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Grazza

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Posts posted by Grazza

  1. Posted

    It's odd, I agree with Hellfire's assertion that subtle, implicit stories are best (not done better than in ICO or Shadow of the Colossus, in my opinion), but I agree with Sheikah's opinion of Final Fantasy XII in general.

     

    The Gambit system was so complicated, it was like writing A.I. It would have been better if the programmers took care of that and offered simpler commands such as "Focus on Healing", "Use Magic Attacks", "Use Physical Attacks" etc, then the character would just behave appropriately and use the appropriate weapon. In reality, you had to equip a bow or magic attack every time you encountered flying enemies. I've nothing against real-time combat, but it actually made the game less smooth than turn-based.

     

    Secondly, the Licence Board had too much choice, with every character being able to do the same thing. I don't think a Licence Board is needed at all.

     

    Thirdly, there were too many characters. I'd have settled for Balthier and Fran (the two best), plus the main character, plus either a 4th character or the various guest characters that appear along the way. The engine could only cope with four characters at once, yet you had six to choose from (sometimes only being able to have three of your own party, due to a guest).

     

    Fourthly, well, it was just a bit arduous moving about, with sparse save points, gargantuan areas etc. I think someone said it was like an MMORPG, which makes a lot of sense.

     

    Fifthly, I spent three or four days in certain areas, grinding to be able to afford the latest weapons. Partly my fault, because I wasn't using "Steal", but it still took a long time. I seem to remember getting stuck in the Western desert (with all the high walkways) and the Caribbean beach for days.

     

    FFXII was my first Final Fantasy. I've since played FFIII, which I enjoyed an awful lot more, and I look forward to trying FFIV.

     

     

  3. Posted

    Hooray, I've completed Final Fantasy III! Do I now own old skool mettle?

     

    I enjoyed most of the game very much. The job classes were a lot of fun and it also had very relaxing overworld music.

     

    I was in danger of disliking the game, as I gained 5 levels between the last save/heal point and the final boss, which would have been very frustrating if I'd failed. Thankfully, the difficulty spikes were about right once I'd got used to level of enemies in the Crystal Tower.

  4. Posted

    You gotta give me more substantial impressions than that. :heh: Is Okami better than Twilight Princess, as people like to point out? How come...?

     

    No, not at all. I don't want to list loads of faults, I just can't think of any one way it's better. I even found the art style hard on the eye (in the PS2 version, anyway).

  5. Posted

    I think the limitations of the N64 (much as I liked it) may have made both Mario and Zelda feel more realistic in the same way the NES ones look less cartoony than the SNES ones. Nintendo should certainly try to make the games feel like living cartoons when they have the machines that can achieve it. It doesn't mean it has to be as bright and simple as Wind Waker (much as I'd like that).

  6. Posted

    I've played Metroid since I was a kid and was skeptical at first about Prime, but it certainly nailed the Metroid representation. The save points are exactly like in the other ones, spread out and not too common (mp2 might have less of them, but it certainly didn't pose any problems to me), the claustrophobia and isolation feeling is there and possibly even stronger, the music is still Metroid and the first person perspective totally fits in with immersing you in a huge and hostile world. Of course, it's a matter of opinion, not everyone may like the new format, but I don't think it can be said that Prime failed to represent Metroid.

     

    I disagree about the save points being like the other games. In Zero Mission and Fusion, at least, the save points were always close enough to the boss so that you could get there with full health and missiles. If you had to defeat any enemies, they would leave enough health/missiles to max you out again. Not so in Metroid Prime.

     

    The first-person perspective is definitely a matter of taste. Personally, I think it's more important to be able to see Samus in the context of her environment, in order to evade, than it is to be able to aim precisely. Aiming is important, but it's a balance. (It used a lock-on anyway, so could have been third-person.)

     

    Jumping was also a more important part of the 2D games. You could aim by timing what point during your jump you would fire. Or, you could fix a diagonal, run at an enemy and fire at the right time. I just preferred it that way.

     

    Even keeping the first-person perspective, Metroid could be done a lot better. Changing visors, for example, has only been introduced with Metroid Prime, and it was fiddly in both that and Metroid Prime 3 (I haven't played no.2).

     

    One thing's for sure: the 2D Metroids can provide a lot of enjoyment for those who don't like Prime.

     

    As for Final Fantasy XII, I could write a whole thread about that, so I might leave it for later!

  7. Posted

    Its not really an aspect as such... but... predictably I'm gonna have to highlight the METROID SERIES. :nono: What a load of old tosh.

     

    Have you played the 2D, "16-Bit" ones? There are so many reasons the Prime series (in my opinion) doesn't represent Metroid (first-person perspective, bad save points etc). Let's hope Metroid is reinvented again for the Aitch Wii.

     

    Yes, speaking of time limits, I've always hated racing games that have checkpoints!

