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Post by personman on Dec 19, 2023 17:22:48 GMT -5
Lunacid (Steam/PC, first time, 43 hours)
I've been hearing a lot of people these past couple years speak fondly of King's Field. A first person dungeon crawl isn't the first thing that comes to me when when I think of stuff I want to play so I didn't quite get the temptation buuut I'm starting to hear the siren call now. Once I got wind that one of my fav indie devs, Kira was making something inspired by it I figured it'd be a good chance to get my feet wet.
And it didn't disappoint! Kira mostly doing horror games already has a good grasp on crafting atmosphere and this is about the feeling I thought this kind of game should give off just with a dash of playfulness here and there. It's not so overtly horror like most of their work but certainly has some eerie segments. Soundtrack is about what you'd expect but occasionally ThorHighHeels comes in (yes, the same youtube one) with some really funky tracks that feel really out of place but are so cool you don't care.
Observe:
Otherwise its has a minimalist plot in the background that feels very Dark Souls with a world in decline, shit is fucked up and sucks but least you found this cool sword off some tragic hero's corpse! Also behold: Robert Belgarde is here to grace you with his Alucard voice... again lol dude is getting around lately.
As for the game itself I imagine its pretty typical for the genre. Cautiously explore mazes gaining new equipment and spells and develop straight forward RPG stats. It all seems to work out pretty well far as I could tell, no gross imbalances that I could see though personally I feel like focusing on a pure melee of ranged character would be damn boring and a little cumbersome. The elemental weakness and resistances enemies have are pretty substantial so having 2 extra means of dealing out the appropriate damage to deal with an area makes things move smoothly when you can only have two weapons on hand at a time and the menus are pretty clunky, likely intentionally so. As such it really seems like you have no reason not to build a jack of all trades rather than specialize which isn't my favorite thing but game is lax enough you do have a bit of freedom so if you really want to be a pure fighter I'm sure you can.
That's one thing I was kind of surprised to see: game isn't too difficult till like the very end and even then its nothing insurmountable. With how cruel everyone likes to make out the King's Field series I was expecting more traps out of no where and gotcha moments in general but nah. It has its tricks for sure but won't just nuke you in the blink of an eye and you know what? Good, screw that crap. Really the most difficult thing about the game is just getting around as it is of course a giant maze and there is no in game map. Also big emphasis on false walls you have to manually open but the detection on them is pretty generous and you learn early on that they are a thing so where I usually would find such things annoying here they made them work well enough so you'll just get into the habit of smashing your face into every flat surface you see. I personally would have liked an in game map but I understand that probably wouldn't have been in the spirit of things. Push comes to shove you can just shift+tab if you're playing on Steam and find a community guide with very good maps which I did resort to when I started to sweep for the end game stuff.
Which exploring was satisfying for there is just a ton of stuff to find and play with. Much of the spells do what you'd expect and have a few surprised as well, like one that just conjures a coffin... which you can pretty much stack indefinitely and reach higher areas, I dont doubt you could use them to sequence break too. I was happy to find there was quite a number of spells that concerned traversal which you just don't see as often. Many weapons also have special properties which I'm always a big fan of, though most of them are too weak to really be worth you're time though unfortunately. There is a whole crafting and material system thrown in as well which never hurts anything but I pretty much never felt the need to use it much at all. I'm just glad if it is going to be there that it doesn't get in the way but if it was removed absolutely nothing would be lost either.
I have to really try to think of things to nitpick with this one and I really can't think of much, just a couple vestigial things that don't really hurt at all. Perhaps its due to me being unfamiliar with the genre or something but all around I think they did a great job with this, my favorite games of Kira's yet. If a new retro style dungeon crawler is your thing I believe you'll like it so consider picking it up sometime.
Rating-9
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Post by dsparil on Dec 21, 2023 7:44:48 GMT -5
Hydlide (NES, FIrst Time)
Originally I had started with the original PC88 version, but the NES port is a nicer experience mainly from the more reasonable default speed. It also adds in the high speed option that originated in the sequel if you do want faster gameplay.
For the game itself, it is one of those primordial games that's more historical important than fun per se. Hydlide isn't so early as to not have its charms, but it's a small game that gets a bit too screwy in its final few bits. It's probably a game everyone should play though at least a little bit with some understanding of how it works. In a weird coincidence, the PC88 version has an EGGCONSOLE release today!
