I decided randomly a few weeks ago that I wanted to play a Castlevania game, and not one that I've beaten a thousand times (such as Dawn of Sorrow). So I picked Portrait of Ruin, a game that I didn't get very far in when I first got it and haven't played since probably 2006.
Coming right off Dawn of Sorrow (still my favorite in the series), PoR is somewhat a disappointment. There's no Soul System, so killing enemies only nets you experience and the occasional dropped item like usual, rather than thousands of different powers you can use. You do have two characters to switch between, Jonathan and Charlotte. They each play a little bit differently, as their attacks are of different types - Jonathan's attacks are what I'll call "physical" and Charlotte's are what I'll call "magical" (the game might have terms for these, but I never saw what they were). Most enemies will take damage from both kinds of attacks, but some enemies will take significantly reduced damage from a particular type (bosses are often guilty of this - they seem to be built around the developers wanting to force the player to beat them with one of the two characters in particular). What I find interesting about this system is how it was iterated upon in the sequel a few years later in Order of Ecclesia, where there are multiple kinds of weapons and specific enemy types are weak to specific types of weapons (swords, whips, axes, etc.). I just find it kind of neat how you can draw a clear line of evolution from this game to that one, despite being awfully different in many respects.
As different as they are, though, I must say OoE is pretty much the spiritual sequel to PoR. Though they do not star the same characters, I think OoE improves upon PoR's ideas in every way. The levels are split up into different maps in both games - PoR has levels divided into "paintings" that are basically just warp points, whereas OoE is one continuous world divided into discrete levels (for example, you can travel from the town to the forest to the lighthouse in OoE, where in PoR, you'd have to hop into different paintings for each of these). The battle system has similar ideas, because in PoR, you have two different characters and can "call" the other person in to help you fight (the ally AI is pretty crappy, but it IS an option) or can switch between the two on the fly. OoE has only one playable character, but she can switch between three different equipment sets on the fly, which changes which weapons she has equipped so it's similar to PoR ally-swapping. There are weird little missions you can get in both games, too - in PoR, they come from "Wind," and you can only take on five at a time and you cannot even SEE any other ones until you start completing them, whereas in OoE you get them from the villagers you save in the individual levels, and you can pick and choose which ones you want to do at any time. The nice part about OoE is that the missions make sense - one mission you get tasks you with finding the cat of one of the little kids in town. The missions in PoR are random and arbitrary most of the time. One of them is creepy - "Wind," a dead ghost, asks Charlotte to come back wearing three maid items to complete the mission. Gross.
Anyway, Portrait of Ruin plays pretty well for most of the game and the levels are fun, right up until the last third of the game. You get to a point where you have to go through "dark" versions of levels you've already beaten with slightly altered maps and harder enemies. For a Castlevania game, this is a terrible idea. You already travel through these levels enough as it is looking for stuff and the way to go and all that, and you force me to do it again?! With less save points? Ugh. One of them in particular, the dark counterpart to the Nation of Fools, is like torture. It's difficult to figure out where you're allowed to even go, much less figure out where you should go. Oh and there's also yellow Medusa Heads around. Not fun. Also boring!
I do really enjoy the bonus mode you get for beating the game, though. You can play as Richter Belmont and Maria through the entire game, without any story scenes or missions or anything like that. They level up just like Jonathan and Charlotte, but they don't get new equipment or anything like that - Richter always has the Vampire Hunter whip and the normal assortment of Castlevania subweapons, and Maria has her awesome bird attack that shoots out at an upward arc really fast and does tons of damage quickly, assuming the enemy takes decent damage from magic attacks. Richter and Maria are a blast to play as and frankly would be a great bonus mode in any Castlevania, honestly.
So Portrait of Ruin is the worst DS Castlevania, but it is still absolutely worth playing. I had a blast playing through it and if it has been a while since you've played a decent Castlevania, pick it up and play through it.
(Click here to read my Order of Ecclesia post from earlier this year. It's pretty good!)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
DQM: Joker 2 - Complete
So I beat Joker 2 today, or at least the first part. I beat the final boss, which then allowed my airship to travel again, and I flew to the tournament we were originally going to anyway and won. I like how they did it, too - since I had just played the game for 25 hours, the game skipped all the low level fights and took me right to the championship bout - which was relatively easy (it wouldn't have been if I didn't have a monster with Armor Seco Rain, which completely heals everyone in 2 turns).
Disappointed you don't get to participate in an actual tournament like in the first game? Don't be! After the credits roll, your character and the crew of the ship fly back to the island they crashed on, where the moles are holding the official ORIGINAL Scouting Championship. It also unlocks some more monsters around the island, and it also lets you SCOUT THE GIANT MONSTERS THAT HAVE BEEN HOUNDING YOU THE WHOLE GAME.
They're very difficult to scout, though. I've only scouted the very first one so far (the giant worm, who takes up three party spots so you can only use him at any given time). I'm raising his levels right now, to fully unlock his unique abilities. I'm not quite sure what will happen if I fuse him - will I be able to scout another one? - but his stats are already kind of low compared to my highest leveled monsters (I have an A+1, the giant worm is only a D). So I'll probably fuse him eventually.
I think the biggest compliment I can give this game is that I still want to play it, even after 25 hours of monster grinding. I probably won't go nuts and get every monster or even beat the scouting challenge (lots of games are coming out for the next few months, you see) but I sure would like to catch all those giants. When I beat Pokemon White earlier this year, I was relieved to just finally be done. I had very little desire to keep exploring the world and raising monsters. Like I said in my last post, I think it comes down to exploring the world... Actually seeing how big these monsters actually are, and avoiding getting slaughtered really makes the world seem more organic and interesting. (By the way, like in all Dragon Quests and Pokemon, when you lose a battle, you get sent back to the ship minus half your gold. There's a bank on the ship that lets you mitigate losses by depositing gold before you venture out).
So, yeah, I want there to be more Joker 2... Square Enix recently announced a 3DS remake of the GB Monsters game (which I actually own, but haven't played), so I'll probably just wait for that (and Rocket Slime 3DS!).
This has also made me want to go back and actually finish Dragon Quest V or IX, too. They're the only two DS Dragon Quest games I haven't beaten (besides the original Joker, but screw it, Joker 2 is better in every way so it doesn't count).
Anyway, Joker 2 is amazing, and is highly recommended to anyone who likes games like Pokemon - even if you aren't necessarily a Dragon Quest fan.
This means you, Kyle.
Disappointed you don't get to participate in an actual tournament like in the first game? Don't be! After the credits roll, your character and the crew of the ship fly back to the island they crashed on, where the moles are holding the official ORIGINAL Scouting Championship. It also unlocks some more monsters around the island, and it also lets you SCOUT THE GIANT MONSTERS THAT HAVE BEEN HOUNDING YOU THE WHOLE GAME.
They're very difficult to scout, though. I've only scouted the very first one so far (the giant worm, who takes up three party spots so you can only use him at any given time). I'm raising his levels right now, to fully unlock his unique abilities. I'm not quite sure what will happen if I fuse him - will I be able to scout another one? - but his stats are already kind of low compared to my highest leveled monsters (I have an A+1, the giant worm is only a D). So I'll probably fuse him eventually.
I think the biggest compliment I can give this game is that I still want to play it, even after 25 hours of monster grinding. I probably won't go nuts and get every monster or even beat the scouting challenge (lots of games are coming out for the next few months, you see) but I sure would like to catch all those giants. When I beat Pokemon White earlier this year, I was relieved to just finally be done. I had very little desire to keep exploring the world and raising monsters. Like I said in my last post, I think it comes down to exploring the world... Actually seeing how big these monsters actually are, and avoiding getting slaughtered really makes the world seem more organic and interesting. (By the way, like in all Dragon Quests and Pokemon, when you lose a battle, you get sent back to the ship minus half your gold. There's a bank on the ship that lets you mitigate losses by depositing gold before you venture out).
So, yeah, I want there to be more Joker 2... Square Enix recently announced a 3DS remake of the GB Monsters game (which I actually own, but haven't played), so I'll probably just wait for that (and Rocket Slime 3DS!).
This has also made me want to go back and actually finish Dragon Quest V or IX, too. They're the only two DS Dragon Quest games I haven't beaten (besides the original Joker, but screw it, Joker 2 is better in every way so it doesn't count).
Anyway, Joker 2 is amazing, and is highly recommended to anyone who likes games like Pokemon - even if you aren't necessarily a Dragon Quest fan.
This means you, Kyle.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 is Great
So I bought Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 because I played a few hours of the first one, and was somewhat impressed. I say somewhat because the first game has some flaws in its presentation, which I'll get to at the end of this post.
So, the DQM:J series is similar to Pokemon, in that you go around a world and collect and train monsters to beat some competition. The difference between this series and Pokemon, though, is that you can "synthesize" monsters together to get a new one, and carry over powers and some stats to the new guy.
