Grazza
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Posts posted by Grazza
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Doh! I saw something about Final Fantasy XII in the Day of Disaster thread, got confused about where I was and started talking about turn-based vs real-time!
What I was saying is that, to me, it's really the design of the game that determines whether it's tedious or exciting.
Respect to anyone who doesn't like either though.
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I've just completed Final Fantasy XII (my first of the series) and I honestly thought it was terrible! (Suppose I'm daft for completing it really!) Glad you enjoyed it though, Maase!
I've just started Dragon Quest VIII, and that gets everything right and just shows what was so wrong with FFXII. It's light-hearted, colourful and has simple, confident storytelling.
I suppose my point is that, to me, the overall design of the game matters more than whether it's turn-based. FFXII had real-time combat, but you didn't actually control the fighting. The Licence system meant you spent too much time organising what your party could use and the Gambit system was like writing A.I.
It also took ages to get anywhere and generally felt tedious and a drudge.
Funnily enough, I also thought Okami (although action-based and not an RPG) had similar problems in that there was so much to collect and do, I felt compelled to do too many side-quests and such.
Turn-based or action-based, it's the design that counts.
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They realised that only when the planets are aligned will the community actually praise them for something (i.e. Galaxy) regardless of the quality or lack of it,I don't mean to be argumentative, but I must reply to some of these points:
Galaxy is pretty much the only proper game that Nintendo has designed purely for the Wii. Metroid Prime 3 is close - I don't see much complaint about that. The "Prime" series is not for everyone and never has been.
Smash Bros, Mario Kart and (probably) Animal Crossing are more straightforward updates, with less need for thoughtful design.
You can advertise the hell out of a game, give it huge coverage, release screens everyday, if it's the type of game that only the attentive crowd would buy anyway, it's just a waste of money and generates hype and expectation that will make room for ridiculously unwarranted negative reactions (i.e. Twilight Princess).
Squarely Nintendo's fault. They hyped it up since E3 2004, delayed it one year too many and took out the "GameCube" bits. The 30 month wait for it was extraordinary and artificial - not the fans' fault. There's nothing wrong with knowing about a game 18 months or so before it's out.
Secondly, the game simply wasn't that good. It was very good, perhaps great, but not excellent. It was like an overworked painting rather than a single artistic vision. Fair enough, you can't make a masterpiece every time. No one hates Nintendo or the development team for making what is, afterall, a very good game. People are just honest about it, that's all.
The lack of core arguments is just bullshit, we've been getting the same core games from Nintendo as before and faster,Apart from the fact we haven't had a Zelda yet.
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I've got no problem with the release dates. The one thing I really want is a fullscreen, 60hz mode for the Virtual Console games.
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That really does look excellent. Anything similar to Shadow of the Colossus is fine by me.
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Thank you, Pookiablo. Personally, I do like good visuals, but I'm more interested in how the console's horsepower can improve the game. A good example is N64 vs PlayStation. To the casual observer, PlayStation games might well have looked better, with better textures, FMV etc, but nothing about the PlayStation could have improved Ocarina of Time for me. I was totally in favour of Nintendo sticking to cartridges.
Last generation, I much appreciated the improved draw distance in Wind Waker and Mario Sunshine. It really was a practical improvement to be able to see things in the distance.
Another incredible game was Shadow of the Colossus. The PS2 struggled to run it, but it was great! It didn't have the best framerate, but the technical achievements were amazing. From the central location, you could travel anywhere in the huge game world without any loading times. OK, there weren't any shops or villages to load up, but the geography was in no way barren.
It's these types of technical improvements that I think are important to games.
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But there's no reason Zelda remakes should be done by the Zelda team (MGS: Twin Snakes was done by Silicon Knights). King V quite rightly suggests Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask for remakes, because they are the two that could be massively improved without any creative changes.
I would love to play any Zelda remakes, but remaking a 2D game in 3D would require re-interpretation. The N64 Zeldas, on the other hand, could be massively more enjoyable just with:
* Higher resolution
* Higher frame-rate
* Better textures
* Higher-fidelity sound
I'd keep the exact same amount of polygons per character, although I'm sure they could utilise some of this fancy "mapping" I read about!