I finished in 01:05:53.
Rating: 6
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Post by excelsior on Dec 21, 2023 10:52:25 GMT -5
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS via 3DS, First Time, 13:37)This is another enjoyable iteration of the exploration-based Vania's. There's a partner mechanism this time, which adds some depth to combat, though its not necessary to engage in it a great deal. In terms of exploration it doesn't really do anything but replace what could have been one character abilities. You can switch between both as playable leads, though it's pretty obvious that the more traditional combat of Jonathan is the better choice, with Charlotte acting more as a sidekick, since magic is less useful. Maps are pretty simple this time, with stages found by entering portraits. So we have a bunch of smaller adventure style maps to explore here, rather than one big one. This does serve to make things less convoluted, but also means we can see changes in environment away from the main castle. It also means more variety to the soundtrack, which I though was particularly good in this title. Spritework is also improved this time around. I needed to do a little bit of grinding, which the small map means can be a little more tiresome than it could have been due to a greater amount of retreading. Otherwise, the games character switching mechanism isn't a game changer, and there's no other real innovation at work here. Just another nice entry in a long running series. Score - 8/10 Horace (Switch, First Time, 10:37)I've often seen the idea of the everything game spoken by young players and been quick to label it as naive. Something like this would never come together, surely? Well, Horace is an example of a developer actually putting this theory to the test. It tells the story from the perspective of a robot, whose AI enables them to develop on an emotional and ethical level. He's quickly embraced as part of the family from that of his creator, until fate takes a turn and he finds himself thrust into a dystopian world. The tale manages to be incredibly endearing. Horace is a relatable and sympathetic character, and that is often enough to keep moving through this, even at its worst moments. Problems come from the gameplay, which doesn't really settle on what it wants to be. Does this want to be a story-based adventure, a collect-em-up platformer, Metroidvania, Meat Boy styled platforming challenge, mini game collection? Apparently it wants to be all at once and a great deal more. Horace wears its many influences on its sleeve as video game and pop culture references permeate every corner of design and storytelling. There's often a British slant to the references with Coronation Street and The Snowman being of particular note, and that Britishness finding its way into the wonderfully drawn settings. Unfortunately all these references and genre shifts give the game a convoluted feeling. There's never a real focus and many of these elements don't mesh together nicely. The level of polish is clearly impacted, also, even if it's clear real effort has put in. Further there's an inconsistency to the pacing, and much of the time I found myself just longing for the simpler story focused stages seen in the first few chapters. Horace feels like a game with no real identity. There's so much here and so much of it at odds. That said, the ambition is something to be applauded, and that there's a (mostly) working game here that can be played from start to finish is pretty remarkable. Besides that, the character and story of Horace provide a great deal of heart at the core of this that it is worthy of experiencing. Score - 7/10 Tokyo Xanadu (Vita, First Time, 28:24)Tokyo Xanadu wants so much to be action gameplay Persona that its all too easy to compare, and in that it does itself no favours. The action play is fairly fun, but doesn't go anywhere. Social elements don't really tell individual stories well. The main plot hinges on Japanese culture enough that it doesn't really work for a Western player. There's just a feeling that nothing is well executed, and that its issues are overexposed by a fairly lengthy playtime. Cut it down to a 20-30 hour game and you might have had something that could be considered a light Persona alternative, but this doesn't really have any advantages over its influencers. It's not a bad game, but there's nothing really compelling to keep playing for. Score - 6/10 Yono and the Celestial Elephants (Switch, First Time, 5 Hours or more)This is a cute little adventure, but I'm not really sure who it's for. Gameplay mostly consists of simple puzzles, largely block pushers, with a few battles here and there, though nothing strenuous in the slightest. There's no challenge here whatsoever, so you'd think this would be a suitable game for young kids, but the story is built around ethical and political issues, with writing much too wordy and dry for that audience, even if there could be some life lessons here. I'd say it mostly suits an older but new or casual player, but I found it endearing and entertaining enough for a light distraction. Score - 6/10
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Post by dsparil on Dec 21, 2023 13:06:35 GMT -5
Yono and the Celestial Elephants (Switch, First Time)
This is a cute little adventure, but I'm not really sure who it's for. I liked Yono, but it was a game that made more sense when it came out in Oct. '17. There were only about 150 Switch games (retail and download only) and 50 of them were Arcade Archives releases. Looking over my completions from back then, I was still mostly on 3DS so I'd snatch up anything on Switch that even looked remotely interesting.
