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(Retro) What have you been playing this week? Vol.2

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    Originally posted by samanosuke View Post
    Humour on so many levels, there. Me personally I love the WD quips and pop culture references.
    I'm indifferent usually, it just felt particularly egregious here.

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      I just started Super Mario Sunshine yesterday, the 3D All Stars version on Switch. First time I've played it since it was contemporary.

      I've only done the first five or so Shines in the very first level, and I'm enjoying myself, but you can immediately see why this is the most maligned 3D entry. The most problematic bit is that Mario simply doesn't control as well as he does in other entries (most notably 64).

      He's woollier, twitchier, and there isn't that feeling of total solidity to the control that the other entries enjoy. He also seems to be able to jump higher, and the backflip seems easier to trigger. Those aren't problems in and of themselves, but along with the FLUDD hover, they contribute to the feeling that you're playing a lesser 3D platformer, the type that has a double jump, and where the developers didn't have the total faith in their own gameplay so had to insert workarounds for the player.

      The other thing that immediately jumps out to me is the paint. The cleaning of the paint, the sliding in the paint, and so forth. Now I remember this being a Big Deal back in the day, because it was genuinely really cool to see how you could slip and slide around it, and how Mario would get covered in it.

      And it is a pretty fun mechanic, even now. But here's the problem. You're not meant to slip and slide around in it. You get hurt if you do. You're supposed to just dutifully clean it all up and steer clear of it.

      With the benefit of hindsight, that seems a bit mental. It almost feels like the whole game is ass backwards. Why not make it so that the world is grey and boring and you're spraying paint around to bring colour back to it? And that you're rewarded for sliding and jumping around in it by, I dunno, getting coins and health?

      Anyway, I'm literally an hour in, but it's an interesting play so far.

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        Played more Sunshine yesterday. I enjoyed the first two levels but now I'm on Pinna Park. I love the concept but the reality is that this is a total jankfest and the weakest part so far. I'm doing the red coins at the moment and I am not having fun.

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          Originally posted by wakka View Post
          Played more Sunshine yesterday. I enjoyed the first two levels but now I'm on Pinna Park. I love the concept but the reality is that this is a total jankfest and the weakest part so far. I'm doing the red coins at the moment and I am not having fun.
          I loved this game back in the day but playing it again on the 3D All-Stars collection was a real wake up call. The Pachinko level and one of the Yoshi levels in particular did my head in.

          Still love the town music though.

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            The town music is awesome, and I love the concept of a Mario 'beach OVA' side story.

            There are Shines that I've really enjoyed doing, too. But the game is so patchy overall. I don't know how true it is but I have read it was rushed to release. I could see that being the case and that being the reason behind some of the jankiness, but I still think the overall structure is a bit questionable. Hovering with FLUDD all the time is just not as much fun as mastering moving with the long jump and dive.

            That's what Odyssey gets right, for me. Cappy feels like a really valuable, flexible extension of your abilities with its own skill ceiling. FLUDD doesn't have that.

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              Finished Alundra and it was probably the most difficult RPG I've ever played. It's brutal.

              Looking at developer interviews from the time it came out and that's definitely the vibe they were going for. RPGs had become too easy by the mid 90s and they wanted a return to that old school, hardcore type of gameplay. I get that, but this just felt... malicious in parts.

              I'm glad to have finally beat it and I love the writing, graphics and music but the gameplay just ruined it for me.

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                Originally posted by wakka View Post
                The town music is awesome, and I love the concept of a Mario 'beach OVA' side story.

                There are Shines that I've really enjoyed doing, too. But the game is so patchy overall. I don't know how true it is but I have read it was rushed to release. I could see that being the case and that being the reason behind some of the jankiness, but I still think the overall structure is a bit questionable. Hovering with FLUDD all the time is just not as much fun as mastering moving with the long jump and dive.

                That's what Odyssey gets right, for me. Cappy feels like a really valuable, flexible extension of your abilities with its own skill ceiling. FLUDD doesn't have that.
                Sunshine for me is a game that's fun enough to complete but a total chore to 100% (not that I ever have) due to the padding and the really hit-or-miss hidden shines. As you say, it's a cool theme and has a great soundtrack to boot, but the execution is just not there compared to 64 or Galaxy.

                I played Metroid: Zero Mission last week. First time playing a 2D Metroid, and I thought it was really excellent. Great sense of progression, fluid controls, a satisfying difficulty curve and a meaty enough campaign that also doesn't outstay its welcome - which nicely encourages replays for the different completion% endings. Also considering this is a GBA game, the Kraid's Lair theme is awesome:



                Gonna try Metroid II on the GB next. Not expecting it to be as polished but kind of looking forward to seeing what they pulled off on such limited hardware. Just not sure whether to play it on GBA or Super Game Boy, since the colour pallettes are totally different:
                Last edited by danstan21; 18-10-2021, 11:29.