     

    I recommend OutRun 2006. Best racing game ever! :) I know what you mean though.

     

    Right, the first ones I can think of are:

     

    1) Long Sections Without Saving

    Whether it's through bad save points or just the inability to save in dungeons, this really must be eliminated from modern games. I'm playing the Final Fantasy III remake and was really enjoying it until now. The last place you can save and recharge is outside the Ancients Maze. After that, there's the (very long) Crystal Tower, then the World of Darkness!

     

    Zelda is brilliant in this regard, although I know a lot of gamers who get confused about how you're meant to play the dungeons. I think the perfect solution can be found (in games in genreral) via a combination of autosaves, rechargeable health, teleportation and the ability to save anywhere you like.

     

    2) Loading Times

    I won't say much about this, but they really do ruin my immersion. I suppose I was spoiled with the N64 and GameCube, where I didn't find they were noticeable in any 1st-party Nintendo game until Twilight Princess.

     

    3) Inconsistency

    I don't want to be too harsh on Phantom Hourglass, because this was due to hardware limitations, but there was an issue that made it less immersive to me. I loved the 3D bits (including the sailing), but when you arrived at an island, the game turned 2D and the islands didn't greatly resemble what you had sailed up to.

  8. Posted

    I'd love to see what a modernised Zelda would be like, but something much darker. A homeless Link who is obessed with a rich socialite version of Zelda who is in line to marry her fathers business partner Ganondorff, but they'd need to give them all modern names so it didn't sound shitty.

     

    I envision that Link finally meets them when he is stealing food from an art gallery opening and ends up kidnapping Zelda.

     

    It's funny you should mention socialites and art galleries, because I had an idea for a sequel to Wind Waker where Link needs to break into a mansion and steal the Master Sword from a rich art collector (it is, of course, wedged in a stone that would look, to the untrained eye, like a statue or sculpture).

     

    I suppose the snobby aristocrat on Windfall Island put the idea in my head. Oh, how I laughed when he chastised me for breaking his pots...!

     

    I just hope that Anouma makes a completely different game to TP and makes it in a similar vein to Majora's Mask and Wind Waker, which took the basic Zelda formula but adding fantastic new ideas to it. As long as it still feels like Zelda, i'll agree with any decision they make, but as far as making it first person goes, i'm a little weary.

     

    I completely agree. Majora's Mask and Wind Waker are the two best so far. They set the correct tone and have that Japanese weirdness. Whilst Twilight Princess had a good atmosphere in parts, a lot of it felt westernised.

     

    Putting Zelda a bit into the future wouldn't be strange at all. It would be much less strange than, let's say... making the game toony:awesome:

     

    Personally, I wouldn't mind a Zelda set in the present day or a Space Ace style sci-fi. To me, Zelda is about reincarnation and, as such, can be set in any time.

     

    Imagine a modern Zelda where Link wakes up to find Tingle at the end of his bed!

     

    The grumpy, Bill Murray style protagonist has to follow him down warp holes to Hyrule. Eventually, Ganon comes through to the modern world and there's a big fight in Times Square.

     

    As for the art style, I really hope they can make an even better style that satisfies everyone. I loved Wind Waker, but it needn't always look like that. Advancements in horsepower, cel-shading or even a new technique could provide a cartoony look that everyone likes.

  9. Posted

    Link's Awakening was my 2nd Zelda game and is, I think, the best-ever handheld Zelda for its time, as well as the most inspired. I don't think you can beat playing the original on a Game Boy Pocket (I recently played Link's Awakening DX and didn't like it as much).

     

    The game has so much atmosphere. I looked forward to every encounter with the owl, because the accompanying music created such a mysterious, relaxing atmosphere. Gaining a new instrument was also a joy, as it allowed to you to hear an ever-richer rendition of Ballad of the Wind Fish.

  11. Posted

    People have overreacted and jumped on the bandwagon with this. Russell Brand's humour is absurd rather than cruel.

     

    What they did was off-colour and out of order, but it sounds a lot worse on paper rather than heard in its true context. They should have had a slap on the wrist and been made to apologise, but nothing more. Gordon Brown has even commented, as though Russell Brand is some sort of national villain!

     

    As the show was pre-recorded, Russell Brand can not be held responsible for broadcasting the said allegation. Jonathon Ross was the only one who brought it up in an irreversible way (by shouting it down the answerphone). I feel all subsequent phone calls were Russell Brand trying to address the matter and apologise for it in his own, absurd way.

     

    Even so, it's hardly Harassment, as the "interview" with Andrew Sachs was partly pre-arranged, even if he wasn't available at that specific time.

  13. Posted

    Wouldn't cel-shading be the same no matter the console? Or are you wanting more shades added... for some reason.

     

    I don't have any specific demands, I'd just like to see what they could do.