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Post by personman on Dec 21, 2023 23:27:11 GMT -5
Ducktales (NES, emulated on 3DS, replay, 1 hour)
After listening to a Retronaughts episode on Capcom's licensed NES games everyone of course started gushing about this game. That has always bugged me, throughout the years I have heard so much golden praise for this one and I had this as a kid and even back then I swear I remember I could beat it with my eyes closed clear back when I was like 9 and never was impressed with it. I didn't dislike it per say but most times I ever here this come up people act like its one of the best things coming out of the NES library. Am I remembering wrong? Was it missing fan hype since I was never into the cartoon even when it was absolutely freaking everywhere? I figured I should go take a second look.
One thing is for certain it wasn't as easy as I remember lol. I got my ass handed to me like 8 times in the first level or rather the Amazon one. Right off the bat it has very annoying enemies constantly spawning at ridiculous times and you can only take three hits from the start not to mention one of the alternate paths is already asking you to do tricky things with the pogo cane thing. However weirdly enough the rest of the levels are way easier and have easy to find health powerups to increase you pool up to 5. But really Transylvania has pretty docile enemies, the African Mine can seriously be beaten in less than a minute if you know the route, Himalayas is slightly tricky with the pogo possibly getting you stuck in snow but it still pretty gentle and then the moon is just a long stage that only may require you manipulate enemy spawning to pass a choke point. It's a weird reverse in difficulty if you start at the top of the level list and the bosses are all a joke. The end gives the impression of time constraints since they just send you back to Transylvania again with no changes only theres a different boss that's even easier than the one before. Right.
One thing I will give it is the soundtrack is pretty great, particularly the theme for the moon which I'm sure you've all heard. Too bad its getting drowned out by really, REALLY obnoxious sound effects. Seriously whoever made that noise when you jump on an enemy I shake my finger at you. Anyways I'm not being really positive here but I'm not negative either. Aside from the first level being a bit of an ass and the final level being recycled I never was having a bad time with it but certainly wasn't wowed by it either. Its just a perfectly serviceable licensed game. I do see it seems to have an emphasis on score chasing which personally is just not my thing so I may just be missing out on the main appeal of exploring and trying to get that number as high as possible. Brings to mind all the love I hear for the first Luigi's Mansion often citing the same reason and that's plenty valid just not my thing. Plus I never got into the show so theres that too.
So yeah. Still don't really get it but it was nice to run through this again. Dont know if I ever will again anytime soon.
Rating-5
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Post by spanky on Dec 22, 2023 7:29:34 GMT -5
Gravity Circuit (NSO, First Time)
This caught my eye when it was released but me being a total cheapskate decided to wait until it was on sale. This is another entry in the very popular "retreaux" game trend that is a mishmash of gameplay elements and design choices from retro games. This is Mega Man X crossed with Shatterhand a bit (you punch things instead of shooting). Oh and it has a grappling hook, that you can use to grab enemies and projectiles and throw them around because why not?
Despite the name "Gravity" being in the title, it has no sort of gravity flip mechanic or anything. You mainly run around and just punch things. Your specials are fueled by a rechargeable meter that you increase by attacking enemies. New special moves are unlocked by defeating the bosses and there's quite a few of them though most aren't very useful and anyone familiar with these sorts of games will ID the most useful ones pretty quickly. It starts off pretty tough but like a lot of modern games, the penalties for failure are pretty low - you're just sent back to the last checkpoint. You can play the levels in any order and the game is nice enough to provide a difficulty level for each level and their boss on the selection screen (though I didn't notice a huge difference). Once you power up your character a bit and figure out the best techniques, the game gets kind of easy.
Visually it's high quality pixel art with the overall sprite aesthetic going for a bit of a Game Boy Color look, with most sprites being composed of different shades of just one color. Music is pretty good as well though I don't recall anything super memorable. There's a home base area you visit between levels to shop and talk to NPCs. Everyone, including the bosses are fairly chatty too. All this stuff kind of bogs down a game like this in my opinion. The story has some very heavy MMX influences in overall tone, the ending just straight up rips off the ending of X1 which is pretty funny.
