2011 seems to be the year of Phantasy Star, apparently. I'm still playing cube-flavored Phantasy Star Online - Odin Taros is now level 43, and I've reached the Ruins on Hard - and I recently picked up Phantasy Star Portable for the PSP. (As an aside - why do publishers insist on making games with the same acronyms as the systems they are on? Phantasy Star Portable, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Resident Evil Deadly Silence, etc. etc. etc. It's such a weird thing to do...)
But! Before I give you my initial impressions of PSPortable, I must tell you about Lost in Blue, an old (2005 vintage, actually!) DS game I picked up recently on the cheap. I can see why it was $7.99 - Konami didn't give too much of the budget over to graphics or sound, so what you have is a somewhat ugly, janky-looking game that sounds pretty bad.
The premise of the game is simple. Much like their 1999 Game Boy Color title Survival Kids, you are a young boy who has washed ashore on what appears to be a deserted island (I just started playing, so I have no idea if it's completely deserted or not) and you must gather items and kill wildlife and survive the wilderness. You do so by combining items together, and playing little minigames to use them. For example, once you've acquired a twig and some tree bark, you play a little minigame in which you alternately press L and R and blow into the microphone to start a fire. I find this pretty neat, although I imagine it will get incredibly tedious after a while if I have to light a fire every in game day, though.
So after finding a cave to sleep in for the night, I woke up and was able to cross the now calmed river to find a girl, washed ashore, passed out on the beach. I woke her up, gave her a coconut, and brought her to my warm, dry cave and nursed her back to health as best I could with my raw clams, seaweed, and fire. Okay, so neither one of us is in good shape. But I suspect as the game goes on I'll become more and more capable of surviving.
I think the game is aggressively mediocre so far, but that is likely because the concept is so great to me, and I had heard the execution was pretty subpar. I will try to play more of it, but of course, the timesink juggernaut Phantasy Star looms.
As far as I can tell, PSPortable is a portable rendition of Phantasy Star Universe. I have not played PSU, so I cannot verify this claim. But what I've played of PSPortable is quite interesting... The game is like a mix of Phantasy Star Zero and Phantasy Star Online. The graphics are quite good, actually - much better than PSZero - but the controls are very weird. You have the ability to switch between weapons on the fly by holding O and then using the D pad to select your weapon. You then use the square button to use the weapon (I can't tell if there are Regular and Strong attacks, like in PSO and PSZero - perhaps I'm dumb and didn't find the button? Who knows). You also can lock on to enemies, but you don't stay pointed at them - your character will strafe around the guy, but stay pointed straight ahead rather than focus on whatever you targeted. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong, though. It can't be good when something as basic as locking on is obtuse right off the bat, though. There also seems to be a little number in the corner that ticks down as you use your weapon, but slowly ticks back up when you don't. I'm not really sure what that does - is it weapon degradation? Is it the weapon temporarily getting weaker? I cannot tell.
Like Phantasy Star Zero, you go on Story missions with some CPU-controlled partners. So far, I think the CPU in PSPortable is much smarter than PSZero, because your guys actually alternate between attacking and healing pretty regularly and don't seem to walk into obvious enemy attacks. Granted, I haven't faced a boss yet, and that's the real test.
What story I've encountered so far is mind-numbingly boring, not that I expected any different (and really, who cares - you don't play these games for the stories anyway). I made a RAcast named Odin Taros, just like in Cube PSO, and he recently graduated Hunter School or some crap and is now going out on his first few missions. Like in PSZero, I pick between a few dialogue choices on the occasion when someone asks me a question, and just like in the DS game, my responses don't seem to matter very much.
Regardless, though - I dropped 2000 meseta (been playing too much Phantasy Star, I suppose - $20) on this game, so I'm going to put more time into it, as well as Lost in Blue if I can.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Differences Between 0's and O's: Phantasy Star
So I have beaten Phantasy Star Zero, as of yesterday. The game was incredibly easy, and honestly? By the end of it I was pretty bored. It wasn't necessarily because of the difficulty (or lack thereof) - it was mostly because there was so little variety to it. Even compared to Phantasy Star Online (which I have recently started up again, thanks to the Sylverant servers)!
I know I said the game has a variety of level design, and for the most part, that holds up throughout. The problem as I see it is a lack of variety in gameplay - sure, you're killing tons of enemies throughout, but they don't really offer any challenge. The levels don't really offer any, either, and having replayed a lot of Phantasy Star Online recently, the bosses leave a lot to be desired as well. They have ridiculously easy patterns (except maybe the first time you fight the Octopus boss, but even then I never died against him) and go down fairly quickly.
Compare that to Phantasy Star Online, where the bosses are dangerous as hell. If you aren't overleveled, you have to be very careful when you go up against any boss in PSO - from the first boss all the way to the last. I grant, though, that all the bosses are not created equal - the bastard Cave boss, for example, is really badly designed. He isn't even damageable except for a small window, and frankly even then he its too difficult to hit him without getting hit by his stupid antennae. This makes the battle take forever.
Regardless, though, Phantasy Star Online is the better game. Sure, Phantasy Star 0 has some neat ideas - I love the reward system (think Achievements, only instead of points, you get items), the ability to recruit NPCs for offline missions (who I wish would never, ever talk, but it's still a neat idea), and the camera controls are a little better. But Phantasy Star Online just has more going for it - a more balanced game (with, you know, CHALLENGE), better character designs, better music, better atmosphere, better reasons to keep playing, and better items. It's kind of intangible, actually, why else Phantasy Star Online is better - you get the impression that 0 was made on a shoestring budget and didn't get quite the care it should have to make it a better game.
So I'm now way to far into PS0 for my own good, probably. I'm playing more of this than any other game I have, at the moment - I still haven't finished Fallout: New Vegas (although I fully intend to). I must get back to Odin Taros, my level 24 RAcast, and grind him up.
I am addicted to PSO again, and it feels so, so good.
I know I said the game has a variety of level design, and for the most part, that holds up throughout. The problem as I see it is a lack of variety in gameplay - sure, you're killing tons of enemies throughout, but they don't really offer any challenge. The levels don't really offer any, either, and having replayed a lot of Phantasy Star Online recently, the bosses leave a lot to be desired as well. They have ridiculously easy patterns (except maybe the first time you fight the Octopus boss, but even then I never died against him) and go down fairly quickly.
Compare that to Phantasy Star Online, where the bosses are dangerous as hell. If you aren't overleveled, you have to be very careful when you go up against any boss in PSO - from the first boss all the way to the last. I grant, though, that all the bosses are not created equal - the bastard Cave boss, for example, is really badly designed. He isn't even damageable except for a small window, and frankly even then he its too difficult to hit him without getting hit by his stupid antennae. This makes the battle take forever.
