RANDOM GAMES #36- Sonic the Fantasy Quest - http://www.mmcafe.com/ Forums


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"RANDOM GAMES #36- Sonic the Fantasy Quest" , posted Mon 22 Jan 21:20post reply

It's 2018, time for a new RANDOM GAMES thread!


https://twitter.com/nakayuji/status/955385616971247617

Sonic The Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka moves to Square Enix



Oh Naka-san, do you know how meme your character has become on the internet






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"Re(1):RANDOM GAMES #36- Sonic the Fantasy Que" , posted Wed 24 Jan 00:08post reply

Speaking of Fantasy Quest, I am really impressed by this small Indonesian team's work. I don't know if they got money off Kickstarter but they really succeeded at recreating that "PS1 era JRPG" vibe, and the atmosphere looks distinct enough to get past the usual wapanese pastiche. I hope they included many local references/mythologies in there. Unfortunately, unlike what the title of the video above implies, Legrand Legacy only comes to Switch (and other consoles) next year, but it comes out this Wednesday on PC.





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"Re(1):RANDOM GAMES #36- Sonic the Fantasy Que" , posted Wed 24 Jan 14:19post reply

I just discovered a Thai card game called Commandeer. It uses a grid to place units and different cards can attack in different directions. Most units have way more defense than attack so you defeat other units by careful positioning, playing command cards when you're attacking, and so on.

https://www.commandeertcg.com/

The factions have fun themes like...

Heisenberg- World War super science faction, their cards focus on ranged attacks (dudes with guns) and discarding opponent's cards (hackers)

Shangri-La- Buddhist cultural sphere faction, mostly samurai, kungfu dudes, and Thai interpretation of Hindu spirits. Haven't played as them yet

Lemuria- Your D&D academic wizards. Fey, zombies, that sort of thing.

Avalon- Christdom faction, ranges from Arthurian knights to 1700's pirates. Mechanically they focus on playing lots of small dudes that boost one another when in formation.

Hero Kingdom- Kamen Rider and Shocker faction. I think Kamenrider style focuses on strong individuals and Shocker style is on swarms of goons.

DC Comics- Apparantly it's not that hard to get the DC comics license in Thailand. Seemed to be a one time thing as they aren't featured in booster packs, just one complete set.





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"Re(2):RANDOM GAMES #36- Wild Guns everywhere" , posted Sat 27 Jan 06:29post reply

Good news for Prof, Wild Guns is going to be ported to Switch, along with new features described in the PR below. I don't think they have specified whether the PS4 and Steam versions will be updated in any capacity (either for free or via a DLC). Speaking of which, the game is also described as « A big hit on Steam and PlayStation 4 » although the SteamSpy data available suggests they probably had modest expectations to begin with.

quote:
Wild Guns Reloaded Fires Its Way On To Nintendo Switch

The Arcade-Style Shooter Series Returns to Nintendo!

Burlingame, CA. – January 25, 2018 – Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, today announced Wild Guns Reloaded for the Nintendo Switch; coming early 2018. A big hit on Steam and PlayStation 4, this is the first time the game will be available for the new Nintendo console.

Wild Guns Reloaded is a fast-paced gallery style shooter mixing the Wild West with steampunk. Players can play as Clint, Annie, two new characters, or all together in multiplayer action! Each can jump, dive and roll to get out of the way of the barrage of bullets enemies let fly – or shoot them down with their own gun!

In Wild Guns Reloaded, Annie has tracked down the famed bounty hunter Clint to get revenge on the Kid gang. With eight stages, each with three zones, there's plenty of bad robots to blast away. With a true arcade game feel, Wild Guns was the first sci-fi western to arrive on home consoles and, to this day, there really isn't any other game like it!

"Natsume developed the original Wild Guns in 1994 for the SNES, and we are proud to continue this legacy in Wild Guns Reloaded for Nintendo Switch," said Hiro Maekawa, President & CEO of Natsume. "We've included some brand new features for the Switch version that we're very excited about!"

The Switch version offers new game modes, such as Beginner Mode. Now, newcomers can play the arcade-style shooter with unlimited lives! And in contrast to Beginner Mode, Boss Rush: Time Attack was created for Wild Guns veterans. For the hardest of the hardcore, Boss Rush: Time Attack mode lets players take on all the bosses in the game, one right after the other! How far can you get?!







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"Re(3):RANDOM GAMES #36- Wild Guns everywhere" , posted Sat 27 Jan 08:04post reply

quote:
The Switch version offers new game modes, such as Beginner Mode. Now, newcomers can play the arcade-style shooter with unlimited lives!


I just want to have a continue option! Wild Guns Reloaded was murderously hard to beat with multiple players, because the pool of lives was shared and there were no continues!





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"RANDOM GAMES #36- CupHead?" , posted Sun 28 Jan 14:33:post reply

I just came across a game called CupHead. Seems very old school and a challenging game like in the 90s. I have not seen the cafe speak on it. Anyone have there thoughts on the game?

It sold millions of copies which is extraordinary for a non-3D game in this day in age.





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"Re(1):RANDOM GAMES #36- CupHead?" , posted Sun 28 Jan 23:25post reply

quote:
I just came across a game called CupHead. Seems very old school and a challenging game like in the 90s. I have not seen the cafe speak on it. Anyone have there thoughts on the game?

It sold millions of copies which is extraordinary for a non-3D game in this day in age.

I played it for about ten minutes and thought they'd put a lot of good work into it! I'm not sure I personally love the early Walt Disney aesthetic, but it's certainly distinctive. As for the game, it's really just Gunstar Heroes or Alien Soldier, but given how rare that genre has become, it's still nice to see it even if the concept didn't seem "new." In a just world, this would lead to Alien Solider becoming the top downloaded title from the future Switch virtual console!





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"Re(1):RANDOM GAMES #36- CupHead?" , posted Mon 29 Jan 05:48post reply

quote:
I just came across a game called CupHead. Seems very old school and a challenging game like in the 90s. I have not seen the cafe speak on it. Anyone have there thoughts on the game?

Cuphead is ridiculously good. I think that's an opinion that doesn't need to be debated, like, water is wet, British cheese is terrible, Cuphead is better than anyone who's been following the game since a couple of years even hoped it would end up being.
It's been a couple of years now that the industry and tools available have reach a point that "indies" went from meaning "cute little game to waste time for a couple of hours" into "the actually interesting good games that challenge you the way old games used to".

Hollow Knight is still the best game of 2017, and has a good shot at 2018 too.







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"Re(2):RANDOM GAMES #36- CupHead?" , posted Tue 30 Jan 02:30:post reply

quote:
I just came across a game called CupHead. Seems very old school and a challenging game like in the 90s. I have not seen the cafe speak on it. Anyone have there thoughts on the game?
Cuphead is ridiculously good. I think that's an opinion that doesn't need to be debated, like, water is wet, British cheese is terrible, Cuphead is better than anyone who's been following the game since a couple of years even hoped it would end up being.
It's been a couple of years now that the industry and tools available have reach a point that "indies" went from meaning "cute little game to waste time for a couple of hours" into "the actually interesting good games that challenge you the way old games used to".

Hollow Knight is still the best game of 2017, and has a good shot at 2018 too.



My one biggest complaint about Cuphead is that until you reach the point where the boss noticeably changes animation to a weakened state, it's really hard to tell how well you're doing until you die, and impossible to tell how much damage anything does. I don't really know if using the fully charged (MEN'S BEAM!!!!) attack is better than using the lesser charged attack multiple times... it'd make sense if it was, but I don't really know, and the game is hard enough and predicated on being hard, so I don't like being blind about that. In the case of classic Contra, it'd often be the case that a boss might contain multiple smaller elements or simply aren't very durable in the first place, so by incidentally destroying those, you could very quickly and intuitively feel how much damage your weapon could do, and how much your damage increased when you got closer to things/mash harder/etc.





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"Re(2):RANDOM GAMES #36- CupHead?" , posted Tue 30 Jan 13:10post reply

quote:
I just came across a game called CupHead. Seems very old school and a challenging game like in the 90s. I have not seen the cafe speak on it. Anyone have there thoughts on the game?
Cuphead is ridiculously good. I think that's an opinion that doesn't need to be debated, like, water is wet, British cheese is terrible, Cuphead is better than anyone who's been following the game since a couple of years even hoped it would end up being.
It's been a couple of years now that the industry and tools available have reach a point that "indies" went from meaning "cute little game to waste time for a couple of hours" into "the actually interesting good games that challenge you the way old games used to".

Hollow Knight is still the best game of 2017, and has a good shot at 2018 too.



I've manage to play some Cuphead as well. Too bad semester has started for me (network classes), so I couldn't play as much as I want too. (Can't wait for Wild Guns Reloaded, though.)

Seem like Square-Enix heard the complains about Project Octopath Traveler's "distracting HD-2D" effects, as they've now given the option to turn them off in the game, among other things...(Maybe if enough people request it, there can also be completely-flat 2D lighting mode too)





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"Re(3):RANDOM GAMES #36- AZEL!" , posted Tue 30 Jan 18:11:post reply

What I find most interesting is how they adopted Kickstarter-like communication strategy for this game. It's probably a smart move for a project of this scope, whereas it felt a bit awkward when FF15 essentially did the same thing after its first demo.




HOLY SHIT there is a very long and interesting article on AZEL and Yukio Futatsugi on a mainstream pop culture website. Which dimension are you and what have you done with my 2018?





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"Re(4):RANDOM GAMES #36- Yakuza Localizing" , posted Thu 8 Feb 05:07post reply

Crossposting from the snooty writing thread:

Interview about translating the sprawlingly huge texts of the Yakuza games into English.

It takes over a year to translate and localize each game into English, and they're getting better at it.

One of the most interesting insights:
Q: Do you have any sense of how Japanese players perceive the Yakuza protagonists?

A: In Japanese, I feel like Kiryu is a little bit more of an avatar for the player. He uses a lot more ellipses than we do in the English version, because we actually want our audience to identify with Kiryu as a character. Whereas in Japanese, you might want to be like, I can put myself in Kiryu's shoes. I can be this Japanese badass. It's a bigger leap to expect a Western audience to be like "ah, I can be this Japanese badass." So we give Kiryu a little bit more of his own characterization, that is very much in line with the Japanese when they do characterize him. So there's no gap there; it's just a matter of trying to bridge that gap Western audiences might face in trying to fully identify with a Japanese character.







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"A Case of Distrust is one stylish game" , posted Fri 9 Feb 17:03:post reply

It's really just a point and click / hidden object game with a lot of text, but man does it look slick and I've only played it for like 2 minutes.

It doesn't seem quite as ambitious in structure/style/etc. as simogo's DEVICE 6, but it's still pretty damn cool.





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"Re(1):Dandara is one stylish game" , posted Sat 10 Feb 01:23post reply

quote:
It's really just a point and click / hidden object game with a lot of text, but man does it look slick and I've only played it for like 2 minutes.

It doesn't seem quite as ambitious in structure/style/etc. as simogo's DEVICE 6, but it's still pretty damn cool.


Ah yes, it does have quite a bit of style! And having the first screenshot include a cat went a long way toward getting me to play it too!

Also stylish is Dandara, a Castleroid with a really remarkable control scheme and aesthetic. Even though I inevitably play a ton of these sorts of action platformers they lose my interest pretty quickly. Not so with this one, a game where you're asked to navigate around in an unconventional fashion, and you're not even able to walk or run. I think it's a Cafe kind of game!





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"A bird in every port" , posted Wed 14 Feb 11:33post reply

Imma let you finish but Dragon Quest Builders, Owl Boy and a couple of witches belatedly came out on Switch this week and that is a pretty good week to drop all that other important stuff you were doing to catch up on those fine games.





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"Re(1):A bird in every port" , posted Wed 14 Feb 13:39post reply

quote:
Owl Boy



During the year in which Versus 13 FFXV finally was released, it's worth pointing out that Owlboy had been in development for ALMOST as long, (2007 VERSUS 2006).





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"Taito Station Undercover documentary" , posted Wed 14 Feb 18:40:post reply

Taito's boss gets hit by reality TV


Oh boy, I need to make sure I don't forget to watch this





[this message was edited by Professor on Wed 14 Feb 18:57]



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"Re(1):Taito Station Undercover documentary" , posted Wed 14 Feb 23:42post reply

quote:
Taito's boss gets hit by reality TV


Oh boy, I need to make sure I don't forget to watch this


I know "reality" television has nothing to do with reality but I never understood how the Undercover Boss scenario is supposed to be remotely believable. For a low-level position they hire a person nearing their senior years -who is also wearing an obvious wig- and then follow them around all day with a camera crew? Nothing suspicious about that!





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"Re(2):Taito Station Undercover documentary" , posted Thu 15 Feb 10:20post reply

quote:
Taito's boss gets hit by reality TV


Oh boy, I need to make sure I don't forget to watch this

I know "reality" television has nothing to do with reality but I never understood how the Undercover Boss scenario is supposed to be remotely believable. For a low-level position they hire a person nearing their senior years -who is also wearing an obvious wig- and then follow them around all day with a camera crew? Nothing suspicious about that!



I swear with that makeup, the president looks like an ex-con who could be possibly be missing a pinky because he had to slice it as repentment during his younger years at the mob or something and he can't find a real job because of it, haha. Oh boy, scary thoughts.







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"Re(2):Taito Station Undercover documentary" , posted Thu 15 Feb 11:21post reply

quote:
I know "reality" television has nothing to do with reality but I never understood how the Undercover Boss scenario is supposed to be remotely believable. For a low-level position they hire a person nearing their senior years -who is also wearing an obvious wig- and then follow them around all day with a camera crew? Nothing suspicious about that!



I understand how you can pull it off for the first season. You could use age to explain the cameras, saying that it is a documentary about an older gentlemen entering the workforce. You could even pass off the disguise as an old guy who is trying badly to look younger. Or allow that people will suspect the disguise, and kind of play along with the idea that the guy might be the host of a new show, or some former d-list celebrity that no one recognizes, or whatever, and realize that eventually people are just going to decide he's a nobody that doesn't matter after a few weeks. For the first season, people have no reason to assume the guy in disguise is their boss, and entry-level is low enough that they likely have never seen their boss to recognize him.

The believability completely tanks after the first season though, once people know that the show exists. Yeah, not everyone is going to know about the series, but the odds are that someone will, and cameras+newbie (bad disguise or not) is a dead giveaway at that point.





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"Autobiography of a Fleece" , posted Thu 15 Feb 14:28post reply

« Yes! » the Duke exclaimed, emphatically. « I would indeed cherish the opportunity to acquire some of those fine Mega Man X specimens many peers have chanted about. But if I may be more specific, and as one dares to dream, I only wish to obtain the episodes marked X5 to X8. »
- N.O.Body, Nope: An Autobiography (2018)





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"Re(1):Autobiography of a Fleece" , posted Thu 15 Feb 14:52post reply

quote:
« Yes! » the Duke exclaimed, emphatically. « I would indeed cherish the opportunity to acquire some of those fine Mega Man X specimens many peers have chanted about. But if I may be more specific, and as one dares to dream, I only wish to obtain the episodes marked X5 to X8. »
- N.O.Body, Nope: An Autobiography (2018)



What if the first legacy collection is just X1-3, while the second one is X4-8?

WHAT AM I FIGHTING FORRRRR







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"Re(2):Autobiography of a Fleece" , posted Thu 15 Feb 22:27post reply

quote:
« Yes! » the Duke exclaimed, emphatically. « I would indeed cherish the opportunity to acquire some of those fine Mega Man X specimens many peers have chanted about. But if I may be more specific, and as one dares to dream, I only wish to obtain the episodes marked X5 to X8. »
- N.O.Body, Nope: An Autobiography (2018)


What if the first legacy collection is just X1-3, while the second one is X4-8?

WHAT AM I FIGHTING FORRRRR

Hahaha. I mean, if we are really honest with ourselves, the joke still holds even if collection one is just X1, and collection two is X2-X8.





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"Re(1):Taito Station Undercover documentary" , posted Fri 16 Feb 00:33post reply

quote:
Taito's boss gets hit by reality TV


Oh boy, I need to make sure I don't forget to watch this



Yoko Taro should get his own reality TV show. I'd watch that in a heartbeat.







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"Re(2):Monster Hunter Undercover" , posted Tue 20 Feb 00:50post reply

A few thoughts about Monster Hunter World:

I've always wanted to like MH but everything about has conspired against me. The previous MH games I tried were on the 3DS, a handheld system that I mistakenly believed was portable. My thought was that I would be able to play MH on my daily commute. Instead, I found the game was full of fiddly menus, controls that required more buttons than Nintendo would allow and hunts that could drag on for a long time. The travel experience was a bust and when I was at home I found there were plenty of other games I could play that wouldn't cause my hands to cramp up.

MHW changes all that. Having a proper controller and a big screen helps make the game a more epic, inviting experience. It's also a much more streamlined experience. MH has always felt complicated just for the sake of complexity but MHW strips away the top layer of nonsense. It's still full of systems for those that love that sort of thing but it's more accessible and is full of tutorials that at least attempt to explain what in the world is going on.

It's not only the menus, everything in the game is inviting. Instead of wandering blindly or throwing inaccurate paintballs you now have magic bugs that help you track monsters and resources. Every day when you sign in you are rewarded with piles of trinkets. Everyone in the game is quite jolly and seems to dig living in a monster based economy. There is a designated command that will let you lay your head on a table and sleep. There are several interactions you can use for communication but the one that stands above them all is "prance."

MHW is still huge and clunky in the MH way but it is also very inviting. It's the local tavern of games; it's fine if you want to advance the story but it's just happy you dropped in and spent some time. At some point I'll try joining a hunting party and properly playing the game but for now I'm having fun seeing how much of the local flora and fauna my cat and I can eradicate.







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"Re(2):Taito Station Undercover documentary" , posted Tue 20 Feb 04:50post reply

quote:
Taito's boss gets hit by reality TV


Oh boy, I need to make sure I don't forget to watch this


Yoko Taro should get his own reality TV show. I'd watch that in a heartbeat.



I wonder if people that work for Yoko Taro's projects actually like having him as a director or if they think of him the way many think of Peter Molyneux.

It's nice that he's jolly and goofy, but he also seems like the guy that would make up ridiculous stuff that you'd need to have really strong leads around that are willing to tell him "yeah, no".







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"More Monster Musings" , posted Sun 25 Feb 08:39post reply

Should I stick with one weapon in MH or should I branch out and have something for every occasion? There doesn’t seem to be any penalty for switching other than the need to grind for material. Then again, that may be a big enough deterrent to keep me from experimenting. I wonder how veterans of the series handle this?

Although I have already played for several hours I really need to knuckle down and advance the story a bit more. As it is I’ve been having too much fun meandering around the landscape. You can climb, crawl and find all sorts of other ways to explore. Sometimes when I’m out on these nature walks I have to pull out my long sword and hack something to death but the primeval world is tough like that.





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"Re(1):More Monster Musings" , posted Sun 25 Feb 10:28:post reply

quote:
Should I stick with one weapon in MH or should I branch out and have something for every occasion? There doesn’t seem to be any penalty for switching other than the need to grind for material. Then again, that may be a big enough deterrent to keep me from experimenting. I wonder how veterans of the series handle this?

Although I have already played for several hours I really need to knuckle down and advance the story a bit more. As it is I’ve been having too much fun meandering around the landscape. You can climb, crawl and find all sorts of other ways to explore. Sometimes when I’m out on these nature walks I have to pull out my long sword and hack something to death but the primeval world is tough like that.



Exploring during expeditions is great fun for me as well. Plus, you will end up with a lot of useful supplies/crafting materials and strong knowledge of the areas, which will help you a lot during hunts. I wish there were a little more depth available (for example, the fishing is a bit too limited to be a hobby unto itself). But I still get a kick out of exploring. I recommend not eating beforehand. For one, you save money. Two, encountering large monsters feels a little more dangerous and you may get that pleasurable "fight or flight" feeling in certain situations.

As for the weapons, I am sure there's a lot of room for mastery that would reward you for sticking exclusively with a single, technical weapon like the Charge Blade. That said, I don't think it's overly difficult to reach a base level of proficiency with any weapon, and they are extremely well-balanced. There are major differences, but no weapon is going to be as complex as picking up a new fighting game character. My feeling is that learning the enemies is ultimately more valuable than learning the nuances of individual weapons (though doing that is fun and valuable as well).

A great way to spread out, in my opinion, is to consider broader weapon roles. There are ranged and melee weapons, so why not have at least one of each? Then there are the various elements...again, why not have one of every flavor? If there's a certain monster that's giving you trouble and making the game feel temporarily less fun by repeatedly putting your ass in that cart, what better excuse to mix it up and try something new?

Maybe you've been using a beefy, fire-element great sword, but you are having issues with Rathalos who keeps hovering above your head and whacking you with his super-damaging tail-flip attack. This could be an excellent opportunity to try out the Bow, which allows you to stay out of range and hit him even when he's up in the air. And why not imbue your bow with the dragon element, which Rathalos is very susceptible to? The extra elemental damage should help make up for your lack of familiarity as you learn the ins and outs of archery.

Whatever weapon you're using, you'll learn more about various monsters' behaviors and attacks, so you're always getting something out of it (including monster parts to make new weapons with). Maybe you'll find one weapon that is so much fun for you that you won't feel the need to try anything else, but in general, I would say that trying a new weapon in MHW is low investment, high return.

There's no way to really screw yourself over, and you can refund materials (though not gold) if you decide to roll back an upgrade to try a different path (or a different weapon type). I have never felt I had to start all over with a tier 1 weapon and work my way up. Resources are plentiful. Go ahead and experiment!

For recommendations, I'd say try a ranged weapon, try something with a shield, and try dual blades just so you can land the Attack On Titan-style Levi buzzsaw attack by dashing off a ledge in demon mode.





/ / /

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"Re(2):More Monster Musings" , posted Mon 26 Feb 02:42post reply

Thanks for all the recommendations Mosquiton! I took the bow out for a spin and found it made for a much different hunt. Although it may not become my primary weapon I'm going to keep it in reserve for flying targets. It should make for a much easier fight than lamely throwing rocks at some flying beastie until lands. The bow also feels like it would be a good companion weapon when I'm playing in a group or with a friend. While everyone else is busying getting trampled and eaten I can hang back and do consistent damage.

A nice touch I noticed in the game: the opening screen changes depending on the most recent area you have unlocked. Right now when I boot up the game I'm greeted with a dung beetle rolling his goods across the screen. How charming.





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"Chrono Trigger on Steam" , posted Wed 28 Feb 02:08post reply

What the hell?





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"Re(1):Chrono Trigger on Steam" , posted Wed 28 Feb 04:00post reply

quote:
What the hell?



Is it another smartphone to pc port?







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"Re(2):Chrono Trigger on Steam" , posted Wed 28 Feb 07:56post reply

quote:
What the hell?

Is it another smartphone to pc port?



Yup, and apparently not even a good one. The Steam page is salt central today.







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"Re(3):Chrono Trigger on Steam" , posted Wed 28 Feb 11:09post reply

quote:
What the hell?

Is it another smartphone to pc port?


Yup, and apparently not even a good one. The Steam page is salt central today.

Hahaha. Forgetting the smartphone aspect, it's still the terrible "Star Wars Special Edition" equivalent that added all the extra Chrono Cross-related junk, pointless cut scenes, etc. Then again, asking people who already know how to use a computer to pay money for an inferior port when the flawless original is eminently available by emulator is pretty odd to begin with. Who is their audience?

Toss this one straight into Lavos' "bad future" file of non-possibilities.





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"Re(4):Code of Princess EX" , posted Fri 9 Mar 06:17:post reply

Hmm, I'm surprised no one has posted this by now, but Code of Princess EX is coming to the Switch! And it looks like 50+ characters will be playable? Maybe it's finally getting closer to being the Guardian Heroes followup it was meant to be.

I have a complex relationship with the original-- I liked it just fine, but it felt reeeeaaallly limited and basic compared to similar games. I'm not sure if it's the game's fault or if its genre is finally starting to wear on me after all these years.

EDIT: OH WAIT... 'all new HD graphics'...





You have to carefully reproduce the world of "Castlevania" in the solemn atmosphere.

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"Re(5):GameMaker games on Switch!" , posted Fri 9 Mar 12:34post reply

The floodgates have been opened. Starting with the announcement of Undertale on the latest Nintendo Direct, could we possibly see greats like Hyper Light Drifter and Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight on the system? It would only make sense...

Also something about Travis Strikes Again No More Heroes and Octopath Traveller's name being finalized...Solaire amiibo...







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"Re(4):Chrono Trigger on Steam" , posted Fri 9 Mar 21:08post reply

quote:
Hahaha. Forgetting the smartphone aspect, it's still the terrible "Star Wars Special Edition" equivalent that added all the extra Chrono Cross-related junk, pointless cut scenes, etc.


The same thing is in the process of happening to Valkyrie Profile 1. Port of the PSP version to smartphones has been announced, and that port will probably move to Steam/PS4 after a year or so.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, Scarlet Grace will be released on PS4/Switch/Steam with added scenarios and voices.
SCARLET GRACE FINALLY FREE FROM THE VITA PRISON.
I am so happy.
Hopefully they learned how to optimize Unity games.







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"Re(5): Iggypath Traveller" , posted Mon 19 Mar 05:34post reply

Somehow, I just knew there would be something wonderful on Octopath Traveller if I looked for it, and lo and behold, the lovely official site has new videos on the merchant Theresa (can buy things from all townspeople) and one other job I was too excited to watch because I knew I was already sold on the game and wanted to talk about it here.

I recall some serious griping about the game's lighting earlier, which given the rarity of an actually pretty new 2D RPG seemed sort of unsporting in the same way that maybe my saying how ugly KOF XV is wasn't very nice. I recall reading an article a month or two ago about how the staff had majorly reacted to all criticism and introduced different lighting options, etc., so now there seems to be very little excuse to not enjoy these lovely Yoshida Akihiko character designs and classy music.

Actually, the lighting may have been odd before, but it created this effect that I kind of liked of the world being a bunch of little dollhouses...in a rare case of a non-traumatic memories of SaGa Frontier or FFVII, it reminded me of the 2D-sized but pre-rendered-looking towns.





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"A DLC made just for me!" , posted Wed 28 Mar 12:59post reply

Assault Suits Valken in Senko no Ronde 2

Sure the model doesn't do the sprite justice, sure the character portraits aren't as good as the originals, sure the visual effects for the weapons are kinda lame, but somebody out there decided that they should go out and get the license for Assault Suits Valken and make a DLC character of it in an already super niche game.

This is the Christmas gift I never knew I wanted and that I never knew I got.

On the unbelievability of its existence, it scores a solid 8.5 on the scale of Magicka Vietnam to Nier Automata.





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"Re(1):A DLC made just for me!" , posted Wed 28 Mar 18:54post reply

quote:
Assault Suits Valken in Senko no Ronde 2

Sure the model doesn't do the sprite justice, sure the character portraits aren't as good as the originals, sure the visual effects for the weapons are kinda lame, but somebody out there decided that they should go out and get the license for Assault Suits Valken and make a DLC character of it in an already super niche game.

This is the Christmas gift I never knew I wanted and that I never knew I got.

On the unbelievability of its existence, it scores a solid 8.5 on the scale of Magicka Vietnam to Nier Automata.



Ah that's awesome, for a moment though I thought "Whaoh Valken in RONDO??" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epBi-udAcmU







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"Re(2):A DLC made just for me!" , posted Wed 28 Mar 21:44post reply

What a great DLC! Hopefully the next guest is one of the fish from Darius.





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"Re(1):A DLC made just for me!" , posted Thu 29 Mar 21:01post reply

quote:
Assault Suits Valken in Senko no Ronde 2

Sure the model doesn't do the sprite justice, sure the character portraits aren't as good as the originals, sure the visual effects for the weapons are kinda lame, but somebody out there decided that they should go out and get the license for Assault Suits Valken and make a DLC character of it in an already super niche game.

This is the Christmas gift I never knew I wanted and that I never knew I got.

On the unbelievability of its existence, it scores a solid 8.5 on the scale of Magicka Vietnam to Nier Automata.



Will this game have a physical release?





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"Sega Megadrive Revival?" , posted Sun 8 Apr 13:50post reply

Take it as a grain of salt?
SEGA

quote:
Senko no Rondo 2
Will this game have a physical release?


Limited Run games will release this game with regular and limited edition next week.





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"Re(1):Sega Megadrive Revival?" , posted Mon 16 Apr 16:37post reply

quote:
Take it as a grain of salt?
SEGA

Apparently it's real. And so is Sega Ages on Switch, headed by Reiko Kodama, no less.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 on Switch gets delayed, but to compensate, they're also rereleasing the original Valkyria Chronicles on the system too, with an added discount to those getting VC4 as well.







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"Re(1):Sega Megadrive Revival?" , posted Mon 16 Apr 21:39post reply

quote:
Take it as a grain of salt?
SEGA




taking it with one million grains of salt since it's just another dumb atgames thing. barely above pirate console level. oh well!

cool about rieko kodama though!







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"Re(2):Sega Megadrive Revival?" , posted Tue 17 Apr 12:50:post reply

quote:
Take it as a grain of salt?
SEGA
Apparently it's real.


Why should anyone care about this when Sega devalued their own catalog on a nearly yearly basis? Who doesn't own the complete Sega collection from how many times they give it away?





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"NEO ATLAS 1469" , posted Sat 21 Apr 08:59post reply

THIS IS AMAZING I AM AMAZED

what a fantastic concept for a game!
how timely that a game about accepting mistaken news/reports can change the world!
evidently it's originally a Vita game from a few years ago!
i'm buying it for sure!





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"Re(1):NEO ATLAS 1469" , posted Sat 21 Apr 12:46:post reply

quote:
THIS IS AMAZING I AM AMAZED

what a fantastic concept for a game!
how timely that a game about accepting mistaken news/reports can change the world!
evidently it's originally a Vita game from a few years ago!
i'm buying it for sure!



What's quite amazing is that despite an innovative concept like that, the original release is quite old and dates back to 1998. In some ways you can say that the game was beyond its time. That was back in the years when popularity of simulation games were at their peak with Sim City taking the lead, and it was also a time when Japanese devs still made games for the PC too (namely the PC98 platform) and made various sims like A-Train.

Wow, Neo Atlus on the modern console! That huge snake, lol. This reminds me about the old religious saying that the world sits on a huge turtle. (And if athiests try and make a point by asking what the turtle itself rests on, they'd be replied that "it's turtles all the way down". Which unarguably makes for a pretty cool illustration)





[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 21 Apr 13:50]



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"Re(1):NEO ATLAS 1469" , posted Mon 23 Apr 21:14post reply

quote:
THIS IS AMAZING I AM AMAZED

what a fantastic concept for a game!
how timely that a game about accepting mistaken news/reports can change the world!
evidently it's originally a Vita game from a few years ago!
i'm buying it for sure!



Neat - it's kind of amazing/troublesome how I hadn't heard of this or its original version before, considering how overly fond Portugal is of this part of its history (almost to the detriment of the present and future...).





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"The GOTY 2015, 2016, 2017 AND 2018" , posted Wed 25 Apr 22:13post reply

http://store.jp.square-enix.com/sp/saga_sg_hiiro/index.html

Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJRmG7pk5KY

YES.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LCVstZ2PZs

*faints*







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"Re(1):Blade Strangers new trailer" , posted Thu 26 Apr 04:41post reply

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GioNt0VaMso

Also one-minute of gameplay footage. Given this, Ark Systems' BlazBlue Cross Battle, and SNK Heroines, it's shaping up to be a pretty "light" fighting game summer.





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"Cute robot with glasses" , posted Fri 27 Apr 04:03post reply

Sorry for littering this thread, but I don't know if there is another thread dedicated to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, hell, I don't even play that game but I found interesting this
news about T-Elos appearing in the game with glasses.
Why do robots / androids need to wear glasses?







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"Re(1):Cute robot with glasses" , posted Fri 27 Apr 04:39post reply

I was telling Nobi that this game is like The Last of Us, except he'd actually want to play it.





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"Hyperzone" , posted Wed 2 May 06:48post reply

Has anyone played the SNES game
Hyperzone? I just want to know if I was the only person who had a copy of this game. Let me know your views!





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"Re(1):Hyperzone" , posted Wed 2 May 07:49post reply

quote:
Has anyone played the SNES game
Hyperzone? I just want to know if I was the only person who had a copy of this game. Let me know your views!



I was utterly enamoured with images of this game in strategy guides!... that feeling applied to most every game I didn't have but had images of, though. I would only get to play it in the era of emulators, sadly!





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"Random Dragon's Crown merchandising" , posted Thu 3 May 21:41:post reply

This is semi-gaming and Semi-nongaming, but Dragon's Crown is getting yet another figurine, this time not a protagonist but one of the in-art NPCS; the Dark Elf. That's certainly a curve ball after 4 years from launch!

http://www.moeyo.com/article/96514
note: semi-not worksafe





[this message was edited by Professor on Thu 3 May 21:51]



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"Re(1):Random Dragon's Crown merchandising" , posted Fri 4 May 20:32post reply

Really minor note, but this month Rayman Legends is available for free for PSN Plus users, so it's been a nice opportunity to take that game for a spin.

I only had a really brief experience of it from a demo years ago, , but the art is on point and the game flows really well - IIRC, it was originally designed for the Wii, where some section had you resort to a helped character to affect the stage through bits where you're use the touch screen - here the circle button seems to take care of that instead, and the whole thing flows a lot better thanks to it.

Another thing I like is one of the unlockable playable character, the viking girl Barbara - I like that kind of design/archetype (and it turns there there seems to be a bunch of characters based on her you can unlock too), and while it's not the first thing that would have come to mind to add to the Rayman aesthetics, there's some twisted fun on having her use an axe on things Rayman just tends to punch.

I wonder, will we ever get a game where we get to unlash her and her axe on the Rabbids?... This shared universe business is just asking for it, even if it mean Rayman gets to sit out of another game he helped bring to life after the Rabbids got a bit too successful...





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"Re(2):Random Dragon's Crown merchandising" , posted Thu 10 May 22:06post reply

I'm glad that Dragon's Crown is going to be released in 4K, I played a lot of this game in the Vita, but the small screen and the slowdowns made a not so good experience

quote:
Really minor note, but this month Rayman Legends is available for free for PSN Plus users, so it's been a nice opportunity to take that game for a spin.

I only had a really brief experience of it from a demo years ago, , but the art is on point and the game flows really well - IIRC, it was originally designed for the Wii, where some section had you resort to a helped character to affect the stage through bits where you're use the touch screen - here the circle button seems to take care of that instead, and the whole thing flows a lot better thanks to it.

Crrect me wrong, but does Legends include Origins or I'm making up stuff?

Another thing I like is one of the unlockable playable character, the viking girl Barbara - I like that kind of design/archetype (and it turns there there seems to be a bunch of characters based on her you can unlock too), and while it's not the first thing that would have come to mind to add to the Rayman aesthetics, there's some twisted fun on having her use an axe on things Rayman just tends to punch.

I wonder, will we ever get a game where we get to unlash her and her axe on the Rabbids?... This shared universe business is just asking for it, even if it mean Rayman gets to sit out of another game he helped bring to life after the Rabbids got a bit too successful...







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"Re(3):Random Dragon's Crown merchandising" , posted Sat 12 May 08:49post reply

What timing! Just picked up a 4 Pro and I didn't have a 3 or Vita at the time of the original release. Will be putting some hours into this next week, feel free to add me.





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"Re(4):Crisis of Tezuka Strangers" , posted Sat 12 May 09:48post reply

Nicalis is out of control

Now I don't know if I should be disappointed in Blade Strangers for not having Black Jack or what. Also why does the animation remind me of the Puzzle Fighter mobile game.







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"Re(5):Crisis of Tezuka Strangers" , posted Sat 12 May 21:02post reply

quote:
Nicalis is out of control

Now I don't know if I should be disappointed in Blade Strangers for not having Black Jack or what. Also why does the animation remind me of the Puzzle Fighter mobile game.


Is that the character who used to be in TurboGraphix-16 ads back in the day?

Huh?

What the hell is he doing in the game?





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"Curse of Inti-creates luminous" , posted Sat 12 May 21:50post reply

Looks like Nicalis is not the only one in town.

Bloodstained Curse of the Moon
Luminous Avenger iX





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"The Famicom Mini is back!... in two offerings" , posted Mon 14 May 23:48post reply

The Famicom Mini (NES Mini) is hitting stores again soon! The small console full of old memories will be returning to shelves next month on June 28.

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/index.html


Now back in the 1980s, the Famicom was one of those things that every kid was supposed to have for a good childhood. Another thing that almost came hand in hand with it was the weekly issues of Shonen Jump-- for just 200 yen, kids would submerge themselves into Dragonball and other mangas in 400+ pages of cheap recycled pulp which was probably lower quality than used toilet paper.

And of course, that also meant a lot of Shonen Jump games came out for the Famicom, too.

So it isn't a surprise for Nintendo to announce a new Shonen Jump edition of the Famicom Mini. This is about 2000 yen more than the normal version and it comes with a bunch of badly programmed games of characters right out of the mangas.

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clvj/index.html







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"Forgotton Anne" , posted Wed 16 May 09:54post reply

quote:
Bloodstained Curse of the Moon
While on one hand, with all the indie pixelated Dracula clones out there, it makes sense to have one by Igarashi, those special effects in the boss scenes are really misplaced. They're too busy and flashy for the otherwise simple environments, making me wonder why they didn't go for a SFC rather than FC style.

MEANWHILE

What's this? A pretty 2D adventure game with anime-styled sequences and puzzle elements? No, it's sadly not a re-release of the MCD version of Popful Mail, it's Forgotton Anne! I hadn't heard of it before...ten minutes ago, but I'm interested. So interested that even the painful spelling of "forgotton" doesn't totally put me off. Has anyone tried it?





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"What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Wed 16 May 11:31post reply

quote:
While on one hand, with all the indie pixelated Dracula clones out there, it makes sense to have one by Igarashi, those special effects in the boss scenes are really misplaced. They're too busy and flashy for the otherwise simple environments, making me wonder why they didn't go for a SFC rather than FC style.


Even though the release date is this month, I'm hoping the bosses as shown in the video are works in progress. What the video shows is an inconsistent hodgepodge.

First, there are the higher resolution "paper cut-outs". You could argue a NES precedent for this in the form of giant bosses that were displayed through use of the background layer. Those kinds of bosses were often detailed and colorful. Though Curse doesn't stick with the "background" restriction, and also displays large, higher detail boss parts over the regular action. Nor does it stick to the resolution restriction, resulting in boss images that look like paper cut-outs or Colorforms stickers being slid over the screen.

The train boss is passable. The higher resolution art doesn't fit the art style of the rest of the game, but it kind of works there to make the boss look more unnatural. Animation is okay.

The treasure vault boss, whether intentionally or not, pays a nod to the use of a black background surrounding the giant boss, but uses paper cut-out hands to attack. Perhaps because only the hands move, this boss looks less active than the train. It feels like there should be some other background animation effect. (Maybe even to function as an attack telegraph.)

The two-headed dragon just looks lazy. It looks like two paper cut-outs of dragon heads being slid back and forth over a paper cut-out of a body, spitting overlapping paper cut-outs of flame, all of which are layered over footage of a NES game. The biggest issue is that there hasn't been any effort even put into making the overlapping parts mesh together. It is just square cut-outs.

Alongside the higher resolution bosses, you have the "almost fits a NES game" bosses.

The turtle-person goes too far in the other direction, with uninspired and poor use of its three colors resulting in something that you'd expect to see in a mediocre NES game.

The electricity boss is fine. Umbrella girl is okay enough. The other electricity thing looks okay.

And then there is the third visual style... While the Umbrella girl borders on this, it truly fits the giant vampire girl(?). Here we get a character that kind of fits the visual style of the rest of the game, but functions similar to the paper-cut out fashion. What stands out here is her flight. While her attack is animated, her flight is just a static cut-out being slid across the screen.

The overall combination of these different styles (as well as the lackluster results in a few specific bosses) makes the whole product (at least when viewed in trailer form) feel a bit cheap.







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"Re(1):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Wed 16 May 18:41post reply

My reaction to the trailer was "I wonder what would have been the reaction if the game had released on SFC at the time". Obviously, even the SFC would have had trouble with all the effects and projectiles during the bosses, but it would have at least been capable of dealing with the visual part of most of them. But then, the trade-off would have been sprites that looked a generation and a half behind...

Faux-retro games are such a headache.





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"Re(2):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Wed 16 May 21:38:post reply

quote:

Faux-retro games are such a headache.



I think the problem is, whoever's programming them doesn't have knowledge of old retrogaming hardware.. or they're purposely ignoring them. For example, the boss stage with a green electricity shock bordering the screen would probably be hard on the original FC unless it stops layering on the background, whereas the stages with rain effects look relatively viable (you just fill the screen with the same 2-4 tile patterns and rewrite the tiles). Agh, they're layering on backgrounds too, nevermind.

The huge bosses though... was there a hardware that could do those sizes and horizontal sprite alignments despite being so limited in color? I can't recall.




I just realized there's not a single boss stage in the game where the background goes black!






[this message was edited by Professor on Wed 16 May 21:49]



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"Re(3):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Wed 16 May 22:35post reply

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that something involving Bloodstained is being released. At some point I started thinking of it less as a game and more as a talking point allowing people to reminisce about Castlevania.

quote:
So it isn't a surprise for Nintendo to announce a new Shonen Jump edition of the Famicom Mini. This is about 2000 yen more than the normal version and it comes with a bunch of badly programmed games of characters right out of the mangas.

I like how a good half of those games feature turn based combat. When I think of a way to visualize the action of Captain Tsubasa my mind immediately goes to clicking through sub-menus.





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"Re(3):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Thu 17 May 00:08post reply

quote:

Faux-retro games are such a headache.


I think the problem is, whoever's programming them doesn't have knowledge of old retrogaming hardware.. or they're purposely ignoring them. For example, the boss stage with a green electricity shock bordering the screen would probably be hard on the original FC unless it stops layering on the background, whereas the stages with rain effects look relatively viable (you just fill the screen with the same 2-4 tile patterns and rewrite the tiles). Agh, they're layering on backgrounds too, nevermind.

The huge bosses though... was there a hardware that could do those sizes and horizontal sprite alignments despite being so limited in color? I can't recall.




I just realized there's not a single boss stage in the game where the background goes black!




Well, not everyone can be Yacht Club Games.





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"Re(4):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Thu 17 May 02:01post reply

quote:
When I think of a way to visualize the action of Captain Tsubasa my mind immediately goes to clicking through sub-menus.



INDEED!!! That's the proper (only!) way to gamify Captain Tsubasa. I absolutely adored the old ones.





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"Re(4):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Thu 17 May 05:55:post reply

quote:

Well, not everyone can be Yacht Club Games.



I don't think it's that different from what Yacht Club did, and Shovel Knight wasn't a perfect "8-bit game" either. It's not an emulated approach but an idealized approach where limits are broken for the sake of sanity. The idea is not to become an NES but to create a "comforting" approach that accurately apes that feeling without the accompanying frustrations. It's like sure they could emulate VRAM limits and processor hit from effects and particles, but for what purpose? To get flicker and slowdown? In the end it really comes down to style, not technology.





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"Re(5):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Thu 17 May 23:27:post reply

quote:

Well, not everyone can be Yacht Club Games.


I don't think it's that different from what Yacht Club did, and Shovel Knight wasn't a perfect "8-bit game" either. It's not an emulated approach but an idealized approach where limits are broken for the sake of sanity. The idea is not to become an NES but to create a "comforting" approach that accurately apes that feeling without the accompanying frustrations. It's like sure they could emulate VRAM limits and processor hit from effects and particles, but for what purpose? To get flicker and slowdown? In the end it really comes down to style, not technology.



Well, the entire article is about Shovel Knight "breaking the NES", so I'm certainly aware that they are bending the rules (it's quite a good read if you wanted to know exactly where and why they decided to "cheat").

I haven't really made a deep study of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon at this point, but my initial impression is that Shovel Knight is done more artfully. For example, Baines complains about the two-headed dragon boss looking lazy/incongruous and I don't think there's anything that jarring in SK.

That said, I don't think Curse of the Moon looks terrible by any means and the gameplay looks quite fun (the wizard guy looks like he has some cool tricks). So I probably will check it out.

EDIT: I guess it's also worth mentioning that the Shovel Knight team had some rough spots and had to go for five months without paying anyone. There's always a cost. And of course I don't mean to denigrate the efforts of IntiCreates here who are undoubtedly super-busy and super-hard-working people judging from their release schedule.





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"Re(6):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Wed 23 May 14:11post reply

quote:

Well, not everyone can be Yacht Club Games.


I don't think it's that different from what Yacht Club did, and Shovel Knight wasn't a perfect "8-bit game" either. It's not an emulated approach but an idealized approach where limits are broken for the sake of sanity. The idea is not to become an NES but to create a "comforting" approach that accurately apes that feeling without the accompanying frustrations. It's like sure they could emulate VRAM limits and processor hit from effects and particles, but for what purpose? To get flicker and slowdown? In the end it really comes down to style, not technology.


Well, the entire article is about Shovel Knight "breaking the NES", so I'm certainly aware that they are bending the rules (it's quite a good read if you wanted to know exactly where and why they decided to "cheat").

I haven't really made a deep study of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon at this point, but my initial impression is that Shovel Knight is done more artfully. For example, Baines complains about the two-headed dragon boss looking lazy/incongruous and I don't think there's anything that jarring in SK.

You mean beside the fact they all have animation frame counts that rival a SFC game.





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"Re(7):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Wed 23 May 14:21:post reply

quote:

I haven't really made a deep study of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon at this point, but my initial impression is that Shovel Knight is done more artfully. For example, Baines complains about the two-headed dragon boss looking lazy/incongruous and I don't think there's anything that jarring in SK.

You mean beside the fact they all have animation frame counts that rival a SFC game.



Yes, that is what I mean. I don't think smoother animation is really jarring (some late NES games like Little Samson have surprisingly good animation), and it's definitely not lazy. SK has a nice, cohesive look.

I feel like I should explain myself a bit more here. I'm not saying Shovel Knight is pure and authentic to the limitations of the NES, I'm saying it has a really nice and cohesive aesthetic that sets it apart from many other "faux-retro" games.





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"Re(8):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Thu 24 May 12:55post reply

quote:

I feel like I should explain myself a bit more here. I'm not saying Shovel Knight is pure and authentic to the limitations of the NES, I'm saying it has a really nice and cohesive aesthetic that sets it apart from many other "faux-retro" games.



So you mean...cohesive art direction?







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"Re(9):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Thu 24 May 13:07post reply

quote:

I feel like I should explain myself a bit more here. I'm not saying Shovel Knight is pure and authentic to the limitations of the NES, I'm saying it has a really nice and cohesive aesthetic that sets it apart from many other "faux-retro" games.


So you mean...cohesive art direction?



I think it's more than just "cohesive", because some of the directorial choices arise from careful study of the technical limitations of the 8-bit consoles. So they have codified very carefully the limitations that they want to adopt and stick to them 100%, while for the things they choose to break, they do so very selectively. For instance, they do adopt palette limitations, but they don't adopt sprite count limitations.

Many retro-styled games don't have such a thorough understanding of the technical underpinnings of the games whose aesthetics they are invoking. Though their art and design choices may still be internally coherent and still have a consistent rationale, their art choices aren't nearly as carefully considered.