This, of course, reminds me of the Shin Megami Tensei series, wherein you fuse demons together to carry over powers and stats to the new ones. The mechanics are very similar, actually, with only a few differences. First, to "synthesize" monsters in the DQM:J series, both monsters must be at least level 10. This is annoying early on, when raising your guys to level 10 takes forever, but eventually you can do that in a few minutes even without the help of a metal slime.
What the DQM:J series needs to take from SMT, though, is the idea of a "compendium." In SMT, this allows you to repurchase old demons, in the interest of using them to fuse new ones or just to get them back if you don't like the demon you got as a result of a borked fuse. DQM:J doesn't have anything like this; once you fuse a monster, it's gone forever. The only way to get another guy is to raise more monsters, go all the way through the evolution trees, and get the new guy, or just catch a (slightly worse) one in the wild. Sure, leveling up to level 10 is easy when you have access to the later areas, and it's nice that three backup monsters (I.E. monsters not currently in your active party, but still with you) gain experience too. I just wish I could cut out the middleman and get back to raising some awesome monsters.
The DQM:J series does have a leg up on SMT, though. Each monster has a family tree going back a few generations, so you can see which monster came from what (for example, I currently have a tyrannosaurus rex with a giant hammer, and he is the result of several generations of synthesizing, and actually descends from my starting monster). Also, you can choose which sets of powers you want to carry over to the new monster, along with half the ability points (which work exactly like in Dragon Quest VIII). Half the points may sound bad, but keep in mind any freshly synthesized monster starts out at level 1, so you actually have the opportunity to earn way more ability points this way.
DQM:J also keeps track of monsters with a handy rating system, which serves to tell you how good a monster is. The rating system starts at F, and goes up through E, D, C, B, A, S, and X. I'm twelve hours in, and my best monster (the aforementioned t-rex) is a B+4 - also the highest rating I've seen. The + denotes a boosted rating a monster gets from being synthesized, so I'd imagine the best rating you could get would be X+4 or something like that. Anyway, ratings are handy when deciding how to fuse, because you don't want to synthesize a good monster into a lower level crappy one (the game indicates the results of synthesis before you commit to it, to cut down on crappy combinations).
So I really like the structure and system of the DQM:J series. What I didn't like about the first one was how the game played out. You start out as this ugly kid (with a wallet chain! ugh) on some random thief's island, and you set out to win the Monster Scout Challenge. To leave your home island, and to get anywhere in the game at all, you ride a waverunner.
In Dragon Quest.
You don't control it, either. They basically just serve as warp points, because guess what? You can't just hop on a waverunner and pick which island you want to go to. Oh, no. Each waverunner, spread around all the islands, goes to a DIFFERENT ISLAND. So you have to walk across an entire island to get to a different waverunner, which for no apparent reason can only go in a straight line to that specific island it's pointing at.
This gets tedious very quickly.
The world isn't very interesting, either. Now, maybe I didn't play far enough into it (about five hours), but generic and boring best describe pretty much every location I saw in that game.
Which are all reasons why I like Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2. First of all, the entire world is contiguous - you can walk from one place to another. Don't feel like walking all the way from the starting point to the farthest area? Why, pick it from a map menu and you're good to go! No stupid waverunners to deal with here.
Also, the world seems much more alive. There are monsters roaming around just like in the first game, but this time there are some giant monsters that will scare away all the other monsters when they show up. You can engage these monsters if you want, but it's best not to until you're leveled up a bit and probably with some better monsters, so you should just avoid them. I love them, though, because they make the world seem so much more vibrant.
It also helps that the levels are better designed, too, and the map is much easier to read. I haven't gotten lost in the game yet, and have actually enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny to find hidden treasure. Exploring is made much more enjoyable with good music, too (although they need more than one battle theme - I'm a bit sick of that now).
I will end this post with this: I am having more fun playing Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 than I did earlier this year with Pokemon White.
Startling, isn't it?
So, the DQM:J series is similar to Pokemon, in that you go around a world and collect and train monsters to beat some competition. The difference between this series and Pokemon, though, is that you can "synthesize" monsters together to get a new one, and carry over powers and some stats to the new guy.
This, of course, reminds me of the Shin Megami Tensei series, wherein you fuse demons together to carry over powers and stats to the new ones. The mechanics are very similar, actually, with only a few differences. First, to "synthesize" monsters in the DQM:J series, both monsters must be at least level 10. This is annoying early on, when raising your guys to level 10 takes forever, but eventually you can do that in a few minutes even without the help of a metal slime.
What the DQM:J series needs to take from SMT, though, is the idea of a "compendium." In SMT, this allows you to repurchase old demons, in the interest of using them to fuse new ones or just to get them back if you don't like the demon you got as a result of a borked fuse. DQM:J doesn't have anything like this; once you fuse a monster, it's gone forever. The only way to get another guy is to raise more monsters, go all the way through the evolution trees, and get the new guy, or just catch a (slightly worse) one in the wild. Sure, leveling up to level 10 is easy when you have access to the later areas, and it's nice that three backup monsters (I.E. monsters not currently in your active party, but still with you) gain experience too. I just wish I could cut out the middleman and get back to raising some awesome monsters.
The DQM:J series does have a leg up on SMT, though. Each monster has a family tree going back a few generations, so you can see which monster came from what (for example, I currently have a tyrannosaurus rex with a giant hammer, and he is the result of several generations of synthesizing, and actually descends from my starting monster). Also, you can choose which sets of powers you want to carry over to the new monster, along with half the ability points (which work exactly like in Dragon Quest VIII). Half the points may sound bad, but keep in mind any freshly synthesized monster starts out at level 1, so you actually have the opportunity to earn way more ability points this way.
DQM:J also keeps track of monsters with a handy rating system, which serves to tell you how good a monster is. The rating system starts at F, and goes up through E, D, C, B, A, S, and X. I'm twelve hours in, and my best monster (the aforementioned t-rex) is a B+4 - also the highest rating I've seen. The + denotes a boosted rating a monster gets from being synthesized, so I'd imagine the best rating you could get would be X+4 or something like that. Anyway, ratings are handy when deciding how to fuse, because you don't want to synthesize a good monster into a lower level crappy one (the game indicates the results of synthesis before you commit to it, to cut down on crappy combinations).
So I really like the structure and system of the DQM:J series. What I didn't like about the first one was how the game played out. You start out as this ugly kid (with a wallet chain! ugh) on some random thief's island, and you set out to win the Monster Scout Challenge. To leave your home island, and to get anywhere in the game at all, you ride a waverunner.
In Dragon Quest.
You don't control it, either. They basically just serve as warp points, because guess what? You can't just hop on a waverunner and pick which island you want to go to. Oh, no. Each waverunner, spread around all the islands, goes to a DIFFERENT ISLAND. So you have to walk across an entire island to get to a different waverunner, which for no apparent reason can only go in a straight line to that specific island it's pointing at.
This gets tedious very quickly.
The world isn't very interesting, either. Now, maybe I didn't play far enough into it (about five hours), but generic and boring best describe pretty much every location I saw in that game.
Which are all reasons why I like Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2. First of all, the entire world is contiguous - you can walk from one place to another. Don't feel like walking all the way from the starting point to the farthest area? Why, pick it from a map menu and you're good to go! No stupid waverunners to deal with here.
Also, the world seems much more alive. There are monsters roaming around just like in the first game, but this time there are some giant monsters that will scare away all the other monsters when they show up. You can engage these monsters if you want, but it's best not to until you're leveled up a bit and probably with some better monsters, so you should just avoid them. I love them, though, because they make the world seem so much more vibrant.
It also helps that the levels are better designed, too, and the map is much easier to read. I haven't gotten lost in the game yet, and have actually enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny to find hidden treasure. Exploring is made much more enjoyable with good music, too (although they need more than one battle theme - I'm a bit sick of that now).
I will end this post with this: I am having more fun playing Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 than I did earlier this year with Pokemon White.
Startling, isn't it?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Everyone's Favorite Tech Demo Series - Pilotwings: Resort
So I was able to take advantage of a neat K-Mart deal where all their 3DS games were $30, and I picked up Pilotwings: Resort using some leftover Paypal funds I had.
Now I loved Pilotwings 64. I spent a ton of time with that game, just exploring the levels and seeing all the neat little things the designers hid in there (like shooting a missle at Mario's nose to change him into Wario in the Little America stage). I also really enjoyed trying to master the controls to get medals on all the missions. My favorite part of Pilotwings 64 is probably the music, surprisingly enough. Tracks like this (read the comments for that video, the writer of that particular song comments on it!) and this are some of the most relaxing videogame tracks I've ever heard.