I liked this a lot, but is it a classic? Is it something I'll return to a decade from now? Modern games, even a very good game like this, do not really stick in my head like a lot of classics do and I don't think it's just nostalgia. 8/10.
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Post by Woody Alien 2 on Dec 22, 2023 12:11:21 GMT -5
Infernax (Steam, first time, about 11 hours according to Steam counter)
For once I did not buy this game with a discount, but full-price, I just wanted it to be a Christmas present of sorts... since I'm no longer used to buy games full-price I was unsure if I did the right thing, because this is another example of retro-styled game, but upon consideration it wasn't a bad choice. There's multiple endings whether you pursue the good or bad side, a new dual-character mode, a few extra characters to unlock that change the gameplay somewhat, so I'm not disappointed in having spent these 20€. But I digress... Infernax is an action RPG of sorts clearly based on Zelda II and Simon's Quest (with nods to other NES titles like Faxanadu), but much gorier than those, where you play the part of a crusader that comes back to his duchy and finds it infested with demons and spirits. Among the platform challenges and the various missions you can choose to do to gain XP and money, there are also several moral choices. You can either be the protector of the land or accept to be a part of the cult that is pulling the strings on the demon invasion and just kill everyone, with some additional paths/missions to unlock and slight differences in your equipment and magic. This is not Undertale though, just a retro homage to games of old so choices are never complex and for the most part it is fairly clear what has to be done. For the record I put many hours in it because I decided to play it "classic mode", that is, with no ulterior help other than the pre-existing save points, I grind a bit to power my health and attack power, I had to redo several times the most difficult platform parts (though the game is not as hellishly hard as it has been sold, just annoying in parts but all the while is pretty manageable) and I decided to undergo the "Ultimate Good" ending, eradicating the cult and unlocking the last area in hell to defeat the demonic menace once and for all. What can I say, it's a pretty nice game if you like this kind of stuff, graphics are good especially some cutscenes and some of the more outlandish demons, music is nothing special, there's a good amount of content and all in all I did enjoy it, will probably try the lesser good and the evil/ultimate ending as well. 8/10
Suck my enchanted mace, Baphomet!!!
Just A Humble Swordsmith (Steam, first time, 17 minutes)
Another game project from the DigiPen institute of Technology being put on Steam for free. I'm not giving it a score but it's pretty unsubstantial: it's an idle game where you have to make swords for adventurers, the more powerful they are the more they can go deep in the caverns and find more materials to make swords with, rinse and repeat. The idea is nice but there's not much to do but choose every time the most advanced sword with the most powerful material, choose a randomly generated adventurer that has more advantages than the others and just wait until it's finished since there is nothing else to do and no reason to touch it again. It would be nice to see it as a more-full-fledged game, but it is useless as it is.
personman I'm not a fan of From Software or King's Field but I'm interested in trying Lunacid, also I know Kira is a good dev so I believe it's going to be interesting anyway. And speaking of DuckTales, the sound FX are annoying but have you tried hitting a wall with your cane instead of an enemy? Scrooge's sound FX and animation is kind of hilarious.
excelsior I'm interested in your evaluation of Horace since I bought it for cheap during the previous sales but haven't had the time or will to get around it. I will take it into consideration because I thought it was a metroidvania of sorts, but apparently it seems to be one of those games that that want to do a bit of everything with average results? I put it into my followed list quite some time ago but apparently never paid proper attention to it...
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Post by Apollo Chungus on Dec 22, 2023 13:55:48 GMT -5
Quake II: Ground Zero (Switch; First Time)
I need to shut my trap about taking a break between the various Quake II games included in the Nightdive port, because I've kept finding myself getting into the next one only a day or two later lol.
This is the second Quake II expansion pack, and it was made by the folks at Rogue Entertainment who had previously made Strife (which I quite enjoyed) and the Quake I expansion Dissolution of Eternity (which was way too hard for me when I tried it a couple years back). Although this came out a few months after The Reckoning, this expansion's a lot more straightforward - it takes out the enemies introduced in that one, and mainly focuses on introducing a bunch of new weapons to add to your arsenal. Otherwise, it's as "business as usual" of an expansion back as you can get. At least it means that you don't have to deal with fighting a bunch of annoying enemy types anymore, though that there isn't anything else new does mean it's mostly unremarkable.