The net result is that Shovel Knight feels like an extremely good 8-bit game even though it would clearly be impossible on the real 8-bit systems, as opposed to merely a retro-passing game.







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"Re(10):What a horrible night to have a Curse" , posted Fri 25 May 06:02post reply

quote:
I think it's more than just "cohesive", because some of the directorial choices arise from careful study of the technical limitations of the 8-bit consoles. So they have codified very carefully the limitations that they want to adopt and stick to them 100%, while for the things they choose to break, they do so very selectively. For instance, they do adopt palette limitations, but they don't adopt sprite count limitations.


I'd say that is still cohesive art direction, it is just making the effort to work out the details of that art direction. Even if every artist knew to work within "realistic limits" when doing retro game art, it would still be a matter of "cohesive art direction" to establish what those limits are.

Which is where Curse of the Moon's bosses appear to fail. It looks like a game where different artists each had different ideas of what "retro game art" looked like, so you have a hodgepodge of different methods. It's like hiring a bunch of artists to create fantasy art for an illustrated story, but forgetting to tell everyone to use the same media, so you end up with one artist turning in giant oil canvases, another doing acrylic paints on canvas board, another doing their art in watercolors, and one person doing their drawings with MS Paint.







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"Re(2):Re(10):What a horrible night to have a " , posted Sat 26 May 01:18post reply

But is the game any fun to play?







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"KILLER7 ON STEAM" , posted Tue 29 May 04:16:post reply

Smith...

The clean style of the original game and its minimal reliance on textures means it will scale into HD easily, and its plot has never been more relevant. Its audio and presentation remain some of the coolest ever.

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"Re(1):KILLER7 ON STEAM" , posted Tue 29 May 22:19post reply

quote:
Smith...

The clean style of the original game and its minimal reliance on textures means it will scale into HD easily, and its plot has never been more relevant. Its audio and presentation remain some of the coolest ever.

"I'll be waiting for you at the end with a smile as wide as the truth."


It's good to know that people will once again be able to get their rave on with such a good game.





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"Re(2):KILLER7 ON STEAM Ikaruga on Switch" , posted Sat 9 Jun 01:23post reply

quote:
Smith...

The clean style of the original game and its minimal reliance on textures means it will scale into HD easily, and its plot has never been more relevant. Its audio and presentation remain some of the coolest ever.

"I'll be waiting for you at the end with a smile as wide as the truth."

It's good to know that people will once again be able to get their rave on with such a good game.


Can't wait to play Killer 7 again. It just gives the player and out of world experience into a mind of ....well a psychological trip.

Also Ikaruga is coming to switch. They also said it's coming to PS4 I believe.

Hope to hear other fantastic games from E3. Anything planned from SNK?





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"Re(3):KILLER7 ON STEAM Ikaruga on Switch" , posted Sat 9 Jun 01:59post reply

quote:

Hope to hear other fantastic games from E3. Anything planned from SNK?



For some bizarre reason, SNK 40th Anniversary collection is in NIS America's E3 lineup, but not SNK Heroines.





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"E3 Thoughts" , posted Mon 11 Jun 23:08post reply

Devil May Cry 5: I like the idea that Dante can't grow a proper beard and instead looks like a mangy rat. It's also odd to see a DMC that is so explicitly taking place in the everyday world. The locations in previous games have either been artistically wrecked lanes or magical video game worlds. Seeing Nero and company interacting with everyday people is a change. Absurdly, it gives me an Oneechanbara vibe, where many of the settings were utterly mundane but had to play host to ridiculous, over the top characters.

Jump Force: An arena brawler where Luffy can punch Light Yagami in the middle of Times Square? This looks like the spiritual sequel to Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: A ninja game by From Software sounds enticing but the Bloodsouls games had some of the most clunky platforming I've seen in ages. Let's hope this ninja guy knows how to properly jump. Also, this is the second game that features a protagonist with a missing limb. The theme for this year is heroic dismemberment!

Metal Wolf Chaos: No other announcements matter.





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"Ikaruga Thoughts" , posted Tue 12 Jun 00:03post reply

Coming June 29 on PS4 and 30th on Switch at the affordable price of 980 and 1500 yen, respectively!

Switch PV





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"Re(1):E3 Thoughts" , posted Tue 12 Jun 03:03post reply

Platinum Games' new title, Babylon's Fall, is interesting.

(I apologize for linking Kotaku, but Siliconera is down for me, so I don't know if they posted anything about today's E3 news.







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"Re(2):Curse of the Moon Thoughts" , posted Tue 12 Jun 04:10post reply

Curse of the Moon is a really well-made classic Castlevania that I thoroughly enjoyed playing through twice. It features really well-designed classic Castlevania levels, generally well-designed bosses (though with an obsession with the boss death final attack that was first encountered in.... Dracula X?), and content to encourage you to play through it twice.

The final chapter of the second play through is really great!



Spoiler (Highlight to view) -

Your team splits up for a short stage with a miniboss, where each stage is only doable by that character. In tune with Zangetsu being a Japanese-themed character, this final chapter departs from the gothic european/warner bros. horror theme and instead goes into Asian mythology, what with Torii gates and whatnot else. The final room before the boss visually hints at what you're about to get into in a clever and powerful way, and the final boss itself invokes your party as a team while also invoking a classic Castlevania image (Dracula sitting on his throne and tossing the wine glass) but now in an Asian styled way with Zangetsu. It feels like a really fantastic way to close off the game that pays tribute to Castlevania while simultaneously giving your characters a chance to shine in a way that the CV3 characters didn't get to.


End of Spoiler



I am seriously wondering if the actual game Curse of the Moon is meant to be a (ninja) gaiden for is going to be as tightly made as Curse of the Moon. Highly recommended!







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"Re(3):Curse of the Ikaruga Thoughts" , posted Tue 12 Jun 07:37post reply

quote:
IKARUGA

One of MMCafe's finest and most approachable aspects is the ability to love games we are terrible at. Years later, there is no game I enjoy sucking at more than Ikaruga. Even if I can't beat level 3 without infinite lives, I still feel more heroic than a 1980s sentai group when I soar through level 1. There's no shooter I love more, to the point that I'd still gladly retranslate the entire backstory if pushed enough, just to spread the Treasure gospel.
quote:
I am seriously wondering if the actual game Curse of the Moon is meant to be a (ninja) gaiden for is going to be as tightly made as Curse of the Moon. Highly recommended!

After our grumbling above, this is an exciting assessment! As you say, hopefully the main game is up to snuff. If it's any encouragement, Nocturne/SOTN is a gaiden of a gaiden (Dracula X) that was even better than the original gaiden. Perhaps this gaiden of a spiritual sequel portends similar!





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"Re(4):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Tue 12 Jun 14:23post reply

When was the last time this many high-budget games about being a samurai and chopping people up have been shown at an E3? We've got From's Sekiro, Sucker Punch's visually striking Ghosts of Tsushima, and we've got Tecmo's Nioh 2.

RE2 looks really good, but the new face they've got for Claire feels weirdly... PS2-ish? compared to the faces that they've got for Leon and the Zombies.







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"Re(5):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Tue 12 Jun 17:44:post reply

quote:
When was the last time this many high-budget games about being a samurai and chopping people up have been shown at an E3? We've got From's Sekiro, Sucker Punch's visually striking Ghosts of Tsushima, and we've got Tecmo's Nioh 2.



Ghosts of Tsushima looks incredible. They clearly studied a lot of kendo and samurai cinema to get those movements right. The question is can they enforce such patience in gameplay? Or maybe it's better to ask: can they make it fun?

quote:

RE2 looks really good, but the new face they've got for Claire feels weirdly... PS2-ish? compared to the faces that they've got for Leon and the Zombies.



I don't know about PS2, but Claire's face looks like a younger version of the face they gave her in RE Revelations 2. I'm not sure why Capcom likes that face but I guess we're stuck with it.





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"Re(6):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Wed 13 Jun 04:33post reply

You're right, samurai games were everywhere. Between E3 going full chanbara and things such as the updates to For Honor and Soul Calibur 6 I could easily blow my entire game budget on stabbing action. Okay, there is Fist of the North Star so I guess I'll get in some punching action just to break up the monotony.

It's funny, everywhere I go I hear about Fortnite. There are articles about it in my local newspaper and I even heard a group of parents complaining about it at a wedding I recently attended. But in spite of all a majority of games at E3 were single player experiences. It's good to see developers might be learning not to mindlessly chase after every trend. Then again, after watching the Arkham Asylum-ish Spider-Man demo perhaps they are still chasing trends but they are nine years behind the curve.







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"Re(7):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Wed 13 Jun 05:56post reply

Tsushima annoys me every time I see it.
* The narration is so American it has to appeal constantly to "LOOK HOW JAPANESE EVERYTHING IS WE'RE SO MUCH IN JAPAN RIGHT NOW". It's terrible.
* The American dubbing is bad and weirdly racist, but worse, the Mongols have a weird filter on their voices to make their speech less distinct and more alien. Or maybe their voice was recorded in the middle of the Gobi. It's difficult to hear what they say, except when suddenly they shout SAMURAI very distinctively so the American audience can remember how SO JAPANESE the game is. I'm sure they'll shout GEISHA and NINJA later in the game.
How can American designers create a racist game without a single white character is beyond me. Or maybe it's that thing with alt-right people loving Japan so much because Japanese are honorary white for some reason.
* Combat does nothing to me. You can go the Bushido Blade route of 1-hit kills, or the normal video game route of waking the sword like a stick until the HP bar of the enemy is depleted. You cannot have both at the same time. You need to chose, game.

Fortunately, Sekiro looks rad.

To add to the swordmen avalanche of the season: Hollow Knight is finally on Switch and it's excellent. Anyone who likes tight combat, metroidvania and hand-drawn art needs to play it. My favourite game of last year.







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"Re(8):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Wed 13 Jun 09:52post reply

quote:
Tsushima annoys me every time I see it.
* The narration is so American it has to appeal constantly to "LOOK HOW JAPANESE EVERYTHING IS WE'RE SO MUCH IN JAPAN RIGHT NOW". It's terrible.
* The American dubbing is bad and weirdly racist, but worse, the Mongols have a weird filter on their voices to make their speech less distinct and more alien. Or maybe their voice was recorded in the middle of the Gobi. It's difficult to hear what they say, except when suddenly they shout SAMURAI very distinctively so the American audience can remember how SO JAPANESE the game is. I'm sure they'll shout GEISHA and NINJA later in the game.
How can American designers create a racist game without a single white character is beyond me. Or maybe it's that thing with alt-right people loving Japan so much because Japanese are honorary white for some reason.
* Combat does nothing to me. You can go the Bushido Blade route of 1-hit kills, or the normal video game route of waking the sword like a stick until the HP bar of the enemy is depleted. You cannot have both at the same time. You need to chose, game.




My first thought was that "I think this is necessary for people who AREN'T as well-informed as the MMCafe crowd", and after talking with another friend, I think more strongly about that.

To wit, I first watched that trailer with no audio, and it looked really good! Then when I watched it with audio, it felt off.

The first thing is that for the sake of the trailer and the main market in North America, the game is dubbed in English. So already, things are going to be a bit off. The need to constantly point stuff out my buddy cites as "you'd be surprised how poorly people understand historical Asian settings even in the age of the internet". The target audience of the game isn't just the audience that buys Yakuza (e.g. a crowd that already loves Japanese culture/cinema/etc.), but also the audience that bought their previous games of the Infamous series.

The English dubbing makes everything weird, and the emphasis placed on things feels like a bizarre localizing of what Western audiences perceive of as "overacting" in Japanese TV/film. The fact that historical setting X that is trying to be authentic has people speaking a language that was never spoken there is already going to be a leap. If they enunciated in the fashion of modern-setting Western cinema pieces, would that be a bigger leap? I don't know. I do think it's unfortunate that choosing to adopt stereotypes in order to provide legibility for a less-informed audience is the choice that they went with. But I do think that a Japanese voiceover option would make this a lot less bad.

I'm ok with not-quite-Bushido-Blade because that's what Samurai Shodown was, and even Nioh features plenty of enemies that almost die instantly (e.g. you kick them until their stamina drops to zero then you do a finishing strike on them) but don't quite die instantly.







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"Re(9):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Wed 13 Jun 10:34post reply

It's funny, I wasn't a fan of Tsushima's voice acting but why? It may not sound "realistic" to my ears but I'm basing that sense of what a samurai action piece should sound like from Japanese stories. Those have as little basis in reality as a Western produced story but I subconsciously think of them as more accurate. Why is that?

Over the years From Software has produced several games that pilfer and rearrange Western tropes. Should they get a pass when Sucker Punch doesn't?

Resident Evil 2 feels like it based on an old VHS tape than anything actually found in America. As an American should I be frustrated at this lack of cultural insight?

Are Avatar: The Last Airbender and Boku no Hero Academia international pollinations that reinterpret ideas based on differing societal norms and story telling practices? Or are they examples of clueless cultural exchange? Why do both stories feature Zuko?

I don't know the answers to any of these rhetorical questions so I'm just typing for the fun of it.

quote:

* Combat does nothing to me. You can go the Bushido Blade route of 1-hit kills, or the normal video game route of waking the sword like a stick until the HP bar of the enemy is depleted. You cannot have both at the same time. You need to chose, game.


You didn't like the combat in the Way of the Samurai games?







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"Re(9):Curse of the Samurai or RE2" , posted Wed 13 Jun 11:23post reply

quote:
Tsushima annoys me every time I see it.


To be clear, when I said it looks incredible, I meant that very literally. The ambience, fields, town, effects and movement look great. I am not quite as optimistic about the story or how the game plays.

The voices I found more ostensibly silly than anything. The problem is that while the accent isn't really necessary, when there is no accent present there are people who will just tongue-in-cheek ridicule the game as being set in feudal California. A Japanese dub was the first thing I was hoping for but who knows if a studio like Sucker Punch has the connections to do that convincingly for the whole game.

As for the swordplay, the issue you're talking about I think stems from developers trying not to limit what the player will attempt to do. It's "you'll do this thing and we'll make you love it" vs. "we really want you to do this thing, but if you'd like to hit buttons and see shit happen that's also an option." So I'd like to think you can just choose to play one way for the whole game but who knows, maybe I'm mistaken.





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"Darius Cozmic Collection" , posted Tue 3 Jul 12:24post reply

Coming in 2019
Darius Cozmic Collection





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"Random games: did you know?" , posted Wed 11 Jul 11:04:post reply

A couple of things I stumbled upon this week. This may have been covered or mentioned during the early years of MMCafe, but there was this cool arcade beat em' up game called Ninja Baseball Bat Man. Oh my this looks cool and fun I can't wait to get my hands on it. Sadly, it was arcade only, 43 shipped to USA, no more than a dozen sold, and bad or no advertisement for the release in USA. In Japan, not sure but it seemed to have done well but no home release either. Anyone seen this during their arcade heyday or played it?

Second is the team from Metal slug actually worked and released a game before called In the Hunt. Looks good and fun. Definetly some Metal Slug styles all over it.

Last is it seems Chun-Lis Street Fighter Zero 3 theme may have been sampled from this song in the Tetris the grand master 2 game.





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"Re(1):Random games: did you know?" , posted Wed 11 Jul 23:00post reply

I feel I know Ninja Baseball Bat Man from somewhere but I may have imagined the whole thing. Those hallucinations happen sometimes.

I do, however, remember In the Hunt. The bobbing, sluggish movement of the sub underwater was a good match for the deliberate pacing of action games that the Metal Slug team seemed to favor.







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"Re(2):Random games: did you know?" , posted Thu 12 Jul 00:59post reply

quote:
I feel I know Ninja Baseball Bat Man from somewhere but I may have imagined the whole thing. Those hallucinations happen sometimes.

I do, however, remember In the Hunt. The bobbing, sluggish movement of the sub underwater was a good match for the deliberate pacing of action games that the Metal Slug team seemed to favor.



The first time I saw In the Hunt I wondered if it was a sequel to Sqoon!
(unrelated to Spoon, I assure you :D )

Ninja Baseball Bat Man I have seen and played before! I didn't realize it was so obscure! Then again, almost any game from the 16-bit era that wasn't part of a famous franchise or became mega famous can probably be labelled as obscure these days...







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"Re(1):Random games: did you know?" , posted Thu 12 Jul 03:04post reply

quote:
Ninja Baseball Bat Man


Ah yeah, it's a case of a game not seeming in concept like it should be very good but somehow they pulled it off in a way that makes it excellent. I ran across a machine of it a few years back after having played it in emulation for some time.

quote:
In the Hunt


This is one of my favorite arcade shooters, and I have the unpopular option that I prefer its aesthetics to the Metal Slug series, even though they're pretty close. I think In the Hunt nailed a kind of quiet post apocalyptic vibe in a way that just about no other game did. There's a great port of it for the Saturn (JP region only as far as I know) that can be had for a surprisingly reasonable price.

Speaking of Saturn games, I finally bought a copy of Thor Seireioukiden recently! I owned the US version years ago but sold/lost it. It's still a lot of fun but I've gotta say that they could have handled the overhead view with jumping mechanic better.





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"Re(2):Random games: did you know?" , posted Fri 13 Jul 07:14post reply

Ninja Baseball Bat Man was designed by Drew Maniscalco of Irem USA. He took inspiration from things like TMNT and Batman and sent his design doc to Irem Japan which developed the game.

The Saturn version of In the Hunt was released in the West, but the cover art makes it look like one of those simulators no one ever cared about on console.

Speaking of In the Hunt and Metal Slug, I recently learned that Akio has a website and now works as a freelance illustrator.





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"Re(3):Random games: did you know?" , posted Sun 15 Jul 00:44post reply

quote:
Ninja Baseball Bat Man was designed by Drew Maniscalco of Irem USA. He took inspiration from things like TMNT and Batman and sent his design doc to Irem Japan which developed the game.



It was designed by a guy in the US named Drew? I'd never have imagine.

One other cool thing about Ninja Baseball Bat Man is they have a pretty wide variety of special moves for the era. It came out in '93 and I believe it has way more special moves/techniques (like [down, up + button] as a basic example) than other contemporary games. Capcom's Punisher... which I think just has that one [d,u] command. I think I remember liking the twin bats guy, who had lightning-based moves.

I also remember the good/awful character select screen music, which if I remember correctly is a two-second loop composed of four notes and a deep voice saying "OHH YEAHH."





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"Re(3):Random games: did you know?" , posted Sun 15 Jul 06:12post reply

quote:
The Saturn version of In the Hunt was released in the West, but the cover art makes it look like one of those simulators no one ever cared about on console.

How did I not know this?!? I'm going to have to hook up my Saturn just so I can play bad box art In the Hunt.







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"Re(4):Random games: did you know?" , posted Sun 15 Jul 19:06post reply

So apparently Octopath is out-of-stock in Japan (at least physically. Guess it's a bigger hit than anticipated.

As for me, started by picking Tressa, then going with Olberic, then Primrose, then Alfyn. Tressa has some pretty broken skills (Rest), but I feel she picks up the slack for all the other characters. Must've been a nightmare to balance.





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"Re(4):Random games: did you know?" , posted Mon 16 Jul 02:56post reply

quote:
Ninja Baseball Bat Man was designed by Drew Maniscalco of Irem USA. He took inspiration from things like TMNT and Batman and sent his design doc to Irem Japan which developed the game.


It was designed by a guy in the US named Drew? I'd never have imagine.

One other cool thing about Ninja Baseball Bat Man is they have a pretty wide variety of special moves for the era. It came out in '93 and I believe it has way more special moves/techniques (like [down, up + button] as a basic example) than other contemporary games. Capcom's Punisher... which I think just has that one [d,u] command. I think I remember liking the twin bats guy, who had lightning-based moves.

I also remember the good/awful character select screen music, which if I remember correctly is a two-second loop composed of four notes and a deep voice saying "OHH YEAHH."



Oh my gosh, thanks for that info! I actually just recently beat Ninja Baseball Batman with my brother and my oldest friend a few weeks ago at a bar in Bangkok.

I'd always wanted to play it ever since I saw a few tiny screenshots of it in EGM years ago! One of the screens had the airplane boss and I drew him a lot that year. That game has such FUN art.

Finally getting to play it--it did not disappoint!

Mosquiton, your description is spot on! I was shocked by the variety of moves in the game! I was pretty drunk, so I don't remember the exact mechanics, but I recall that certain inputs allowed you to attack downed enemies, and there were a suprising amount of dash attacks and most suprising of all the game had SUPER MOVES! And I dont just mean the typical press attack+jump at the same time to do an area attack that consumes a little of your life bar, I mean big, meaty, screen filling supers. I want to say you had to grapple an enemy, then jump then press A+J in the air?

lemme look it up ...

Holy cow, each character's moveset reads like an early PSOne era 3d fighting game moveset!
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/arcade/568361-ninja-baseball-bat-man/faqs/53661
Wow I barely scratched the surface of it! I gotta play it again!

The game has such a great aesthetic! I love these weird USA/90s Japan coproductions!






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"Re(3):Random games: did you know?" , posted Mon 16 Jul 07:23post reply

quote:
Ninja Baseball Bat Man was designed by Drew Maniscalco of Irem USA. He took inspiration from things like TMNT and Batman and sent his design doc to Irem Japan which developed the game.

I was disappointed when I found out that the recent Ninja Batman movie was not based on the IREM game, but yeah Ninja Baseball Bat Man is a pretty great beat em up. I don't think it had any home ports sadly (I also enjoyed Batman Ninja for that matter).

Speaking of IREM, the High Score Girl anime does list IREM as a licensee of some of the games in the show, alongside Capcom, SNK, G-mode (for Data East stuff I presume). I guess IREM is still a living entity of sorts that is currently just a license holder (Treasure is also in a sadly similar position it seems).





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"Re(4):Random games: did you know?" , posted Mon 16 Jul 14:51post reply

quote:
Speaking of IREM, the High Score Girl anime does list IREM as a licensee of some of the games in the show, alongside Capcom, SNK, G-mode (for Data East stuff I presume). I guess IREM is still a living entity of sorts that is currently just a license holder (Treasure is also in a sadly similar position it seems).



They ran annual booths at the Tokyo Game Show but sort of disappeared after the 2011 east Japan quake-- it probably hit them hard considering that their Disaster Report series was their big series.

They still exist as a small scale studio of 15+ staff that helped on DragonQuest X's development amongst other games.







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"Re(5):Random Nier: did you know?" , posted Wed 18 Jul 13:00:post reply

We interrupt this discussion to bring you a charming comment from Yoko Taro from an article covering games that won awards both abroad and at the Japan Game Awards 2017, referring of course to Madman's Cafe's official favorite game of 2017 the decade ever, Nier Automata.

"I think that an award is a way of praising you by telling you that your game was fun. It's true of awards from the media as well, but there were a lot of comments via social media that I'm so grateful for. I doubt I'll ever be praised this much in my life again, so for the rest of my life, I'm going to slowly savor the taste of this happy memory like dried squid, while whispering to myself while facing the wall, 'there was that time I won an award...I won an award...' Thank you so much."


ALSO: Dearest Professor, please add more news articles so we can stop seeing Kuroda's dismal face glowering over the BBS





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"Re(6):Random Nier: did you know?" , posted Thu 19 Jul 03:06post reply

quote:
ALSO: Dearest Professor, please add more news articles so we can stop seeing Kuroda's dismal face glowering over the BBS



Alternatively, photoshop a picture of Q's mask over his face.







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"Re(7):Random Nier: did you know?" , posted Thu 19 Jul 04:05post reply

quote:
Alternatively, photoshop a picture of Q's mask over his face.

Would it be really poor taste to suggest this gif instead to sum up the whole story?







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"Re(8):Random Nier: did you know?" , posted Thu 19 Jul 07:20post reply

quote:
Alternatively, photoshop a picture of Q's mask over his face.
Would it be really poor taste to suggest this gif instead to sum up the whole story?



I feel bad about the whole Kuroda thing because I was very much a fan of his (I think everybody that watched competitive 3S was!) and I sympathized with his reportedly very severe mental health problems and the abusive circumstances of his life. His supreme, uncanny, and often innovative skill at 3S was absolutely unquestionable and awe-inspiring to pretty much all students of the game.

However, what he has been convicted of is absolutely an awful crime and he deserves whatever the law says he deserves.







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"Re(9):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Thu 26 Jul 22:57post reply

Recently I started playing Nioh. I know the game has been out for a bit but considering it's long gestation it seems only natural to wait a bit before buying a copy. First off, I like the combat. While the game has the trudge, die, repeat formula of a From Software game the fighting isn't done with the shoulder buttons. Instead, it uses the face buttons which is the way God intended action games to be played. I'm only at the start of the game but I can already feel that I have a fairly good idea of how I'm going to be approaching most fights from now on. Thankfully, the action feels like it's going to be enjoyable no matter how many times I swing my sword.

Speaking of which, I'm having trouble deciding on a secondary weapon. My main weapon is the katana since it feels like a decent, well rounded weapon. After that, I'm at a loss. Should I go with double katanas just so I can stroll through the levels wearing three(!) swords? I'm leaning toward using the ninja chain since it seems to have decent crowd control, hits a great deal and -unlike the spear- doesn't clang against the walls as much.

One thing that's charming about the game is that it's a bit of a mess. For example: The drops are too frequent so you end up carrying around piles of garbage. The crafting system feels like a lot of work for minimal reward. There is a secondary leveling system involving titles that I discovered and subsequently forgot about until a friend reminded of its existence. One would think that a game that had been in development for so long would be a bit more polished. I'm not any of this is bad, mind you, instead I'm amused by how many rough edges made it into the final product.

I can't imagine what sort of Akira Kurosawa film would feature a white guy samurai throwing a magic dog at demons but somehow that turned into a game that's a hybrid of Ninja Gaiden and Tenchu. I'll be curious to see what sort of new silliness the game will throw my way.

Since this shouldn't just be me using this forum as a blog post here's something akin to news: Golden Axe is getting a stage play. Is there an audience for this?







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"Re(10):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Sat 28 Jul 07:03post reply

quote:
Recently I started playing Nioh. I know the game has been out for a bit but considering it's long gestation it seems only natural to wait a bit before buying a copy. First off, I like the combat. While the game has the trudge, die, repeat formula of a From Software game the fighting isn't done with the shoulder buttons. Instead, it uses the face buttons which is the way God intended action games to be played. I'm only at the start of the game but I can already feel that I have a fairly good idea of how I'm going to be approaching most fights from now on. Thankfully, the action feels like it's going to be enjoyable no matter how many times I swing my sword.

Speaking of which, I'm having trouble deciding on a secondary weapon. My main weapon is the katana since it feels like a decent, well rounded weapon. After that, I'm at a loss. Should I go with double katanas just so I can stroll through the levels wearing three(!) swords? I'm leaning toward using the ninja chain since it seems to have decent crowd control, hits a great deal and -unlike the spear- doesn't clang against the walls as much.

One thing that's charming about the game is that it's a bit of a mess. For example: The drops are too frequent so you end up carrying around piles of garbage. The crafting system feels like a lot of work for minimal reward. There is a secondary leveling system involving titles that I discovered and subsequently forgot about until a friend reminded of its existence. One wo

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


Yeah, Nioh's got a lot to like about it and a lot that leaves you going "I guess they didn't have time to make this bit better". I really like how fully realized each weapon's moveset is, but because the moveset is tied to you the character and not the weapon, finding weapons isn't exciting as it is in Dark Souls, nevermind the sheer frequency with which you find them.

The spear to me has the flashiest moveset which makes it fun to use, but I agree that some of that fun gets limited when it's clanging off the walls all the time. I really liked the variety and versatility of the weapon that let me pretend I was Ass-quake, and it has quite astonishing DPS if you want it to do that. I wasn't a big fan of the double katanas, which neither seemed to be tops in DPS or in terms of interesting moves for the stats I picked for my character.

There aren't many kinds of enemies, but all of them are fun to fight except this one ninja enemy that deals way too much dmg wtf







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"Re(2):Re(10):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Sat 28 Jul 12:00post reply

quote:
Yeah, Nioh's got a lot to like about it and a lot that leaves you going "I guess they didn't have time to make this bit better".
I just need Ishamel and Spoon to go a few steps further towards putting Nioh in the same category as God Hand of "kind of sucks but also completely rules" to get me interested.





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"Re(3):Re(10):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Sun 29 Jul 08:07:post reply

quote:
Yeah, Nioh's got a lot to like about it and a lot that leaves you going "I guess they didn't have time to make this bit better". I just need Ishamel and Spoon to go a few steps further towards putting Nioh in the same category as God Hand of "kind of sucks but also completely rules" to get me interested.



I think Nioh has some good stuff in it, and I don't regret buying it. But I personally would not put it in the same category as God Hand.

God Hand is in the "It got better the more that I played it" category. Nioh is in the "I started to enjoy the game less and less and ultimately just dropped it" category.

Part of my problem is that I played the beta for many hours and explored the heck out of the combat system. Ki pulse is a cool mechanic. But the joy of experimentation wore off fairly quickly in the release. It ended up being a bit of a slog for me.

To use the classic "meal" analogy, Nioh serves up plenty of courses, but each dish kind of taste the same. At least you get to use different types of silverware (the kusarigama is pretty original and fun).





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"Re(2):Re(10):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Sun 29 Jul 10:58post reply

quote:
Yeah, Nioh's got a lot to like about it and a lot that leaves you going "I guess they didn't have time to make this bit better". I really like how fully realized each weapon's moveset is, but because the moveset is tied to you the character and not the weapon, finding weapons isn't exciting as it is in Dark Souls, nevermind the sheer frequency with which you find them.


A lot of Nioh comes across as if it was built around the item degradation that was in the initial demo. While I'm very glad they took that nonsense out you end up with more armor and weapons than necessary and your character feels like a bit of a hoarder. It also makes it hard to figure out if I should build my character to specialize in one particular weapon. Not only are all the weapons fun to use but you're given so many of them it's seems a shame not to try them out.

The frequency of items means that my character is wearing a very odd mis-match of clothes that follow stats and weight requirements more than fashion. William may be from the other side of the world but he still looks like he got dressed in the dark.

Oh, I took your advice and am trying out the spear. The range is quite nice, although high stance eats stamina like candy. I need to learn to switch stances faster.

quote:
I just need Ishamel and Spoon to go a few steps further towards putting Nioh in the same category as God Hand of "kind of sucks but also completely rules" to get me interested.

God Hand is actually a good comparison. While dying and leveling in Nioh is obviously from Dark Souls it isn't the misery walking simulator that From Software specializes in. Rather, you use flashy, customizable attacks to punch through relatively short and straightforward levels until you get to a stupidly hard boss fight. Along the way you will come across plenty of little things that may or may not make sense but were added in the game because someone thought they were cool. The game also looks like it was ported from the PS3 so that adds to the God Hand feel.

I also should mention I'm enjoying Nioh's ridiculous plot. It manages to tie a yokai uprising in Japan with England fighting the Spanish armada in 1588. Nobunaga is in the mix somewhere as well because of course he is. In my start of meeting everyone vaguely important in that time period I first met Hanzo Hattori. As we were making small talk he decided to check the time by pulling a full grown cat out of his jacket pocket and looking at the dilation of its pupils. Nioh has its moments.







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"Re(4):Re(10):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Tue 31 Jul 07:35post reply

I just started last month as well, so Ishmael and I both have the chance of playing the game after all the patches (on PC, the DLC is included, so we have all the weapons from the start, and some DLC-only enemies added to the main campaign. I heard the vanilla game was more stale).

For the equipment, I didn't bother choosing a weapon until I finished the game. Whenever I got a stronger new type of weapon, I'd just play with it until its bar of affinity was filled, then I'd move to the next. It made the beginning a bit messy, but also quite varied because I ended up using all 7 weapons until the 5th map, where I started narrowing my choices.
From what I've read, all weapons are good, so it's really only down to personal choice. I didn't like the double swords either, and the katana is a bit boring, so I played with mostly spear or odachi (for long range pokes), tonfas (for close range) or kusarigama or axe (for whatever, I'm just going to press buttons and see how quickly I die). I'm well into NG+ now, and I still haven't decided on a pair, which is a testament to how fun the combat system is for me.

The stats are something that was annoying at the beginning, but I've been instructed by a Nioh pro to raise all the stats to 20 gradually, starting with the one that raises stamina, and only then to start thinking about specializing in one stat. That was a very helpful advise.
Another thing to make the game more enjoyable: ignoring the forge entirely until NG+. There is no reason to go there until then.
For the inventory clutter, it took me some time to find the shortcut "select all items with a rarity lower than X", but once I found it and could give over a hundred items to the spirits in one clic, it made everything much smoother.

So, yeah, clunky game, but weirdly addictive. I also started it after I had the weird idea to play Dark Souls 2 again from start to finish, and I think I'm officially fed up with that series for a while. Nioh's energetic combat was all I needed.
I hope it forces From to upgrade their system and make Sekiroh better.

The less said about the scenario, the better. I'd really like to know what Kurosawa's script was compared to "white guy goes to Sengoku Theme Park and befriends every character".
Musou has a similar problem as Nioh, in that every important character from the Sengoku era is great and fantastic and a good guy deep down, even if he killed a few tens of thousands of women and children on his way to make a better country for everyone. One of the reasons I like BASARA better is that it doesn't hesitate to make bad characters truly evil, some other comically bad, some other oddly shades-of-grey bad, and then top it all up with Wakamoto. Even the "good" characters are weirdly self-centered and don't see the problem in killing a few hundred innocent just to go say hello to their neighbour.
A Sengoku where everyone is a nice-person-who-only-wants-the-war-to-end-so-people-could-be-happy is so LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME.
Except Kobayakawa. Apparently even Koei Tecmo agrees that this guy was a clown.







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"Re(5):Re(10):Random Nioh: did you know?" , posted Wed 1 Aug 03:02post reply

quote:
For the inventory clutter, it took me some time to find the shortcut "select all items with a rarity lower than X", but once I found it and could give over a hundred items to the spirits in one clic, it made everything much smoother.

Oh ho, that is useful! That let me quickly clear a great deal of detritus out of my inventory.

One last Nioh thing: the shrine kodama make incredibly annoying noises. I often stay in the vicinity of the shrine for protection when I'm checking on new items or debating on where to invest my skill points. But the entire time I'm there those little avocado looking bastards will not shut up. Just let me change my clothes in peace!

quote:
The less said about the scenario, the better. I'd really like to know what Kurosawa's script was compared to "white guy goes to Sengoku Theme Park and befriends every character".
Musou has a similar problem as Nioh, in that every important character from the Sengoku era is great and fantastic and a good guy deep down, even if he killed a few tens of thousands of women and children on his way to make a better country for everyone. One of the reasons I like BASARA better is that it doesn't hesitate to make bad characters truly evil, some other comically bad, some other oddly shades-of-grey bad, and then top it all up with Wakamoto. Even the "good" characters are weirdly self-centered and don't see the problem in killing a few hundred innocent just to go say hello to their neighbour.

I'm amused that in Nioh everyone is happy to pawn all the heavy lifting off to William, the undocumented worker but that's giving the plot far to much credit.

One of the reasons that I think Basara burnt out quicker than the Musou games is that in games like this every character is someone's husbando. If someone were to do a Musou with a modern setting they wouldn't look to politics for inspiration, instead it would work better if the factions were rival Korean boy bands that were literally fighting for control of the music charts.





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"Random Pet update" , posted Sun 5 Aug 07:47post reply

My 20-year-old cat is still doing surprisingly well. For the last 10 months we've been sticking a needle under his skin to pipe in extra liquid, which sounds weird and involved but is actually really mundane.

Other than that, he acts totally normal! Man, this cat has seen a lot of EVOs.





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"Re(1):Random Pet update" , posted Sun 5 Aug 10:10post reply

quote:
Other than that, he acts totally normal! Man, this cat has seen a lot of EVOs.

Outstanding! I applaud his Nyan Cat-level longevity. He can be EVO’s official mascot!





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"Re(1):Random Pet update" , posted Sun 5 Aug 23:09post reply

quote:
My 20-year-old cat is still doing surprisingly well. For the last 10 months we've been sticking a needle under his skin to pipe in extra liquid, which sounds weird and involved but is actually really mundane.

Other than that, he acts totally normal! Man, this cat has seen a lot of EVOs.

I like how each of these 4 sentences is weird in its own way.







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"Re(2):Random Pet update" , posted Mon 6 Aug 03:17post reply

That cat is older than the Jurassic technology used to run Melee tournaments. That's impressive!





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"Re(3):Random Pet update" , posted Wed 8 Aug 15:07post reply

quote:
For the last 10 months we've been sticking a needle under his skin to pipe in extra liquid,




LIQUID !?





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"Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here.....?" , posted Tue 28 Aug 01:36post reply

Trailer

Will Koshiro mark his return as a playable character or music composer?





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"Re(1):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Tue 28 Aug 03:19post reply

quote:
Trailer

Will Koshiro mark his return as a playable character or music composer?

I love a good beat em up so I’m hoping this turns out well. How was that Double Dragon game that was made in this style?

Alex looks like he put on forty pounds but still insists on dressing like he did when he was eighteen. That’s not a good look.







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"Re(2):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Tue 28 Aug 05:20post reply

quote:
Will Koshiro mark his return as a playable character or music composer?


He can't say, at least not yet.

quote:
Alex looks like he put on forty pounds but still insists on dressing like he did when he was eighteen. That’s not a good look.



Seeing as how mayor Cody insists on wearing Haggar's overalls and Haggar himself grew a ponytail and rocked spandex shorts, I'd say he's in good company.







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"Re(3):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Wed 29 Aug 01:38post reply

Onimusha 1 is getting a re-release. Between this and Cammy's Haunting Ground costume there have been some deep cuts from the Capcom catalog as of late.

quote:
Seeing as how mayor Cody insists on wearing Haggar's overalls and Haggar himself grew a ponytail and rocked spandex shorts, I'd say he's in good company.


It's as if people who eat food they find inside oil cans aren't good at making life decisions.


A side note to the genre: Depending on the angle and hairstyle, SF5 Cody can really look like Michael Paré. I know Capcom wanted to bring in several homages to what Cody had been in the past but they went all the way back to the source material.







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"Re(4):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Wed 29 Aug 02:32post reply

quote:
Onimusha 1 is getting a re-release. Between this and Cammy's Haunting Ground costume there have been some deep cuts from the Capcom catalog as of late.


I won't lie: while I'm excited to play the original Onimusha again (although I'm holding out for 2 to be rereleased) I'm not positive the game itself will hold up even a little bit from a modern perspective. I had a similar feeling about Shenmue I+II's rerelease (turns in MMCafe membership card as I see myself out the door ).

quote:

Streets of Rage 4


Potential soundtrack aside, again, I'm not sure how much can be said about the beat em up genre by a new SoR that hasn't already been said by the gazillion beat em ups that have come out in the last 20 years. Which makes me sound like a 100% killjoy! I'm just personally getting worn out by sequels and rereleases of 20 and 30 year old games lately. I'm also completely not the target audience (Final Fight 4 Ever!!!)





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"Re(4):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Wed 29 Aug 03:38post reply

quote:
Seeing as how mayor Cody insists on wearing Haggar's overalls and Haggar himself grew a ponytail and rocked spandex shorts, I'd say he's in good company.

It's as if people who eat food they find inside oil cans aren't good at making life decisions.

What do you mean? Cody wearing Haggar's overalls have been the best decision that happened in SF5 since Kolin's Frozen cosplay.
THE BEST.
quote:
I had a similar feeling about Shenmue I+II's rerelease (turns in MMCafe membership card as I see myself out the door ).
Well, Shenmue already didn't hold up back in 1999, so I don't see how it could hold up any better now.
What's going to happen is that sane people will finally understand (or be reminded) that Shenmue is a terrible game, and because of that Shenmue 3 will sell 100 copies.







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"Re(5):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Wed 29 Aug 05:17post reply

quote:
sane people will finally understand (or be reminded) that Shenmue is a terrible game
SOMEONE DID NOT SPEND ENOUGH OF HIS VIRTUAL ALLOWANCE ON SPACE HARRIER AND GACHAPONS TO SEE THE LIGHT
quote:
Cody wearing Haggar's overalls have been the best decision that happened in SF5 since Kolin's Frozen cosplay.
Fortunately, we always return to so many points of absolute agreement.





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"Re(5):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Wed 29 Aug 23:17post reply

quote:
I won't lie: while I'm excited to play the original Onimusha again (although I'm holding out for 2 to be rereleased) I'm not positive the game itself will hold up even a little bit from a modern perspective. I had a similar feeling about Shenmue I+II's rerelease (turns in MMCafe membership card as I see myself out the door ).
To be honest, I was surprised by the news that Onimusha is getting a rerelease. That series felt like it existed to try out a certain style of cinematic game that featured known actors in a blockbuster movie setting. By the time Onimusha 3 came out I felt like pretty much everything had been said on that topic and that games had moved off in another direction. I wonder what it will be like to revisit this short lived style of game?


Speaking of big-budget experiments, I've always viewed Shenmue as an amazing failure of a game. During the Dreamcast era Sega was laboring under the insane notion that games like Seaman were a good idea. Shenmue was the ultimate manifestation of that credo. It was gigantic labor of love where the term "love is blind" was never more apt. While I admire the audacity of the original game I agree with Iggy that the rerelease and Shenmue 3 are going to be huge expenditures of time, resources and nostalgia.


Shenmue is...
an eternal masterpiece
a mass hallucination
long, hard, and full of sailors
die yabo, you don't belong in this world








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"Shenmue - I can't think of a good title" , posted Wed 29 Aug 23:59post reply

quote:
Speaking of big-budget experiments, I've always viewed Shenmue as an amazing failure of a game.


While Jim Sterling isn't exactly...appreciated in certain circles, I think he pegged it right when he called Shenmue "the foundation for great games that came afterward", but that Shenmue itself is only a prototype. A prototype that has not only not aged well, but one that wasn't even that great at release.

Jim's description is a bit harsher than that. I don't agree with his judgement that Shenmue was always ****, but I do see it as a game that at best was somewhere from rather to heavily flawed. Shenmue was a bit of ambition, a bit of hype, a bit of Sega Dreamcast fanaticism, and a lot of forgiveness. Which is why I vote it was a mass hallucination.





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"Streets of Rage 4, Shenmue 3, Seaman 2..." , posted Thu 30 Aug 02:52:post reply

quote:

Speaking of big-budget experiments, I've always viewed Shenmue as an amazing failure of a game. During the Dreamcast era Sega was laboring under the insane notion that games like Seaman were a good idea. Shenmue was the ultimate manifestation of that credo. It was gigantic labor of love where the term "love is blind" was never more apt. While I admire the audacity of the original game I agree with Iggy that the rerelease and Shenmue 3 are going to be huge expenditures of time, resources and nostalgia.



An amazing failure is, despite its flaws, amazing nonetheless. It can provoke thought. It can contain isolated moments of greatness and wonder. It can potentially inspire future works that are both amazing and successful.

I don't really have much of a personal relationship with the Shenmue series. But I think it's easily earned the right to take a crack at finishing the story and delivering a better version of a concept that was flawed in its execution but in many ways ahead of its time.





/ / /

[this message was edited by Mosquiton on Thu 30 Aug 03:02]

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"Re(1):Streets of Rage 4, Shenmue 3, Seaman 2." , posted Thu 30 Aug 03:46:post reply

quote:

Speaking of big-budget experiments, I've always viewed Shenmue as an amazing failure of a game. During the Dreamcast era Sega was laboring under the insane notion that games like Seaman were a good idea. Shenmue was the ultimate manifestation of that credo. It was gigantic labor of love where the term "love is blind" was never more apt. While I admire the audacity of the original game I agree with Iggy that the rerelease and Shenmue 3 are going to be huge expenditures of time, resources and nostalgia.


An amazing failure is, despite its flaws, amazing nonetheless. It can provoke thought. It can contain isolated moments of greatness and wonder. It can potentially inspire future works that are both amazing and successful.

I don't really have much of a personal relationship with the Shenmue series. But I think it's easily earned the right to take a crack at finishing the story and delivering a better version of a concept that was flawed in its execution but in many ways ahead of its time.



Like so much of Sega's output it was so far ahead of it's time. There's no GTA or Yakuza without Shenmue paving the way! Aside from laying the groundworks for modern 3d open world games (and QTEs), what I really admire about Shenmue is it's overall sense of visual/world fidelity. It's a very complete feeling world. Much more so than a lot of the games that came after it. GTA 3 was a fun sandbox, but Shenmue felt so much more lively (and just had way better graphics overall in spite of being older and on weaker hardware). Sure it's clunky, but it's also overflowing with personality. I think that's what brings people back to it over the years. It's like going back to a little town that you love. Shenmue feels like a place, which is quite an achievement for a game!

Also it has SUKEBAN and is thus very good

quote:
It can contain isolated moments of greatness and wonder. It can potentially inspire future works that are both amazing and successful.


YES! Totally agree! This is how I've long felt about films and comics, and more and more about games. It's just that games are such a time sink compared to movies, so it's harder to be forgiving.






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[this message was edited by nobinobita on Thu 30 Aug 03:53]



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"Re(1):Shenmue - I can't think of a good title" , posted Thu 30 Aug 03:51post reply

quote:
Speaking of big-budget experiments, I've always viewed Shenmue as an amazing failure of a game.

While Jim Sterling isn't exactly...appreciated in certain circles, I think he pegged it right when he called Shenmue "the foundation for great games that came afterward", but that Shenmue itself is only a prototype. A prototype that has not only not aged well, but one that wasn't even that great at release.

Jim's description is a bit harsher than that. I don't agree with his judgement that Shenmue was always ****, but I do see it as a game that at best was somewhere from rather to heavily flawed. Shenmue was a bit of ambition, a bit of hype, a bit of Sega Dreamcast fanaticism, and a lot of forgiveness. Which is why I vote it was a mass hallucination.



I might be more interested in reading what he has to say if he didn't have to say it through his hyperbole/negativity-fueled persona. Much like some of the games he bashes, there's too much crap for me to wade through!

But that doesn't mean he can't have some interesting ideas or be right-ish about things. Still, one of my friends who had never played Shenmue and mostly plays fighting games recently got Shenmue on Steam and is loving it, even in spite of its rough edges. Certainly, faster loading times makes the experience a lot better. But Shenmue is so broad in scope it's amazing it manages to do anything well. At the time when it was new, there was really nothing which tried to do as much and in as much detail as Shenmue. Grand Theft Auto 3 really isn't the same.

Today, Yakuza/Ryu ga Gotoku is very much the distilled version of Shenmue, and aside from the different setting and hilariously giant scope, I think you'll be hard-pressed at this point to determine what Shenmue 3 will try or even be able to do better.







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"Re(2):Streets of Rage 4, Shenmue 3, Seaman 2." , posted Thu 30 Aug 05:10post reply

quote:
SUKEBAN
My heart already belongs to the superior sukeban.





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"Re(2):Shenmue - I can't think of a good title" , posted Thu 30 Aug 05:41post reply

quote:
This is how I've long felt about films and comics, and more and more about games. It's just that games are such a time sink compared to movies, so it's harder to be forgiving.


That's true, it can take a lot of time to get the full experience or even just the real essence of a game. And it can be hard to forgive when a game seems to be wasting your time (i.e., you're putting a lot in without getting much out).

