Grazza
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Posts posted by Grazza
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Isn't it odd that Dragon Quest IX is a DS exclusive? It's basically a portable N64, so that's one generation back from the last game (which was PS2) and two generations back from what it could be. I know it has to be released on a machine that has made it big in Japan, but surely if Dragon Quest is Japan's No.1 series, people would buy PS3s just to play it?
I looked on the back of the box of the Wii spin-off game, and it looked like the monsters had been graphically improved from Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2. Now they have to go backwards.
Just a thought. I'm looking forward to it anyway.
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I've got a feeling a MotionPlus-enabled Punch Out would be the moment any remaining sceptics (myself included) are convinced motion controls really are a giant step forwards.
Other than that, I'd really like to see Zelda and Kid Icarus - just something done in the colourful Nintendo style that proves motion controls really can improve traditional games. I really want to be convinced!
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When Vaati charges up and you have to turn into 4 Links to send the attack back, one always goes off on a diagonal angle.Ah, sorry, I forgot about that. Yes, the "Four Links" is one of those things that didn't seem to fit into that game very well, although I loved Four Swords Adventures on the GC. I must have been lucky, because it's irritating when you can't beat a final boss. My personal nemesis is the Metroid Prime!
ive said before and i'll say again, tp was EXACTLY what we asked for. ore epic, longer, more horse and that. just we didnt like what we wanted when we got it.I will admit that if the fans wanted a longer, more epic game, then they did get that. Speaking as someone who loves the atmosphere and style of both Wind Waker and the N64 games, I didn't take part in the criticism of WW. What I do think though, is that the 2004 trailer depicts the game people really wanted.
Dare I say it, I think this game started to go off the rails as early as May 2005, its 3rd major showing and when it became known as Twilight Princess. I'd go as far to say that the wolf, twilight and even Midna detracted from the original vision (or at least what it had seemed like).
In my opinion, the 2004 trailer depicts a simple game, heavy on atmosphere. Link is a swordfighting hero travelling on horseback on vast plains, fighting boar-riding enemies. Most of that was in the game, of course, it's just that there was too much tedium between the "wow" moments.
It took me 54 hours to finish the first time (28 the second time), which I thought was too long, so I can't exactly say I wanted more sidequests.
So yes, Eiji Aonuma may have wanted more time to finish "Twilight Princess", but I'd go as far as saying too much detail was added early on - the very detail that made it "Twilight Princess". I really think they bit off more than they could chew, and therefore there was too much to finish off.
But - this is important - I would never criticise Eiji Aonuma or the Zelda team for trying something new. It's just my observation of the game, that's all. The only thing that actually annoyed me was the dual-release stuff, but I've said enough about that, and it certainly wasn't the Zelda Team's fault.
I really think the next game should focus on combat and exploration - be adrenaline-pumping like Shadow of the Colossus.
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I agree with Sheikah's "lite" comment, as Minish Cap's graphics felt like they were poor versions of characters designed and perfectly realised in Wind Waker. The GameCube is two generations ahead of the SNES/GBA, so it just didn't work for me.
It would have been great with Link to the Past graphics, but still, it just wasn't one of my favourite Zeldas in general.
EevilMurray, Vaati's final form did take me two or three attempts, but if you get plenty of hearts, potions and the right technique from a good FAQ (I can't remember much about it, personally), it's not too bad.
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Minish cap to me felt more like a condensed 'lite' gamecube Zelda game, rather than the original feel of the previous gameboy Zelda games. The style that Link's Awakening and so on had worked particularly well for portables I thought.Yes, Minish Cap is a very odd game - a 7/10, I think. Four Swords Adventures (GameCube), on the other hand, is a lovely game and shows how technology can best update the 2D Zelda.
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My question is the following: what other factors can you think of when it comes to what makes a console good or bad, besides what's been mentioned above?For me, it's purely the quality of the exclusives plus the ability to have decent ports of the multi-format games.
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I must say that TP was definitelly a step in the right direction, but another year in development, totally focusing the game on the Wii would have been necessary to make it better.You're right, it was one year too late for the GameCube and one year too early for Wii. There was nothing in the Wii version the GameCube couldn't do and vice versa.
That said, I'd have been furious if it had been delayed even longer! I really think a "raw" 2005 release would have been best. We could all have enjoyed the motion controls when Zelda Wii came along later.
I also disagree with this idea that people don't appreciate the current Zelda until the next one comes along. OK, I did think people were way too harsh on Wind Waker (and Mario Sunshine, for that matter), but that's different tastes for you. I can honestly say I loved LttP, Oot, MM and WW at the time of release and TP was the first one I didn't think was better than the last.
