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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog
« Last post by broodwars on Today at 06:52:49 PM »On the subject of Unfinished Business, let me take care of one of mine here that's been a long time coming but couldn't make time for it during the event:
Yes, I've finally platinumed Puppeteer on my PS3. I remembered really enjoying this game back in the day, and I really enjoy it now. IMO, Puppeteer is one of the best Sony 1st party games on the PS3, and that's saying something since that's when Sony still gave a damn about their 1st party games. It was also the last great Sony Japan Studios game before their dissolution, as their next major projects were the Knack games and assisting on other team's projects.
Puppeteer is an extremely simple 2D platformer, and a pretty easy one as well if you don't care about unlocking the game's secrets. At its heart, it's extremely similar to a modern Kirby game: your puppet Kutaro loses a head every time he gets hit and each head can perform a special action at some point in each of the game's 7 acts (3 stages each). Sure, if you just want to get to the end of the stages you won't find much difficulty, but unlocking bonus stages and special routes requires careful management of what heads you have equipped, which heads you're picking up; and making sure you're not losing any to enemies and stage hazards.
The game is presented as a fantasy stage play performed by a cast of mediocre actors and one hell of an effects team, with backdrops; props; stage lights; and an ever-present audience cheering on the proceedings. In some ways, Princess Peach Showtime felt like it captured some of the charm of this game, but IMO it didn't commit to the "bit" as thoroughly as Puppeteer does. Stephen Greif really ties the experience together as the omniscient narrator. Characters in the game will often turn to him, Winnie-the-Pooh-esque, to criticize how he's characterizing them or telling the story. Hell, there are times in the game where the narrator just completely fanboys out about certain topics like his love of giant robots or random trivia when you activate a bonus stage with a completely off-the-wall setup.
The game's main gimmick are the magical scissors Calibrus, which allow you to snip; slide; and tear your way across the backdrop like a cardboard-infused Yoshi game to close gaps and take giant bosses literally apart at the seams. If you can conceivably cut it, you can use it as a temporary platform, and the game uses that to great and surprisingly varied effect. It's pretty impressive how much variety Japan Studios stuffed into the game. One minute, you might be doing a top-down race against 2 boss creatures, only for you to pull a "gun" head in a no-guns zone; get arrested and sent to jail; and then do a timed stealth mini-game where you break out of jail to return to the race as the narrator reads off your crimes like a police dispatcher. And all to return to what's now become forced scrolling horse race where you take turns boarding and sabotaging a train.
That's all 1 level, btw. The boss fights are also surprisingly varied from each other, with each one taking advantage of different mechanics and gimmicks. Hell, 13 years later the Dragon General boss fight still feels genuinely tense and exciting.
I've got to say, this game much have looked amazing back in the day on a 3D TV, as one of the few Sony games built for it. Characters and objects are constantly being shot at or swooping by the camera in exaggerated fashion, not to mention that the levels are built as "sets" stacked back-to-front, with the sets shuffling around and rebuilding themselves as you trigger transition points. Boss fights will frequently have Kutaro snipping through them into the screen or out of it.
If there's one major knock I have against this game, it's that the humor is very much of its time. For every genuinely funny moment, you'll have something intentionally cringe that just gets drawn out in the hopes that beating the joke into the ground will make it funny. It reminds me at times of vintage Doug Walker humor, especially with its love of self-aware humor.
It's a real shame that this PS3 exclusive came out only a few months before the PS4 launched, so it was completely buried. Sony does still like to reference that this game existed from time to time, as expected mostly in the Astro Bot games, but it's never been ported or remastered on any other platform. You can play it on PS+ streaming if you have the Premium subscription for it, and I can see a game like this that doesn't really on split-second timing probably working OK that way...but it's a real shame that Sony never released this game on other platforms considering the trash they DID port.
If you've never played Puppeteer and you still own a PS3, I highly recommend it. The game is a love letter to the theater; imagination; and artistry. I mean, c'mon...the game features a lengthy homage to the Thunderbirds TV series, followed by a battle against a giant crab mecha that ends with a character remarking how they defeated a "Giant Enemy Crab". How could I not love it?