There is a brief section where you can find a secret machine that briefly disguises you as a Strogg, and you're free to make your way through a good chunk of a stage without fighting anybody. It's a nicely distinct and playful moment in a game that - either in the main thing or through these expansions - tends to be quite dry. Dunno if that makes the whole thing worth it, beyond working as a nice time waster when I couldn't figure out what to play on the Switch. Thankfully, I did find a couple games I'm digging through at the moment, so I can at last make good on my plan to finally take a break from Quake II and let the latter two campaigns of Quake II 64 and Call of the Machine feel a bit fresher by the time I get round to them.
Sonic Advance 2 (GBA; First Time; 1 hour 7 minutes)
Over the last week or so, I've been playing Advance 2 to get screenshots and notes for the HG101 article I'm planning to do on it. I've my thoughts on the game fairly solidified, it's just a case of writing them into coherent sentences. What I can say that's relevant to this posting is that I'm very bad at the boss battles, where you're always running towards them and have to strike the right distance between getting in a hit and avoiding their attacks. I can just about manage it with Sonic thanks to his little mid-air dash you can do by double-tapping left or right while jumping, but I've not been able to catch up with the bosses playing as most of the other characters.
Except Cream. Yes, I beat this using Cream and using her buddy Cheese to *ahem* cheese the bosses. I appreciate that she's there for players would want to see the rest of the game without suffering through the boss fights; it's a surprisingly generous concession for a game like Advance 2, and one that's great for folks like me who aren't much good at anything besides the main levels. That you unlock after beating the first zone (where Sonic is the only character you have) is a good indicator of her being a super-easy mode, though I now realize that I don't think you unlock her in Sonic Advance 3 until a considerable way in. I wonder how I'll manage that one...
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Post by Digitalnametag on Dec 22, 2023 16:49:02 GMT -5
Star Ocean: The Second Story R PS5 replay 24 hours
A really good remake. This is the third version of this game I own and the first time I actually finished it. The new guild missions and in game achievements help make visible the more esoteric systems of the original game. I remember reviews of Star Ocean games mentioning you can ignore the crafting, but by doing this you cripple yourself. The crafting is a whole third of the game! I wasn't into the Atelier series the first time I played a Star Ocean game so the crafting went right over my head. This time through I really dove into it and enjoyed the system.
That aside the combat is still pretty simplistic (early Tales level) and the story leaves much to be desired. The male MC Claude is an unlikable dufus. The capability to recruit different party members on multiple plays is neat however. Overall an amazing remake of an average PS-era RPG.
I would love to see the studio responsible for this game, Gemdrops, remake my favorite PS1 RPG Valkyrie Profile next. Players would benefit from a hint system like Second Story R's in that game.
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Post by spanky on Dec 22, 2023 19:38:24 GMT -5
Mega Man 9 (via PS4 Legacy Collection 2, Replay)
My son, who has been watching me play through the Mega Man games and he didn't want me to finish 8 because "it looks weird"...he's truly my kid. Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say that hasn't been said. The devs looked back on 20 years of Mega Man games and said "OK, what actually worked?"
Despite being a "newer" game, it's pretty tough with some devious challenges. It's right in line with the NES games. I kind of appreciate they resisted the urge to add a ton of quality of life features - you can't visit the shop between fortress levels, you can't cycle through your weapons with the shoulders, there's no quick way to exit levels you've beaten. I guess it gives the game a bit of old school purity, which I guess is what they were going for.
This is one of the best games in the series by my account. Right up there with 2, 3 or X1. Amazing music too. 10/10.
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Post by Apollo Chungus on Dec 22, 2023 19:59:58 GMT -5
Mark of the Ninja (Switch; First Time)
Uhhhh I wasn't expecting to post again literally some hours later, but I ended up beating this game in what turned out to be a short final session, so here we are.
This is one of those games I mentioned grabbing for the Switch after weeks of feeling clueless about what to try out on the thing, and it was nice to get onto a game I remember hearing pretty good things about back in the day (my strongest memory is of one of my best friends in secondary school talking about how much they were into it). It's quite a cool stealth action title where you play as a ninja sneaking through various locales full of spotlights, security guards, and an increasing number of traps to contend with. You're encouraged to be as quiet as you can, hiding in the shadows and using various routes and tools at your disposal.