Sure, Wii 2 could do them even better, but they should be easy enough to improve every generation.
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I'm not as good as I'd like to be, but I do enjoy drawing my own characters. My advice is to think of everything as a 3D wireframe. Draw the whole shape (in pencil) as if it's transparent. Don't worry about seeing lines you shouldn't be able to see from that angle.
The other important thing is to have a good grasp of anatomy and any object you're going to draw. I'm pretty good at people, but not at vehicles, backgrounds or anything else I'm not interested in!
Also, draw the whole form first of all, rather than doing any one bit in detail. Think of the shapes that make up the figure, how much of the page it should take up and in which pose. Don't worry about the small details.
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I'm only really looking forward to Kid Icarus (if it exists) and the next Zelda, but, I am satisfied with any Nintendo console as long as it has a really good Mario and Zelda. We've got Mario, but not Zelda!
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I'd buy any Zelda remakes and would really like to see them, as long as they don't take away resources from future Zelda games.
Gaming is a technology-driven business, and a generational leap in horsepower can work wonders for games.
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Try it, then you'll understand.I wouldn't try anything you'd recommend!
To be fair he said alcohol abuse not consumption. Which makes him right.Thank you!
who the fuck do you hang out with? Charles Manson?!No, just normal people. Honestly, they do have violent mood swings.
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Skies of Arcadia is excellent and has as good an atmosphere as everyone says. Paper Mario 2 is very good. I didn't like Baten Kaitos at all, but maybe someone with a huge amount of patience would like the card-battling system.
One I should have tried is Tales of Symphonia! Oh well, maybe I'll get a next-gen "Tales" game someday.
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Cannabis should not be legalised. Honestly, most people I know who smoke it are prone to psychosis and other mental problems.
Illegal drugs are illegal for a reason. Any doctor will tell you Ecstasy does permanent damage to the brain. I have no idea why anyone takes any of this stuff.
Alcohol abuse is also a terrible thing. I know people who are out 'til 4am drinking. Again, no idea why they do it.
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Less about graphics, sound and that stuff and more about making the games fun to play, right? (That's not to say that graphics and music was bad in the 90's, but you know what I mean!)To be honest, I've always loved graphics and horsepower!
I'm more concerned about how image has taken over in other ways.One of my early concerns was Mortal Kombat. I was appalled at the "Fatalities", but my friends all liked it because of the gore and digitised graphics. I'm no softie, as I liked Street Fighter and Virtua Fighter, but people stopped having an open mind about which gameplay was best.
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Sonic 1. The template for Sonics world will never be bested. (Although spindashing would have been nice from the off.) Sonic 1 was the template, the original, the idea in it's purest form. One good animal with attitude against a bad guy who had turned the good guys friend (and thus his world) into mechanical monstrosities. Set amongst a backdop so unique and lush then tipping it into a cold, industrialised arena juxtaposed everything nicely. It's definately of it's time with the emeralds only acting as "completionist" elements and a play it in one sitting element.SEGA forgot about the charm. They forgot that Sonic was just a hedgehog saving his friends.100% agree - a great description of all the games!
I still think that things could have been different if Sega had launched the Saturn with gorgeous, sprite-based versions of Sonic, Golden Axe and Shinobi, and called the console something like "Ultra Drive" or "Mega Drive 2" (and not called the remodel that).
There was some great sprite-scaling on Saturn. Two of my favourite games were Guardian Heroes and Story of Thor 2 (Beyond Oasis 2).
Unfortunately, Sega weren't too good at making sequels. The spirit of Sega was not about mascots or franchises, but about making lots of original games, which, to be fair, they did do with Panzer Dragoon, Virtua Fighter et al. But who am I kidding? The PlayStation brand was too strong.
Talking of Shinobi, I miss the days when ninja games (and games in general) weren't about gratuitous violence. They were about positioning yourself and attacking (a bit like Metroid, without the exploration). That's what was so good about Sega (and gaming) in the '90s - everything was fairly wholesome, whatever the theme.