Regardless, though, Phantasy Star Online is the better game. Sure, Phantasy Star 0 has some neat ideas - I love the reward system (think Achievements, only instead of points, you get items), the ability to recruit NPCs for offline missions (who I wish would never, ever talk, but it's still a neat idea), and the camera controls are a little better. But Phantasy Star Online just has more going for it - a more balanced game (with, you know, CHALLENGE), better character designs, better music, better atmosphere, better reasons to keep playing, and better items. It's kind of intangible, actually, why else Phantasy Star Online is better - you get the impression that 0 was made on a shoestring budget and didn't get quite the care it should have to make it a better game.
So I'm now way to far into PS0 for my own good, probably. I'm playing more of this than any other game I have, at the moment - I still haven't finished Fallout: New Vegas (although I fully intend to). I must get back to Odin Taros, my level 24 RAcast, and grind him up.
I am addicted to PSO again, and it feels so, so good.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Phantasy Star Online: Anniversary Edition
On a whim, I recently purchased Phantasy Star 0 for DS. I bought it new, at full price, for $34.99 from Gamestop (something I very, very rarely do for games that haven't come out in the past year or so) because I was itching for some Phantasy Star Online. I had heard a recent podcast about the entire series of Phantasy Star Online, from the original Dreamcast release all the way up to the recent DS and PSP games. One of the people on it, who said he played mostly offline PSO on the Gamecube (which is pretty much what I did the most of) said he really liked Phantasy Star 0, so I bit.
I'm glad I did! This game really seems like a remake of Phantasy Star Online, honestly. There are some new story bits, but they aren't too intrusive (something I've heard Phantasy Star Universe has big problems with) and has all new levels and character designs and enemies and such. In fact, the graphics are some of the best 3D I've seen on the DS, to be honest - much better than the Final Fantasy IV remake a few years back and better even than the recent Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light (which made some stylistic choices regarding its graphics, but I don't think they look too great, to be honest). One of my favorite things about this game is the varied levels; each place I've been to so far (four places) have been outside, and the game has random dungeon design so each time you go through the dungeon is different, thankfully. I suppose the only thing I miss compared to Phantasy Star Online is the player character design and detail. For my gunner, I picked the only option I had to [i]not[/i] wear a goofy cowboy hat. That's fine in Fallout: New Vegas, but not my futuristic pseudo-MMO, dammit!
The controls are pretty good, as well; the game plays very much like Phantasy Star Online, with a few minor tweaks. First, you have the ability to lock on to an enemy and strafe at the same time, by holding L and then moving left or right. This makes you a bit slower, but allows you to attack while moving a bit, dodging many enemy attacks in the process. Also, since I chose a gunner as my character, this makes combat almost damage free because I hang back from the enemy and shoot. There is also a dodge ability, which causes your character to roll in the direction of your choice - they are invincible during the roll, too, so far as I can tell. There is a cooldown period for this, of course, of about a half second - which means you better be out of harms way wherever your character stands up or you'll take damage.
I rather enjoy the music, too, although admittedly when I've been grinding recently I've been listening to my iPod.
I just find it interesting how retro this game is, in terms of its gameplay - this really is Phantasy Star Online Again Round 2. It's like Sega realized the past few have kind of sucked and they started over - perhaps that's why they called it Phantasy Star Zero? Although that probably has to do with some goofy storyline.
Anyway, I highly recommend the game. My buddy recently picked it up and as soon as he gets back to his apartment at the end of the week we should be playing some games online, which I'm really looking forward to. Apparently he is a human mage, so he plays quite a bit differently than my gunner. Which works!
In other news, I was able to get my Gamecube copy of Phantasy Star Online connected to a private server a few days ago, which means we can play that online now too, if Phantasy Star 0 isn't to our liking or we get sick of it or something. I guess we'll see.
I'm glad I did! This game really seems like a remake of Phantasy Star Online, honestly. There are some new story bits, but they aren't too intrusive (something I've heard Phantasy Star Universe has big problems with) and has all new levels and character designs and enemies and such. In fact, the graphics are some of the best 3D I've seen on the DS, to be honest - much better than the Final Fantasy IV remake a few years back and better even than the recent Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light (which made some stylistic choices regarding its graphics, but I don't think they look too great, to be honest). One of my favorite things about this game is the varied levels; each place I've been to so far (four places) have been outside, and the game has random dungeon design so each time you go through the dungeon is different, thankfully. I suppose the only thing I miss compared to Phantasy Star Online is the player character design and detail. For my gunner, I picked the only option I had to [i]not[/i] wear a goofy cowboy hat. That's fine in Fallout: New Vegas, but not my futuristic pseudo-MMO, dammit!
The controls are pretty good, as well; the game plays very much like Phantasy Star Online, with a few minor tweaks. First, you have the ability to lock on to an enemy and strafe at the same time, by holding L and then moving left or right. This makes you a bit slower, but allows you to attack while moving a bit, dodging many enemy attacks in the process. Also, since I chose a gunner as my character, this makes combat almost damage free because I hang back from the enemy and shoot. There is also a dodge ability, which causes your character to roll in the direction of your choice - they are invincible during the roll, too, so far as I can tell. There is a cooldown period for this, of course, of about a half second - which means you better be out of harms way wherever your character stands up or you'll take damage.
I rather enjoy the music, too, although admittedly when I've been grinding recently I've been listening to my iPod.
I just find it interesting how retro this game is, in terms of its gameplay - this really is Phantasy Star Online Again Round 2. It's like Sega realized the past few have kind of sucked and they started over - perhaps that's why they called it Phantasy Star Zero? Although that probably has to do with some goofy storyline.
Anyway, I highly recommend the game. My buddy recently picked it up and as soon as he gets back to his apartment at the end of the week we should be playing some games online, which I'm really looking forward to. Apparently he is a human mage, so he plays quite a bit differently than my gunner. Which works!
In other news, I was able to get my Gamecube copy of Phantasy Star Online connected to a private server a few days ago, which means we can play that online now too, if Phantasy Star 0 isn't to our liking or we get sick of it or something. I guess we'll see.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas Haul 2010
So Christmas has come and gone, and, as usual, has affected the games I'm playing currently.
Before I get to those, a simple list of the games I've gotten (so far, because I may be getting one or two more on New Years day):
-Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
-Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (DS)
-Prince of Persia (PS3)
-New Play Control Pikmin (Wii)
-Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
-Nier (PS3)
-Contra 4 (DS)
-Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSiWare)
-Mighty Flip Champs (DSiWare)
I also got a swanky new DSi XL (midnight blue) that looks and plays great, but anyway.