I like how playful it is, with plenty of secret areas and challenges to incentivise trying different tactics and exploring the levels. You often get seals from these which you can use to upgrade your skills and tools, and completing enough challenges of a certain type unlocks new outfits that strongly affect your playstyle and toolkit. I enjoyed playing this a good bit, doing my best to stealth my way about and figuring out how to overcome the many challenges it presents you. Sometimes the controls would trip me up by getting stuck on a wall I didn't want to climb, or by being a bit too context sensitive that it'd get confused between me picking up a body or pressing a switch, but it's otherwise a nicely addictive time that never got dull throughout its dozen or so stages.
There's always something new being introduced, whether it's an enemy like snipers who can scope and shoot you from far away or environmental flourishes such as lightning strikes that will expose you, and each area adds enough variations on existing ideas to keep things interesting. I rather wish there were more stages to play around with, but I suppose there's the Dosan's Tale DLC included with this port to hopefully satisfy that interest. Deffo worth a look if you're into stealth action games where you have way agility and capabilities like nobody's business.
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Post by excelsior on Dec 23, 2023 7:38:25 GMT -5
dsparil - re: Yono. I more meant from a target market perspective, but I'm sure it did benefit a lot from being an early release. It certainly stood out to me back then. I wonder with us now in the days of updated ecosystems rather than starting from scratch if the early adopter market will be lost for software like this in the future. Woody Alien 2 - That was definitely my takeaway from Horace, that it wanted to be something of everything. Possibly a spoiler, but there is a Metroidvania in it. I would say that was more accurate than to say the entire thing is an MV. I was very up and down on how things were handled from one room to the next. There's just so much going on, my opinion was all over the place. I'm glad I played it, but it's not an easy recommendation. I did play Infernax earlier in the year myself. I actually thought the game was really easy once you got a few powerups in you. It becomes pretty forgiving. The difficulty claims had me scratching my head. Really enjoyed the game though. personman - I'm also interested in Lucanid. For me though because I am a big King's Field fan. I am wondering if you tried it on Deck? Curious how it runs there. -- Now, let's get on with some more submissions. Just one more after these and I'm up to date! Lil Gator Game (Switch, First Time, 5 Hours appx)A Short Hike looks to be having its influence within the indie space. And why not? People are longing for these relaxing, combat free adventures. This one perhaps exceeds on that effort. The story here revolves around a young gator who's older sister has gone off to college and even when present no longer gets to play with her younger brother. In essence its about not wanting to grow up and clinging onto your childhood. As such, it's both a good game for kids, and for those who appreciate such a nostalgic feeling. You're given an open playground, in the very literal sense, and move around to discover friends who you can win over to join in your game. Usually there's a very short quest attached, but other times you just need to speak to them. The world itself is quite simple, though there's enough to distinguish environments. There's a lot of verticality to it, with the ability to climb higher gradually unlocked. Besides friend characters, there are 'enemies' to destroy, but the're motionless cardboard cut outs. Everything here is done to emphasise the feeling of playfulness and it's done with such effortless genuinity. The dialogue feels suitably goofy and endearing. My only real gripe is that I didn't want the game to end, but really brevity is likely to its benefit. Other than that Lil Gator Game completely delivers with a captivating yet cozy adventure. Score - 9/10 Save Me Mr Tako! - Definitive Edition - (Switch, First Time, 13:38)Did reviewers actually play this? I see some glowing reviews out there and I don't believe they played the same game I did, or at least through to the end. I'm guessing more of a glace 'oh, Game Boy graphics, isn't it charming' followed by a play of the first few stages and put an 8/10 score on it. The game simply has too many flaws that aren't being pointed out. The hat system. There's 60 hats to collect. Many are pretty samey or of no real use. There's a handful you'll need to make use of. They're unlocked either on your way or through secrets, and can at that point onwards be equipped by talking to a specific character. They appear at checkpoints and on each world map, but act as powerups where they're lost after one hit. There's also an ammunition meter of sorts for these and your basic attack which can be refilled with a collectable. Why is this a thing? Stages are designed to make use of abilities. You may either not have them, or not be able to attack. Waiting for your meter for each attack in a boss battle is just bizarre. I doubt the designer can even give a good answer as to why this idea was implemented. Combat. See above. Also, it's pretty sloppy. Some enemies stun in place on hit (to use as platforms), other's don't. So frequently those that do will be placed in such