It was still very good though! It reintroduced bomb-arrows and introduced aquatic bombs, different mounts, horseback fighting and the ability to swing your sword whilst running (a huge improvement). All great things that shouldn't be forgotten for later instalments.
I also loved the music and atmosphere of Lake Hylia, Hyrule Field, the "calm" music after the bosses and the way the boss music changed to something really dramatic when it was time to strike with your sword (thanks to MIDI, if I'm not mistaken). I strongly disagreed with reviews such as IGN's that the game needed voice acting or orchestral music.
What we need for the next Zelda is immediacy, fluidity and immersion!
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Things are added and removed from games all the time. It's a huge part of the development process, you don't know 99% of the things that are added and removed or why,No, and I don't care if it's a game that is designed and released for one console.
of course shield control was removed because of Wii controls. The pacing? Who knows? Does it make that big of a difference?If I recally correctly, the issue of the pacing is in the "Iwata Asks" interviews.
Yes, it matters. It's the principle. The fact is that with a dual-release, we got a game that was perfect neither for Wii nor GameCube.
The removal of the shield control could have led to the removal of all sorts of other things. Given the conspicuous gap, I'd be surprised if the Mirror Shield hadn't been taken out.
As for the pacing, it made a huge difference in terms of how fast it was to get into the game. Compare it to the immediacy of Link to the Past, for instance. Zelda fans will have persevered; others may have been given a bad impression and given up.
There's also the fact the Wii has no C-stick. With this in mind, all areas had to be designed assuming the player had no control over the camera. Therefore, we get forced overhead views like in Castle Town.
None of these things would matter if it had only come out on GameCube and the designers had genuinely thought it would improve the game. The problem is that the Wii lessened what could have been a better game.
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We are the paying customers, and if a game has sold damn well it means people loved it so why not make more of the same?That's a logical thing to say, but I still disagree. In my view, it's their job to keep the best aspects but improve in the areas they genuinely think they can. To me, they consistently improved the formula from LttP to WW. Twilight Princess even had a number of improvements to add to the overall formula.
EDGE Magazine outright calls it dangerous for them to further embark on the innovation course.Good for EDGE. I'll have to read that.
I don´t know if this means a lesser Nintendo in the future, but they should keep that ear to the fan community instead of "upturning the teatable" at the apparent whim of the man who created the foundation of its so far formidable worldwide succeses.Yes, I don't know why they boasted about Miyamoto upturning the teatable so much considering Twilight Princess wasn't so great. I honestly can't decide whether Eiji Aonuma would have made a better game if left to his own devices or Miyamoto genuinely improved what would have turned out to be an even more controversial game.
Fortunes can change swiftly, with Fable 2 and many other great games right around the corner.Absolutely. They have stiff competition from Fable 2, the new Prince of Persia and the next Team ICO game, which all have the advantage of being on hardware that is one generation ahead.
And then - I don´t think the DS will be enough to save them!To be fair, the DS and Wii will probably both remain popular for as long as each other. It's a different approach and might not actually go out of fashion. So, I would disagree that Nintendo themselves are in any danger, but it remains to be seen if the quality of their games is. They still make good games, but I haven't been bowled over by anything of their own on either DS or Wii.
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There are a few other things I wanted to say about Zelda Wii...
Twilight Princess had fantastic graphics, but you were rarely close enough to the action to appreciate them. I initially thought they had downgraded the graphics, but on the odd occasion when the camera would get close enough, I realised how good the "Link" character model was (eg. in Agatha's house or climbing up from the basement of the circular house in Kakariko). The detail on the shield was great!
With this in mind, I wouldn't mind an over-the-shoulder view, as long as the shield was still fully visible. It could change to 1st-person for aiming as usual, and maybe even traditional 3rd-person when you're riding mounts etc.
Regarding voice acting, if they do it, I hope they leave the Japanese voices on there like Team ICO's games. I've seen so many games ruined by English-language voiceovers! The Japanese make the game, so they should set the tone.
Also, we need a massive/infinite wallet like Phantom Hourglass. No more putting rupees back!
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Yeah, I'm probably somewhere in the middle too. I like it when you know where you are going next in games, but to strike the balance, I like it to feel like there's other things I could be doing rather than heading straight to the next thing that will advance the story.Yeah, exactly.
OoT, MM and Fable are 3 prime examples of awesome games with a good balance of both, Fable was probably one of the best games I ever played when I think of it, I just always discount it again later for some reason, probably the fanboy in me. It lacked linearity, but also didn't.I'm a dope for not giving Fable more of a chance! I got the Xbox and four games (including Fable) for £40. I tried it a few times, but I didn't like the graphics, camera controls or voice acting. I was far too impatient with it, but I'm interested in Fable 2.