I have begun Final Fantasy XIII and don't have much to say about it yet - I'm about two or three hours into it and it seems I've barely started, which is about what I expected given how much I've heard TWENTY HOUR TUTORIAL since the thing came out. Most of what I've done so far has been gameplay, though, which I'm happy about - it's not a boatload of text or twenty minute cutscenes the whole time. Granted, I just unlocked the ability to Paradigm Shift along with leveling up via the Crystarium, so I've got some learning to do (along with some reading, which is quite difficult on a SDTV - fucking dammit).
The other Final Fantasy I got, 4 Heroes of Light, is pretty great so far! I like the combat system a lot - it is challenging so far, but not frustrating or unfair. Depending on the fight, you have to be very careful, as one or two mistakes can cause you to lose. The nice part is that you don't lose too much if you get party wiped - the game randomly picks one of the types of gems you have and halves them. This means that you may have to grind for those gems again if you need them, as they provide both easy cash if you sell them and also they are used to upgrade your Crowns, which are similar to the old job systems of old Final Fantasys.
My big complaint is that the game, despite being called 4 Heroes of Light, actually splits them up pretty quickly, and that is quite annoying. I want to really delve into the Crown system but can't, really, because all my stupid guys are all apart so I don't really know which Crowns to level up yet. Hopefully it won't be long before they all get together and I can really start to grind them up.
I've also played a bit of both Mighty Flip Champs and Shantae: Risky's Revenge, Wayforward's DSiWare offerings which I downloaded for $20 total on Christmas day. I like them both quite a bit! I'm a bit lost as to where to go next in Shantae (I've beaten the first boss and I think I'll probably have to talk to townspeople for a clue as to where to go next), but the mechanics are pretty solid. I like the monkey transformation and I look forward to unlocking more transformations to maneuver my way around the delightful side-scrolling world better. By the by, Shantae looks absolutely fantastic on my majestic DSi XL, as does Contra 4 and Mighty Flip Champs (it seems 2D sprite art games are a good fit for the little beast).
Mighty Flip Champs is a puzzle platformer in which you press any face button on the DSi to make the bottom screen flip to the top screen. You must navigate the levels to get to the end using this mechanic. It is like 2D Portal, actually. I'm in the second set of levels and they are getting fairly devious, at this point. Great little game, though, easily worth the eight bucks.
And that is all for now, and likely all for 2010. My New Years goal? To write more blog posts next year than this year, which is already my most prolific year. Hopefully the writing competency gets better, too...
Before I get to those, a simple list of the games I've gotten (so far, because I may be getting one or two more on New Years day):
-Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
-Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (DS)
-Prince of Persia (PS3)
-New Play Control Pikmin (Wii)
-Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
-Nier (PS3)
-Contra 4 (DS)
-Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSiWare)
-Mighty Flip Champs (DSiWare)
I also got a swanky new DSi XL (midnight blue) that looks and plays great, but anyway.
I have begun Final Fantasy XIII and don't have much to say about it yet - I'm about two or three hours into it and it seems I've barely started, which is about what I expected given how much I've heard TWENTY HOUR TUTORIAL since the thing came out. Most of what I've done so far has been gameplay, though, which I'm happy about - it's not a boatload of text or twenty minute cutscenes the whole time. Granted, I just unlocked the ability to Paradigm Shift along with leveling up via the Crystarium, so I've got some learning to do (along with some reading, which is quite difficult on a SDTV - fucking dammit).
The other Final Fantasy I got, 4 Heroes of Light, is pretty great so far! I like the combat system a lot - it is challenging so far, but not frustrating or unfair. Depending on the fight, you have to be very careful, as one or two mistakes can cause you to lose. The nice part is that you don't lose too much if you get party wiped - the game randomly picks one of the types of gems you have and halves them. This means that you may have to grind for those gems again if you need them, as they provide both easy cash if you sell them and also they are used to upgrade your Crowns, which are similar to the old job systems of old Final Fantasys.
My big complaint is that the game, despite being called 4 Heroes of Light, actually splits them up pretty quickly, and that is quite annoying. I want to really delve into the Crown system but can't, really, because all my stupid guys are all apart so I don't really know which Crowns to level up yet. Hopefully it won't be long before they all get together and I can really start to grind them up.
I've also played a bit of both Mighty Flip Champs and Shantae: Risky's Revenge, Wayforward's DSiWare offerings which I downloaded for $20 total on Christmas day. I like them both quite a bit! I'm a bit lost as to where to go next in Shantae (I've beaten the first boss and I think I'll probably have to talk to townspeople for a clue as to where to go next), but the mechanics are pretty solid. I like the monkey transformation and I look forward to unlocking more transformations to maneuver my way around the delightful side-scrolling world better. By the by, Shantae looks absolutely fantastic on my majestic DSi XL, as does Contra 4 and Mighty Flip Champs (it seems 2D sprite art games are a good fit for the little beast).
Mighty Flip Champs is a puzzle platformer in which you press any face button on the DSi to make the bottom screen flip to the top screen. You must navigate the levels to get to the end using this mechanic. It is like 2D Portal, actually. I'm in the second set of levels and they are getting fairly devious, at this point. Great little game, though, easily worth the eight bucks.
And that is all for now, and likely all for 2010. My New Years goal? To write more blog posts next year than this year, which is already my most prolific year. Hopefully the writing competency gets better, too...
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Second Annual Ocarina of Time Throwdown: Afterwards
Yesterday, four friends of mine sat down and began to race our way through the entirety of the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Three of us played on Nintendo 64s, one on a Gamecube, and myself on my Wii. After about eight and a half hours, I came out victorious, but that is not what this post is about.
I hadn't played OoT in about three years (since the last Throwdown) and had since played through Majora's Mask twice. Some things surprised me during my revisit to Hyrule.
First and foremost, I have this game down pat. Again, not bragging, it's just that I beat this game so many times that it has almost literally become muscle memory for me. I almost felt as if I was watching someone else play through the game as I watched myself beat the entire thing in a single day.
I forgot some things, though. Like I always did when I was younger, I forgot to go get Saria's Song after meeting up with Zelda before attempting to enter Dodongo's Cavern. Frankly, I still think it's stupid the game makes you do this - you leave the forest, are given the Fairy Ocarina from Saria, then you run to Hyrule Castle, talk to Zelda, then are expected to run right back to Saria to learn another song.
