh god, I can't think of another word, pun truly unintended I swear guys) really well.
 
And you know, taken as a platformer, it's probably superior to Braid, even though you're water instead of a little dude who jumps on enemies.

484

TalkBack / Re: A Cowboy Walks into a Tent

« on: December 17, 2010, 02:55:58 PM »

I keep hearing Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is a much, much better game. It might even be a good game! Any truth to that?
 
 
And indeed, Wild Guns should be in every shooter fan's library.

485

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 32: Horribly Wrong

« on: December 07, 2010, 04:52:50 PM »

So intense! How can you be bored by it!? The harsh time limit and the controls that take some getting used to ensure that I'm in a constant state of panic while playing, haha.
 
As for the new focus of your podcast, if this helps: I started tuning in because of the game clubs you were doing.

486

TalkBack / Re: Fluidity Impressions

« on: December 07, 2010, 03:19:48 PM »

I downloaded the full game last night, and after about an hour had picked up 7 Rainbow Drops, 5 puzzle pieces, and one new ability (the water bomb) out of about a dozen abilities? Seems like the game is meatier and longer than your average Wiiware games. Other than the Bit.Trip games for which I've logged about 15 hours each, the average Wiiware game is less than 4 hours long. Won't be the case here.

487

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 32: Horribly Wrong

« on: December 07, 2010, 03:06:12 PM »

I have to say, when so much of the podcast is just whining about the Wiiware service, it's kind of a drag to listen to. I understand that most weeks there's nothing good that's come out, but honestly it would be better not to even allude to Wiiware than the way you deal with it this episode.
 
And it's less excusable this week than usual given the free demos you could have played. Then you would actually have known what the games were about and been able to talk about them. Thruspace is actually pretty cool.

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TalkBack / Re: RFN: Doin' It Live... for the Kids!

« on: December 02, 2010, 04:01:17 PM »

Craig is gonna be on and yet I saw no one posted about the telethon on IGN's Wii Lobby. Well, that's been corrected. 

489

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 220: Not That Kind of Doctor

« on: November 24, 2010, 12:52:30 PM »

Listening to the podcast right now, good stuff as usual.
 
I'd just like to warn Johnny about the Cho Aniki on PSN: I bought it for the same reasons you gave. I downloaded the VC one and didn't find it sufficiently wacky, and thought the one on  PSN with its digitized graphics would be more insane and entertaining, but it's really not. Maybe I've built up a tolerance for Japanese craziness over the years, but despite the bodybuilders coming out of the metal codpiece of bigger bodybuilders and all that stuff... it's not that hilarious.
 
Just watch a playthrough on Youtube or something, and save yourself $6.

490

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #15: The World Ends With You (DS) Discussion

« on: November 21, 2010, 11:25:49 AM »

Did anyone else think of FF13 in relation to the game mechanics being rolled out so slowly? I'm on Day 7 and still have a couple of blank slots on the sub-menu.

No, not really. TWEWY throws the game mechanics at you much more rapidly.

If you've got a couple of blank menu slots at this point, you probably simply missed something at one of the shops. You can buy a multiplayer game at one of them, if I'm not mistaken.

491

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #15: The World Ends With You (DS) Discussion

« on: November 19, 2010, 11:14:54 PM »

I'm about to enter day 7 (of week 1, I suppose. Damn spoilers!). I'm really enjoying the game a lot more, since around day 3. Something clicked, and I finally got the hang of the combat.

I'm digging just how customizable the difficulty is, the whole risk/reward aspect of it. Not only can you choose a difficulty level, and lower your characters' levels for a chance to get more pins after a battle, but recently I got the ability to "chain up" battles, once again increasing the risks and the potential rewards. I had heard about some of these aspects of the battle system before I bought the game, and I had my doubts, but it works beautifully.

Also, just as I was about to complain about having to rewatch long dialogue scenes every time you die at an important battle, the game goes ahead and allows me to restart any battle I lose on the spot, and even lower the difficulty level. I'm not sure why it wasn't introduced from the very start, but it's early in the game and I'm thankful for it.

492

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 219: The Happiest Podcast on Earth

« on: November 15, 2010, 02:38:35 PM »

Just some input on the shape of console sales in Japan.

You mentioned Wii is at 11 and PS3 is at 5ish. Whereas last gen PS2 is 22 and GCN 4ish. So PS3 is a "better" 2nd place than cube was. However, Wii is way behind ps2 as a first place.

Don't forget that PS2 has been out on Japan for almost 11 years now (March 2000) while Wii has been out for about 4 (December 2006), if Nintendo keeps Wii around for as long as the PS2 then I have no doubt it can catch up and even surpass it.

I don't know if any of you guys listen to Warning A Huge Podcast, it's a podcast by Nick Rox and other Gamefan alumni about Japanese gaming. It gets really depressing when they read the release lists for Japan: 5 week gaps between Wii title releases are not uncommon.
 
And I don't mean "5 week gap between worthwhile releases" here, I mean 5 weeks without any new Wii games, usually shovelware.
 
The Wii is already dead in the water over there. It has absolutely no chance of having the PS2's longevity.
 