The missions were almost an afterthought, really. I mean I enjoyed them, but didn't play them too much. I spent most of my time exploring Little States. Even though it wasn't exactly right in every place (Michigan is a sort-of hand-like stump without the upper peninsula, for example), it seemed enormous and filled with personality and hidden stuff.
...Which is why Pilotwings Resort is such a letdown in retrospect. On its own merits, its an entertaining game, and I certainly had fun with it and will likely revisit it every once in a while, but Pilotwings 64 eclipses it in almost every way. The music is merely okay. It sounds a lot like a lame rip-off of Pilotwings 64, to be honest. The missions are about what you expect - there were no missions where you use the "missile" function of the plane to shoot anything besides targets or balloons, for example. I mean it's not like I'd expect them to put anything in there that you'd have to shoot down, but come on - no Mario/Wario transformation, or anything like that? LAME.
Another problem I have is how Free Play mode is timed. Why do they time a mode that is CALLED "Free Play?" Because there isn't much to explore, really. The entire game takes place on one island (okay, one and a half). Wuhu Island is fairly small, and maybe I would appreciate it more had I played much of Wii Sports Resort, but I shouldn't have to play some other game (that doesn't even remotely play like Pilotwings!) to enjoy the setting here.
I mean it's okay. Sure, I enjoy using the Turbo Jet to shoot down the volcano and come out the side entrance, but that's only fun for a minute or two before you get bored. I enjoyed finding the balloons hidden around the island, but forcing me to collect them only if I'm piloting a certain vehicle seems dumb to me. I understand that they want you to play with every vehicle, but I just don't like hang-gliding much (the Pedal Glider helped, but your very quickly depleting stamina meter sort of renders it moot). I would have rather used the Turbo Jet and Super Rocket Belt the whole time! I do enjoy the stuff you collect for each vehicle, though. The gold rings almost (almost!) made the hang-glider worth using, and why you collected presents with Mii Trophies in them with the Rocket Belt didn't make sense to me, but forcing you to do a barrel roll or fly upside-down through a Stunt Ring was a lot of fun with the planes. I'll probably get all those some day.
I know a lot of this seems negative. Like I said, Pilotwings Resort is only a letdown in retrospect. On its own, I enjoyed it quite a bit. While I still had missions and tons of stuff to collect in Free Play, I couldn't put the game down. The controls in Pilotwings: Resort are probably the best in the series. Landing with a plane seems more finicky (I always hit the water too hard, according to the game, but I have no idea how to counteract that), but other than that I have no complaints. I even got the hang (no pun intended) of landing the hang-glider. Still, I'll probably never get perfect scores on all the missions. If only I could land that damn plane effectively, I might go for it, but failing to land properly after flying a perfect run for 2-3 minutes and having to start over sucks.
Put it this way: I'm glad I got the game for close to free due to some judicious trades on the internet. If I actually had to put a dollar value on the game... Fifteen bucks would easily be worth it, but if you saw it for $20 you should probably pick it up. Hopefully it comes down in value someday so more people can play it.
I just hope Nintendo makes another one someday, and gives us a new place to explore, instead of some recycled areas from an unrelated game. That is, unless they want to make like Pilotwings: Twilight Princess or something, which, let's be honest, would be totally rad and not dumb as hell. Right...?
Now I loved Pilotwings 64. I spent a ton of time with that game, just exploring the levels and seeing all the neat little things the designers hid in there (like shooting a missle at Mario's nose to change him into Wario in the Little America stage). I also really enjoyed trying to master the controls to get medals on all the missions. My favorite part of Pilotwings 64 is probably the music, surprisingly enough. Tracks like this (read the comments for that video, the writer of that particular song comments on it!) and this are some of the most relaxing videogame tracks I've ever heard.
The missions were almost an afterthought, really. I mean I enjoyed them, but didn't play them too much. I spent most of my time exploring Little States. Even though it wasn't exactly right in every place (Michigan is a sort-of hand-like stump without the upper peninsula, for example), it seemed enormous and filled with personality and hidden stuff.
...Which is why Pilotwings Resort is such a letdown in retrospect. On its own merits, its an entertaining game, and I certainly had fun with it and will likely revisit it every once in a while, but Pilotwings 64 eclipses it in almost every way. The music is merely okay. It sounds a lot like a lame rip-off of Pilotwings 64, to be honest. The missions are about what you expect - there were no missions where you use the "missile" function of the plane to shoot anything besides targets or balloons, for example. I mean it's not like I'd expect them to put anything in there that you'd have to shoot down, but come on - no Mario/Wario transformation, or anything like that? LAME.
Another problem I have is how Free Play mode is timed. Why do they time a mode that is CALLED "Free Play?" Because there isn't much to explore, really. The entire game takes place on one island (okay, one and a half). Wuhu Island is fairly small, and maybe I would appreciate it more had I played much of Wii Sports Resort, but I shouldn't have to play some other game (that doesn't even remotely play like Pilotwings!) to enjoy the setting here.
I mean it's okay. Sure, I enjoy using the Turbo Jet to shoot down the volcano and come out the side entrance, but that's only fun for a minute or two before you get bored. I enjoyed finding the balloons hidden around the island, but forcing me to collect them only if I'm piloting a certain vehicle seems dumb to me. I understand that they want you to play with every vehicle, but I just don't like hang-gliding much (the Pedal Glider helped, but your very quickly depleting stamina meter sort of renders it moot). I would have rather used the Turbo Jet and Super Rocket Belt the whole time! I do enjoy the stuff you collect for each vehicle, though. The gold rings almost (almost!) made the hang-glider worth using, and why you collected presents with Mii Trophies in them with the Rocket Belt didn't make sense to me, but forcing you to do a barrel roll or fly upside-down through a Stunt Ring was a lot of fun with the planes. I'll probably get all those some day.
I know a lot of this seems negative. Like I said, Pilotwings Resort is only a letdown in retrospect. On its own, I enjoyed it quite a bit. While I still had missions and tons of stuff to collect in Free Play, I couldn't put the game down. The controls in Pilotwings: Resort are probably the best in the series. Landing with a plane seems more finicky (I always hit the water too hard, according to the game, but I have no idea how to counteract that), but other than that I have no complaints. I even got the hang (no pun intended) of landing the hang-glider. Still, I'll probably never get perfect scores on all the missions. If only I could land that damn plane effectively, I might go for it, but failing to land properly after flying a perfect run for 2-3 minutes and having to start over sucks.
Put it this way: I'm glad I got the game for close to free due to some judicious trades on the internet. If I actually had to put a dollar value on the game... Fifteen bucks would easily be worth it, but if you saw it for $20 you should probably pick it up. Hopefully it comes down in value someday so more people can play it.
I just hope Nintendo makes another one someday, and gives us a new place to explore, instead of some recycled areas from an unrelated game. That is, unless they want to make like Pilotwings: Twilight Princess or something, which, let's be honest, would be totally rad and not dumb as hell. Right...?
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
What a Nightmare: Catherine, part 1
Catherine is fucking with me.
I figured that was a wholly appropriate way to begin writing about Atlus' new 360 and PS3 game, Catherine. This is the Persona Team's latest release, and you can see the influence their prior games had here - even down to the basic structure of the story. Like in Persona, Catherine spends its gametime exploring time, not space. There are a limited number of places the player can go, but it is how they act and the choices they make in those places that affect the story.
The main "game-y" portions of Catherine are basically puzzles. The player is tasked with climbing to the top of a giant tower, night after night, and the only way to do so is to move around and manipulate the blocks to create paths to the top, while avoiding enemies and not falling off. This is harder than it sounds, because time is limited - the bottom floors of the stage fall off as time goes on, so you can't dawdle to figure out how to progress. The "boss" stages also have some giant monster chase you, while using attacks that can really mess you up - one of them I encountered reversed your controls, another knocks you down a few levels, and yet another just outright kills you. This adds an even more frantic pace to the puzzle levels, and they tie into the main story, as well - typically the bosses are metaphors for the main characters current predicament.
But I'm here for the story. Catherine is about a middle aged man named Vincent Brooks, who has been dating his girlfriend Katherine for something like five years. She wants to get married soon, and Vincent is having trouble coming to grips with the idea. To further complicate things, he gets drunk one night and begins an affair with a girl named Catherine, a much younger, seductive girl who has no idea Vincent is already spoken for. The main point of the game is to guide Vincent through his relationships with these two women, and (I presume) ultimately come to a decision over which one to stay with (or, if the game really has balls, neither - but I haven't beaten it yet, so I have no idea at this point).
I really have trouble with this game, and I'm not even talking about the puzzle bits. When Vincent is awake, he is constantly getting texts from the two women, and the player is responsible for responding to them. You have a few options in how to word your text, and, like in real life, you have to try to send a text that doesn't screw up your relationship with the girl you want. As much as I want to scream at the TV "Tell Catherine about your longtime girlfriend and dump her NOW!" you don't really get that option. The player is more like Vincent's conscience, rather than in complete control of the man himself.