WHY DOESN'T SARIA JUST TEACH YOU HER STUPID SONG WHEN SHE GIVES YOU THE OCARINA?!
Anyway. Coming off playing Majora's Mask twice as I did, I was surprised at how short the dungeons are in OoT. Besides the Water Temple, all the dungeons can be completed fairly quickly and don't get too devious in terms of navigation - they are pretty linear. I'm glad Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess didn't fall prey to this.
I do suppose that they are only linear because I know exactly where I'm going, which is a fair point. Considering I've beaten Majora's Mask so many times, though, the dungeons in that game aren't a cakewalk to me each time I play them, which is how I prefer it.
What Ocarina of Time has over Majora's Mask, and probably every other Zelda game, is the final boss gauntlet. The little dialogue from Ganondorf right before the battle is fairly chilling, then the duel you have with him is intense, and you can easily die if you aren't careful. Then you have to run down the collapsing castle with Zelda, and, just when you think it's all over, you hear a noise from a pile of rubble. Link runs in to investigate.
A gravely injured Ganondorf pops up from the rubble, and floating there, he holds up his hand. The Triforce of Power appears, reminding the player that Ganondorf will not go down easily. Nothing is said at all from any of the three people standing there as Ganondorf begins to transform into the monstrous pig-beast Ganon. Holding two giant twisted sai, the beast roars its challenge at Link as it begins flailing its arms. Link, taken off guard, loses his Master Sword as Ganon knocks it out of his hand, out of the arena. Ganon then takes a moment to squeal triumphantly as he knows Link is in trouble without the only blade capable of killing the evil dictator. Link, sword-less, looks up at his foe, in what is probably the single best pre-boss scene in any video game ever:
I hadn't played OoT in about three years (since the last Throwdown) and had since played through Majora's Mask twice. Some things surprised me during my revisit to Hyrule.
First and foremost, I have this game down pat. Again, not bragging, it's just that I beat this game so many times that it has almost literally become muscle memory for me. I almost felt as if I was watching someone else play through the game as I watched myself beat the entire thing in a single day.
I forgot some things, though. Like I always did when I was younger, I forgot to go get Saria's Song after meeting up with Zelda before attempting to enter Dodongo's Cavern. Frankly, I still think it's stupid the game makes you do this - you leave the forest, are given the Fairy Ocarina from Saria, then you run to Hyrule Castle, talk to Zelda, then are expected to run right back to Saria to learn another song.
WHY DOESN'T SARIA JUST TEACH YOU HER STUPID SONG WHEN SHE GIVES YOU THE OCARINA?!
Anyway. Coming off playing Majora's Mask twice as I did, I was surprised at how short the dungeons are in OoT. Besides the Water Temple, all the dungeons can be completed fairly quickly and don't get too devious in terms of navigation - they are pretty linear. I'm glad Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess didn't fall prey to this.
I do suppose that they are only linear because I know exactly where I'm going, which is a fair point. Considering I've beaten Majora's Mask so many times, though, the dungeons in that game aren't a cakewalk to me each time I play them, which is how I prefer it.
What Ocarina of Time has over Majora's Mask, and probably every other Zelda game, is the final boss gauntlet. The little dialogue from Ganondorf right before the battle is fairly chilling, then the duel you have with him is intense, and you can easily die if you aren't careful. Then you have to run down the collapsing castle with Zelda, and, just when you think it's all over, you hear a noise from a pile of rubble. Link runs in to investigate.
A gravely injured Ganondorf pops up from the rubble, and floating there, he holds up his hand. The Triforce of Power appears, reminding the player that Ganondorf will not go down easily. Nothing is said at all from any of the three people standing there as Ganondorf begins to transform into the monstrous pig-beast Ganon. Holding two giant twisted sai, the beast roars its challenge at Link as it begins flailing its arms. Link, taken off guard, loses his Master Sword as Ganon knocks it out of his hand, out of the arena. Ganon then takes a moment to squeal triumphantly as he knows Link is in trouble without the only blade capable of killing the evil dictator. Link, sword-less, looks up at his foe, in what is probably the single best pre-boss scene in any video game ever:
So, so tense. I'm going to end it there, at one of the greatest moments of quite possibly the greatest series in video games.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Dragon Warrior III First Impressions
So I came across a copy of Dragon Warrior III for the NES last week for a decent deal, and since it was in fantastic condition I bought it. After Phantasy Star IV, I wanted some more classic-style RPG to sink my teeth into.
I've heard good things about Dragon Warrior III, too. It has a rudimentary job system, and you get to name all of your characters and pick their classes and all that. It's also an NES RPG, which means once you've saved, you have to hold the Reset button as you turn the power off - and I'm playing this thing on a knock off Famiclone, so we'll see how well the save stays in the cartridge. Although when I turned it on the first time, there was a save with the guys at level 36, with names like Kain and Crono - which says to me the game was started back in the mid nineties. So obviously the save battery still works in the cart...
Anyway, as for game impressions, I will start by saying the encounter rate is too high. I know, I know, it's an 8-bit RPG so I should expect as much, but still. The battles are fast paced, though, which is nice - I sort of expected incredibly slowly moving text, but it moves pretty fast if you set it that way. I love the music, and the graphics look like a 1986 NES game, even though it was released in Japan in 1988. I like them, though. They're simple, but not boring looking, like Paladin's Quest, which I also picked up when I bought Dragon Warrior III.
I reached the first boss, though, about three dungeons in - and he kicked my ass. I forgot, this being a Dragon Warrior game, that when you lost a battle, you get sent back to the last town you saved at, minus half your gold - but you keep your experience. Which was nice! I would have lost a half hours worth of grinding had that not been the case. I'm going to have to grind some more to beat that guy, though.
It's difficult to write about these old RPGs. The battle system is classic Dragon Warrior/Quest, which is to say it didn't change all the way up to Dragon Quest IX (and even then, it wasn't too different). And it's not like the story is really worth writing about. Either way, I'm having a good time.
I've heard good things about Dragon Warrior III, too. It has a rudimentary job system, and you get to name all of your characters and pick their classes and all that. It's also an NES RPG, which means once you've saved, you have to hold the Reset button as you turn the power off - and I'm playing this thing on a knock off Famiclone, so we'll see how well the save stays in the cartridge. Although when I turned it on the first time, there was a save with the guys at level 36, with names like Kain and Crono - which says to me the game was started back in the mid nineties. So obviously the save battery still works in the cart...