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Games are definitely art. Not every game is a work of art, but games are an artform. They're conveying something creative through interaction.
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The most regular spiders in Denmark are the cross spiders (the small ones that always sit in window corners) and house spiders (the bigger, black ones). House spiders creep me out, but cross spiders don't. I guess it's all about the size.Hmm, I'm not sure if you've got shaking spiders up there yet. I think I read they're from South Africa, and we've only noticed them in England over the past few years. If it shakes in a circular motion whilst upside-down, it's a shaking spider.
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Aren't those called cross spiders?I don't know. They look like Harvestmen, but they aren't. A Harvestman has a single, "pear-shaped" body, whilst a Shaking Spider (or any spider) has a segmented body.
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I don't normally mind wasps. I've been stung loads of times and hardly noticed it. Plus, they are very good at flying and tend to find the window easily. (Sorry about your girlfriend though - that's obviously a horrible thing to happen.)
Queen wasps are very scary though. A couple of months ago I was doing my weight training in the conservatory, when a gigantic wasp flew in. It was so big, I honestly thought it was a hornet. It had stripes, but much longer legs than usual, even in proportion to its massive body. I can only assume it was a queen wasp.
Obviously, hornets are very scary too. Other than those and the "dirty" types of fly, I like insects.
A tip for those who hate spiders: try and befriend any Shaking Spiders you see! These are the ones with very, very thin legs that make webs in the corner of the ceiling. You can tell it's a shaking spider because when threatened, it shakes in a circular motion. Apparently, these are very tough for their size and can eat the scary types of spider!
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Made at a time when SEGA could actually make "slower" Sonic games with explorative elements, it was a treat. I loved the singing at the end of the game too...well, miming!
I even bought it on the Game Gear so I could play it wherever I wanted (with a plug handy or 500+ batteries spare of course!)
Sonic 1 (Master System AND MD version) ftw.
Couldn't agree more! Well, I must admit I never played the Master System or Game Gear versions, but the original on Mega Drive is by far my favourite. I know it inside out!
And yes, Sonic is not just about speed (or stunts). It was about having the time to find the best routes and hidden nooks and crannies. Also, the visuals and music were very charming. I can remember every Zone (and accompanying music) in the original game, yet I can't remember anything about the Zones in any other Sonic game.
I can understand why people like Sonic 2, as that's really as far as the series got whilst retaining its feel. It was just too long and difficult for me, overall.
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1) Zelda. A Zelda game is the thing that makes me pick up any Nintendo console, which is why I haven't got a Wii yet. Sure, I pick up the Mario title as soon as possible, but it's Zelda that actually makes me buy the machine.
2) A game that proves motion controls/3D controls actually improve normal, 3rd-person action games. This could be Zelda, Kid Icarus or something else. The pointer controls are very good, but I don't think the current motion controls can be used any better than in Wii Sports. After all, Nintendo itself has not shown otherwise. Hopefully this is a job for MotionPlus.
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Is it any wonder the cheats for Sonic 1 and 2 were so famous?!Up, down, left, right, A, B, C + Start!
(Or something like that.)
Sonic 2 is my least favourite of the series because I could never get the Chaos Emeralds. Couldn't then, still can't. I can get them all in Sonic 1, 3 + Knuckles, but I just don't have fast enough reactions for Sonic 2's "mini-game"!
Thanks to Sonic Mega Collection, I have finally been "Super Sonic" in Sonic 3 + Knuckles, so I'm over it now!
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Sonic 2 was far too long, though, to play in one sitting. I remember once I played it for about 3 hours and still didn't get to the end. It just wasn't enjoyable.
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Hopefully there'll be some good middleware for any developers who would otherwise have trouble with it.
Rumor Control - IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat
in Nintendo Gaming
Posted
I know it's from last week's, but:
Quite right too! The cartoony style (whether cel-shaded or something better) is the way forward, and I'd love for them to prove it works just as well for adult Link as for his younger self!