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[tiggerkiddo]

I wish I could make cool BGs like this. I'd be set for life.

It's called getting off your lazy bum and working hard at your craft!

 

[Dark Schala]

Rayman is notable just for how fucking good it looks- it looks spot on with Legends. I know the Ubi Art engine is designed to be super flexible, but it's an incredible looking game, and seeing that on a little screen is awesome. I bet it looks astounding on an iPad. As for how it plays, it's Legends if Rayman ran by himself. The challenge still comes from grabbing all the Lums, and it controls fairly well. That said, I'm only one world in (don't want to rush it, of course, it's only got 5 worlds each with 10 levels), and the second world introduces the hover which seems a bit unintuitive. Far from an endless runner, anyway- there's proper level design here, and it's incredibly fun.

Super Hexagon is the fucking worst. I love it so much.

This latter bit makes no sense, Green Scar. It's something I have to experience for myself isn't it.

I was looking at Rayman in the Play Store and I was wondering if I should pick it up. It looks so fantastic, and based on your impressions, I'm seriously thinking of picking it up now. The Ubi Art engine is one of the best things that I've seen in recent years, so anything that uses that is something that I want to pick up for sure. Thanks.

Nah, it's cool. I really just wanted to talk about Unleashed vs Generations anyway. I just happened to come in when qq brought up that time when me Vajeet was talking about keeping the plot to 2006 and thought it was funny so I messed with him a bit.

EDIT:

Are you guys talking about 2D Backgrounds or somethin?

SNK backgrounds are the besssst.

Haha, hey, we all like to mess with qq more in here. It's not a big deal. He enjoys it. :V

As for Unleashed vs Generations, I... actually like Unleashed more, despite the fact that I can pick Generations up at any time and do speedruns/time attacks. Unleashed's more skill-based, anyway. The scoring system's more skill-based, at least; and that's why Sega1991 and I tend to prefer it more. There are more factors that go into your score and you have to attempt to pull off more spectacular runs in order to truly earn your S-rank. That's why I didn't like Generations' ranking system as much.

Well it's always a fun read.
Lists without reasons lack that extra insight that makes listing things interesting.
That said mine was the barest of bare minimums regarding explanations.

See, and that's why I don't like list threads!

Now ya guys get it!

 

[Dice]

Is there an infinite lives mod for Sonic Generations on PC? Aside from the game not being hard, having limited lives is pointless even if it was since you just continue anyway. They are fucking up the instant restart option when I get all perfectionist trying to speedrun a level. If I know I already fucked up I don't want to have to complete that run of the level but restarting uses a life. It's just a conflict of interests design-wise.

 

[qq more]

It's called getting off your lazy bum and working hard at your craft!

HEY...






...you forgot to change my name this time!


I should work on my stuff now though.

 

[Hot Coldman]

your levels of concern in qq making his game are getting to a weird level, tigerkiddo

just sayin'

This latter bit makes no sense, Green Scar. It's something I have to experience for myself isn't it.

I was looking at Rayman in the Play Store and I was wondering if I should pick it up. It looks so fantastic, and based on your impressions, I'm seriously thinking of picking it up now. The Ubi Art engine is one of the best things that I've seen in recent years, so anything that uses that is something that I want to pick up for sure. Thanks.

Who's Green Scar?

Super Hexagon is just relentless in the pace, the aesthetic and the challenge; having to constantly navigate obstacles as they shift shape and direction and everything is rotating and the amazing soundtrack is blaring and the background and foreground are flashing... GAH! It's really addictive, in a fun way. I can see why people like Wario boast about being high up the leaderboards.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

I'm bored obviously, I want my weekend to start

And I've been writing a lot more and it bugs me to see people let their talents get dusty and rot.

 

[Dark Schala]

This thread needs more KOF 96.

Is there an infinite lives mod for Sonic Generations on PC? Aside from the game not being hard, having limited lives is pointless even if it was since you just continue anyway. They are fucking up the instant restart option when I get all perfectionist trying to speedrun a level. If I know I already fucked up I don't want to have to complete that run of the level but restarting uses a life. It's just a conflict of interests design-wise.

I don't know about a mod, but I found this. I think other people might be able to help out more, or at least the ones in this thread who are working on mods.

Who's Green Scar?

Super Hexagon is just relentless in the pace, the aesthetic and the challenge; having to constantly navigate obstacles as they shift shape and direction and everything is rotating and the amazing soundtrack is blaring and the background and foreground are flashing... GAH! It's really addictive, in a fun way. I can see why people like Wario boast about being high up the leaderboards.

I said that out of habit.

Oh wow, I wonder if there's a demo or something. Something like "rotations" makes me think that I might get nau--...I'll look at gameplay videos. But I really want to listen to that soundtrack in context because it sounds awesomeeeee. Thanks, Coldman.

 

[Arc Christelle]

@Schaula, I'm glad to know some people appreciate it. I think even despite the Werehog that game deserves more credit than it's given. Everytime when I hear people discuss the return of Sonic it's usually Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations mentioned due to critical acclaim.

Is there an infinite lives mod for Sonic Generations on PC? Aside from the game not being hard, having limited lives is pointless even if it was since you just continue anyway. They are fucking up the instant restart option when I get all perfectionist trying to speedrun a level. If I know I already fucked up I don't want to have to complete that run of the level but restarting uses a life. It's just a conflict of interests design-wise.

I definitely know that feel, I kept restarting so much yesterday that I just ran to the skill shop to see if they had the 99lives option. Perhaps limited lives are getting pointless in Sonic Games (outside of level progression).