Anyway, as for game impressions, I will start by saying the encounter rate is too high. I know, I know, it's an 8-bit RPG so I should expect as much, but still. The battles are fast paced, though, which is nice - I sort of expected incredibly slowly moving text, but it moves pretty fast if you set it that way. I love the music, and the graphics look like a 1986 NES game, even though it was released in Japan in 1988. I like them, though. They're simple, but not boring looking, like Paladin's Quest, which I also picked up when I bought Dragon Warrior III.
I reached the first boss, though, about three dungeons in - and he kicked my ass. I forgot, this being a Dragon Warrior game, that when you lost a battle, you get sent back to the last town you saved at, minus half your gold - but you keep your experience. Which was nice! I would have lost a half hours worth of grinding had that not been the case. I'm going to have to grind some more to beat that guy, though.
It's difficult to write about these old RPGs. The battle system is classic Dragon Warrior/Quest, which is to say it didn't change all the way up to Dragon Quest IX (and even then, it wasn't too different). And it's not like the story is really worth writing about. Either way, I'm having a good time.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Rune Factory 3: Harvest Moon Reloaded
Rune Factory 3 may have perfected Harvest Moon.
Okay, so it may be a little too early to say that yet - I've only put in about 10 hours or so - but so far I am very happy with what I've played of Rune Factory 3.
The Rune Factory games (all with the subtitle "A Fantasy Harvest Moon") take what you do in the mainline HM games (farm and woo ladies) and add dungeon crawling into the mix. You wouldn't think that would work, would you? And I would argue that it hasn't, at least until now (although I've only played Frontier, the Wii version - not the two previous DS games).
The Wii version had way too much crappy voice acting and loading to be much fun; you see, I'm used to the quick loading of Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon DS, the two HM games I've spent the most time with. When you throw load times in, the game just becomes unbearable. To be fair, the Wii version wasn't too addled with load times, but any at all really kill the experience for me. There was also a heavy emphasis on "Runeys" - I didn't play the game long enough to really tell what they were about, but a cursory search of the internet has shown that they govern how fast your crops will grow - for example if you don't take care of a certain area, the Runeys will die out there, causing your crops to grow much more slowly. Likewise, if you take really good care of an area, more Runeys will come and will cause crops to grow really fast there. A lot of the complaining about the Rune Factory games that I've seen on the internet has focused on the Runeys.
I have not seen one Runey since starting up RF3 - nor have their "effects" ever been mentioned in the game. In Rune Factory: Frontier, the Runey's were explicitly explained in-game; here, they bear no mention.
But the sheer amount of things to do in RF3 boggle the mind. Every day, there are "Requests" posted to the bulletin board in town that you can do to help villagers out, to both get items or gold from them and to raise your relationship with them (there's also requests sent directly to your mailbox, which seems kind of weird to me - why are there two places where you can get jobs?). If you don't feel like helping out villagers, you can go into one of four (that I know of) dungeons to kill stuff and get even more items, such as gems from mining spots or loot drops from your enemies. The fighting is real time, and you have many different weapons to choose from - I am currently using two swords, because you move fast and, as the flavor text so aptly puts it, "overwhelm your foes." You gain experience by fighting, but you don't merely level your character up this way - pretty much everything you do in RF3 will level up.
From what I've seen, you can level up walking/running, fighting (each individual weapon type has it's own level associated with it, i.e. swords, dual swords, spears, etc.), fishing, cooking with hands, cooking with a knife, love (which is leveled up by dealing with villagers of the opposite sex), friendship, sleeping (you level this up by sleeping, and when an enemy puts you to sleep, a higher level of "sleep" skill will wake you up faster), farming skills (such as your skill with a hoe, scythe, watering can, etc.), and so on. I'm positive I haven't even seen everything you can level up in this game yet. Also, another thing to note is that when you level something up, it not only boosts your capability with that skill, but it also usually adds something to your stats - whether its HP, RP (Runey points, which is basically your tolerance for fatigue), Strength, or whatever. This comes in handy, because you typically don't have enough time each day to do a whole lot of farming AND dungeon diving (its typically either dabbling in both, or one or the other). When you farm a lot, for example, your strength and RP will go up, allowing you to both farm better, and last longer in the dungeons.
There's a lot to find in this game, it seems. As for the characters, they are mostly one-note so far - they don't have the depth I'd like to see, but at least they aren't flat out boring like the characters in Frontier seemed to be. Certainly the script in the game is nothing to write home about, but it is passable (it isn't annoying, at least, which is appreciated).
As far as graphics go, I like them, for the most part. There are a lot of villagers, and I kind of wish my choices for chasing ladies weren't so varied. I may change my mind on this later, but there are too many girls to keep track of, and a lot of them look similar (at least they do on the map - their personal portraits that come up when you talk to them look quite different).
The sound isn't as iconic as in Harvest Moon 64, but it isn't bad, either.
One of the things I discovered just before starting this blog is that I apparently can ask anyone in the village to accompany me into the dungeons - if I can get some of the girls in town to come fight things with me, my love for this game will probably skyrocket (assuming they have passable AI, of course). You apparently can turn into a "wooly" too, which is a sheep-looking thing. I just unlocked the ability to do that, and I don't really know what it's for, yet.
I stayed up later than I wanted to the other night playing this game, which historically has been a good sign for me loving a game, because it means the game has its hooks in me. We'll see if they stick...
Okay, so it may be a little too early to say that yet - I've only put in about 10 hours or so - but so far I am very happy with what I've played of Rune Factory 3.
The Rune Factory games (all with the subtitle "A Fantasy Harvest Moon") take what you do in the mainline HM games (farm and woo ladies) and add dungeon crawling into the mix. You wouldn't think that would work, would you? And I would argue that it hasn't, at least until now (although I've only played Frontier, the Wii version - not the two previous DS games).
The Wii version had way too much crappy voice acting and loading to be much fun; you see, I'm used to the quick loading of Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon DS, the two HM games I've spent the most time with. When you throw load times in, the game just becomes unbearable. To be fair, the Wii version wasn't too addled with load times, but any at all really kill the experience for me. There was also a heavy emphasis on "Runeys" - I didn't play the game long enough to really tell what they were about, but a cursory search of the internet has shown that they govern how fast your crops will grow - for example if you don't take care of a certain area, the Runeys will die out there, causing your crops to grow much more slowly. Likewise, if you take really good care of an area, more Runeys will come and will cause crops to grow really fast there. A lot of the complaining about the Rune Factory games that I've seen on the internet has focused on the Runeys.
I have not seen one Runey since starting up RF3 - nor have their "effects" ever been mentioned in the game. In Rune Factory: Frontier, the Runey's were explicitly explained in-game; here, they bear no mention.