The game also has some neat online integration, as well, because in between puzzle levels, the player is asked questions like "Does life begin or end when you get married?" All the other players' answers are all tallied up online and shown after you answer. The answers that are displayed are also the ones people said when they first played the game, so you know what most people really think (because I'm sure when I'm done with this playthrough, I'll play again and go after the young Catherine to see how the story changes).
I just beat the fourth night, and am growing increasingly conflicted as I play. I know I want to repair Vincent's relationship with Katherine, but I don't want to hurt the feelings of Catherine, either, because she seems innocent to me at this point. It seems like that's how Vincent feels, too, which might be why he can't bring himself to tell either woman what is going on.
They'll find out soon enough, I bet. And I bet Vincent's nightmares that night will be demented as hell. I can't wait.
I figured that was a wholly appropriate way to begin writing about Atlus' new 360 and PS3 game, Catherine. This is the Persona Team's latest release, and you can see the influence their prior games had here - even down to the basic structure of the story. Like in Persona, Catherine spends its gametime exploring time, not space. There are a limited number of places the player can go, but it is how they act and the choices they make in those places that affect the story.
The main "game-y" portions of Catherine are basically puzzles. The player is tasked with climbing to the top of a giant tower, night after night, and the only way to do so is to move around and manipulate the blocks to create paths to the top, while avoiding enemies and not falling off. This is harder than it sounds, because time is limited - the bottom floors of the stage fall off as time goes on, so you can't dawdle to figure out how to progress. The "boss" stages also have some giant monster chase you, while using attacks that can really mess you up - one of them I encountered reversed your controls, another knocks you down a few levels, and yet another just outright kills you. This adds an even more frantic pace to the puzzle levels, and they tie into the main story, as well - typically the bosses are metaphors for the main characters current predicament.
But I'm here for the story. Catherine is about a middle aged man named Vincent Brooks, who has been dating his girlfriend Katherine for something like five years. She wants to get married soon, and Vincent is having trouble coming to grips with the idea. To further complicate things, he gets drunk one night and begins an affair with a girl named Catherine, a much younger, seductive girl who has no idea Vincent is already spoken for. The main point of the game is to guide Vincent through his relationships with these two women, and (I presume) ultimately come to a decision over which one to stay with (or, if the game really has balls, neither - but I haven't beaten it yet, so I have no idea at this point).
I really have trouble with this game, and I'm not even talking about the puzzle bits. When Vincent is awake, he is constantly getting texts from the two women, and the player is responsible for responding to them. You have a few options in how to word your text, and, like in real life, you have to try to send a text that doesn't screw up your relationship with the girl you want. As much as I want to scream at the TV "Tell Catherine about your longtime girlfriend and dump her NOW!" you don't really get that option. The player is more like Vincent's conscience, rather than in complete control of the man himself.
The game also has some neat online integration, as well, because in between puzzle levels, the player is asked questions like "Does life begin or end when you get married?" All the other players' answers are all tallied up online and shown after you answer. The answers that are displayed are also the ones people said when they first played the game, so you know what most people really think (because I'm sure when I'm done with this playthrough, I'll play again and go after the young Catherine to see how the story changes).
I just beat the fourth night, and am growing increasingly conflicted as I play. I know I want to repair Vincent's relationship with Katherine, but I don't want to hurt the feelings of Catherine, either, because she seems innocent to me at this point. It seems like that's how Vincent feels, too, which might be why he can't bring himself to tell either woman what is going on.
They'll find out soon enough, I bet. And I bet Vincent's nightmares that night will be demented as hell. I can't wait.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Etrian Odyssey III: Tales of the Metroid Guild, Epilogue
The main force of the Metroid Guild stepped off the raft and onto the small shore, carefully hopping over the lava. The new Hoplite, Jaha, seemed somewhat nervous as he fidgeted in his armor. He, as well as everyone else, knew that his talents were crucial to surviving the ordeal ahead. The original founders of the guild had recruited him specifically to learn a technique of their own design. It was suitable for use only by someone who had experience as a Hoplite due to the defensive nature of that particular study.
It wasn't an offensive move, at all. In fact, it was a skill designed to keep up to five people alive in very specific, extremely dangerous circumstances.
It also had never been performed against anything that could prove its worth.
Marth, the battle-hardened Prince who had joined the Metroid Guild upon hearing of their accomplishments, patted Jaha on the back. "Fear not, my friend," he said as the other three looked on. "This will work. We trust in your skills. Shadow trained you well."
Nathan, original founder and current leader of the Metroid Guild, shook his head. "We have no time for this. Jaha, you're ready. Let's go." After readying his sword, he began walking over the crest of the island.
Behind him, Yukiko, the senior Monk who had also been an original founder of the Metroid Guild, looked at Kyle, also an original founder and senior Zodiac. "I hope you taught the prince well," she mused. "If he doesn't keep that Hoplite from passing out, I'm not sure my healing qi will be of much help if I'm dead."
"We'll see, I suppose," the diminutive magician said. Yukiko nervously cocked an eyebrow at him before catching up to the others on the crest of the island. She had never heard her old friend second guess himself before, and it worried her. Every person had a very specific job to do, and if any of them failed, every single one of them would die.
It was too late to back out now, though. As the rest of the five members reached the top of the small crest, they watched as their target became aware of their presence. It got up on its back legs, clawing at the charred dirt beneath it. It raised its enormous head to the sky as it roared, blasting pebbles and dirt past the guild as they stood there, in awe of the magnificent beast before them.
The beast settled down on its haunches, and the five brave souls threw themselves at it. Before they could even reach it, it bellowed a searing blaze of fire at them, large enough to engulf all five of them and then some. Jaha was ready. He threw up his rather large shield and chanted a few words, and the fire was fully absorbed by the enchanted shield.
Marth let out a celebratory holler. "Well done, Jaha!" he shouted as he and Yukiko started casting some protective spells to prevent heat exhaustion, confusion, and fatigue. Nathan did what he always did, and taunted the enormous creature - albeit nervously, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand up to too many focused attacks by it. The rest of the team would have to take some hits themselves. He worried about Kyle more than the rest, mostly because his small frame didn't lend itself well to much physical punishment. He would have to rely on Jaha for that...
Before the dragon composed itself, Jaha began using his familiar Line Guard skill, which helped mitigate the damage his friends would take. He threw a twist on his old standby, though, by utilizing Bunshin, a technique taught to him by Shadow, the veteran Ninja of the Metroid guild. It allowed him to spread his techniques to the entire party.
But the dragon, surprised his fire breath hadn't handled his attackers like it had always had, flew into a rage. It charged his small enemies, well aware how easily it could crush them.
It was again surprised to learn that these fellows were ready for him. It was stunned when the smallest one, dressed in black, shot two extremely cold, extremely painful spears of ice directly at his face.
It had been a long, long time since this ancient beast had felt pain.
They had the full attention of the entire Stratum now. Around them, the beasts in the cavern hid behind rocks or simply fled in terror at the battle unfolding before them. None, not even the large (at least not when compared to the beast now embroiled in battle) Poison Dragons dared participate. They watched in silent awe as the small humans fought valiantly against the Wyrm of the Molten Caves.
Nathan had given up on provoking the dragon, as the beast had gone completely out of control. It was throwing everything it had at them by wildly swinging its limbs at anything that dared come near it, while spewing fire in every direction every chance it got, and it when it wasn't spewing fire, it was spouting as much smoke as it could to try to befuddle the five humans.
The Metroid Guild weren't exactly in great shape, either. All five of them were covered in burns, and most of them were cut fairly deeply by the maniacal beasts claws. Yukiko had entered a healing frenzy, healing every one of them as often as possible, with no regards to her stamina. Once in a while she had to eat an amrita or two, to summon the mental acuity needed to keep her companions healthy.
Jaha hadn't had a coherent thought in a half hour. He didn't have time. He was a mess, but he showed no signs of falling. He was taking as much damage for his compatriots as he could, and his shield, thank the Goddess, was holding up admirably.
Kyle had been taking a beating like he had never had before. He felt as close to death as he had ever felt the whole time, as Yukiko's healing spells seemed to hit him as late as possible just before he was torn asunder by the beasts claws. He got angrier and angrier as he threw every ice spell he knew at the damned Wyrm; sharp ice seemed to flow from both of his hands constantly.
Marth was rattled. The prince had seen many battles in his time, and had fought against some tough adversaries, but nothing like this. This seemed a force of nature to him. He wasn't sure he and his compatriots would make it, and was worried that if they failed, the beast would continue to frenzy out of control, leaving the cave and killing anybody it found. He was chanting as fast as he could, occasionally striking the beast when he saw an opening, but at one crucial moment, right when they thought the beast might fall, he forgot to chant a spell to keep Jaha from passing out from confusion.
