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| Pollyanna 2102th Post
 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
    
|  "Re(3):Monkey recommendations?" , posted Sat 9 Dec 08:08
I'm going to do something backwards here. I'm going to UNrecommend stuff.
Sonic Rush is not great. It has a great soundtrack, and it's good for people who are ravenously hungry for a new Sonic game that's like the older ones. Yes, it's LIKE them, but it doesn't pull it off as well. The level designs are severely flawed and there are some really insultingly insipid "cinemas" to go through. The game is okay...it's not bad, but if you're on a budget, it certainly doesn't compare to the old Sonic experience, even if the soundtrack is one of the best things ever.
Similarly, the New Mario Bros is an okay game, but not the fantastic new Mario experience everyone was hoping for. Again, if you're a crazy Mario fan, then nothing anyone says will matter, but objectively, I think the game is lacking what made the originals great.
I would also ask people to recommend ONE Castlevania game. They're not all great, and the more you play, the less you're going to like the other ones. All of them except the first one (Circle of the Moon, I think?) are cursed with complete lack of difficulty and mediocre level design. If that doesn't bother you, then the ONE I recommend is Dawn of Sorrow, because it has a fun system and tons of really neat enemy sprites and animations. Also, the extra mode is pretty fun. Or you could just pick up the new one.
As for games that really use the DS, I also recommend Caduecus/Trauma Center, but I'll warn you that it becomes horrendously difficult after a point. If you don't want a tremendously challenging game, stay away. The Wii one (from my limited experience) can end up being easier if you have a friend (which is cooool), but doesn't simulate actual surgery as well.
As for Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents...both of them have their flaws. Or rather, Ouendan doesn't have as good of dance animations and fewer songs. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and nearly perfect, in my opinion, but all of that is completely invalid if you hate Japanese pop/rock music.
With Elite Beat Agents, the problem isn't so much that the music is American as that it's bad American music. The songs that I DO like were covered poorly. Also, many of the scenarios lack the drama of the original and are simply incoherent. Funny, but still disappointing. I'd listen to the music first to see if you want it.
I second Brandon's Contact unrecommendation, by the way.
I highly recommend Advance Wars DS, though. I think it's arguably the best game of its kind ever made. For the full experience, I'd recommend not getting extra exp for the story mode, though. It's inevitable on "hard", but for normal what's neat is that it's winnable without using any "boost" like that. I have a list of complaints with the game/things I'd want in a sequel, but none of them have anything to do with the excellent system and wealth of options.
I recently "finished" Jump Ultimate Stars, which I highly recommend to any Jump fan, of course. Even if you only like a few series, seeing interesting characters from other ones may raise your "manga awareness" and get you to try some stuff out. If you're not into ANY Jump manga, you're totally wasting your time, though.
Speaking of Jump manga, I also very much recommend Bleach, even if you don't know a single thing about the series. It's an excellent 2D fighting game that's fantastic to play with friends. Of course, if you don't have friends to play with or you're waiting for the sequel, it might be good to pass on for now.
As for Gyakuten Saiban/Phoenix Wright...I mean, it's a point and click game. It's great, but that's all it is. If you're expecting anything else, you may think it's overpriced. Also, the new case in the DS one sucks. It makes me want to apologize to people (while blushing) and say "really, it wasn't in the original!"
I won't go into GBA games, but I'll say I'm playing Yggdra Union right now and enjoying it quite a bit, despite the idiotic story. VERY good for SRPG fans.
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| Maou 955th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member++
| "Re(4):Monkey recommendations?" , posted Sat 9 Dec 11:47:
quote:
I would also ask people to recommend ONE Castlevania game....cursed with complete lack of difficulty and mediocre level design.
Okay, then I'd make it Minuet/Aria for the GBA, and probably Portrait/Labyrinth for DS. Aria's occasionally tricky, has good design compared to the easy, badly-designed Concerto/Harmony, and sports good music. True, Circle of the Moon does have delightfully hard bosses, but the level design is the worst of any Dracula game, meaning despite its Metroidvania design, each new item you get for killing a boss enables you to go to exactly one relevant new place=totally linear. It's totally unlike the others which legitimately can be explored in different orders, making Circle the worst of both worlds.
Too bad about the (predictably) bad FFVI GBA music. It was horrible enough music emulation on the PS "port," can't even imagine what this will be like then. Un-recommnded. The day handhelds have Redbook-calibur sound is the day I'll buy one of my own.
edit: man, simple youtube shots reveal that the music and slowdown in FFVI-A are worse than you could ever imagine, makes the pitiful PS version look tolerable.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 9 Dec 15:13] |
| Pollyanna 2115th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(5):Monkey recommendations?" , posted Wed 13 Dec 08:08
quote:
So what makes the music "bad" and what covers do you consider "poor"?
I've been playing the Hell out of the game and honestly can't figure out what you're referring to.
This is a question that can't rightfully be answered, or rather, by answering, won't get anywhere. Let me rephrase it to be less inflammatory and less "No, I'm right/No, I'M right."
I do not like many of the songs in the game, and those who are not a fan of American pop music may feel the same. Furthermore, those who are a fan of some of the songs in the game may not be satisfied with the covers. I would recommend listening to some of the songs first, as since there is a chance you may not like them, it would most likely make the game less enjoyable.
I'm not trying to be condescending, it's just that if I say "I don't like this song", you can say "Well, I DO" and if I say "I don't think the vocals sound good on this song" or "it fails to capture the charm of the original" you can say "I think the vocals are great and it's even better than the original". Neither of us would be wrong, but I don't think there's enough dimensions to have a legitimate discussion.
To answer your question, though...off the top of my head, I wasn't a fan of the covers of Highway Star, ABC and YMCA. In terms of "bad" songs, I don't think there's any cover that would make me like "You're the Inspiration" and "Sk8er Boy". However, I've heard that the cover of "La La" is actually better, though I wouldn't know, since I've never heard the original.
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| Satoshi Miwa 2791th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(7):Monkey recommendations?" , posted Thu 14 Dec 14:21
quote:
Polly - if it makes you feel less like a jerk, I didn't buy the game because all the songs are pop tripe bullshit. That's taking it a step further, but yes - it's all throwaway music that will be forgotten shortly, aside from the earth wind and fire and that, but I'm not too into that sort of thing to want to pick this up.
Why ruin decent gameplay with the typical Nintendo HEY THE KIDS LISTEN TO THIS ideas?
Oh....right........
[edit]
I should ammend my post - if people like this music - more power to you! Nintendo made this game for you. It's just rather shallow and unoriginal stuff, which is what bothers me. Everyone has their own taste, but this is one of the few places I'll really call it like I see it.
I'd agree with you mostly on that, but than EBA has three rock songs I really like. Jumping Jack Flash (WHich is actually quite fitting for the game) Let's Dance, Fall In love. Of course those don't work nearly as well as they should of since the entire song catalog is Cover songs and these version don't really match up to the orginals by Queen, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones.
As for some of the other picks? Yeah, a little too much 80's and 90's candy pop. I didn't mind some of the choices, but wish they were balanced out with a few more things.
Though to be fair, Music rights in NA are an ass and half to deal with. I'm not sure if this is the list Nintendo wanted, or if this was the best of what Nintendo could afford and get.
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"Re(1):DS recommendations?" , posted Fri 8 Dec 06:38
"Re(3):DS recommendations?" , posted Fri 8 Dec 11:05
still not funny)