HEY...
...you forgot to change my name this time!


I should work on my stuff now though.

Wait you workin on a game? What kind?

 

[Nocturnowl]

Restarts eating a life in Generations did cause me a few problems every now and then, mainly when I was toying with the various routes at the start of chemical plant modern.

I'm expecting the greatest game known to man at this point qq, it's become like the main focal point of this thread and I don't even know what it is, shit if we don't get proper Sonic news soon this is gonna be qq's game community thread, we'll have a new platforming legend to form a community around (it is a platformer right?).

See, and that's why I don't like list threads!

Now ya guys get it!

Now? I got it since I was a wee lurker watching Stump desperately trying to get people to explain on their choices to no avail.

 

[qq more]

And I've been writing a lot more and it bugs me to see people let their talents get dusty and rot.

How's the writing been going lately by the way?


Also I don't mind people telling me to work on my game. I've taken a long enough break.

Wait you workin on a game? What kind?

I've been working on some Mega Man-ish platformer. I know it sounded cliche but I've started on it (early 2005) before indie games became huge, so definitely no bandwagoning going on!

@Schaula, I'm glad to know some people appreciate it. I think even despite the Werehog that game deserves more credit than it's given. Everytime when I hear people discuss the return of Sonic it's usually Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations mentioned due to critical acclaim.

Even though I'm one of those that says Colors/Generations, Unleashed definitely deserves credit for changing the direction of the franchise into something I really like now. I just wish I could enjoy the Werehog segments but it's not really for me sadly.

 

[Arc Christelle]

I've been working on some Mega Man-ish platformer. I know it sounded cliche but I've started on it (early 2005) before indie games became huge, so definitely no bandwagoning going on!

That's awesome to hear. How far have you gotten into developing it?

I've currently been writing out design concepts for games. My latest one is MOBA designed for the Wii U. Really don't know how the hell I'm gonna make it (lack skills in 3D and Programming), but I want to write a fully fledged document just to have something I've completed game design wise.

Even though I'm one of those that says Colors/Generations, Unleashed definitely deserves credit for changing the direction of the franchise into something I really like now. I just wish I could enjoy the Werehog segments but it's not really for me sadly.

I think the thing about the Werehog bits that frustrates people is really how stiff it feels at first. I recommend that most people level up the Werehog's combat abilities and it'll start to feel better on as you play with him. My only real beef with the Werehog was the spiked tight rope sections.

Other than that, the beautiful scenery definitely made me want more Speed Stages at Night.

 

[qq more]

That's awesome to hear. How far have you gotten into developing it?

I've currently been writing out design concepts for games. My latest one is MOBA designed for the Wii U. Really don't know how the hell I'm gonna make it (lack skills in 3D and Programming), but I want to write a fully fledged document just to have something I've completed game design wise.

About 11 of the 37 levels are finished. I've finished 3 levels early this month.

Wii U, eh? I totally would love to develop games for that machine too.

 

[Arc Christelle]

About 11 of the 37 levels are finished. I've finished 3 levels early this month.

Wii U, eh? I totally would love to develop games for that machine too.

Well I got the rules, controls, mechanics, and economic system down. Pretty soon I'll be moving on to designing characters. I can draw a bit, so that helps. Afterwards I might put it up for later and work on something simpler (a endless runner), or my dream project.

 

[Hot Coldman]

I said that out of habit.

Oh wow, I wonder if there's a demo or something. Something like "rotations" makes me think that I might get nau--...I'll look at gameplay videos. But I really want to listen to that soundtrack in context because it sounds awesomeeeee. Thanks, Coldman.

Sure.

There's a free version you can play here, but it's nowhere near as polished. It also runs like crap on my machine for some reason- dunno what happened there.

 

[Sciz]

Having finally gotten to play (the good part of) Unleashed via the mod, I can say that it confirmed what I'd always suspected of it from watching videos; it's a much more skill and memorization driven game than what's come after it, and despite how much I usually enjoy games like that, it isn't what I want out of Sonic. Give me secrets to find, and hazards to care about, and powerups to enjoy.

 

[qq more]

Well I got the rules, controls, mechanics, and economic system down. Pretty soon I'll be moving on to designing characters. I can draw a bit, so that helps. Afterwards I might put it up for later and work on something simpler (a endless runner), or my dream project.

Sounds good! Starting on something simpler will help because it gives you an idea of what to expect from game development and helps you prepare for bigger projects.

 

[Arc Christelle]

Having finally gotten to play (the good part of) Unleashed via the mod, I can say that it confirmed what I'd always suspected of it from watching videos; it's a much more skill and memorization driven game than what's come after it, and despite how much I usually enjoy games like that, it isn't what I want out of Sonic. Give me secrets to find, and hazards to care about, and powerups to enjoy.

Sorta but the skill is more focused on controlling Sonic. I'm not sure if the Generations system is good enough to portray it tho. (Since Sonic handles very differently) But I do agree it is very twitch heavy. Although if you look around you might find something surprising.

-----

On a sidenote. I'm happy to come into this thread and know that there are some people into Game Design. One of the things I want to do once I reach Member is create threads centered on Game Deisgn and Design Philosophy. Something that I feel is much needed for both students, gamers, devs, and the industry.

Some kind of discussion on quality on mechanics, stories, visual, etc. and how it could be improved without comparing the industry to others like Film and Literature.

Sounds good! Starting on something simpler will help because it gives you an idea of what to expect from game development and helps you prepare for bigger projects.

