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Post by Ex on Oct 2, 2020 10:27:48 GMT -5
@tsumuri
In general I agree with your opinions of Onimusha 1 & 2. I beat those games myself over a decade ago, so my memories are hazy. But I believe I enjoyed them slightly more than you did. The first game I rated 7.5/10, the second an 8/10. I thought the second game was a significant improvement in the "fun" factor over the first. I still have not played parts 3 and 4 yet. (Although I did beat Onimusha Tactics on GBA for no good reason. I've also beaten Onimusha Blade Warriors on PS2 as well. But those two games were deviations from the main series, so kind of irrelevant in respect of this theme.) I'm glad you played the PS2 version of the first Onimusha. I originally tried to play it via the Xbox port, and wow did Capcom screw that up. I went back to the PS2 original and had a much better time.
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 2, 2020 12:50:30 GMT -5
Doom 64 is probably the best game name dropped in this thread so far. I wouldn't bat an eye over some fans putting it above Doom 1-2. I'm not saying that, but it's damn good. I played the new official release this year as well and it was pretty top notch. But you can still opt for the EX port. I've never actually played it on the N64, but it translates perfectly to PC... since it's just literally Doom, mechanically and stylistically (faux 3D that's really just all 2D and thus actually holds up better than most N64 FPS's). To clarify since some people still don't always know or get confused, Doom 64 is an entirely new game. It's not a port of the originals. It features new sprites, textures, weapons, sounds, and a different direction for the music, more ambient/minimal and freaky. Simply put in a lot of ways it's basically more truly Doom 3 than the real Doom 3 we got (even if I'm a fan of that one).
I had a good time hitting up the Onimusha 1 remaster last year. Something tells me it sold so poorly that the rest of the series won't get that treatment, or I've heard that there could be some actor facial likeness usage in some of the sequels that might be preventing Capcom from touching them (think one of the actors in 2 has passed, making it more complicated). There was also controversy around the original composer for 1, so the remaster featured an entirely new OST which was fine. But I missed some of the classic tracks. Also I figure HD-fying pre-rendered backdrops and making these games widescreen can be very challenging. Maybe they just don't have all the source code for 2 or whatever...
@tsumuri 's thoughts sound pretty fair and spot on to me. It would be hard to recommend these nowadays, unless you really like RE clones and or the character action genre. The interesting thing to me is that back in the day, it felt like Onimusha was bigger than Devil May Cry actually. I'm talking like sales, magazine coverage, etc, Onimusha was huge. Maybe it was bigger than DMC for a second, or I was just more into this series than DMC back then for whatever reason... but fast forward to now and I think it's clear why DMC is the series that survived and is still going.
The control scheme isn't an issue with guns, but it's not exactly ideal for a melee combat focused game. The bosses in Onimusha 2 can be a royal pain. I agree with Tsumuri that the weird town elements and affection stats with NPC's was kind of annoying.
When I finally got to 3 again a few years ago, the one I used to knock the most... I realized gameplay wise that one holds up the best by far. It's now fully 3D which I was kind of against back then, because the environments maybe don't look as detailed as 1-2. But the game just simply plays better in every regard because of this change. Jean Reno, the time travel elements, and story, is all straight up schlocky shenanigans, but don't take it too seriously and anyone who likes character action games should have a good time with this one. I always recall this one giving me some good Zelda vibes too. It has some cool temple/dungeon areas.
I've fallen off 4 several times and still haven't beaten this one. Oh, I would say by 3-4, the horror elements are completely nonexistent now. But yeah, 4 "feels" like a completely different and weird engine, bosses are all giant sponges, etc. It's a weird one. I was watching one streamer play it again this year as she went through the whole series, it does seem like Onimusha 4 is a great game... but kind of a weird Onimusha-game. If that makes sense.
Here's some cool footage of Onimusha on the PSX.
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Post by Sarge on Oct 2, 2020 13:51:15 GMT -5
@tsumuri: Ooh, can't wait until you hit up Onimusha 3 and Dawn of Dreams. I think O3 is absolutely fantastic.
As for the PS2 Castlevania games, there's some light platforming in Lament of Innocence, but it's very much more Devil May Cry than anything. Curse of Darkness I think has a bit more, but that game controls a bit differently, and I didn't like it as much. The platforming in the N64 games is... slippery is probably the right word.