But like you said, sometimes a game can create a world where it just feels compelling to simply be there. I need some space (usually years) between viewings/readings of my favorite movies/novels, but I will absolutely hang out in a great RPG (or RPG-esque game) for days or even weeks on end.

quote:

Today, Yakuza/Ryu ga Gotoku is very much the distilled version of Shenmue, and aside from the different setting and hilariously giant scope, I think you'll be hard-pressed at this point to determine what Shenmue 3 will try or even be able to do better.


If I could tell Shenmue one thing, it would be this:

"Remember, you only need to compete with one person: Yourself."





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"Re(3):Streets of Rage 4, Shenmue 3, Seaman 2." , posted Thu 30 Aug 05:59post reply

quote:
My heart already belongs to the superior sukeban.

I was going to connect this to the Kimagure Orange Road talk in the non-gaming thread by promoting MY superior (almost) sukeban, but Iggy's choice is so overflowing with justice that I cannot disagree.

As for Shenmue, real-life experience probably enhances or detracts from the game. Truth be told, we never played the thing to completion: no matter how many replacement copies we got, we inexplicably could never get disc 3 to work, to the detriment of my forklift-driving dreams. But a bunch of us were just so taken with the fidelity of the world, and how accurately it reproduced a neighborhood in Japan (minus the kung-fu), the sense of place. The way the fluorescent light flicks on in your room just the way it does in a Japanese house, the box of tangerines in your closet, the little touches all around.

GTA might have been the great expander of the open world genre, but its open world always looked shitty and lame to me, a place I neither had a personal connection to nor had any interest in visiting virtually. Maybe Ryuu Ga Gotoku has been a greater success because the overall story and crime setting are more interesting to anyone regardless of where they've lived, while still containing the same joys of fooling around in the meantime.





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"Re(2):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Mon 3 Sep 22:23:post reply

Wow, only found out now about SoR4... This could be fun! But I hope there are more playable characters than just Axel and Blaze; come on, SEGA, give us at least Adam!

(I'd ask for Skate, but it's understandable if SEGA decides it's not a good idea to have a child fighting a gang of adult thugs)

quote:
Will Koshiro mark his return as a playable character or music composer?


That would be great! Although if he doesn't, there's still hope for a great soundtrack; I mean, I remember lots of people being outraged when KI 2013 didn't bring Robin Beanland back for the soundtrack, but then Mick Gordon ended up delivering even better music than the original games... and then Gordon left before Season 3, people were outraged again, and in the end Celldweller and Atlas Plug replaced him and managed to present some of the best tracks in the game (notably, Tusk's and Eyedol's).

Hopefully the same happens to this game in the case Koshiro doesn't return. But I think he will.

quote:
Axel looks like he put on forty pounds but still insists on dressing like he did when he was eighteen. That’s not a good look.



Yes. Though to be honest, I'm more concerned with Blaze keeping the strapless top and miniskirt to fight in the streets; that's basically foreshadowing for some serious wardrobe malfunction...





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[this message was edited by Just a Person on Tue 4 Sep 03:55]

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"Re(3):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Mon 3 Sep 23:37post reply

quote:
Wow, only found out now about SoR4... This could be fun! But I hope there are more playable characters than just Axel and Blaze; come on, SEGA, give us at least Adam!

(I'd ask for Skate, but it's understandable if SEGA decides it's not a good idea to have a child fighting a gang of adult thugs)

Will Koshiro mark his return as a playable character or music composer?

That would be great! Although if he doesn't, there's still hope for a great soundtrack; I mean, I remember lots of people being outraged when KI 2013 didn't bring Robin Beanland back for the soundtrack, but then Mick Gordon ended up delivering even better music than the original games... and then Gordon left before Season 3, people were outraged again, and in the end Celldweller and Atlas Plug replaced him and managed to present some of the best tracks in the game (notably, Tusk's and Eyedol's).

Hopefully the same happens to this game in the case Koshiro doesn't return. But I think he will.

Axel looks like he put on forty pounds but still insists on dressing like he did when he was eighteen. That’s not a good look.


Yes. Though to be honest, I'm more concerned with Blaze keeping the strapless top and miniskirt to fight in the streets; that's basically foreshadowing for some serious wardrobe malfunction...



VIDEO 24/7, whom I have never heard of before, had Hands-on gameplay with SOR4.

I want to post my rant and opinion on the newly announced SOR4, one of rare rants I make on the cafe, not sure if I should though.





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"Re(4):Streets of Rage 4 is ...finally....here" , posted Tue 4 Sep 02:59post reply

quote:
I want to post my rant and opinion on the newly announced SOR4, one of rare rants I make on the cafe, not sure if I should though.


Post away! I would like to know your thoughts on the matter. Plus, the board works well when people occasionally use it as a personal gaming blog since their posts will invariably spur conversation.







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"Re(6):Umihara and R-Type live on..." , posted Wed 5 Sep 15:27post reply

Umihara Kawase Fresh! will be shown at Tokyo Game Show.

R-Type Dimensions gets a Steam/Switch release.







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"3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Wed 5 Sep 20:30post reply

ONCE AGAIN, LEGENDARY NINJAS RETURN

Ninjas got buff. Must be all that daddy mulk

As long as Natsume is on this remake kick, can a Kikikaikai collection be far behind?







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"Re(1):3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Wed 5 Sep 22:45post reply

I'm beginning to think I may need to get a Switch since it's turning out to be Dreamcast levels of crazy. Odds are I may never buy any of the AAA Nintendo games but I would still have more than enough to play with all these wild smaller titles.

Huh, for a cybernetic killing machine the Kunoichi is a surprisingly dainty 65kg. Seeing as how the Ninja is half the weight of my car and that upcoming Raiden would sink straight through most any floor there is quite a bit of weight variation in those robo ninjas.







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"Re(1):3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Thu 6 Sep 02:55post reply

quote:
ONCE AGAIN, LEGENDARY NINJAS RETURN

Ninjas got buff. Must be all that daddy mulk

As long as Natsume is on this remake kick, can a Kikikaikai collection be far behind?



I have nothing to add that can meaningfully contribute to this incredibly brilliant subject line. Superb.







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"Re(1):3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Thu 6 Sep 04:24post reply

quote:
ONCE AGAIN, LEGENDARY NINJAS RETURN

This looks so much more promising than Street of Rage 4.





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"Re(2):3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Fri 7 Sep 07:46post reply

quote:
ONCE AGAIN, LEGENDARY NINJAS RETURN
This looks so much more promising than Street of Rage 4.



Yes.





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"Re(3):3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Fri 7 Sep 13:00post reply

quote:
ONCE AGAIN, LEGENDARY NINJAS RETURN
This looks so much more promising than Street of Rage 4.

What are you kids talking about, I'm totally looking forward to Streets of SSFII HD Remix Rage 4 and its Udon-tastic animation! Or something!

...but where is the LEGONARY NINDNDAJA?





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"Re(4):3 Ninjas Thicc Back" , posted Sat 8 Sep 03:35post reply

Streets of Rage 4 might end up being good but it's initial trailer reminded me of that ill-conceived attempt to bring back Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja. This is looking to be the superior side scrolling ninja 'em up.







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"Re(7):Umihara and R-Type live on..." , posted Sun 9 Sep 16:31post reply

Recent tweets suggest a new Metroidvania-style approach in this latest Umihara Kawase game.

Kawasevania?







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"Re(8):Umihara and R-Type live on..." , posted Mon 10 Sep 21:26post reply

quote:
Recent tweets suggest a new Metroidvania-style approach in this latest Umihara Kawase game.

Kawasevania?


If the world needs another Metroidvania game this may be the way to do it. Too many Metroidvanias desperately want to be SotN when they grow up but instead turn into yet another game of hopping around and stabbing skeletons. This would provide for a variation on whip mechanics and be a completely different aesthetic.

The legendary fishing pond that manifests once every hundred years...





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"Monokuma and Zero's creators join forces" , posted Tue 11 Sep 23:49:post reply

It seems that Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi (the respective creators of the Danganronpa and Zero Escapa series) founded a new game company, Too Kyo Games.

As a fan of both DR and ZE trilogies (in DR's case, I consider DRV3 as the actual third chapter rather than that awful DR3 anime), I must say I'm quite curious to see these two men collaborating in the same projects and all the insane ideas they may come up with (even if a little disturbed by the "children's death game, by children, for children" concept of one of the games).

EDIT: the first project seems particularly interesting... Limit X Despair. "Despair" is pretty much Danganronpa's favorite word, while "limit" could allude to the time limits imposed on characters from both the Zero Escape and Infinity series... Intriguing.

---

EDIT 2: I finished following the Root Double VN this weekend, and just found out its creator, Takumi Nakazawa, is also part of Kodaka and Uchikoshi's new company! Wow, Too Kyo Games is probably the closest thing one could have as a dream team of developers for visual novels...





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[this message was edited by Just a Person on Tue 2 Oct 03:24]



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"Re:Toaplan Lives! All your IP are belong to.." , posted Thu 13 Sep 13:17:post reply

A new company called Tatsujin headed by Masahiro Yuge.

quote:
Yuge was one of the composers of the legendary company Toaplan and according to this he is the owner of almost all classic Toaplan licences, including Tatsujin itself (known as Truxton in the US), Tiger Heli, Flying Shark, Twin Cobra, Zero Wing (yep, that "all your base" game), Snow Bros, Dogyuun, Batsugun and much more.

It seems he is really interested in make new things with those games and he is searching for investors.

This is big news for Arcade fans! I can't 100% confirm this, but I remember reading some years ago in japanese sites that the current (at the time) owner of Toaplan IPs was extremely against using their IPs for new stuff and that's the reason why none of these games had new releases since the nineties (with exceptions of some Toaplan games licenced by Taito). I don't know if this was a change of mind or whatever, but I hope we can have good things from this new company. A new Batsugun release sounds perfect now (the Saturn version is now very expensive) and Snow Bros was very, very popular in latin america and Korea.


(Thanks to Hayama Akito of ResetEra.)





[this message was edited by sfried on Thu 13 Sep 13:17]



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"Re(1):Re:Toaplan Lives! All your IP are belon" , posted Thu 13 Sep 13:35post reply

MAIN SCREEN TURN ON

Specifically, for a long-overdue Aleste collection, or so I thought, until I realized those were by Compile, damn it. Though speaking of former shooting game companies, I just read that the rights to Aleste are held by those magnificent geniuses at M2, who should clearly be making a Sega Ages-quality collection right now.





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"Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Fri 14 Sep 11:44post reply

Beat em real good!

Also word on the street is Yoshihori Ono has either stepped down or removed as the fighting game director for capcom.





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"Re(1):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Fri 14 Sep 13:15post reply

quote:
Also word on the street is Yoshihori Ono has either stepped down or removed as the fighting game director for capcom.



It has been in the news lately because EventHubs posted about it earlier this week, but the change itself appears to date back to April or earlier.
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2018/sep/08/yoshinoro-ono-no-longer-head-capcoms-fighting-game-divison-monster-hunters-ryozo-tsjuimoto-has-taken-helm/

On April 1st, Ryozo Tsujimito was apparently promoted to "Managing Corporate Officer, Head of Consumer Games Development Division 2 and Mobile Online Development Division". This had previously been Ono's position at Capcom.







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"Re(1):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Fri 14 Sep 22:51post reply

quote:
Beat em real good!

Also word on the street is Yoshihori Ono has either stepped down or removed as the fighting game director for capcom.

How nice, Capcom made a collection just for me! While I am going to spend most of my time body slamming people in feudal China I’m also looking forward to punching coins out of people with a walking, talking plant.

As for Ono’s news, I get the feeling there is a lot of extrapolation on the part of EventHubs. Title shuffling can be vague and difficult to understand inside an organization so I’m not taking a fan site as the final word in corporate restructuring.







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"Re(1):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Sat 15 Sep 01:01post reply

quote:
Beat em real good!


The art for this is quite nice! It shows that Bengus can still make a great piece when he's given more than 24 hours to do it. I'm stunned that Warriors of Fate made the cut, and absolutely unsurprised that Alien vs Predator did not, given its licensing situation!





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"Re(2):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Sat 15 Sep 05:47post reply

I thought Chisato Mita was a freelance artist since she designed characters for Macross Delta but she still works at Capcom. According to this 2016 interview (translated here), she started her career as a background designer, then also designed characters and illustrations.

Some of the games she has worked on:
Capcom Belt Action Collection / Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle (PS4, Switch - 2018) Limited CD illustration
E.X. Troopers (PS3, 3DS - 2012) chara-design, background design, illustrations
Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS) Background Art Support
Street Fighter V Arcade Edition (PS4, PC - 2018) illustration
Toraware no Palm (iOS, Android - 2016 ) chara-design, background design, illustrations
Toraware no Palm: Refrain (iOS, Android - 201X)





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"Re(2):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Sat 15 Sep 08:22post reply

quote:
Beat em real good!

Also word on the street is Yoshihori Ono has either stepped down or removed as the fighting game director for capcom.
How nice, Capcom made a collection just for me! While I am going to spend most of my time body slamming people in feudal China I’m also looking forward to punching coins out of people with a walking, talking plant.



I know (and everyone) knows why it's not part of the collection, but it is so regrettable that Alien vs. Predator is not part of this collection. It's one of their best! Punisher would also be fun to have on there too....

But I suppose it is kind of amazing that Warriors of Fate and Battle Circuit are in there. So I'll count my blessings and buy the damn thing.

Bonus nitpick: Shaking my head that the Knights of the Round footage did not feature a parry or a strong attack. Art thou a craven button masher, knave?





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"Re(3):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Mon 17 Sep 03:58:post reply

quote:
But I suppose it is kind of amazing that Warriors of Fate and Battle Circuit are in there. So I'll count my blessings and buy the damn thing.



I'm just surprised that Capcom remembered Warriors of Fate existed. Capcom probably wouldn't have bothered to remember it if they'd been able to include Punisher or Aliens vs Predator.

Thinking about it, I wonder what the licensing status even is for Warriors of Fate. At the time, I'd thought it was just a Capcom interpretation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It wasn't until many years later that I'd read that both Dynasty Wars and Warriors of Fate were based on a specific RoTK manga.

Mind, Warriors of Fate might specifically dodge those licensing issues due to the Western release completely changing the story and setting.





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"Re(4):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Wed 19 Sep 05:15post reply

I am so happy.







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"Re(5):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Wed 19 Sep 06:46post reply

quote:
I am so happy.



WOW. And it ends on such a weird and dark note, too.

It's a nice and robust bundle, but I'm a little sad that it didn't get the ultra museum-quality presentation that the Street Fighter 30th collection got, but it's still really nicely done. The selectable region feature is a nice touch!

Now let's hope that Capcom pays Digital Eclipse to make a bundle of its 'jet-pack shooter' games... that no one but me wants.





You have to carefully reproduce the world of "Castlevania" in the solemn atmosphere.


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"Re(6):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Wed 19 Sep 22:38post reply

quote:
I am so happy.


WOW. And it ends on such a weird and dark note, too.

It's a nice and robust bundle, but I'm a little sad that it didn't get the ultra museum-quality presentation that the Street Fighter 30th collection got, but it's still really nicely done. The selectable region feature is a nice touch!

Now let's hope that Capcom pays Digital Eclipse to make a bundle of its 'jet-pack shooter' games... that no one but me wants.



That commercial's ending is so bizarre that you would think someone, somewhere would get cold feet but instead it was somehow released and allowed to be as weird as it should be. The same could probably be said for the Capcom Beat Bundle.


As Karasu noted the bundle could be a bit more generous with bells and whistles but for a collection that came out of nowhere it's not bad. While I wish there were interviews or an essay to put the work on these games into perspective I am impressed with the amount of production art that was included. It's certainly more robust than what was in the Capcom Design Works Early Days mook.


Looking through the illustrations reminded me that Necro's stage came from Captain Commando. That factoid is so random that I keep forgetting it and am constantly surprised every time it comes up.


Another thing my failing memory is surprised by is how delightfully lurid the games are. People are chopped in half, skeletonized, and flash kicked so hard they explode. By the end of the first stage in most games the body count is well into the double digits. The games are sexy, violent, colorful and full of life. This isn't like the slow build found in modern AAA games where time is spent setting the mood and introducing players to the game mechanics. In these old arcade games you hit the ground running while the game showers you with spectacle and cheap hits in order to keep your attention and your credits. It's a much different design philosophy.

This collection is pushing all my buttons so kudos to Capcom (and childnapper Captain Commando) for giving me plenty of opportunities to put fist to face.







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"Re(7):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Thu 20 Sep 01:02post reply

Just a potential word of warning. While the PS4 and Xbox One versions are apparently okay, and offline is fine on the Switch, Jim Sterling has dubbed online play in the Switch version as "unplayable." He has uploaded a video of his experiences trying to play online, which for Final Fight has the game at times rendering around one frame per second. The footage for other games is better, but you can still see issues.

Mind, this is one person in America. These issues might not be present for others, or even present in Japan even if they are present for others. (Jim Sterling apparently doesn't live in an area with great internet options, which arguably describes a lot of America once you get outside of the big cities.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgWK0AZFIxE





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"Re(7):Capcom Beat em up Bundle" , posted Thu 20 Sep 02:54post reply

quote:
I am so happy.


WOW. And it ends on such a weird and dark note, too.

It's a nice and robust bundle, but I'm a little sad that it didn't get the ultra museum-quality presentation that the Street Fighter 30th collection got, but it's still really nicely done. The selectable region feature is a nice touch!

Now let's hope that Capcom pays Digital Eclipse to make a bundle of its 'jet-pack shooter' games... that no one but me wants.


That commercial's ending is so bizarre that you would think someone, somewhere would get cold feet but instead it was somehow released and allowed to be as weird as it should be. The same could probably be said for the Capcom Beat Bundle.


As Karasu noted the bundle could be a bit more generous with bells and whistles but for a collection that came out of nowhere it's not bad. While I wish there were interviews or an essay to put the work on these games into perspective I am impressed with the amount of production art that was included. It's certainly more robust than what was in the Capcom Design Works Early Days mook.


Looking through the illustrations reminded me that Necro's stage came from Captain Commando. That factoid is so random that I keep forgetting it and am constantly surprised every time it comes up.


Another thing my failing memory is surprised by is how delightfully lurid the games are. People are

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


In December, Japan will get 4 different editions of the game in physical format. Looks like it worth it based on what is included. The Japan version is called Capcom Belt Action! :0





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"Re(8):TGS Bundle" , posted Fri 21 Sep 04:40post reply

I'm using this as a space to note things that interested me.

SF5 is getting a dojo mode and a dojo. It's a new stage and I can decorate it with a stegosaurus? Sounds good to me.

Oneechanbara is getting into the remake business. It's good to see this sleazy little franchise is still going strong all these years later.


DMC5 gets a lousy new trailer. Hopefully the game has better pacing.







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"Re(9):TGS Bundle" , posted Fri 21 Sep 05:00post reply

quote:
oneechanbara


So here are some really entertaining things I learned about Oneechanbara's developer a few weeks ago.

1.) The developer of Oneechanbara, Tamsoft, is the developer of Senran Kagura. It's pretty darn clear which is the more popular and financially successful series, but Tamsoft still continues to trot out Oneechanbara games!

2.) Oneechanbara's first game was with the Simple 2000 line published by D3. This I knew well, because I loved Simple 2000. What I didn't realize is that the very first Oneechanbara game was published in 2004! That's FOURTEEN YEARS AGO!

3.) Tamsoft goes way back... one of their first games was none other than BATTLE AREA TOSHINDEN! The last Toshinden game that was made on the Wii was not made by Tamsoft, though.

Do you remember love when Toshinden was marketed as the counter to Virtua Fighter, back when 3D fighting was new?







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"Re(9):TGS Bundle" , posted Fri 21 Sep 05:03post reply

quote:

SF5 is getting a dojo mode and a dojo. It's a new stage and I can decorate it with a stegosaurus? Sounds good to me.



But can you get a stegosaurus? From the description, its going to be one of the random rewards in the new Dojo loot boxes.


If everyone can decorate their own version of the Dojo stage, then why is there a requirement to join a dojo before you can access the dojo customization menu? (At least according to the Capcom-Unity write-up, you have to both sync your account and join a dojo.)

I wonder how many people will try to join the biggest dojos specifically to get the top rank dojo reward trophies.

Assuming you can set your personalized dojo stage as your favorite for matches, I wonder how many people will make it their background choice for online matches. That could start looking pretty repetitive, even if you can choose what items to place inside.

And will there be a Cafe dojo? Or will Cafe-goers go their own separate ways, since you are only allowed to be in one dojo at a time?







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"Re(10):TGS Bundle" , posted Fri 21 Sep 05:37post reply

quote:
Do you remember love when Toshinden was marketed as the counter to Virtua Fighter, back when 3D fighting was new?
What a superdimensional reference! I remember people going nuts over Toushinden, which is puzzling in retrospect, although it was temporarily kind of pretty, and certainly much flashier than Virtua Fighter 1, which was very boring to my young eyes. But by the time beautiful Virtua Fighter 2 came around, that was that. I had NO idea they were the same people behind Oneechanbara, however!

Meanwhile, I am going to talk about this
quote:
SF5 is getting a dojo mode and a dojo.

over here, since SFV currently features in about three different threads.





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"Re(2):Re(10):TGS Bundle" , posted Fri 21 Sep 23:10post reply

I'm glad to see Gungrave is coming back. Also of note is the picture where the game creators hold hands as if they are watching a scary movie together.

quote:
So here are some really entertaining things I learned about Oneechanbara's developer a few weeks ago.


It's not something to admit to in proper society but I unironically enjoy Oneechanbara. Senran Kagura very much conforms to the conventions and limitations of cheesecake anime. Oneechanbara, however, is straight-up drive-in movie trash. Most games that attempt that VOD style only achieve the surface details, such as running a film grain over cut scenes. Oneechanbara, however, gets it right by covering up any deficiencies in the plot or budget with lurid creativity. The Simple 2000 games may not have always been good but they had their own unique energy and point of view. So congratulations to Oneechanbara for successfully doing its own thing for all these years and I hope it inspires other creators to make something equally crazy.

quote:
Meanwhile, I am going to talk about this SF5 is getting a dojo mode and a dojo.
over here, since SFV currently features in about three different threads.



I was going to put that info in the correct slot but I was short of time yesterday. When a person has a lot of chores *and* has to play Captain Commando some things fall by the wayside.







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"Re(3):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Sat 22 Sep 01:48post reply

quote:
Senran Kagura very much conforms to the conventions and limitations of cheesecake anime. Oneechanbara, however, is straight-up drive-in movie trash. Most games that attempt that VOD style only achieve the surface details, such as running a film grain over cut scenes. Oneechanbara, however, gets it right by covering up any deficiencies in the plot or budget with lurid creativity.


If only Dracula XX could get such praise!

I agree with simple 2000 games having an aesthetic sense and at times worldview that was all their own. Tamsoft is also the maker of DAI BIJIN, which had an impressively stylish UI, and a spray-tan weapon.





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"Re(4):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Mon 24 Sep 00:39post reply

Speaking of Tamsoft, they also did Guardian Crusade / Knight & Baby as well as Abalaburn and its involuntary sexual sounding title (for those who speak French). Takara always put its name on the foreground, letting people think it was the actual developer of all those Neo-Geo ports, hence the fact Tamsoft wasn't the only company with little to no public fame:
Nova (Fatal Fury 1 & 2 SFC)
Sun L (Fatal Fury 2 GB. They also did Street Fighter II GB)
Gai Brain (Fatal Fury 1 & 2 MD, FFS GG, KOF GB, etc)
Betop (World Heroes 2 Jet, Toshinden and Samurai Shodown GB, King of the Monsters 2 MD)





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"Re(5):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Tue 25 Sep 01:12post reply

A guy in a gold mask was introduced in Death Stranding. It's amazing that I still have no idea what this game is about or how it plays. I guess that's something that will be left to future generations to discover.

While I'm excited about Sekiro I find myself wishing it was Tenchu instead of a Tenchu inspired game. Mostly I miss the soundtrack.







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"Re(5):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Tue 25 Sep 13:08post reply

quote:
Abalaburn and its involuntary sexual sounding title (for those who speak French).



Ohoho, look at this professional level seduction, dangling such a delicious morsel and then saying nothing more!

I demand more details!







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"Re(6):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Tue 25 Sep 16:53post reply

Sega announced Virtual Racing as part of ther Sega AGES lineup.







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"Re(6):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Tue 25 Sep 18:08post reply

quote:
Ohoho, look at this professional level seduction, dangling such a delicious morsel and then saying nothing more!

I demand more details!

Something like... "down with the bollocks"?





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"Re(6):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Tue 25 Sep 18:41post reply

quote:
A guy in a gold mask was introduced in Death Stranding



I figure it's a game about being 'just a delivery man', like how Metal Gear is a game where you are 'just a soldier'.

Man that Gold Skull, he's... he's like everything I've seen from countless "I draw tacticool future soldiers with fearsome helmets please hire me for a AAA game" portfolios but executed at a higher tier of existence.

Good god the way the inside of his cloak is like a Pharoah's mask. Man, wow, Kojima is so fortunate to have Shinkawa as his buddy.

I spent most of my time in TGS checking out all the fun Indie games (mostly coming out on Switch), most of them are pixel graphics 2D sidescrollers or topdown view.

I also spent a lot of time being amazed at how expensive everyone's designer sneakers are and how Japanese otaku all dress so stylishly







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"Re(7):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Wed 3 Oct 23:25post reply

I picked up the new HnK game and found it came with a pair of stickers that say "HIDEBU!" and "SHIT BALLS!" I'm guessing -hoping- that some context for these extras will be addressed in the game soon.







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"Re(8):Re(10):TGSimple 2000" , posted Thu 4 Oct 00:56post reply

quote:
I picked up the new HnK game and found it came with a pair of stickers that say "HIDEBU!" and "SHIT BALLS!"

Hahaha, truly, YOU WA SHOCK.

Eagerly awaiting reports.





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"Switch Pro or Lite on the works?" , posted Thu 4 Oct 15:21post reply

You heard it here first! Or maybe on Resetera...

Perhaps this could finally convince Maou certain misguided souls to do themselves a favor and fetch a Switch to play Zelda BotW AND/OR Bayonetta 3 next year!






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"Re(1):Switch Pro or Lite on the works?" , posted Fri 5 Oct 02:00post reply

quote:
You heard it here first! Or maybe on Resetera...

Perhaps this could finally convince Maou certain misguided souls to do themselves a favor and fetch a Switch to play Zelda BotW AND/OR Bayonetta 3 next year!



Nintendo declaring that they want to put out a console variant with no idea of what they want to include is not the best sales pitch I have ever heard. Will it simply have more battery life? Will it be a permanently docked version without the secondary screen in order to hold down costs? (If so, I suggest branding it the "Switch Itch" since it there to only satisfy your home gaming needs and not be a multi-purpose thingamabob.) Will it come in shiny new colors? Is this something that should be discussed right before the holiday sales season? I guess we will have to wait for a place with proper game journalists to dig into these questions instead of relying on a Nintendo fan page like the WSJ.





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"Re(2):Switch Pro or Lite on the works?" , posted Fri 5 Oct 08:27post reply

I'd assume probably just a hardware revision to address the Tegra exploit for homebrew & piracy? As I understand it the models that are coming off the line since July are still using the original hardware with a patch





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"One dream team, four projects, more details" , posted Fri 5 Oct 23:06post reply

Oh, dear... judging from this interview, I'm suspecting Too Kyo Games may become my favorite game company very soon.

And while this has nothing to do with their projects, it's nice to know they like NieR Automata. But they shouldn't just present themselves as "the creators of Danganronpa and Zero Escape", as there are other great projects some of these men were also involved in, like Root Double and Remember11 (whose ending I used to despise, but now I really appreciate this game)...





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"Re(1):Dragalia Lost (more like Daoko Lost)" , posted Tue 9 Oct 06:52:post reply

I need help...

I don't know how Nintendo/CyGames new title has me by the nose the way other mobage have failed to me invested in the long run (including Fire Emblem Heroes and Pokemon Go). Maybe its the fact that it's an action RPG and the very nature of leveling up your characters taps into that primordial Seiken Densetsu feel. Maybe it's the co-op loot hording that reminds me of Phantasy Star Online but more streamlined. Maybe it was that recent raid event that sort of resembled a mini-Monster Hunter with going after parts of a dragon-turtle to debilitate it...

(Maybe it's the zeitgeist of dragons, girls, dragongirls that has recently hit the internet.)

Oh, I know. IT'S THAT BLOODY INFECTIOUS DAOKO MUSIC THAT THEY KEEP PLAYING. In fact, it seems all of the music was either from her previous album or a new unreleased one. Either way, I'm surprised they recruited the same artist who did that ME!ME!ME! anime short for such a wholesome game.

I don't really consider myself a mobile games person, either. I've dabbled a bit in PokeGo when it first came out, and even gave Fate Grand Order and Fire Emblem Heroes a whirl (even Terra Battle), but these titles never really held my interest for long.

I know there was already a topic made about attention span and games, but for me, I feel it probably has something more to do with creating addictive gameplay loops. It could be the combinations of upgrading gear for your party combined with accessories (which, from what I hear, are carry-overs from CyGame's other hit, GranBlue Fatnasy) where the buffs feel more "tangible" in an ARPG scenario, as opposed to a slower-paced turn-based combat, or it could probably be the dragon-raising/kingdom building aspect where you spend time upgrading your resources. Perhaps it's probably from the production values of the game itself (there's some real-time cutscenes), and the fact that the game has an actual fleshed out main story campaign. Either way, there seems to be a lot of things that are going for it that managed to make me pry away from Valkyria Chronicles 4 for almost about a week!

Still, I think there's a stigma to these sorts of games and most likely I'll be taking a break once this recent event is over (the raids are quite fun). I'll probably end up getting Daoko's last album while I'm at it...





[this message was edited by sfried on Tue 9 Oct 06:57]



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"Re(2):Dragalia Lost (more like Daoko Lost)" , posted Tue 9 Oct 12:18post reply

quote:
DAOKO


Damn, this Daoko fever sure is infectious! I don't know if I should thank you or curse you for sharing it!

Oh well, there goes my productivity this morning...






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"Re(3):Dragalia Lost (more like Daoko Lost)" , posted Wed 10 Oct 01:08post reply

when the "HAAAAAH" effects overlap a bunch it looks like and gives me totally the wrong impression of this game







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"Re(4):Dragalia Lost (more like Daoko Lost)" , posted Sat 13 Oct 01:44post reply

Having spent a bit more time with the latest HnK game I still haven't made a firm decision about the game since I don't think I've still seen everything the game has to offer. The Yakuza games are a peanut butter and jelly and chocolate mixture of disparate elements that somehow come together to form a new, unique taste. But how does that all taste when you add an old manga property to the mix?

The Bad: The game is at its worst when it sticks too closely to HnK. Actions that have callback to the source material feel stagnant in isolation and lack the manic machismo that propelled the original series. Another problem is that if the stoic nature of the main characters is improperly presented it can easily flip and make them come across as horribly bland. At an early point in the game there was a cut scene of Kenshiro and Toki that was nothing more than two slow talking meatheads info dumping at each other. It made me wish I was already dead.

Honestly, the entire main plot has so far been a poorly presented jumble. Here's to hoping it picks up as it goes along.

The Good: Kenshiro makes for a decent soundboard for the game's silliness. One of the joys of the Yakuza games is watching a big badass like Kazuma Kiryu doing mundane tasks such as shopping at Don Quijote. When the city the game is set in finally opens up it becomes full of ridiculous side-quests that Kenshiro approaches with the same intensity he uses for punching punks. I'm glad that the people who own HnK let Kenshiro loosen up a bit since it makes him a more rounded character instead of just a sad-eyed punching machine. I don't know if there is as much to do in HnK as there is in a typical Yakuza game but I've found I'm already ignoring about the main plot so that's a good sign.

Oh, and I finally figured out what those bizarre stickers are all about. In the game Kenshiro can not only explode people the old fashioned way but he can also land a just-frame attack on a stunned enemy that instantly kills. This perfect pinch will sometimes cause the enemy to scream out a death cry that is hangs above their head as they vaporize. Since punching punks doesn't thrill Kenshiro like it used to he's taken up the hobby of collecting their screams. You take what amusement you can get out in the wasteland.

So while I have some issues with the game I'm enjoying my time with HnK. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to having Kenshiro scavenge through a post-apocalyptic landscape for music tracks from Super Monkey Ball.





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"Re(5):Dragalia Lost (more like Daoko Lost)" , posted Thu 18 Oct 07:32post reply

Black Belt says hi. On a serious note, I think the best way to transcribe the "manic machismo" of the manga (love, love the expression!) is via a return to an arcade feel. Maybe some kind of Wii accessory, whatever they could have turned up with, could have done the trick. Perhaps not bongos, though.







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"SCANLINES" , posted Thu 25 Oct 02:54post reply

The Capcom Beat Bundle is getting updated with screen filters, screen size adjustment and online stuff. I had been holding off on finishing games such as Battle Circuit since the default settings didn't make it look quite right. With this the games are probably going to look great.







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"Re(1):SCANLINES" , posted Fri 26 Oct 17:55post reply

quote:
scanlines


Whatever you do don't repeat that word three times in front of a mirror.

Call a witch if you start hearing angry Spanish whispers







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"Re(2):SCANLINES" , posted Sat 27 Oct 01:00post reply

quote:
scanlines

Whatever you do don't repeat that word three times in front of a mirror.

Call a witch if you start hearing angry Spanish whispers



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"Insjustice: comics among us" , posted Tue 30 Oct 22:36post reply

I keep forgetting but there is a tie-in comic to the Injustice fighting game and it has been cranking out issues nonstop since 2015. To add another random layer to this whole thing the Injustice comic is doing a crossover with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. A person could consider themselves a long-term fan of western superhero comics and only read a series of books designed to push NetherRealm games.







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"Re(1):Insjustice: comics among us" , posted Wed 31 Oct 01:16post reply

quote:
the Injustice comic is doing a crossover with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. A person could consider themselves a long-term fan of western superhero comics and only read a series of books designed to push NetherRealm games.



Skeletor is revealed to be Scorpion's uncle. The Ed Boon Cinematic Universe grows deeper every day.





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"Re(2):Injustice: comics among us" , posted Thu 1 Nov 02:55post reply

quote:
the Injustice comic is doing a crossover with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. A person could consider themselves a long-term fan of western superhero comics and only read a series of books designed to push NetherRealm games.


Skeletor is revealed to be Scorpion's uncle. The Ed Boon Cinematic Universe grows deeper every day.



Interesting. This seems to follow Injustice 2's bad ending (and of course they had to make Batman recover his consciousness).

I wonder if the Masters of the Universe side will be based on DC's recent books. Last time I checked, Orko had become an evil supreme sorcerer after being possessed, and this preview shows him back to his old self, but maybe he had returned to normal in the MotU books and I just don't know. She-Ra was pretty badass in those books, by the way.





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"2B for charity, Sentimental Graffiti" , posted Thu 8 Nov 15:10post reply

Nier-loving cosplayer Enako hosts a charity photo shoot for flooded west Japan and earthquake-hit Hokkaido, and shows up as a pretty sharp 2B. They also recorded afterwards with Nier's Yoko Taro and Saito Yosuke for Square's Edamame Arcade Channel. Much acclaim, and Yoko took a lot of photos, with alleged talk of the Nier sequel to be included in next Edamame episode. Hmm!

Meanwhile, in one of the wilder things I've seen, a proposed 20th anniversary event for legendary dating sim Sentimental Graffiti crowdsourced (?!) its 10 million yen goal within 10 minutes of launch, says Famitsu and will gather all of the old actors for a talk show and concert. That's pretty cool! Too bad that the original developer NEC Interchannel wasn't around to do it themselves (Prof, do you know why they were sold off and dissolved after making such crazy $$$ on these games?), and current rights holder Gungho couldn't be bothered. Though speaking of superior but fallen studios Gungho has acquired and let languish, if Game Arts ever wanted to do similar for Lunar or Grandia, I'd pay up. (...hey! It's Lunar~Eternal Blue's 25th next year!)





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"Re(1):2B for charity, Sentimental Graffiti" , posted Fri 9 Nov 00:29post reply

FFXV was given a dose of pentobarbital and finally allowed to rest. Square-Enix seemed really excited about the idea of updating games after release very recently so this news is a surprise.


As Maou's links proved, if you want something done right you have to let the fans do it themselves. That works out fine unless the printer screws up and replaces your Super Mario 3 book with something else.





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"Re(1):2B for charity, Sentimental Graffiti" , posted Fri 9 Nov 04:30post reply

quote:

Meanwhile, in one of the wilder things I've seen, a proposed 20th anniversary event for legendary dating sim Sentimental Graffiti crowdsourced (?!) its 10 million yen goal within 10 minutes of launch, says Famitsu and will gather all of the old actors for a talk show and concert.



My goodness, that is some wonderful art there!
https://www.famitsu.com/images/000/167/210/l_5be324bcd9c54.jpg






www.art-eater.com


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"Re(2): 13 Sentinel Graffiti" , posted Thu 15 Nov 15:58:post reply

Uh oh, kids, Vanillaware’s 13 Sentinels, the banality of whose English title is matched only by the clumsiness of the Japanese title, has been cancelled for Vita and delayed till forever on PS4. Will it still come out in time to make me belatedly buy a PS4 exclusively to play it, just like Dragon’s Crown did for my PS3?! Stay tuned.





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[this message was edited by Maou on Thu 15 Nov 16:00]

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"Re(3): 13 Sentinel Graffiti" , posted Fri 16 Nov 04:08post reply

quote:
Uh oh, kids, Vanillaware’s 13 Sentinels, the banality of whose English title is matched only by the clumsiness of the Japanese title, has been cancelled for Vita and delayed till forever on PS4. Will it still come out in time to make me belatedly buy a PS4 exclusively to play it, just like Dragon’s Crown did for my PS3?! Stay tuned.



If they delay it further, we would play it on PS5







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"Baker's Dozen Sentinels" , posted Sat 17 Nov 01:45post reply

Outside of a few vague trailers has there been much in the way of information about 13 Sentinels? Have they even revealed how the game plays? The delay doesn't surprise me, rather that it took this long to admit that it wasn't on schedule.





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"Physical and Digital Copy Confusion" , posted Sat 17 Nov 02:00post reply

If you purchase a physical copy of a game, are you also able to download the digital copy on your system for freeor do you have to buy the digital copy? Odd for those who want to buy a physical copy and keep it as a collection without opening it but still want to play it.





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"Re(1):Physical and Digital Copy Confusion" , posted Sat 17 Nov 04:54post reply

quote:
If you purchase a physical copy of a game, are you also able to download the digital copy on your system for freeor do you have to buy the digital copy? Odd for those who want to buy a physical copy and keep it as a collection without opening it but still want to play it.


If there is any physical/digital combo available for games I can't think of it. Most game companies will be happy to sell you a second copy, however.







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"Re(3): 13 Sentinel Fury" , posted Thu 22 Nov 11:47post reply

quote:
Uh oh, kids, Vanillaware’s 13 Sentinels, the banality of whose English title is matched only by the clumsiness of the Japanese title, has been cancelled for Vita and delayed till forever on PS4. Will it still come out in time to make me belatedly buy a PS4 exclusively to play it, just like Dragon’s Crown did for my PS3?! Stay tuned.



Well since we're not getting a Vanillaware thing to look at this year, maybe you'd settle for a Chinese knockoff?

(But seriously this game looks great)





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"The Cafe Catching Up Games Review" , posted Sun 25 Nov 22:40:post reply

In an effort to try and catch up with fellow cafe members in the latest o hat video games have to offer, I will provide a quick review list of games I have recently played and completed.

Megaman Legacy Collection, 7/10: geez, these games are far harder than before. But the collection in general is good.

Megaman Legacy Collection 2, 7/10: The same as before but sad that the Saturn features were not used in the compilation for Megaman 8. Aside from that 9 and 10 are fun.

Mighthy Gunvolt Burst, 8/10: This game is fun. I really enjoyed it.

Mighty no. 9, 5/10: Argh, where to start? I mean MG Burst is far better than this. If anything, Mighty No.9 should have stayed as an 8bit or 16-bit game. Than transition to 32 bit, 64, etc. or sequels. I didn’t even finish the game.

Master Blaster Zero, 8/10: Another fun game. Easy difficulty yes, but the extra mode here difficulty is harder should have allowed you to use the mega blaster instead of the normal one. for me, the replay value did not fare well for me.

Bloodstained Curse of the moon, 8/10. This game is great and yes, I had fun, but I have not played Castlevania 3. Afterwards I found out it used the same formula. So yes, it may not seem new or fresh, but the replay value made it worth it.

Guardian Heroes (Xbox live), 7/10. I want to like the game more but cannot fully executed yet. I don’t play it much but will need to research more on how to utilize the games full potential.

Caladrius Blaze, 8/10: Now I will state that the graphics and presentation although nice, I expect better for this day in time. What I like about this game is its three-weapon system which can be like Radiant Silvergun. Each person has different weapons. So, replay value is high. It’s not really bullet hell or simple like steady speed like R-Type. That is a good thing to me. The ideas they have here are great. Bosses are good, concept, stories, the whole package. I just would have liked better graphics. Overall this is a good shooter and I came out impressed. Now I try to perfect it with using one credit only.

Shovel Knight, 10/10: Yea this is one of the best games I have ever played in a while. This is the 3-game package I reviewed.

Luminous Remastered, 8/10: It’s a puzzle game, addicting, and awesome music.

Capcom Beat em Up, 8/10: I am happy with this package. Trying to beat final fight using one credit is by far challenging!!!

Street fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, 7/10: I only use it for online play. Online play is steady and not much issue so far. Could have used more characters in Zero 3 though.

Sina Mora EX, 7/10: The graphics, atmosphere, and gameplay are amazing. Story is confusing. But the movement and speed of the game at times felt uneasy. Mechanics are good that gives it a fresh feel. It’s still relatively short campaign. Lots of features indeed but very very HARD!!

Still have a dozen more games to go. Long ways to catch up to you all. Will post my second batch maybe in a half year?





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[this message was edited by neo0r0chiaku on Wed 28 Nov 05:58]



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"Re(1):The Cafe Catching Up Games Review" , posted Tue 27 Nov 03:18post reply

Wow, you may have played more Megaman and Megamannish games in the recent past than I have played in my entire life!

Speaking of platforming, your reviews reminded me that I do want to try out Hollow Knight before the end of the year. Between that, Bloodstained and Dead Cells I could spend all of next year just playing Metroidvanias.





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"Re(2):The Cafe Catching Up Games Review" , posted Wed 28 Nov 06:00post reply

quote:
Wow, you may have played more Megaman and Megamannish games in the recent past than I have played in my entire life!

Speaking of platforming, your reviews reminded me that I do want to try out Hollow Knight before the end of the year. Between that, Bloodstained and Dead Cells I could spend all of next year just playing Metroidvanias.



Hahah yes I guess that's true. But had to knock out the ones that could finish quicker than others. Still have some shumps, SRW, and a bunch of fighting games to go over. I have three others that will take quite sometime to finish unless I stay up for 42 hours!





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"Re(3):The Cafe Catching Up Games Review" , posted Sat 8 Dec 23:48post reply

In completely random game news, I'm happily surprised by the return of Metroid: Other M Marvel Ultimate Alliance. It looks low budget on a system I don't own but I have a soft spot for those old action RPG comic book games. One thing that amused me in the trailer was that the characters featured are all Marvel multimedia properties until Wolverine suddenly pops up front and center. While this is undoubtedly due to corporations exchanging piles of money it's still a far cry from MvC:I.







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"Re(4):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Wed 19 Dec 10:06post reply

Recently a Round 1 arcade opened up near me. It's... weird. Although it has locations across the US it feels like someone took the innards of a Japanese arcade and jammed them into an American shopping mall. The instruction placards are all in Japanese with no attempt at translation. Even the in-store advertising feels like it was done by someone who had never left Japan but had spent time watching American sit-coms. Perhaps the bowling section will catch on locally but for now I'm amused at the fact that the place is stocked with a dozen imported NESiCAxLive cabs. Thanks to that I can play Melty Blood, Moero! Justice Gakuen or some other fighter and then immediately go shopping at Sears.





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"Re(5):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Wed 19 Dec 15:06post reply

quote:
Recently a Round 1 arcade opened up near me.... Thanks to that I can play Melty Blood, Moero! Justice Gakuen or some other fighter and then immediately go shopping at Sears.



It seems that you live a charmed life, Ishmael.





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"Re(6):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Wed 19 Dec 19:40post reply

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74_QFBzorhE

Who? Why? How?
Who thought a 20-stand-users-battle-royale was a good idea to set up... in the arcades? I can't imagine the game lasting more than a couple of months.





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"Re(5):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Wed 19 Dec 23:35post reply

quote:
Recently a Round 1 arcade opened up near me. It's... weird. Although it has locations across the US it feels like someone took the innards of a Japanese arcade and jammed them into an American shopping mall. The instruction placards are all in Japanese with no attempt at translation. Even the in-store advertising feels like it was done by someone who had never left Japan but had spent time watching American sit-coms. Perhaps the bowling section will catch on locally but for now I'm amused at the fact that the place is stocked with a dozen imported NESiCAxLive cabs. Thanks to that I can play Melty Blood, Moero! Justice Gakuen or some other fighter and then immediately go shopping at Sears.




I like those NESiCAxLive cabinets as well as the other old school games fighting games they have. I mostly spent time on Initial D and Wangan Midnight maximum tune cabinets also. Speaking of which, did your have WMMT 6 by any chance?





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"Re(6):The Round 1 Arcade Review" , posted Thu 20 Dec 02:45post reply

quote:
Thanks to that I can play Melty Blood, Moero! Justice Gakuen or some other fighter and then immediately go shopping at Sears.
Ishmael, Mosquiton's right...you've found some kind of alternate reality 1990s untranslated import nirvana. I'm as mystified by this as by the Jojo battle royale and am glad someone got to try Round 1 out after NeoOrochiaku mentioned it a while ago. I hope they do have Wangan Midnight because we are all Fun-Loving Spirits around here and that music makes me feel like I could drive the cabinet right out of a Round 1 and start doing wheelies around the mall.

...are these guys really investing in arcades in a mall when those are having trouble in America? Should they go all-in and be the official outfitter of theme park arcades? Either way, we should probably make a Cafe article on this one day where Professor reverses places and rather than guiding Cafe denizens around Tokyo arcades, is instead escorted around a Round 1 in an exciting reverse-reverse import culture shock extravaganza.





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"Re(6):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Thu 20 Dec 08:44post reply

quote:
I like those NESiCAxLive cabinets as well as the other old school games fighting games they have. I mostly spent time on Initial D and Wangan Midnight maximum tune cabinets also. Speaking of which, did your have WMMT 6 by any chance?


Ooh, I should check for that. Once I figured out I could play KoF my interest in the rest of the arcade dwindled. The next time I go I'll be on the lookout for Wangan. This means I'm going to drive my car to an arcade so I can drive a virtual car; this is questionable behavior. I should listen to Midnight Maximum tunes while driving there to complete the ouroboros.





