Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2021 11:02:51 GMT -5
One piece of news for imports that had slipped by me was that the EDF series was seeing some releases (including physical) on Switch, with one even coming a week or two ago (EDF2, which I have as Global Defence Force on PS2). EDF 2017 and EDF 4.1 are on their way. Probably too expensive for me to import, but a cool release nonetheless.
---
I've gotten more into Star Ocean TTEOT and am at the point where I'm getting some enjoyment from it now. The story has progressed nicely and we do have some more strongly presented female characters also. I've gotten to the point of getting the bare basics of the combat system, which seems to be enough. Tutorialisation (is that a word? I guess it is now) does seem to be a bit of a problem still but I'm trying to pick up little bits as I progress through reading online. Some of the mechanisms are only coming into play 10 hours in, so I guess it's a pretty long game I have ahead of me.
|
|
|
Post by retr0gamer on Aug 3, 2021 18:29:43 GMT -5
Hope you don't have any attachment to the Star Ocean series because there comes a point in the third game when TTEOT whips down the trousers and takes a big scuttery shite all over the first two games.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2021 18:47:44 GMT -5
Hope you don't have any attachment to the Star Ocean series because there comes a point in the third game when TTEOT whips down the trousers and takes a big scuttery shite all over the first two games. No, it's my first one so any excrementation will be lost on me. Maybe I can play them backwards and it'll be like seeing that in reverse. Is this why people don't like the game? It's like the Alien 3 of video games or something?
|
|
|
Post by lurker on Aug 3, 2021 20:03:31 GMT -5
So looks like the Pokemon Snap update also has some QoL features...
|
|
|
Post by retr0gamer on Aug 4, 2021 8:24:20 GMT -5
Hope you don't have any attachment to the Star Ocean series because there comes a point in the third game when TTEOT whips down the trousers and takes a big scuttery shite all over the first two games. No, it's my first one so any excrementation will be lost on me. Maybe I can play them backwards and it'll be like seeing that in reverse. Is this why people don't like the game? It's like the Alien 3 of video games or something? Pretty much. It's kind of par for the course for Tri-Ace games, great battle system once you understand it and weak plot but the fact it actively sticks two fingers up at the previous two game's entire existence really pisses the fan base off.
|
|
|
Post by windfisch on Aug 4, 2021 11:35:57 GMT -5
It's like the Alien 3 of video games or something? I'm confused - so is it like this?
...like this? ... or like this?
And if it's like the Alien 3 of movies, does that mean it's pretty awesome?
Seriously, I like that movie a lot. It may be the bleakest of the series and it certainly is very cruel towards certain characters*, if not every character. But despite the general sense of hopelessness, there are surprisingly humane and touching moments in it.
*(That's why it's so disliked, right?)
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2021 13:50:06 GMT -5
windfisch - The main problem I personally had with Alien 3 was that it made the entire struggle of the second film pointless. It's not so much about treatment of specific characters more that nothing was gained for them after what they went through in Aliens. I think that created a whiplash effect that made it difficult to get into what happened beyond the introduction. Outside of that although the atmosphere of the film is dismal as clearly is the intent creating an expectation of the fate of the characters for this film I personally found those characters uninteresting and unlikeable. It had its moments, but most of the middle of the film fell flat for me and I was pretty bored throughout. Each to their own of course. As for the games - I have memories of watching my brother play the SNES version which looked pretty cool. He didn't hang onto it for long though since he would always trade his games in so I never got a chance to play as I got old enough to appreciate playing it first hand.
|
|
|
Post by windfisch on Aug 4, 2021 15:59:28 GMT -5
I can understand why one wouldn't like this entry. The movie isn't shy to alienate its audience, quickly tossing aside most of what's come before, delivered with an emotional gut punch. And I agree, most of the new characters are not the kind you'd typically root for. Them being mostly unlikeable was arguably even intentional. That said, I found Charles Dance's and Charles S. Dutton's characters both pretty interesting and, to a degree, even likeable. And appearances by Lance Henriksen, even brief ones, are always a plus. I appreciate how the movie manages to feel unique, despite being somewhat similar to the first one. As a whole it would've been a fitting ending for the series. That said, I even enjoy Alien: Resurrection (*gasp*), but that's another can of facehuggers.
The SNES version is probably the best of the bunch (haven't played the lightgun game). Though gameplay-wise it has arguably more in common with Aliens. Not quite a Metroid-like, it can get somewhat tedious in terms of backtracking. But overall it's pretty well-made and interesting.
The Mega Drive game is a bit more straight-forward and pretty intense (a bit too much for my tastes). Most 8 bit versions are based on that game. On the NES it looks pretty ugly and on MS/GG the music is outstanding.
They had the right idea with the Game Boy game, going for a kind of Survival-Horror. It's ambitious, but not that convincing, I'm afraid.
|
|
|
Post by personman on Aug 4, 2021 18:25:27 GMT -5
I never played the other two Star Ocean titles so the plot twist didn't bother me at all. Hell, I liked it in fact.
Even looking back now I usually find most stories in jrpgs so dumb that making it all just a part of something like that just feels perfect to me.
|
|
|
Post by retr0gamer on Aug 5, 2021 4:10:51 GMT -5
Finished up Ape Escape, caught all 204 monkeys.