Most definitely.

 

[Dark Schala]

Sure.

There's a free version you can play here, but it's nowhere near as polished. It also runs like crap on my machine for some reason- dunno what happened there.

Thanks! I'll check it out in a sec. I had no idea there was a free version anywhere.

I think the thing about the Werehog bits that frustrates people is really how stiff it feels at first. I recommend that most people level up the Werehog's combat abilities and it'll start to feel better on as you play with him. My only real beef with the Werehog was the spiked tight rope sections.

Other than that, the beautiful scenery definitely made me want more Speed Stages at Night.

I loved the art and music direction in Unleashed, and it's a major part of the reason why I love the game so much despite its pacing issues and the battle music which detracts from the best music in the game to me (I love the night stage music a lot).

And I agree; the reason why the Werehog is an unattractive bit to play is because it is unbalanced in favour of the enemy as opposed to the player gaining the upper-hand against mobs of enemies. Start the Werehog with more moves, higher HP, and more strength... make him faster, and maybe then people might like playing as him more. And maybe shorten the length of the Werehog stages, too. You should not be spending such a long time on the stages in a Sonic game at all. The tight-rope sections are ridiculous (oy, Skyscraper Scamper, I'm lookin' at you).

Or you could just swap the model out with Knuckles, I dunno. That's what a few of the Japanese players on mk2 (the Japanese reviews site) said they wanted.

I'd also like it if Eggmanland were split up in different stages like the Wii version was. It gives the player more of a reprieve than anything else, and paces the stage better rather than it just being one lengthy slog of a trip.

Now? I got it since I was a wee lurker watching Stump desperately trying to get people to explain on their choices to no avail.

Ahahaha. Oh yeah, I remember that. It's a shame it didn't catch on, really. I'm working on it now, so I'll hopefully get it up within the hour. I don't want to spend a ton of time on it (ie: more than two hours).

Having finally gotten to play (the good part of) Unleashed via the mod, I can say that it confirmed what I'd always suspected of it from watching videos; it's a much more skill and memorization driven game than what's come after it, and despite how much I usually enjoy games like that, it isn't what I want out of Sonic. Give me secrets to find, and hazards to care about, and powerups to enjoy.

I wonder if they can combine the two to create a cohesive product out of that, because I really like some of the skill stuff in Unleashed, but I also enjoyed the powerups in Colours.

Hmmm...

On a sidenote. I'm happy to come into this thread and know that there are some people into Game Design. One of the things I want to do once I reach Member is create threads centered on Game Deisgn and Design Philosophy. Something that I feel is much needed for both students, gamers, devs, and the industry.

Some kind of discussion on quality on mechanics, stories, visual, etc. and how it could be improved without comparing the industry to others like Film and Literature.

We have quite a few people in here like Dario ff, qq more, Pietepiet, Shadow Hog, Sega1991, etc. who do work on games, so if you want to start a discussion here about it, go ahead. I like stepping back and looking at what you guys talk about because I learn a lot from it!

Actually, if you wanted to look at one of qq more's games that he's been working on with other people, you can check out Emerald Ties.
I took screencaps of when I played it: one, two, three, four, five.

 

[Arc Christelle]

We have quite a few people in here like Dario ff, qq more, Pietepiet, Shadow Hog, Sega1991, etc. who do work on games, so if you want to start a discussion here about it, go ahead. I like stepping back and looking at what you guys talk about because I learn a lot from it!

Actually, if you wanted to look at one of qq more's games that he's been working on with other people, you can check out Emerald Ties.
I took screencaps of when I played it: one, two, three, four, five.

This looks quite impressive! I'm downloading the demo right now! It's great to meet people dedicated to their craft and producing results!

The most I got for now is this old ass DeviantArt I used to upload my art everyonce and a while for some attention.

http://young-anti.deviantart.com/

Feel free to drop by or leave a critique, I need to work on some new stuff tho.

EDIT:

1 minute 17 seconds in

Holy shit. This is excellent! Good animations and classic physics, and the level design is superb.

This is one hell of a job. Kudos. The only flaw is the spring's knockback which is really minor, it hinders the gameplay in no way.

This is great. Good job,

 

[Dark Schala]

Sonic might feel a little heavy in that Emerald Ties demo, but I think qq said they fixed it afterwards? He'd probably know.

Ahaha, the only thing I'm good at is writing stuff up and critiquing. Maybe playing music, but I'm certainly not as talented as Falk, Andy, Jeff Ball, KgZ, Kozilek, Funk Fiction, etc. But yeah, this thread is definitely filled with talent, and I like seeing more of it come in here (especially in terms of art assets), so thank you for sharing yours!

I remember when Pietepiet made this and I saved it because it was so cute.

Actually, I think it's on his site anyway!

Oh, Pietepiet--if you see this when you're up--do you know when Luftrausers is coming on PSN? I saw a post about it on the PS Blog the other day.

 

[qq more]

Thank you! And yeah, a lot of glitches/flaws were fixed. Sonic isn't as heavy anymore and all of the slow down issues are removed. (Most machines suffers during Polar Peak Act 2)

 

[Arc Christelle]

Thank you! And yeah, a lot of glitches/flaws were fixed. Sonic isn't as heavy anymore and all of the slow down issues are removed. (Most machines suffers during Polar Peak Act 2)

Sonic might feel a little heavy in that Emerald Ties demo, but I think qq said they fixed it afterwards? He'd probably know.

