I went back and read a few historical reviews from Ralizah's excellent index! Some of games I've played and some i want to get around to playing at some point. Apologies if I tag you and the game isn't that fresh in your memories any more!
@mookysam I read your review on Peace Walker and it's pretty accurate. think what I pick up from it and maybe it's because it's how I felt about it so I might be projecting, is that it's not necessarily worse than other MGS games it's just different but fun in its own way. I wish I'd seen this when you wrote it though because I was playing through it again roughly about the time you played it, though me and RogerRoger discussed it at great length (as well as other Metal Gear games) in the MGS V thread. While it is different, I just found it super addictive, both times I've played it. My first save file is 60 hours and my second save file from lockdown this year is 90 hours. It really does balance different mission types, item development, base building/management and outer ops (not sure how to describe this bit in generic gaming vocabulary) really well. The only time it lacked balance was as you indicated, in the final chapter where there is an abundance of tank/helicopter missions that can get very very tedious. Though it does throw up a bunch (but not nearly as many) perfect stealth type missions in the final chapter too, which were really good. It's interesting you mentioned monster hunter but didn't mention the MH missions (unless I missed that part) because there is a handful of unlockable missions included where you face off against the monsters from that game as well as a special bipedal and fugly monster that's inspired by metal gear rex!
@crimsontadpoles I liked your review of ZombiU. It's a game I got with my launch Wii U but I mainly got the bundle because it seemed like the cheapest way to get the game and a pro controller at the time. Maybe it was also the only way to get the black 32gb model of the Wii U as well, not sure. I thought it sounded like an interesting game at the time but I never got very far with it, survival horror has never been my forte and permadeath is always quite intimidating but I am tempted to give it another go now that you've said the permadeath isn't so hard to manage. I would be interested to know, though I know it's been ages since you played it, do the zombies keep respawning after you kill them or can you actually just kill them all in the luring with the flash light method you described and progress through zombie-less levels without too much stress?
@Th3solution great review of Valkyria Chronicles 4. I have the first game on Switch and the 4th one on Xbox one X but I've not played them yet. I was planning to play through them all (2&3 emulated and a localisation patch for 3 on my PSTV) during lockdown but never got around to it, mainly because I was ticking off my backlog so rapidly that I didn't want to slow down for 4 x 40 hour games. I first found out about these games when I was playing Project X Zone on 3DS which was a crossover tactical game (more of the traditional type than VC). It had characters from VC along with characters from other Sega/Bandai Namco/Capcom franchises like Resident Evil, Mega Man, Virtua Fighter and God Eater (off the top of my head). I always liked the aesthetic of the VC characters tho, and I really enjoy this kind of historical Europe alt history setting in an anime style. I'm a big fan of fullmetal alchemist for example but that's probably set about 50 years before VC and obviously in a different world. But yeah, great review and I'll look forward to playing the games in the next maybe 5 years or so 😅
@RR529 nice review of Vader Immortal, it's a good detailed review and interesting from the perspective of somebody not so verse in Star wars lore. Vader's castle was always a bit of a deep dive that has been brought to more mainstream attention with the larger marketing push that Star Wars has had over the last 5 or so years. This is definitely a game I am going to get on PSVR in future if the price is right in a sale or if it gets a (reasonably priced) physical edition. It's a shame the campaign is so short but I'm sure it's worthwhile. It's probably partially why I'm waiting for a sale though because I probably won't be as interested in or get very far in the dojo mode.
@johncalmc interesting review of tropical freeze! Have you play the first Country Returns on the Wii/3DS? The first one on Wii is actually one of my favourite games ever and I completed it 203% or whatever it is. I played a couple of levels on DKCRTF on Wii U but I didn't get very far. It was quite different from the first one. I feel like, in the levels I played at least, the rhythm was kind of off. The first game had some tricky platforming but you could kind of play it in time with the background music and it was really cleverly done. Maybe it becomes more rhythmic in the later levels of TF that I didn't get to. The other thing that threw me was not using motion controls for rolling. I guess that was part of the rhythm of the original game too. I know it's a bit of a weird thing to desire some imprecise waggle in a precise platforming game but it kind of just worked really well in DKCR so I was gutted that it was omitted from the Wii U version of tropical freeze. Did they add it back in to the switch version using the joy cons? Anyway it's definitely a game I am going to get back to at some point so it was really interesting to read your thoughts on it!