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"Re(5):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Thu 20 Dec 10:14post reply

quote:
Recently a Round 1 arcade opened up near me. It's... weird. Although it has locations across the US it feels like someone took the innards of a Japanese arcade and jammed them into an American shopping mall. The instruction placards are all in Japanese with no attempt at translation. Even the in-store advertising feels like it was done by someone who had never left Japan but had spent time watching American sit-coms. Perhaps the bowling section will catch on locally but for now I'm amused at the fact that the place is stocked with a dozen imported NESiCAxLive cabs. Thanks to that I can play Melty Blood, Moero! Justice Gakuen or some other fighter and then immediately go shopping at Sears.



Oh nice! Round One is one of the few arcades/amusement facilities which is guaranteed to be non-smoking in Japan so I really should check them out too come to think (and while at it, also update the arcade map before the 2020 Olympics).


quote:
Even the in-store advertising feels like it was done by someone who had never left Japan but had spent time watching American sit-coms.


That sounds precious! Can you take a photo?







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"Re(7):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Thu 20 Dec 12:01post reply

quote:
This means I'm going to drive my car to an arcade so I can drive a virtual car; this is questionable behavior.
Hahaha, that is pretty great. I guess it's better than getting into a fist fight while playing Street Fighter! Flying down the highway while listening to Wangan Midnight is the only thing more guaranteed to result in getting pulled over than flying down the highway while listening to Lupin III '89. Anyway, once you get out of jail, I second Professor's interest in photos!





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"Re(8):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Thu 20 Dec 12:10post reply

quote:
This means I'm going to drive my car to an arcade so I can drive a virtual car; this is questionable behavior. Hahaha, that is pretty great. I guess it's better than getting into a fist fight while playing Street Fighter! Flying down the highway while listening to Wangan Midnight is the only thing more guaranteed to result in getting pulled over than flying down the highway while listening to Lupin III '89. Anyway, once you get out of jail, I second Professor's interest in photos!


And believe me after you spent time playing wangan throughout the day, you will indeed drive your physical car like if you were still playing the game. That happen to me for quite some time on the road!

If you do decide to play Wangan at Round 1, go to the cash counter and ask for a Banaapassport. I think that how you spell it. That way you can use it to save your custom cars and play story mode and so called online ghost mode. Hopefully there is other players there to race with as that is much more fun.

If you do battle it out with others, winner still plays for free afterwards.





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"Re(9):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Thu 20 Dec 20:57post reply

Man, I got pulled over listening to Wangan style music before. It’s so, so dangerous.

Professor I’m looking forward to seeing the arcade list. Once I get settled in I’ll be doing a pilgrimage or two I’m sure. It’s been some time since I’ve visited the more famous ones.







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"Re(10):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Review" , posted Fri 21 Dec 05:43post reply

Round 1 photo review! My little photo-op got a bit out of hand so forgive me in advance.

The exterior. That's a big bowling pin.

Some of the in-store advertisements.

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
This old woman seemed to be a mainstay in the ad campaign. Not only was she featured on posters and in a video that was playing in the arcade but she popped up in the Round 1 advertisements that are plastered all over the city's mass transit system. There is currently a bus rolling around town with a picture of grandma screaming her head off as she plays a driving game.

Various Games:

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3

I had the feeling that most these games were retired from Japanese arcades. The Gunslinger Stratos games in particular had a lot of wear and tear. Speaking of which, there were a lot of big gun games such as Tomb Raider and Halo, prize ticket dispensers, dancing games and assorted other cabs that I didn't photograph.

Helpful notes.

Crane game, American style.

Bowling lanes.

Bar. Sadly, it was not open at 10:00 a.m.

The drunk cat is a nice touch.

My sad little corner of the arcade.

Various games. One of the cabs was dedicated to CvS1!

Everything you need in life.

Even in the morning the place was attracting a crowd of people curious to see the new store. I don't know how many of them stayed to play the games since the card system seemed to intimidate a number of would-be patrons.







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"Re(2):Re(10):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Revi" , posted Fri 21 Dec 06:13:post reply

Thanks, Ishmael, this is so interesting! There's some interesting stuff going on culturally with a mall localization of a Japanese suburban arcade (already a cultural curiousity if you live in the big cities in Japan), complete with gamer grandma. I was subconsciously expecting that big blue Sears logo to say "Sega" given the other scenery.

More importantly, Moero Justice Gakuen!





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[this message was edited by Maou on Fri 21 Dec 07:09]

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"Re(2):Re(10):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Revi" , posted Fri 21 Dec 12:57:post reply

Thanks for the photo reports! Man it looks so surreal, with a Japanese-style arcade on one side and a Sears on ther other, lol. Seeing those photos gives me the same feeling that I get when walking into a Costco here- it's a different country all of a sudden.

So impressions on those images--
Wow, those ad boards around the entrance look so photoshoppy... I LOVE EM!
3 hours of free play and food is really awesome... Pizza and ice cream are all you can eat!? oh wait it's for kids
Those caterpillars in the UFO catcher machines are... they look perfect as gifts on Christmas. What exactly are they from I wonder?
That artwork for alcoholic liquors is so loose and Japanese, lol.
They have a Marvel vs game on a Viewlix cab! What exactly does the "Time play" mean? does the cab reset after a limited time?
Seeing that the Groove Coaster is still ver 2.0, I do hope someone knows how to update it which should be possible because Round One cabs are actually connected online to Japan from what I understand.


It might be interesting to get photos of what the Round One here looks like. I'll try and hit one somewhere soon.





[this message was edited by Professor on Fri 21 Dec 13:01]

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"Re(3):Re(10):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Revi" , posted Fri 21 Dec 22:31post reply

quote:
Thanks for the photo reports! Man it looks so surreal, with a Japanese-style arcade on one side and a Sears on ther other, lol. Seeing those photos gives me the same feeling that I get when walking into a Costco here- it's a different country all of a sudden.

So impressions on those images--
Wow, those ad boards around the entrance look so photoshoppy... I LOVE EM!
3 hours of free play and food is really awesome... Pizza and ice cream are all you can eat!? oh wait it's for kids
Those caterpillars in the UFO catcher machines are... they look perfect as gifts on Christmas. What exactly are they from I wonder?
That artwork for alcoholic liquors is so loose and Japanese, lol.
They have a Marvel vs game on a Viewlix cab! What exactly does the "Time play" mean? does the cab reset after a limited time?
Seeing that the Groove Coaster is still ver 2.0, I do hope someone knows how to update it which should be possible because Round One cabs are actually connected online to Japan from what I understand.


It might be interesting to get photos of what the Round One here looks like. I'll try and hit one somewhere soon.


Time play is when a game can be used for when customers purchasing unlimited time credit on there card. It can be one hour, two, three etc. For unlimited play within that time. Only applies to arcade games with no online function or rewards like getting prizes and tickets. So yes you pay regular for any game that has an online feature or that is quite new like SF V, Initial D, or Tekken 7, even though it's really not new.





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"Re(3):Re(10):The Cafe Catching Up Arcade Revi" , posted Sat 22 Dec 05:29post reply

One thing I forgot to mention is that Round 1 is open until 2:00 a.m. although I don't know who would be visiting at that hour. There is the university crowd but the arcade is far away from the student bars. There is, however, a Chuck E. Cheese right across the street. I suspect Round 1 is mostly going to be competing for the birthday party crowd.

quote:
Those caterpillars in the UFO catcher machines are... they look perfect as gifts on Christmas. What exactly are they from I wonder?


Those shrieking tubes look like they are from Rick and Morty during the time when Rick turned himself into a pickle. Unlike Japan where it's nothing but unwinnable One Piece figurines, the UFO games in this Round 1 were a strange mix of items. Several featured off-brand Tsum Tsum larvae while others were packed with Deadpool plushies.

quote:
They have a Marvel vs game on a Viewlix cab! What exactly does the "Time play" mean? does the cab reset after a limited time?


While I was initially happy to see MvC2 I was stopped cold when I saw that none of the characters had been unlocked. I've become so used to DLC characters I forgot about arcade time release content and all the problems that led to.





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"Triple threat of despair" , posted Mon 24 Dec 03:22post reply

Danganronpa Trilogy bundle announced for PS4.

That's cool and all, especially the artbook, but it would be more surprising if this were also announced for the Switch.





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"Re(1):Triple threat of despair" , posted Mon 24 Dec 12:46post reply

quote:
Danganronpa Trilogy bundle announced for PS4.

That's cool and all, especially the artbook, but it would be more surprising if this were also announced for the Switch.



Are not the first 2 danganronpa terrible on the ps4? I heard that they look bad there because NIS/Spike Chunsoft didn't bother to upscale the games for the PS4 resolutions,making them blurry as hell.

I kinda enjoyed the first Danganronpa game, but I have this problem where every time when I talk with some fan of the internet who played the 3 games, tells me that the 2nd and 3rd entry are not that good, and that even the finale of the third game ruins everything.





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"Re(2):Triple threat of despair" , posted Mon 24 Dec 21:45post reply

quote:
Are not the first 2 danganronpa terrible on the ps4? I heard that they look bad there because NIS/Spike Chunsoft didn't bother to upscale the games for the PS4 resolutions,making them blurry as hell.

I kinda enjoyed the first Danganronpa game, but I have this problem where every time when I talk with some fan of the internet who played the 3 games, tells me that the 2nd and 3rd entry are not that good, and that even the finale of the third game ruins everything.



Good question. Judging forma playthrough videos of DR1+2 Reload on YouTube, they seem to look quite good, although DRV3 does look much better than them.

As for the comments you found, it's quite surprising to read that; from what I've seen from the fanbase, the vast majority seems to consider DR1 the weakest entry of the franchise, with DR2 being superior to it in every way except the location, and DRV3 having the best graphics and post-game contents and the main game considered very good except for two twists - one involving the protagonist, the other involving the ending.

The DRV3 ending twist, however, depends a lot on the perception of the player. Personally, I think it was brilliant, ando many other people also loved it - and for people who dislike it, there is a line indicating that parts of the revelations could be fake. The twist involving the protagonist is indeed more universally disliked, but I don't think it ruins the game or anything like that.





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"Re(3):Triple threat of despair" , posted Tue 25 Dec 10:09post reply

I'm excited to play DRv3, but man, I've been in 3 bookoffs in Tokyo and I can't find it. I wonder if it's so popular that no one wants to sell it?

I still can't believe I got sucked into the series... the art and music are so weird but it has that X factor that just keeps me playing. :)







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"Re(4):Triple threat of despair" , posted Tue 25 Dec 11:33post reply

quote:
I'm excited to play DRv3, but man, I've been in 3 bookoffs in Tokyo and I can't find it. I wonder if it's so popular that no one wants to sell it?

I still can't believe I got sucked into the series... the art and music are so weird but it has that X factor that just keeps me playing. :)



Have you played the Zero Escape games?

That is definitely one series where it seems like the games get weaker and the ending arguably retroactively makes the trilogy's story arc worse. However, each game tries to reach for higher and higher concept conceits, even though sometimes the results of doing so torpedo the drama certain moments are aiming for.

I read through the SomethingAwful translated playthrough of DR1, which was a herculean effort by the people who did it. I didn't really feel compelled to pursue the other DR games after the first one, though... maybe because the way the game ended didn't leave me with a desire to pursue the mystery/setting further?





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"Re(5):Triple threat of despair" , posted Tue 25 Dec 11:38post reply

quote:

Have you played the Zero Escape games?

That is definitely one series where it seems like the games get weaker and the ending arguably retroactively makes the trilogy's story arc worse. However, each game tries to reach for higher and higher concept conceits, even though sometimes the results of doing so torpedo the drama certain moments are aiming for.



I played 1, and then I played 3. I skipped 2, which was probably a MAJOR MISTAKE. I think Danganronpa is overall more compelling... Zero Escape is conceptually interesting but really jumps the shark at times. The splitting narrative is interesting and the (major plot spoiler)

Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
ability for characters to somehow be aware of different timelines

End of Spoiler

is actually super cool, but the execution is very confusing, and I found the character designs to be bland (esp in 3). And the puzzles are mostly just kinda puzzle box style puzzles, they aren't tied to the story too much.

quote:
I read through the SomethingAwful translated playthrough of DR1, which was a herculean effort by the people who did it. I didn't really feel compelled to pursue the other DR games after the first one, though... maybe because the way the game ended didn't leave me with a desire to pursue the mystery/setting further?


Without spoiling anything, and without having played 3, I'll say that DR2's premise is done in a smart way that doesn't step on DR1 too much, but at the same time can feel a tiny bit inconsequential.

I really enjoy Danganronpa the most when it gets to the trials, because then it's just like a nutty Phoenix Wright, and I really can't get enough of that.





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"Re(6):Triple threat of despair" , posted Tue 25 Dec 12:50post reply

quote:

Have you played the Zero Escape games?

That is definitely one series where it seems like the games get weaker and the ending arguably retroactively makes the trilogy's story arc worse. However, each game tries to reach for higher and higher concept conceits, even though sometimes the results of doing so torpedo the drama certain moments are aiming for.


While Zero Time Dilemma (a.k.a. ZE3) is indeed the weakest entry in the Zero Escape series (which doesn't mean it's a bad game, as its reviews from gaming magazines and websites show), I disagree that its ending does any damage to the story arc. There's more than one way to interpret the explanations behind the bad guy's actions, and I find the fact it doesn't give the player all the answers interesting (kinda like Remember11).

Also, I'd say Virtue's Last Reward (a.k.a. ZE2) is better than 999 (a.k.a. ZE1). But that's subjective, I guess.





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"Re(7):Triple threat of despair" , posted Mon 31 Dec 15:59post reply

Yeah, when I finished DR1 I didn’t feel like O needed a sequel at all, even though when the ending left a lot of unanswered questions, so as a self contained game it doesn’t work at all, not even from an open ending point of view

Actually, I played the first hour of DR2 and I got a lot of questions, like for example why Byakuya was fat now (And if was the same character) but then Indont liked some changes like how the world field worked and also I got the feeling that the game would somehow retcon everything in 1


These are games that I want to play but don’t find the strength to waste the time that I did on 1 (And I heard that 2 and specially 3 are way longer)

Also like I said, it doesn’t help that the games seems to be divisive at best within the fanbase, so you don’t have te motivation from others saying “trust me you should play them, it will be worthy”





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"Re(8):Triple threat of despair" , posted Mon 31 Dec 22:47post reply

quote:
Yeah, when I finished DR1 I didn’t feel like O needed a sequel at all, even though when the ending left a lot of unanswered questions, so as a self contained game it doesn’t work at all, not even from an open ending point of view

Actually, I played the first hour of DR2 and I got a lot of questions, like for example why Byakuya was fat now (And if was the same character) but then Indont liked some changes like how the world field worked and also I got the feeling that the game would somehow retcon everything in 1


These are games that I want to play but don’t find the strength to waste the time that I did on 1 (And I heard that 2 and specially 3 are way longer)

Also like I said, it doesn’t help that the games seems to be divisive at best within the fanbase, so you don’t have the motivation from others saying “trust me you should play them, it will be worthy”



Yes, DR2 and DRV3 are quite longer than DR1. I'd say it's advisable to play them in order, NOT because of the plots (they're actually quite independent from each other, and the few moments where a game is mentioned in the other, there are enough explanations to understand everything without needing to play the previous game), but because of gameplay: besides being longer, the two sequels already use in their first cases advanced gameplay elements that are introduced gradually in DR1 (whose first case is maybe even TOO EASY in terms of gameplay elements).

But I wouldn't say the games are that divisive; the complaints from part of the fanbase relate basically to some plot twists. From what I see, the fanbase does consider DR2 and DRV3 as better games than the first one (that is, in terms of graphics, music, gameplay and such); it's the plot twists that make some people not like them as much - even then, this seems to be a problem only for DRV3 (and Kodaka's team did it intentionally); I don't remember seeing a single person saying DR2 is disappointing in relation to DR1...





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"Re(9):Triple threat of despair" , posted Tue 1 Jan 09:06post reply

quote:
Yeah, when I finished DR1 I didn’t feel like O needed a sequel at all, even though when the ending left a lot of unanswered questions, so as a self contained game it doesn’t work at all, not even from an open ending point of view

Actually, I played the first hour of DR2 and I got a lot of questions, like for example why Byakuya was fat now (And if was the same character) but then Indont liked some changes like how the world field worked and also I got the feeling that the game would somehow retcon everything in 1


These are games that I want to play but don’t find the strength to waste the time that I did on 1 (And I heard that 2 and specially 3 are way longer)

Also like I said, it doesn’t help that the games seems to be divisive at best within the fanbase, so you don’t have the motivation from others saying “trust me you should play them, it will be worthy”


Yes, DR2 and DRV3 are quite longer than DR1. I'd say it's advisable to play them in order, NOT because of the plots (they're actually quite independent from each other, and the few moments where a game is mentioned in the other, there are enough explanations to understand everything without needing to play the previous game), but because of gameplay: besides being longer, the two sequels already use in their first cases advanced gameplay elements that are introduced gradually in DR1 (whose first case is maybe even TOO EASY in terms of gameplay elements).

But I wouldn't say the games are that di

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


Where do you guys stand on another lengthy VN series that I haven't played, Umineko?

One of my friends who is/was a big fan of 07th from Higurashi and followed the Umineko games as they released said that the finale of the game felt like a bit of a thematic slap in the face, as if the game was chiding you for so eagerly pursuing these morbid mysteries in the first place.





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"Re(10):Triple threat of despair" , posted Tue 1 Jan 10:48post reply

Umineko is fantastic! But it's quite a different VN, as it doesn't have multiple routes (like most VNs) or moments with gameplay (like the Danganronpa and Zero Escape series); it's basically like a book, only with (static) character sprites and voice acting (and AMAZING music).

But the story is really fantastic, very complex (in a good way) and a very unique take on murder mystery stories.

As for your question, I don't think Umineko criticizes people who enjoy murder mystery stories; in fact, some people often describe it as a "love letter to Agatha Christie's novels". There is a moment where a character who writes this kind of stories is criticized by another person, but I'd say it's the context regarding the conversation that triggers the criticism (and it's debatable whether such criticism is fair). The main message in Umineko seems to be more about escapism.

---

That said, there is another certain VN that kinda ends with a slap to the face for people that enjoy this kind of story...





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"Re(2):Re(10):Triple threat of despair" , posted Sun 6 Jan 00:44post reply

I haven't played Umineko for an incredible dumb reason. I can't take seriously the art style, like, I don't know if the game is a big joke or what, specially when sometimes the characters are showing their teeths





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"Re(3):Re(10):Triple threat of despair" , posted Sun 6 Jan 03:12post reply

quote:
I haven't played Umineko for an incredible dumb reason. I can't take seriously the art style, like, I don't know if the game is a big joke or what, specially when sometimes the characters are showing their teeths



You mean the original art style? If so, yes, I think it looks very ugly. But it's possible to swap it for a more conventional art style, done by another artist (the original art was done by the same guy who wrote the VN, if I remember correctly, while the new art is from a different artist), and in my opinion it looks very beautiful, even if a little generic.





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"Re(4):Re(10):Triple threat of despair" , posted Wed 9 Jan 01:48post reply

quote:
I haven't played Umineko for an incredible dumb reason. I can't take seriously the art style, like, I don't know if the game is a big joke or what, specially when sometimes the characters are showing their teeths


You mean the original art style? If so, yes, I think it looks very ugly. But it's possible to swap it for a more conventional art style, done by another artist (the original art was done by the same guy who wrote the VN, if I remember correctly, while the new art is from a different artist), and in my opinion it looks very beautiful, even if a little generic.



Is [url=https://www.mangagamer.com/user_data/tmp/screenshots/20160606151454.png
]this the original art style? Because I was always confused when people talked about how great the Umineko games were while sharing what looked like a terrible parody of a deviantart artist who likes to draw Sonic OC





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"Re(5):Re(10):Triple threat of despair" , posted Wed 9 Jan 02:08:post reply

quote:
Is [url=https://www.mangagamer.com/user_data/tmp/screenshots/20160606151454.png
]this the original art style? Because I was always confused when people talked about how great the Umineko games were while sharing what looked like a terrible parody of a deviantart artist who likes to draw Sonic OC



Yes, it is. Surprisingly, some people prefer the author's original art, saying it captures better the characters' expressions...

Personally, I like the new one (you can see a sample screenshot here) much, MUCH better...

---

EDIT: it seems there's a third art style available for Umineko. Personally, I think it looks like a downgrade from the one I presented earlier, although at least it still looks better than the original art...





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"Vanillaware prologue: Atlus' revenge" , posted Wed 9 Jan 03:59:post reply

Typically, Vanillaware items warrant their own thread at the Cafe, but until the awfully named 13 Sentinals: Something Or Other makes some progress, into Random it goes! I don't really understand what's been going on, but I'm perfectly happy to assume Iggy is right and blame Atlus.

Anyway! Atlus' Vanillaware hostage site indicates that a promo video comes out on January 10, and on March 14 (give it to your girlfriend for White Day, but only if you're not sure you like her) you can buy the 13 Sentinals Prologue, which is a 3 hour demo, a 36 page artbook, PS4 avatars (hooray), and a 10-song mini-soundtrack...for 2980 yen.

Uh. I don't know how you go about selling people a paid demo with an artbook and music for the demo that people do not yet know they like because they have not yet bought the demo. Did they...run out of cash? Want to prove the project still exists?

At least the paid demos for FFVII and VIII had the good taste to come coupled with a free game like Tobal or Musashiden!





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"Re(1):Vanillaware prologue: Atlus' revenge" , posted Wed 9 Jan 05:37post reply

quote:
Typically, Vanillaware items warrant their own their own thread at the Cafe, but until the awfully named 13 Sentinals: Something Or Other makes some progress, into Random it goes! I don't really understand what's been going on, but I'm perfectly happy to assume Iggy is right and blame Atlus.

Anyway! Atlus' Vanillaware hostage site indicates that promo video comes out on January 10, and on March 14 (give it to your girlfriend for White Day, but only if you're not sure you like her) you can buy the 13 Sentinals Prologue, which is a 3 hour demo, a 36 page artbook, PS4 avatars (hooray), and a 10-song mini-soundtrack...for 2980 yen.

Uh. I don't know how you go about selling people a paid demo with and artbook and music for the demo that people do not yet know they like because they have not yet bought the demo. Did they...run out of cash? Want to prove the project still exists?

That is really weird. It seems you can also get the demo on its own (and some whatever PS4 theme) for 980Y, or get that with Dragon Crown Pro or Odin Sphere on PS4, so that sounds a little bit more sensible (and I might get Dragon's Crown Pro this way since I only have it on Vita). But this type of "paid demo" did happen before for Gran Turismo 5, Metal Gear Solid V, and Final Fantasy XIII, all games known to have had very long arduous development (these examples are for more recent years after downloadable demos and content became the norm, so Zone Of The Enders doesn't count)

At least it still looks very pretty as expected.





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"Re(5):Re(10):Triple threat of despair" , posted Wed 9 Jan 11:47:post reply

So wait, if Prologue comes with those games where does that leave those of us who already own them?

quote:
I haven't played Umineko for an incredible dumb reason. I can't take seriously the art style, like, I don't know if the game is a big joke or what, specially when sometimes the characters are showing their teeths


You mean the original art style? If so, yes, I think it looks very ugly. But it's possible to swap it for a more conventional art style, done by another artist (the original art was done by the same guy who wrote the VN, if I remember correctly, while the new art is from a different artist), and in my opinion it looks very beautiful, even if a little generic.


Is [url=https://www.mangagamer.com/user_data/tmp/screenshots/20160606151454.png
]this the original art style? Because I was always confused when people talked about how great the Umineko games were while sharing what looked like a terrible parody of a deviantart artist who likes to draw Sonic OC



Yeah Ryuukishi07 didn't have the most advanced art style but he did write the entire scenario for this and the Higurashi series.

It actually worked in Higurashi's favor because when you see a screenshot like this you're not really expecting such a mature, fucked up story. Or at least before Higurashi existed you didn't.

But then Umineko happened and the twist was pretty much expected at that point. The art style didn't help it anymore.





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"Re(6):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of despair" , posted Wed 9 Jan 13:13post reply

quote:
So wait, if Prologue comes with those games where does that leave those of us who already own them?
Up a creek!
No indication on those sites or 13 Sentinals' about you retroactively getting it. But as Badoor says, you can pay 980Y for it, if you want. I guess even a really boring looking Vanillaware world is still more interesting than everyone else's, but it's sure hard to come off the perfection of Dragon's Crown...





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"Re(7):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of despair" , posted Thu 10 Jan 04:53post reply

The paid demo stuff doesn't convince me for a Vanillaware game, unless it's like the dlc of Muramasa where the 3 hours episode could actually get a lot of mileage thanks to the overall difficulty of it plus the extras of trying them with other characters. but if is just the normally easy first stages it would be terrible


Since we are speaking of Vanillaware, I want to give my take on their 3 most famous games

Muramasa is a masterpiece, but from a gameplay, and artistic point of view, I really love everything in that game, specially how great is to master the games to the point of beating them with only 1hp.

After that I tried playing Dragon's Crown and Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, but my issues with DC is that I don't find that interesting the gameplay loop on that game, plus I think that too much stuff happens on screen, and in OS case I don't like the more RPG approach that the game has, where some actions slow down the action, plus overall I prefer the "open world" aspect of Muramasa over the stages in Odin Sphere







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"Re(8):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of despair" , posted Thu 10 Jan 23:40:post reply

Sibarraz, you and I have the exact same position on those games! Muramasa, although repetitive, felt the most like a complete experience. Dragon’s Crown felt so... messy. Beautifully messy. Odin I like the look but I still remember the hilarious slowdown bug that ruined the game for me. Have you finished all the dlc? I only tried the cat one but wasn’t excited enough to buy the rest.

And their new game... not sure what to make of it yet. But Vanillaware stuff has always been very overpriced... they rely on their super fans to stay afloat.





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"Re(9):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of despair" , posted Fri 11 Jan 00:58post reply

quote:
Sibarraz, you and I have the exact same position on those games! Muramasa, although repetitive, felt the most like a complete experience. Dragon’s Crown felt so... messy. Beautifully messy. Odin I like the look but I still remember the hilarious slowdown bug that ruined the game for me. Have you finished all the dlc? I only tried the cat one but wasn’t excited enough to buy the rest.

And their new game... not sure what to make of it yet. But Vanillaware stuff has always been very overpriced... they rely on their super fans to stay afloat.


I think "beautifully messy" is a good way to describe DC. There was a lot I didn't enjoy about the loot and inventory system which isn't good since that's a big part of the game. Plus, Vanillaware kept fiddling with the game so much after release that things I initially enjoyed about the game may not be there anymore. In the end when I look back on DC I mostly remember that the Dwarf was amazing.





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"Re(9):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of despair" , posted Fri 11 Jan 03:12post reply

quote:
Sibarraz, you and I have the exact same position on those games! Muramasa, although repetitive, felt the most like a complete experience. Dragon’s Crown felt so... messy. Beautifully messy. Odin I like the look but I still remember the hilarious slowdown bug that ruined the game for me. Have you finished all the dlc? I only tried the cat one but wasn’t excited enough to buy the rest.

And their new game... not sure what to make of it yet. But Vanillaware stuff has always been very overpriced... they rely on their super fans to stay afloat.









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"Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of Catherine" , posted Sat 12 Jan 12:53post reply

Ishmael's memory of the Dragon's Crown Dwarf AKA Iggy is correct. For me, Dragon's Crown is like Nier or Wander and the Colossus: the game is so infinitely excellent that when people bring up minor technical problems it's like they're speaking another language and I have no idea what they are talking about. Unfortunately, I can't really conceive of playing the game again without my eternal team leader, Toxico.

Speaking of Atlus, I see that Catherine is available on PC, finally! I'm very interested in the story but I am not sure about gothic horror and I'm frankly not very good at Puyo Puyo or Lumines, let alone Q-bert. Can I survive this sheepish gauntlet??





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"Re(2):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of Catherine" , posted Sat 12 Jan 17:21post reply

quote:
Ishmael's memory of the Dragon's Crown Dwarf AKA Iggy is correct. For me, Dragon's Crown is like Nier or Wander and the Colossus: the game is so infinitely excellent that when people bring up minor technical problems it's like they're speaking another language and I have no idea what they are talking about. Unfortunately, I can't really conceive of playing the game again without my eternal team leader, Toxico.

Speaking of Atlus, I see that Catherine is available on PC, finally! I'm very interested in the story but I am not sure about gothic horror and I'm frankly not very good at Puyo Puyo or Lumines, let alone Q-bert. Can I survive this sheepish gauntlet??



Catherine has a wonderfully mature bunch of stores in certain endings, a bunch of "lolwat" endings that are clearly wankery, a plot twist common to all threads that is mostly dumb, and a really great aesthetic even when the ordinary shading of the puzzle parts seems to weirdly clash with the aesthetic of the characters. All that said, in the original release, a few of the levels were really quite hard, but one of the very peculiar things about the game is that the game is very much about learning block manipulation techniques. And I don't mean special abilities, I mean algorithms. In fact, one of the algorithms you get taught much later in the game would borderline trivialize some of the earlier levels, but if you really thought things through, it's entirely possible you'd figure out that algorithm out all by yourself.

So in conclusion the most important things remains that Steam lets you refund any game no question asked if you play fewer than 2 hours of it and request the refund within two weeks of purchase.





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"Re(3):Re(10):Triple Vanillaware of Catherine" , posted Sun 13 Jan 07:41post reply

I played catherine on its day and I enjoyed it, although never bothered to finish it since it was a game that a friend shared with me for some days.

I'm going to wait for Full Body though, not interested in buying the PC version





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"Jojo Last Survivor" , posted Sun 13 Jan 10:53:post reply

Jojo's Bizzare Adventure- Last Survivor is beta testing in the arcades right now. So is this game a perfect heaven for TPS lovers that are also Jojo fans, or just a TPS with Jojo just slapped on? Jotaro certainly seems unstoppable when he's one of the last two characters still standing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OKTeryDZLg





[this message was edited by Professor on Mon 14 Jan 13:32]

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"Re(1):Jojo Last Survivor" , posted Mon 14 Jan 20:57post reply

quote:
Jojo's Bizzare Adventure- Last Survivor is beta testing in the arcades right now. So is this game a perfect heaven for TPS lovers that are also Jojo fans, or just a TPS with Jojo just slapped on? Jotaro certainly seems unstoppable when he's one of the last two characters still standing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OKTeryDZLg



This looks cool! But it's a shame that apparently it'll only have people from Parts 3-5; I'd really love to see some JoJolion characters in it (at least Josuke and Yasuho). Johnny and Gyro from SBR wouldn't hurt either.





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"Zer0Ranger and STGs" , posted Fri 18 Jan 17:34post reply

The best STG I have played in quite a while is Zer0Ranger, which was released last year on PC:
Link Here

Being a home-platform first STG that doesn't have a particular pedigree, it's able to look at progression systems from other games and adopt them in ways that fit it, rather than just trying to find some way to grant infinite continues over the course of 10 hours like so many other arcade-first STGs did in their home ports. It has a good grasp of the sprite graphics it is inspired by, has clever takes on some classic STG ships, has a good pace to its bullet speeds / enemy animations / BG speed / explosions, so it feels really good to play.

I like when STGs have more mechanics built around the fact that even for people that have been playing games for a long time like me, just beating a hard STG I treat as a satisfying challenge, so NOT giving me infinite lives/continues right off the bat is actually meaningful.





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"Re(1):Zer0Ranger and STGs" , posted Sat 19 Jan 02:26post reply

quote:
The best STG I have played in quite a while is Zer0Ranger, which was released last year on PC:
Link Here....
Being a home-platform first STG that doesn't have a particular pedigree, it's able to look at progression systems from other games and adopt them in ways that fit it, rather than just trying to find some way to grant infinite continues over the course of 10 hours like so many other arcade-first STGs did in their home ports.



I always appreciate when this type of game makes an effort to keep you from ruining your own experience with infinite lives/continues.

Could you go into a little more detail on how they do this? Is it using a checkpoint system?





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"Re(2):Zer0Ranger and STGs" , posted Sat 19 Jan 04:16post reply

quote:
The best STG I have played in quite a while is Zer0Ranger, which was released last year on PC:
Link Here....
Being a home-platform first STG that doesn't have a particular pedigree, it's able to look at progression systems from other games and adopt them in ways that fit it, rather than just trying to find some way to grant infinite continues over the course of 10 hours like so many other arcade-first STGs did in their home ports.


I always appreciate when this type of game makes an effort to keep you from ruining your own experience with infinite lives/continues.

Could you go into a little more detail on how they do this? Is it using a checkpoint system?



The game takes a bunch of cues from Dark Souls in having a MYSTERIOUS STORY with MYSTERIOUS UNEXPLAINED THINGS that connect to game mechanics, such as the entirely unexplained continue mechanic (you earn more continues from the cumulative score of your recent game over, but the game presents this progression with a BIG VISUAL but without explaining it because it connects to MYSTERIOUS STORY), or how at the end of each level, you get to pick one of two subweapons, but these subweapons are entirely unexplained in what they will do, which sounds very annoying... but this is alleviated by the fact that whenever you start a new game, you can choose to start at any stage you have reached and you can choose your loadout from what you would normally have available by that stage. So if you merely wish to clear the game and see all the levels, the game makes a lot of concessions to help you do so, and the "you'll find out more after you die" is very in tune with the metanarratives popularized in the era following Dark Souls, Undertale, etc.

However, unlike classic STGs (with the exception of that one horrible final level in that one old arcade STG that might've been Strikers or Gunbird or Aero Fighters where when you continue you start at the start of the level!!!!!), when you continue in Zer0Ranger you will resume not exactly where you died, but at the last "checkpoint" of the stage, which prevents you from straight hammering your way through the game with continues: you need to at least be able to beat each section of each stage with 2 or 3 lives. While score attack is a part of the game, looking for ways to make the challenge of the game manageable with a sense of meaningful advancement I think is important for the larger audience.

The game does not go in the direction of the "buy upgrades from the store" that a lot of other STGs (and infamously, "euroshooters") did as a means of progression. I really enjoyed a number of games which have that, but the very carefully crafted levels of this game wouldn't be served well with that. The game is also not a pure danmaku game: it has a sense of different level environments which allow for unique obstacles that are not bullets (which I vastly prefer to pure danmaku!), and even the big waves of bullets are not very dense. Having a sense of zone environments is important for the storytelling elements of the game, which is something I find pure danmaku games lose out on.







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"Sequelitis" , posted Fri 8 Feb 05:45post reply

Onechanbara continues to look cheerfully low budget.

Itsuno spills a mild tease about Dragon's Dogma that pathetic DD fans such as myself lap up as if we were dying of thirst. Hopefull DMC5 can survive the Onechanbara mania sweeping the world so Itsuno has enough clout to work on a new project right away.





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"Re(1):Astral Chain" , posted Thu 14 Feb 08:39post reply

First impression on the Astral Chain reveal: Fighting as a Katsura-designed cyberpunk cop side-by-side with a Stand / personal mini combat-Eva.

I look forward to seeing more of this!





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"Re(2):Astral Chain And Tetris 99 aka TGM4" , posted Thu 14 Feb 10:17post reply

quote:
First impression on the Astral Chain reveal: Fighting as a Katsura-designed cyberpunk cop side-by-side with a Stand / personal mini combat-Eva.

I look forward to seeing more of this!



This was definitely the most interesting reveal from the Direct alongisde Tetris 99, whoch to my surprise was developed by Arika of all people.

Never thought that we would see Arika developing a Tetris game again, but here we are







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"Re(2):Astral Chain" , posted Thu 14 Feb 13:47:post reply

quote:
Astral Chain
Holy cow, a game with Katsura "Video Girl Ai" Masakazu and Taura "Half of Nier Automata" Takahisa, and no one told me about it?! I went from excited that someone was making a long-overdue sequel to Astal on Sega Saturn, to disappointment that of course that was untrue and that I cannot read, to excitement again.





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 Fri 15 Feb 00:13]

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"Re(3):Astral Chain" , posted Thu 14 Feb 19:23:post reply

quote:
Astral Chain Holy cow, a game with Katsura "Video Girl Ai" Katsura and Taura "Half of Nier Automata" Takahisa, and no one told me about it?! I went from excited that someone was making a long-overdue sequel to Astal on Sega Saturn, to disappointment that of course that was untrue and that I cannot read, to excitement again.



Hello friends.

It's so nice to feel the warm familiar glow of the Cafe. Lately I've been wandering the wastelands of Twitter, righting wrongs (or is that "writing wrongs" :D) and sharing information on cool games and art with those who seek asylum from the bottomless maw of the hate mongering beast that is Social Media.

I've just put together a long thread on this very game. Since my blog has gone completely kaput I've been using Twitter as if it were a blogging platform. It's ... sort of working!

Please check out my thread on Astral Chain!
https://twitter.com/Richmond_Lee/status/1095930379075108864
In this thread I discuss:
-How the game recalls Katsura's past work!
-How Katsura's work has long been influenced by other luminaries such as Nirasawa, Keita Amemiya, Takayuki Takyea and Katsuya Terada (can you believe they all went to school together???)
-How the closest parallel to how this game plays is probably not any JoJo title but rather Konami's PS2 sleeper, Sword of Etherea
-How the player character works for an organization called "Neuron" and how their being chained to their "Legion" (the stand thing) visually parallels the physical makeup of Neurons chained together.

Please feel free to leave all your responses here, in this gentle and civilized place.






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[this message was edited by nobinobita on Thu 14 Feb 19:24]



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"Re(3):Astral Chain And Tetris 99 aka TGM4" , posted Fri 15 Feb 00:35post reply

quote:
Never thought that we would see Arika developing a Tetris game again, but here we are


Maybe this will retroactively support FEXL like Apex is doing for Titanfall.

Now all we need is an Endless Ocean announcement for the circle to be complete.







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"Re(4):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 00:46post reply

Oho! You have indeed been travelling the world growing stronger, World Warrior. But I’m going to pretend to ignore your excellent observations and instead play Gouki/Vega to your Ryu in order to unleash your Satsui No Hadou!

“Twitter is a waste of time, and your work shall plummet forever into the Void after a few posts’ time without a blog to archive!”

“More people have played SFV than Vampire!”

“Katsura’s Shadow Lady is out of print in English while Tenjou Tenge is not!”

“We are two mainline entries away from there being an equal number of Nomura and Amano Final Fantasies!”

“The English-speaking internet will continue to criticize Toriyama game designs while giving the military design aesthetic a pass!”

“Confused Americans are more intent on attacking ‘sexualized’ characters than considering the psychotic violence at the core of AAA Western game design!”

“Mother 3 will never, ever be released abroad!”

Resistance is futile! Give into your anger and unleash your true power, Ryu Nobi!





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"Re(4):Astral Chain+more bugs" , posted Fri 15 Feb 01:02post reply

Oz!!! My favourite Konami game since, I don't know, Goemon 2 or something.

I was not really keen on Astral Chain because Katsura "what year is it" Masakazu, but you mentioning it could play like Oz prevents me posting more negativity in case you'd be right.

It's bad Oz is stuck on PS2 (too old to be easily remastered like a PS3 game, too recent to be available on Vita or elsewhere like most PS1 games)(also no one bought it)(also Konami), because I loved the game. In terms of low-budget beat'm all, it's in the middle between Sokaigi's style-over-total-suckiness and God Hand's fantastic-gameplay-on-a-shoestring-budget. I can't remember who developed it? What are they doing now? I wish them well.

As for Astral Chain, I suppose the angle is "for tokusatsu fans that are also 40 years old or more"? Then Katsura Masakazu makes sense. I guess.
So weird, though.

I also like that they announce that instead of showing more Bayo3. That means they're spending more time to make Bayo3 even better, and chances are the game will be pushed back to 2020 and will avoid a crash course with DMC5 that no game would have benefited from. Take your time. Make good games.

--------------

Speaking of good games, I am ecstatic that Hollow Knight's new-playable-character turned extra DLC campaign mega-evolved into screw this, let's make an entire new game around her.
I'm so happy! It looks so pretty! She's so great!
Also, what's that voice sample. Is she Chinese/Japanese? She's great. I'm so happy.







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"Re(2):Astral Chain" , posted Fri 15 Feb 02:47post reply

quote:
cyberpunk cop


It's hard to type with my pupils so dilated from being overloaded with visual input, but Astal Astral Chain looks exciting and fun, as I'm sure it will be.

Nintendo Direct was pretty good, although as always on Twitter more people were initially complaining about what wasn't announced than being excited about what was. I'm super looking forward to the remake of Link's Awakening myself, having only just now played the original for the first time (it's weird! I love the Mario-related weird crossover elements!), but oddly enough I'm not really sold on the new Fire Emblem.

Anyway, hi everybody! I've been off traveling the figurative world looking for a worthy opponent the perfect vegan donut but I decided to stop back in at the Cafe before I'm off to travel again.





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"Re(5):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 02:56post reply

quote:
Oho! You have indeed been travelling the world growing stronger, World Warrior. But I’m going to pretend to ignore your excellent observations and instead play Gouki/Vega to your Ryu in order to unleash your Satsui No Hadou!

“Twitter is a waste of time, and your work shall plummet forever into the Void after a few posts’ time without a blog to archive!”

“More people have played SFV than Vampire!”

“Katsura’s Shadow Lady is out of print in English while Tenjou Tenge is not!”

“We are two mainline entries away from there being an equal number of Nomura and Amano Final Fantasies!”

“The English-speaking internet will continue to criticize Toriyama game designs while giving the military design aesthetic a pass!”

“Confused Americans are more intent on attacking ‘sexualized’ characters than considering the psychotic violence at the core of AAA Western game design!”

“Mother 3 will never, ever be released abroad!”

Resistance is futile! Give into your anger and unleash your true power, Ryu Nobi!




^click


(i've missed you too old friend!)






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"Re(6):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 03:19post reply

I knew you could persevere for the true ending!


Vega/Twitter: Nobiiiiiiiiii! You are destined to become my next host body!

Ryu/Nobi: The power is building within. It wants me to destroy everything. Is this my true nature?

Sagat/Professor: I welcome your challenge any time you desire a match!

Chun-Li/your readership: You will be even stronger when I see you next and have archived your tweets on a revived Art Eater, won't you?

Sakura/Iggy: Would you give me the honor of another match? Please?

Gouki/the internet: Show me...show me your true power!

Ken/Spoon: One more round! Let's go, Nobi!

Vega/Twitter: This is impossiblllllle!!!!! [blows up]



I will always cry manly tears at the Zero 3 endings. Now, what was I talking about? Oh yes, that new Hollow Knight is so pretty I might overcome my fear of bugs and play the original.

If Oz is the new God Hand which is the new Soukaigi, I feel like we need to be talking about it a whole lot more.





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"Re(5):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 04:17:post reply

quote:

“Confused Americans are more intent on attacking ‘sexualized’ characters than considering the psychotic violence at the core of AAA Western game design!”



I know this is nitpicking an isolated part of a joke, but just in terms of aesthetics I really dislike the shorts on the female cop. You also put "sexualized" in quotes, but I think it would be tough to argue that this artist hasn't made a deliberate choice that fits his personal design philosophy.

Maybe it's my personal perspective, but shorts on high-tech armored battle-cops doesn't really work for me. In most media I've seen, shorts on cops are usually played for laughs (the evocatively and provocatively named Jim Dangle on Reno 911, an episode of Corner Gas where the cops impractically get bikes to patrol their rural town and Davis starts walking around with distractingly sexy shorts). In summary, what type of cops usually wear shorts? Bike cops. And a cop pedaling down the sidewalk in their shorts automatically gets a 88% respect penalty and a 120% susceptibility to ridicule.

Now, I freely admit to enjoying sexy designs. But to be honest, this woman's uniform(?) just strikes me as doofy. I'm not going to demand "realistic" character designs across all media in all cases, but to me the shorts make her looks a) less professional, b) less capable, and c) more childish.

Sure, we needn't be slaves to logic and practicality in escapist media (as we often aren't in real life)... but like, is the armor on her torso so heavy that she has to shave off a pound by ditching pants? Is this supposed to "enhance her mobility"?

Showing more skin isn't even a great way of visually differentiating the characters IMO, since the designs are otherwise so similar (I get it, they're all cops and the main characters are twins, but still). There were multiple times in the trailer when the scene went from the woman to the guy which had me temporarily think that he was wearing the shorts in the family.

I'm not going to ask Katsura Masakazu not to draw butts, as he's clearly pretty good at it. For a female future cop, this design just doesn't look cool.

With that out of the way, gameplay does look somewhat promising. I have always liked rope/chain mechanics in games.





/ / /

[this message was edited by Mosquiton on Fri 15 Feb 04:35]



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"Re(6):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 04:57post reply

Ha, not to worry! This wasn't about Ast(r)al Chain in particular and I actually agree that cop shorts are pretty weak. Besides, we know Katsura has found perfectly viable ways of making pants work!





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"Re(7):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 09:33post reply

A few quick thoughts:

Astral-Chan and her Magic Dog: I'm worried this is going to end up like any number of other Platinum games in that it has neat combat but also has problems with pacing and layout. So the game has a system for crazy attacks but will also have an open world where you pick up litter? I also agree with Mosquiton about the heroine's silly shorts. I don't have anything against revealing costumes -I like DoA for crying out loud- but her outfit feels lazy. The group shot of all the officers looking tough while she stands there in her hot pants is particularly ridiculous. I wonder if she originally wore full leggings and the exposed leg was a last second addition to help differentiate the characters since her and her brother look too similar when the action starts. Here's hoping for the best but I'm worried the best part of the game may be the tangents it inspires in Nobi.

Legend of Zelda: Link's Sexual Awakening: I've always felt I missed something because I didn't play the early handheld Zelda games. If Nintendo is bringing this back and on a home console it must have been something good.

Hollow Knight: HK is a lovely game so I'm glad to see it is continuing. So HK has a full-blown sequel and even has merchandising such as action figures; what a successful Kickstarter!
quote:

Now all we need is an Endless Ocean announcement for the circle to be complete.

To this day I hope for Everblue 3. Perhaps I should play Subnautica in the meantime.





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"Re(8):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 11:38post reply

I kinda wish the Link's Awakening remake didn't look so cute. The game was much more forboding for me as a child. I understand the decision but I don't love it. I want them to remake Majora's mask but make it really dark...I'll be waiting for a while I imagine.

Astral looks fun. I'm excited at the hints to chain mechanics, and I wonder how the multiplayer will work. I think the art looks great but IMO the tech prevents it from being fully realized...the human faces look pretty limited. Nice that it's on Switch though.

quote:

Please check out my thread on Astral Chain!
https://twitter.com/Richmond_Lee/status/1095930379075108864


Really great and informative :)

Hollow Knight was a great game, but long... I might be too fatigued on it to play the sequel. But it was amazing.







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"Re(9):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 16:51:post reply

quote:
I kinda wish the Link's Awakening remake didn't look so cute. The game was much more forboding for me as a child. I understand the decision but I don't love it. I want them to remake Majora's mask but make it really dark...I'll be waiting for a while I imagine.

I always thought the choice in visual were linked to (no pun)...the whole thing surrounding Koholint and the Wind Fish.

That said, I'm curious as to which studio did the animated cutscenes shown on the intro. Will there be more of them to replace the skit/vignettes that were in the GameBoy original (especially with the picture scenes)?

quote:
Legend of Zelda: Link's Sexual Awakening: I've always felt I missed something because I didn't play the early handheld Zelda games. If Nintendo is bringing this back and on a home console it must have been something good.