All four of them knew what happened instantly. They had no time to berate him, as the dragon let loose a flurry of smoke, disorienting Jaha and making him break away from the group. He knew he had to regain his composure or he and his friends would die. The dragon swung one of its giant claws and struck Kyle directly, finally landing a clean hit on the small wizard. The powerful spellcaster was sent flying, and he landed with a thud several feet away after splitting his head open on a rock. His main adversary downed, the dragon roared, and stood on its haunches as it prepared to finally take down these pesky, though worthy, adversaries.
Yukiko, already casting healing spells as hurriedly as possible, tried to make up for the lack of defense from Jaha by chanting every spell she knew for her compatriots. She upped Nathan's strength in the hopes he would down the dragon. She tried to help Jaha regain his composure and bring him back to the rest of the group. She tried vainly to revive Kyle, as his body lay lifeless several feet away from them.
Nathan began to panic. His sword lately had seemed to barely do anything to the dragon, and the beast seemed to have gained a bit of confidence and strength when it killed Kyle. He still madly swung his blade at the beast, in the vain hope he'd be able to save his remaining comrades.
Jaha had regained composure and charged back into battle, defending his friends as best he could. Without Kyle, the battle had come to a stalemate at best, and the four Metroid Guild members knew the dragon could outlast them. They still fought, courageously hoping they'd be able to somehow survive.
Just when Jaha felt he had no more strength and Yukiko had long since run out of amritas, the dragon began to lunge at Marth. Right before his jaw clenched down around his torso, the dragons head was sickeningly rocked backwards as an enormous bolt of ice shot through its left eye socket. The dragon reeled backwards, and with a pained cry, finally spent its last breath.
Nathan turned around. "Kyle!" he laughed. "I thought you were dead!"
The wizard certainly looked it. He needed to be treated, fast, and the party had little means to comfort him. Jaha and Marth looted what they could from the enormous corpse, while Nathan and Yukiko tended to their old friend.
"You did it, Kyle!" Nathan told him. "We killed the Wyrm. We're going to be legends."
"We're already legends, you fool," he sputtered back.
. . .
The strong wizard was right. A little over two years ago, they had saved the town of Armoroad from an ancient and evil threat. They had mapped the Yggdrasil Labyrinth beneath the town, and had slain many dangerous monsters in the meantime. Tales of their valiant efforts had spread, and hundreds of warriors had come from all over the world to join their ranks. They had long since assured their financial well being, and decided to spend the rest of their days taking whatever challenge they could find.
They scoured every cave, every ruin, every haunt they could find. They were recognized as legends in their own time. Their tales would even be collected in a series of books that would become classics in their own right, making their authors and their heirs rich.
The title of the book is "Etrian Odyssey."
It wasn't an offensive move, at all. In fact, it was a skill designed to keep up to five people alive in very specific, extremely dangerous circumstances.
It also had never been performed against anything that could prove its worth.
Marth, the battle-hardened Prince who had joined the Metroid Guild upon hearing of their accomplishments, patted Jaha on the back. "Fear not, my friend," he said as the other three looked on. "This will work. We trust in your skills. Shadow trained you well."
Nathan, original founder and current leader of the Metroid Guild, shook his head. "We have no time for this. Jaha, you're ready. Let's go." After readying his sword, he began walking over the crest of the island.
Behind him, Yukiko, the senior Monk who had also been an original founder of the Metroid Guild, looked at Kyle, also an original founder and senior Zodiac. "I hope you taught the prince well," she mused. "If he doesn't keep that Hoplite from passing out, I'm not sure my healing qi will be of much help if I'm dead."
"We'll see, I suppose," the diminutive magician said. Yukiko nervously cocked an eyebrow at him before catching up to the others on the crest of the island. She had never heard her old friend second guess himself before, and it worried her. Every person had a very specific job to do, and if any of them failed, every single one of them would die.
It was too late to back out now, though. As the rest of the five members reached the top of the small crest, they watched as their target became aware of their presence. It got up on its back legs, clawing at the charred dirt beneath it. It raised its enormous head to the sky as it roared, blasting pebbles and dirt past the guild as they stood there, in awe of the magnificent beast before them.
The beast settled down on its haunches, and the five brave souls threw themselves at it. Before they could even reach it, it bellowed a searing blaze of fire at them, large enough to engulf all five of them and then some. Jaha was ready. He threw up his rather large shield and chanted a few words, and the fire was fully absorbed by the enchanted shield.
Marth let out a celebratory holler. "Well done, Jaha!" he shouted as he and Yukiko started casting some protective spells to prevent heat exhaustion, confusion, and fatigue. Nathan did what he always did, and taunted the enormous creature - albeit nervously, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand up to too many focused attacks by it. The rest of the team would have to take some hits themselves. He worried about Kyle more than the rest, mostly because his small frame didn't lend itself well to much physical punishment. He would have to rely on Jaha for that...
Before the dragon composed itself, Jaha began using his familiar Line Guard skill, which helped mitigate the damage his friends would take. He threw a twist on his old standby, though, by utilizing Bunshin, a technique taught to him by Shadow, the veteran Ninja of the Metroid guild. It allowed him to spread his techniques to the entire party.
But the dragon, surprised his fire breath hadn't handled his attackers like it had always had, flew into a rage. It charged his small enemies, well aware how easily it could crush them.
It was again surprised to learn that these fellows were ready for him. It was stunned when the smallest one, dressed in black, shot two extremely cold, extremely painful spears of ice directly at his face.
It had been a long, long time since this ancient beast had felt pain.
They had the full attention of the entire Stratum now. Around them, the beasts in the cavern hid behind rocks or simply fled in terror at the battle unfolding before them. None, not even the large (at least not when compared to the beast now embroiled in battle) Poison Dragons dared participate. They watched in silent awe as the small humans fought valiantly against the Wyrm of the Molten Caves.
Nathan had given up on provoking the dragon, as the beast had gone completely out of control. It was throwing everything it had at them by wildly swinging its limbs at anything that dared come near it, while spewing fire in every direction every chance it got, and it when it wasn't spewing fire, it was spouting as much smoke as it could to try to befuddle the five humans.
The Metroid Guild weren't exactly in great shape, either. All five of them were covered in burns, and most of them were cut fairly deeply by the maniacal beasts claws. Yukiko had entered a healing frenzy, healing every one of them as often as possible, with no regards to her stamina. Once in a while she had to eat an amrita or two, to summon the mental acuity needed to keep her companions healthy.
Jaha hadn't had a coherent thought in a half hour. He didn't have time. He was a mess, but he showed no signs of falling. He was taking as much damage for his compatriots as he could, and his shield, thank the Goddess, was holding up admirably.
Kyle had been taking a beating like he had never had before. He felt as close to death as he had ever felt the whole time, as Yukiko's healing spells seemed to hit him as late as possible just before he was torn asunder by the beasts claws. He got angrier and angrier as he threw every ice spell he knew at the damned Wyrm; sharp ice seemed to flow from both of his hands constantly.
Marth was rattled. The prince had seen many battles in his time, and had fought against some tough adversaries, but nothing like this. This seemed a force of nature to him. He wasn't sure he and his compatriots would make it, and was worried that if they failed, the beast would continue to frenzy out of control, leaving the cave and killing anybody it found. He was chanting as fast as he could, occasionally striking the beast when he saw an opening, but at one crucial moment, right when they thought the beast might fall, he forgot to chant a spell to keep Jaha from passing out from confusion.
All four of them knew what happened instantly. They had no time to berate him, as the dragon let loose a flurry of smoke, disorienting Jaha and making him break away from the group. He knew he had to regain his composure or he and his friends would die. The dragon swung one of its giant claws and struck Kyle directly, finally landing a clean hit on the small wizard. The powerful spellcaster was sent flying, and he landed with a thud several feet away after splitting his head open on a rock. His main adversary downed, the dragon roared, and stood on its haunches as it prepared to finally take down these pesky, though worthy, adversaries.
Yukiko, already casting healing spells as hurriedly as possible, tried to make up for the lack of defense from Jaha by chanting every spell she knew for her compatriots. She upped Nathan's strength in the hopes he would down the dragon. She tried to help Jaha regain his composure and bring him back to the rest of the group. She tried vainly to revive Kyle, as his body lay lifeless several feet away from them.
Nathan began to panic. His sword lately had seemed to barely do anything to the dragon, and the beast seemed to have gained a bit of confidence and strength when it killed Kyle. He still madly swung his blade at the beast, in the vain hope he'd be able to save his remaining comrades.
Jaha had regained composure and charged back into battle, defending his friends as best he could. Without Kyle, the battle had come to a stalemate at best, and the four Metroid Guild members knew the dragon could outlast them. They still fought, courageously hoping they'd be able to somehow survive.