But the sheer amount of things to do in RF3 boggle the mind. Every day, there are "Requests" posted to the bulletin board in town that you can do to help villagers out, to both get items or gold from them and to raise your relationship with them (there's also requests sent directly to your mailbox, which seems kind of weird to me - why are there two places where you can get jobs?). If you don't feel like helping out villagers, you can go into one of four (that I know of) dungeons to kill stuff and get even more items, such as gems from mining spots or loot drops from your enemies. The fighting is real time, and you have many different weapons to choose from - I am currently using two swords, because you move fast and, as the flavor text so aptly puts it, "overwhelm your foes." You gain experience by fighting, but you don't merely level your character up this way - pretty much everything you do in RF3 will level up.
From what I've seen, you can level up walking/running, fighting (each individual weapon type has it's own level associated with it, i.e. swords, dual swords, spears, etc.), fishing, cooking with hands, cooking with a knife, love (which is leveled up by dealing with villagers of the opposite sex), friendship, sleeping (you level this up by sleeping, and when an enemy puts you to sleep, a higher level of "sleep" skill will wake you up faster), farming skills (such as your skill with a hoe, scythe, watering can, etc.), and so on. I'm positive I haven't even seen everything you can level up in this game yet. Also, another thing to note is that when you level something up, it not only boosts your capability with that skill, but it also usually adds something to your stats - whether its HP, RP (Runey points, which is basically your tolerance for fatigue), Strength, or whatever. This comes in handy, because you typically don't have enough time each day to do a whole lot of farming AND dungeon diving (its typically either dabbling in both, or one or the other). When you farm a lot, for example, your strength and RP will go up, allowing you to both farm better, and last longer in the dungeons.
There's a lot to find in this game, it seems. As for the characters, they are mostly one-note so far - they don't have the depth I'd like to see, but at least they aren't flat out boring like the characters in Frontier seemed to be. Certainly the script in the game is nothing to write home about, but it is passable (it isn't annoying, at least, which is appreciated).
As far as graphics go, I like them, for the most part. There are a lot of villagers, and I kind of wish my choices for chasing ladies weren't so varied. I may change my mind on this later, but there are too many girls to keep track of, and a lot of them look similar (at least they do on the map - their personal portraits that come up when you talk to them look quite different).
The sound isn't as iconic as in Harvest Moon 64, but it isn't bad, either.
One of the things I discovered just before starting this blog is that I apparently can ask anyone in the village to accompany me into the dungeons - if I can get some of the girls in town to come fight things with me, my love for this game will probably skyrocket (assuming they have passable AI, of course). You apparently can turn into a "wooly" too, which is a sheep-looking thing. I just unlocked the ability to do that, and I don't really know what it's for, yet.
I stayed up later than I wanted to the other night playing this game, which historically has been a good sign for me loving a game, because it means the game has its hooks in me. We'll see if they stick...
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Unsung Heroes: Phantasy Star IV
I just beat Phantasy Star IV. As posited in this article, PSIV is one of the largely unsung classics of the 16-bit era. While I wouldn't quite put it on the level of Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger, I do think it is a better game than Final Fantasy IV (which I do like quite a bit). It really is a shame this series hasn't seen any love other than Phantasy Star Online and its crappy handheld spin-offs.
Would I recommend it to someone who is used to the standards of today's RPGs? That's hard to say. Do you enjoy grinding a bit (such as WoW)? Sure, it'd be offline, but there's quite a bit of grinding. At least, that's how I played it - the nice part is, it doesn't take too long to level up - you get to a new area, level all your guys up once or twice, and then challenge the boss. If you are able to beat him, keep going. If not, level up another time or two.
You have Techniques, which is basically magic in this game. This costs MP to cast. You also have Skills, which have a counter on them - you can use them as many times as is listed, until you spend a night at an inn, when they are replenished. They are entirely separate from Techniques, so you don't have to split MP between them. Some characters (the robots) can't use magic, so they are limited to their Skills. Some Techniques and Skills can also be used in a certain order to cause special attacks, such as Nawat and Nazan to cause Blizzard, which is the only one I found myself. Apparently there are 14 of these and they are all pretty powerful.
If I have a complaint about the game, it really is that the battle system isn't anything exceptional. It's not bad - I would say its even above average! - but compared to the openness and flexibility of both Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI I would say it's pretty plain. Much akin to the Dragon Quest games, to be honest. The encounter rate can be somewhat high, sometimes, but it wasn't ridiculous.
Although it was a little more sparse than I would have liked it (due to what I'm guessing are space constraints, some of the scenes are a little lighter on dialogue than I would have liked), the story was presented excellently. I already mentioned those colored manga panels in my last post, and they really do deliver throughout the game. They are well-timed to the music for the ending as well, which is nice. It really does wrap up the story of PS1-4, too.
So I suppose I don't have too much more to say about the game. I am going to start up Phantasy Star II again, probably tonight, too. Whether I beat that game or not, we'll see - from what I remember, it's even more grindy than PSIV and a little slower, and also not as well presented. But I'm going to try! I have the ability to play Phantasy Star I, too, and I'd like to, but I really will need to buy some graph paper in that case. Which kind of sounds like Etrian Odyssey, so I'm tempted... We'll see how that goes, though. One of the blessings of playing PSIV and II is that they are on a PSP collection I have, so I can play them portably, and I only have access to I on my 360 Genesis collection. Anyway, though, I really enjoyed PSIV and will probably play it again someday. It's like RPG comfort food - lots of grinding, light story, excellent graphics and music.
Oh Sega. How the mighty have fallen.
Would I recommend it to someone who is used to the standards of today's RPGs? That's hard to say. Do you enjoy grinding a bit (such as WoW)? Sure, it'd be offline, but there's quite a bit of grinding. At least, that's how I played it - the nice part is, it doesn't take too long to level up - you get to a new area, level all your guys up once or twice, and then challenge the boss. If you are able to beat him, keep going. If not, level up another time or two.
You have Techniques, which is basically magic in this game. This costs MP to cast. You also have Skills, which have a counter on them - you can use them as many times as is listed, until you spend a night at an inn, when they are replenished. They are entirely separate from Techniques, so you don't have to split MP between them. Some characters (the robots) can't use magic, so they are limited to their Skills. Some Techniques and Skills can also be used in a certain order to cause special attacks, such as Nawat and Nazan to cause Blizzard, which is the only one I found myself. Apparently there are 14 of these and they are all pretty powerful.
If I have a complaint about the game, it really is that the battle system isn't anything exceptional. It's not bad - I would say its even above average! - but compared to the openness and flexibility of both Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI I would say it's pretty plain. Much akin to the Dragon Quest games, to be honest. The encounter rate can be somewhat high, sometimes, but it wasn't ridiculous.