     

    I definitelly say realistic graphics. Cel shading can be somethong for the portable consoles.

     

    Phantom Hourglass was so visually and technically inferior to Wind Waker, though. The style deserves better.

     

    Had they not thought that way, and instead thought "let's make an adventure franchise centered arround sailing and exploring a large sea", we might have gotten something that feels even more different.

     

    You've definitely got a point there, but as others have said, in order to make it unlike Zelda, they would have had to take out so many good things. Personally, I just want them to build on the good things and include worthwhile new ideas, which (to me) they did.

     

    I just don't see a problem with the Wind Waker franchise being associated with Zelda. The "series" could go on and on and they could be the Zelda games Nintendo use cel-shading on. The adventures needn't be related to Ganon or the Tri-Force, but there's no harm in knowing that the protagonist is the Hero of Time (Hero of Winds) for that generation.

  14. Posted

    I like both styles and would like to see them both continued. I certainly wouldn't want cel-shading banished to handhelds, as it deserves the full power of a console (as does the realistic style).

     

    As for the next Zelda game, if it's on Wii, I fancy realistic graphics again (for some reason). If it's on Wii 2, then bring on cel-shading, as I'd love to see what an HD console could do for it.

     

    More than anything, I suppose whichever style they use depends on whether the story is set in the Wind Waker universe or not. I really would love Wind Waker 2 on Wii 2.

  15. Posted

    Rummy, I recommend Landstalker on the Mega Drive. As long as you don't mind the isometric graphics and controls (never bothered me at the time), you'll be in for one of the most atmospheric 16-bit adventures they made. The whole game's set on one island with numerous villages and caves.

     

    Other than that, have you tried Super Metroid, Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion? The last two aren't older than N64, but they feel 16-bit (in all the good ways).

  17. Posted

    You probably prefer a story driven RPG then, as they tend to restrict you but carry you through a nice flow of plots. It's an age long problem on whether an RPG with smoother flow is better than an RPG with more arduous involvement. I'm still divided on this one myself. :blank:

     

    Maybe, yeah. My favourites are (in the order I played them) Panzer Dragoon Saga, Skies of Arcadia and Dragon Quest VIII. I do like some choice - it's a fine balance. I like the number of characters and their general skills to be pre-set, but it's still good fun to upgrade weapons and armour, choose tactics in battle etc.

     

    One thing I like, which were in Panzer Dragoon Saga and Skies or Arcadia were ship or dragon battles. I like pre-planning what to do when the enemy is in front, behind, at the side etc.

     

    If you finish FF3, try DQ4. Same sort of thing, in some ways better story wise. But as darksnowman said, "FF III is a true test of your old skool mettle", which is beautifully put. In fact I should make that my sig one of these days :bowdown:

     

    It's such a brilliant quote. Without a word of a lie, I keep thinking of it as I play the game! I'm at the Crystal Tower now and have obtained the five weapons that you fight for (Excalibur etc). I don't know how far I am from the end, but I assume not too far.

     

    In FFIII, you do hit sudden difficulty spikes, but I haven't found it too bad. I've really enjoyed the job system all the way throughout the game. There has been some grinding, but just general grinding. The job class itself seems to rise almost every battle, which I'm quite happy with.

     

    I like the way the items you find give you hints as to which job classes you should change to. At the moment, my party consists of: Knight, Devout, Summoner and Dark Knight. The reason I like using knights is because I like characters who can use the sword "Defender" as an item.

     

    I've found FFIII very "pleasing" in general and I'm definitely going to get FFIV and Dragon Quest IV, thanks. :)

  18. Posted

    I'm very optimistic about MotionPlus and I don't think there's a bad side to it. In fact, I'm amazed Nintendo are improving the Wii halfway through.

     

    To answer your question, tapedeck, it has taken my perception back to when Iwata announced the controller for the Revolution. I was totally behind it then. Closer to release, though, I somehow realised it wouldn't be as good as I once thought. This may sound like prejudice, but when I played it, it was exactly as I expected.

     

    From what I've played so far, I don't actually like motion controls, and it's only fair to say Nintendo's 1st-party games represent the peak of what the machine can do. However, motion controls have been a success, so it's only a good thing to improve them.

     

    It seems to me that the actual motion controls, apart from being fairly unresponsive, can only understand simple, sharp, jerky movements like "forward", whereas I hope MotionPlus can understand "forward 1cm", "forward 2cm"... etc.

     

    Apart from party games, I don't feel these "jerky" movements actually improve gameplay. What I want from MotionPlus is for it to put my hand in a 3D space and understand subtle movements. Now that really could improve games.

     

    I'm not going to sulk if it doesn't deliver this, and my expectations aren't quite as high as TGS 2005, but I would say MotionPlus makes me perceive the machine much more like I did then.