Ahaha, the only thing I'm good at is writing stuff up and critiquing. Maybe playing music, but I'm certainly not as talented as Falk, Andy, Jeff Ball, KgZ, Kozilek, Funk Fiction, etc. But yeah, this thread is definitely filled with talent, and I like seeing more of it come in here (especially in terms of art assets), so thank you!

I remember when Pietepiet made this and I saved it because it was so cute.

Actually, I think it's on his site anyway!

Oh, Pietepiet--if you see this when you're up--do you know when Luftrauser's coming on PSN? I saw a post about it on the PS Blog the other day.

I can definitely feel the weight, but it's no biggie since the control works well with it. Playing this really makes me happy to be a part of GAF. I really hope I can learn a lot from you guys.

If you guys ever want to work on something original please let me know, I've been looking for a project to start and learn from and I'd be happy to contribute.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

How's the writing been going lately by the way?


Also I don't mind people telling me to work on my game. I've taken a long enough break.


I've been working on some Mega Man-ish platformer. I know it sounded cliche but I've started on it (early 2005) before indie games became huge, so definitely no bandwagoning going on!




Even though I'm one of those that says Colors/Generations, Unleashed definitely deserves credit for changing the direction of the franchise into something I really like now. I just wish I could enjoy the Werehog segments but it's not really for me sadly.

It's going slowly but good, experimenting a little.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Dust is finally on Steam!

And I don't have a PC to play it on over here

 

[Nocturnowl]

I guess you've been left in the dust then...*cough* yeah i'm tired, maybe I should go to bed, good game though, one of my favourites from last year.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Dust?

 

[ArchedThunder]

Dust?

It was a 2D game on XBLA.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Dust?

Dust.

 

[Quackula]

I'm working on an NES homebrew game that's still in the "amorphous blob of ideas and half-coded basic functions" stage.

Actually it's more concrete than I'm making it sound, but yeah. Not evne in a remotely playable state at the moment and coming along veeeeeeeeeeeeeery slowly. Handling everything (design, programming, graphics, music, etc) myself, so it's taking a while. I'm taking my time with it though.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Seeing the Animal Crossing thread reminds me how bad the Rune Factory 4 thread will be...hahaha...-sighs-

 

[Noi]

Seeing the Animal Crossing thread reminds me how bad the Rune Factory 4 thread will be...hahaha...-sighs-

Marvelous would be doing a poor job if the RF4 thread wasn't like that.

...Though admittedly, I have equal interests in the characters and the actual game.

 

[Dark Schala]

Well, Nocturnowl asked for a tome. I’ll just be posting bits from some old posts since they're succinct and worded-well. I’d also made a few changes here and there and made hard decisions for some platforms. And I ran out of space, and there is no way I am making two or three posts in this thread for this.

Atari 2600: Solaris

Douglas Neubauer’s Solaris is always hailed as being one of the best-looking games on the Atari 2600. It’s also got some neat game design behind it. There are sixteen quadrants making up the galaxy in Solaris, and you must prevent the enemy from taking planets (in order for you to refuel). If they destroy a planet, the entire quadrant becomes a Red Quadrant, your controls become reversed. In the end, the game is just as complex as some early NES titles, and pushed the 2600 to some limits. It’s just too bad that it didn’t save the system.​

NES: Super Mario Bros. 3

I’m going to echo Bean here. Super Mario Bros 3 was one of my favourite games from my childhood. It was a game I loved to play before swimming practice, and game I’d fondly remember watching my cousins play through (heck I used to call the tilesets in the castles chocolate for some reason). Everything about the game's design was great (even if Ice Land was a drag). The power-ups were the best thing that it added to the series, and the shocking thing was that there just so many. From Frog Suits to Tanooki Suits, SMB3 provided the player with many different ways to cross through levels and go through all eight worlds. Going through SMB3 never ever gets old as a result.​

SMS: Phantasy Star

I’ve already elaborated in this in the Phantasy Star Anniversary Thread, so I’ll copy/paste that here:

Regardless, the first Phantasy Star game is regarded—much like Dragon Quest, Ultima, and Final Fantasy—as one of the pioneers of how console RPGs are played. It was praised for using a false 3D perspective for its dungeons (likely to create immersion). Designer Reiko Kodama had intended to do something different with Phantasy Star. She had wanted to create an RPG that starred a female protagonist, an RPG that had 3D dungeons, an RPG with intricate monster animation, and something completely different from the theme and setting of Dragon Quest…

Phantasy Star I was Sega’s first 4 Mb cart, due to its graphical prowess and how much stuff it had. For its time, its battle system and party join system was considered to be rather admirable. Characters had personalities, the dialogue cutscenes were gorgeous, battle backgrounds were immensely pretty, and dungeons were a visual feat. It was one of the first games to feature animated enemies during encounters. And obviously, Alis—next to the likes of Samus Aran of Metroid—was deemed as one of video games’s first female heroines whose push to get the plot rolling was out of a personal mission (in Alis’s case, it is borne out of revenge and becomes something much more than that—akin to the likes of social justice). She is therefore considered to be one of the better-written female protagonists. (This is me being a bit personal here, but this is truly how I feel about her.)

SNES: Chrono Trigger

I’ve always felt that Chrono Trigger was one of the most beautifully-designed games I have ever played. Never mind my bias for the game in general (username origin), but I truly do think it’s one of the best-conceived games in the game industry as it took several big names at the time to craft this gem of an RPG. This game was borne out of passion, not necessity or financial results. I believe I can owe the game’s balancing, art design, and overall game design to that passion that the three foremost creators had shared. Sakaguchi, Horii, and Toriyama stepped it up and turned something as whimsical as playing with Akira Toriyama’s universe into something special.