I think to make a great game you start of linear, then flesh it out with so much stuff outside that line that it becomes both non linear and linear at the same time.Good way of putting it.
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I honestly don't think the problem is hype. Twilight Princess was an overworked painting rather than being a simple game with a great atmosphere. I think the reviews that scored it between 8.8 and 9.2 were right.
Anyway, who hyped it? I seem to remember Nintendo whipping up a frenzy about it since 2004! But like I say, hype's not to blame. It was just about 5-10% less good than one expects from a console Zelda, that's all.
My first Zelda certainly isn't my favourite, as it was Link to the Past and (as good as it was) I enjoyed most of the subsequent ones more.
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Let's face it, it will be an uphill struggle, but Eiji Aonuma is a genius and if he has an artistic vision and he's allowed to carry it out, it could well be the best Zelda yet.
Regarding MotionPlus, I'm all for it (assuming motion control is here to stay, that is). I'm assuming Wii Sports and Nintendo's other games so far are a good indication of what the existing motion control can do and, to me, it seems like it can only understand sharp, crude movements. The example of placing a stick is a good one, because I don't think the current controls can let you manipulate something in 3D space so carefully.
Plus, it'd only be like having the RAM pak included in Majora's Mask.
Apart from artistic vision, one of the things that makes an enjoyable game is how freely you can move around the overworld. It's the little things like being able to switch between 1st- and 3rd-person whenever you like (eg. to appreciate the detail on a ceiling), being able to manipulate the camera, minimal loading times and feeling that the world is fully modelled in 3D, with no 2D backgrounds.
I'm currently playing Dragon Quest VIII on PS2 and the design of the game is a joy to behold. The towns and villages just keep getting better and better. It's not about having too many nooks and crannies; it's just about pleasing design. The best one so far, Argonia, has a very wide path down the middle (due to a river), houses lining the left and right walls (but very far apart) and a large castle at the back. You can explore the castle and get views of the town as it really is.
And just as a run around Castle Town can highlight many of the problems of Twilight Princess, a trip to Windfall Island shows what Wind Waker got so right.
It does seem to me Nintendo is trying to simplify games too much in order to take choice away from the gamer. I'm all for streamlining, but not in terms of things like camera controls and 1st-/3rd-person views. I'm sure they just mean to make their games more accessible, but it does lessen them somewhat, I think.
PS - As for whether we really need a new Zelda yet or they should do a "Metroid Prime", I'm not desperate for one immediately, but I think it would be a shame if there was never one purely designed for the Wii. One per console is enough, but I think there's a danger of companies forgetting how to make their franchises if they don't do one per generation. One main game + one spin-off (using the same engine) is probably the best model, like Ocarina and Majora.
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Semi-bump.
I think the best games allow you to explore without making you feel compelled to do too many sidequests.
Take Okami. I really felt I needed to "fill in" as many bits as possible, thus it felt a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. With Final Fantasy XII, you could get stuck exploring bits of map without knowing if you were taking a detour or not.
Onto the ones that got it just right...
Shadow of the Colossus has a massive world which can be explored at any time, yet you are always focused on the next colossus. Dragon Quest VIII, which I'm playing now, has a set path to follow. You can detour if you like, but there's no particular reason to. You can always find something or other if you really want to, but it doesn't get in the way.
The Zelda games generally get this right too. You feel you can easily complete the game doing the basics and anything else you fancy, then go back and explore it fully.
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Anyways it's flipping comedy for christ's sakesYeah, exactly. If you analyse it seriously, he's actually talking nonsense! You can't lecture the Americans about racism, as they have far more senior black politicians than us. And yes, they elected Bush, but we (not me) elected Blair!
Russell Brand only sets out to make people laugh though, and I think he succeeds. I don't find him cruel.
And yes, his honesty is refreshing. I liked how he used the Royal Variety performance to tell the Queen he didn't believe in heirarchy! He said it very politely too.
On his smaller shows, he warns against taking drugs and preaches peace and love, and I think he means it.
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Russell Brand is a fully fledged genius with the right format, particularly Big Brother's Big Mouth and the E4 chat show where he interviewed Courtney Love (amongst others). Give him a small/medium-sized audience to walk around, celebrity guests and full control and he's a force of nature.
His stand up's not bad either and this was very funny!
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I was thinking of it like the original and the newer Star Wars trilogies. Kids and adults loved the first set, but really only kids liked the second set, and it was largely just thought of as a cash-in by all the adults that loved the first.Yes, absolutely. Ghostbusters is full of dry wit, a lot of which went over my head when I was young. It's very rude!