Here is a disturbing comment from the Sonic Colors review on Destructoid:

The thing to keep in mind when reading the comments to a Jim Sterling article is that 90% of the posts there are made to troll him.
 
If the guy took shots at Kirby and Enslaved, it wasn't at random: his comment was tailored specifically because Sterling gave those games high scores.
 
In short: you're better off not reading comments on Destructoid.

493

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #15: The World Ends With You (DS) Discussion

« on: November 14, 2010, 08:41:44 PM »

I'm not sure why I skipped this game originally. I think it came out at a time when I thought I was "over" JRPGs. But playing through Guadia Quest (which I actually loved) in Retro Game Challenge inspired me to try Dragon Quest V, and so on. Now I'm more into the genre than I've ever been since Chrono Trigger.

TWEWY is very NOT like Dragon Quest, though, is it? I can't say the game has the same charm at all, and it's not very friendly to the player at the beginning either. The multiple 12 page tutorials for each section of the menu or whenever a new gameplay element is introduced were pretty daunting at first, but now I think I'm past most of them, and the game isn't that complex, really. There's just a lot of basic concepts you have to grasp that are different from the way RPGs usually work.


I had a LOT of trouble with the fighting system initially, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now, or at least I'm not constantly dying. It took me a surprisingly long time to realize how important it is to run away from some fights, too. Probably because so many JRPGs have conditioned me to think that the Run command when you're on the brink of death will screw you over way more often than it will help you.

494

TalkBack / Re: Fluidity Launching as Hydroventure in Europe

« on: November 11, 2010, 12:45:06 PM »

I'm always curious why certain game titles are changed for parts of the world. What is wrong with the title of Fluidity? Does "Hydroventure" appeal more to the population of Europe? Or is it something more simple, like "Fluidity" already copyrighted in a country of Europe?

I'm guessing legal reasons are often behind these name changes, for instance maybe the name "Fluidity" has been copyrighted by someone else over there.

495

TalkBack / Re: Disney Epic Mickey Impressions

« on: November 08, 2010, 12:41:26 PM »

Having multiple ways to tackle obstacles is a pretty novel thing in a platformer...

496

TalkBack / Re: The Force Is Not With You

« on: October 21, 2010, 03:48:14 PM »

Super Star Wars is indeed not too much fun, but I hope you give the other games in the series a shot at some point. I find it hard to believe you wouldn't give at least Return of the Jedi a recommendation.

497

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Kirby's Epic Yarn

« on: October 20, 2010, 11:37:28 AM »

I don't have the game yet, but I've got a question for those who played Wario Land Shake It: how does it compare?
 
The reviews I've read sound like they could apply to Wario Land. Yet reviewers in general are taking to Epic Yarn in a way they certainly did not for WL. Is Epic Yarn's design somehow more solid and improved? Or are the reviewers so impressed with the visuals and cuteness that they're more willing to have an honest go at the game?
 
It's not as if WL looked bad (though it's hard to make the case that it's cute).
 
It just seems to me that in WL's case, reviewers were more preoccupied with pushing the agenda that games shouldn't be in the 4:3 format anymore than actually reviewing the game.

498

TalkBack / Re: Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City Review

« on: October 20, 2010, 12:27:52 AM »

Waiting for a sale on an Atlus game usually means having to get it on Ebay for twice the price.

I'm kind of interested in this. Jeremy Parish on 1up has been blogging about it regularly and his enthusiasm is infectious. I don't think I've ever played a hardcore dungeon crawler before.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 214: Something-a-Trois

« on: October 12, 2010, 01:01:20 PM »

Haha, I wasn't trying to sell anyone on the game, but cool!
 
The battle system is just really interesting. Each turn, you get one Action Point. Choosing the command Fight will use up one point, but casting most spells will consume two.
 
UNLESS your character's job is White Mage, then casting Cure will only consumer one point. That's in addition to other bonuses that come with that class, such as being able to cast a white magic spell for the entire party, etc.
 
It's very simple, yet pretty cool.
 
 

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 214: Something-a-Trois

« on: October 12, 2010, 10:39:00 AM »

I just listened to the podcast and... I really hope James doesn't put too much emphasis on 4 Heroes of Light being super hard and "you'll die over and over at first" in his review.
 
Johnny's question was very much relevant: you must have been playing it wrong, James. I'm not as far into the game as you are, but I did complete a few dungeons, and I've yet to have had my party wiped out.
 
My only theory as to what you did wrong would be that you didn't make full use of your spells at first. Limited SP/MP/whatev in JRPGs have conditioned us to rely on magic only as a last resort, but in this game you are encouraged to use it at all times, since your AP replenish automatically, and are therefore an infinite resource.
 
You get the Cure spell very early in the game, so there's little excuse to not have near-full HP at the end of every battle.
 
The "strategy" that hasn't failed me once so far is to thin out the enemies until there's one left, preferably low on health, and then use Boost and Cure before landing the final blow, so as to start the next battle fully prepared.
 
I haven't had to grind yet. Game's really not that hard. And any JRPG that encourages you to use the magic system as much as possible instead of having you make your dark mage attack with his staff for 3 points of damage in most battles, saving your MP for an eventual boss, should be praised for it.