Although it was a little more sparse than I would have liked it (due to what I'm guessing are space constraints, some of the scenes are a little lighter on dialogue than I would have liked), the story was presented excellently. I already mentioned those colored manga panels in my last post, and they really do deliver throughout the game. They are well-timed to the music for the ending as well, which is nice. It really does wrap up the story of PS1-4, too.
So I suppose I don't have too much more to say about the game. I am going to start up Phantasy Star II again, probably tonight, too. Whether I beat that game or not, we'll see - from what I remember, it's even more grindy than PSIV and a little slower, and also not as well presented. But I'm going to try! I have the ability to play Phantasy Star I, too, and I'd like to, but I really will need to buy some graph paper in that case. Which kind of sounds like Etrian Odyssey, so I'm tempted... We'll see how that goes, though. One of the blessings of playing PSIV and II is that they are on a PSP collection I have, so I can play them portably, and I only have access to I on my 360 Genesis collection. Anyway, though, I really enjoyed PSIV and will probably play it again someday. It's like RPG comfort food - lots of grinding, light story, excellent graphics and music.
Oh Sega. How the mighty have fallen.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
New School Platformers and Old School RPGs
I've been preoccupied with two games as of late, and they are about as different from each other as you could imagine: Super Meat Boy, a Xbox 360 port of a flash game by Edward McMillan (who apparently did some concept art for indie-hit Braid), and Phantasy Star IV, a 1995 Genesis old school RPG by Rieko Kodama (among others), producer of such games as Phantasy Star I and II, Skies of Arcadia, Magic Knight Rayearth, and 7th Dragon (which, sadly, does not look like it will come out in English - a pity, because it plays like Etrian Odyssey and is gorgeous).
Super Meat Boy is a ridiculously hardcore sidescroller, akin to N+, only it plays much faster. You are given around 300 levels, and tasked with reaching the end by touching Bandage Girl (who serves as the "damsel in distress" for this game). Actually, click here for a nice post about Meat Boy that also delves into the story and characters a bit, because I don't really feel like writing about them.
The gameplay, though, is incredible. Meat Boy moves really fast, and can walljump - which is honestly where the game throws its challenge at you. Sure, there is the aspect where the player has to figure out how to beat each level, but even when they do, they have to actually do it - which is easier said than done. This is why I love the game so much. It makes no bones about what you have to do - get to the end point of the level - but it so expertly ramps up its difficulty throughout. By the end of the game, there are levels that to someone who just started, would look impossible - and a veteran player will fly through the level as though it is a tutorial. Likewise, early levels that had initially proved difficult are a breeze. This is good game design - sprinkling new level design throughout the game to teach the player new techniques to move the little guy around. Also having the ability to unlock new characters - who control differently from Meat Boy! - is great as well. The Double Jump mechanic one unlocks when the unlock The Guy (a cameo of the main character from I Wanna Be The Guy) changes the way you play every level in the game completely.
It is very likely that Super Meat Boy is my favorite Xbox 360 game.
As for Phantasy Star IV, this is the second time I've started the game up, and this time, it has clicked. It is as old-school as RPGs can get, which means a lot of grinding, but the game is very polished. As in, the graphics are the best I've seen anyone get out of the old released-in-1989 Sega Genesis, the music is some of the best I've heard from the same, and the localization isn't a complete turd (like, sadly, the first two Phantasy Star games).
The story is told in a way that I haven't really seen anywhere else in games, too. Cutscenes are told through use of text and what amounts to colored comic book panels which pop up as different characters speak or different events happen. It's a really neat effect, and I wish other games would use this sort of style to tell their story - particularly contemporary RPGs designed to be old-school, such as Nostalgia (or especially Sands of Destruction, which could have dropped the shitty voice acting and horrible load times in favor of snappy dialogue delivered in a cool way).
Regardless, Phantasy Star IV (and, really, the entire series, save for what little I've played of III) evokes a type of world you don't see too often in (good) RPGs - sci-fi. As in, outer space, laser beam, laser sword, sci-fi. Sure, there is Star Wars KOTOR, but what else is there? Not many good ones, I'm afraid. It's done well, too - you start out on a fairly barren planet and slowly make your way around it, then get a spaceship and start traveling to space stations and new planets and such. I legitimately enjoy exploring these worlds because I haven't explored similar worlds in RPGs before.
Also, being really familiar with the stories of the past games makes Phantasy Star IV all the better. Having played through about half of PSII and having a passing familiarity with the stories of PSI and PSIII means a lot of the references in Phantasy Star IV are really cool. For example, I just beat what I believe to be the reincarnated last boss of Phantasy Star I! I have also seen a statue of the heroine from Phantasy Star I as well, but no one in the town it is in really seem to know who the hell it is. The player does, however, which is a cool way to present that (PSII took place 1000 years after PS1, and PSIV takes place 1000 years after PSII, which explains why the townspeople are fuzzy in regards to the statue). I found a crashed ship from Phantasy Star III, and most of Phantasy Star IV's story seems to tie in with Phantasy Star II's. I won't get in to any more details, but you don't see this often in RPGs either - intimate little nods to past games in the series.
I'm really enjoying both games so far, having finished Super Meat Boy's main story mode while now trying to beat the dark version of all the levels, and I have no idea how long Phantasy Star IV will take me. I may go back and try to play Phantasy Star II after this, too, if I have the patience - THAT game is a grindfest (although it has awesome, synth-tastic music).
Super Meat Boy is a ridiculously hardcore sidescroller, akin to N+, only it plays much faster. You are given around 300 levels, and tasked with reaching the end by touching Bandage Girl (who serves as the "damsel in distress" for this game). Actually, click here for a nice post about Meat Boy that also delves into the story and characters a bit, because I don't really feel like writing about them.
The gameplay, though, is incredible. Meat Boy moves really fast, and can walljump - which is honestly where the game throws its challenge at you. Sure, there is the aspect where the player has to figure out how to beat each level, but even when they do, they have to actually do it - which is easier said than done. This is why I love the game so much. It makes no bones about what you have to do - get to the end point of the level - but it so expertly ramps up its difficulty throughout. By the end of the game, there are levels that to someone who just started, would look impossible - and a veteran player will fly through the level as though it is a tutorial. Likewise, early levels that had initially proved difficult are a breeze. This is good game design - sprinkling new level design throughout the game to teach the player new techniques to move the little guy around. Also having the ability to unlock new characters - who control differently from Meat Boy! - is great as well. The Double Jump mechanic one unlocks when the unlock The Guy (a cameo of the main character from I Wanna Be The Guy) changes the way you play every level in the game completely.