I can easily recommend Chrono Trigger to both new RPG players and veterans. The background art, by Yasuyuki Honne, is incredibly appealing because of its attention to detail and beautiful use of colour (something that will become recognizable in many Monolith Soft titles and Chrono Cross)... The spritework is detailed, the animations are so detailed and wonderful to watch in action. The Mitsuda/Uematsu/Matsueda soundtrack demonstrates so much compositional synergy, catchiness and beauty throughout. And the story is just utterly delightful and tragic at the same time.

But the battle system is truly what shines in this game. Dubbed “ATB 2.0”, Hiroyuki Ito & co. amped up the familiar ATB system found in previous Final Fantasy games (starting with FFIV) and developed it into a system that takes into account party synergy, combo attacks, timing (helping make the speed stat being one of the most important stats in the game rather than sheer power), the importance of healing, both difficulty and ease, and enemy positioning for linear, group or single attacks. It’s a beautiful system. There is never any “right” or “wrong” party because each party member brings their own special abilities (everyone but one character has a healing spell, for instance), and players can customize their parties for efficiency, favouritism, etc.

PS1: Genso Suikoden II

I’ve posted about this game in the RPG Essentials thread, talked about its localization woes here, talked about its music here, and talked about the single most important reason as to why I love this game so much here (think of this like you’re playing as Zero in MMX3/4; this was a HUGE deal for me). I will thus just copy/paste an excerpt from what I wrote for the ranking system for that thread + a bit from my own impressions:

The turn-based RPG Suikoden II takes place 3 years after the original game in the City-State of Jowston. The player controls Riou who, along with his best friend Jowy Atreides, acquire halves of the Rune of the Beginning, and are drawn into a devastating and bloody war. Together, they learn about the fate of those who bear the halves of the True Rune, how truly destructive war can be, and how war changes people. Suikoden II’s various systems are more polished than those of its predecessor. It uses a 3-rune slot system (up to 3 runes may be equipped per character), has a dash button, and features massive tactical war battles. The player can recruit 108 (and more) characters to join their cause. These characters will either be playable in battle or open up minigames in the protagonist’s castle. Suikoden 2 established the importance of canon within the series, allowing the player to import their save file from Suikoden for an extra quest.

What I love about the GS games is that they’re fast and they have respect for the player’s time. The games’ combat aren’t exactly much to lavish praise over outside of combination attacks, rune spell effects, rune combinations, etc., but to GS2’s credit, it made a lot of those things lovely to watch, and thus they truly felt like they hurt whenever they were used. Combat is fast and efficient and you can get battles done within one or two rounds because the games aren’t that hard, and everyone executes their commands at the same time depending on their speed stats. You may now equip up to three runes on one character, and if the character is proficient with spellcasting, he or she may combine higher-level magic-based runes to create an enhanced combination attack with both.

PS2: Tales of Destiny R, Devil May Cry 3 SE, Shadow Hearts: Covenant (battle mechanics), or Final Fantasy X-2

Tales of Destiny R / テイルズ オブ デスティニーR – God, I love this game so damn much.

Tales of Destiny: Director’s Cut features the AR-LMBS, which prioritizes aerial comboing, and it now has CC (which was featured in Tales of Graces for those unfamiliar with the concept). This meant that TP restrictions were gone, and the players could also call the sky their battlefield. This allowed players to surprise enemies on the ground with aerials or fight enemies in the air head-on. Spells may also be altered while in the air during a combo. Narikiri dolls were also added to this release (taken from the original Narikiri Dungeon), which allowed players to transform characters into another character (so everyone could be Stahn!).​

Devil May Cry 3: SE

I like thinking of this game as a “very weird retelling of Dante’s Inferno”. It involves a character named Dante and a character named Vergil going through a hellish place, fighting demons that resemble the Seven Deadly Sins. Hrm.

What attracted me to the DMC series was the “stylish” combat. There’s just something about it that just looks so cool, so awesome, so pretty. It’s different, and when you attack and rack up combos, you rack up a rating based on the way you’re combining attacks. DMC3 did something slightly different and added combat styles to the gameplay. You can choose to focus on different styles, from gunslinging, to swordsmanship, to defense, to speed. The Special Edition improved on many things, such as taking the difficulty down a notch, and adding the second playable character, Vergil, who relies on speed and defense rather than just rushing in and attacking like his brother Dante.​

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is not my favourite game in that series. In fact, atmosphere-wise and musically, I prefer Shadow Hearts by far. Battle system-wise, I prefer From the New World by far. It is probably the most easily-accessible Shadow Hearts game with a decent narrative that won’t put new players off, and it includes the majority of battle additions that From the New World also employed… The Judgement Ring battle system returns with many improvements. You may now attack enemies with different types of attacks (knock down, kick up, knock back, regular—this is incredibly strategic in that how you use attacks, it will affect the enemy depending on the enemy’s weight class), and you may also combine attacks with your other party members to deliver a devastating end-blow depending on which innate elements are contained in the attack (like before, each party member has an innate element). You may still customize the ring with Hit Area Expand and Strike Expand, and you may equip items that add status effects to your PC’s attacks.

