Moon Diver

[evilakito]

I played the first level a bit, and so far, it's about what I expected; a mix between Strider and the Sub-Space Emissary from Brawl. It was fun, but like Strider 2, it seems like it could get tedious after a while. I do think it will hold up better as a multiplayer game though.

[justjustin]

Wow... After playing through 4 levels I can't recommend this game to 2D action fans. Great mechanics buried under terrible level structure, and overall structure. I am just so stunned. I've read interviews with Yotsui and he seems so in tune with what makes a 2D action game great-- one choreographed like a movie. That's what Strider was. It was wild with dynamic, creative environments that felt like a real adventure. Cannon Dancer was the same and Strider 2 kept that spirit intact.

But Moon Diver... I dunno, man. I can't think what else to say except it's bland. The scoring system involves the ubiquitous chain system that requires you to kill stuff fast enough to keep it going. I have no idea why I'd want to do this beyond just getting a high score, though, since there are no life extends in the game. The game gives a tip that it's beneficial because your health is restored for every 50 enemies you chain. Great, but if I'm good enough to pull that off I think I'm fine without the health restore lol. Why are there even abilities for the characters? Put enemies to sleep for 8 seconds? Blind enemies? Who cares when all the enemies just stand there like morons? And if this is meant to be a "scoring game," then Moon Diver deserves a huge round of lol's. You don't need brain dead enemies if a game is score-heavy. Even more saddening is I don't think scoring carries between stages. You can't complete the game in a sitting. It's like each level is its own mini game, with absolutely no connection between the levels at all either in score or structure or skill or anything. WHAT?

The long-term progression just kills the fun. If I die towards the end of a stage, I can just level up my stats and try again from the beginning, stronger than before so the level is easier. So you are essentially rewarded for dying! It's a bizarro world 2D action game.

Some might be thinking "well, it's not meant to be an arcade game so why have these complaints?" And all I can say is it's less fun than some arcade games made 20 years ago. Moon Diver feel like a degeneration of the great 2D action arcade games. It's less interesting, more simplistic and dragged out.

Also the graphics suck.

[Snarboo]

I was afraid of that. I wonder how many of those problems are a symptom of the coop?

[justjustin]

Well, now that I've gotten over the disappointment a bit and played through some stages on my own my opinion is slowly beginning to shift.

My first experience with the game was co-op with a friend. We were sailing through the levels, hardly understanding anything, getting hit a million times. However, when I played it on my own it was much more challenging. Enemies had patterns I didn't notice before. A few of the larger enemies actually sprayed a flurry of bullets and it took some smart positioning to dodge them. Those bullet patterns were entirely absent when my friend and I were playing co-op.

Also, I initially had an aversion to those abilities but some are quite useful and it's necessary to use them often. I had just never encountered anything like it before in a 2D action game. In fact, I can say that about a lot of aspects in Moon Diver.

And maybe the score does carry between the levels? At the end of stage 3 I had over 1 million as Seyfert (pretty crappy score, but more than from just one stage I think). It's just hard for me to believe score would carry over because the game is so insanely long. I think 3 stages took me almost a half hour. There's 12 in the game.

So for now I'll say it's better since I've had time to play it on my own. In fact, I would recommend it now. Just don't expect an arcade game experience and don't expect Strider. It's a mediocre game with some cool ideas. It's a mixed bag. I still think the overall structure really killed how exciting it could have been. If it had just mostly stuck to arcade conventions it would have been a much more thrilling game. The experience points and benefits connected to leveling up slow down the pace and make it more boring.

I always thought it was really cool how you could attack as fast as you could press the button in Strider and Cannon Dancer. That's gone now of course, and the more you level up the more successive slashes you get. Lame But hey the old trick of repeatedly ducking and attacking still works almost the same way. Great to use on bosses, much faster attacks. And there are other little nods to the previous games Yotsui was involved in.

All that to say it is a unique experience, and there are enough tense moments in the game where I almost forget how ugly and bland the graphics are. Almost...

[Catalyst]

Only played up to the 4th level but me and my friend greatly enjoyed it together. I've only ever beat the Strider on the Genesis, and I felt very at home as soon as I popped this in.

[kyouki]

Tried the demo for this last night and found it to be pretty dull. Is it true this was designed for one of the guys responsible for Strider? It's not a fraction as memorable as that game. I felt like I was playing side-scrolling Dynasty Warriors.

[tijuanabbqiguana]

I picked this up yesterday and have played to Level 4 and . . .yeah. I feel like I ought to like it more than I should.

It feels very Strider-ish--lots of jumping, flipping, attacking, etc. but it also feels really . . .flat. The zooming out is annoying (with HDTVs the standard now, do we really need to keep pulling back to every figure being teeny) which, given how uninspired the character design is makes everything kinda mish-mosh together, especially since the backgrounds run the gamut from "dark" all the way to "dark, at an angle and on fire." I wish game designers weren't allergic to imaginative, colourful, stages as they seem to be.

And good Christ, having a button for ducking feels silly as hell and makes the finer elements of the control scheme feel unnatural, which is a shame, as Strider had one of the most intuitive pick-up-and-play control schemes ever. I realize that in this day and age we have enough buttons on the controller to handle multiple functions, but this is one of those times that less would have been more.