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                  Originally posted by danstan21 View Post
                  Sunshine for me is a game that's fun enough to complete but a total chore to 100% (not that I ever have) due to the padding and the really hit-or-miss hidden shines. As you say, it's a cool theme and has a great soundtrack to boot, but the execution is just not there compared to 64 or Galaxy.
                  Exactly what I've found as I've done a bit of research into some guides on getting 100%. The blue coins thing just does not sound fun. It really seems like you need to use checklists to get all 240, and it seems like a complete grind.

                  A bit disheartening, but still, I'm plowing onwards. I've gotten all 8 shines on the first three levels, and 7 shines on Pinna Park. The eighth seemed like such a pain in the arse - you're on the rollercoaster, firing rockets at balloons - that I gave up and turned it off to watch a film after 1 go. It's a classic 'bad Sunshine' level. Just not up to the standard you expect for Mario.

                  There are gems in the mix though. I really enjoyed the one where you have to get up to the top of the ferris wheel, and the 'Secret of...' FLUDD-less levels are always a bit of a treat.

                  I do love the setting, too. It's really cool how from Pinna Park they've designed it so you can see some of the the other levels in the distance, studded along one of Isle Delfino's shores. Having a single defined setting like that was a really interesting choice.

                  Mixed bag overall though, and I think I'm going to set my target at simply clearing the main 8 Shines per stage and finishing the story, rather than going for 120. That seems like it would be an exercise in frustration for little payoff.

                  BTW re: Metroid 2, based on that link (which I found interesting) I think the GBC colour scheme looks the best!

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by danstan21 View Post
                    Gonna try Metroid II on the GB next. Not expecting it to be as polished but kind of looking forward to seeing what they pulled off on such limited hardware. Just not sure whether to play it on GBA or Super Game Boy, since the colour pallets are totally different:
                    I recommend AM2R instead if you want to play Metroid II. It's polished to the absolute hilt.

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by wakka View Post
                      A bit disheartening, but still, I'm plowing onwards. I've gotten all 8 shines on the first three levels, and 7 shines on Pinna Park. The eighth seemed like such a pain in the arse
                      Please don’t think I’m being a pedant/grammar nonce (I don’t want this place to become like that, less so would I want to be that person) but I found your use of the Americanised form of ploughing and the very much British “arse” interesting. A stylistic choice?

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                        Hardly, just how it came out as I wrote it down!

                        More interesting is that I chose to combine 'plowing' and 'arse' into the same post - or even that those words jumped out to you

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                          'Finished' my replay of original Xbox Silent Hill 2: RD.

                          Script does need more than a bit of work and voice acting could be better but at times, particularly towards the end it is genuinely good. The gameplay is solid but I'd like a bit more logic to some of the puzzles - why is there a tin of light bulbs at one point? The 'elevator puzzle' where you have to dump all your gear to be able to use it makes no sense except as a lazy way of disarming the player. Lots of stuff like that which, with a bit of thought, could be resolved in a proper remake.

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                            Originally posted by wakka View Post
                            Hardly, just how it came out as I wrote it down!

                            More interesting is that I chose to combine 'plowing' and 'arse' into the same post - or even that those words jumped out to you


                            I didn’t even notice that… must’ve been my subconscious.

                            Whether it’s ploughing arse, plowing ass, or a combination of the two, it’s all cool with me.

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by samanosuke View Post


                              I didn’t even notice that… must’ve been my subconscious.

                              Whether it’s ploughing arse, plowing ass, or a combination of the two, it’s all cool with me.

                              Comment


                                I had Quite The Day today digging into my backlog.

                                Started with Get Bass on the Dreamcast. Could not get the fishing rod controller to work. No idea why other than maybe a broken controller or a dodgy port on the console.

                                So that got put away.

                                A while back I got a blind box of games including what I thought was JoJo's Bizarre Adventure For Matching Service on the DC. This is the updated version of the game with online play but also crucially has VGA compatibility. Turns out, the normal version and the For Matching Service version have near identical covers and I hadn't got the VGA compatible version.

                                So that didn't get played.

                                In a different blind box of games I got Sonic Heroes on the GameCube. Played part of the first level and couldn't understand why they'd ship a game with a camera that made it literally unplayable. Turns out the C stick on my orange controller is knackered and has really, really bad drift. Used a different controller and played until halfway through the second level.

                                So that will never be played again...

                                I played some Gunstar Heroes on Switch. I'd only dabbled with it very briefly on the Wii VC but this time really fell in love with it.

                                Then I broke the seal on my DS copy of The World Ends With You, knocking 70 quid off the value of it. That turned out to be a fortunate turn of events because I really really like it. What a wonderful game. I'm glad it has AI for your companion because there is no way I can play both at once but I'm loving everything else about it.

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