Ghostbusters 2 was geared towards merchandise, kids' meals, that sort of thing. It's actually quite a tacky film in many ways (Statue of Liberty being an actress dressed up; painting of Vigo looks good, but not when he comes out of the painting etc).
Still, writers from the US Office is a good sign they want to focus on dry comedy.
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Here's my opinion on all the consoles (in the order I bought them). It was a long generation and I owned all of them at some point:
Dreamcast
Excellent hardware but people never gave it a chance. People weren't interested in a powerful new console; they only wanted what Sony told them.
Here was the first console to have true arcade quality ports. Not only that, it was the first console genuinely powerful enough to have great graphics at the full resolution of an SD screen.
That said, Dreamcast is actually the machine that (briefly) put me off gaming! For me, the N64 had honestly elevated gaming to something it wasn't before. In comparison, I couldn't get back into the arcade style of most Dreamcast games (eg. Crazy Taxi).
I should have tried Skies of Arcadia and Grandia, but my big hope, Shenmue, turned out to be a very disappointing (albeit immersive) game.
GameCube
I didn't follow the build-up of the GameCube. I first encountered it in Currys with Luigi's Mansion and thought it was awful (I realised it was a good game when I gave it a chance)! Later though, I realised I'd have to get one, as I remembered how much I'd enjoyed Mario 64, Ocarina and Majora's Mask.
Well, it didn't disappoint. Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker were spectacular; the latter is still the best game ever for me. The quality of most of the other big games was extremely high (F-Zero GX springs to mind) and the machine was powerful enough to have great ports of things like Sands of Time, Spider-Man 2 and Incredible Hulk, all of which I enjoyed.
GameCube was by far my favourite console of last gen.
Xbox
Good hardware. The hard drive made a real difference and should have been a key moment in the improvement of games consoles.
Some great games like OutRun 2006 (my favourite racing game) and the beautiful Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (the only FPS I've ever liked).
I have to say, there weren't enough Japanese style games to truly get my interest.
PS2
I was late to buy a PS2 and only did so in order not to miss out on a few games. It seems the weakest hardware out of the four, but its games were 2nd only to the GameCube. Shadow of the Colossus should be a new benchmark in many ways and Dragon Quest VIII is possibly the best RPG I've played.
Despite my early prejudice (I thought Nintendo and Sega would be best and I never thought I'd buy Sony), I actually enjoyed them in this order:
1. GameCube
2. PS2
3. Xbox
4. Dreamcast
PS - All the controllers were fine. They probably go:
1. GameCube
2. Xbox
3. PS2
4. Dreamcast
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yeah but don't you think it's sad that they can't come up with new gameplay ideas and just remake the graphics instead of putting these remakes on a bonus disk?Well, to me, new ideas are for sequels. I don't mind paying for a remake (rather than it being a bonus), because the work on the graphics, controls and anything else that needs tidying-up is usually well worth the money.
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Gaming remakes are great, because you can always make use of the extra horsepower. Plus you can improve controls. For instance, if an old 2D game didn't have diagonal firing or the ability to fire upwards/downwards whilst jumping, that sort of thing.
The best remake I've played is Metroid: Zero Mission. It's superb, probably the best handheld game I've played. I probably disagree with most people, though, in that I actually though the extra area bolted onto the end slightly lessened it. It completely changed the gameplay for a while, making the game a bit more inconsistent.
The other remake that springs to mind is Twin Snakes. Very good game, but not to my taste as much as Metroid (strong violence etc).
So, I would say improve graphics and controls, but be careful any additions don't ruin the game's overall form.
PS - I think Mario Allstars counts as a remake rather than a port, because it's one whole generation apart from the original games and has distinctly different graphics.
Things like Skies of Arcadia: Legends are more like special editions.
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What you say needs less thought in design, might actually take a lot more than you're thinking for all the obvious reasons (online, motion controls, gameplay changes, etc...).Fair enough, the games tapedeck mentioned are a bit of a laugh. Wii Sports is a work of genius in its own way (albeit with disappointing controls).
My point is that the reason Galaxy unites gamers is nothing to do with luck or the planets aligning (good pun though). It's because it's one of two traditional games with thoughtfully designed levels purely designed for the Wii (Metroid Prime 3 being the other one). Sure, it could mostly have been done on GameCube, but that doesn't matter because Nintendo would never have released a 2nd Mario game on GC.
I'm not criticising the other Wii games. Just don't be surprised that Mario Galaxy is the sort of thing people truly want more than the other games.