Covenant is a massive improvement gameplay-wise from the original, and it makes every effort it can to make newcomers to the series feel welcome. The narrative is interesting and full of comic relief at various turns, and it allows the player to visit alternate historical places in Europe and Asia with the ability to switch between continents. If you can get your hands on the Japanese Director’s Cut, go for it. It has new dungeons, new scenes, and new playable characters.​

Final Fantasy X-2

Final Fantasy X-2 took Final Fantasy V's implementation of the job system and modified it to something even more special. While I liked FFV's job system very much, I absolutely loved ATB Kai and the evolutions FFX-2 made to it via the Dressphere system. The on-the-fly job switching system allowed for so much flexibility and different combinations/permutations (if you required it) of jobs between characters and across the party to modify the party dynamic and synergy... and you could add those job spheres to a garment grid sometimes separated by stat enhancers that took effect if you passed through them in order to switch jobs on the fly. Sure, you can play with three dark knights, but where's the fun in that? Making things too easy isn’t fun, and you aren’t taking advantage of the diversity of jobs you have to handle.

People who say it’s merely a “dress up” game really needs to take a long, hard look at it—it’s basically Final Fantasy V with an all-female cast. Each dressphere is a job and each job gives a different appearance to each character, like how all the jobs in FF5 gave a new appearance to a character, just in sprite form. We got an interesting set of jobs in Gun Mage, Gunner, Songstress, Festival-Goer, Psychic, Lady Luck, etc. So basically, instead of just 3 people in battle, you’re getting up to 17 or so jobs with each character, resulting in 680 possible combinations without repetition, 969 combinations with repetition, 4913 permutations with repetition, and 4080 permutations with repetition. I really liked tinkering with this system and seeing what I got out of it.​

Wii: Skyward Sword

I gave this game my 2011 GotY and my 2011 SotY, and looking back on it, I still think I made the right decisions.

I have already elaborated on why I adored Skyward Sword [in the OT] (and I’ve also elaborated on why I liked the soundtrack [in the SotY thread]), but to summarize, my time with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was 55+ hours’ worth of joy, laughter, sadness and awe. The watercolour artstyle is beautiful, and it brings Skyloft and Hyrule to life, while looking like a moving painting. It also finally felt like what a Wii game was supposed to feel like, with 1:1 control, minigames designed adequately for the motion control, items that took full advantage of the Wiimote (the Beetle being the best example of this), and finally sword-slashes making it feel like you were finally in control of Link’s sword (full disclosure: I played the entire game with my left hand and never had problems).

Adult Link finally looks convincingly emotive, an excellent complement to Child Toon Link of The Wind Waker. Link is angry, happy, disgusted, and even sad in this game and it's very convincing (it's also enhanced by a brilliant orchestral score). The dungeon design and architecture are also marvelous, with Dungeon 4’s ideas being my all-around favourite next to the aesthetics and ideas of Dungeons 3 and 5. There are some things that I didn’t really like in SS, but the good definitely outweighed the stuff I had nitpicky issues about.

Yes, the game is flawed, but I don’t really care. I enjoyed myself a lot and it's definitely one of my favourite Zelda games next to Majora’s Mask. It’s a beautiful way to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the series with musical, artistic and character nods to previous games here and there. I loved almost every minute of it, and I want to take the journey again and again. No question. (Sorry, Noi.)​

PS3:Tales of Graces f

Having assisted in creating the Tales of Graces f English OT, I’d like to think I have a fair enough grasp of the game I’ve played through it almost three times now, and platinumed it twice. I also want to go with it as my PS3 game. I haven’t spent nearly as much time with Valkyria Chronicles – or any other PS3 game, for that matter – as I have with ToGf. And it’s not just because I love Takahiro Sakurai’s voice, or because I love abusing multi-hit artes at any chance I can get either. It’s because the game is very nicely designed and it’s the best-designed 3D Tales game I have ever played, and I have Tatsuro Udo to thank for that. I don't have enough room to talk about why I think it has wonderful game design, nor do I have time to go into the game's battle system in detail, but I have written a neat post about it in the past.

Tales of Graces' system is called the SS-LMBS (Style-Shift Linear Motion Battle System). It does exactly what it says: you shift styles (ex: regular attacks and Artes) in order to maintain combos and the raising of the Arles Gauge. SS works a little differently than normal Tales games, though. Asbel is a good example of demonstrating this: one of his styles is completely sheathed combat where he attacks the enemies with kicks and punches, and the other style is where he uses his sword for devastating Artes and combos. My favourite part of Graces' combat system is that it penalizes the player for Free Running! I dislike Free Running a lot, and the Around-Step system is the perfect alternative to dodging attacks and catching enemies off-guard.​

PSP: Sora no Kiseki: The 3rd, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X, or Ys: The Oath in Felghana

Sora no Kiseki: The 3rd /雄伝説VI 空の軌跡the 3rd

I’ll admit it: Sora no Kiseki FC – or Trails in the Sky as it was localized here – didn’t click with me the first time I played it. Actually, I thought it was markedly boring and poorly paced for the first ten hours before I restarted the game and gave it another shot. At the end of it, I thought it was Grandia-esque, or felt like older RPGs in terms of its tone at the beginning. The cliffhanger ending was a bummer because we’re totally not getting the next games in the trilogy. I’d sucked it up with some urging from fellow GAF members and quickly imported Sora no Kiseki SC and Sora no Kiseki: The 3rd to see if I could get into the series. SC didn’t do much for me, but the ending was worth it. But being poked and prodded to play The 3rd in January was well-worth it, and the series finally clicked for me. Everything about the characters, the AT system, and the geography of the entire world in this series became so much more interesting as a result. Doing the sidequests mattered, and the music is fantastic. Even being able to import your saves from SC was a treat.​

Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X /テイルズ オブ ファンタジア なりきりダンジョンX

Narikiri Dungeon X is good, especially towards the latter half when it expands on Phantasia's story. It doesn't use P-LMBS this time. It now uses the XAR-LMBS (Cross Arts Aerial Linear Motion Battle System). It's alright. You can use attacks and stuff in the air, juggle enemies, and it has an overbrave gauge. Sometimes artes don't link well to each other so when enemies fall to the ground after you juggle them, you should probably use a ground arte.

