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Post by Discoalucard on Jul 16, 2014 12:39:46 GMT -5
One thing I need to check up on - a recent NeoGAF thread suggested that the PS1 versions of the NES games suffered from input lag. Whether that was a result of the ports themselves, the emulator, or HD TV lag is uncertain though.
Also, the Mega Man Anniversary Collection had some oddities. All of the versions were based off the PS1 ports, but the collection runs in 480i instead of 240p so it's a little fuzzy looking. (The Mega Man X Collection was much better put together and runs at 240p.) They also somehow fucked up the mastering of the arranged tracks for Mega Man 6, so it sounds terrible. Which is a shame since the arranged music is very good. All of the arranged music was missing from the Game Cube version. I remember trying to explain this to people on message boards since all of the music is streamed rather than chip generated, and there just wasn't space on the GC discs. I dunno if they fixed the sound issues for the Xbox release, which came later down the road.
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Post by Malev on Jul 16, 2014 12:58:32 GMT -5
The Complete Works PSN stuff might be to HD lag or something, since the emulated version on PCSX/ePSXe didn't have it. If anything, the lack of slowdown was a major change. And as for audio on the PS1 ports, the bigger issue might be how the balance on the sound effects and the music are different, how the streaming sound is louder than the SFX.
Oh and I forgot to mention last post that Mega Man 7 is slated for the Wii U eShop, so at least it'd be a cheaper legal option that's better than the Anniversary botch.
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Post by opaopa on Jul 16, 2014 17:42:20 GMT -5
It's a shame that Mega Man Powered Up never caught on, because I happen to think it's one of PSP's finest, and I really like its art style too. I think my taste may have changed over the years, and as evident in my avatars, something about 'cute designs' please me! Totally. The level creator was also really well done. |
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Post by nightdreamer on Jul 16, 2014 20:32:57 GMT -5
Nope, no X games. I'm familiar enough with the X series and the Legends series that I could probably do them myself one day, but I've been juggling too many projects as it is. I'd stay the hell away from Battle Network/Starforce though, and I'm not a big fan of the Zero games either. The currently posted content is only roughly 2/5ths of the total article. Beyond 9 and 10, it also covers spinoffs (Rockman Board, Battle & Chase, Super Adventure), all of the GB games, Power Fighters, all of the ports (the PS1 games and Anniversary), numerous mobile and Chinese games, the IBM PC games, all of the media (comics, TV shows and books), and even includes a review of The Krion Conquest. I've been finding HG101 community pretty lukewarm on the Zero games too. I like that they're intense action platformers but they really kill my thumbs and there were many gameplay elements that I flat-out couldn't stand (the cyber elf, for example). So, no, I don't really love them as much as I do for the classic, X and the Legend series. I've never even bothered to finish one. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2014 2:51:29 GMT -5
I've been finding HG101 community pretty lukewarm on the Zero games too. I like that they're intense action platformers but they really kill my thumbs I'd say that's like eating spicy food and complaining when it burns your throat, but I've never had any control issues with the Zero games. It might help that I've always played on the relatively ergonomic Original GBA and DS Phat. I always felt the Zero games totally outclassed the X series in nearly every respect - challenge, physics, enemy and level design, artwork, characters, story, pacing, replayability. Zero 3 is a bit of a lame duck in comparison to the others, due to its uncharacteristically low difficulty (you can get ridiculous amounts of health pickups and lifebar extensions for little effort), but it's still top quality. I think Zero 4 is the best action-platformer on the GBA, and it's the only one of the Zeroes where the EX Skills are actually attainable to most players. The MMZ Collection on DS is the definitive way to play the series, since you can use the X/Y buttons and it includes all the E-Reader content from Zero 3 that was originally exclusive to Japan. |
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Post by nightdreamer on Jul 17, 2014 3:10:22 GMT -5
Controls: see, this is where we part ways. I've always found DS phat (and DS of all stripes) terrible ergonomics wise and prefer the smooth, sexy curves from PSP/Vita. It's a reason I don't play much action-heavy games on my DS, unless it's Mario. Or Donkey Kong Country Returns. And I really don't like having to use the trigger button as an 'alternative weapon' no matter which control scheme I chose. MMZ is actually one instance of a portable game where I prefer playing on an emulator just to circumvent the control/ergonomic issues. Doesn't mean I find them much fun however. I don't mind difficult games if controlling it doesn't feel like I'm fighting against discomfort. This is certainly not the case with MMZ, at least in my case.