Consider this: You not having played Link's Awakening is like me still having not played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game's writer, Yoshiaki Koizumi (YES, the same person who presented the Direct) said he was inspired by Twin Peaks when he wrote the scenario and story of the game, and it really shows. Not to mention, the ending... (I won't spoil more for your sake.)





[this message was edited by sfried on Fri 15 Feb 16:55]



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"Re(10):Astral Chain vs. Shin Nobi" , posted Fri 15 Feb 23:49post reply

quote:
Consider this: You not having played Link's Awakening is like me still having not played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game's writer, Yoshiaki Koizumi (YES, the same person who presented the Direct) said he was inspired by Twin Peaks when he wrote the scenario and story of the game, and it really shows. Not to mention, the ending... (I won't spoil more for your sake.)


That does sound intriguing. Nuts, I was hoping I could avoid getting a Switch but the way things are going that might not be possible.





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"NieRly Automata" , posted Sat 16 Feb 10:16post reply

Always had a side of you that wanted to be in 2B's shoes?
Now you can! And quite literally with these boots from Super Groupies.

https://www.super-groupies.com/feature/nier_02_boots Not bad for the price





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"Re(1):NieRly Automata" , posted Sun 17 Feb 21:30post reply

quote:
Always had a side of you that wanted to be in 2B's shoes?
Now you can! And quite literally with these boots from Super Groupies.

https://www.super-groupies.com/feature/nier_02_boots Not bad for the price



The buckles on 9S's footwear definitely sealed the deal for me... :)

What I really want is a black blindfold that is also an AR visor. That way I can wear one of those cool black sickness masks and just have my entire face be covered in black all the time.







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"No More Killers" , posted Sun 24 Feb 00:26post reply

I lost track of Grasshopper games at some point but it's good to see a familiar face show up again. So are all of Suda51's games now taking place in the same-ish world?







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"Mario & Luigi: Doug Bowser's Inside Story" , posted Mon 25 Feb 14:12post reply

Amidst the PR cult of dubious tech CEO "personalities," Reggie Fils-Aime always impressed me as the real deal, and I think it's pretty neat that a black man has headed the most important subsidiary of one of Japan's most important companies for 15 years.

(Doug) Bowser long ago gave us a hint of what is to come next (dire for do-gooders, less so for the rest of us), so I hope Nintendo is wise enough to use the only correct version of the one true Koopa theme for his official first appearance on stage as the new Last Boss.





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"428 Shibuya Scramble hitting 10th anniv" , posted Wed 13 Mar 13:23:post reply

Some members of the Cafe including Spoon might find interest in this.

428: Shibuya Scramble has been a long time favorite title of mine, and the game is having a belated tenth anniversary celebratiion come April 28 (4/28) next month. Not sure what they'll be doing, but it's a Sunday so it might also come as a random interest for anyone in town during that time.

The town certainly has changed over the decade-- there's a coverage video from back in the game's release. Still crowded as ever of course.





[this message was edited by Professor on Wed 13 Mar 13:38]



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"Castlevania just keeps getting resurrected..." , posted Thu 14 Mar 12:20post reply

Castlevania Collection gets rated in Australia. Does that mean we'll finally get SoTN on Switch and Steam? But more importantly, is Konami actually spending money to make a decent port?







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"Re(1):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Thu 14 Mar 12:37post reply

Who knew that the Australian government would become the first source of Dracula news in 2019! I'm not sure about their rating system and its "mild impact" violence assessment, however: when I play these games, the violence instilled by *my* whip has HIGH IMPACT

I was going to ask everyone to picture their ideal entries, but this being modern Konami, I concluded instead that there will be a very special bonus if they select the worst possible ports available for every game. Please look forward to a new collection containing:

1. Nocturne/SOTN - Saturn edition
2. Rondo - laggy PSP 2D version and/or Dracula XX just to spite you
3. Akumajou Dracula/"I" - arcade version "Haunted Castle"
4. Akumajou Densetsu/"III" - US downgraded version
5. Vampire Killer/Bloodlines - Just kidding, Konami will never release this again





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"Re(2):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Thu 14 Mar 14:23post reply

quote:
Who knew that the Australian government would become the first source of Dracula news in 2019! I'm not sure about their rating system and its "mild impact" violence assessment, however: when I play these games, the violence instilled by *my* whip has HIGH IMPACT

I was going to ask everyone to picture their ideal entries, but this being modern Konami, I concluded instead that there will be a very special bonus if they select the worst possible ports available for every game. Please look forward to a new collection containing:

1. Nocturne/SOTN - Saturn edition
2. Rondo - laggy PSP 2D version and/or Dracula XX just to spite you
3. Akumajou Dracula/"I" - arcade version "Haunted Castle"
4. Akumajou Densetsu/"III" - US downgraded version
5. Vampire Killer/Bloodlines - Just kidding, Konami will never release this again



Let's not forget, the nonsensical villager dialogue in CV2's USA release on the NES!
The music in that version I found weirdly creepier, though, because the different midi set compared to the Famicom meant it sounded different!







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"Re(2):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Thu 14 Mar 20:28post reply

I'd love to make a stupid list with the likes of Judgement and some iPhone-only spinoff, but more realistically, it will probably be 1+2+3 or Lord of Shadows HD 1 + 1,5 + 2.

Both with terrible emulation.







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"Re(3):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Thu 14 Mar 23:23post reply

quote:
I'd love to make a stupid list with the likes of Judgement and some iPhone-only spinoff, but more realistically, it will probably be 1+2+3 or Lord of Shadows HD 1 + 1,5 + 2.

Both with terrible emulation.


You know what would be worse?

They're all emulations of a pachinko version of said games.







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"Re(4):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Fri 15 Mar 00:15post reply

quote:
Judgement and some iPhone-only spinoff
Lord of Shadows HD 1 + 1,5 + 2.
emulations of a pachinko

what we need is the “erotic violence”

Your collections all made me laugh, but the pachinko-slot games (now a “trilogy” if we consider them actual works) WOULD finally be a new experience, I guess!





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"Re(5):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Fri 15 Mar 03:22post reply

quote:
Judgement and some iPhone-only spinoff
Lord of Shadows HD 1 + 1,5 + 2.
emulations of a pachinko
what we need is the “erotic violence”

Your collections all made me laugh, but the pachinko-slot games (now a “trilogy” if we consider them actual works) WOULD finally be a new experience, I guess!



They should double down on fan despair and make it the Lord of Shadows pachislot





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"13 Sentinels and more" , posted Fri 15 Mar 07:28post reply

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a visual novel.

Also a teaser/trailer for a new mysterious Vanillaware project was released, they will disclose more info after the release of 13 Sentinels.







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"Re(1):Castlevania just keeps getting resurrec" , posted Wed 20 Mar 11:54post reply

It's official: Konami Anniversary Collection coming out to all platforms! Finally Symphony of the Night on Nintendo.







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"Re(2):Castlevania just keeps getting staked" , posted Wed 20 Mar 12:57post reply

quote:
Finally Symphony of the Night on Nintendo.
Don't count your chips yet! While the logical final four entries would be Nocturne/SOTN, Rondo, Vampire Killer/Bloodlines, and Minuet/Aria, the entirely illogical inclusion of the second Game Boy game (!?!?!) shows that there's an equally likely chance of the tragic but extremely funny selection of Lament of Innocence, Dracula XX, Concerto/Harmony of Dissonance, and Judgment.

This actually fits with their "classics that defined the series" tagline, you know: Lament defined how to fail to upstage the DMC series that borrowed your own Dracula in 3D aesthetic; Dracula XX defined how not to design a port, a 2D Dracula game, or a last-generation SFC game in 1995; Concerto defined how not to design a Metroidvania or a soundtrack in any way, shape, or fashion; and Judgment defined for the fans exactly how intelligent Konami deemed them.

Even if it's bad for games preservation, I do appreciate how Konami will almost certainly continue their own Nintendo-will-never-release-Mother-3-in-English joke by ensuring that Vampire Killer is never, ever available anywhere, ever again.





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"Re(3):Castlevania just keeps getting staked" , posted Wed 20 Mar 13:11post reply

quote:
Finally Symphony of the Night on Nintendo. Don't count your chips yet! While the logical final four entries would be Nocturne/SOTN, Rondo, Vampire Killer/Bloodlines, and Minuet/Aria, the entirely illogical inclusion of the second Game Boy game (!?!?!) shows that there's an equally likely chance of the tragic but extremely funny selection of Lament of Innocence, Dracula XX, Concerto/Harmony of Dissonance, and Judgment.

This actually fits with their "classics that defined the series" tagline, you know: Lament defined how to fail to upstage the DMC series that borrowed your own Dracula in 3D aesthetic; Dracula XX defined how not to design a port, a 2D Dracula game, or a last-generation SFC game in 1995; Concerto defined how not to design a Metroidvania or a soundtrack in any way, shape, or fashion; and Judgment defined for the fans exactly how intelligent Konami deemed them.

Even if it's bad for games preservation, I do appreciate how Konami will almost certainly continue their own Nintendo-will-never-release-Mother-3-in-English joke by ensuring that Vampire Killer is never, ever available anywhere, ever again.



I think the real proof that Konami hates its customers and is evil and abusive is that they want to make us pay for Haunted Castle as it is one of the games in the Arcade Classics collection.





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"Re(4):Castlevania just keeps getting staked" , posted Thu 21 Mar 04:52post reply

quote:
Finally Symphony of the Night on Nintendo. Don't count your chips yet! While the logical final four entries would be Nocturne/SOTN, Rondo, Vampire Killer/Bloodlines, and Minuet/Aria, the entirely illogical inclusion of the second Game Boy game (!?!?!) shows that there's an equally likely chance of the tragic but extremely funny selection of Lament of Innocence, Dracula XX, Concerto/Harmony of Dissonance, and Judgment.

This actually fits with their "classics that defined the series" tagline, you know: Lament defined how to fail to upstage the DMC series that borrowed your own Dracula in 3D aesthetic; Dracula XX defined how not to design a port, a 2D Dracula game, or a last-generation SFC game in 1995; Concerto defined how not to design a Metroidvania or a soundtrack in any way, shape, or fashion; and Judgment defined for the fans exactly how intelligent Konami deemed them.

Even if it's bad for games preservation, I do appreciate how Konami will almost certainly continue their own Nintendo-will-never-release-Mother-3-in-English joke by ensuring that Vampire Killer is never, ever available anywhere, ever again.


I think the real proof that Konami hates its customers and is evil and abusive is that they want to make us pay for Haunted Castle as it is one of the games in the Arcade Classics collection.



Am I the only person that enjoyed Lament of Innocence? I wouldn't expect anyone to say it's their favorite Castlevania, but it's a far cry from the awful 3D Castlevanias on Nintendo 64. Sure, it's short and the map isn't incredibly sophisticated, but the gameplay is competent (even if it's derivative and not-too-deep they did have a decent 'perfect guard' mechanic). It's pretty enough for a PS2 game, with some nice lighting and colors, and you can unlock the main villain and play through again with a different move set.

And I liked a lot of the soundtrack! Some weird and not-so-great tunes that lean way too hard into electronica, but it sometimes works pretty well.





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"Re(3):Cuphead just keeps getting resurrected" , posted Thu 21 Mar 13:29:post reply

quote:
Don't count your chips yet!...


Never say never! Nothing's impossible...

I could see the covering up to Rondo for the first Castlevania collection to signify the Classicvania era, while leaving the Metroidvania era as another installment.





[this message was edited by sfried on Thu 21 Mar 13:31]



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"Re(4):Mosquiton of Innocence" , posted Thu 21 Mar 13:53post reply

quote:
Lament of Innocence
Actually, I have no particular beef with this game...I never played it, and I'm not sure many other people did, either! It's probably totally fine, just an ironically "defining moment in the series" where it became clear that not only did Konami not know how to sell its Metroidvanias in Japan, it also had no idea how to recreate the flash and fun of Capcom's DMC not-quite-Dracula series that had completely stolen from and upstaged it. On the other hand, things might've been different if it had the N64 version's motorcycle skeletons...
quote:
I think the real proof that Konami hates its customers and is evil and abusive is that they want to make us pay for Haunted Castle as it is one of the games in the Arcade Classics collection.

The funniest part is that in a website full of hilarious and elaborate 1980s America styled descriptions of each game, literally all they could find to say about the game was "The arcade version of Castlevania which bewitched the fans with its haunting graphics."
quote:
I could see the covering up to Rondo for the first Castlevania collection to signify the Classicvania era, while leaving the Metroidvania era as another installment.
Watch out! Konami Dracula has spies all over the world who are plotting the newest ways to make you suffer. As punishment for your misplaced hope you shall instead have in the final four slots: the first Game Boy game, Circle of the Moon, N64 Dracula, and of course the arcade version.





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"Re(5):Castlevania just keeps getting staked" , posted Thu 21 Mar 22:03post reply

quote:
Finally Symphony of the Night on Nintendo. Don't count your chips yet! While the logical final four entries would be Nocturne/SOTN, Rondo, Vampire Killer/Bloodlines, and Minuet/Aria, the entirely illogical inclusion of the second Game Boy game (!?!?!) shows that there's an equally likely chance of the tragic but extremely funny selection of Lament of Innocence, Dracula XX, Concerto/Harmony of Dissonance, and Judgment.

This actually fits with their "classics that defined the series" tagline, you know: Lament defined how to fail to upstage the DMC series that borrowed your own Dracula in 3D aesthetic; Dracula XX defined how not to design a port, a 2D Dracula game, or a last-generation SFC game in 1995; Concerto defined how not to design a Metroidvania or a soundtrack in any way, shape, or fashion; and Judgment defined for the fans exactly how intelligent Konami deemed them.

Even if it's bad for games preservation, I do appreciate how Konami will almost certainly continue their own Nintendo-will-never-release-Mother-3-in-English joke by ensuring that Vampire Killer is never, ever available anywhere, ever again.


I think the real proof that Konami hates its customers and is evil and abusive is that they want to make us pay for Haunted Castle as it is one of the games in the Arcade Classics collection.


Am I the only person that enjoyed Lament of Innocence? I

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


Well, it was great to start, but got repetitive in both combat and level design. However, music kept me playing. So I decided to weigh it out.





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"Re(4):Cuphead just keeps getting resurrected" , posted Fri 22 Mar 00:17post reply

quote:
I could see the covering up to Rondo for the first Castlevania collection to signify the Classicvania era, while leaving the Metroidvania era as another installment.

Actually, that could work.
1, 2, 3, Super, Rondo, the Megadrive one, and the WiiWare one.

They already went so far as to put the GB thing in a compilation. They will not hesitate to port all the GBA games together on HD console with ugly filters to call it a day. Probably the DS ones will require too much work.





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"New streets of rage 4 gameplay footage" , posted Wed 27 Mar 12:10post reply

If my ears are correct, doesn't sound like Yuzo Koshiro music!
Footage





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"Re(1):New streets of rage 4 gameplay footage" , posted Thu 28 Mar 01:57post reply

quote:
If my ears are correct, doesn't sound like Yuzo Koshiro music!
Footage



He can't point out details until the time is right. That's what he tweeted basically.





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"Re(2):New streets of rage 4 gameplay footage" , posted Thu 28 Mar 22:47post reply

quote:
If my ears are correct, doesn't sound like Yuzo Koshiro music!
Footage


He can't point out details until the time is right. That's what he tweeted basically.



It doesn't, indeed, but I like this music anyway. It kinda sounds like a 16-bits game soundtrack (in a good way). But I do hope this track isn't the best they have to offer.

At the end, there are two silhouettes behind Axel and Blaze... can we assume there will be two other playable characters? I hope so (I mean, even the first SoR had more than two characters).

Speaking of that, it would be sweet if this game allowed more than two players, like the good old X-Men and The Simpsons arcade games...





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"Devil May Cry 5 ramblings" , posted Fri 29 Mar 11:53post reply

I got Devil May Cry 5 the other week and was able to play through Devil Hunter (normal) and Son of Sparda (hard) fairly quickly. I was even able to go through Human (easy) to clean up blue orbs, secret missions, and easily get the “get S rank in all missions” trophy.

After typing this all up I am sorry for its length, but is pretty much all my thoughts on the game.

My first thought was how easy I found the game on normal and hard. I am no DMC expert, but nothing was too frustrating; I was reminded how I found Bayonetta 2 much easier than Bayonetta 1. Even the secret missions felt very easy. Part of that is due to the fact that the game is very generous with gold orbs (continues). They are sprinkled throughout the game and you are given a gold orb every day for logging in. Other people can gift you gold orbs by rating your performance as “stylish” (more on that later). I didn’t feel compelled to play it safe on a few bosses due to the over abundance of gold orbs so I would just power through with no concern for rating. I have 30 Gold Orbs on my game now. I think over the last 16 years I have been playing DMC I have had 30 Gold Orbs on hand in total across the various games. In addition to gold orbs, you can buy continues with red orbs, but the cost increases with each continue per level, but the cost will reset when you go to a new mission. Another interesting change is that you can no longer buy green stars to manually refill your life during the game. You can still come across green orbs on stages and Nero has an item that can manually give him health.

The second thing I noticed was that the game felt really short. The first couple of stages are linear tutorial levels and 3 or 4 stages are just boss fights. That is part of the reason I was able to go through the game 3.5 times in a short period of time.

The stages themselves were uninspired overall with a smattering of interesting ideas. The early stages have an abandoned city overrun with demon roots and human husks, but that is not fully fleshed out. The later part of the game is generic “demonic hallways.” I know this genre breaks down to “hallways to battle arenas,” but I would have liked to have seen some more personality, especially in the later part of the game. By and large the stages are extremely linear with almost no puzzles like in earlier DMC games. The closest thing to a consistent puzzle is grabbing hatchlings to dissolve demonic roots. Finding the hatchling is almost never a challenge. There are one or two segments of the game where Nero needs to use his wire snatch to traverse the level. One interesting thing that isn’t expanded on is that Nero needs to use his rocket arm to traverse up an incline in order to reach a secret mission and blue orb. I would have liked to have seen that a few more times with some of the different arms. Like, he would need to use his time control arm to freeze platforms that move too quickly or something else creative. V can access secret routes by summoning his devil trigger which will knock through certain walls. However, there are few of those. I would have liked to have seen V and Nero get a couple more unique stages to flesh out those possibilities.

As for the characters themselves, they play great for the most part (I have some issues with V). Nero’s main change is of course his devil breaker arms. Each one is very unique which adds a whole new level of depth to his gameplay. By not allowing the player to switch arms at will like with Dante’s weapons you have to learn the intricacies of your currently equipped arm or just destroy it manually for a decent amount of damage to equip an arm you are more familiar with. Dante’s styles are fairly unchanged from his DMC4 set. It feels like Royal Guard is more forgiving now, or maybe I am just more used to it. His new weapons each have a unique feel that makes every encounter fresh if you choose to mix it up. V is an interesting concept, but could have been given a bit more to work with. The character itself seemed interesting on first glance; the weak guy who needed a cane to get around and had to use summons to fight. On the prologue stage you see V ride away on a black mist and I thought that would be how he would get around in general, but when you get to play as V, he walks and jumps like a regular character and the black mist he rides is his dash you need to purchase. V’s combat is pretty tricky as you are controlling Griffon and Shadow simultaneously and if you aren’t paying attention to your movement, you might input a special attack by mistake. For example, if you walk back while holding R1 to target an enemy that is far away and press Griffon you will summon Griffon back to you to do his sphere attack. If you double jump Griffon is summoned back to you and if you dodge Shadow is summoned back to you as he is the black mist you ride. Griffon and Shadow can be made to do attacks by themselves at the cost of Devil Trigger gauge which is a good tactic on earlier difficulties, but I am unsure how that would work on harder modes. The devil trigger summon, Nightmare, will attack by itself, but you can also ride it and control its specific attacks. However, since it is so slow I just let it do its own thing. V’s style gauge is also very lax. I got my first “SSS” combo with him and I feel like I was just mashing.

There is a light online co-op feature that happens in a handful of stages where you MIGHT see another character controlled by another player. For the most part you will see them in a background as some stages run parallel to each other in the story. In one specific mission you can possibly play with the character in the same stages. At the end of mission you can rate the player’s performance as stylish to reward them with a gold orb. It has been speculated that this feature will transfer over to bloody palace much like what Bayonetta 2 did.

Overall, I really liked the game and is most definitely worth a rental if that is still viable for you. I probably should have held off until the game was $30. It is great to see a lot of the more experienced players really go into the mechanics and do great stuff with the dodging and parry systems. I wish the story was fleshed out a bit more too, but that has been a problem with the mainline DMC series since day 1. You get an intro that sets up the concept, a revelation in the middle, a resolution at the end. Between those three points the main character has banter with boss battles between those three points usually to get new weapons. There are a couple more things in DMC5, but not much to really expand of the characters.







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"Re(1):Devil May Cry 5 ramblings" , posted Sat 30 Mar 09:41post reply

Thanks for the write-up on DMC5! At some point I'm going to have to give the game a try since the action looks too entertaining to pass up.

The orb system in DMC has always felt to me like something left over from it's initial development as an RE game. There has to be some penalty for getting killed but the miserly way it handed out gold orbs felt like something more suited for a survival horror game. Since the series has developed into being about doing combination attacks while doing handstands and other ridiculousness it seems odd that it is still using such a rough progression system. I guess the developers feel the same way and have given up and simply starting handing out gold orbs as login bonuses.

Come to think of it, has there ever been a good puzzle in DMC? When I think back on the sections that were designed to break up the combat I can't think of one that was truly memorable. It's a shame to hear that DMC5 mostly turns into an exercise in running from one similar environment to another. But if it means none of the characters have to climb into a turret like poor Bayonetta it may be a blessing.







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"Re: MegaDrive Mini by M2! Yuzo Koshiro menu" , posted Sat 30 Mar 21:47:post reply

https://sega.jp/mdmini/

40 games. M2 handling port. Yuzo Koshiro making menu music?

Edit: Forgot to mention, includes Castlevania: Bloodlines!





[this message was edited by sfried on Sat 30 Mar 21:52]



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"Re(1):Re: MegaDrive Mini by M2! Yuzo Koshiro " , posted Sat 30 Mar 22:29post reply

M2 on emulation?! HOT HOT HOT

And with 40 titles instead of 20ish, Sega goes the extra mile, in their scrappy way, just like they always did in their console days.
quote:
Forgot to mention, includes Castlevania: Bloodlines!

Amazing! Official advertising copy: “Konami still hates you, but we don’t!”

I am sorry about the likely lack of Mega CD games since the glorious but expensive era of NEC and Sega add-ons is the least preserved. I’d buy 8 copies of this thing if it contained Lunar and especially the superior original version of Lunar 2, Popful Mail, Shining Force CD, Sonic CD, Keio Flying Squadron, and of course TIME GAL.





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"Re(2):Re: MegaDrive Mini by M2! Yuzo Koshiro" , posted Sat 30 Mar 23:18:post reply

Segata Sanshiro himself sings his theme on-stage

quote:
M2 on emulation?! HOT HOT HOT

And with 40 titles instead of 20ish, Sega goes the extra mile, in their scrappy way, just like they always did in their console days. Forgot to mention, includes Castlevania: Bloodlines!
Amazing! Official advertising copy: “Konami still hates you, but we don’t!”

I am sorry about the likely lack of Mega CD games since the glorious but expensive era of NEC and Sega add-ons is the least preserved. I’d buy 8 copies of this thing if it contained Lunar and especially the superior original version of Lunar 2, Popful Mail, Shining Force CD, Sonic CD, Keio Flying Squadron, and of course TIME GAL.


Well, for Sega-CD, there's always the Analogue Mega SG to fill that niche, which uses FPGA.





[this message was edited by sfried on Sat 30 Mar 23:22]



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"Re(3):Re: MegaDrive Mini by M2! Yuzo Koshiro" , posted Sat 30 Mar 23:55:post reply

quote:
Segata Sanshiro himself sings his theme on-stage
Further proof that whether it was the MCD, the arcade-perfect Saturn RAM cart, or the first modem-equipped system, Sega was too advancd for its time and too good for this world.
quote:
Well, for Sega-CD, there's always the Analogue Mega SG to fill that niche, which uses FPGA.

True, but like 8Bitdo's system, it involves hooking up your retro console to the original hulking MCD, which not only looks really stupid, but also involves using the original discs. I just want a MCD and PCE Duo-only CD mini system!
quote:
Come to think of it, has there ever been a good puzzle in DMC?
That one time I accidentally played through DMC1, I mostly remember orbs gravitating towards me and running like a bat out of hell through the world's simplest dungeons. The biggest puzzle was when the Magma Spider would appear again. I enjoyed Gekiganger's review!





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 Sun 31 Mar 01:53]



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"Re(1):Devil May Cry 5 ramblings" , posted Sun 31 Mar 06:49post reply

quote:

My first thought was how easy I found the game on normal and hard. I am no DMC expert, but nothing was too frustrating; I was reminded how I found Bayonetta 2 much easier than Bayonetta 1. Even the secret missions felt very easy.


One of the really curious differences between Bayo 1 and 2 is just how much harder the little bonus fight portals were in Bayo 1. Bayo 1 had fights with crazy restrictions like how many times you could attack in the fight, never touching the ground, etc. and the difficulty level of these wasn't really matched in any way by their counterpart in Bayo 2. I don't feel like it's because I was a dramatically better player of the game in Bayo 2, either! The mission requirements just weren't as exacting!

I also think that no DMC game will ever be as hard as DMC3's initial North American release, which started you off at the Hard difficulty of the japanese version, and if you game overed a few times and agreed to tone down the difficulty... it merely brought it down to DMC3 japanese normal difficulty!

I do think it's a bit of an interesting question about how "hard" a game such as this ought to be. If it's really difficult, the average player will never get the chance to feel that cool playing the game because they are struggling to survive. If it's too easy or the game is too generous with its continue mechanic, players like me who aren't really into the score attack feel like we can't "continue" without trivializing the game. Give me my limited lives and checkpoint continues!

quote:
good puzzles in DMC


Sometimes I think where the RE roots of DMC really show aren't in the attempts at a stat progression system (which would be executed much better in Onimusha, however similar their design is!), but in the nonsensical puzzles that largely consist of bringing an odd engraving into an odd socket.







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"Re(1):Re: MegaDrive Mini by M2! Yuzo Koshiro " , posted Wed 3 Apr 01:58post reply

quote:
https://sega.jp/mdmini/

40 games. M2 handling port. Yuzo Koshiro making menu music?

Edit: Forgot to mention, includes Castlevania: Bloodlines!


This looks cool but why does the Japanese version have the six button controller and the international version feature three buttons? Do any of the included games make use of the six button controller?







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"Daigyakuten Saiban The Englishing" , posted Wed 3 Apr 17:47:post reply

Great news for anyone who can't read Japanese: the fan translation of Daigyakuten Saiban is now complete.

https://scarletstudy.gq/

First Investigations 2, now this. And apparently DGS2 is coming soon as well. I never thought I'd see the day when an organization of fans could just churn out complete translations of text-based games within a couple of years. Just shows how dedicated the GS community is and how grassroots the game dev process has become.





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"Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akiman" , posted Sat 6 Apr 14:45post reply

Speaking of great series deserving a more consistent global release schedule, Fuurai No Shiren is now available for your (Japanese) phone for all your brutal roguelike Mystery Dungeon needs. Yeah, it's based on the slightly inferior DS port rather than the glorious SFC original, but the port's Akiman art is highly relevant to Cafe patrons, plus most people here gleefully seek out the abuse meted out by Sekiro and other From Software games already.

Jeremy Parish makes a good case for the series.

Look, Fuurai is so great that I'm literally replaying the SFC version now while simultaneously playing the DS version which I don't even like as much!





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"Re(1):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Sat 6 Apr 23:33post reply

quote:
Jeremy Parish makes a good case for the series.


I don't know how I feel about that article when it starts with: "Like all proper roguelike, Shiren has no interest in petty human notions of "fairness." It does not play fair, and it makes no apologies for its harshness."

What he probably considers "proper roguelike" were concerned with playing fair. "Losing all the progress you've made in a hours-long dungeon run to a stroke of bad luck" was often considered bad design within the Roguelike community. (Allowances were made for Rogue itself, which was short and simple and indeed unfair.) The bit that humans tended to miss what that a lot of what they'd in their frustration call a "bad luck" death was realistically avoidable if not directly their own fault. Though some might argue that devs were sometimes a bit unfair in what they considered "fair".

This was lost a bit with Roguelites, as their lack of true permadeath meant you didn't necessarily lose everything, and thus carried benefits into the start of your next run. Chunsoft took this even further with games that were designed to gradually unlock additional content through the mechanic of player deaths.







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"Re(2):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Sun 7 Apr 13:02:post reply

Hmmm, maybe instead of "unfair," it would be better to say "unkind." A game like Fuurai is predictable and "fair" in that a given floor and its monsters will always follow the same rules, and that when things go badly, it's either player error or a particularly unlucky set of monster and trap layouts all lining up at once. But I think you can see from the article that what he's getting at is that roguelikes can be gloriously cruel in a thrilling way based on their irreversible nature and the unpredictable exact arrangement of floors. I think this is still in the realm of both "bad luck" and "fairness" based on a floor's set parameters.

I haven't played a lot of other roguelikes because Fuurai is the only roguelike and the only game I will ever need, but I do think it strikes a nice balance between the pure roguelike's utter destruction of experience and inventory when you die, and a gradually more accomodating world resulting from helping NPCs who help you in towns in later runs.





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 Sun 7 Apr 14:58]

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"Teens, stuffed bears (and rabbit), pink blood" , posted Wed 10 Apr 01:17post reply

Not really news, but I nearly forgot that the Danganronpa Trilogy bundle would be released last month... and I LOVE its cover!

At first, I was going to complain that Makoto is placed in the center when Kaede is MUCH more interesting than he is (and Hajime is cooler as well), but then I remembered that the real protagonist in the DR franchise is Monokuma (who is also in the center) and it wouldn't make sense to pair Makoto with Monomi or the Monokubs, so... yeah.

There's a rumor that this bundle may be released for the Switch later this year. I'm already crossing my fingers!





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"Re(3):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Wed 10 Apr 04:43post reply

quote:
Hmmm, maybe instead of "unfair," it would be better to say "unkind." A game like Fuurai is predictable and "fair" in that a given floor and its monsters will always follow the same rules, and that when things go badly, it's either player error or a particularly unlucky set of monster and trap layouts all lining up at once. But I think you can see from the article that what he's getting at is that roguelikes can be gloriously cruel in a thrilling way based on their irreversible nature and the unpredictable exact arrangement of floors. I think this is still in the realm of both "bad luck" and "fairness" based on a floor's set parameters.

I haven't played a lot of other roguelikes because Fuurai is the only roguelike and the only game I will ever need, but I do think it strikes a nice balance between the pure roguelike's utter destruction of experience and inventory when you die, and a gradually more accomodating world resulting from helping NPCs who help you in towns in later runs.



I do think that the rescue code feature of the DS version of Shiren is really cool, though!

One of the aspects of "fairness" I think is the perception of justified punishment: when you get into a situation where failure is insurmountable due to circumstances out of your control (e.g. super unlucky trap + monster placement combined with inadequate tools when you entered), it feels unjustified to receive the same extremely harsh punishment as when you failed at something that was within your means. While that can be entirely true of real life and somewhat fits within the worldview of the game, it can definitely feel annoying and make it feel like the game wasted your time by randomly deciding that your run just ends NOW, when the game otherwise is so strongly about you learning how to overcome the obstacles before you with the rules that the game has. There's a fine line between "even experienced wanderers can face unexpected defeat" and "experience is irrelevant HAHA YOU DIED" in terms of atmosphere, and it's one which any randomly generated game has to reconcile in some way.

In the worst case, the roguelike just feels like a slot machine, which enters a level of nihilism that makes you feel as though the game is not worth experiencing at all, and that overwhelmingly undermines any other feeling/message/experience the roguelike could possibly convey.





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"Re(4):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Wed 10 Apr 13:58post reply

I love Furai! But I do kind of churn out of the games after about 8-10 hours without really getting that close to the end. I wonder if that's common? I feel like the game isn't as much of an escape as it is an acceptance... sometimes no matter how much you prepare, you're not ready.

Also I'm on Danganronpa 3 right now and I just finished the 3rd act... still waiting for the jump the shark moment... please come soon :)







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"Re(5):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Wed 10 Apr 16:05post reply

quote:
I do think that the rescue code feature of the DS version of Shiren is really cool, though!
It's true! The balance and item placement are all out of whack in the DS version, but the rescues were tons of fun. I went on a lot of Fuurai boards and traded rescue codes, sometimes heroically saving others (but usually dying instead). It's way easier to exchange info on the smart phone versions, and there are legions of helpful rescuers on the otherwise useless twitter, too!
quote:
One of the aspects of "fairness" I think is the perception of justified punishment: when you get into a situation where failure is insurmountable due to circumstances out of your control (e.g. super unlucky trap + monster placement combined with inadequate tools when you entered), it feels unjustified to receive the same extremely harsh punishment as when you failed at something that was within your means.

I think what keeps this particular one mostly fair is that since the monsters on a given floor are always the same, you know which are "bad floors" and can plan accordingly for them, and thus don't feel cheated when encountering a particularly dangerous mix that seems like a fact of life on those floors...I feel more like a sheepish, thrill-seeking bank robber who inevitably got caught. Only the occasional Monster Houses and rust traps truly annoy me.
quote:
sometimes no matter how much you prepare, you're not ready.
Not if you're completely crazy (hello!) and do entire sacrificial runs with the plan of gathering good swords and shields to leave in warehouses to later weld together into the ultimate equipment, leaving yourself literally empty-handed and facing certain doom once you've made the drop-off.





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"Re(5):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Wed 10 Apr 20:59post reply

quote:
Also I'm on Danganronpa 3 right now and I just finished the 3rd act... still waiting for the jump the shark moment... please come soon :)



You mean the anime or the third game (Danganronpa V3)? If it's the former, sorry to say that its plot twists are quite frustrating (and they kinda ruin one major plot point of the second game). If it's the latter, you'll either find the main twists the most brilliant idea ever or the most stupid one (personally, I thought they were brilliant).





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"Re(6):Re:Daigyakuten meets Shiren meets Akima" , posted Thu 11 Apr 11:42post reply

quote:
I think what keeps this particular one mostly fair is that since the monsters on a given floor are always the same, you know which are "bad floors" and can plan accordingly for them, and thus don't feel cheated when encountering a particularly dangerous mix that seems like a fact of life on those floors...I feel more like a sheepish, thrill-seeking bank robber who inevitably got caught. Only the occasional Monster Houses and rust traps truly annoy me.


First off, what an incredible article. Thanks for sharing.

I try my best to balance leveling up Shiren and avoiding death, but I feel like you really have to ride that edge hard to be strong enough to survive... especially when the sun sets on the later levels and I'm left shivering in a corner as things go bump in the night. I should give it another go but so far, once I get to the crazy day/night levels I usually get destroyed.

quote:
You mean the anime or the third game (Danganronpa V3)? If it's the former, sorry to say that its plot twists are quite frustrating (and they kinda ruin one major plot point of the second game). If it's the latter, you'll either find the main twists the most brilliant idea ever or the most stupid one (personally, I thought they were brilliant).



I haven't watched any of the anime, I'm on the 3rd game. Your words truly excite me! :)

I like silly Metal Gear Solid style twists so as long as it's ridiculous enough I'll probably enjoy it!





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"what a wonderful day to have a blessing" , posted Fri 12 Apr 08:29:post reply

Shamelessly stolen from reddit, because all threads lead to Dracula and this made my day:
https://happyvania.bandcamp.com/track/water-park

edit: new favorite
https://happyvania.bandcamp.com/track/heartfelt-fire





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[this message was edited by Ungenesis on Fri 12 Apr 08:34]



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"Re(1):what a wonderful day to have a blessing" , posted Fri 12 Apr 15:30post reply

quote:
Shamelessly stolen from reddit, because all threads lead to Dracula and this made my day:
https://happyvania.bandcamp.com/track/water-park

edit: new favorite
https://happyvania.bandcamp.com/track/heartfelt-fire



I can't tell from the song names, but is there a major key version of the "what a horrible night to have a curse" song? Because when I first heard that song on the NES version decades ago, I found it made me really scared and I wanted to stop playing the game!

Of course years and years later, it's just a really cool song now, and I still enjoy comparing the difference in how the FDS and NES version sound!





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"Re(2):what a wonderful day to have a blessing" , posted Sat 13 Apr 06:34post reply

This one?

https://happyvania.bandcamp.com/track/frankenstein-shuffle





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"Re(3):what a wonderful day to have a Fuurai" , posted Sat 13 Apr 07:01:post reply

I love that smiling Simon and grinned with him throughout Heartfelt Fire!

Is this the good ending where Dracula heeds Alucard's words to be kind at the end of Nocturne before blowing up?!?!?

Fuurai No Ktallguy, The Old Man and the Gun was also made into a mellow, pretty Robert Redford movie that was chillllll enough to feel more like a Japanese production than an American one. As for things that go bump in the night, you must be playing 4 or 5? Friends and I always viewed later Fuurai games with suspicion since most changes seemed pointless and bad, but the dangerous night cycle reminds me of the thrill of early point-and-click PC adventure RPGs or Dracula II (everything relates to Dracula). How do you like it?





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[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 13 Apr 11:41]

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"Capcom UK hinting at something (AvP footage)" , posted Tue 16 Apr 00:38post reply

Link Here

Looks like a possible arcade package. Got some Darkstalkers, Shoot em ups, SF2 and AvP out of nowhere. It would be great to finally have AvP at home to play (outside of an emulator).

quote:
Thanks for the write-up on DMC5! At some point I'm going to have to give the game a try since the action looks too entertaining to pass up.

The orb system in DMC has always felt to me like something left over from it's initial development as an RE game. There has to be some penalty for getting killed but the miserly way it handed out gold orbs felt like something more suited for a survival horror game. Since the series has developed into being about doing combination attacks while doing handstands and other ridiculousness it seems odd that it is still using such a rough progression system. I guess the developers feel the same way and have given up and simply starting handing out gold orbs as login bonuses.

Come to think of it, has there ever been a good puzzle in DMC? When I think back on the sections that were designed to break up the combat I can't think of one that was truly memorable. It's a shame to hear that DMC5 mostly turns into an exercise in running from one similar environment to another. But if it means none of the characters have to climb into a turret like poor Bayonetta it may be a blessing.



In the long run, I really don't mind that continues are easier to get in DMC, maybe they could just do the point penalty and leave it at that and not have the player waster red orbs on continues.

I recently replayed DMC 1 and realized "puzzles" usually just amount to you hitting that wall dial to get something going and are on a time limit. Which made me realize that there are NO wall dials in DMC5. I think a first for the mainline series. Every now and then there is a "pay attention to which path you need to take or you will restart" puzzle. Follow in floating light in DMC1 and follow the light source of the shadows in DMC4. Puzzles overall are a fluff piece in DMC that really just drag the game to a crawl if you don't know what you are looking for.

quote:

I also think that no DMC game will ever be as hard as DMC3's initial North American release, which started you off at the Hard difficulty of the japanese version, and if you game overed a few times and agreed to tone down the difficulty... it merely brought it down to DMC3 japanese normal difficulty!

I do think it's a bit of an interesting question about how "hard" a game such as this ought to be. If it's really difficult, the average player will never get the chance to feel that cool playing the game because they are struggling to survive. If it's too easy or the game is too generous with its continue mechanic, players like me who aren't really into the score attack feel like we can't "continue" without trivializing the game. Give me my limited lives and checkpoint continues!


Speaking of difficulty, I replayed DMC1 after 5 since I knew V referenced several bosses from that game and was surprised how easy I found it. I even made it harder for myself so I could get the "no continues" trophy. When I was in high school I remember Phantom making me so frustrated and that was the first REAL encounter in the game. Outside of the Nightmare fights (which are only hard because the fixed camera angle can obscure his weak point) the hardest enemies are the Death Scythe enemies.







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"Re(1):Capcom UK hinting at something (awful)" , posted Tue 16 Apr 23:19post reply

quote:
Link Here

Looks like a possible arcade package. Got some Darkstalkers, Shoot em ups, SF2 and AvP out of nowhere. It would be great to finally have AvP at home to play (outside of an emulator).


£230 for this piece of crap? This thing is as goofy as that itty-bitty NeoGeo cabinet but at least that system could be easily ignored since it didn't contain the exclusive home release of an arcade classic like AvP.





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"Re(1):Capcom UK hinting at something (AvP foo" , posted Tue 16 Apr 23:20post reply

quote:
Link Here

Looks like a possible arcade package. Got some Darkstalkers, Shoot em ups, SF2 and AvP out of nowhere. It would be great to finally have AvP at home to play (outside of an emulator).



It's this thing here

quote:
Featuring a pair of competition class Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT sticks with 8-way GT-Y directional gates and OBSF buttons for the finest precision, response times and durability.The 16 pre-installed games are from the original Capcom CPS1 and CPS2 arcade ROMs with emulation provided by FB Alpha, delivering an authentic & accurate arcade experience exclusively for the Capcom Home Arcade.

Break some high scores in single player, team up with a friend in co-op multiplayer or destroy them in a head-to-head battle. Then upload your best scores via the Capcom Home Arcade's onboard WiFi to a Worldwide High Score Leaderboard to see how you match up against other players across the glob


It's really ugly and will cost a lot of money (€229)





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"Re(2):Capcom UK hinting at something (AvP foo" , posted Wed 17 Apr 02:11post reply

quote:


It's this thing here

It's really ugly and will cost a lot of money (€229)



Wow, that thing is gonna sit on shelves for a while. I MIGHT have be interested if the stick could also be used on consoles as an arcade stick and The Punisher was also included.

If it goes down to $120 I might start paying attention.







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"Re(3):Capcom UK hinting at something (AvP foo" , posted Wed 17 Apr 05:39post reply

That game selection is baffling. Why SF2' over SSF2X? Why no SF0? Who wants to play Vampire 1 over Vampire Hunter?
16 games is so limited compared to everything they could have added... At the very least, they could have included all the games from the belt scroller compilation instead of being so stingy.

The design is so terrible there was no way to sell the thing even if it had 30 games anyway. I am utterly confused. Is this a vanity project from the licensing team at Capcom, hence AvP?

I really hope AvP and the schmups find their way to another broadly available console/PC compilation, because that would be a waste.





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"Re(4):Capcom UK hinting at something (AvP foo" , posted Thu 18 Apr 17:28post reply

It's a nice plasticy logo of Capcom. I do wonder if it uses Sanwa's direct-print buttons because that thing is usually on-demand print quality. At this price, hopefully they 're doing offset printing on this one. This hardware is reportedly running on Final Burn Alpha, which has been officially licensed to Capcom and there seems to be some debate over the legality since it uses various codes from third party contributors.







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"MD Mini update, Dracula: Dismal Collection" , posted Fri 19 Apr 02:40post reply

Oh! Konami took the most boring approach possible on the final Dracula collection lineup: the 3 FC ones plus Kid Dracula, the 2 GB ones, the MD one, and the SFC one. I guess I'm glad they didn't do something insulting like include Dracula XX and not Dracula X.

On the other hand, a collection is just the place to include unloved curios like the MSX and X68000 games and Dracula XX. Instead, just like Capcom's weird arcade stick console is "the thing you buy to get Alien vs. Predator," this is "the thing you buy to get MD Vampire Killer." And Kid Dracula, of course, if you are a member of the MMCafe Hard Corps.

And speaking of the Hard Corps, the Mega Drive Mini added some real champions to the lineup: Contra Hard Corps, Musha Aleste (HECK YEAH), Thunder Force III, LANDSTALKER (!!!), and Bare Knuckle II.

It's interesting to watch the Japan/US lineup diverge in the same way that the US console was wildly different and much more successful (as opposed to the US Saturn, which was wildly different in that it had no games). Ironically, the US-only games that made the biggest difference, the massive EA sports library, probably won't show up because of licensing. Less enthusiastically, the US Mini currently has Earthworm Jim, Ecco the Dolphin, Altered Beast, and Toejam and Earl, but NOT Musha Aleste, which if unaddressed would constitute as great a crime as what Sega of America did to the Saturn.





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"Re(1):MD Mini update, Dracula: Dismal Collect" , posted Fri 19 Apr 08:47post reply

quote:
Oh! Konami took the most boring approach possible on the final Dracula collection lineup: the 3 FC ones plus Kid Dracula, the 2 GB ones, the MD one, and the SFC one. I guess I'm glad they didn't do something insulting like include Dracula XX and not Dracula X.

On the other hand, a collection is just the place to include unloved curios like the MSX and X68000 games and Dracula XX. Instead, just like Capcom's weird arcade stick console is "the thing you buy to get Alien vs. Predator," this is "the thing you buy to get MD Vampire Killer." And Kid Dracula, of course, if you are a member of the MMCafe Hard Corps.

I can say here what I was reticent to say over on Tweeter since it’s so much more public: that I’m surprised that Konami didn’t add all the various Castlevania oddities because I strongly believe that there was no curation whatsoever on Konami’s part and because it’s not like they seem to be preparing for a ‘volume 2’ of this collection— otherwise they might have saved a heavy hitter like Super Castlevania. I guess it’s possible that they’re saving Rondo and SOTN for a future release? I mean, my impression of Konami these days is that they just throw a bunch of stuff on a disc and call it a day.

I don’t really have much of an opinion on the Mini MD myself, although hearing how unpopular the MD was in Japan it’s a little surprising they’re releasing the mini there at all.

Oh, and my hot take on the US Saturn is... worth a whole other thread! Maybe I’ll do it someday!





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"Re(2):MD Mini update, Dracula: Dismal Collect" , posted Fri 19 Apr 20:37post reply

The new Konami arcade collection reminded me why I can't give them money: these idiots region-lock their games even when they are 20 years old. In the same way that you can't properly buy Anubis on Steam, because the Japanese version is locked on Japanese IP and you have to go with the US version everywhere else, they region-locked the arcade roms of old their old stuff, from Haunted Castle to Life Force. Which means we probably won't be able to play Simon's Quest in Japanese (i.e. with slightly less nonsensical instructions), and the dub and text of a potential future SOTN is also unsure.
Konami.







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"Dracula meets Langrisser's ghost" , posted Mon 22 Apr 04:48post reply

quote:
these idiots region-lock their games even when they are 20 years old.
Whaaaaat?! Konami's Steam page advertises having both languages. Unbelievable. Reminds me of the excellent internet slang for the reverse region lock on Japanese Steam where overseas releases of Japanese games aren't available, "omakuni" (shortened from "it's on sale, but not in your country, jerk!").

Here's something even weirder, and in the spirit of the classic MMCafe (?) report on that time a Z-grade eroge company bought and defiled Valis with a "new release." Yep, classic strategy RPGs Langrisser I&II, known for their beautiful Urushihara Satoshi illustrations, were just released by a random company on Switch and PS4, but with unbelievably shitty replacement art, the kind of mainstream generic CG style that's been sucking since about 2000 or so.

But wait, here's what's really wild: if you buy the expensive limited edition, you get a special download code for a classic mode that removes the new art and restores the Urushihara art (!?!?!). Is this the first example of a game imitating the modern anime industry pratice of censoring a show and then making money on uncensored DVD sales?! I kind of have to admire them for how hilariously dastardly it is.