It is very likely that Super Meat Boy is my favorite Xbox 360 game.
As for Phantasy Star IV, this is the second time I've started the game up, and this time, it has clicked. It is as old-school as RPGs can get, which means a lot of grinding, but the game is very polished. As in, the graphics are the best I've seen anyone get out of the old released-in-1989 Sega Genesis, the music is some of the best I've heard from the same, and the localization isn't a complete turd (like, sadly, the first two Phantasy Star games).
The story is told in a way that I haven't really seen anywhere else in games, too. Cutscenes are told through use of text and what amounts to colored comic book panels which pop up as different characters speak or different events happen. It's a really neat effect, and I wish other games would use this sort of style to tell their story - particularly contemporary RPGs designed to be old-school, such as Nostalgia (or especially Sands of Destruction, which could have dropped the shitty voice acting and horrible load times in favor of snappy dialogue delivered in a cool way).
Regardless, Phantasy Star IV (and, really, the entire series, save for what little I've played of III) evokes a type of world you don't see too often in (good) RPGs - sci-fi. As in, outer space, laser beam, laser sword, sci-fi. Sure, there is Star Wars KOTOR, but what else is there? Not many good ones, I'm afraid. It's done well, too - you start out on a fairly barren planet and slowly make your way around it, then get a spaceship and start traveling to space stations and new planets and such. I legitimately enjoy exploring these worlds because I haven't explored similar worlds in RPGs before.
Also, being really familiar with the stories of the past games makes Phantasy Star IV all the better. Having played through about half of PSII and having a passing familiarity with the stories of PSI and PSIII means a lot of the references in Phantasy Star IV are really cool. For example, I just beat what I believe to be the reincarnated last boss of Phantasy Star I! I have also seen a statue of the heroine from Phantasy Star I as well, but no one in the town it is in really seem to know who the hell it is. The player does, however, which is a cool way to present that (PSII took place 1000 years after PS1, and PSIV takes place 1000 years after PSII, which explains why the townspeople are fuzzy in regards to the statue). I found a crashed ship from Phantasy Star III, and most of Phantasy Star IV's story seems to tie in with Phantasy Star II's. I won't get in to any more details, but you don't see this often in RPGs either - intimate little nods to past games in the series.
I'm really enjoying both games so far, having finished Super Meat Boy's main story mode while now trying to beat the dark version of all the levels, and I have no idea how long Phantasy Star IV will take me. I may go back and try to play Phantasy Star II after this, too, if I have the patience - THAT game is a grindfest (although it has awesome, synth-tastic music).
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Majora's Mask: Goht
I just finished the second dungeon in Majora's Mask, which concludes with one of my favorite boss fights of all time (definitely the best in the Zelda series): the Masked Mechanical Monster, Goht. I need to write about him.
The second dungeon of the game basically uses three items throughout: the Goron Mask, Fire Arrows, and occasionally the Lens of Truth (mostly to find Stray Fairies). Other than the lens, the other two items can be used to fight Goht. You can either stand in place as Link and wait for Goht to run around, hitting him with the occasional fire arrow, or you can do it the fun way: by using Goron Link.
You do this by chasing Goht around the arena, trying to ram him enough so he falls down, allowing you to stop and pound the crap out of him. I don't even do this, though - when he falls, I just let him get back up and start the chase again. Goht begins shooting lightning beams at you, followed by forcing stalactites to fall from the ceiling in your path, to just outright throwing bombs at you. You have to avoid all of them to continue to chase him to finally bring him down.
There is no boss fight I can think of that is as fun as this one, in pretty much any game. Goht is no pushover (at least not on your first try - I kick his ass no problem, now), and what you have to do to beat him is pretty obvious due to the set up of the arena you're in, so it's all about the mechanics of the fight. It helps that Goron Link controls very well, too, although I wish he wouldn't lose his spikes if he caught to much air - but oh well. The whole thing is awesome.
It is really too bad the next dungeon boss is so lame in comparison. Zora Link is incredibly fun to swim with, and yet most of the time you try your best to be out of the water so the dumb fish doesn't eat you. I wish that battle had been like some sort of toilet drain chase (you know, like a long pipe you have to swim through as Zora Link, occasionally getting magic pots so you can continue hitting the fish with your Zora electric shield or whatever). I suppose that would be a little too similar to the Goht fight, though... Oh! What if instead of chasing the fish, you had to swim away from him? And like, to damage him, you had to like jump out of the water and like ram a stalactite off the ceiling to make it drop onto the fish? Now THAT would be an awesome boss battle.
Anyway, who cares. Goht exists, and is fun as hell. I love Majora's Mask so much.
The second dungeon of the game basically uses three items throughout: the Goron Mask, Fire Arrows, and occasionally the Lens of Truth (mostly to find Stray Fairies). Other than the lens, the other two items can be used to fight Goht. You can either stand in place as Link and wait for Goht to run around, hitting him with the occasional fire arrow, or you can do it the fun way: by using Goron Link.
You do this by chasing Goht around the arena, trying to ram him enough so he falls down, allowing you to stop and pound the crap out of him. I don't even do this, though - when he falls, I just let him get back up and start the chase again. Goht begins shooting lightning beams at you, followed by forcing stalactites to fall from the ceiling in your path, to just outright throwing bombs at you. You have to avoid all of them to continue to chase him to finally bring him down.
There is no boss fight I can think of that is as fun as this one, in pretty much any game. Goht is no pushover (at least not on your first try - I kick his ass no problem, now), and what you have to do to beat him is pretty obvious due to the set up of the arena you're in, so it's all about the mechanics of the fight. It helps that Goron Link controls very well, too, although I wish he wouldn't lose his spikes if he caught to much air - but oh well. The whole thing is awesome.
It is really too bad the next dungeon boss is so lame in comparison. Zora Link is incredibly fun to swim with, and yet most of the time you try your best to be out of the water so the dumb fish doesn't eat you. I wish that battle had been like some sort of toilet drain chase (you know, like a long pipe you have to swim through as Zora Link, occasionally getting magic pots so you can continue hitting the fish with your Zora electric shield or whatever). I suppose that would be a little too similar to the Goht fight, though... Oh! What if instead of chasing the fish, you had to swim away from him? And like, to damage him, you had to like jump out of the water and like ram a stalactite off the ceiling to make it drop onto the fish? Now THAT would be an awesome boss battle.
Anyway, who cares. Goht exists, and is fun as hell. I love Majora's Mask so much.
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