Taking time to make a game as good as possible and then delaying it in order to release it for a console where people will actually buy it, doesn't seem artificial to me. Long waits always existed, even longer than TP's.You're right, it sold better on Wii than it probably would have done on GameCube. Let's recognise it as a business decision, then, but I seriously doubt it was to improve the game. Optimise for Wii, yes. Improve? No.
The game wasn't that good? SubjectiveYes, it's subjective, but you seem to be angry that people criticise it.
Twilight Princess was released for Wii at launch, it has Wii features (removed GC bits? What the hell are you even talking about?).Shield control was in the September 2005 build, but removed for the Wii version (and the GameCube release).
Other things were additions, but actually lessened the game. The beginning of the game was extended a couple of hours (with the slingshot etc) so people could get used to the Wii remote. Obviously, that was unnecessary in the GC version, but it was still ported back, thus affecting the pacing.
So, that's two things removed from the GC version - shield control and the early pacing - both caused by making it a Wii game. Who knows what else? What I do know is that it's extremely unlikely these would have been altered in the two or three months before the intended 2005 release.
The fact that the game was planned to GC and that it took a lot of time to develop it, doesn't make it less of a new Zelda game.It does. It means it's not "Zelda Wii".
So, we haven't had a Zelda yet? Yeaaah.Yup!
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The thing is though, on the ground floor we have a HDTV, and on the top I have my HDTV. I'd really like if we could get both linked up to freesatHD, but does anyone know if this would need 2 boxes? I've tried finding the info on the freesat site, but it sounded a bit vague.Yeah, you need a Freesat box for each TV (unless the TV has it built in), each wired to the satellite.
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Ghostbusters 2 is an odd one. I loved it when it was released (I was about 10) and couldn't understand why it was panned. Nowadays I don't like it so much.
This may sound strange, but my biggest problem with the film is its use of baby actor(s). I didn't notice it when I was young, but the poor kid looks distressed in some of the scenes.
Secondly, there are only two really funny scenes: the one where Peter Venkman presents "World of the Strange" and the one where Louis Tulley babysits with Janine.
The Scolari Brothers scene is good, but other than that, there's nothing very classic. The Statue of Liberty was a good idea, but it's just an actress dressed up!
Other than that, I consider it a good film.
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Hope it happens and is a sharp satire like the first one. I don't see any reason why any of them would be too old or overweight. It's not like there are many stunts.
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My personal opinion of the Prime series is that it should have sold more. Metroid is a key Nintendo franchise and I personally see no reason why it shouldn't have shifted units comparable to Zelda. Admittedly, it never has, but it should.In my opinion, Metroid Prime (the original) didn't deserve to sell as well as Mario or Zelda, because unlike those two, it wasn't designed to be for everyone. I've been playing games for decades, but I just could not beat the final boss of MP1. And before that, getting to and defeating most of the bosses (Thardus, Omega Pirate and Meta Ridley spring to mind) was more of a chore than enjoyable.
Admittedly, it was my first Metroid, and I didn't understand how the games played. For some reason, I then tried the 2D Metroids on the GBA and I loved them!
In my opinion, the placement of the save points, lack of peripheral vision (it was crucial to see Samus in the context of her enivironment) and switching between different types of lasers and visors mean, to me, Metroid hasn't been done perfectly in 3D yet. Admittedly, MP3 addressed some of these.
I don't resent the real hardcore having the Prime series (in fact, I will buy MP3 when I get a Wii and I can get it for around £20), but I don't think Retro Studios are as good as an in-house studio.
But yes, the Prime series shouldn't be overlooked by FPS fans, as they really are hardcore and the Wii's pointing controls work so well.
Sega Saturn
in General Gaming Discussion
Posted
The Saturn was one of the consoles I was fondest of. It specialised in sprites, but was no slouch with polygons either.
The two I most strongly recommend are Guardian Heroes, a scrolling beat-em-up with split paths and levelling-up; and Story of Thor 2, which is like Zelda and very underrated. Both had beautiful sprite-scaling.
I also really liked Bust-a-Move 2, Bubble Bobble Collection (or whatever it was called) and Sega Ages (which had great conversions of OutRun, Space Harrier and Afterburner).
Two good exclusives were Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Panzer Dragoon Saga, the latter an RPG. It featured dragon battles which were similar to the ship battles in Skies of Arcadia. I wouldn't pay silly money for it though, if I were you.
Then there were the great coin-op conversions like Virtua Fighter 1+2, Virtua Cop 1+2, Sega Rally, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Marvel Super Heroes. I recommend these less because you can now get Virtua Fighter 5 on the current-gen consoles, as well as equivalents of the others.