Story: I dunno that I'd agree either. Whenever I play Zero games I find myself furiously wanting to skip the LONGWINDED dialogues. I don't really care to talk with any of these people, and while it's THEMATICALLY pretty decent, there's so much bloat compared to the concise X1-X3. I like the art style though.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2014 4:16:43 GMT -5
I didn't like the other control schemes, but had no qualms with the one that lets you hold R and press B to use your secondary weapon. You don't have to mash a shoulder button that way.
I don't get your problem with the dialogue. Most cutscenes can be totally skipped with the start button, and everything else is over very fast by mashing A if you're that kind of person. There are some parts in the bases where you have to wander around until you find the right person to talk to, but no biggie. You can ignore talking to everyone else. Would you prefer more of the fanfiction-caliber "WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOOORRRR" FMV wankfests from the 32-bit X games?
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Post by nightdreamer on Jul 17, 2014 8:36:41 GMT -5
I don't get your problem with the dialogue. Most cutscenes can be totally skipped with the start button, and everything else is over very fast by mashing A if you're that kind of person. There are some parts in the bases where you have to wander around until you find the right person to talk to, but no biggie. You can ignore talking to everyone else. Would you prefer more of the fanfiction-caliber "WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOOORRRR" FMV wankfests from the 32-bit X games? But I never skip cutscenes at first viewing and always insists on toughing through them no matter how insipid and boring they could be. And as for that other thing, I mentioned X1-3 only, but yes, I prefer the corny acting if the tradeoff is to not run around in circles finding the right people to talk to (which you wouldn't know if you're playing it the first time). Besides, Zero isn't even the high point for Mega Man story: Legends have way better plot and presentation. |
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Post by Discoalucard on Jul 17, 2014 9:02:56 GMT -5
I wasn't a fan of the Zero games I played either. In the first game, I hated the Cyber Elf system and the continue system didn't make much of any sense for a game with a battery save. I was playing it in Japanese, dunno if they fixed anything for overseas releases. I can't remember much of 2 and didn't really play 3 or 4.
ZX seemed like an interesting step in the Metroidvania direction but didn't go far enough into the exploratory/RPG field. I found replaying levels after dying overtly long too, even though I liked the core mechanics.
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Post by kingfossil on Jul 17, 2014 9:40:51 GMT -5
The first MMZ is quite odd but the next ones definitely fix alot of the issues from the first game. The elf system after Z1 just keep getting less restricting and less of a one time deal. The gameplay is really good, if only the sceen was bigger...
besides that, I only have two complains with the Zero series: the skills and the rank system to get them. The skill are way too bland for the amount of effort it takes to get an A rank on a stage on the first try.
The ZX game IMO are better than the Zero games, as long as you dont take into account the metroid sections which in reality are just walking time until you actually get to the actual stage.
As for MMX1, some sentiment similar to MM2 comes to me. I love it but the stage design was way to simplistic considering X can wall jump, infact it seems the stage are way more simple than those in classic megaman games.
I have an article about the MMX game posted on another obscure site, and I wanted to post it here but It need to much rework for its slight bias and lack of mention about the storyline (just gamepaly)and im too lazy.
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Post by nightdreamer on Jul 17, 2014 9:49:04 GMT -5
Btw, will this article briefly mention some of notable doujin albums? Coz there's been plenty of them for the series, and some are pretty good, like this recent Mega Xross Mixx (a name I've been making fun of on Twitter just now). Here's their cover of Frost Man's stage.