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 2, 2020 14:07:12 GMT -5
The major issue I had with Lament of Innocence, is that the level design was extremely boring. It's fine if you repeat blocks of rooms in a 2D Metroidvania in most cases to me, or have those loading hallways like in SoTN or Metroid's transitional hallways that would link different environments. They take seconds to walk through. But having long generic hallways that take a minute to walk through in the 3D space? Ugh. I just can't shake the feeling that Lament's levels felt like something you'd cook up in the Timesplitters level editor... ie, you get 10 different blocks of rooms to work with. Now repeat all of them around indefinitely to create the illusion of some intricate castle.
Harsh but that's why I fell off Lament. The music/atmosphere and actual gameplay was decent. But it was just so boring to navigate after just a quick few hours.
If others here hit it up though I'd definitely be curious on some other takes.
I played Castlevania 64 back in the 90's and I think it's probably best to leave my memories of that intact without touching it again.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2020 14:24:22 GMT -5
Doom 64 is the best FPS for the N64. GoldenEye and Perfect Dark are seminal shooters and I enjoyed them, but Doom 64 is the most fun to play. Just because the dark ambient soundtrack is so wildly different from anything Bobby Prince composed, the game feels strikingly more horror than any of the previous Doom games. It basically has the horror atmosphere from Doom 3, but the gameplay from Doom 1 & 2, so it's the best of both worlds. Just know the final boss is going to be a pain if you don't find all the parts for the Unmaker.
By the way, I already played through Onimusha 3 and I'm going to talk about it. I gotta say though, all I really wanted from the series was Resident Evil in feudal Japan and the first game came the closest to deliver just that, but ultimately felt underwhelming. But hey, at least I've got Silent Hill in feudal Japan aka Kuon. I'm not going to play Dawn of Dreams because of bad graphical corruption due to emulation, but I'm really not sure whether I'd have enjoyed it anyway. Reminds me of Shadow Hearts 3 as far as tone goes - which ain't good. I don't like how these serious, brooding series always turn so upbeat and colorful - good thing that didn't happen to DMC or RE.
I might give one of the Castlevania games a shot though.
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Post by Ex on Oct 2, 2020 14:55:02 GMT -5
The major issue I had with Lament of Innocence, is that the level design was extremely boring Yeah, that was my issue as well. Back in 2007 when I bought my first PS2, C:LoI was one of the first PS2 games I bought and played... and yeah, disappointing. The atmosphere was there, but the game was so boring I didn't even bother finishing it. I don't know if I'd still feel the same way today or not, probably. I own Curse of Darkness on Xbox, but haven't played it yet. all I really wanted from the series was Resident Evil in feudal Japan Well you just described Soul of the Samurai (AKA Ronin Blade in PAL land) on PS1:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2020 15:15:14 GMT -5
Well you just described Soul of the SamuraiI just played through it and I disagree on that point, Onimusha 1 is definitely closer to RE. I'll talk about it soon enough.
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Post by Ex on Oct 2, 2020 15:27:56 GMT -5
before name is said quickly beaten already
the dark devourer
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 2, 2020 15:49:26 GMT -5
I'm not going to play Dawn of Dreams because of bad graphical corruption due to emulation, but I'm really not sure whether I'd have enjoyed it anyway. Reminds me of Shadow Hearts 3 as far as tone goes - which ain't good. I don't like how these serious, brooding series always turn so upbeat and colorful - good thing that didn't happen to DMC or RE. For laughs, I'm just going to link you and others to a boss in Onimusha 4 that I remember, one of the most boring boss battles I've ever seen: youtu.be/fS5q-wEJ-88?t=1457
And yes that huge bar at the bottom is the bosses health and yes that chip damage is all you can really do on bosses in this. I LOVE 30+ MINUTE BOSS FIGHTS... said nobody.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2020 15:59:07 GMT -5
I'm not going to play Dawn of Dreams because of bad graphical corruption due to emulation, but I'm really not sure whether I'd have enjoyed it anyway. Reminds me of Shadow Hearts 3 as far as tone goes - which ain't good. I don't like how these serious, brooding series always turn so upbeat and colorful - good thing that didn't happen to DMC or RE. For laughs, I'm just going to link you and others to a boss in Onimusha 4 that I remember, one of the most boring boss battles I've ever seen: youtu.be/fS5q-wEJ-88?t=1457
And yes that huge bar at the bottom is the bosses health and yes that chip damage is all you can really do on bosses in this. I LOVE 30+ MINUTE BOSS FIGHTS... said nobody. Bad bosses, bad dialogue, crap acting, boring brown/gray scenery, tell me again why people like modern games so much.
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