Just when Jaha felt he had no more strength and Yukiko had long since run out of amritas, the dragon began to lunge at Marth. Right before his jaw clenched down around his torso, the dragons head was sickeningly rocked backwards as an enormous bolt of ice shot through its left eye socket. The dragon reeled backwards, and with a pained cry, finally spent its last breath.
Nathan turned around. "Kyle!" he laughed. "I thought you were dead!"
The wizard certainly looked it. He needed to be treated, fast, and the party had little means to comfort him. Jaha and Marth looted what they could from the enormous corpse, while Nathan and Yukiko tended to their old friend.
"You did it, Kyle!" Nathan told him. "We killed the Wyrm. We're going to be legends."
"We're already legends, you fool," he sputtered back.
. . .
The strong wizard was right. A little over two years ago, they had saved the town of Armoroad from an ancient and evil threat. They had mapped the Yggdrasil Labyrinth beneath the town, and had slain many dangerous monsters in the meantime. Tales of their valiant efforts had spread, and hundreds of warriors had come from all over the world to join their ranks. They had long since assured their financial well being, and decided to spend the rest of their days taking whatever challenge they could find.
They scoured every cave, every ruin, every haunt they could find. They were recognized as legends in their own time. Their tales would even be collected in a series of books that would become classics in their own right, making their authors and their heirs rich.
The title of the book is "Etrian Odyssey."
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Dead Money: To Begin Again
Today, I beat the first add-on pack for Fallout: New Vegas, the Dead Money expansion. I must say, I enjoyed myself quite a bit, despite absolutely hating it the first time I gave it a shot.
At about level 23 or 24, I had beaten the main story of the game, and decided to go see what was going on over in the Sierra Madre casino. Once I got there, everything I owned was taken away, and I was given some paltry weapons and light armor and basically told what to do by the mysterious Father Elijah. What sucked was that he put a bomb collar on me, making me do his bidding until the casino was properly raided.
But the bomb collar had a drawback (besides, you know, being a bomb). Radio interference would cause it to beep for about 10 or 15 seconds, at which point it would blow up, blowing the player's head off. So you have to either get out of range of the radios or speakers, blow them up, or deactivate them (some speakers are armored, and cannot be blown up and must therefore be deactivated at a computer terminal somewhere nearby).
Compounding this problem was the Cloud floating around the Villa, where the player starts in Dead Money. It's poisonous, and will rapidly drain your health if you remain in it. It also appears as a sort of fog, making it difficult to see things like speakers you have to destroy so your head doesn't get blown to bits.
Also, there were these guys running around the Villa, dressed in ancient metal haz-mat suits who threw spears at me and swiped long pole-arms at me, causing me and my light armor great damage. They also were tough to kill - once knocked down, they would get back up again, with full health, unless I managed to cut off one of their limbs or head, at which point they would be dead for good. Since I had, at the beginning of Dead Money, very few options for weapons (most of which were Melee, which my character has little skill in), killing these guys was incredibly difficult. I didn't have any of my Stimpaks, either, so regenerating my health was hard because I also couldn't sleep anywhere besides the Police Station in the Villa, which was quite out of the way most of the time.
For these reasons, I ultimately quit playing Dead Money, and went back to the main New Vegas area in a previous save, and leveled up some more. Once I reached level 31 and felt a bit bored with what was left of the main game (I certainly didn't complete everything in it, but finding new stuff to interact with was becoming more and more rare), I decided to give Dead Money another try.
Armed with a little bit of knowledge of the nature of the Sierra Madre, and with level 100 lockpick, science, and speech skills, I was able to arm myself much more quickly this time around. I knew the utility of the vending machines and how they worked, and I knew to look for Dean's Secret Stashes (marked by a glowing hand pasted on the wall near one of them) to stock up on healing supplies and ammo early on. I also went hog wild, not caring if I took damage, and ended up being able to kill the Ghosts much more quickly and permanently, at the cost of a decent amount of health. Once killed, though, they stayed dead, and subsequent trips through their territory wouldn't be as difficult (until much later, anyway).
So I eventually completed the old man's quests, and made my way into the casino proper. After turning the power on and locating all my comrades (whom had helped me get into the casino in the first place), it was time to enter the vault of the casino. I encountered the old man, killed him, and ran out of the vault, Metroid style, avoiding my own death via bomb collar, activated by the old man upon his death.
I skipped, in there, a whole bunch of story, which was actually quite good. I don't want to spoil it (there's really no point), but I do want to point out something I'm experiencing for the first time, here: narrative continuity between an add-on pack and the regular game. Typically, when I've played add-ons in the past, they are either pseudo-sequels to the main story, or completely divorced from it altogether. And while much of the story of Dead Money is separate, many of the characters in it have a lot to do with characters in the main story (one is even directly affected by the events in Fallout 1!). The ties to the main story are well done and subtle, and maybe aren't even obvious if you don't pay attention. I also liked how the main story, without even downloading the Dead Money add-on, references it, as well.
Overall, the add-on was worth my ten bucks, and I downloaded Honest Hearts, the second add-on, today. I've heard much about the Burned Man in my travels in the Mojave, and I bet I'll meet him in Utah.
What a great game.
At about level 23 or 24, I had beaten the main story of the game, and decided to go see what was going on over in the Sierra Madre casino. Once I got there, everything I owned was taken away, and I was given some paltry weapons and light armor and basically told what to do by the mysterious Father Elijah. What sucked was that he put a bomb collar on me, making me do his bidding until the casino was properly raided.
But the bomb collar had a drawback (besides, you know, being a bomb). Radio interference would cause it to beep for about 10 or 15 seconds, at which point it would blow up, blowing the player's head off. So you have to either get out of range of the radios or speakers, blow them up, or deactivate them (some speakers are armored, and cannot be blown up and must therefore be deactivated at a computer terminal somewhere nearby).
Compounding this problem was the Cloud floating around the Villa, where the player starts in Dead Money. It's poisonous, and will rapidly drain your health if you remain in it. It also appears as a sort of fog, making it difficult to see things like speakers you have to destroy so your head doesn't get blown to bits.
Also, there were these guys running around the Villa, dressed in ancient metal haz-mat suits who threw spears at me and swiped long pole-arms at me, causing me and my light armor great damage. They also were tough to kill - once knocked down, they would get back up again, with full health, unless I managed to cut off one of their limbs or head, at which point they would be dead for good. Since I had, at the beginning of Dead Money, very few options for weapons (most of which were Melee, which my character has little skill in), killing these guys was incredibly difficult. I didn't have any of my Stimpaks, either, so regenerating my health was hard because I also couldn't sleep anywhere besides the Police Station in the Villa, which was quite out of the way most of the time.
For these reasons, I ultimately quit playing Dead Money, and went back to the main New Vegas area in a previous save, and leveled up some more. Once I reached level 31 and felt a bit bored with what was left of the main game (I certainly didn't complete everything in it, but finding new stuff to interact with was becoming more and more rare), I decided to give Dead Money another try.
Armed with a little bit of knowledge of the nature of the Sierra Madre, and with level 100 lockpick, science, and speech skills, I was able to arm myself much more quickly this time around. I knew the utility of the vending machines and how they worked, and I knew to look for Dean's Secret Stashes (marked by a glowing hand pasted on the wall near one of them) to stock up on healing supplies and ammo early on. I also went hog wild, not caring if I took damage, and ended up being able to kill the Ghosts much more quickly and permanently, at the cost of a decent amount of health. Once killed, though, they stayed dead, and subsequent trips through their territory wouldn't be as difficult (until much later, anyway).
So I eventually completed the old man's quests, and made my way into the casino proper. After turning the power on and locating all my comrades (whom had helped me get into the casino in the first place), it was time to enter the vault of the casino. I encountered the old man, killed him, and ran out of the vault, Metroid style, avoiding my own death via bomb collar, activated by the old man upon his death.
I skipped, in there, a whole bunch of story, which was actually quite good. I don't want to spoil it (there's really no point), but I do want to point out something I'm experiencing for the first time, here: narrative continuity between an add-on pack and the regular game. Typically, when I've played add-ons in the past, they are either pseudo-sequels to the main story, or completely divorced from it altogether. And while much of the story of Dead Money is separate, many of the characters in it have a lot to do with characters in the main story (one is even directly affected by the events in Fallout 1!). The ties to the main story are well done and subtle, and maybe aren't even obvious if you don't pay attention. I also liked how the main story, without even downloading the Dead Money add-on, references it, as well.
Overall, the add-on was worth my ten bucks, and I downloaded Honest Hearts, the second add-on, today. I've heard much about the Burned Man in my travels in the Mojave, and I bet I'll meet him in Utah.
What a great game.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Best Donkey Kong Ever
Game Boy Donkey Kong is without a doubt the best game with the words "Donkey Kong" in it ever. I mean as much as I do like the first two Donkey Kong Country games, they don't even come close to this one.