@ralphdibny I have no idea if they've added it back in on Switch because I never use the Joy-Cons. I'm playing it with a Pro and the roll is mapped to the ground pound button. I guess it's just whatever you're used to but since I played Donkey Kong without motion controls, having to get used to using them was pretty grim. I'm glad they're gone. If only Nintendo would accept that motion controls are dead and buried then we could all move on with our lives but for some reason they feel compelled to keep shoe-horning them into games that would be objectively better without them so who knows, there's some hope for Donkey Kong Arm Waving Edition in the future.
@johncalmc haha fair enough, it's nice to have the option for both to be honest. There's some waggle games I'd rather have buttons for and some buttons games I'd rather have waggle for. I think it was only because I was so used to the Wii controls for DKCR that it felt really off using the button in TF. I do agree that they definitely wouldn't work in the original country games though! I don't think it would be that comfortable using it with the joy cons anyway because they are way less comfortable than the Wii remote+nunchuck so I normally play switch games with the pro controller unless it's something like Mario odyssey
@Kidfried I've been eyeing Judgment for a while, but it sounds like it's not unique enough to push ahead of other mainline Yakuza games. I'm disappointed to hear the side stories aren't great, considering those tend to be some of the best parts of the Yakuza games.
@johncalmc I actually played through DKC: Tropical Freeze on Wii U with the wiimote + nunchuk combo. I had a pro controller, but that controller always felt sort of cheap and plastic-y to me (not like the Switch Pro, which I just bought, and it one's one of the most comfortable, premium feeling controllers I've ever used). While I'm not generally a fan of waggle (but AM a big proponent of gyro, but is a massive evolution over pure dual analog when it comes to games with fine aiming), I thought shaking the remote to roll worked fine for the game.
I agree the game's difficulty is way overstated. It's challenging, but people make it sound like a rage platformer or something. I actually had way more unfair deaths in the older Rareware DKC games on SNES. The level design, tight controls, and whatnot generally make this game a blast to play.
And yeah, a lot of people at the time of its Wii U release were drooling over Donkey's detailed HD fur.
Thanks for contributing!
@RR529 Nice review of Vader Immortal. The game certainly sounds cool. While I confess I'm generally not a fan of Sony's 'movie game' approach, I think something more linear and cinematic probably works really well in the context of VR, which, right now, is primarily driven by the desire for unique experential spectacle.
You'd likely have sold me on this if I owned a PSVR. Maybe one day, if Sony ever bothers to do actually tempting sales on it again. I think I might have bought in already if I wasn't concerned about the soft image quality that my PS4 would render. It'll be interesting to see how much the VR experience is improved on PS5.
So, I was one of those people who was crying online for Bravely Default to release years back when JRPGs were still thin-to-non-existent on the system, and I was really excited for its release. And I did end up enjoying it, even though it's VERY flawed in certain respects. This one never really got its hooks into me, though. I think it was some combination of the rehashed settings (as you mention, while they're very pretty, they're not terrible interesting or interactive overall, and I didn't really want to go through the same places AGAIN) and the change in composer (say what you want about the game, but Revo's work in Bravely Default was unimpeachable, and the amazing music sometimes helped to carry the otherwise uneven experience). It's a game I've intended to get to for years now, but I can't motivate myself to sit down and play it.
I assume the annoying time looping shenanigans from the first game are no longer a thing, right?
Also, regarding difficulty: would you say this game is more balanced than the original? I felt like BD had this massive, annoying difficulty spike around the end of Chapter 4, and the difficulty further spiked around the end. I don't mind challenge, but the later chapters of BD are legitimately so difficult that I had to drop the difficulty down. And I play SMT/Etrian Odyssey games on on high difficulty settings!