It also has a job system; 8 job branches for each character, and 3 ranks of jobs. And it's fun to switch 'em around to keep battles fresh. Like, if you're wearing the Beast Tamer costume, you can capture monsters, if someone wears the martial artist costume, you have access to a bunch of moves that feel like they're Senel's but they flow well (much like Jude's in Xillia's), Hunter feels overpowered, etc. You also get to have the entire cast from Phantasia with their complete movesets and they can attack and juggle enemies, which is a plus.​

Ys: The Oath in Felghana

I love Ys. It’s a mix of great controls, fantastic music, great controls, polish, great character designs, speed and. If you want the pinnacle of polished Action RPGs, play a Ys game. The story in the remake is re-imagined. In the original, you were just taken to Dogi’s hometown of Redmond and just told to go into the quarry to kill some goons. In this one, while Adol and Dogi are journeying to Redmond, they encounter Dogi’s childhood friend and save her and learn that the monsters are just the least of their problems. Characters are given better personalities, more depth and the event scenarios are far better. Also, I really appreciate that XSEED just purchased a fan-translation and polished it off. The localization is really top-notch and you can tell that heart and soul went into it.

But we’re always playing Ys games for the gameplay. Having played Ys Seven before this, I think Ys: The Oath in Felghana is the better game. This game takes what Ys VI: The Ark of Naphistim had and tweaked it a bit, as opposed to introducing a party system like Seven did, which gives it a major upper-hand and puts it with Ys Origin as one of my favourite Ys titles.​

DS: Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan 2 and 999

Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan/Ouendan 2

I’ll just lump all three of these in together because they’re the reasons why I decided to get back into handheld gaming with the DS. I’ve never been one to play rhythm games before, but these games made me give the genre another look. Combining story with rhythm gameplay and adequate covers of mainstream songs makes for an incredibly joyful play experience for all three games. It was well-worth getting a DS for these games, as they showed me what a DS can actually do, and they afforded me a lot of entertainment during my commutes to the city.

999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

I’ve played a lot of DS games, but this is probably the only DS game that used the DS screens to convey a narrative in a very creative way. It gets huge technical points for that. It isn’t for everyone. Not everyone gets enjoyment out of digital novels, and most will feel like it’s a passive experience. If you like to skip cutscenes in favour of watching the next explosion, then this game will not be for you.

3DS: I dunno. Ocarina of Time 3D, I guess.

I have already posted a review for this game on GAF.

Improving upon a "perfect game" formula is probably the hardest thing developers can do. But they truly did this by introducing minor tweaks. The original glitches are still in there to exploit, so some players won’t feel like they’re missing out. Grezzo was only willing to adjust and enhance it so much, and it speaks to the respect they showed to the original source version and the development team. If things were omitted or changed drastically, I would have called it messing with perfection.

In my opinion, the good definitely outweighs the nitpicking in this version. I’d like to consider it the definitive version of The Ocarina of Time. Nothing is taken away from this version in terms of the narrative, the music or the pacing. This game is being released to reach a new generation, but it’s excellent for veterans who wish to take the game along with them, or who want an extra challenge. This remastered version shows that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is timeless, and truly a game for the ages.

Vita: DJ Max Technika Tune, Time Travelers, and Dokuro

Much like the 3DS, the Vita hasn’t really had much of a chance to show that it’s capable of delivering a standout title that would make the general public drop everything and purchase a Vita at any cost. Even the games I’d listed are multiplatform titles, with Time Travelers being on the 3DS and PSP, and Technika Tune being a port from an Arcade game. I was contemplating leaving this space blank because I do have two titles waiting in the wings to be played (Zero no Kiseki Evolution (which I’ve started) and Tales of Innocence R). As such, don’t take this selection super-seriously outside of the Dokuro mention (Dokuro's here because I love the puzzle/platforming game design).​

And this is where I ran out of space because this is only 10 pages out of 15 in Word and I wasn't done. But here's my OG list, anyway; edited because I put my foot down and chose only one game per platform where I knew I could make a decision for it. I'll expand on a game if you really want me to.

Kinda want to do a writeup for LA DX, but eh.

 

[ArchedThunder]

Some one else who likes Skyward Sword? Yay!

 

[Dark Schala]

Some one else who likes Skyward Sword? Yay!

To be fair, I'm a huge Zelda fan, so my opinion probably won't matter as much out of bias.

...I should go to sleep.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I was worried when I didn't wake up to a tome but now all is well, appreciated as always.
Ice World is totally better than Dark World though, I could do without another 6 odd airship variations.

 

[Dark Schala]

I was worried when I didn't wake up to a tome but now all is well, appreciated as always.
Ice World is totally better than Dark World though, I could do without another 6 odd airship variations.

But I always thought that was such a wonderful entrance in terms of setting the tone for the entire world, though. It acts as Bowser's last stand, and he's called in the air and ground brigade for you. It may be a bit repetitive, but lordy, it's such a wonderful way to set the stage for the final showdown, and it effectively puts your platforming skills (and possible weapon usage) to the test in an endurance run. Just make sure you've got those P-wings for an easier time.