Which isn't to say they are very similar; in the SNES games, you actually control Donkey Kong himself, whereas in the Game Boy game, you are Mario, trying to rescue Pauline (the original girl in distress from the arcade game - but by 94, Mario had been rescuing Princess Toadstool for years. Did Mario have an affair?!) from Donkey Kong himself.
Interestingly, Donkey Kong Jr. made an appearance here. In the DKC games, this Donkey Kong would go on to be the one you control, whereas the big Donkey Kong in the Game Boy game would (apparently) go on to become Cranky Kong.
Anyway, Donkey Kong '94 is king because Mario must traverse over 100 levels, solving puzzles along the way, to try to finally confront Donkey Kong. But what is glorious about this game isn't just the puzzles - it's really Mario's moveset. Mario has one of his most diverse movesets here - and he needs no powerups to access them. He can double and triple jump, do a backflip, and do handstands, which allow him to use his feet to stop barrels from crushing him, also making them land lightly next to him so he can pick them up and throw them back at Donkey Kong. He can even pick most enemies up, like in Super Mario Bros. 2, and throw them around, killing other enemies or (in a few levels) chucking them at Donkey Kong himself! All of these moves are mapped well, too. None are difficult to pull off. The double and triple jumps just require timing to activate at the right time, the handstand is just down and jump, and the backflip is jumping while turning around while running. It's actually fun beating the levels from the arcade Donkey Kong with this huge set of moves - I beat the first level in three seconds in this playthrough, actually.
The game really is an amalgam of all the mainline Mario games made up until that point. It even predicted some of the moves Mario would have in his first 3D outing two years later. But the puzzles are great, too. Figuring out how to get the key to the door is, years and countless playthroughs later, still a blast. Stage 8-1 gave me problems, even though I have beaten this game a ton of times - I couldn't remember how to beat it, so I had to solve it all over again.
The music, too, is amazing. Each world has it's own theme, and they all evoke the setting quite well (nothing too serious, either - this is, after all, a game in which you spend one world on a pirate ship, another on a plane, and yet another in an ice world) with upbeat tunes and the occasional ominous tune. The last few levels, in particular, have interesting music, some of which I haven't really heard imitated elsewhere, either.
It's interesting, having played through this game after beating Rabi Laby, a DSi downloadable title by Agetec. It, too, is a puzzle platformer, and an enjoyable one at that, but it pales in comparison to Donkey Kong '94. Rabi Laby is a bit more puzzle-y, with less reliance on traditional platforming than DK: the girl in the game can barely jump, and the rabbit only jumps twice as high, so you spend most of the game working around these limitations to get the little girl to the exit. Rabi Laby definitely had harder puzzles, though. There was one instance where I couldn't stand it anymore and had to look up the answer to one level online (and I'm glad I did, because the answer was stupid and I never would have figured it out). Rabi Laby was worth the five bucks I paid for it, but if I had a 3DS, given the choice between Rabi Laby and the recently released Donkey Kong '94 for the 3DS virtual console, I would go with DK94 every time. That's actually the reason I played DK94 the past day or two, too. Everyone who had a 3DS has been talking about the game online recently, so I had to dig up my copy and play it on my GBA SP.
Man, between Ocarina of Time 3D (with awesome commercials!) and the virtual console already having Donkey Kong '94 and Link's Awakening on it (the two best original Game Boy games ever made), I really need to get a 3DS. Maybe in a month for my birthday...
Which isn't to say they are very similar; in the SNES games, you actually control Donkey Kong himself, whereas in the Game Boy game, you are Mario, trying to rescue Pauline (the original girl in distress from the arcade game - but by 94, Mario had been rescuing Princess Toadstool for years. Did Mario have an affair?!) from Donkey Kong himself.
Interestingly, Donkey Kong Jr. made an appearance here. In the DKC games, this Donkey Kong would go on to be the one you control, whereas the big Donkey Kong in the Game Boy game would (apparently) go on to become Cranky Kong.
Anyway, Donkey Kong '94 is king because Mario must traverse over 100 levels, solving puzzles along the way, to try to finally confront Donkey Kong. But what is glorious about this game isn't just the puzzles - it's really Mario's moveset. Mario has one of his most diverse movesets here - and he needs no powerups to access them. He can double and triple jump, do a backflip, and do handstands, which allow him to use his feet to stop barrels from crushing him, also making them land lightly next to him so he can pick them up and throw them back at Donkey Kong. He can even pick most enemies up, like in Super Mario Bros. 2, and throw them around, killing other enemies or (in a few levels) chucking them at Donkey Kong himself! All of these moves are mapped well, too. None are difficult to pull off. The double and triple jumps just require timing to activate at the right time, the handstand is just down and jump, and the backflip is jumping while turning around while running. It's actually fun beating the levels from the arcade Donkey Kong with this huge set of moves - I beat the first level in three seconds in this playthrough, actually.
The game really is an amalgam of all the mainline Mario games made up until that point. It even predicted some of the moves Mario would have in his first 3D outing two years later. But the puzzles are great, too. Figuring out how to get the key to the door is, years and countless playthroughs later, still a blast. Stage 8-1 gave me problems, even though I have beaten this game a ton of times - I couldn't remember how to beat it, so I had to solve it all over again.
The music, too, is amazing. Each world has it's own theme, and they all evoke the setting quite well (nothing too serious, either - this is, after all, a game in which you spend one world on a pirate ship, another on a plane, and yet another in an ice world) with upbeat tunes and the occasional ominous tune. The last few levels, in particular, have interesting music, some of which I haven't really heard imitated elsewhere, either.
It's interesting, having played through this game after beating Rabi Laby, a DSi downloadable title by Agetec. It, too, is a puzzle platformer, and an enjoyable one at that, but it pales in comparison to Donkey Kong '94. Rabi Laby is a bit more puzzle-y, with less reliance on traditional platforming than DK: the girl in the game can barely jump, and the rabbit only jumps twice as high, so you spend most of the game working around these limitations to get the little girl to the exit. Rabi Laby definitely had harder puzzles, though. There was one instance where I couldn't stand it anymore and had to look up the answer to one level online (and I'm glad I did, because the answer was stupid and I never would have figured it out). Rabi Laby was worth the five bucks I paid for it, but if I had a 3DS, given the choice between Rabi Laby and the recently released Donkey Kong '94 for the 3DS virtual console, I would go with DK94 every time. That's actually the reason I played DK94 the past day or two, too. Everyone who had a 3DS has been talking about the game online recently, so I had to dig up my copy and play it on my GBA SP.
Man, between Ocarina of Time 3D (with awesome commercials!) and the virtual console already having Donkey Kong '94 and Link's Awakening on it (the two best original Game Boy games ever made), I really need to get a 3DS. Maybe in a month for my birthday...
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The DS: A Classic Adventure Powerhouse?
I suppose it makes sense, what with the touch screen, stylus, and the (relative) rebirth of classic point and click adventure games on the PC in the past few years, but this old genre has flourished on the Nintendo DS.
Sure, it's no PC in that regard, but the level of quality versus quantity is pretty unarguable. Here's the list of classic adventure games that I've played:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Investigations
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
And I'm not even counting the Professor Layton games, which are kind of borderline. They are great games, either way, though.
It is somewhat odd that Capcom dominates that list, publishing all but two games (Hotel Dusk and 999). Who would have thought Capcom would make so many awesome adventure games?
Anyway the reason I bring this up is because I just finished Capcom's excellent Ghost Trick. Developed by many of the Ace Attorney people (possibly the same team, depending on where you get your info on the internet), the game is about Sissel, who dies at the beginning of the game. He receives powers after his death, and is able to move about in ghost form by possessing certain items. Sissel can manipulate many of these items, allowing him to move around farther, and also to interact with the many living characters that inhabit the game world.
Also, when he discovers a dead body, he can travel back in time to four minutes before their death, and do his best to reverse it. If he does so, he changes their fate, and thus allows the storyline to progress.
Sissel, you see, suffers from amnesia. He cannot remember who he was, other than the fact that when he dies, he can see his body from his ghost form. He spends the rest of the game trying to figure out who killed him, why they killed him, who he really was (for example, why was he present in the junkyard when he was killed?), and why many of the people he encounters seem to know and recognize his earthly body.
I will not spoil the story here, because it is fantastic, but it also holds up throughout. This is probably my main complaint about every other adventure game in the above list, save for Hotel Dusk. That isn't to say the stories aren't enjoyable, just that the suspension of disbelief falls pretty hard near the end (especially, ESPECIALLY in 999 - as much as I enjoyed the characters and most of the dialogue in that game, the true ending was pretty forced and weird). Ghost Trick has a somewhat goofy explanation for the main event the story spins around, but given the context of the game, it seems grounded and makes sense. I was satisfied with it, and was surprised several times by the twists and turns in the story.