@RogerRoger I feel that dread about my work being subpar every time I post online! Which is why, yeah, if someone puts in effort and crafts something good, I want to clearly communicate my appreciation of that. Feedback, in general, is crucial when it comes to creative work, I feel. I guess there are some rogue writers who can seal themselves in a cavern in the mountains and hone their craft to perfection, but everyone else kind of has to throw themselves at the mercy of others.
"I'm glad you remember the horrifying music from The Dark Brotherhood, though, as I might've found something that's worse (somehow), so consider yourself warned!"
That's both intriguing and worrying. You wouldn't happen to be reviewing Crazy Bus, would you?
@Ralizah I wasn't going to comment too much on the difficulty not living up to the hype in case it came across like OH HEY GUYS THE PLATFORMER KING IS HERE kinda post. But it's nowhere near as hard I was told. There's been a few levels where I died a bunch and the bosses in particular can get a bit spicy but otherwise - unless there's about to be a massive spike as I haven't finished the game - it's a pleasant challenge. Which is totally fine by me.
@Ralizah did it have waggle for rolling/slapping the ground when you played it out of interest? I'm thinking I might not have tried those controllers on Wii U or maybe they patched it in
@johncalmc The K levels can get pretty challenging (the ones you unlock by collecting all of the KONG letters), but even those aren't some insurmountable challenge. The final unlockable world can also be pretty tough to 100%, but, again nothing crazy. Some of the K levels you have to beat to get to that point are harder, honestly.
Tropical Freeze is on the more approachable side of the series, IMO. Even Returns on Wii/3DS is more challenging.
@ralphdibny Yeah, if you play with Wiimote/Nunchuk, you waggle to roll/slap. Otherwise, on the GamePad/Pro Controller, they're tied to button presses.
I was surprised. Like with Mario Galaxy, I thought the waggle was well-implemented, and it triggered pretty consistently, so I didn't have an issue with missed inputs at all.
Currently Playing: Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition
@Ralizah nice! Yeah it was definitely cool in DKCR at least, it kind of felt a bit like doing a drum roll after you'd been tapping along to the music, or hitting a cymbal with the A button after a drum roll by rolling into a jump.
I think waggle worked well enough in Twilight Princess too though it could have easily been done with a button. On the flip side, it was a mixed bag with more complicated movements, I liked using it as a wand in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought it was really good (even if wingardium leviosa was no longer a swish and flick movement 😅). But something like marvel ultimate alliance was actually pretty mediocre/bad and would've been better with standard button presses. It certainly didn't live up to the pictures on the back of the box!:
This is obviously the pre motion plus era. I thought skyward sword was really good even if it was a little convoluted!
I love the Wii motion controls and certain waggle movements absolutely beat out the button equivalents. That said, the pointer controls were hit and miss and certain games had woeful implementation, like Ultimate Alliance as was mentioned. I really miss them on Switch despite the few times they’re used being brilliant. Mario Tennis Aces’ motion controls are way more fun than the buttons and Mario Kart feels best with motion controls + HD Rumble.
@ralphdibny Thanks for reading. If I recall correctly, zombies don't usually respawn in ZombiU unless you leave the area and come back. There are some exceptions though. There's also some points in the story where lots of zombies appear, leaving you with little choice but to fight aggressively.
@Ralizah I think Bravely Second is more balanced than the original. However, there are a few features that make it easier to become overlevelled, so you might prefer leaving the difficulty on high for most of it. The game lets you change the difficulty whenever you like without penalty.
Bravely Second does have a time looping shenanigan, but it's nowhere near as bad here. Without giving too much away, it involves warping back once, then doing something different in the first battle after warping. That then leads you to a new part of the story. There are several hints on what to do here, though anyone not paying enough attention could end up repeating everything all over again. So that's something to watch out for.