As for Ice World, I never liked the physics change for that, lol. I mean, I like the tiles used here, but Ice World and I never got along all that well.

Well, if you wanted me to do any writeups for anything in my original list that isn't included in that writeup, I will do so when I wake up later on. I'm kinda itching to do a Link's Awakening one, since that's my favourite 2D one at the moment.

 

[Emitan]

!!! You have been kicked from #SonicGAF
09:15 You are banned from the channel #SonicGAF

 

[Shadow Hog]

I had a dream where I was banned from NeoGAF last night.

I don't even remember what I did to warrant it.

 

[Emitan]

I was asleep. Why would I get banned in my sleep? What the hell, qq?!

 

[Arc Christelle]

I'm working on an NES homebrew game that's still in the "amorphous blob of ideas and half-coded basic functions" stage.

Actually it's more concrete than I'm making it sound, but yeah. Not evne in a remotely playable state at the moment and coming along veeeeeeeeeeeeeery slowly. Handling everything (design, programming, graphics, music, etc) myself, so it's taking a while. I'm taking my time with it though.

You need any help?

 

[grap3fruitman]

You guys been following this stuff?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM9ri1o6rbk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcuZHuHWG0c

 

[Quackula]

You need any help?

Maybe.

Perhaps send me a PM with some details on what you'd be able to help out with exactly? We can discuss more from there.

 

[Pietepiet]

it bugs me to see people let their talents get dusty and rot.

This is me right now, actually. :\
The start of 2013 was pretty good but I'm slipping back into the same creative depression as the one I had during most of 2012. Fun!

I remember when Pietepiet made this and I saved it because it was so cute.

Actually, I think it's on his site anyway!

Oh, Pietepiet--if you see this when you're up--do you know when Luftrausers is coming on PSN? I saw a post about it on the PS Blog the other day.

Hehe, thanks! And I'm not sure, actually. The game is still being worked on (though I think the GameMaker version is done. We like to test things in GM before porting it to other engines 'cause it's a lot faster to prototype with). Soon, though! We're very close to the end! My part has been finished for a while now

 

[Dark Schala]

If you guys need to sort out personal issues, mind taking it to PMs instead? Thanks. Not the place for this.

And I'm tired.

Hehe, thanks! And I'm not sure, actually. The game is still being worked on (though I think the GameMaker version is done. We like to test things in GM before porting it to other engines 'cause it's a lot faster to prototype with). Soon, though! We're very close to the end! My part has been finished for a while now

Oh wow! I'm really excited for the final product, here. I can't wait to get my hands on it, myself. Looking forward to it whenever it's out, though!

You guys been following this stuff?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM9ri1o6rbk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcuZHuHWG0c

Been keeping up with it a little ever since I saw Blaze mention it around here. Really impressive stuff.

 

[Hot Coldman]

I like how they brought back the prototype Sonic Adventure camera for Sonic Heroes. That's what you call fan-service.

 

[Nocturnowl]

But I always thought that was such a wonderful entrance in terms of setting the tone for the entire world, though. It acts as Bowser's last stand, and he's called in the air and ground brigade for you. It may be a bit repetitive, but lordy, it's such a wonderful way to set the stage for the final showdown, and it effectively puts your platforming skills (and possible weapon usage) to the test in an endurance run. Just make sure you've got those P-wings for an easier time.

As for Ice World, I never liked the physics change for that, lol. I mean, I like the tiles used here, but Ice World and I never got along all that well.

Well, if you wanted me to do any writeups for anything in my original list that isn't included in that writeup, I will do so when I wake up later on. I'm kinda itching to do a Link's Awakening one, since that's my favourite 2D one at the moment.

I just feel like I had my fill of scrolling cannon and wrench filled stages by that point, i'm not that big a fan of the airships in general really, give me my beloved Castles any day. Though at least they did switch up the type of vehicle. By comparison SMW didn't feel so much like Bowser's Last Stand as all the stages surrounding it that weren't castles or forts could probably sit in vanilla dome without feeling out of place in difficulty and visually, inconsistent difficulty is kind of SMW's thing I figure from my last run.
When I did last play SMB3 I was sort of dreading the ice world myself but I found myself enjoying it more than I expected to, not sure why either.

I'll leave extra writeups up to you, no need to type a tome on my account, though I think that deep down you want to, in fact you pretty much said as such for LA at least.
I'll have to elaborate on some of my more uncommon ones myself at this rate, some of them i've never really detailed why I like so much.

I like how they brought back the prototype Sonic Adventure camera for Sonic Heroes. That's what you call fan-service.

AND WHAT A TREAT IT WAS!

 

[Shadow Hog]

My brother has, somehow, managed to lose the fifth instrument in his Link's Awakening DX save. Not in his HUD, not in the dungeon despite the boss being cleared. How the hell does that even happen?

 

[Meccanical]

I'm gonna leave this, this, this, and this here. Make of it what you will.

My brother has, somehow, managed to lose the fifth instrument in his Link's Awakening DX save. Not in his HUD, not in the dungeon despite the boss being cleared. How the hell does that even happen?

Maybe his game is haunted.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Last month EDGE published a "Making of..." for Sonic Xtreme. I didn't see anyone mention it here, but this game is always worth reading about. http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-making-of-sonic-x-treme/

 

[Hot Coldman]

Double post but fuck it: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=568045

Time to start the SonicGAF podcast and get Mike Pollock on