  19. Posted

    I agree, Rummy. Maybe I'm weird, but a huge part of Zelda is seeing the Hylian Shield on Link's back all the time. He's like a Ninja Turtle! This is why I wouldn't mind an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, as long as the camera still fitted in the shield.

     

    I do think the camera needs to closer to the action, but I also think that, in an action game, it's better to be able to see your character in the context of their environment, so you can dodge etc (and yes, I want the next Metroid to be 3rd-person/over-the-shoulder too!)

  20. Posted

    Thanks for the info. The reason I thought of RAM was mainly Majora's Mask. The technical difference between that and Ocarina of Time was 4MB of extra RAM, and it was brilliant how it allowed the machine to juggle everyone's movements over three days. Okami, on the other hand, seemed to be able to "juggle" less information.

     

    Wouldn't it be great to have a huge amount of RAM on the Wii 2, combined with a maximum speed DVD drive (as long as it was quiet) and maybe a big hard drive/flash memory to work with as well?

  21. Posted

    You look at Okami though, that's another story, the loadings are longer and a shame they couldn't cut them down in the Wii version.

     

    Yes, unfortunately, Okami is not one of the smoothest-flowing games. I particularly found it jarring when the camera would look up to the sky every nightfall/daybreak, presumably to load the different "events" of night and day.

     

    This sort of stuff matters to me much more than graphics. I take it this is more to do with the CPU and RAM rather than the GPU?

     

    By the way, Tech Radar has an interesting interpretation of the rumour in this thread: http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/nintendo-secretly-shopping-wii-2-to-devs-473051

     

    They should call it the Aitch Wii. ;)

  22. Posted

    I have to admit, the bad accents in Fable really spoiled my immersion. I prefer a neutral accent, rather than anything obviously British or American. Balthier in Final Fantasy XII was brilliant. I'm still going to buy this though, it sounds excellent!

  23. Posted

    I would have labelled Fable 2 as a game that's almost as far away from "casual" as possible..

     

    Whether the masses will appreciate it or not, I don't know (I think Fable was quite a mainstream game - some of my colleagues loved it), but I do know that Lionhead were trying to make Fable 2 playable to everyone: simple combat, gingerbread trail etc.

     

    A lot of self-proclaimed "hardcore" gamers on forums were concerned about those very things ruining it. I'm not agreeing with them (I haven't played it yet), but it certainly wasn't made to appease hardcore or casual gamers. I think Peter Molyneux's being genuine in that he thinks he's created a bridge that can appeal to anyone.

     

    An awful lot of it is advertising, though. Fable was far better known than Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (both for the Xbox), when arguably the latter was a much more accessible and better designed game.

  24. Posted

    This is not really related to hardware, but would people like slightly more barren overworlds if it made the game more immersive?

     

    A good game to play for anyone who doesn't like loading times is Shadow of the Colossus. There is a short, real-time cut-scene to introduce each colossus, and a cutscene loads up after you've defeated each one, but you'll be too exausted to notice! Other than that, there are no noticeable loading times. It really is a brilliant game.

     

    I suppose Wind Waker uses this idea too. They're probably my two favourite games of last gen.

  25. Posted

    I didn't mean to cause any trouble mentioning the camera etc, I'm just genuinely interested in game design. I also think Peter Molyneux was offering food for thought, not just bashing Nintendo. At the moment, he is releasing/promoting Fable 2, which does try to appeal to everyone. How successfully it works, we'll have to see, but at least he's offering up something to judge.

     

    For example, I read that when you are defeated in battle, you are merely "knocked out". Also, there is a "gingerbread trail" so you don't get lost if you don't want to. Again, how well any of this works, I don't know.

     

    For me, one of the biggest questions is "How can you take the frustration out of games whilst keeping the challenge?"

     

    I like darkjak's ideas and I think Star Fox, Mario, Zelda (anything really) could have secret challenges that only present themselves if you are good at the game.

     

    There's also the idea of automatic saves. This was used in the sublime Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The key is to autosave, but not at moments when you are in a tight spot. I think this would make games flow so much more smoothly if you didn't have to think about saving (but could if you wanted to).

     

    Personally, I'm not keen on set save points (eg. Final Fantasy XII). I think they're a tad old-fashioned, because if you fail, you have to do so much again. I know there's the possibilty it could save where you don't want to, but there could be good teleportation options, combined with the next idea...

     

    ...Rechargeable health, which both Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath and Shadow of the Colossus had. It was used better in the latter, because if you had trouble fighting a colossus, you could just hide and recharge. Some battles took 10 minutes, some 60 minutes! I felt exausted after each one, but not frustrated.

     

    That said, neither game sold very well, so perhaps they're not good examples! Perhaps people are right in that there's not really a medium. However, I look forward to seeing how they can improve games generally, whether that means making parts of them more "casual" or parts more "core". The key is to have enough challenge, control and depth for those who want it, but be easy enough for those who don't.

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