Original trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk-a7We07Bk
Yes, I've finally platinumed Puppeteer on my PS3. I remembered really enjoying this game back in the day, and I really enjoy it now. IMO, Puppeteer is one of the best Sony 1st party games on the PS3, and that's saying something since that's when Sony still gave a damn about their 1st party games. It was also the last great Sony Japan Studios game before their dissolution, as their next major projects were the Knack games and assisting on other team's projects.
Puppeteer is an extremely simple 2D platformer, and a pretty easy one as well if you don't care about unlocking the game's secrets. At its heart, it's extremely similar to a modern Kirby game: your puppet Kutaro loses a head every time he gets hit and each head can perform a special action at some point in each of the game's 7 acts (3 stages each). Sure, if you just want to get to the end of the stages you won't find much difficulty, but unlocking bonus stages and special routes requires careful management of what heads you have equipped, which heads you're picking up; and making sure you're not losing any to enemies and stage hazards.
The game is presented as a fantasy stage play performed by a cast of mediocre actors and one hell of an effects team, with backdrops; props; stage lights; and an ever-present audience cheering on the proceedings. In some ways, Princess Peach Showtime felt like it captured some of the charm of this game, but IMO it didn't commit to the "bit" as thoroughly as Puppeteer does. Stephen Greif really ties the experience together as the omniscient narrator. Characters in the game will often turn to him, Winnie-the-Pooh-esque, to criticize how he's characterizing them or telling the story. Hell, there are times in the game where the narrator just completely fanboys out about certain topics like his love of giant robots or random trivia when you activate a bonus stage with a completely off-the-wall setup.
The game's main gimmick are the magical scissors Calibrus, which allow you to snip; slide; and tear your way across the backdrop like a cardboard-infused Yoshi game to close gaps and take giant bosses literally apart at the seams. If you can conceivably cut it, you can use it as a temporary platform, and the game uses that to great and surprisingly varied effect. It's pretty impressive how much variety Japan Studios stuffed into the game. One minute, you might be doing a top-down race against 2 boss creatures, only for you to pull a "gun" head in a no-guns zone; get arrested and sent to jail; and then do a timed stealth mini-game where you break out of jail to return to the race as the narrator reads off your crimes like a police dispatcher. And all to return to what's now become forced scrolling horse race where you take turns boarding and sabotaging a train.
That's all 1 level, btw. The boss fights are also surprisingly varied from each other, with each one taking advantage of different mechanics and gimmicks. Hell, 13 years later the Dragon General boss fight still feels genuinely tense and exciting.
I've got to say, this game much have looked amazing back in the day on a 3D TV, as one of the few Sony games built for it. Characters and objects are constantly being shot at or swooping by the camera in exaggerated fashion, not to mention that the levels are built as "sets" stacked back-to-front, with the sets shuffling around and rebuilding themselves as you trigger transition points. Boss fights will frequently have Kutaro snipping through them into the screen or out of it.
If there's one major knock I have against this game, it's that the humor is very much of its time. For every genuinely funny moment, you'll have something intentionally cringe that just gets drawn out in the hopes that beating the joke into the ground will make it funny. It reminds me at times of vintage Doug Walker humor, especially with its love of self-aware humor.
It's a real shame that this PS3 exclusive came out only a few months before the PS4 launched, so it was completely buried. Sony does still like to reference that this game existed from time to time, as expected mostly in the Astro Bot games, but it's never been ported or remastered on any other platform. You can play it on PS+ streaming if you have the Premium subscription for it, and I can see a game like this that doesn't really on split-second timing probably working OK that way...but it's a real shame that Sony never released this game on other platforms considering the trash they DID port.
If you've never played Puppeteer and you still own a PS3, I highly recommend it. The game is a love letter to the theater; imagination; and artistry. I mean, c'mon...the game features a lengthy homage to the Thunderbirds TV series, followed by a battle against a giant crab mecha that ends with a character remarking how they defeated a "Giant Enemy Crab". How could I not love it?
Original trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk-a7We07Bk