a way that you're trapped giving the feeling of this aspect being unfinished. Bosses are generally poorly designed, and it's inconsistent whether one will give feedback to indicate when hit. You'll generally eat a good amount of hits and so boss health isn't reset when you die, which is used as a crutch. Is it an adventure? Sometimes you have standard world layouts with numerical stages to progress, and some non numerical to mark towns or dungeons. At points you'll need to revisit previous locations, but distinguishing which one is difficult due to the limited artwork an lack of indication on the world map. It makes for an inconsistent and confusing time. Stages. There's a lot of them and most of the early ones are just ho-hum. So rarely are any obstacles or ideas introduced to the basic stages besides moving left to right. There are some nice ones for sure, but mostly in the late game, with so many feeling like little thought was put into them. Dungeons are smarter, and show there's potential here, though they're usually confusing and overlong. A save system and a little simplification here and there would have gone a long way. Story. It goes on and on with twists and turns about characters who largely look the same, none of which are sympathetic or interesting. It's overwritten. The game is overlong, perhaps to support this. I get the impression the story was the main purpose of this adventure. So, yeah, I didn't like it. Reworked the hat system into either permanent upgrades or something more faithfully Marioesque that are frequently given in stages (they could still be unlockable). Whittle down the number of stages, always using a clear world structure and new areas on the level select, even when the story wants to revisit previous locations. Just make it clear. A typical structure of few levels, story, couple of levels, dungeon, story, would work so much better. Tidy up combat. Make sure every enemy works consistently. Get rid of the ammo system. Make checkpoints double as saves and add them to dungeons. Do all that and there'd be a nice game in there. You'd still have some flaws, but they'd be less emphasised. As is, I can't recommend it at all. Score - 4/10
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Post by dsparil on Dec 23, 2023 11:15:13 GMT -5
excelsior As someone that went through both the original version and the Definitive Edition, you're being too nice to Save Me Mr. Tako! Imagine all that plus a gigantic pile of bugs including dying randomly and having 1 hit deaths and a 9 live max as the sole difficulty option. It was an absolute nightmare and I only struggled through because it kept seeming like it was about to end for about ten hours; it took something like twenty-one hours for the original and twelve for the second version. The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails (Switch, First Time) Pretty much Digitalnametag said. It's an okay substitute if you're starved for more Ys, but not as good with a so-so story The one thing I have to add is that I saw that this is basically a third game in Falcom's lesser known Zwei series which used a dual physical/magic protagonist set up. In this case, the magic protagonist is reduced down to a fairy that follow you like a shooter option dispensing spells at a button press. Zwei also used food as the sole way of gaining experience, but this one just uses food as bonus XP on top of being brought in to stages for healing. Aside from that, there isn't much that's similar since the Zwei games were top down dungeon crawlers. I finished in 19:03:25. Rating: 7
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Post by personman on Dec 23, 2023 13:29:18 GMT -5
excelsior I did try it for a tiny bit thinking I might like it better with a controller. Ended up going back to PC but it ran flawlessly and even has been verified. Should serve well.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 24, 2023 9:39:08 GMT -5
With the end of year drawing closer, clearing out a few things I forgot to post:
Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince (Switch, First Time)
The first game was a small and shameless 2D Zelda clone, and the sequel doesn't change that up. They both have the quirk of being a story a grandfather is telling his grandchildren with frequent interjections and some minor changes in the game based on choices. This just doubles down on the cloning adding in some other frequent Zelda elements. I would have liked to have seem real advancement like with Ittle Dew and the sequel. Not awful, but at this point there's so much real 2D Zelda on Switch that there isn't much point getting an imitation.
Rating: 5
Dojoran (Switch, First Time)
A 1-bit "masocore" platformer with a frog. It's pretty good and challenging without being completely BS.
Rating: 7
Little Noah: Scion of Paradise (Switch, First Time)
I really wanted to like this "rogue-lite" action-platformer, but it feels too insubstantial. I liked the idea of having "followers" characters that act as an attack combo, and that might have been more fun in a regular metroidvania where they're doled out regularly instead of randomly. I just found out that this is based on a long shuttered mobile game also called Little Noah in Japan but Battle Champs elsewhere. The whole thing just seems like a cheap way to reuse the assets from that game, which was a sort of RTS with PVP elements, without having to do a bunch of real level design.
Rating: 6
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