@crimsontadpoles Okay, thanks for elaborating. What you described in Bravely Second sounds fine. But tens of hours of repeating virtually identical gameplay segments over and over drove me and a lot of other people up a wall. I get what they were trying to do, but it was really poorly handled.
@ralphdibny Thanks for reading! I had forgotten about that review, but I would definitely encourage you to play at least Valkyria Chronicles Remastered and VC4. The second game was pretty decent too, but I’m not sure how well it will have aged.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@mookysam oh yeah I forgot about how bad the frame rate got in those missions! I can't believe I stuck with them, I did them non lethal as well and it took donkeys years to put one of those suckers to sleep!
A 2D platformer (yes, in VR!) in the same school as Unravel (and I assume Limbo, based on what I've seen) where you must guide a meek & relatively unathletic protagonist through their quest with some puzzle solving along the way.
The core action plays out on a large screen in front of you (while it looks tiny in screenshots, in game it appears like a theater screen), and while for the most part it seems like something that could be ripped out of the VR environment and thrown on a flat screen, there are a few things it does to make use of the perspective. The most everpresent is that the graphics on screen are layered (like a 3DS platformer with 3D on), you (the on screen character) have a slingshot you aim with motion control, and there are often mechanical puzzle elements that have you make use of motion as well (such as twisting the controller to work a crank). The most interesting happen late game though, such as a puzzle where you must hit bells in the correct order, and while this can be done by remembering the tones, it's much easier once you realize there are "physical" bells in the environment around you (corresponding to the on screen bells) which move whenever you're given the hint. The one I liked the most though was a spooky scenario where all the lights went out and you had to use the DS4's light bar as a flashlight to illuminate the screen, and at certain points to find an object in the room around you (there's a digital representation of the controller floating in front of you in game at all times).
Illuminating the way. Sorry it's so dark, it doesn't appear this dingy in game.
Really the only problem with the game is that it's short, even by VR standards. Consisting of 5 levels, it'll take you at most 2 hours (maybe shorter depending on how you get on with it), with no replay incentive as there's no collectables, time trials, or anything of that nature.
Visual/Audio:
The on screen graphics have kind of a papercraft/painting aesthetic (maybe trying to give it a puppetry theatre kind of vibe), though the environment on screen scrolls instead of being screen by screen (which I think would have better sold the theatre vibe), but I don't think the game is worse for it or anything.
It definitely has a kind of melancholic environmentalist vibe where you go from exploring an autumnal forest to more industrial areas such as a junkyard or abandoned factory (I swear, between Unravel, Tearaway, this, and what I've seen of Ori, this melancholic vibe must be the defining chararistic of the Euro Dev platformer, lol. They never seem to be as bright & peppy as JP or US platformers). In a neat touch, whenever you enter a new area the environment around you changes to aline with the on screen action.
There are some moments where elements will pass from the screen to your surrounding area & vice versa. Examples include a swarm of bees who fly out of the screen after buzzing your character to buzz around you, or when it starts to rain on screen and around you at the same time.
Looking a bit "off screen" to the surrounding environment).
The music fits the melancholic vibe with a lot of stringed instrumentals.
Story:
A boy is camping out in the forest with an older relative, but soon he loses his prized stuffed bear and ventures through increasingly treacherous environments in order to find it. Along the way he's persued by "junk wolves"(?) who you often have to run from in chase sequences.
Taking junkyard dog a little too literally.
Conclusion:
It's nothing revelatory, but it's a solid little platformer that shows devs are trying to see how they can successfully transition any kind of genre into the VR space.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
As to the question about the "theatre overlay", I don't think so, for games at least. The main menu (and non-vr games, I presume) just appear on a flat "screen" floating in the void in front of you (though you can toggle it's size, making it take on a theatre like sized appearance).
However I believe there are a couple video playback apps that do place you in a virtual theatre, but I think they only work with movies/videos you have stored in memory & maybe DVD/BD, but not games or streaming services (I could be wrong though, as I haven't used any).
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
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