Also, the puzzles were never too obtuse to figure out with a few tries. They were challenging, but since they made sense, it should only take even a adventure game newbie a few tries to figure out.
The animation, though, is unbelievably gorgeous. The characters who move around on screen look a touch rotoscoped, then colored over. They move smoothly, and often hilariously (see Detective Cabanela doing anything, also the "Panic Dance"). The dialogue shifts between lightly comedic (Missile the Pomeranian might be the only dog of that breed whom I find both adorable and lovable, and hilarious) to somewhat gloomy and sad, but never excessively so.
There is the possibility of a sequel (don't worry, nearly all story elements are tied up in this game), although apparently the game didn't sell to well in Japan (and likely in America, either). Capcom apparently even blamed it for a poor showing in the fiscal quarter of its release, too, so that probably dooms any chance of a sequel. Maybe. The runaway success of the Ace Attorney series, and the fact that this is Capcom, who makes sequels to EVERYTHING (they even made an Okami sequel, of all things!), might mean we get to solve more mysteries via Ghost Tricks.
Sure, it's no PC in that regard, but the level of quality versus quantity is pretty unarguable. Here's the list of classic adventure games that I've played:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Investigations
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
And I'm not even counting the Professor Layton games, which are kind of borderline. They are great games, either way, though.
It is somewhat odd that Capcom dominates that list, publishing all but two games (Hotel Dusk and 999). Who would have thought Capcom would make so many awesome adventure games?
Anyway the reason I bring this up is because I just finished Capcom's excellent Ghost Trick. Developed by many of the Ace Attorney people (possibly the same team, depending on where you get your info on the internet), the game is about Sissel, who dies at the beginning of the game. He receives powers after his death, and is able to move about in ghost form by possessing certain items. Sissel can manipulate many of these items, allowing him to move around farther, and also to interact with the many living characters that inhabit the game world.
Also, when he discovers a dead body, he can travel back in time to four minutes before their death, and do his best to reverse it. If he does so, he changes their fate, and thus allows the storyline to progress.
Sissel, you see, suffers from amnesia. He cannot remember who he was, other than the fact that when he dies, he can see his body from his ghost form. He spends the rest of the game trying to figure out who killed him, why they killed him, who he really was (for example, why was he present in the junkyard when he was killed?), and why many of the people he encounters seem to know and recognize his earthly body.
I will not spoil the story here, because it is fantastic, but it also holds up throughout. This is probably my main complaint about every other adventure game in the above list, save for Hotel Dusk. That isn't to say the stories aren't enjoyable, just that the suspension of disbelief falls pretty hard near the end (especially, ESPECIALLY in 999 - as much as I enjoyed the characters and most of the dialogue in that game, the true ending was pretty forced and weird). Ghost Trick has a somewhat goofy explanation for the main event the story spins around, but given the context of the game, it seems grounded and makes sense. I was satisfied with it, and was surprised several times by the twists and turns in the story.
Also, the puzzles were never too obtuse to figure out with a few tries. They were challenging, but since they made sense, it should only take even a adventure game newbie a few tries to figure out.
The animation, though, is unbelievably gorgeous. The characters who move around on screen look a touch rotoscoped, then colored over. They move smoothly, and often hilariously (see Detective Cabanela doing anything, also the "Panic Dance"). The dialogue shifts between lightly comedic (Missile the Pomeranian might be the only dog of that breed whom I find both adorable and lovable, and hilarious) to somewhat gloomy and sad, but never excessively so.
There is the possibility of a sequel (don't worry, nearly all story elements are tied up in this game), although apparently the game didn't sell to well in Japan (and likely in America, either). Capcom apparently even blamed it for a poor showing in the fiscal quarter of its release, too, so that probably dooms any chance of a sequel. Maybe. The runaway success of the Ace Attorney series, and the fact that this is Capcom, who makes sequels to EVERYTHING (they even made an Okami sequel, of all things!), might mean we get to solve more mysteries via Ghost Tricks.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Shining Force CD: A Reflection on Nostalgia
I didn't realize how much the "Sword of Hajya/The Evil God Awakes" sucks.
One of the things that always annoyed me about my beloved childhood Game Gear Shining Force was how a few battles into the game, your Force splits into two parties. This means that for the next few hours of the game, you are fighting battles with about 5 or 6 characters in each party. This wouldn't be so much of a problem, if the battles themselves weren't so stacked against you.
Sure, you say. It's supposed to be hard - you're unexpectedly split up and the odds are stacked against you! To that I say "go hump a weedwacker." First of all, you cannot pick who goes in what team (which I suppose makes sense, due to the events at the particular moment your guys split up) so if your characters aren't leveled properly on either team - guess what! Difficult grinding time!
Then you have the maps. Most of the Shining games don't put you on maps that have very slim paths, but when you split up and only have 6 characters, there are a lot of them. There is also a map wherein you play in the dark, and enemies randomly appear as you make your way across the map. Oh yay! My mage, who I had been keeping in the back due to her low HP and defense (and who also happens to be the party leader, which means if she dies, it's game over) is now surrounded by zombies and dark knights. Oh and my healer - who also has the highest attack power in this party - is near the frontlines, so if she gets damaged, he might be two turns away from healing her! Oh and he also has low MP so he may be out of healing charges anyway. Fun!
The other party, with the main character you named at the beginning of the game (Deanna, for whatever reason, is the canon name) is a bit better balanced, but doesn't face nearly as difficult battles as Natasha's party mentioned above. Right now, I'm in a lava battle with this team, and I'm finding it difficult to find the urge to play.
Which really speaks to the issue I have with many RPGs, though. It's probably why I don't find Final Fantasy IV or Four Heroes of Light too enthralling - people are constantly coming and going from my party. Let me level them up! Don't let me possibly lose equipment when they leave! Stop making stupid plots where the people have to leave for little to no reason (Shining Force CD and the aforementioned Final Fantasy games are very guilty of this, 4HoL in particular). It's frustrating to have to deal with some asshole leaving your party when you've built them up for hours on end. I mean, if it's like Tellah from FFIV and they don't come back ever, fine! I don't even know why I put up with it in Final Fantasy VI... Although come to think of it, at least there the reasons the characters split up were usually for good reason (Sabin jumping in the river to fight Ultros aside).
Anyway I'm going to beat Shining Force CD, dammit. No matter what this stupid thing throws at me. But the original Shining Force Gaiden, "Toward the Root of Evil," is so far the better chapter.
One of the things that always annoyed me about my beloved childhood Game Gear Shining Force was how a few battles into the game, your Force splits into two parties. This means that for the next few hours of the game, you are fighting battles with about 5 or 6 characters in each party. This wouldn't be so much of a problem, if the battles themselves weren't so stacked against you.
Sure, you say. It's supposed to be hard - you're unexpectedly split up and the odds are stacked against you! To that I say "go hump a weedwacker." First of all, you cannot pick who goes in what team (which I suppose makes sense, due to the events at the particular moment your guys split up) so if your characters aren't leveled properly on either team - guess what! Difficult grinding time!
Then you have the maps. Most of the Shining games don't put you on maps that have very slim paths, but when you split up and only have 6 characters, there are a lot of them. There is also a map wherein you play in the dark, and enemies randomly appear as you make your way across the map. Oh yay! My mage, who I had been keeping in the back due to her low HP and defense (and who also happens to be the party leader, which means if she dies, it's game over) is now surrounded by zombies and dark knights. Oh and my healer - who also has the highest attack power in this party - is near the frontlines, so if she gets damaged, he might be two turns away from healing her! Oh and he also has low MP so he may be out of healing charges anyway. Fun!
The other party, with the main character you named at the beginning of the game (Deanna, for whatever reason, is the canon name) is a bit better balanced, but doesn't face nearly as difficult battles as Natasha's party mentioned above. Right now, I'm in a lava battle with this team, and I'm finding it difficult to find the urge to play.
Which really speaks to the issue I have with many RPGs, though. It's probably why I don't find Final Fantasy IV or Four Heroes of Light too enthralling - people are constantly coming and going from my party. Let me level them up! Don't let me possibly lose equipment when they leave! Stop making stupid plots where the people have to leave for little to no reason (Shining Force CD and the aforementioned Final Fantasy games are very guilty of this, 4HoL in particular). It's frustrating to have to deal with some asshole leaving your party when you've built them up for hours on end. I mean, if it's like Tellah from FFIV and they don't come back ever, fine! I don't even know why I put up with it in Final Fantasy VI... Although come to think of it, at least there the reasons the characters split up were usually for good reason (Sabin jumping in the river to fight Ultros aside).
Anyway I'm going to beat Shining Force CD, dammit. No matter what this stupid thing throws at me. But the original Shining Force Gaiden, "Toward the Root of Evil," is so far the better chapter.
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