You can tell that nobody at the time had a clue what to do with that second analogue stick sony slapped on to the controller. The analogue control of the gadgets makes them unique and fun to use but every death I had in this game was purely down to how horrible the camera is. It really is a testament to how good the camera is in Mario 64 because this game shows how bad it could be. I still liked the game, it's interesting enough that I powered through the annoyances and having the collectables be annoying monkeys was a great twist on the 3D platformer collectathon. It's unique enough as well to not feel like an also ran like Spyro or the Rare platformers trying to Ape mario 64 without stepping out of its shadow and doing it's own thing.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2021 4:44:03 GMT -5
My experience with Ape Escape was with the second game (to completion) and a little the third. I'll talk about the second game since that's what I know best. If the analogue controls are odd on PS1 then surely it's even more strange that they persevered with that gimmick, since the limited camera continues. The other big issue that game had was the jumping is imprecise; fine initially, as the early levels were light on platforming and therefore felt like their design complemented the capability of the games systems. As it went on and became more complex these two issues became more prevalent and so just working through, even without finding all the monkeys, became frustrating. I really liked those initial levels and the the theme is light hearted fun, but the designers inability to contain the level design meant the flaws were all too prevalent as the game progressed. Ultimately I wanted to like the game a lot more than I did. On the jumping though, I'm not a fan of the momentumless approach found in many games, particularly Sony's publishing efforts. Generally there's a lack of control and dynamic and level design really must be kept in check in order to compliment the gameplay itself. Ape Escape 2 failed in this respect, and the best I have seen it executed perhaps is the Crash Bandicoot series, but even there it is pretty clear than the levels themselves are designed incredibly rigidly. I think this is why no other 3D platformers really live up to the Mario series. windfisch - I wouldn't exactly say I liked it, but I did get some enjoyment from Alien Resurrection. Besides the inclusion of Winona Ryder who I honestly find to be the least endearing major actress I've come across, the film had a campy vibe to it - and one look at my avatar will tell you I have an appreciation for camp. I don't think that the story was really very good or that it was a fit for the franchise though. I'd argue, even though Alien 3 was too bleak for my tastes, its tone was more in line with the premise.
|
|
|
Post by windfisch on Aug 5, 2021 7:00:09 GMT -5
windfisch - I wouldn't exactly say I liked it, but I did get some enjoyment from Alien Resurrection. Besides the inclusion of Winona Ryder who I honestly find to be the least endearing major actress I've come across, the film had a campy vibe to it - and one look at my avatar will tell you I have an appreciation for camp. I don't think that the story was really very good or that it was a fit for the franchise though. I'd argue, even though Alien 3 was too bleak for my tastes, its tone was more in line with the premise. Oh it's campy for sure and tonally quite different from the rest of the series. I like to think of it as an alternate take, a bit like Alien vs Predator (first one feautures a Predator-Alien wrestling match, so it's fine. AvP2, on the other hand, is the dullest thing I've ever seen). I think even the director, Jean Pierre Jeunet, has described Resurrection as being "dark comedy". And his direction and visual style are the main reasons why this movie works for me, despite the wonky plot and sometimes cringe-inducing dialogue by Joss Whedon. And yeah, anyone but Winona Ryder delivered a fun performance in this.
edit:
Btw.: The PS1 Alien: Resurrection game was another ambitious take on survival horror. Impressive from a technical standpoint, but cumbersome to play.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2021 7:20:20 GMT -5
windfisch - I wouldn't exactly say I liked it, but I did get some enjoyment from Alien Resurrection. Besides the inclusion of Winona Ryder who I honestly find to be the least endearing major actress I've come across, the film had a campy vibe to it - and one look at my avatar will tell you I have an appreciation for camp. I don't think that the story was really very good or that it was a fit for the franchise though. I'd argue, even though Alien 3 was too bleak for my tastes, its tone was more in line with the premise. Oh it's campy for sure and tonally quite different from the rest of the series. I like to think of it as an alternate take, a bit like Alien vs Predator (first one feautures a Predator-Alien wrestling match, so it's fine. AvP2, on the other hand, is the dullest thing I've ever seen). I think even the director, Jean Pierre Jeunet, has described Resurrection as being "dark comedy". And his direction and visual style are the main reasons why this movie works for me, despite the wonky plot and sometimes cringe-inducing dialogue by Joss Whedon. And yeah, anyone but Winona Ryder delivered a fun performance in this.
edit:
Btw.: The PS1 Alien: Resurrection game was another ambitious take on survival horror. Impressive from a technical standpoint, but cumbersome to play.
To her credit I think Winona Ryder pretty much invented her own niche in the field - I call it 'needs a slap acting'. Basically she comes across as whiney in everything. Being in scenes alongside Weaver obviously does her no credit since the latter is so charismatic on screen but we can't blame Sigourney for overshadowing her co-stars. Yeah, the PS1 game was really impressive. The lighting was great. I think the 'cumbersome' controls are more a case of ahead of their time than anything. Beyond that though I don't remember getting very far with it.
|
|
|
Post by windfisch on Aug 5, 2021 7:37:15 GMT -5
I tried to play Resurrection on my PSP, which has less shoulder buttons than the PS1 controller. So maybe it's a bit easier with the original controls.
The first role that comes to mind when I think of Ryder is Jim Jarmush's Night on Earth, a favourite of mine. In that movie she actually plays the opposite of whiny. She still tends to overact, but overall that performance is fine.
|
|
|
Post by dsparil on Aug 5, 2021 8:05:07 GMT -5
Alien 3 - It did have a difficult pre-production and even started shooting without a completed script. The movie that did get made was a bit of an amalgamation of previous work just to get it done. There's also the mystique of William Gibson's two scripts. The first of them leaked at some point and the second one has had a few adaptions in the last few years. It's basically the Ultima IX of the Alien movies.
Star Ocean - The first game barely even has a plot so not a whole lot to lose there. I've been apprehensive to play the second since the combat in First Departure [R] is awful and it's supposed to be based on the second game's combat. I should at least give it a try at some point, and the third game is cheap used.
|
|