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Post by Joseph Joestar on Jul 17, 2014 11:38:24 GMT -5
I've been finding HG101 community pretty lukewarm on the Zero games too. I like that they're intense action platformers but they really kill my thumbs I'd say that's like eating spicy food and complaining when it burns your throat, but I've never had any control issues with the Zero games. It might help that I've always played on the relatively ergonomic Original GBA and DS Phat. I like them and the challenge; they're definitely less fun to play on a GBA SP or Micro, considering how much you're going to use the shoulder buttons. As for the cyber elves... I think that's a similar situation to the "pure Fire Emblem" vs "how I play Fire Emblem (save/quit/restart)". I don't want them to die, fuck you, Capcom for putting me in that position  . |
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Post by alphex on Jul 17, 2014 16:33:45 GMT -5
I always felt the Zero games totally outclassed the X series in nearly every respect - challenge, physics, enemy and level design, artwork, characters, story, pacing, replayability. Zero 3 is a bit of a lame duck in comparison to the others, due to its uncharacteristically low difficulty (you can get ridiculous amounts of health pickups and lifebar extensions for little effort), but it's still top quality. I think Zero 4 is the best action-platformer on the GBA, and it's the only one of the Zeroes where the EX Skills are actually attainable to most players. Oh boy, I disagree with most of this. 1. Zero3 is IMO the best of the series. The levels ooze charisma, are not re-used all the time, and their design is also superb. 2. Zero4 I like the least (that or Zero2), since most of the levels rely heavily on gimmicks. I also don't like the collectathon-aspects of it. 3. I really like Z1 & Z3, but the smaller screen hurts them so much I'd say they're still clearly a whole level below the best games of the X series. 4. The story is pretty good. Not being able to skip most cut scenes is not. The ZX game IMO are better than the Zero games, as long as you dont take into account the metroid sections which in reality are just walking time until you actually get to the actual stage. As for MMX1, some sentiment similar to MM2 comes to me. I love it but the stage design was way to simplistic considering X can wall jump, infact it seems the stage are way more simple than those in classic megaman games. I always enjoyed ZXA a whole lot more since the mission management is so friggin' broken in ZX. Having charged shots consume weapon energy, which recharges automatically, was also genius. Finally no more mindless buster charging all the time! And X1 is pretty much perfect. Level design included. |
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Post by zerker on Jul 18, 2014 17:30:22 GMT -5
I'm going to chime in on the Mega Man Zero train to say that I really didn't like the first Mega Man Zero when it came out. The continue system drove me nuts, and I wasn't a big fan of farming E-crystals just so I could actually get a SubTank.
Then years later I played Mega Man Zero 2 on the Mega Man Zero collection and it totally fixed everything I hated about the first game.
1) Continues? Check
2) Subtanks? You can find two in the levels now
3) Upgradable skills? You keep your upgrades when you continue, so you naturally build them up as you retry a stage
4) E-Crystals? See above.
After that, I played Zero 3 and 4 in sequence and enjoyed them quite substantially as well. If I were to rank them, I'd put Zero 2 on top, followed by 3, 4 then finally 1. The lack of 'normal' continues really hurts 1 for me, though I should play it again sometime.
As for control schemes, the only downside of the toggle control scheme is that you can't charge one weapon while using another. I found I would usually keep the blaster charged while I attacked with the Z-Saber. When I found a good opportunity, I would unleash the blaster.
Thankfully, Zero 3 and 4 added an auto-charge option. Unfortunately Zero 4 hides it behind a godawful crafting system.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2014 23:52:45 GMT -5
I'm gonna say that I beat Zero 1 without using a single sub-tank (only healing elves), and Zero 4 without ever grinding for crafting materials, and I don't consider myself an expert player. You don't need the EX Skills, they're mainly just to look cool, and the most effective attack is almost always a charged saber slash. Exploiting elemental weaknesses turns many bosses into a joke. Nothing in the Zero series is as hard as King's fortress from Rockman & Forte, that's for sure.
MMZ's level design trends towards being simpler than the X series (on SNES, at least) because normal enemies are a more serious threat. There's no overpowered weapons that will rip and tear through grunts like X1's Storm Tornado, and they tend to be more aggressive, durable and cunning. Every split-second encounter with an enemy is more intimate and rewarding than in the X games. There's still quite a few complex obstacle courses full of spikes or other nasty hazards to be found, such as the memorable climb up Neo Arcadia Tower in Zero 1, if that's your thing.
It's easy to get tons of crystals if you find a place where big containers respawn on every visit. Also, cyber elves are one-time use items in Zero 1 because the game is short and they didn't want you to carelessly exploit them every time you run into a difficult part. Even still, there are plenty of healing elves to be found, more than you should need. I didn't like the implementation of elves in later releases as much, because it was obviously pandering to the kids who expect every action-platformer made after SotN to have RPG stat growth.
What the hell were they thinking with Cyberspace in Zero 3? I get that it's an optional easy mode for people having trouble with the stages, but it doesn't affect the hardest parts of the game (the bosses and spike traps), and the challenge is already broken enough by the ridiculous lengths you can stretch Zero's health bar out to.
My opinion on the original ZX is that it's a decent-good action game, but a TERRIBLE Metroidvania. Waiting for Advent in the mail right now; I've heard it drastically cuts back on the ill-advised free roaming and trims a lot of the fat from the original.
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