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"Re(1):Dracula meets Langrisser's ghost" , posted Mon 22 Apr 19:48post reply

quote:
these idiots region-lock their games even when they are 20 years old. Whaaaaat?! Konami's Steam page advertises having both languages. Unbelievable. Reminds me of the excellent internet slang for the reverse region lock on Japanese Steam where overseas releases of Japanese games aren't available, "omakuni" (shortened from "it's on sale, but not in your country, jerk!").

That's what the weirdly specific message added at the bottom of the page means. It was the same for Anubis.

quote:
Please note the purchases made while located in Japan will be for the Japanese version.
Purchases made while located in any other region outside Japan will be for the English version.

The Japanese version includes the following:

 悪魔城ドラキュラ
 A-JAX
 グラディウス
 グラディウスII GOFERの野望
 沙羅曼蛇
 サンダークロス
 スクランブル
 ツインビー
 Bonus Book(日本語)


The English version includes the following:

 HAUNTED CASTLE
 TYPHOON
 NEMESIS
 VULCAN VENTURE
 LIFE FORCE
 THUNDER CROSS
 Scramble
 TwinBee
 Bonus Book(English)








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"Re(2):Dracula meets Langrisser's ghost" , posted Wed 24 Apr 01:26post reply

Isn't Satoshi's art pretty much the only selling point of Langrisser? I wonder how the new artist feels knowing that their art is not designed to be seen but instead only exists as part of an elaborate con.





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"Devil came through here" , posted Thu 25 Apr 09:18post reply

I don't know if anyone else here likes adventure games, but in case anyone does, this Friday there'll be the release of Lorelai, the third entry in the Devil Came Through Here series. The previous entries, The Cat Lady and Downfall, were quite impressive.

Interestingly, while they're presented as a trilogy, the games are actually quite detached from each other, each being a tale about a different person. The common traits in them are just the Silent Hill vibes (psychological horror deriving from personal issues like depression, PTSD, anorexia and so on) and the presence of a mysterious figure known as Queen of Maggots.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, here's the suggestion.





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"Re(1):Devil came through here" , posted Fri 26 Apr 20:05post reply

quote:
I don't know if anyone else here likes adventure games, but in case anyone does, this Friday there'll be the release of Lorelai, the third entry in the Devil Came Through Here series. The previous entries, The Cat Lady and Downfall, were quite impressive.

Interestingly, while they're presented as a trilogy, the games are actually quite detached from each other, each being a tale about a different person. The common traits in them are just the Silent Hill vibes (psychological horror deriving from personal issues like depression, PTSD, anorexia and so on) and the presence of a mysterious figure known as Queen of Maggots.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, here's the suggestion.

I have The Cat Lady, I bought it at an unspecified point lost in the mids of time and past Steam Sales. I still mean to play it at some point!
Good to know there's two more games like that if I like it, AND on top of that that they're not related so I can enjoy them however I want/can.





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"Re(2):Devil came through here" , posted Fri 26 Apr 22:33post reply

quote:
I have The Cat Lady, I bought it at an unspecified point lost in the mids of time and past Steam Sales. I still mean to play it at some point!
Good to know there's two more games like that if I like it, AND on top of that that they're not related so I can enjoy them however I want/can.



Well, to be fair, the games aren't completely unrelated, but you don't need to play them in order or even play all of them. There are some links between them (we can't tell which ones for Lorelai as it will still be released, but the protagonists of The Cat Lady and Downfall live in the same building and cameo in each other's game), but the stories don't interfere in each other. It seems Lorelai will follow the same pattern (although it will apparently reveal the backstory for the Queen of Maggots, who was a mysterious being in the prévios entries).

By the way, curiously, a previous version of Downfall (with LucasArts' style graphics and a slightly different plot) was released before TCL. After TCL's success, the creator felt unsatisfied with Downfall and decided to remake it. The old version still comes with the new one as a bonus.





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"M2 does it again!" , posted Tue 30 Apr 17:26:post reply

Oh Maou...remember when you said not to count my chips yet?

Word has it M2 is not only handling Castlevania Bloodlines for the MegaDrive Mini, but now also Konami's Castlevania Classics collection as well? My pipe-dream might have just come true after all!





[this message was edited by sfried on Tue 30 Apr 17:27]



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"Re(1):M2 does it again!" , posted Tue 30 Apr 18:01post reply

quote:
Oh Maou...remember when you said not to count my chips yet?

Word has it M2 is not only handling Castlevania Bloodlines for the MegaDrive Mini, but now also Konami's Castlevania Classics collection as well? My pipe-dream might have just come true after all!

That would be fantastic if they handle the whole collection!
Now see Konami force them to add region lock because they're Konami.







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"Re(1):M2 does it again!" , posted Wed 1 May 12:47post reply

quote:
Word has it M2 is not only handling Castlevania Bloodlines for the MegaDrive Mini, but now also Konami's Castlevania Classics collection as well? My pipe-dream might have just come true after all!

Holy Shaft! I can't believe that Konami could somehow be arsed to invest in the finest emulation team in the business!

Now, if you promise to be an exceptionally good kid (Dracula), maybe uncle M2 will also show Konami how to finally do a proper port of Nocturne/SOTN.


...Seriously, if I ever meet someone who doesn't adore M2, I will fight them. Or worse, discount them into the dustbin of insufficiently Heian good taste/banishment. Did you see what they did for the Phantasy Star 1 port on Switch? They almost tricked me into buying a Master System game based on my undying adoration/guilt over not finishing their Sega Ages version of Phantasy Star II even though I really want to finally play this series.





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"Re(2):M2 does it again!" , posted Thu 2 May 04:43post reply

I just noticed that this thread has been propped up since the start of 2018. This is an old thread. In celebration of that I thought I would randomly bring up an old game.

In celebration of the release of Dragon's Dogma on the Switch I pulled out my PS4 copy and started playing it yet again. While the game is just as amazing and slightly goofy as I remember what I didn't expect to find was other players. I'm not the only person out there playing because my pawn is still getting regular side-jobs and coming back loaded down with rift crystals. Even more odd, I found changing my pawn's vocation didn't affect her job prospects all that much. I remade my ranger into an odd looking elf who hasn't learned all her spells yet and she's still getting hired. For reasons unknown I appear to be playing as Father Christmas.* Kudos to the people out there still playing DD. Now if we could just get a proper sequel...

*My decision to play as Santa is particularly odd since I had previously played through the game as Sonny Chiba. But no matter who I play I always make certain to take plenty of family portraits.







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"Re(3):Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age" , posted Thu 2 May 09:24post reply

quote:
I just noticed that this thread has been propped up since the start of 2018. This is an old thread. In celebration of that I thought I would randomly bring up an old game.

In celebration of the release of Dragon's Dogma on the Switch I pulled out my PS4 copy and started playing it yet again. While the game is just as amazing and slightly goofy as I remember what I didn't expect to find was other players. I'm not the only person out there playing because my pawn is still getting regular side-jobs and coming back loaded down with rift crystals. Even more odd, I found changing my pawn's vocation didn't affect her job prospects all that much. I remade my ranger into an odd looking elf who hasn't learned all her spells yet and she's still getting hired. For reasons unknown I appear to be playing as Father Christmas.* Kudos to the people out there still playing DD. Now if we could just get a proper sequel...

*My decision to play as Santa is particularly odd since I had previously played through the game as Sonny Chiba. But no matter who I play I always make certain to take plenty of family portraits.


I also started playing Dragon's Dogma on Switch too...until I got side-tracked by the release of Final Fantasy XII The Zodia Age on the system as well. Never have two games complemented each other on the RPG spectrum.

For starters, I've never played Final Fantasy XII. I've heard a lot about this game, from it having a "dry" plot (I'm really liking it so far!), to having a divisive combat system (I'm really liking it so far!), there was something about this game that drew me to the fact that perhaps the same people who dislike it were fans who started out on Final Fantasy VII/VIII, and expected an RPG with an immediately "charming" cast (of which, I'm liking FFXII's so far!).

Not to point the fingers at Nomura/Nojima/Kitase, but I'm appreciating how this particular FF feels a bit more grounded in its story, compared to even somethng like FFXV. I'm not really sure, but I always thought FFX's, XIII's and XV's cast felt "off" as they really forced the casts to have quirky personalities without much basis in motivation. Noctis feels sorta clueless, and Tidus acts like an idiot (in fact, almost all Nomura protagonists act like idiots!). Despite people complaining about Vaan, I was expecting him to be a literal Tidus clone and I'm just so glad he's not. Balthier and Fran make a great team and the supporting cast members feel distinct without them trying needlessly to stand out.

The combat, in particular, feels like proto-version of Xenoblade Chronicles combat system (especially when you turn comabt from Wait into Active), except concepts like positioning and cooldown still haven't been thought off at this stage, and areas do have than "Monster Hunter"-esq cordoned segments, probably to get around the PS2's limitations back in the day. So I guess saying Xenoblade Chronicles was "FFXII done right" in terms of its battle mechanics and world exploration wasn't at all wrong, as I feel very at home playing FFXII and its engaging battle system.







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"Re(4):Final Fantasy XII The Sfried Age" , posted Sat 4 May 04:51post reply

Uhyo~! The second chance in as many months to revive a legendary classic like the (not actually) Anti-FF12 thread, you say?!

I think most of the stuff in there still applies: the art is really wonderful, though the in-game models ironically look far superior to the CG that was clearly finished years earlier in a delayed production that was saved only by our eternal master, Kawazu.

Sakimoto's got some real stand-out pieces like Rabanastre and the last boss theme, though a lot of the rest is boring "twinkle shimmering music" that perfectly matches the equally boring, endless plains and forests you'll trudge through.

I didn't get much out of Gambits, but I think it's a cool experiment, and (like most things) it's more interesting than FFVII!
quote:
dry plot...perhaps the same people who dislike it were fans who started out on Final Fantasy VII/VIII
I am a weirdo whose favorite is FFVI but whose second-favorite is FFVIII, so as a representative of this non-existent demographic I am here to report that while I don't expect to like everyone, I do expect some character development, somewhere. My most memorable experience in FFXII was making dozens of save files before what seemed like would finally be some meaningful character interaction (note: there never was!).

Balflear's desire to be the star of his own game rings a little too true, and even the "Vaan is just there to narrate the story" apologists tend to overlook how we never understand anything about Ashe, either. Still, I get how people can dig the personality-light political stories Matsuno focuses on, and what a bravely different design! I do still quote Gilgamesh's lines from this one, too...what a riot.





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"Re(4):Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age" , posted Sat 4 May 04:54post reply

At some point I should try FF12. For all these years everything I have heard about it has been divisive, even for a FF game. It's not that I even hope to enjoy the game; rather I want to see what all the fuss is about.







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"Re(5):FFVII: Endless Torment Edition" , posted Sat 11 May 05:29post reply

To celebrate the unwanted reappearance of the FFVII remake, here is the unwanted reappearance of the (only sometimes) anti-FFVII thread! I tried to revive the actual thread, but like the 1990s internet's fevered attempts to find out how to revive a certain character in the game, it was futile.

Because I'm your pal, here is the Japanese trailer. A friend who saw the English one thought Cloud sounded like a numbskull when he said "a flower?" THRILLINGLY, this is the extremely unlikely link to the much classier Writing Thread: we think this is a preview of bad localization practices! Yeah, that's what he says in Japanese, but it is more natural to repeat a word as a question/confirmation in Japanese (particularly in media like this) whereas in English it makes him sound deeply stupid for not knowing what a flower is. My friend said Cloud should instead have hesitatingly said, "oh...thanks," and I think she's right!

The worst thing about this is that it indicates the most redeeming element of the game, love points between characters, may be gone and that we can no longer take Tifa (good), Yuffie (better), or Barett (CANON) on a date.





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"Re(6):FFVII: Endless Torment Edition" , posted Sat 11 May 08:50:post reply

quote:
My friend said Cloud should instead have hesitatingly said, "oh...thanks," and I think she's right!



How about "Oh, for me?"

I agree that, based on his visual reaction, Cloud is definitely thinking, "Why are you giving me a flower?" and trying to be polite about it.

But yeah, I am already slightly concerned about the English script/localization. The combat is looking pretty alright, I think... but that's probably the least of my concerns for this project overall. I'd love to be pleasantly surprised, though!





/ / /

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"Re(7):FFVII: Endless Torment Edition" , posted Sun 12 May 03:35post reply

I was also surprised by how tone deaf the English version was. Perhaps in keeping with the retro theme the translation is wildly inaccurate and has no sense of the cultural idiosyncrasies of genre fiction just like the good old days? But instead of worrying about possible translation issues I'm more concerned the current translators will all die of old age before FF7R ever sees the light of day. Who knows what the translators who have yet to be born will do to the game?







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"Re(1):MD Mini update, Dracula" , posted Fri 17 May 00:22:post reply

This news pairing continues to hold!

Konami may not have been smart enough to avoid a region lock on the Steam version of their Dracula collection, but at least they're now including all regional versions anyway, probably because the Japanese release inexplicably has the US version of Dracula II, which would be even more incomprehensible and useless in another language. I suppose that resurrecting the dark lord every 100 years requires initially bringing as much ill will into the world as possible even when eventually reaching the right decision.

Also: the next 10 (Japanese) entries in the Mega Drive Mini have been announced, with some really great choices like Story of Thor/Beyond Oasis, Phantasy Star IV, and the Yuuyuu Hakusho game everyone loves but I never played, as well as some less inspired choices you could get elsewhere like Dai Makaimura, Street Fighter II', and the Rockman 1-3 collection (more interesting abroad where only released on the proto-online service Sega Channel).

Meanwhile, the US version continues to criminally lack Musha Aleste and must therefore be destroyed immediately.





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"Re(2):M2, Dracula" , posted Fri 17 May 04:04post reply

quote:
This news pairing continues to hold!

Konami may not have been smart enough to avoid a region lock on the Steam version of their Dracula collection, but at least they're now including all regional versions anyway, probably because the Japanese release inexplicably has the US version of Dracula II, which would be even more incomprehensible and useless in another language. I suppose that resurrecting the dark lord every 100 years requires initially bringing as much ill will into the world as possible even when eventually reaching the right decision.

Also: the next 10 (Japanese) entries in the Mega Drive Mini have been announced, with some really great choices like Story of Thor/Beyond Oasis, Phantasy Star IV, and the Yuuyuu Hakusho game everyone loves but I never played, as well as some less inspired choices you could get elsewhere like Dai Makaimura, Street Fighter II', and the Rockman 1-3 collection (more interesting abroad where only released on the proto-online service Sega Channel).

Meanwhile, the US version continues to criminally lack Musha Aleste and must therefore be destroyed immediately.



Speaking of M2, here's their Castlevania ports in action. I really hope they'll also be responsible for a "Castlevania Anniversary Volume 2." which would mean a better emulated Rondo/SotN. Also seeing Super Castlevania IV run fluidly and sound accurate makes me wonder if Konami would also be willing to invest in them for an Axley port.

I'm surprised Japan is getting Yu Yu Hakusho but I'm not sure what would take its place in an outside-Japan release. Batman and Robin? The X-Men/Spiderman games?







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"Re(3):M2, Drip coffee ATTN Nobi, Iggy" , posted Fri 17 May 06:10post reply

I don't think I've seen any game so aggressively try to pursue the Shaft visual style as this game.

What do you all think? It's not got a huge budget and it's a bit amateurish looking in spots, but overall it's feels like a pretty strong effort to me.







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"Re(4):M2, Drip coffee ATTN Nobi, Iggy" , posted Fri 17 May 06:27post reply

quote:
I don't think I've seen any game so aggressively try to pursue the Shaft visual style as this game.

What do you all think? It's not got a huge budget and it's a bit amateurish looking in spots, but overall it's feels like a pretty strong effort to me.

A couple of years ago, indie games were between 8 and 16 bits. Now, they're casually crossing over the PS2. Comparing this with Va-11 Hall-A is fascinating.

Also, I have no clue what the game is about.







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"Re(3):M2, Dracula" , posted Sun 19 May 06:27post reply

quote:

Speaking of M2, here's their Castlevania ports in action.

I somehow missed that these ports are by M2, which makes me MUCH more interested in the collection. I kinda wish every port was handled by either them or Digital Eclipse!





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"Re(4):M2, Dracula" , posted Mon 20 May 07:47:post reply

I'm going to wait for the already announced patch that is going to include the JP versions of the games. I have heard horror stories of the US version of Castlevania 3 compared to its JP counterpart, so I'm going to wait a little before buying the collection

And speaking of the series, last month I bought the requiem collection for the ps4 and an SNES classic, so I played and beated Rondo of Blood and Castlevania IV, 2 games that are always compared for being released close to each other.

Overall, I feel like I love Rondo of Blood more than SCIV, basically because I really hate the levels in SCIV, the 8 way whip kills the balance against the enemies, making the difficulty come from the plataforming sections, which at times are very frustrating, I know that is castlevania and is commonplace to fall over a pit since it requires a milimetric precision for the jumps, but here there are too many of them. Also, although impressive, I hate at times the frame drops in the game, and overall I have grown accustomed to the more anime look of Rondo than the more gothic look of SCIV. Still, both are great games, and also I don't understand why people say that SCIV is an easy game, when for the most part, I found it way harder than Rondo of Blood which sometimes is described as one of the hardest games in the series





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"Re(4):M2 Complete Works" , posted Mon 20 May 17:47post reply

quote:
I somehow missed that these ports are by M2, which makes me MUCH more interested in the collection. I kinda wish every port was handled by either them or Digital Eclipse!


It seems to be M2 Month!

MyLifeInGaming in collaboration with Limited Run released a featurette all about M2 and their storied history! (This comes as a bonus BD disk with LR's release of Battle Garrega for PS4.) Definitely go give it a watch!





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"Re(5):M2 Complete Works" , posted Tue 21 May 23:23post reply

quote:
I somehow missed that these ports are by M2, which makes me MUCH more interested in the collection. I kinda wish every port was handled by either them or Digital Eclipse!

It seems to be M2 Month!

MyLifeInGaming in collaboration with Limited Run released a featurette all about M2 and their storied history! (This comes as a bonus BD disk with LR's release of Battle Garrega for PS4.) Definitely go give it a watch!



At this point I just buy any game that is ported by M2, even if I don't like them that much.

By the way, what means "taikan"? one of M2 devs used that label for those old sega arcade games, and while searching the word in google I saw that sega released a music compilation using that label







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"Re(5):M2 is G-d" , posted Wed 22 May 04:55:post reply

Great M2 find, sfried! I love hearing Horii talk about how he decided to make a company so he could keep games in his life, forever. I figure most game developers share his sentiment that "we just wanted so much to make games, so incidentally we chose it as our profession," but it means a lot when your CEO thinks that (compare: Konami).

I also feel like an idiot for not having noticed M2 until their work on the PS2 Sega Ages series, the impossibly perfect Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box in particular.

Sibarraz is exactly right: it's worth buying a port just because M2 did it. They are the Criterion Collection of games. And since they have such good taste, the game they choose to port is likely to be really good!

Edit: Got further along when Horii's talking about Konami's Rebirth series...I didn't know M2 did these! His comments say it all: "All three titles Konami proposed were ones we loved. Gradius? We love it. Contra? We love it. Castlevania? We toootally love it! The minute they made the request, we were completely amped up to do it."





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"Thoughtful MK analysis" , posted Mon 27 May 17:44post reply

The current holder of the title of "most lovable creep of the internet" is back with an in-depth analysis of the Mortal Kombat cast.
To be honest, my initial choice would have been Sheeva for obvious reasons, but I forgot Nightwolf can turn into a dog, and now I'm torn because puppies. Also, I feel like Jade has real emotional availability and shouldn't have been so easily discarded. The rest of his arguments however are quite solid and really makes you see the Kombat cast in a new light.


Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
Especially "Noob Saibot the sleep paralysis monster" and Liu Kang being Michael Cerra

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"Re(1):Thoughtful MK analysis" , posted Tue 28 May 02:30post reply

quote:
The current holder of the title of "most lovable creep of the internet" is back with an in-depth analysis of the Mortal Kombat cast.
To be honest, my initial choice would have been Sheeva for obvious reasons, but I forgot Nightwolf can turn into a dog, and now I'm torn because puppies. Also, I feel like Jade has real emotional availability and shouldn't have been so easily discarded. The rest of his arguments however are quite solid and really makes you see the Kombat cast in a new light.



Doesn't Kotal Khan randomly turn into a cat? That means he could conceivably curl up in your lap and purr. He should change his name to Cuddle Khan and be done with it.

The exclusion of Jade seems odd since there are far worse losers kombatants in the world of MK. Then again, her big gimmick is being able to phase through fireballs so she would ghost you just when you needed her most.







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"DjeetaBlue Fantasy" , posted Wed 5 Jun 02:33post reply

Thanks to all the hubbub surrounding its fighting game spin-off I finally got around to trying GBF. I couldn't even make it through the tutorial before I wanted to spray Vyrn with a can of Raid.







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"MD Mini hits forty...two titles!" , posted Wed 5 Jun 02:34post reply

Don’t look now, team, but Sega announced the final ten games for MD Mini, and then made it twelve because Sega is too good for our cruel world!

They include the obligatory Columns (yawn), Dynamite Headdy (why not the superior and ROCK AND ROLL WILD Alien Soldier?), Alicia Dragoon (never played but I have an enormously positive impression), Road Rash II (vroom), Langrisser II (to remind us that the illegitimate Switch port has a pay-to-remove-the-awful-redesigns option by contrast), Darius (sure) and...Tetris (?!?).

It occurs to me that Mega Drive might be like SNK on this international BBS given that it did better abroad and unites so many people across different experiences—from niche third place to PCE in Japan, to SFC rival in the US, to victor in some parts of Europe (UK?), to others I don’t even know about! What are your memories?

Like all Mega Drivers, my 68000 heart is on fire for sure.





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"Re(1):MD Mini hits forty...two titles!" , posted Wed 5 Jun 03:17post reply

quote:
Don’t look now, team, but Sega announced the final ten games for MD Mini, and then made it twelve because Sega is too good for our cruel world!

They include the obligatory Columns (yawn), Dynamite Headdy (why not the superior and ROCK AND ROLL WILD Alien Soldier?), Alicia Dragoon (never played but I have an enormously positive impression), Road Rash II (vroom), Langrisser II (to remind us that the illegitimate Switch port has a pay-to-remove-the-awful-redesigns option by contrast), Darius (sure) and...Tetris (?!?).

It occurs to me that Mega Drive might be like SNK on this international BBS given that it did better abroad and unites so many people across different experiences—from niche third place to PCE in Japan, to SFC rival in the US, to victor in some parts of Europe (UK?), to others I don’t even know about! What are your memories?

Like all Mega Drivers, my 68000 heart is on fire for sure.



While my childhood console was a SNES, a friend of mine had a Genesis and I understand your feelings; it had some great games. It's a bit sad that several videogame generations later, people still can't let go of console wars and fail to realize it doesn't matter if they have the "best" console; each of them has their own unique gems (unless it's a 3DO).

Anyway, recently I've been obsessed about the old Phantasy Star games, so it's nice to know that PSIV is in MD Mini's selection (but it's a pity that PSI and PSII aren't - yeah, I know PSI isn't a Genesis game, but still...).





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"Re(2):MD Mini hits forty...two titles!" , posted Thu 6 Jun 12:05post reply

The internet tells me that only the East Asia (non-Japan) MD Minis will have Alien Soldier, thereby making it the best version for all Zepys, nobis, and really anyone else. Visualshock! Speedshock! Soundshock! GOGOGOGOGOGOGOG
quote:
it doesn't matter if they have the "best" console; each of them has their own unique gems (unless it's a 3DO).
Now, now, until literally this year, even the poor 3DO had the only acceptable home version of Super Street Fighter II X, you know~~~

Please chronicle your Phantasy Star exploits here, whether it’s on your brand new MD Mini or elsewhere. M2 doing the Switch port was almost enough to make me play 1, of all things, but I desperately want a good way to play II and IV. Sega Ages version of II was easier but ugly redesigns and still fundamentally hostile. Isn’t there a copy that reduced encounters and upped experience? That may’ve been Sega Ages collection (no redesigns), but that was two consoles ago and I didn’t buy it then.





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"Re(3):MD Mini hits forty...two titles!" , posted Fri 7 Jun 00:08:post reply

quote:
Now, now, until literally this year, even the poor 3DO had the only acceptable home version of Super Street Fighter II X, you know~~~

Please chronicle your Phantasy Star exploits here, whether it’s on your brand new MD Mini or elsewhere. M2 doing the Switch port was almost enough to make me play 1, of all things, but I desperately want a good way to play II and IV. Sega Ages version of II was easier but ugly redesigns and still fundamentally hostile. Isn’t there a copy that reduced encounters and upped experience? That may’ve been Sega Ages collection (no redesigns), but that was two consoles ago and I didn’t buy it then.



That's right, I had forgotten about SSFIIX on 3DO... probably the best game it had (maybe the only good game it had?).

As for PSII, from what I read, yes, the version on the Sega Ages collection had these benefits (plus faster walking speed), with the Genesis graphics instead of the PS2 redesigns. Apparently it even has an option to be played as its US version (with texts in English and a slightly different soundtrack).

---

EDIT: speaking of the PS2 redesigns, I read that SEGA intended to make one for PSIV as well and release all three remakes (I, II and IV - which isn't actually named IV in Japan) in a collection in the West, which makes a lot of sense as they constitute a full story (PSIII being more of a side story than part of the main one). But then, for some unrevealed reason, they decided to cancel both the PSIV remake and the releases outside of Japan.

That's a pity. Then again, it seems not everyone who played the PSI and II remakes liked them, so maybe for once SEGA made a right decision? I guess we'll never know...





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[this message was edited by Just a Person on Sun 30 Jun 09:02]

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"Re(4):MD Mini hits forty...two titles!" , posted Sat 8 Jun 02:43post reply

Would be great if M2 released Phantasy Star 2 on the Switch. Their port of PS1 was amazing, the graphic filters were great, the dungeon map was a welcome addition, and now I don't have much free time like when I was a child, so it was cool to play in a mode where the enemies gave you more experience and gold, although the negative of this was that the game was way too easier. As a tradition, I always die against the first enemy in PS1 (not intentional) and since this bonus only show its rewards after defeating some enemies, I still was at a huge disadvantage against the first enemy.

PS2 will be great with less grinding and a dungeon map that helps you in the maze like dungeons







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"Re(1):Orochinagi.com closes operations" , posted Sun 9 Jun 15:18post reply

quote:
The internet tells me that only the East Asia (non-Japan) MD Minis will have Alien Soldier, thereby making it the best version for all Zepys, nobis, and really anyone else. Visualshock! Speedshock! Soundshock! GOGOGOGOGOGOGOG
it doesn't matter if they have the "best" console; each of them has their own unique gems (unless it's a 3DO).Now, now, until literally this year, even the poor 3DO had the only acceptable home version of Super Street Fighter II X, you know~~~

I heard that Sega Asia is targeting some crazy sales numbers for md mini in Asia, like, numbers that shouldn't even be considered following the lackluster sales on the ps classic. The prices are going to crash for sure if Sega doesn't change their production numbers by launch







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"Re: Zepy fanfiction" , posted Mon 10 Jun 00:31post reply

Zepyyyy thank you so much for all the helpful info via Prof. We were contemplating whether Cantonese would be the common language for a pan-Asian version of the MD Mini (or any other game or system) given the business demographics. It sounds like this is changing in recent years even if it’s still hard to imagine single-country localizations for Thailand or Vietnam the way, say, Germany now gets its own versions. Globalization and localization is Asia is really interesting!
quote:
I heard that Sega Asia is targeting some crazy sales numbers for md mini in Asia, like, numbers that shouldn't even be considered following the lackluster sales on the ps classic. The prices are going to crash for sure if Sega doesn't change their production numbers by launch

Someone’s 68000 heart is not sufficiently on fire
They will be aided by the fact that the MD Mini rules, as opposed to sucking like the PS mini! Failing that, I look forward to buying them up, since about 10000yen is a totally reasonable price for M2 emulations of Alien Soldier and Shining Force II alone.





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"Panzer Dragoon Remake" , posted Wed 12 Jun 07:00post reply

Panzer Dragoon Remake...

PANZER DRAGOON REMAKE!

Edit: Oh, and Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana, Collection of Mana Switch coming over. Dragon Quest hero and Banjo in Smash, etc. Some Zelda sequel...







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"Re(1):Panzer Dragoon Remake" , posted Wed 12 Jun 08:07post reply

quote:
Panzer Dragoon Remake...

PANZER DRAGOON REMAKE!


I was not expecting that! Everything Nintendo showed off looked great but the return of a classic rail shooter is a treat.





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"Re(1):Panzer Dragoon Remake+TRIALS OF MANA!!!" , posted Wed 12 Jun 09:32post reply

quote:
Panzer Dragoon Remake...

PANZER DRAGOON REMAKE!

Edit: Oh, and Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana, Collection of Mana Switch coming over. Dragon Quest hero and Banjo in Smash, etc. Some Zelda sequel...



Oh. My. GOD!!! This is epic! I thought SD3 would never get an official release on the West... and it even got a name!

This is so fantastic that I can even forgive that they didn't even bother to add colors to SD1! Woohoo!





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"Re(2):Panzer Dragoon Remake+TRIALS OF MANA!!!" , posted Wed 12 Jun 12:49post reply

quote:
Oh. My. GOD!!! This is epic! I thought SD3 would never get an official release on the West... and it even got a name!


I was in absolute awe of the back-to-back reveal of the remake and collection, collection was an instant purchase. Apparently the remake will be re-imagined as a single player experience... (https://gematsu.com/2019/06/trials-of-mana-is-the-most-action-heavy-game-in-the-series-fully-voiced)

quote:
This is so fantastic that I can even forgive that they didn't even bother to add colors to SD1! Woohoo!


I wasn't aware from the trailer that this was an M2 job, they're really killing it lately. Mana and Trials (still getting used to calling it that) have an original res or bordered 4:3 option, Adventure in addition lets you choose 1 of 3 color palette options: monochrome, super game boy (perhaps GBC, I'll compare later), and LCD spinach (seems to be the same filter used recently in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection).





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"Re(1):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Wed 12 Jun 13:03post reply

quote:
PANZER DRAGOON REMAKE!
!?!?!?! After seeing dormant series ranging from Langrisser to Commander Keen revived by imposters this year, it's refreshing that this actually looks kind of like Panzer Dragoon!

MEANWHILE, because Iggy is away this week either fighting ninjas or stopping Brexit, I'm here to tell you on his behalf that Romancing SaGa 3 and SaGa Scarlet Grace are coming out in English, so that you too can join Iggy and the approximately three other English-speaking fans in talking about this deadly magnificent series. Please proceed to SaGa/Anti-Octopath thread and SaGa Scarlet Grace thread for re-education immediately.





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"Re(3):MD Mini hits forty...two titles!" , posted Wed 12 Jun 13:19post reply

quote:
The internet tells me that only the East Asia (non-Japan) MD Minis will have Alien Soldier, thereby making it the best version for all Zepys, nobis, and really anyone else. Visualshock! Speedshock! Soundshock! GOGOGOGOGOGOGOG
it doesn't matter if they have the "best" console; each of them has their own unique gems (unless it's a 3DO).Now, now, until literally this year, even the poor 3DO had the only acceptable home version of Super Street Fighter II X, you know~~~

Please chronicle your Phantasy Star exploits here, whether it’s on your brand new MD Mini or elsewhere. M2 doing the Switch port was almost enough to make me play 1, of all things, but I desperately want a good way to play II and IV. Sega Ages version of II was easier but ugly redesigns and still fundamentally hostile. Isn’t there a copy that reduced encounters and upped experience? That may’ve been Sega Ages collection (no redesigns), but that was two consoles ago and I didn’t buy it then.



Hello dear friends. I'm back from the wild lands of Facebook and Twitter!! Let's get to it!

I grew up with the Mega Drive. My dad or maybe a family friend, someone with blessed foresight and generosity somehow picked up a Mega Drive for us during a brief visit to Hong Kong. So we were playing 16bit arcade quality games at home a full year before everyone else in America. It's easy to forget just how impressive that system was when it first landed. The jump from NES to Genesis is still the biggest jump in console tech and capabilities that I can remember.

Games went from looking limited and abstracted (but still nice) to fully fleshed out worlds that could realize very rich, very refined artistic vision that did not feel compromised in any way (at the time--and still now for the best games!)

The first games we had were Altered Beast and Thunder Force II (wow that voice acting!). Shortly after that we also got Phantasy Star 2, Revenge of Shinobi, Strider, ah man, they were such amazing games! Altered Beast actually scared the crap out of me! And Phantasy Star 2 was obviously the best thing ever. I immediately thought it was even cooler than Star Wars!

I remember while basking in the arcade-at-home glow of the Mega Drive, the NES lost all its lustre. My brothers ended up selling our NES to a neighbor. I recall the day he showed up to pay for the NES and all our games and accessories. He was beaming, absolutely stoked to finally have an NES. But then he looked over at our TV and was like "what ... is ... THAT?" I recall the blood draining out of his face as he witnessed the awesome spectacle of huge colorful sprites on a home TV for the first time in his life. He was speechless as we shooed him out of our home with his box of treasures that were instantly rendered quaint at a glance at the future of SIXTEEN BIT POWER.

I mean obviously I really love and value the NES today. And a lot of the early Mega Drive games haven't aged that well, but not that many people seem to remember just how absolutely mind blowing the Mega Drive was for the time (wow was it really still the 80s when all this happened??). For me it was a bigger jump than SNES to PSOne because SNES games were so obviously more beautiful than early low poly games.

I think I might pick up that Mega Drive mini! There's just something nice about the form factor of having a dedicated console vs playing on an emulator. Hopefully the controllers will feel good and be un-laggy too.

The Mega Drive was never a big hit in Asia. Even in Thailand where I'd go and pick up new games every summer, the Famicom was king out here. Then the Super Famicom (since it was so easy to bootleg games with the floppy disk drives--Spoon knows what I'm talkin about!).

In the years since I moved back to Thailand I think I've only met 1 other person that owned a Mega Drive. It was an obscure oddity. I hope more people get to experience those games now though, because a lot of them really are timeless classics!






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"Re(2):Panzer Dragoon Remake+TRIALS OF MANA!!!" , posted Wed 12 Jun 13:55:post reply

quote:
Panzer Dragoon Remake...

PANZER DRAGOON REMAKE!

Edit: Oh, and Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana, Collection of Mana Switch coming over. Dragon Quest hero and Banjo in Smash, etc. Some Zelda sequel...


Oh. My. GOD!!! This is epic! I thought SD3 would never get an official release on the West... and it even got a name!

This is so fantastic that I can even forgive that they didn't even bother to add colors to SD1! Woohoo!



I'm sorry I couldn't resist. Warning: Incoming Old Man Rant:

Both remakes actually look pretty nice BUTTTTTTTTT

Panzer Dragoon is sadly the latest victim of the video game industry's addiction to color grading. The original game had such beautiful tasteful colors. The first stage felt like flying over the cold atlantic ocean on a nice, day. Not overtly sunny. It had a very cool sedate feeling. The lighting felt like a "normal" day in this world full of crumbling ruins. By making the lighting feel grounded, it made the fantastic stuff feel all the more fantastic.

The new Panzer Dragoon remake is color graded into muddiness. It's technically more saturated and colorful than the original, but it blends into a muddy mess. It's full of theoretically "good" color theory, like with contrasting blue shadows with warm lighting. But it's executed in such a lifeless overly busy way. I mean look at that footage. What time of day is it? The sunlight is bathing everything in yellow from a front angle, and yet the sky is sunny and blue? What season is it? Is it hot or cold out there? Can you feel the temperature? It's missing a lot of information all for the sake of looking like someone's instagram feed.

Mana Remake looks nice. So glad to finally get a Western release for Seiken Densetsu 3!! This is a decades long dream come true! The remake actually looks pretty nice BUTTTTTTT (Butt) I know this is impossible but I wish they'd had just stuck wiht Nobuteru Yuuki's original look cos it's just so goddamn good. I much prefer his solid angular, but still fluid artwork to the overtly soft stylings of the remake. It's still very nice looking though! I don't mean to throw the new art team under the bus too badly!

My only other complaint is that the environments feel a bit lifeless compared to the original, which is admitedly one of the masterpieces of sprite art, especially when it comes to tile based environments. I wish they had taken a more modular approach to the remake not for the sake of nostalgia, but because when you work in a modular way it makes everything feel tidier and more connected. Level of detail is more consistent. It just feels better! I have this exact same complaint regarding the new Pokemon which otherwise looks really excellent!

Anyway I've been travelling a ton this week going to conventions and meeting up with old friends. I have not kept up with E3 or Nintendo Direct or anything at all. Looking forward to slowly catching up to all that stuff with you all here!

*update*

Actually took another look at the Trials of Mana trailer. I take back everything I said about the backgrounds. They look fine!






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[this message was edited by nobinobita on Wed 12 Jun 14:19]

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"The PC Engine Mini" , posted Wed 12 Jun 14:47post reply

At first I thought it was a joke ...







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"Re(1):The PC Engine Mini: Konami's Curse" , posted Wed 12 Jun 15:19:post reply

NOBI: great MD history! I'd forgotten what a leap MD was since it got outclassed by SFC so quickly, especially in Japan. I'll link your tales during the inevitable MD Mini launch thread in September. On to less illustrious minis, we have...
quote:
At first I thought it was a joke ...

It's a weak launch roster even with Ys and Dracula X, especially since Mega Drivers are a lot of the same audience, but then again, this is modern-day Konami. (WAIT. Did they manage to get the rights to PCE based on having absorbed Hudson, who designed it?!) And holy clams, that laughable US roster will not sell a single copy, assuming anyone can be arsed to fiddle with the terrible website with age confirmation.

Exodus could explain better, but I'd assume PCE's appeal would be mostly the anime-filled CD games and the best versions of games that received scaled-down MD and SFC ports, rather than some of the fairly crappy base system games on display here. I never owned a PCE, but seems pretty obvious it should have: Dracula X, TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL(!!!), Ys, Exile, Cosmic Fantasy, Garou, AOF, Tengai Makyou, Vasteel, Snatcher, and cheeky entries like Doukyuusei and Basted, because... I said so.





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[this message was edited by Maou on Wed 12 Jun 15:27]

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"Re(3):Panzer Dragoon Remake+TRIALS OF MANA!!!" , posted Wed 12 Jun 20:28post reply

quote:
I was in absolute awe of the back-to-back reveal of the remake and collection, collection was an instant purchase. Apparently the remake will be re-imagined as a single player experience... (https://gematsu.com/2019/06/trials-of-mana-is-the-most-action-heavy-game-in-the-series-fully-voiced)



Wow, I wasn't aware of the remake! It looks great!

As for it being a single-player game... that's a pity. Was the Secret of Mana remake a single player game, too? I suppose Adventures of Mana was (since SD1 was a single player game from the beginning)...





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"Re(2):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Wed 12 Jun 23:41post reply

quote:
MEANWHILE, because Iggy is away this week either fighting ninjas or stopping Brexit, I'm here to tell you on his behalf that Romancing SaGa 3 and SaGa Scarlet Grace are coming out in English, so that you too can join Iggy and the approximately three other English-speaking fans in talking about this deadly magnificent series. Please proceed to SaGa/Anti-Octopath thread and SaGa Scarlet Grace thread for re-education immediately.

I am back from the Gallic wars. Now I'm done with the Roman invasion, I can thank you gracefully for this bit of impromptu proselytism for our lord and savior, which will allow me to focus on the remakes of Panzer Dragon and SD3.
They both suck.
Panzer Dragon is one of these games that were groundbreaking at the time, but judged purely as a game from 2019, is just... not a very interesting game? The original had historical significance, but stripping it from its awkward look, it's just some random on-rail shooter that is not Rez. I hated the Space Harrier sequence in Bayonetta, so there's really no nostalgia for that.

SD3 is one of the greatest pixel art masterpieces of the SFC. Personally, I feel that SD3, RS3 and Rudra are the 3 best looking games of the machine, and seeing (again) RS3 being remade with absolute reverence to the source material, just a bit updated to keep the nostalgia googles on, emphasizes how the SD2 and 3 remakes fail at what they're doing. They just remove the pixel art in order to appeal to a modern audience (and make it easier to port around I suppose) without realizing they're destroying 50% of the game. Who ever thought that Seiken Densetsu needed full voice acting? Seriously?
The risk they face now is that without the distinctive look (and strange square proportions) of the SFC original, we might look at the game with our 2019 eyes, and risk realize, like PD, that these games, maybe, are just not very good anymore. This is really similar to the debates about the preservation of millennia-old monuments: how much do you preserve? How much do you replace? What do you replace? What do you modernize?
The SD (and FF4-6) remakes are basically like destroying the inside of the Ôsaka castle to reshape it as a modern hotel with all the modern facilities but none of the original soul. At least Kawazu was still in-house to spare RS that infamy.

Ironically, both RS3 and SD3 were released a bit rushed, one having several quests unfinished, the other being riled with bugs. They haven't yet said what they changed in RS3, so there's hope there. It just sucks that we'll never get the original SD3 with proper QA.





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"Re(3):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 00:46post reply

quote:
Adventure in addition lets you choose 1 of 3 color palette options: monochrome, super game boy (perhaps GBC, I'll compare later), and LCD spinach (seems to be the same filter used recently in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection).


That's nice, but I still wish it was properly colored. Then again, it would probably take a lot of work and could cause some programming issues, so...

---

quote:
SD3 is one of the greatest pixel art masterpieces of the SFC. Personally, I feel that SD3, RS3 and Rudra are the 3 best looking games of the machine, and seeing (again) RS3 being remade with absolute reverence to the source material, just a bit updated to keep the nostalgia googles on, emphasizes how the SD2 and 3 remakes fail at what they're doing. They just remove the pixel art in order to appeal to a modern audience (and make it easier to port around I suppose) without realizing they're destroying 50% of the game. Who ever thought that Seiken Densetsu needed full voice acting? Seriously?
The risk they face now is that without the distinctive look (and strange square proportions) of the SFC original, we might look at the game with our 2019 eyes, and risk realize, like PD, that these games, maybe, are just not very good anymore. This is really similar to the debates about the preservation of millennia-old monuments: how much do you preserve? How much do you replace? What do you replace? What do you modernize?
The SD (and FF4-6) remakes are basically like destroying the inside of the Ôsaka castle to reshape it as a modern hotel with all the modern facilities but none of the original soul. At least Kawazu was still in-house to spare RS that infamy.


Those are good points. I guess the full voice acting in Trials of Mana are interesting for new players (who might find it weird to see a new RPG with no voices), but people who experimented its original version may be annoyed with this inclusion, indeed.

The good thing is, with Collection of Mana, fans of the games how they used to be can appreciate them how they used to be, while new players can try both versions and choose which they prefer. Everybody wins, I guess?

(by the way, was the SD1 remake even released in the modern platforms like PS4 or Switch?)





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"Re(4):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 01:24post reply

quote:
The SD (and FF4-6) remakes are basically like destroying the inside of the Ôsaka castle to reshape it as a modern hotel with all the modern facilities but none of the original soul. At least Kawazu was still in-house to spare RS that infamy.


One would have to be a madman to try and contradict Iggy but this is one case where I disagree. IV at least managed to avoid this by producing 2 separate remakes: the 3D one for the masses on NDS that eventually made its' way around different platforms, and the 2D hi-res PSP edition like they made for I and II. Other than some slight proportion changes that mostly pertain to overworld character sprites no longer being restricted to a single tile, comparing side by side with the original SNES sprites shows that they were really faithful there.

quote:
That's nice, but I still wish it was properly colored. Then again, it would probably take a lot of work and could cause some programming issues, so...


Actually no, the color palettes, at least as applied on a GBC, seem to be run by a separate process on the hardware than the actual game code. I don't know how much we're allowed to discuss roms / emulators (specifically! not piracy), so I'll simply state that the official options aren't for you if you want to play in color, but you do have options even on a relatively low performance system. (If Prof gives the thumbs up I'll create a new thread, else if you would like further advice we can chat privately. Hoping we can though because that could open up a bunch of other fun stuff, for instance I'm currently playing through Castlevania Harmony of Despair multiboxing all 4 players at once).

quote:
(by the way, was the SD1 remake even released in the modern platforms like PS4 or Switch?)

Negative :( Sword of Mana was GBA only I believe, not aware of any virtual console type releases. Adventures of Mana was a Vita game that made it out to Android (and maybe IOS?).





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"Re(5):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 01:49post reply

Even if the lineup isn't stellar in the PC Engine, the main selling point for me in this mini consoles is to have the same controllers from old while playing in a good emulator, at worst you can add the games that you want later.

My only issue is that at this point I'm sure that even in the USA there are more enthusiasts of the PC Engine than the Turbografx, so I don't know why they went with that design, I personally want a PC engine, even if I know that by the end of the day they are the same thing







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"Re(5):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 03:53post reply

quote:
IV at least managed to avoid this by producing 2 separate remakes: the 3D one for the masses on NDS that eventually made its' way around different platforms, and the 2D hi-res PSP edition like they made for I and II. Other than some slight proportion changes that mostly pertain to overworld character sprites no longer being restricted to a single tile, comparing side by side with the original SNES sprites shows that they were really faithful there.

You're right! Only 5 and 6 have been defaced!
I stand corrected.







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"Re(3):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 20:17:post reply

quote:
I am back from the Gallic wars. Now I'm done with the Roman invasion, I can thank you gracefully for this bit of impromptu proselytism for our lord and savior, which will allow me to focus on the remakes of Panzer Dragon and SD3.
They both suck.
Panzer Dragon is one of these games that were groundbreaking at the time, but judged purely as a game from 2019, is just... not a very interesting game? The original had historical significance, but stripping it from its awkward look, it's just some random on-rail shooter that is not Rez. I hated the Space Harrier sequence in Bayonetta, so there's really no nostalgia for that.

So wait, are you telling me Panzer Dragoon Orta, a follow up sequel that is an acclaimed rail shooter which happens to NOT be Rez, sucks?
It seems to have aged pretty well, so I don't see why a remake of the first game with some QoL improvements added to it would be considered a terrible thing.





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"Re(4):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 20:52post reply

quote:
So wait, are you telling me Panzer Dragoon Orta, a follow up sequel that is an acclaimed rail shooter which happens to NOT be Rez, sucks?
I didn't play Orta, Xbox were a weird thing for Americans we can't really understand, like Nascar and Jerry Springer.
My memory of PD is really strictly on Saturn, and it's not a particularly good one. I think even at the time I preferred Starfox as a game?
And, I mean. Starfox. On SFC. If PD is not Rez, Starfox is DEFINITELY not Rez.

How was Orta improved?







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"Re(5):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 23:32post reply

quote:
So wait, are you telling me Panzer Dragoon Orta, a follow up sequel that is an acclaimed rail shooter which happens to NOT be Rez, sucks? I didn't play Orta, Xbox were a weird thing for Americans we can't really understand, like Nascar and Jerry Springer.
My memory of PD is really strictly on Saturn, and it's not a particularly good one. I think even at the time I preferred Starfox as a game?
And, I mean. Starfox. On SFC. If PD is not Rez, Starfox is DEFINITELY not Rez.

How was Orta improved?


Glad you asked. Digital Foundry made a video about PDOrta via backwards compatibility, but I couldn't find the link.

(DF Retro did make a video about how much PD2 did improve upon the original, as well as subsequent ports.)

One of the original developers of the Panzer Dragoon and its sequel did speak about its creation at this year's GDC.