That said, there's a lot to like--it's a mishmosh of Strider, Castle Crashers, and Capcom's D & D games, and you could do worse as a combination of influences, but I just wish this didn't feel so bland.

Especially when I can play as Sayuri in Hard Corps: Uprising and have a more satisfying Strider-esque game.

[justjustin]

I think Yotsui (directed/planned Strider) was only involved in the controls, the few sections where you run fast down a hill and jump, and the cryptic cutscenes. At least that's what I have to tell myself.

Also combine the last two posts and it's a perfect review of the game. Side-scrolling Dynasty Warriors, lol. And I feel the same about Sayuri. While I was playing as her I thought it'd get me warmed up for the action in Moon Diver. Damn.

[Sketcz-1000]

Played the demo, did a write up for another forum, disliked it so much I thought I should repost my views in other places.

---

If the demo is any indication of the final game, then in my view it's a load of old balls. Playing it I think to myself: maybe people are right when they say Japan is failing when it comes to games development. To think I had been holding off buying Hard Corps, saving my PSN money, for this. And they say it's like a next-gen Strider? Pah!

It reminds me a LOT of Blade Kitten's demo. Both games feature the ability to cling to the ceiling, and in both cases it controls pretty much identically as you waltz around defying gravity. In both games the jumping is light and floaty, and in both games the combat is fairly insipid and mindless. They also both attempt a similar 2D side-scrolling effect with 3D polygons and zooming in-and-out. I mean, to me it almost looks like a re-skinned Blade Kitten.

The thing is, I really liked Blade Kitten. In BK the emphasis was on exploring giant platform levels, like a 16-bit platformer like Earthworm Jim or something. In Moon Diver there's none of that level architecture to explore, and instead it focuses on a really shitty combat system. You bump away at a single button, slashing brainless enemies, and can use magic, but it's all pointless since it's easier to just run past them. Sometimes you're locked in by magic walls and have to defeat them all to progress, but I managed to do so without even thinking. They just stand around like a cheap Final Fight clone taking hits <YAAAAWN>.

So it's pretty much all the worst stuff from BK, without any of the cool music, nice graphical style, pop-culture humour, or expansive level exploration. The fact magazines like GamesTM gave BK 3/10, I can only imagine this would have to get a 1/10?

Worst demo I have played in years. Utterly devoid of charm or interesting gameplay, slow, boring, unappealing, stylistically ugly, just shit in absolutely every regard. Immediately deleted with extreme prejudice.

If you want 2D action, buy Hard Corps.

[Revolver Ocelot]

I like this game...

[susanismyalias]

Tell us more.

[acidonia]

Mar 31, 2011 5:36:04 GMT -5 Sketcz-1000 said:

Played the demo, did a write up for another forum, disliked it so much I thought I should repost my views in other places.

---

If the demo is any indication of the final game, then in my view it's a load of old balls. Playing it I think to myself: maybe people are right when they say Japan is failing when it comes to games development. To think I had been holding off buying Hard Corps, saving my PSN money, for this. And they say it's like a next-gen Strider? Pah!

It reminds me a LOT of Blade Kitten's demo. Both games feature the ability to cling to the ceiling, and in both cases it controls pretty much identically as you waltz around defying gravity. In both games the jumping is light and floaty, and in both games the combat is fairly insipid and mindless. They also both attempt a similar 2D side-scrolling effect with 3D polygons and zooming in-and-out. I mean, to me it almost looks like a re-skinned Blade Kitten.

The thing is, I really liked Blade Kitten. In BK the emphasis was on exploring giant platform levels, like a 16-bit platformer like Earthworm Jim or something. In Moon Diver there's none of that level architecture to explore, and instead it focuses on a really shitty combat system. You bump away at a single button, slashing brainless enemies, and can use magic, but it's all pointless since it's easier to just run past them. Sometimes you're locked in by magic walls and have to defeat them all to progress, but I managed to do so without even thinking. They just stand around like a cheap Final Fight clone taking hits <YAAAAWN>.

So it's pretty much all the worst stuff from BK, without any of the cool music, nice graphical style, pop-culture humour, or expansive level exploration. The fact magazines like GamesTM gave BK 3/10, I can only imagine this would have to get a 1/10?

Worst demo I have played in years. Utterly devoid of charm or interesting gameplay, slow, boring, unappealing, stylistically ugly, just shit in absolutely every regard. Immediately deleted with extreme prejudice.

If you want 2D action, buy Hard Corps.

I liked Blade kitten sure I waited until it was on Sale on 360 but it was decent for the Price I payed for.

The demo can not be as bad as Warworld on the 360 it is not possible. It limits you to playing 1 stage and all but one character and weapon. Then your shoved into the game with no tutorial with a 47 second time limit then goes back to the Title Screen. Raystorm HD was nearly as bad as this though.

[Sketcz-1000]

Good points, but I don't have a 360 sadly. When I say worst, I'm speaking in the context of PS3 demos.

[clubamerica]

Hell yea Strider

[Deleted]

I keep seeing something else when I see the title for this thread. Damnit, make it go away!