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"Re(5):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 23:56post reply

quote:
Xbox were a weird thing for Americans we can't really understand, like Nascar and Jerry Springer.
One time

I saw an Xbox in Japan.

My strategy guide told me its encounter rate was only 1/256, so I didn’t know its stats and ran away, just to be safe.





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"Re(6):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Thu 13 Jun 23:56post reply

quote:
So wait, are you telling me Panzer Dragoon Orta, a follow up sequel that is an acclaimed rail shooter which happens to NOT be Rez, sucks? I didn't play Orta, Xbox were a weird thing for Americans we can't really understand, like Nascar and Jerry Springer.
My memory of PD is really strictly on Saturn, and it's not a particularly good one. I think even at the time I preferred Starfox as a game?
And, I mean. Starfox. On SFC. If PD is not Rez, Starfox is DEFINITELY not Rez.

How was Orta improved?

Glad you asked. Digital Foundry made a video about PDOrta via backwards compatibility, but I couldn't find the link.

(DF Retro did make a video about how much PD2 did improve upon the original, as well as subsequent ports.)

One of the original developers of the Panzer Dragoon and its sequel did speak about its creation at this year's GDC.



Panzer Dragoon Orta is amazing, it made realize how terrible is Nintendo for not being able to develop a good sequel of Star Fox 64







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"Re(7):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Fri 14 Jun 01:45post reply

quote:

Panzer Dragoon Orta is amazing, it made realize how terrible is Nintendo for not being able to develop a good sequel of Star Fox 64

They did (Star Fox 2), but they cancelled it last minute in favor of the "reboot" (Star Fox 64).

Star Fox 2 actually did some pretty innovative things for its time, too!





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"Re(8):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Fri 14 Jun 03:40post reply

quote:

Panzer Dragoon Orta is amazing, it made realize how terrible is Nintendo for not being able to develop a good sequel of Star Fox 64
They did (Star Fox 2), but they cancelled it last minute in favor of the "reboot" (Star Fox 64).

Star Fox 2 actually did some pretty innovative things for its time, too!



I bought an SNES classic last month, and I was actually impressed with Star Fox 2, I thought that it would be more unplayable, but overall is an OK game

Still, for me Star Fox 2 is more of a beta of Star Fox 64 than a sequel (I was shocked to discover all the similar things in both games, I always thought that argonauts claims that Nintendo copied lots of things from Star Fox 2 was them just being bitter, but is true)







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"Re(9):Panzer Dragoon SaGa Scarlet Grace" , posted Fri 14 Jun 04:39post reply

quote:

Panzer Dragoon Orta is amazing, it made realize how terrible is Nintendo for not being able to develop a good sequel of Star Fox 64
They did (Star Fox 2), but they cancelled it last minute in favor of the "reboot" (Star Fox 64).

Star Fox 2 actually did some pretty innovative things for its time, too!


I bought an SNES classic last month, and I was actually impressed with Star Fox 2, I thought that it would be more unplayable, but overall is an OK game

Still, for me Star Fox 2 is more of a beta of Star Fox 64 than a sequel (I was shocked to discover all the similar things in both games, I always thought that argonauts claims that Nintendo copied lots of things from Star Fox 2 was them just being bitter, but is true)

There were some aspects that were brought over in later Star Fox games, but not all of the innovations SF2 did were implemented in 64, sadly. (The Walker, for instance, was one of them. The whole idea of going inside spaceships and blowing them up from the inside was actually better carried out in 2 than in Star Fox Zero!)

That said, a remake of Panzer Dragoon is better than having no new Panzer Dragoon anything, "Not-being-Rez" be damned!





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"R-Type Final 2 fully funded, hits over $900k" , posted Sat 15 Jun 06:09post reply

What people thought was April fools, -Type Final 2 was on Kickstarter for a week and got fully funded. Shocking that this forgotten gem of series got this much money. Makes you wonder other STG like Thunderforce, Gradius, and Treasures gems, can make a return. I always assumed R-Type was below the majority of shumps.





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"Re(1):R-Type Final 2 fully funded, hits over " , posted Sat 15 Jun 06:54post reply

quote:
What people thought was April fools, -Type Final 2 was on Kickstarter for a week and got fully funded. Shocking that this forgotten gem of series got this much money. Makes you wonder other STG like Thunderforce, Gradius, and Treasures gems, can make a return. I always assumed R-Type was below the majority of shumps.



I'm still baffled by why they made the KS one week only. Whether they felt the amount of money they wanted was achievable easily or not at all easily, making it only one week disadvantages them enormously. I backed it, but not at some of the crazy high levels on offer.







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"Re(2):R-Type Final 2, Kawazu prophecies" , posted Sat 15 Jun 13:14:post reply

Interesting! I never played R-Type but I remember it being around. What was the rationale for its revival in particular, and using kickstarter? I'm thinking of the large number of highly detailed shooters and Metroidvanias you see on the indie circuit, and how they might have diluted interest in follow-ups by actual earlier leaders in the genres, like this or Bloodstained. What are you looking forward to in particular from this one? Does it being Kujou Kazuma directing mean it'll be a cut above the imitators, like Iga's return?

Edit: I would also like to note that Lord Kawazu made good on his promise to unleash Romancing SaGa 3 on the Western world, and it took barely over two years to do so. That's more than 50% less time than Nomura takes to finish an overdue game!





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"Re(2):R-Type Final 2 fully funded, hits over" , posted Sat 15 Jun 22:56post reply

quote:
I'm still baffled by why they made the KS one week only. Whether they felt the amount of money they wanted was achievable easily or not at all easily, making it only one week disadvantages them enormously. I backed it, but not at some of the crazy high levels on offer.

It seems they knew her public was very narrow, but affluent.
Which is good for the game to be made, if that's really all the budget they need to finish it.
However, the KS also demonstrated there was not broad appeal for the game. A KS where 100k people give $10 is not the same as a KS where 1000 people give $1000, even though they bring the same amount of money.
They're basically working on a game that has already sold most of the copies it is ever going to sell, while telling their investors that their property has almost no value outside of these core fans.







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"Re(3):R-Type Final 2 fully funded, hits over" , posted Sun 16 Jun 02:41post reply

quote:
I'm still baffled by why they made the KS one week only. Whether they felt the amount of money they wanted was achievable easily or not at all easily, making it only one week disadvantages them enormously. I backed it, but not at some of the crazy high levels on offer.
It seems they knew her public was very narrow, but affluent.
Which is good for the game to be made, if that's really all the budget they need to finish it.
However, the KS also demonstrated there was not broad appeal for the game. A KS where 100k people give $10 is not the same as a KS where 1000 people give $1000, even though they bring the same amount of money.
They're basically working on a game that has already sold most of the copies it is ever going to sell, while telling their investors that their property has almost no value outside of these core fans.



They actually had a bit over 8k backers, which does mean it didn't hit the points of things like Hyper Light Drifter (over 20k backers), but is in the neighbourhood of things like Darkest Dungeon (a bit over 9k backers). I think they definitely could've gotten quite a lot more, because projects that do gain momentum with 30 day campaigns usually bring in a significant portion (i.e. more than 20%) of their total backers in days following the first week of the campaign.

It did get more than 40 times the backers of Kentucky Route Zero, though!







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"Sonic Mania: I AM THE EGGMAN" , posted Thu 20 Jun 14:51post reply

I meant to post this six months ago! I finished Sonic Mania, and as Naganuma Hideki once told us in Sonic Rush, THIS IS WHAT U NEED.

I’m always dubious when a series continues without its original creators, and have no use for post-Sakaguchi Final Fantasy or post-Lucas Star Wars, but since Christian Whitehead and friends rebuilt Sonic CD from scratch for Sega, their credentials are impeccable. Plus, having chosen the secret best Sonic game as their debut proves their great taste, which shows up all over the place in Sonic Mania’s delightfully clever levels and design gimmicks.

It’s telling that Iizuka’s long-adrift Sonic Team made the Sonic Mania guys feature a number of classic stages, yet the greatest stages in the game are actually the brand-new Studiopolis, which is the best pinball stage of any Sonic, and the hugely creative Mirage Saloon, which takes the one photo of Sonic 2’s cancelled Dust Hill and makes something amazingly lively and fun. (I still have no idea what they were going for with Press Garden, but oh well.)

And in that same way, the best boss fight in the entire game isn’t yet another reproduction of Sonic CD’s marquee race against Metal Sonic, but an incidental miniboss with unstoppably funky music where you race down a highway while being pursued in a helicopter by an Egg Robo dressed as a police officer with a rocket launcher and his minions with billy clubs. He is both adorable and dastardly. God Hand’s Gene sez: I LOVE IT

Probably not by coincidence, the quality of Sonic games correlates directly with their music, hence Sonic 2’s score by the bassist from the most important Japanese pop band of all time, and Sonic CD’s insanely excellent beats (sorry, Sonic 3, but Michael Jackson’s…sound producer just isn’t going to cut it). Here, too, the Sonic Mania team’s obvious love for Sonic CD does them credit, with similarly crazy-wonderful electronica-funk-house-with-sirens (what do you call this stuff???). Eggman’s cackling disco dance floor and its bass/piano (?) couldn’t be more Sonic CD, and even overused classics like Stardust Speedway and Chemical Plant are HOT HOT HOT. And then there’s the competition mode narration, where…OH MY GOD, is that the Daytona announcer?!?!?!??!

I guess there’s a few issues, though even these appear around the same places as the originals. Mid-game, the stage 6 and 7 bosses have a weird difficulty spike compared with those before and after, just like Sonic 1’s endless drowning adventures in Labyrinth, or Sonic 3’s infamously impassable barrel in Carnival Night. The special stages, always the most inexcusably bad aspect of any Sonic game, are even more arbitrary and hard to control now than in the wonky Mode 7 style of the originals they’re imitating. And after all the work reproducing the style of Sonic CD’s glorious opening animation for Sonic Mania’s own intro, the ending cinema is bafflingly short. Why? These problems are probably there on purpose just so they wouldn’t totally shame what’s left of Sonic Team.

In conclusion: HI-SPEC ROBO GO!!!





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"Re(1):FF Mania: I AM THE WALRUS" , posted Fri 21 Jun 04:51:post reply

quote:

I’m always dubious when a series continues without its original creators, and have no use for post-Sakaguchi Final Fantasy or post-Lucas Star Wars,


This is entering the world of auteur theory, but what happens when something has been around long enough that it is arguably a piece of common folklore?

For instance, most people don't demand that stories about Robin Hood or King Arthur only be the original telling and anything else is worthless: Robin Hood is a commonly understood cultural icon for which any tales about derring-do where he and his merry men steal from the rich and give to the poor is ok. Superman is practically there already, and Star Wars is on its way there given that there are literal grandparents who saw the original now.

If you think about FF games, Ishii, Tanaka, and Kawazu are still at Squenix, and still work on FF games, and all three were designers on the very original FF game! So arguably this means that such games as the latter half of FF12 ought to be entirely within your purview, along Tanaka's own FF11 (which our local historian Loona can recount oral history of). Given that Kawazu was the main dungeon designer and combat system designer of FF1 (and its usage of D&D style spell usage counts rather than MP feels very Kawazu what with his love of tabletop games), it also becomes an interesting question as to the nature of auteurship within a collaborative work where elements of the work considered iconic and essential to it were not all done by one person. It gets even stranger when principle aesthetic contributions are done by separate people, especially when the aesthetics of systems is poorly defined: we don't have a strong theory of aesthetics in system design, much like how we don't have a strong theory of aesthetics in software architecture, but we can clearly articulate how something is a "good game design". By that notion, Uematsu and Amano form two of the largest and most principle aesthetic contributions to FF, but just because those two are working on a project together doesn't make it truly FF. I don't know if this means that a new paradigm of oeuvre taxonomy is needed, or if the notion of oeuvre among highly collaborative projects must necessarily be fractured.



The scenario writer of FF1 however happened to be a script writer for the anime of Kimagure Orange Road, which means you can basically watch that anime and pretend you are watching a Final Fantasy anime. This is clearly the most important point of all this.


EDIT: double post!





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"Re(2):Sonic Mania: YOU ARE THE EGGMAN" , posted Tue 25 Jun 12:19post reply

You'd think video games would be the antidote for auteur theory since it's a huge creative collaboration and not just the director. And sure enough, Ohshima and Naka's teams separately gave us two different and equally wonderful takes on Sonic for CD and 2. So I'd like to think a game series could become its own folkloric archetype for many different people to riff on, like Robin Hood or even just Lupin III.

...and yet: looking at the post-MD Sonics where Naka and Ohshima weren't really involved, the intolerably stupid non-Sakaguchi follow-ups to FFVII and FFX, or, god help us, the garbage Kato wrote for Chrono Cross once Horii and Sakaguchi weren't in the lead, it makes me wonder.

All of which is why Sonic Mania is a minor miracle and everyone who hasn't already played it really ought to! I have credibility on two levels, you know: I played all the original Sonics A LOT and am thus knowledgeable, but I only like Sonic 2 and Sonic CD and am thus selective and not a "crazy internet Sonic fan" (ew) who was dreaming of something like this. Really. Stop looking at me like that.
quote:
Ishii, Tanaka, and Kawazu are still at Squenix, and still work on FF games
Kawazu was the main dungeon designer and combat system designer of FF1
On second thought, forget everything I said above. I'm perfectly happy to go with the new dogma that the only artistically consistent thing Square can do is to continuously remake FFII, with Kawazu in the lead, forever.
quote:
The scenario writer of FF1 however happened to be a script writer for the anime of Kimagure Orange Road, which means you can basically watch that anime and pretend you are watching a Final Fantasy anime.

<3

Amazing! You have referenced my other bible besides Lunar. WELL GUESS WE HAVE TO GET MARRIED NOW

The only acceptable Final Fantasy anime is the magnificently terrible/awesome Final Fantasy V OAV, though.





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"Imperial SaGa and Phantasy Star" , posted Mon 1 Jul 00:39post reply

Shameful pouble-post (please play Sonic Mania), but it's not my fault since Just a Person used the Chrono Trigger to go back in time for an important update, but I'll get to that in a minute.

FIRST, Kawazu's Apostles are pleased to inform you that Imperial SaGa Eclipse is in development for PC and smartphones. This is the sequel to the original PC flash game from 2015 that's closing down at the end of this year. Get ready for the awe-inspiring medium of HTML 5! Itou Kenji on music and Kawazu is executive producer, so technically you have to care!
quote:
speaking of the PS2 redesigns, I read that SEGA intended to make one for PSIV as well and release all three remakes (I, II and IV - which isn't actually named IV in Japan) in a collection in the West, which makes a lot of sense as they constitute a full story (PSIII being more of a side story than part of the main one). But then, for some unrevealed reason, they decided to cancel both the PSIV remake and the releases outside of Japan.

That's a pity. Then again, it seems not everyone who played the PSI and II remakes liked them, so maybe for once SEGA made a right decision? I guess we'll never know...
That's serious shame---I do kind of remember that being planned. Probably low sales since they were in a weird in-between space: a very low-budget remake as the headliner bundled with the original version as a bonus. Part of it's a visual problem: I recall Polly describing the PSI remake as garish and bright, and I sure didn't like PSII's incredibly drab PC game-looking designs. Compare this dullsville cover and featureless in-game art with Yoneda Hitoshi's absolutely profound original. It added (not very fun) timed attacks like Shadow Hearts yet was still way too difficult to play...couldn't possibly pick up new players except for the very dedicated.





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"Re(1):Imperial SaGa and Phantasy Star" , posted Mon 1 Jul 20:26post reply

quote:
That's serious shame---I do kind of remember that being planned. Probably low sales since they were in a weird in-between space: a very low-budget remake as the headliner bundled with the original version as a bonus. Part of it's a visual problem: I recall Polly describing the PSI remake as garish and bright, and I sure didn't like PSII's incredibly drab PC game-looking designs. Compare this dullsville cover and featureless in-game art with Yoneda Hitoshi's absolutely profound original. It added (not very fun) timed attacks like Shadow Hearts yet was still way too difficult to play...couldn't possibly pick up new players except for the very dedicated.


Yeah, it seems they didn't look very attractive to new players, especially for PS2 games. Nevertheless, it would be nice if PSIV's remake weren't canceled just for completion sake, and had the West compilation happened, Sega could finally give their translation some consistency (it's weird how the planets change names every game or how Noah/Lutz has a different name in PSI and PSII despite being the same person). Though overall I do prefer the English names (Alis and Odin sound much cooler than Alisa and Tylon, for instance).

Oh well, I guess remaking a game is always a risky task. That reminds me of the Silent Hill HD Collection, which ended up being a complete disaster (I was upset before it came out that Konami had left SH4 out of the compilation... now I'm grateful).





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"Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Tue 2 Jul 03:52post reply

Speaking of ghosts from the imperial past... someone needs to talk about Heaven's Vault on this BBS.
...
...
FINE, I'll do it. Jeez.

So. Heaven's Vault is a Translate'em'up Third Person Archeologer about a woman wearing sensible clothing, exploring a strange sci-fi world to uncover the past of the civilizations flourishing there by finding random objects forgotten in the mud and trying to decipher the glyphs that cover them.

Honestly, if that description didn't convince you, I'm not sure what you're doin' around here.

The gameplay is really walking around, talking to people, exploring everything in search of glyphs, and that's it. No action, no violence, no destruction of ancient ruins, no explosion, no snakes, no whip, no double handguns, no wise-cracking white dude. It's slow, it's meticulous, it's boring at times. It's exactly what it says it is.
It's not without faults (the invented language is a bit too close to English for my tastes, the validation system is close to Obra Dinn's induction-until-you-get-it-right, some of the dialogue trees get confusing, it's weird that so many objects have random words written on them, the language doesn't change through the thousand of years you're looking into, the camera is buggy at times, the 2D art looks weird on a 3D plane) but it's not like there's many games on that specific corner. The sci-fi setting is really good, the characters extremely well written, and the dialogue trees evolve the situations in interesting ways, that make me believe I am influencing the relationship of the characters, even if maybe I don't and the game just lies very convincingly. The main character is really great, I love her.

But wait, there's more!
Even though the game tricks you into thinking it's one of those familiar Translate'em'up Third Person Archeologer games like there's so many of nowadays, it's actually much more about History, how history defines civilization, how people in power use it to legitimate their power, how empires can erase specific things of the past to reshape it... It's also about colonialism, about the imposition of someone else's culture, about the struggle to have your culture survive under another culture's foot, about living between these two cultures and the compromises it forces onto you, about belonging, and about not belonging.

It's an absolutely fantastic game, unlike anything I've ever played, and very likely the Obra Dinn of the year (sorry Baba is You, you're fantastic too, but a bit lacking on the political side of things). This board is more or less the prime target for it, so maybe it's been discussed in another thread and I missed it? Anyway. Play it.





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"Re(1):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Tue 2 Jul 06:20post reply

Thanks for letting us know about this game.
It seems really interesting, but I have never heard of it!
I wonder why I haven't heard of this game at all, even on playstation blog I didn't remember it being featured (and they write almost about anything that is released, probably when it got released, seeing that game icon I skipped it).

The artstyle is "unique" like the site says, uniquely ugly to see in movement but fortunately I don't mind too much.

Well, I will keep my eyes on it and get it whenever it will be discounted.







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"Re(2):Shantae by Studio Trigger" , posted Tue 2 Jul 07:28post reply

So apparently Trigger is working on the intro for the new Shantae 5. Question is, will the rest of the game be great? Half-Genie Hero was...okay.

Speaking of more successful Kickstarted games, Bloodstained has been garnering great reviews and great press...save for the botched Switch version which Iga's company ArtPlay/505 and Wayforward aim to fix as a priority. (Best recommendation is to play it on Steam, as all consoles seem to suffer from a really bad bookshelf-reading crashing issue).







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"Re(2):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Tue 2 Jul 07:56post reply

quote:
The artstyle is "unique" like the site says, uniquely ugly to see in movement but fortunately I don't mind too much.


Yeah, you could say its ugliness is Unlimited. I'm not sure I understand the specific choice they've made to make the feet invisible. Probably to avoid the collision with stairs and stuff?
There's actually a whole big plotpoint on how the robots have tracks, so they cannot climb stairs and almost all the places have ramps (and since they only move on flat surface because of that, there's never any collision issue with the 2D art). It's an important element in the SF setting strangely enough, and at the point of the story I've reached I wonder if it's a metaphor for people in wheelchairs. Because why not, this game has gone in so many unexpected directions already!







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"Re(3):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Tue 2 Jul 10:50:post reply

I liked 80 days and I had my eye on Heaven's Vault, but didn't bite yet. But Obra Dinn was freakin' fantastic, so if it's similar to that I'm down.

I must admit, I got a little excited that there was some new SAGA game that I didn't know about :p

Also also! Baba is You is one of those infuriating games where you grind for hours on a thing, come back, and beat it in one try.

Since this is now the indie game thread, another one! I haven't had much time to play it but Pathologic 2 is out, and much less buggy than their first game. Be warned that it's an opaque and frustrating survival game (I think they patched in some easy difficulty), but it has surreal stage play storytelling and haunting art. Also not many Eastern European companies are making games so I like to support Ice Pick Lodge.

Edit: Oh shit, there is a new SaGa game and it's HTML5! Perfect!





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"Re(4):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Tue 2 Jul 23:35post reply

Heaven's Vault sounds neat! I just wish those phantom feet didn't make it look like everyone is dead. Then again, the game doesn't feature crap pixel art or improperly implemented mechanics stolen from Dark Souls so that automatically makes it HV better than most smaller budget games.







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"Re(5):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Wed 3 Jul 01:57post reply

Baba Is You is probably one of the most brilliant examples of "you understand how the game works with like 3 seconds of footage but a person could spend a whole page explaining it and still leave you scratching your head".... unless you describe the game as "programming puzzles where your avatar is a pointer and the direction keys move it around in the memory array", which will be understood immediately by one group of people and be utterly meaningless to another.

Which means Baba Is You is TRUE ART

Heaven's Vault sounds really cool, and from the trailer of it the ghost-y people made me think that those characters were like ghosts/imagined people of the past/projected avatars/etc. I totally DIDN'T think that those were real physical people in the setting!

Unfortunately I am currently in the midst of military-themed violence simulators like Hardcore Mecha and Valkyria Chronicles 4, as well as Lapis x Labyrinth, which is a fantasy-themed slot machine simulator. Lapis x Labyrinth in particular is a game that is so dumb it is amazing how engaging it is purely because of its combination of visual appeal and the endorphin gushing FEVER mode where you are in continuous jackpot mode and everything is gushing colorful gems and you want to hit the flashing blocks because they too will gush colorful gems







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"Re(6): River City Girls" , posted Thu 4 Jul 03:53post reply

Wayforward and ArcSys are developing River City Girls. Was hoping they would keep the Kunio-aesthetic...







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"Re(7): River City Girls" , posted Thu 4 Jul 07:19post reply

quote:
Wayforward and ArcSys are developing River City Girls. Was hoping they would keep the Kunio-aesthetic...



I like it, but the lack of any recognizable sukeban in the trailer is an utter disappointment. Even the zako are too cutesy.

Also if that song is indicative of the soundtrack I guess I can't expect any sick rockabilly guitars either.







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"Re(8): River City Girls" , posted Thu 4 Jul 07:54post reply

Nice to see Blossom and Buttercup are still getting work. Will Bubbles be DLC?





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"Re(8): River City Girls" , posted Thu 4 Jul 08:07post reply

quote:
Wayforward and ArcSys are developing River City Girls. Was hoping they would keep the Kunio-aesthetic...


I like it, but the lack of any recognizable sukeban in the trailer is an utter disappointment. Even the zako are too cutesy.



This covers almost everything I wanted to say. It looks pretty good, but it's very bubblegum.

quote:

Also if that song is indicative of the soundtrack I guess I can't expect any sick rockabilly guitars either.



I would also accept psychobilly.





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"Re(9): River City Girls" , posted Thu 4 Jul 13:59post reply

quote:
Wayforward and ArcSys are developing River City Girls. Was hoping they would keep the Kunio-aesthetic...


I like it, but the lack of any recognizable sukeban in the trailer is an utter disappointment. Even the zako are too cutesy.


This covers almost everything I wanted to say. It looks pretty good, but it's very bubblegum.


Also if that song is indicative of the soundtrack I guess I can't expect any sick rockabilly guitars either.


I would also accept psychobilly.



The Japanese version trailer shows a lot more footage...and a lot more of the stores (and cutscene?) stuff. Minus that English song.







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"A failure in Marketing" , posted Fri 5 Jul 02:50post reply

So, the Capcom all stars card game is now available on iOS and Android.

Its name?

TEPPEN.

why.gif. Who's going to find it with that name. Could they make it any less appealing?
Anyhow. It's made by Gunho, which I didn't expect. I'll try it. Eventually. Maybe.







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"Teppen All Stars" , posted Fri 5 Jul 07:59post reply

quote:
So, the Capcom all stars card game is now available on iOS and Android.

Its name?

TEPPEN.

why.gif. Who's going to find it with that name. Could they make it any less appealing?
Anyhow. It's made by Gunho, which I didn't expect. I'll try it. Eventually. Maybe.


If I built a Capcom All-Stars game I would put "Capcom" in the title but what do I know. As it is, Teppen makes it sound like it's a pirated knock-off of the game; sort of like how unscrupulous publishers will put out a game called "Floopy Bird" in order to catch the gullible. Still, the game is better looking than MvC:I so there's that.







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"Re(1):Teppen All Stars" , posted Fri 5 Jul 08:14post reply

quote:
As it is, Teppen makes it sound like it's a pirated knock-off of the game; sort of like how unscrupulous publishers will put out a game called "Floopy Bird" in order to catch the gullible.

A pirate knock-off version of a different game, and then you'd be confused why the game doesn't have a grandpa in diaper and boxing kangaroos!
Anyhow. The game is apparently not too bad (it was a good sign that the developer is Gunho and not the mobile division of Capcom).

When you contract someone to do an all-star game with your stuff, and they think it will be more marketable to NOT put your name in the title, it's like saying your IPs are so unattractive that tricking people into thinking these are all original characters would be better received.
Also, the game has Remy and Sean in it. I'm not sure what to think about it.







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"Re(2):Teppen All Stars" , posted Fri 5 Jul 09:43post reply

quote:
As it is, Teppen makes it sound like it's a pirated knock-off of the game; sort of like how unscrupulous publishers will put out a game called "Floopy Bird" in order to catch the gullible.
A pirate knock-off version of a different game, and then you'd be confused why the game doesn't have a grandpa in diaper and boxing kangaroos!
Anyhow. The game is apparently not too bad (it was a good sign that the developer is Gunho and not the mobile division of Capcom).

When you contract someone to do an all-star game with your stuff, and they think it will be more marketable to NOT put your name in the title, it's like saying your IPs are so unattractive that tricking people into thinking these are all original characters would be better received.
Also, the game has Remy and Sean in it. I'm not sure what to think about it.



People are going to look at that name and think it's a Chinese Tekken-themed knockoff made by people who don't play fighting games and that's why Capcom characters are in it







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"Re(3):Teppen All Stars" , posted Sat 6 Jul 01:28post reply

quote:
Translate'em'up Third Person Archeologer
Yeah, you could say its ugliness is Unlimited.Oh shit, there is a new SaGa game and it's HTML5! Perfect!
understood immediately by one group of people and be utterly meaningless to another...Baba Is You is TRUE ART

SaGa, a thrilling new substitue for MMCafe's Favorite Game after Fighting Layer didn't come through, and an imcomprehensible art game?! This week in Random Thread is truly one of the best/most MMC-like ever! Speaking of which...
quote:
not many Eastern European companies are making games so I like to support Ice Pick Lodge.
Amazingly, in the same way that God Hand might be the most "American" game of all time yet made by non-Americans, the other most American game of all time is made by the excellent lunatics at Croteam in Croatia. I'm talking of course about Serious Sam. As they ask, are YOU serious?
quote:
River City Bubblegum Crisis/River City pscyhobilly
Teppen has Remy and Sean in it.
Sometimes contracting out games/characters with a confused but vocal fanbase to an outside party is a good pressure-release valve so that they're satieted without you having to stake your reputation on them via a mainline release!
quote:
a Chinese Tekken-themed knockoff made by people who don't play fighting games and that's why Capcom characters are in it
Did you mean SFV? Hohohoho. I love SFV but with the nepotistic rise of the president's monster hunting son at Ono's expense, I'm not too far off.





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"Re(4):Teppen All Stars" , posted Sat 6 Jul 02:48post reply

That Teppen thing... it's weird... it isn't turn based but... real time?!





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"Re(5):Teppen All Stars" , posted Sat 6 Jul 06:57:post reply

quote:
Teppen



I initially thought Teppen sounded like the name of a restaurant! And I was right.

So anyway, I downloaded the game and played it for maybe six hours, which is certainly a good sign, but after using my uncanny ability to peer dozens of hours into the future to determine my ultimate satisfaction with the game, I uninstalled it the same day. That doesn't mean it was bad, necessarily, just that it's not quite for me. I'll share some of my thoughts.

Other than some bugs and crashes, it's a reasonably polished game. Speaking to the off-brandish name, there is a bit of "unofficial product" feel here and there. There is some good quality art, and the hero characters generally look appropriate and have nice animations, but the card art doesn't always feel authentically Capcom. I found a lot of the Resident Evil and Mega Man franchise art feeling kind of off, for example. (On the other hand, the MonHun art is pretty solid).

In terms of gameplay, it's a modern-feeling, lane-based design where you try to punch past defenders to whack the opponent's hero. There are no turns, so the pace is determined by an energy meter that charges steadily, and is depleted by X bars when you play a card with X cost. Cards are placed in one of three lanes (top, mid, bottom), and they send an attack arrow over to the opponent's side of the screen. Every character card has attack and defense values, like every other card game since Magic the Gathering, and there are "action cards" that do stuff when you play them.

The real-time element is kind of exciting, but it's also a little bit wonky and imprecise. If you have a close situation (e.g., you are waiting for your meter to charge so you can drop a defender at a last minute to intercept an attack arrow), you have to drag and hold the card in place while you wait for the meter to roll over. Unfortunately the UI elements are so small you can't really tell exactly when your energy will fill up or an attack will hit (at least when playing on a phone).

This slight messiness is partially an interface problem, but it also seems like an inevitable consequence of real-time gameplay that isn't broken into discrete phases or turns. I'd really like to have been able to pre-place a card that would activate when I had the energy to pay for it, and/or see a countdown clock that indicated exactly when an attack would hit me.

Still, being real time makes things feel a bit more tense and urgent. The other primary virtue of being "real time" is that games move quickly. I think they top out at five minutes, but I played maybe 100 games and never had one time out). In general, each match is pretty fun if you aren't getting totally stomped.

Deck-building is what I like most in card games, and while they have some interesting stuff going on (including several direct analogues to Magic the Gathering mechanics like "flight" and "shroud"), it seems to heavily push you into using cards from a single color. Each category has its own mechanics (e.g., like being extra attacky, returning cards from the graveyard), so cards within a particular color have a lot of obvious synergy. Picking two or more colors seemed very limiting, as that reduces your total energy (and thus keeps you from using powerful high-costed cards). There may be interesting ways to do multi-color decks after you unlock more of the card set, but it looks like the game is pushing you into clear archetypes and optimization.

Ultimately, I have the same problem with it that I have with just about every other modern digital card game. It's almost sure to be all about crafting the most efficient deck possible (which will shortly emerge into a clear meta available to anyone who can be assed to look for it online) and grinding out wins until you eventually have the cards that form the best possible deck... and then grinding out more wins. Maybe I'm just a little burned out on this type of thing lately.

So anyway, I unlocked a few characters in "story mode" (which is basically playing three easy matches with that character), then hit on a good Morrigan deck and was grinding out wins in the method outlined above (sometimes winning extremely quickly thanks to an epic rare Devil Hunter Dante card). After ranking up through the entire first tier of rankings, I realized that future me would inevitably burn out and look back on this as wasted time.

While I really dove into the game at first, my mind is not configured in such as way as to enjoy this type of activity for long. Experimentation kind of felt like a waste of time, as you are fighting random opponents and thus need to be as consistent as possible to advance and earn rewards. This makes me want to approach the game like work and keeps me from enjoying the game in a more flexible, exploratory way. And, being a bit older now, sinking serious time into any sort of grind tends to send me into "What the hell am I doing with my finite amount of time on this Earth?" mode.

A few other issues contributed to my early retirement. When I got to the higher ranks, graveyard-abusing Wesker appeared to be total OP bullshit (or maybe he was just a hard counter to my particular type of deck). The game also seems to crash a lot, and I am reasonably certain that when the opponent rage-quits, you are still assigned a loss!

Then again, a few things kept me playing for longer than I might have. You get cards randomly by opening packs, but you can also craft particular cards you using the "souls" resource, which is similar to Hearthstone and basically every other FTP digital card game. One is that Morrigan's "super move" is pretty fun to inflict on people. It inflicts a status effect on all enemies that keeps them from attacking or defending and sets them up for various card-combo beatdowns), and it has a sexy animation to top it off. Doing this to an opponent right at the end of the match when I was clearly going to win anyway might have had something to do with those rage quits, though.

For anyone thinking about trying it, they seem to be giving away a decent amount of login goodies for early birds (meaning you can open a lot of packs and have better odds of getting some ultra-rares). It's worth screwing around with if you approach it with reasonable expectations (i.e., this is a standard FTP card game).

I can think of one more noteworthy angle, and that concerns the treatment of the legacy. While Teppen does have some weird/obscure/lovable Capcom characters*, and it feels like they have earnestly tried to connect the right personalities to the cards, I suspect that the game was designed first and much of the "Capcom flavor" was added in afterwards. I didn't really notice any knowing winks, nods, in-jokes or even flat-out memes. This game doesn't seem to have the amount of love, charm, or awareness of Capcom's history that went into SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash, which is perhaps the thing that would most endear me to the game.

Bottom line, the game is basically fun, but the Capcom flavor tastes just a bit watered down. It has a typical FTP structure, which has its pros and cons (I don't think the game felt particularly greedy or generous as far as these things go).


* - For those that want to know the answer to the question "Whu...WhuAT AM I FIGHTING FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooouRRRRRRRrRraaarrrrgggggghhhhhhhh????," Zero's ill-fated lover Iris from Mega Man X features on multiple cards.





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[this message was edited by Mosquiton on Sat 6 Jul 12:13]



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"Re(6):Teppen Mega Drive All Stars" , posted Sun 7 Jul 05:16post reply

I had fun reading Mosquiton's review of Teppen, which we may as well start calling Teppan-yaki so we can imagine there's a little more hibachi-style flavor/weirdness in there. Eventually, we may figure out just what Zero has been fighting forrrrrrrrrr all this time.

Meanwhile, it's less than three months till the glorious Mega Drive Mini but too early for me to make the MD thread, so let's celebrate with semi-recent USGamer interviews on how great it will be:

--"The man that designed that Mega Drive 30 years ago still works for Sega Group. We had him design this version too. It's not just the designer. It's also the manufacturers, the packaging designer person, everybody came back for this."

--"We're always the challenger going against the top brands. The Mini is the personification of that kind of challenger image and the loyalty of all the fans that have been with us for a very long time."


The most amazing bit is that whereas other companies, when asked about where their missing 1990s game preservation materials are, usually answer that they "lit them on fire" or "deleted them immediately upon launch," Sega went that extra mile to seal them away, and unleash them upon the world two decades later via the power of lockpicking:

--"The people that made the packaging had to go back into the archives and look for the photos to recreate them. There was a cabinet that they remembered they had old photos in. They went to the cabinet and tried to open it, but the keys didn't work," he tells me. According to Miyazaki, no one had the keys to the filing cabinet though, so a locksmith had to be called in to open it.





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"Re(7):Teppen Mega Drive All Stars" , posted Sun 7 Jul 07:45post reply

Thanks to Mosquiton for his review of Teppen x Street Fighter. Like him, I tried it and just as quickly gave up. With "free" games such as this I always judge it against the hard sell that will inevitably come. It's the gaming equivalent of attending a time-share pitch. The gameplay loop wasn't something that looked like it would hold my interest when the inevitable sale items starting flashing on screen. But, more importantly, it didn't have enough Capcom in it in spite of being filled with Capcom characters. The game opens with some tedious nonsense about a mysterious robed woman gathering warriors throughout a Hokuto no Ken wasteland. If this game had been made by Capcom everyone would have roared into battle onboard Ruby Heart's ship or jumped out of an active volcano. Teppen is simply missing that je ne sais quoi that Capcom has developed from trying to get the attention of an audience in the middle of a loud arcade.





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"Re(8):Teppen Mega Drive All Stars" , posted Mon 8 Jul 15:11post reply

Awesome writeup Mosquiton! Thank you!

The game is not available in Japan yet, but I wonder if they will change the art style for the Asian release. It's definitely going for a "Serious Marvel" vibe.







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"Re(4):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Tue 9 Jul 02:47post reply

quote:

Since this is now the indie game thread, another one! I haven't had much time to play it but Pathologic 2 is out, and much less buggy than their first game. Be warned that it's an opaque and frustrating survival game (I think they patched in some easy difficulty), but it has surreal stage play storytelling and haunting art. Also not many Eastern European companies are making games so I like to support Ice Pick Lodge.



I was really interested in Pathologic 2 simply because of the notion that it is less buggy and unintentionally impenetrable than the first game, though it still retains plenty of intentional opaqueness. On the topic of unintentional opaqueness, it took me a few conversations to realize that the little round symbol beside conversation replies indicates "end conversation", which I didn't catch at first because every time a conversation ends at the start of the game, you get a Thought, and the Thought symbols/icon pop up are all round, so I thought if you picked those choices you would get "things" from the conversation.

The introductory part of Pathologic 2 is really neat and is totally on the edge of "artsy fartsy arthouse movie BS" and "actually neat surrealism" and "I like the worldview of the video game it intimates"

The way the conversation screen looks make entering conversations with people practically jump scares, though.

Also so far I've wandered far South off the map, and spent a lot of time walking/running away from people trying to punch me.







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"Re(5):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Wed 10 Jul 04:02post reply

quote:
on the edge of "artsy fartsy arthouse movie BS" and "actually neat surrealism"
Ah, you must mean the Madman's Cafe!

Speaking of arthouse, I'm not sure what to make of the announcement of a new pseudo-vintage Cuphead cartoon based on the video game based on vintage cartoons, but why not!

Meanwhile, Square must have heard about Mosquiton's disappointment with Teppen and just announced the Final Fantasy Digital Card Game featuring later polygonal characters represented as FFVI-style sprites, which pleases me, not least because it reminds me of 1990s internet fanpage creations like the interactive Mysidia and Illucidia (??) online towns.

I do see that the art chosen for each card is completely inconsitent but ah well.





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"Re(6):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Wed 10 Jul 04:32post reply

quote:
Meanwhile, Square must have heard about Mosquiton's disappointment with Teppen and just announced the Final Fantasy Digital Card Game featuring later polygonal characters represented as FFVI-style sprites, which pleases me, not least because it reminds me of 1990s internet fanpage creations like the interactive Mysidia and Illucidia (??) online towns.

The FF6-style sprites are actually recycled from another gatcha, FF Record Keeper. Also, FFRK had a neat graphical identity that this card game lacks horribly.

As for Teppen... if by day 2 I already need to think twice about starting the game "if only to get the log-in bonuses", and failing to do it twice... I guess my relationship with the game will be short-lived.
Still, I wish them all the best in their future endeavour.
I'm not sure what made me bounce off... the visuals, which are at the same time nice but also super dark and not cheerful and unCapcom-y? The lack of info about what each card does? Or the fact Dota Underworld is sucking up all my time?
If Capcom does an Autochess with colorful graphics, though, it might be the end of me.





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"Re(6):Imperial Vault, SaGa Heaven" , posted Wed 10 Jul 12:46post reply

quote:
1990s internet fanpage creations like the interactive Mysidia and Illucidia



Illucia! That takes me back.





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""Restoration" and other ROM hacks" , posted Wed 10 Jul 13:04post reply

Video link

Most of the ROM hacks in this video I knew about, but one entire genre I didn't know about were ones which altered the color palettes in order to make them appear more like the game it was a port of, a bugfix hack for Super Ghouls n Ghosts which entirely fixes the slowdown the game had! I always chalked up the slightly odd music of Startropics to emulation glitches, but it turns out it sounds that way even in real hardware because the music programming has a glitch that causes one of the notes to play wrong, and there's a hack to fix that!

One of the wildest ones for sure is adding an SA-1 chip to games that didn't have them through the power of emulation, resulting in the game becoming smoother in a hardware accurate fashion! That's WILD!

In spite of being one of the people that genuinely loves Ninja Gaiden 3 and thinks it is a powerhouse game with a soundtrack years ahead of its time, I had no idea that the USA edition of the game was made harder than the Japanese one! And that a hack was added that makes the enemies deal the lower damage they did in the Japanese version while maintaining the more difficult enemy layouts of the USA version! That sounds perfect!

One of the wildest hacks of all that I'm sure karasu will not approve of is the adding of air control to Castlevania 1! Not only can you slightly adjust your jump arc, but you can even steer yourself a bit when hit by enemies! I think playing through CV1 again with that hack would probably be a really unique experience!

Maou will likely sniff at some of the hacks done to the Working Designs games, but I do think that making the dialogue text use upper and lower case is definitely a positive improvement... I also had no idea that Working Designs added substantial difficulty to that one game including making saves cost a resource!





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"Re(1): "Restoration" and other ROM hacks" , posted Thu 11 Jul 01:25post reply

Sweet, this is my wheelhouse! That vid was well put together but I feel like there was one glaring omission.

Simon's Quest Retranslation
Even if they hadn't touch a word of the English script, what makes this patch shine are the modular QOL components like restored save functionality, smooth day/night transitions that don't stop the gameplay, Down + A to hop off stairs, and a whip inventory. Plus added content based on the original instruction manual including a cinematic intro and a map! There's also in depth liner notes on the translation.

And also the entire category of adding additional players, because it's more fun with friends!
Super Mario Bros
Ducktales 2
Paper Mario
Devil May Cry 4

I also mourn the loss of the 3 player co-op hack in Seiken Densetsu 3, since I now have moved on to Trials of Mana on Switch, but I suppose that's a natural step down on the number of players for when the remake gets released without co-op at all.





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"Re(1): hackin'" , posted Sat 13 Jul 01:31:post reply

quote:

Maou will likely sniff at some of the hacks done to the Working Designs games, but I do think that making the dialogue text use upper and lower case is definitely a positive improvement... I also had no idea that Working Designs added substantial difficulty to that one game including making saves cost a resource!

I do sniff! But despite disagreeing with the hacker's opinion on what makes a good script and a good localization, it's always fun for people to try something different, and having to use a valuable resource to save in the US version is tough (even if I think it's kind of neat!). It makes a lot more sense for games they accidentally broke...Exile, I think?

Fixing bugs, on the other hand, is a pretty cool aspect of rom hacking, though in some cases, they become part of the fabric of the game! I once saw a patch that removed the Vanish/Death and Vanish/Degen instant-kill combination from FFVI, but those always felt so natural that they seemed intentional. And I figure if you're slick enough to know how to equip Edgar's Drill as armor to max out your stats, the bug is just fine. Still, I'd enjoy playing a version of FFVI where the Magic Evasion stat actually worked (I believe it's accidentally connected to regular Evasion).
quote:
adding of air control to Castlevania 1!
On the other hand, I'm not sure I can condone heresey! Then again, it would be a really nice introduction for people who wanted to get into the series after starting with a Metroidvania. They could model it after FFIV Easy Type (the only rom hack I know of to have an official release, hohoho) and push it as the "friendly edition!"





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"PCE Mini(mum Effort)" , posted Mon 15 Jul 13:42post reply

コナミ:討伐開始

The only thing more unforgivable than a double-post is Konami’s continued incompetence, so let’s marvel at its extremely weird choice to have the PCE Mini include 26 Japanese language games and 24 English language games to guarantee that no one will be happy! It’s not like they didn’t have standard practices (FC, SFC Mini), best practices (MD Mini), and disastrous practices (PS Classic) to study from, so...what the hell IS this?!

I see they now have Snatcher, Bomberman ‘94, Dracula X, Ys 1&2, and unofficial MMC mascot game CHOU ANIKI, but where on earth are Tengai Makyou, Cosmic Fantasy, Exile, Garou, an influential girly game or two like Doukyuusei, and all the other anime-heavy CD games that defined the system?! Unsurprisingly given the history, the US lineup contains nothing additional of any importance.

At least they managed to figure out that they should probably include Tokimeki Memorial (for god’s sake), but otherwise, they’ve managed to make the PCE Mini feel a lot more like the irrelevant overseas legacy than its important second place finish in Japan.





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"Re(1):PCE Switch Mini(mum Effort) or Lite" , posted Mon 15 Jul 14:02post reply

quote:
コナミ:討伐開始

The only thing more unforgivable than a double-post is Konami’s continued incompetence, so let’s marvel at its extremely weird choice to have the PCE Mini include 26 Japanese language games and 24 English language games to guarantee that no one will be happy! It’s not like they didn’t have standard practices (FC, SFC Mini), best practices (MD Mini), and disastrous practices (PS Classic) to study from, so...what the hell IS this?!

I see they now have Snatcher, Bomberman ‘94, Dracula X, Ys 1&2, and unofficial MMC mascot game CHOU ANIKI, but where on earth are Tengai Makyou, Cosmic Fantasy, Exile, Garou, an influential girly game or two like Doukyuusei, and all the other anime-heavy CD games that defined the system?! Unsurprisingly given the history, the US lineup contains nothing additional of any importance.

At least they managed to figure out that they should probably include Tokimeki Memorial (for god’s sake), but otherwise, they’ve managed to make the PCE Mini feel a lot more like the irrelevant overseas legacy than its important second place finish in Japan.



I am not to familiar with the PCE or TG but if it has some gems worth playing, I would like to try it. But is it a good deal? I saw somewhere that it will have all 50 games. Not sure if that was a bad advertisement cause I assume it had more games than 50?

Also, what is everyones thoughts on the new Switch Lite?

I personally am glad that this is available. I can stop using stealing my brothers switch at times! But I prefer the portability to use it anywhere in the house or outside. I have been shifting my game purchases from PS4 to switch now. Who would have known.





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"Re(2):PCE Switch Mini(mum Effort) or Lite" , posted Mon 15 Jul 14:09post reply

No joke: they are seriously selling it as “50 games” when it’s actually 26 games in Japanese and 24 games in English, with overlap between them, and neither set translated for the other language speakers.

Stick with your Switch. At least the Lite will get you a proper d-pad. And we are now d-pad bros due to the other thread. So.





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"Re(1):PCE Mini(mum Effort)" , posted Mon 15 Jul 20:42post reply

quote:

The only thing more unforgivable than a double-post is Konami’s continued incompetence, so let’s marvel at its extremely weird choice to have the PCE Mini include 26 Japanese language games and 24 English language games to guarantee that no one will be happy! It’s not like they didn’t have standard practices (FC, SFC Mini), best practices (MD Mini), and disastrous practices (PS Classic) to study from, so...what the hell IS this?!
Yeah, the selection is just terrible.
Alien Crush over Devil? PC Genjin 1 but not 2? No Final Match Tennis? No Cotton? No Ys4? Fire Pro Wrestling? Kunio-kun? NO TENGAIMAKYO WTF???
There's a lot of games that were influential at the time but a chore to play now... and even that list is incomplete. Where is Kiki Kaikai?
Konami doesn't care about Hudson, Taito or Spike. Or NEC.

...
Though on second thought, I don't know why I get all worked up on this, since I never intended to buy another box of plastic waste anyway.







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"More Astral Chain" , posted Tue 23 Jul 01:05post reply

This latest previews have got me me from intruiged to excited! It seems like a pretty different and unique take on their Nier Automata-style approach to gameplay with combat sort of resembling a hybrid of The Wonderful 101 and Metal Gear Rising Revengance. More impressions seem to be cropping up for its press release but I'm wondering if they aren't marketing it as heavily as they should be.





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"Mega Man fighting with Hunter Progarm" , posted Tue 23 Jul 03:04post reply

I'm sorry for dirtying this topic, but I would like to inform you that Capcom is trying to milk Mega Man a little more with this new game for smartphones.







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"Re(1):More Astral Chain" , posted Thu 25 Jul 16:10post reply

New video showing more awesome gameplay. I'm surprised how nobody seems to talk about this game, as it seems to be in-between Bayonetta and Neir Automata in terms of linear versus open-world progression. Will this game go unloved like The Wonderful 101?





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"DQ5 Film" , posted Thu 25 Jul 20:48post reply

I didn't even realize it was coming so soon!

It might be almost two decades since I last hit theaters twice in one summer.







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"Re(2):More Asstral Chain, 13 Sentinals" , posted Sat 27 Jul 13:45post reply

quote:
Astral Chain
I'm surprised how nobody seems to talk about this game, as it seems to be in-between Bayonetta and Neir Automata.
They made a pretty weird choice going with Katsura on the designs and then not using his seriously pretty girl designs as a selling point. By contrast, Yoshida's godly work on Nier Automata's designs alone was enough to sell me on the game. Ditto on Bayonetta's art.
quote:
Capcom is trying to milk Mega Man a little more with this new game for smartphones.
On the positive side, even this Rockman X Dive game will still be better than Rockman X3.

Speaking of robots, the horribly named 13 Sentinals is somehow coming out on November 28, so I guess Vanillaware paid Atlus their ransom and has been allowed to finally release the game and then hopefully make something more interesting next time.





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"Re(3):More Asstral Chain, 13 Sentinals" , posted Sat 27 Jul 22:59post reply

quote:
They made a pretty weird choice going with Katsura on the designs and then not using his seriously pretty girl designs as a selling point. By contrast, Yoshida's godly work on Nier Automata's designs alone was enough to sell me on the game. Ditto on Bayonetta's art.


Wait, Katsura is doing the designs? I didn't know that! Everything I've seen of Astral Chain makes it appear to be a robotic dog walking simulator. Platinum needs to learn that simply flashing combo numbers on a screen isn't enough to sell a game.







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"Re(4):More Asstral Chain, Bladewolf walking" , posted Sun 28 Jul 04:28:post reply

quote:
Wait, Katsura is doing the designs? I didn't know that! Everything I've seen of Astral Chain makes it appear to be a robotic dog walking simulator. Platinum needs to learn that simply flashing combo numbers on a screen isn't enough to sell a game.

...But you can do flashy combos with the dog! It's like you constantly have a playable Bladewolf...that you can ride!
Also details about Katsura's designs are mentioned in Platinum's blog.

quote:
They made a pretty weird choice going with Katsura on the designs and then not using his seriously pretty girl designs as a selling point. By contrast, Yoshida's godly work on Nier Automata's designs alone was enough to sell me on the game. Ditto on Bayonetta's art.

Part of me thinks this might be them playing it safe given the recent state of backlash towards super-sexy character art in games. Not that it prevented them taking a crack at a buttshot in the coverart.





[this message was edited by sfried on Sun 28 Jul 04:36]



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"PsychoPass Jojos & Armored Core sequels" , posted Sun 28 Jul 08:36post reply

Speaking of unloved mechanical things, the spiritual successor to Armored Core is just around the corner, and it looks like they've listened to a lot of the feedback given to them after they released the prototype demo, particularly now that the performance seems to run smoother.







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"Re(5):More Ass-tral Chain, Aleste walking" , posted Sun 28 Jul 10:03post reply

quote:
taking a crack at a buttshot
Nice work.

I suppose it could be a reaction to the curious and misguided revival of a discredited anti-sex offshoot of second-wave feminism on Western twitter, it's true. Then again, Katsura may have just been hamstrung by the limits of police outfits, and even the comparatively dull designs do sort of remind me of the outfit worn by the girl from the future in DNA^2 whose name I have long since forgotten. I guess what I'm saying is that if Katsura is doing designs for a Platinum game, I want it to be a Shadow Lady game.

I'm delighted to see a revival for Armored Core, and speaking of heroic mecha action, I'm even more baffled that I somehow didn't know that our lords and savio(u)rs at M2 are involved in a new Aleste title, somehow?!





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"Re(6):More Ass-tral Chain, Aleste walking" , posted Sun 28 Jul 12:40post reply

M2 is intent on bringing more classic shmups over to the mainstream with their ShotTriggers lineup. I hope this also means they will one day get to help out in bringing over Radiant Silvergun (along with Treasure) to more platforms...

And wouldn't you know...speaking of platforming, the one of the best Touhouvania games to ever grace Steam is coming out on Switch! And they're adding a new boss to boot! (I'm talking about Touhou Luna Nights, the game whos team was behind the awesome Shin Megami Tensei Synchronicity Prologue.)

(And is it just me, or does Treasure as a studio parallel the similarities with the anime studio Gainax? Both were literally on top of their game in its hayday, infamouse for its mindscrew-like endings...and now most of its founders have moved on and the namesake has sort of become a shell of it former self? At least Treasure Ltd., unlike the now studio "Gaina", still knows what games it makes...)







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"Re(7):More Ass-tral Chain, Aleste walking" , posted Fri 2 Aug 02:21post reply

Satoshi Igarashi shares some samples of Astral Chain's soundtrack, and explains the vibe they're going for.







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"Re(8):More Ass-tral Chain, Omega Labyrinth" , posted Fri 2 Aug 15:23post reply

In light of the past, the only thing more interesting than the fact that a Nintendo system has somehow become the go-to successor for cheesecake games after Saturn and PSP/Vita is the fact that a breast-based roguelike is getting an English release. Quiet, of course I still remember Doki Doki Majo Shinpan on DS.

I’ll stick with Fuurai, but I’m all for it in a world of hyper-realistic murder simulators and still think it’s pretty hilarious.





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"Re(9):More Ass-tral Chain, Omega Labyrinth" , posted Sat 3 Aug 08:37post reply

quote:
In light of the past, the only thing more interesting than the fact that a Nintendo system has somehow become the go-to successor for cheesecake games after Saturn and PSP/Vita is the fact that a breast-based roguelike is getting an English release. Quiet, of course I still remember Doki Doki Majo Shinpan on DS.

It all started with Senran Kagura and that 3D boobdepth slider... From then, it was basically a greenlight for 3rd parties to go nuts on the fan-service on their systems.







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"Re(10):More Ass-tral Chain, Omega Labyrinth" , posted Thu 8 Aug 22:25post reply

Why didn't someone tell me there are cats in Astral Chain? Don't people know how to properly market games?







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"Re(2):Re(10):More Ass-tral Chain, Kunio-kun" , posted Sat 10 Aug 01:46post reply

Arc Sys maybe be busy with a new Guilty Gear, but they didn't forget the Kunio-kun Gaiden remake which now showcases new fighting movesets for the girls.





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"Re(3):Re(10):More Ass-tral Chain, Kunio-kun" , posted Sun 11 Aug 22:43post reply

Looks like Billy and Jimmy got new jobs, and even Abobo's around. Hard times after Double Dragon IV?





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"Re(4):Re(10):More Ass-tral Chain, Kunio-kun" , posted Mon 12 Aug 04:57post reply

quote:
Looks like Billy and Jimmy got new jobs, and even Abobo's around. Hard times after Double Dragon IV?



River City Ransom/Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari already had the Dragon Twins, knock-offs of Billy and Jimmy, who even had Double Dragon's music as their theme.





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"Re(5):Re(10):More Ass-tral Chain, Kunio-kun" , posted Mon 12 Aug 12:01post reply

Oh, I know the Dragon Twins, they still haunt my nightmares





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"Re(11): Astral Chain: Jojo's Nier Automata" , posted Fri 16 Aug 03:01post reply

This game just might be Platinum's best work since Nier Automata and The Wonderful 101.

The previews shown so far have been very promising, and not to mention the amazing intro and opening segment...but I guess what gets me is how this seems to dabble a bit more into the adventure genre than what they did with Nier Automata (which had quests), now it seems there's also some sort of trading game in it? And as mentioned above you can pet cats AND dogs, the vending machines having cute faces to greet you, and the dog mascot for Neuron showing up in bizarre places. Many seem to be giving the impression that this isn't just a straight up action game and that's there's more to explore.







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"Re(2):Re(11): Astral Chain: Jojo's Nier Autom" , posted Fri 16 Aug 03:37post reply

quote:
The previews shown so far have been very promising, and not to mention the amazing intro and opening segment...

Does the song talk about eating pigeons at the beginning?
I was on board with this game but now I'm not so sure.
Eating disease-ridden pigeons might very well be my future after October, and I'd rather a bit of escapism (or at least some good recipes on how to disinfect the meat).







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"Re(3):Re(11): Astral Chain: Jojo's Nier Autom" , posted Fri 16 Aug 03:51post reply

quote:
The previews shown so far have been very promising, and not to mention the amazing intro and opening segment...
Does the song talk about eating pigeons at the beginning?
I was on board with this game but now I'm not so sure.
Eating disease-ridden pigeons might very well be my future after October, and I'd rather a bit of escapism (or at least some good recipes on how to disinfect the meat).



Reminds me of the backlash Xenoblade Chronicles X got because of Hiroyuki Sawano's particular taste in lyrics...
(Eventually some people just ended up loving it.)

Besides, if you're looking for escapism, whats more escapist than being Jojo PsychoPass cops who apparently also get ranked during non-combative investigations? It's weird that even in the fictional world, people still hold some sense of accountability.





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"Re(3):Re(11): Astral Chain: Jojo's Nier Autom" , posted Fri 16 Aug 04:10:post reply

quote:
The previews shown so far have been very promising, and not to mention the amazing intro and opening segment...
Does the song talk about eating pigeons at the beginning?
I was on board with this game but now I'm not so sure.
Eating disease-ridden pigeons might very well be my future after October, and I'd rather a bit of escapism (or at least some good recipes on how to disinfect the meat).



Male vocals:
I just-can't-help swallow-ing /up/ each and every pi-ge-on in this town!
Beaks. Hearts. Every-thing is gulped right down!

///tempo speeds up///

Female vocals:
Throwing some salt, on those wings.
I'm really-just-hoping I don't get a dis-ease.
It's rotten, filth-ridden...
Rot-ten pi-geon!


...but out of curiosity, Iggy, why might you be reduced to such a gastronomically tragic state when October has passed?





/ / /

[this message was edited by Mosquiton on Fri 16 Aug 05:37]



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"Re(4):Re(11): Astral Chain: Jojo's Nier Autom" , posted Fri 16 Aug 06:26post reply

quote:

...but out of curiosity, Iggy, why might you be reduced to such a gastronomically tragic state when October has passed?

Because of the state of the country I chose to live in.





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"Re(5):Re(11): Astral Chain: Jojo's Nier Autom" , posted Fri 16 Aug 08:13post reply

quote:

...but out of curiosity, Iggy, why might you be reduced to such a gastronomically tragic state when October has passed?
Because of the state of the country I chose to live in.



Oh right, it had momentarily slipped my mind that you are living and working in the UK.

I guess pâté would be the way to go.





/ / /


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"Astral Breaker" , posted Fri 16 Aug 08:30post reply

I was going to say "on a more cheerful note", but, really...
Was this really what the world needed in 2020?







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"Re(1):Astral Breaker" , posted Fri 16 Aug 11:18post reply

quote:
I was going to say "on a more cheerful note", but, really...
Was this really what the world needed in 2020?



So many responses.
Yes.
No, the world needs Breakers Revenge 2.
Is this an even worse looking HD Remix? No? Is that good or bad, though?







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"Re(1):Astral Breaker" , posted Sat 17 Aug 01:05post reply

quote:
I was going to say "on a more cheerful note", but, really...
Was this really what the world needed in 2020?


Breakers? Oh yeah, that's going to be the most awesome PS2 compilation of 2020!





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"Re(2):Astral Breaker" , posted Sat 17 Aug 06:02post reply

quote:
I was going to say "on a more cheerful note", but, really...
Was this really what the world needed in 2020?

Breakers? Oh yeah, that's going to be the most awesome PS2 compilation of 2020!



We need to know which country this game has a huge following at with the constant re-releases of this game. Could it be Brazil?





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"Re(3):Everybody Super Dragonball Racing..." , posted Sun 18 Aug 02:16post reply

Is this the first time a game has ever openly referenced a filler episode?





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"Re(4):Everybody Super Dragonball Racing..." , posted Sun 18 Aug 08:31:post reply

quote:
Is this the first time a game has ever openly referenced a filler episode?


Yo dawg, we heard you like games that reference filler episodes so we got you a game that references a filler episode that's a remake of a game that's a remake of a filler episode that's a remake of a game.

(I also found it odd that I couldn't find a Youtube video covering how this all came about. Perhaps I'll make one.)





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"Re(5):Everybody Super Dragonball Racing..." , posted Mon 19 Aug 02:18post reply

quote:
Is this the first time a game has ever openly referenced a filler episode?

Yo dawg, we heard you like games that reference filler episodes so we got you a game that references a filler episode that's a remake of a game that's a remake of a filler episode that's a remake of a game.

(I also found it odd that I couldn't find a Youtube video covering how this all came about. Perhaps I'll make one.)



That is amazing and hilarious!
I had no idea about the lineage of this!







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"Re(4):Everybody Super Dragonball Racing..." , posted Mon 19 Aug 02:20post reply

quote:
Is this the first time a game has ever openly referenced a filler episode?


Finally, someone is making a game featuring the aspect of DB that I like!







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"Re(5):Panzer Dragoon Remake;Zwei in the works" , posted Tue 20 Aug 23:43:post reply

Details surface about the current Panzer Dragoon Remake.
Meanwhile, enjoy some off-screen handheld footage.

Edit: Added an additional link





[this message was edited by sfried on Tue 20 Aug 23:49]

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"No Loading Times Test - PS1 or Saturn?" , posted Tue 27 Aug 12:13post reply

Need help to clarify another argument among my group. Does the playstation one have a game(or games) that does not have to go through any loading time anytime after the game is fully booted. By no loading time, that means,
a screen for loading
Now loading screen
interrupting the transition for loading

Some say the Saturn, with the 4MB cart for 2d fighting games, mainly Capcom, provided nearly no loading times what so ever.
Every game will have loading of course but for the VS. series, it was done while the game was transitioning.

Any thoughts? Thanks.





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"Re(1):No Loading Times Test - PS1 or Saturn?" , posted Wed 28 Aug 06:02post reply

quote:
Need help to clarify another argument among my group. Does the playstation one have a game(or games) that does not have to go through any loading time anytime after the game is fully booted. By no loading time, that means,
a screen for loading
Now loading screen
interrupting the transition for loading

Some say the Saturn, with the 4MB cart for 2d fighting games, mainly Capcom, provided nearly no loading times what so ever.
Every game will have loading of course but for the VS. series, it was done while the game was transitioning.

Any thoughts? Thanks.



Can't honestly remember a single PS1 game that didn't have a "Now Loading" of some sort, screen at some point during the game.

Regarding the Saturn; this is correct. I had all the Capcom fighting games (also SNK) that used the 4Mb cart. I remember the cart being used to load extra frame data mostly. So characters would have extra/better animation/frames etc. Regarding their loading times, they were definitely faster; but games were still quickly loading in the background(for example during the Vs screen).





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"Re(2):No Loading Times Test - PS1 or Saturn?" , posted Wed 28 Aug 14:47:post reply

quote:
Need help to clarify another argument among my group. Does the playstation one have a game(or games) that does not have to go through any loading time anytime after the game is fully booted. By no loading time, that means,
a screen for loading
Now loading screen
interrupting the transition for loading




There are a number of games that either fit that criteria or comes very close to it, albeit the ones I can name are not released in English. If you search for games that were in 2D and played either as an RPG, Strategy, or adventure-style, often utilizing tiled-based graphics, you'll probably find a handful.

From games that I have fond memories of and can still recall, Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku 2 on the Saturn didn't have any sort of loading screen. There were probably transitional loadings but they were extremely short and hardly noticable, playing almost as smooth as a Super Famicom game.

Burger Burger for the PS1, an interesting game that plays like a Burger shop take on Sim City, had no loading screen beyond its initial player name input screen. And from what I understand, Burger Burger 2 had no loading screen whatsoever because they simply omitted a loading note on startup(!), which was a smart choice since it's short enough that you don't really feel it. I unfortunately never had a chance to play the sequel.

Dungeon Shoutenkai (PS1), another game which I liked because of its cozy atmosphere, didn't have any in-game loading screen either as I recall.





[this message was edited by Professor on Wed 28 Aug 15:53]



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"Re(3):No Loading Times Test - PS1 or Saturn?" , posted Wed 28 Aug 15:50post reply

The original Ridge Racer had only one loading screen when launching the game (you could play Galaxian during the 20 seconds the load lasted, if I remember correctly), and after that you could even remove the game disc from the system and replace it with a regular music CD to play with whatever other music as BGM. Not that you would ever need any other BGM than Rare Hero when playing Ridge Racer, but still a nice touch.

I don't remember if Ridge Racer Revolution has the same feature, though.






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"Ryu Ga Gotoku 7: Like a Persona" , posted Thu 29 Aug 23:37post reply

In today's Japan makes April Fool's jokes a reality news, the next Yakuza game now has RPG combat.







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"Re(1):Ryu Ga Gotoku 7: Like a Persona" , posted Fri 30 Aug 01:07post reply

quote:
In today's Japan makes April Fool's jokes a reality news, the next Yakuza game now has RPG combat.


Honestly, that looks like it could be fun. Since so much is being changed for this new Yakuza game it's a good time to do something new with the combat as well. Besides with Judgment and other variations out there it's not like the RgG game engine is going anywhere.







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"Re(2):Ryu Ga Gotoku 7: Like a Persona" , posted Fri 30 Aug 03:43post reply

quote:
In today's Japan makes April Fool's jokes a reality news, the next Yakuza game now has RPG combat.

Honestly, that looks like it could be fun. Since so much is being changed for this new Yakuza game it's a good time to do something new with the combat as well. Besides with Judgment and other variations out there it's not like the RgG game engine is going anywhere.



Yeah, at first I was thinking "oh no, what of my Yakuza beat 'em ups?!" but then I remembered that Judgement exists and will likely carry the action banner.

It's wild that they're willing to shake things up that much!

But then again given that the game is really all about playing management sims, maybe it makes sense to make the entire game's gameplay about menu manipulation outside of karaoke and slot car racing.







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"Re(1):Ryu Ga Gotoku 7: Like a Persona" , posted Fri 30 Aug 18:48post reply

quote:
In today's Japan makes April Fool's jokes a reality news, the next Yakuza game now has RPG combat.



OK, that might be the moment when RGG became "too real".

The new MC is a fan of DQ, like any old guy in his 40s.
So, like in DQ, you can change jobs at Dorma, since this is an RPG.
Except in-universe, Dorma is actually Hallo Work.

So after having broken your spirits chasing some temp work all day to pay the bills, you can go back home to do the same thing in your escapism game. It's quite chilling, really.

It's also quite telling that the game that used to be "vent your frustration by punching a drunk buchô that has the same name as your own" has transformed into that. It used to be a series for overstressed salarymen, now RGG7 is a game for ex-salarymen who have become freeters or neets because of the worsening of the economy.

... I think I'll go back to Asstral Chain.





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"Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection" , posted Sat 31 Aug 01:22post reply

Rejoice or not? That save feature is a big deal for most to enjoy playing the game.

Info and Trailer





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"Re(1):Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection" , posted Sat 31 Aug 09:59post reply

quote:
Rejoice or not? That save feature is a big deal for most to enjoy playing the game.

Info and Trailer


I still have nightmares about trying to earn the Z-skills by avoiding getting hit. At least in Momodora: RUTM, they don't do the typical boss rush mode at the end that has become a staple of the franchise (and also have far fewer bosses that can be cheesed through if you equip the right sub-items).





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"Re(2):Ryu Ga Gotoku 7: Like a Persona" , posted Mon 2 Sep 10:13post reply

quote:
So after having broken your spirits chasing some temp work all day to pay the bills, you can go back home to do the same thing in your escapism game. It's quite chilling, really.

It's also quite telling that the game that used to be "vent your frustration by punching a drunk buchô that has the same name as your own" has transformed into that. It used to be a series for overstressed salarymen, now RGG7 is a game for ex-salarymen who have become freeters or neets because of the worsening of the economy.



It hurts because it's true. But do Freeters or Neets own a PS4? How did the RGG mobile games do? From where I stand (on the train), everyone is playing Power Pros, all the time. Or one of the myriad of other gatcha games.

I do wonder who the new RGG combat is for, but I'm kind of happy that the team has the opportunity to mix it up. And I wonder where the new Judgement brand will go, and if they'll keep Kimutaku or go with another big name actor for the next one.







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"MOON and Deadly Premonition on Switch!! (??!)" , posted Thu 5 Sep 12:58:post reply

In the list of highly improbable game releases on Switch, Deadly Premonition on the Switch is up there.

Much less probable was that a full-fledged sequel to Deadly Premonition would be made!.... and that it'd be on the Switch?!
Two main characters! A prequel and a sequel story!

Even more improbable is that the studio made of former Love-de-Lic folks, Onion Games, is not only going to release MOON on the Switch, but that they are going to release it IN ENGLISH ON THE SWITCH!
Official twitter!

Terry Bogard in Smash is merely improbable next to do these. The infinite improbability engine is running strong this year.





[this message was edited by Spoon on Thu 5 Sep 23:35]

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"Re(1):MOON and Deadly Premonition on Switch!!" , posted Thu 5 Sep 14:43post reply

Wow at Moon. I have it on PS1 and didn't finish it, but it's something very special indeed. I wouldn't say it's easy to understand how to progress through the game though, I remember it was quite punishing. However I'm excited to see it reach a wider audience... I wonder how they acquired the rights?

Deadly Premonition is a game I bought twice, but never could really get into. But it's nice and quirky! I should look up how the story ends someday... :)





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"13 sentinels aegis whatever" , posted Sat 7 Sep 01:47post reply

There is a new trailer for 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

I don't understand half of what they say, and I still don't understand what the gameplay is aside from the visual novel / exploration part.
It seems an... RTS?







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"Re(1):13 sentinels aegis whatever" , posted Sat 7 Sep 02:35post reply

quote:
There is a new trailer for 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

I don't understand half of what they say, and I still don't understand what the gameplay is aside from the visual novel / exploration part.
It seems an... RTS?



Looks almost life tower defense to me, what with defined lanes that creatures can potentially run down and you having a set of things with no/limited mobility that need to destroy them. I'm super intrigued by it all!





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"Re(2):13 sentinels aegis whatever" , posted Sat 7 Sep 03:39post reply

quote:
There is a new trailer for 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

I don't understand half of what they say, and I still don't understand what the gameplay is aside from the visual novel / exploration part.
It seems an... RTS?


Looks almost life tower defense to me, what with defined lanes that creatures can potentially run down and you having a set of things with no/limited mobility that need to destroy them. I'm super intrigued by it all!



Great, I hate both genres.
I like Vanillaware but this time I think I should pass.







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"TGS" , posted Mon 9 Sep 00:07post reply

So, I know the world is in a pretty bad place and everyone wants to murder everyone. But also, have you seen these Megadrive taiyaki and this adorable Masupi?
One is going to kill you with its scorching filling, one will murder you with cuteness. There are worse ways to go.





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"Re(3):13 sentinels aegis whatever" , posted Mon 9 Sep 14:49post reply

quote:
There is a new trailer for 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

I don't understand half of what they say, and I still don't understand what the gameplay is aside from the visual novel / exploration part.
It seems an... RTS?


Looks almost life tower defense to me, what with defined lanes that creatures can potentially run down and you having a set of things with no/limited mobility that need to destroy them. I'm super intrigued by it all!


Great, I hate both genres.
I like Vanillaware but this time I think I should pass.



I'm aggressively uninterested in abstracted 3d RTS games. But I'll support anything Vanillaware makes! The characters and story are enough for me!

I was just talking with a friend (who is a super excellent self taught artist and animator) about Vanillaware and he commented that to this day they seem to be the only people that can make natural looking walk and run cycles with puppet/2.5D animation and haha oh man, it's so true!

They are one of the major pioneers of this style (along with the Super Robot Wars team as well as Hentai devs like Tinklebell). I'm pretty sure the animation program Spine was largely made to emulate the look and workings of Vanillaware's games. It's actually become the defacto way to make 2d games now, which when you figure in all the Steam and Mobile games out there now, means it's possibly even more common than 3d games these days! Sometimes I worry that now that everyone does stuff in this style (every Waifu game, Dota/MOBA wallpapers, every bubble shooter, ever mobile CCG etc) that there's no longer any novelty in what Vanillaware does. But they don't need novelty. They just keep delivering the highest quality 2d stuff out there. They're still on top of the game! They do so many things that others dont even think of.

One thing that I think Vanillaware is especially great at is modulating the frame rate of their animations, not unlike say how Arcsys approaches 3d. Just because they can have super smooth interpolated tweens all the time, doesn't mean you should actually do it. Too many 2.5D games just look so damn GOOPY. Like every Korean Waifu game, it's as if the entire character is made out of jiggly breast material. And a lot of Western developed stuff is very technically impressive, but again, it's overly smooth to the point where nothing feels solid. Everything comes across as if they're made of puffy marshmallow material. When everything is pushed to that extreme, nothing has impact. It's like putting bacon on everything. There's no variety. No impact.

Vanillaware keeps stuff classy by using just enough frames to convey whatever it is they want to convey. And you don't even notice it, you just feel it. I'd say it's actually a lot less conspicuous than Xrd which is consciously low frame rate. Vanillaware mixes it up so you don't even notice. Bless em, I'm still learning so much from them all these years later!

BTW I'll be at TGS this year. I'm a total neophyte for this event, and quite frankly I'm really out of touch with what games are coming out lately. Please let me know what games/studios you think I should keep track of! I might even be able to go check out their booths for ya!






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"River City Girls" , posted Mon 9 Sep 15:03post reply

Anyone playing River City Girls? It just came out on console/steam. I'm really enjoying it! I absolutely ADORE the sprite art. It's the best sprite art and 2d animation i've seen from a new game in years. They absolutely nailed the feeling of snappy classic 2d Capcom/SNK fighters. This is my absolute favorite style of animation and it's so good to see those skills alive and well in a new game! Also so interesting how much Game Dev has changed where Japanese publishers go to North America if they want a top notch 2d brawler!

Most of the animation in the game was actually done by a single artist toO! You can follow them on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/kaynimatic

They are an AMAZING artist. They actually go straight to pixel art! No need for rough pencils! And on top of that, they animate STRAIGHT AHEAD instead of pose to pose! This blows my mind because these animations are so EFFICIENT. Every frame is so perfect. Obviously this animator is a very hard worker who has put in their time, but someone who can do this straight ahead, they also probably have a lot of natural talent and very good intuition for animation. It's spectacular stuff! God I love good GAME animation!

The game is a blast with two players too! I have some criticisms, but I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the game first! I highly recommend this game if you love:
-good sprite art
-specifically Capcom/SNK sprite art
-specifically Waku Waku 7-like sprite art!
-brawlers
-the original River City Ransom (this is a good update)

Oh yeah the character designs by REM (creator of Devil's Candy) are also really dang good!
https://twitter.com/tsulala/status/1170913875736158209

Full disclosure, I personally know a few folks who worked on this game, and I've worked for Way Forward in the past, so of course I have a personal vested interest in this game doing well. But the reason I know those folks and worked with that company in the first place is cos I really like what they make! They're very passionate, skilled, hard working people! Their games are made with love. And River City Girls is the most impressive game they've ever made! Please play it!






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"Re(1):River City Girls" , posted Wed 11 Sep 03:59post reply

I haven't bought the game yet, but I plan on getting both the English and Japanese versions to see if Touma Yumi-san is somehow back as Misako. (I doubt it.) My youngest brother is interested.







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"Re(2):River City Girls" , posted Wed 11 Sep 04:26post reply

I'm glad to hear that the art design in RCG is top notch. At the moment my plan is to pick up the Girls when Ninja Saviors finally releases in the US and spend the rest of 2019 cracking skulls.







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"Re(1):River City Girls" , posted Wed 11 Sep 10:45:post reply

quote:
Anyone playing River City Girls? It just came out on console/steam. I'm really enjoying it! I absolutely ADORE the sprite art.


I've only played a few minutes.

Pressing the attack button to perform screen transitions is an idea that never should have made it through testing. It would be much safer if the transition was triggered by a direction push instead. As is, it is difficult to fight near a door or stairwell without accidentally triggering a screen transition.

I'm not that fond of the English voice actors for the girls. The voice actors are talents and are probably delivering exactly the performance they were hired to deliver. As I've had similar issues with voice choices in US dubs of various anime, my issue is probably more with the performance they were hired to deliver than the delivery itself. Kiyoko is too overdone; she sounds like an exaggerated take on an already exaggerated idea. I cannot even bring myself to play as Kiyoko due to her voice. Misako is much more bearable, but there the issue is that she sounds too much like a 25-30 year old woman doing the voice acting for a teen. (My issue isn't the age of the voice actor, just something about the voice itself doesn't quite click.) Honestly, I'd probably be more accepting of Misako if I wasn't so annoyed by Kiyoko.

EDIT: Kiyoko's voice does get a bit less annoying as I play, which does indeed make me feel better about Misako's voice.

Still not sure how I feel about the gameplay itself. It is fine, but some stuff can be annoying.

You unlock your earliest moves so fast that I'm not sure why they were locked in the first place. It just makes the fighting seem more limited for the first few rooms, where you only have around three moves available there. You have to level up to unlock basic abilities like being able to perform a jumping hard attack.

I'm not sure if there is a trick to recruiting enemies. Right now, it feels fairly random when someone chooses to switch sides. It feels almost like a mechanic to sometimes discourage you from attacking as fast as possible.

I cannot decide how much the game wants me to be using the parry. Some enemies are clearly designed to encourage the player to parry, both due to their attacks and their tendency to block. At least I assume that is why you lack a guard-break move. At the same time, I'm having issues grabbing the exact timing for the parry. I end up blocking too fast for the slower attacks, and too slow for the faster attacks. I never parried Misuzu at all, and I don't know if it is because her attacks cannot be parried or if it was just that I always got the timing wrong.

Similar to fighting at transition points, it can be annoying fighting near dropped weapons. If you don't want to pick up a weapon, you have to either move away from the area or only rely on heavy attacks.

The pause menu move list also doesn't seem to do a good job of describing the moves. "X Rapidly" doesn't mean a Lightning Leg button mash input; instead it means the follow-up attacks of your basic combo. Moves triggered against fallen opponents give no indication that they are only triggered against fallen opponents. Commands for throws only say that they are done from a grab, omitting whether a particular throw requires a front or back grab specifically.





[this message was edited by Baines on Wed 11 Sep 12:38]



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"Re(2):River City Girls" , posted Wed 11 Sep 14:07post reply

Fight'N Rage definitely plays better than River City Girls, but River City Girls definitely has the better sprites, and Fight'N Rage has a lot of really good sprites to begin with!

To briefly recall Final Fight 3... Fight'N Rage takes an ENORMOUS amount of inspirations from Final Fight 3. One entire boss fight + stage area (the kitchen) is almost lifted from Final Fight 3, except that the boss is redesigned to fit in F'nR and the notion of what is being cooked in the kitchen is much more sinister.

Final Fight 3 actually lets you chain jump d+Attack into jump Attack, but it's rather hard to do and doesn't have a huge amount of use AFAIK. Fight'N Rage straight up has this as well! But it works much better, largely because of the game's juggle system.







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"Re(3):River City Girls" , posted Wed 11 Sep 21:38post reply

quote:
Fight'N Rage definitely plays better than River City Girls, but River City Girls definitely has the better sprites, and Fight'N Rage has a lot of really good sprites to begin with!


Fight'N Rage is certainly much better in the gameplay department than River City Girls, though I feel it puts too strong a focus on its parry function.

At the same time, Fight'N Rage is also a fairly difficult game. I can only assume that River City Girls was aiming for a more casual demographic. (The original RCR was relatively easy and forgiving itself.)







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"Re(4):River City Girls" , posted Wed 11 Sep 22:22post reply

Hmm, the reports fro Baines and Spoon make RCG sound really rough. Is there any mention of an eventual patch that might clear up some of these issues?







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"Re(5):River City Girls" , posted Thu 12 Sep 01:57post reply

In other news, the English translation of Romancing Sa.Ga3 is trash.
https://twitter.com/SquareEnix/status/1171770617529425921
"Morastrum" ? Was any combination of "Death" and "Eclipse" too difficult? Why "Sinistral"? Why translate the Holy King into "the Matriarch"?
I don't understand why you'd take a very easy scenario told in very simple ways, and just make it more obscure. Keep your Fl'cie and L'cie in the lesser series and keep SaGa normal and well written, SQEX.


Makes me worried for the translation of the infinitely more complex Scarlet Grace. Oh, well.







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"Re(6):SaGa City Girls" , posted Thu 12 Sep 02:40post reply

quote:
In other news, the English translation of Romancing Sa.Ga3 is trash.
https://twitter.com/SquareEnix/status/1171770617529425921
"Morastrum" ? Was any combination of "Death" and "Eclipse" too difficult? Why "Sinistral"? Why translate the Holy King into "the Matriarch"?
I don't understand why you'd take a very easy scenario told in very simple ways, and just make it more obscure. Keep your Fl'cie and L'cie in the lesser series and keep SaGa normal and well written, SQEX.

I think it reflects a localization trend at least as old as Vagrant Story and continuing through FFXII and all the Ivalice games. Alexander O. Smith's command of Shakespearean Early Modern English is impressive, and people seemed to really enjoy the English versions of the game, but I always had the suspicion that transforming approachable modern Japanese text into more "distant" older English could sometimes put a distance between the player and the game world. It's not even a case here of "the original text wasn't very sophisticated, the English version is," as is arguably the case in NOA's work or similar, but just that a perfectly fine text is now characterized differently.

Put another way: I wonder what people would have thought if FFVI's straightforward and well-characterized Japanese text had been made flowery, rather than translated into straightforward and well-characterized English text (at least in the original Woolsey version).





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"Re(5):River City Girls" , posted Thu 12 Sep 03:41post reply

quote:
Hmm, the reports fro Baines and Spoon make RCG sound really rough. Is there any mention of an eventual patch that might clear up some of these issues?



The game is polished, and my issues aren't things that are likely to be patched. They aren't bugs, but rather intentional design decisions. There are certainly worse beat'em-ups around, but there are also better ones.

I'm not the biggest cheerleader for WayForward. I find their games to be visually attractive, but their game design and gameplay tends to falls a bit short. Not bad, not objectionable, just kind of average and propped up by the quality of their artwork.







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"Re(7):SaGa City Girls" , posted Thu 12 Sep 05:38post reply

quote:
I think it reflects a localization trend at least as old as Vagrant Story and continuing through FFXII and all the Ivalice games. Alexander O. Smith's command of Shakespearean Early Modern English is impressive, and people seemed to really enjoy the English versions of the game, but I always had the suspicion that transforming approachable modern Japanese text into more "distant" older English could sometimes put a distance between the player and the game world. It's not even a case here of "the original text wasn't very sophisticated, the English version is," as is arguably the case in NOA's work or similar, but just that a perfectly fine text is now characterized differently.


The thing is, Kawazu's writing is very subdued, with a lot of personality expressed in tiny grammatical details. The text is always very simple, because our lord hates everything that gets in the way of the player, like cutscenes, scenario, wasting time in pointlessly big cities, or even walking on a map from point A to point B.
But it's incredibly difficult to translate, because either you stick to the information conveyed and it's dry and boring, or you try to express the personality of the characters and suddenly you have to over-translate and be super verbose, because western languages don't work like Japanese.

Both choices are bad, and finding a balance between the two is extremely challenging. In any case, making up words to obscure the meaning when the Japanese is crystal clear is not the way to do it.







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"Re(6):River City Girls" , posted Thu 12 Sep 11:18post reply

It feels like the more I play, the more minor annoyances creep in.

The basic attack button being used to trigger screen exits has not improved. In some ways it has gotten worse, as pressing the normal attack button near a bus stop will pop up the bus menu and pressing the normal attack near a (rare) talkable person will stop the game for that conversation. PC gamers have apparently already made mods to rebind the "interact" actions, though.

Considering River City Ransom was somewhat revolutionary for letting you run up and punch an enemy while they were still delivering their intro speech, it is somewhat disappointing that RSG pauses the action to deliver full conversations.

Apparently WayForward didn't consider that PCs would be able to run the game at faster than 60fps, as there are apparently some action inputs that become inconsistent at higher frame rates.

Much less critical is apparently that the game code sets the max stamina at a value rather higher than the maximum stamina you can actually obtain within the game, which has led to some players being confused when they can no longer increase their stamina even though it isn't maxed?

Inconsistent or incomplete information seems to be a running theme with the game. I've already mentioned the overly vague move command list. That gets worse when you start getting more moves. Buying moves from shops has a similar matter; the game will helpfully show you an animation of the move before you buy it, but doesn't tell you how the move is performed. Then there is the food information inconsistency. Stores will display the effects of food only after you've eaten it at least once, but your inventory will display the effects even if you've never eaten it. Also, eating food in the shop won't show any stat increase effects, while eating from your inventory screen will?

Again, the game isn't bad. It just has a lot of careless or questionable design issues that shouldn't exist.







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"MEGA DRIVE MINI MENU BGM" , posted Fri 13 Sep 00:19post reply

wonderful!







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"Re(1):MEGA DRIVE MINI MENU BGM" , posted Fri 13 Sep 00:26post reply

Gungrave is beyond the grave yet again.

In much more dry news, Capcom won a lawsuit against Tecmo/Koei.







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"I was very popular during that time!" , posted Fri 13 Sep 02:26post reply

I thought the Gungrave trailer was bad, and then I read the Youtube description.
......... Well, at least they're keeping the same kind of quality control as then.

quote:
In much more dry news, Capcom won a lawsuit against Tecmo/Koei.

Because I'm a delusional fool, I want to believe this is just what Capcom waited for before announcing a Sengoku BASARA 5, even though it doesn't even make sense with this stupid lawsuit and Capcom is totally on the wrong side of history with their bullshit patent.

Still, where is my BASARA5 Capcom. At least announce a port of Utage on PC this Sunday, come on. Anything. I'm begging you Capcom.







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"Re(2):MEGA DRIVE MINI MENU BGM" , posted Fri 13 Sep 03:20post reply

quote:
In much more dry news, Capcom won a lawsuit against Tecmo/Koei.



Companies continue to show why patent law is terrible.

One of the patents effectively had Capcom claiming it owned the idea of a standalone expansion unlocking additional content in the base game. The other was Capcom claiming it owned the idea of making a controller vibrate to convey non-visual information.







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"Re(3):MEGA DRIVE MINI MENU BGM" , posted Fri 13 Sep 05:13post reply

quote:
One of the patents effectively had Capcom claiming it owned the idea of a standalone expansion unlocking additional content in the base game. The other was Capcom claiming it owned the idea of making a controller vibrate to convey non-visual information.

Yeah, it's as bad as the terrible "RPG is a trademark of Bandai-Namco" of a while ago.
Though I have a hunch this was specifically to spite Koei Tecmo. There has always been bad blood between the two companies.

My personal headcanon was that Tsujimoto was in the same school as Erikawa and was infatuated with her, but she rejected him and, after having drowned his sorrows in Californian wine, he decided to ruin her retirement.
Oh, no, rather the opposite: Tsujimoto senpai ignored our young heroine's youthful glances, which is all the backstory one needs to explain her ice queen fashion and ruthless business behaviour.

I want to see a drama about it now. Call me Netflix.







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"River City Girls and the image of RCR" , posted Tue 17 Sep 05:42:post reply

At one point in River City Girls, Kyoko asks why the city is so violent.

This bit of joke dialogue struck me for a couple of reasons.

First, the world the game displays does not match Kyoko's description. Kyoko says everyone is violent, but the game decorates stages with plenty of "background" characters that will not fight even if you try to attack them. Kyoko also describes a world where fist fights randomly erupt, but the game displays a world where the entire violent portion of the population has teamed up to specifically target Misako and Kyoko. While this is functionally what you saw in RCR, the difference comes in the following...

The fighting in RCR, and the Kunio games in general, made sense as gang fights. It wasn't that the entire city was violent, it was just teenage gang members. It also made sense to not see enemies fighting each other, as any area's enemies would all be from the same gang.

That isn't true in RCG. In RCG, there are no coherent gangs and everyone fights. The very first screen has Misako and Kyoko attacked by random classmates, on orders from the school principal. You continue to get attacked by random teams, then cops, and then WayForward goes wild. You start getting attacked by pro-wrestlers, dominatrixes, robot palette swaps, sledgehammer-wielding punks, Arnold Schwarzenegger cyborg/robots, ...

Kyoko's statement reflects an exaggerated fan view of RCR and the Kunio games, and RCG's design takes that exaggerated view and exaggerates it further. This is a game that starts with the school principal publicly ordering the entire school to attack two students. This is a game where a fashion designer fights you while flying high above the ground and summoning robots to assist her. This is a game where a regular enemy is an Arnold Schwarzenegger robot with extending arms.





[this message was edited by Baines on Tue 17 Sep 05:43]



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"Re(1):River City Girls and the image of RCR" , posted Tue 17 Sep 08:57post reply

I like Baines' point that RCG's violent world is sort of a fan misunderstanding of one of the basic elements of Kunio-kun, sort of along the lines of "Sonic was always about speed" (instead of "Sonic was about dashing and exploring intermittently with a lot of creative gimmicks and gadgets").
quote:
This is a game that starts with the school principal publicly ordering the entire school to attack two students.
On the other hand, RCG gives me yet another chance to reference perennial favorite My Schoolmate the Barbarian, which in turn includes both KOF and Justice Gakuen references, so maybe it's all fine.





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"Re(1):River City Girls and the image of RCR" , posted Tue 17 Sep 23:48post reply

quote:
Kyoko's statement reflects an exaggerated fan view of RCR and the Kunio games, and RCG's design takes that exaggerated view and exaggerates it further.


This is the exact philosophy that Wayforward applied to Double Dragon Neon, and it bugs me because it tends to feel like a slap in the face to the creators' original work. It's almost the perverse opposite approach of how the makers of Sonic Mania handled that game and its established universe.

RCG tries its best, but Kunio's world was so inherently Japanese that someone who isn't ingrained into that culture will miss the mark no matter how much they try to make it seem authentic.







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"River City Rival Showdown vs River City Girls" , posted Wed 18 Sep 00:57post reply

So I finally got around to playing River City Rival Showdown on the 3DS, which I was actually really looking forward to!

IT IS EXTREMELY GOOD GO PLAY IT NOW

So it is a re-creation of River City Ransom but now heavily informed by more modern games, while being a loving tribute to River City Ransom. It has a few notable gameplay tweaks relative to the original RCR (the wheel-type weapons are gone, thrown weapons don't bounce off walls quite as dramatically as before, pitfalls are gone, the variety of takeout food is much much smaller, eating at any sit-down eatery is a full HP restore, stat buffs from food are temporary, etc.), a few MAJOR STRUCTURAL CHANGES relative to the original RCR (the game takes place over 3 days where time passes in real time where there is a day-night cycle and you encounter story events across the map/days).

The first truly amazing thing about the game's realization of the city is how ALIVE the city feels. There are TONS of different NPC sprites which have no combat participation filling the city, and these change over the course of the day. One of the most lively parts of the game is how at night various parts of the city become full of these special NPC sprites, except they are gangs, and they are just hanging out! You don't even fight these guys!

Much like RCG's derided "press punch to interact", you also press punch to talk with people here, but if you accidentally punch certain people, the cops get called on you and I do not believe you can defeat the cop (though I have tried!). The fighting is almost entirely between school factions (and the plot and events are usually about that, as well), though occasionally you get into fights with club hosts and neighbourhood toughs. Even a "random individual" who fights you has some motivation for it. The people in the city are aware of the punks, but it's not like everybody in the city is raring for a fight. There are moms with babies, drunken salarymen, tourists to Japan, etc.

The game's story and world has been brought into the 2000's since it involves netcafes and cellphones!

Art/technical thing:
The game uses a combination of 3D things and pure 2D pixel art. The backgrounds are textured 3D objects with a deliberate low-resolution texturing style that gives it a PSX/pixel-esque look that is charming. The characters for the most part use a single textured polygon so that they can be affected by lighting, but due to the camera it makes them look slightly "muddy" as a result of texture interpolation. This becomes extremely apparent whenever a super move is done and it zooms way in on them. HOWEVER, the person doing the super move transitions into a pure pixel art representation which is razor sharp! This is a really unique trick which I haven't seen done anywhere else! The lighting and slight muddiness gives an interesting sense of haze and being in a humid summer day, which I guess fits perfectly with the hot-blooded life of Kunio. Whenever you enter a shop, it uses pure pixel art, and again the contrast of sharpness in color and line is sharply evident.... as if it wasn't already evident enough by the lower screen minimap that is also entirely pure pixel art.

As a love letter to RCR, one of the cool unlockable features you get once you have gone through one run of the game is an Encyclopedia and Jukebox. In the Encyclopedia, you get needlessly detailed character descriptions of seemingly every NPC in the game! In the Jukebox, you not only get to play every track and have a note about where that track appears in the game, you can flip between this game's arrangement of the track and the original NES version of the track! It's surprising how big the difference is, even though when you're playing the game you just feel "yeah, this is how RCR's music sounded (but with punchier percussion)!".

The real comparison that ought to be done is between River City Rival Showdown, The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa, and Yakuza. All three feature a city you roam around in on your whims. Actually, given River City Rival Showdown's structure, you could probably put Majora's Mask in there.





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"Re(1):River City Rival Showdown vs River City" , posted Thu 19 Sep 02:55post reply

quote:
So I finally got around to playing River City Rival Showdown on the 3DS, which I was actually really looking forward to!

IT IS EXTREMELY GOOD GO PLAY IT NOW



It seems very interesting!
I thought it was a somewhat new game, but it was released like 3 o 4 years ago, I never saw/read much about it here in Europe, probably because it was released only as digital download here, what a bummer.







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"THREAD OVER" , posted Mon 23 Sep 03:42:post reply

quote:
Oh, no, rather the opposite: Tsujimoto senpai ignored our young heroine's youthful glances, which is all the backstory one needs to explain her ice queen fashion and ruthless business behaviour.
And thaaaaaaaaat is the perfect way to conclude the longest Random Thread ever.

SEE YOU NEXT THREAD!





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[this message was edited by Maou on Mon 23 Sep 03:44]