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Post by Ex on Sept 25, 2020 15:09:17 GMT -5
Nothing worse than overly sharp 3D models on 2D backgrounds. I understand what you mean there. The low resolution polygons blend better with the low resolution background art, versus high resolution polygons not blending with low resolution background art. After all in real life back in the CRT days, the jagged edges of those low resolution polygons, would be naturally anti-aliased by the analog signal rendering over non-distinct phosphorous pixels. That said, when I play fully polygonal PS1 games, I do like to use Pete's plug-in, because then the entire game is rendered in high resolution, with no disparity. So the original Dino Crisis would be an ideal candidate for that.
pSX is very bare bones, I agree. It gets the job done, but is too basic for its own good. IIRC it pSX has issues with Windows 10 anyway, so its lifespan is doomed, compared to ePSXe, which was developed with more modern API support. I tend to play PS1 games on PSP nowadays, due to the convenience. But if not, yeah I'm still an ePSXe man. ePSXe even has a decent Android port. I've beaten a few PS1 games on smartphone.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2020 18:03:49 GMT -5
It's probably weirdest that I, more than likely the biggest RE fan here, have played Parasite Eve 1 and 2, along with Dino Crisis 1 and 2, but haven't beaten any of those four games! Well, I've beaten Dino Crisis 1 and only played the second game briefly, but that series doesn't really do much for me. And there are plenty of well known horror games I haven't beaten myself yet. Like, uh, Luigi's Mansion. PE took me a few tries before I could get into it, but it was worth the persistence. I actually prefer PE's simpler combat system than the one from Vagrant Story - granted I haven't beaten that game, but its seemingly convoluted weapon system as well as the rhythm based combat are a turn off for me. But yeah, PE's soundtrack is golden:
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Post by Sarge on Sept 25, 2020 18:07:29 GMT -5
I actually tend to agree about the combat - I generally like the simplicity a bit better. Or at least it seems to fit better in that sort of game. Vagrant Story is its own beast, and the combat there also fits the rest of the game really well.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 25, 2020 18:14:06 GMT -5
I have been getting the itch for some survival horror again (usually off and on all year round for me, but the timing seems appropriate for once with October around the corner haha). I definitely like the idea of prioritizing Parasite Eve before anything else I hit up. It's probably weirdest that I, more than likely the biggest RE fan here, have played Parasite Eve 1 and 2, along with Dino Crisis 1 and 2, but haven't beaten any of those four games! Well, I've beaten Dino Crisis 1 and only played the second game briefly, but that series doesn't really do much for me. And there are plenty of well known horror games I haven't beaten myself yet. Like, uh, Luigi's Mansion. PE took me a few tries before I could get into it, but it was worth the persistence. I actually prefer PE's simpler combat system than the one from Vagrant Story - granted I haven't beaten that game, but its seemingly convoluted weapon system as well as the rhythm based combat are a turn off for me.I forget if you were gone a bit when I played and beat Vagrant Story earlier this year, but uh yeah it sadly took me ~10 hours to realize that I shouldn't have been chaining every single attack. Which just skyrockets your "Risk" (hit percentage) immediately and then you have to use up way too many items to manage that during long boss fights. You can still cheese some bosses by chaining as much as possible but eh, the game got way better and easier once I realized this crucial error I was making with my playstyle. lol, from then on I usually just did like ~2-3 chains sometimes, but often didn't even bother to keep that Risk low. Maybe you made the same mistakes or not, I'm not sure. It's a top tier retro game for me this year but I think some others here still like it more than I did. I'm starting to think I feel this way about all of Matsuno's games, I love how unique and dense they are, but sometimes wish I could change a thing or two about them. I guess I'll be that weird outlier that might like Tactics Ogre the most from his resume.
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Post by EasyHard on Sept 25, 2020 19:01:33 GMT -5
I beat X-men (Genesis), and now enjoy the game quite a bit. Because there are no continues and what you learn with one character on a stage doesn't always transfer over to another, the game punishes failure in an odd way compared to most action platformers. That's probably why the game gets more fun the more consistently you can complete levels. Mastering level 2, I think, did a lot to make me enjoy learning the nuisances of controls and combat (it's the most mook-filled level in the game).
I gravitated towards Cyclops when I could. He has the best jump (double jumping performs a spin) and his mutant power can basically replace his other attacks because it is so inexpensive. Every character, actually, can get a maximum height "super jump" by double tapping jump very fast and holding the second press, but this is enough of an time and execution tax that having better jumps out of the box is a noticeable character strength. Learning the directional aiming of his optic blasts is a minor skill milestone that lets you approach many sections methodically and safely, kinda like those times in Castlevania 4 where you dispatch enemies that have little ability to fight back. Cyclops is still the dork of the group though, and it is more fun to use the other powers when you can.
On paper, Gambit should be like Cyclops because their mutant powers in this game are functionally the same mechanic. His kinetic cards though are less reliable, can't be aimed, and are much more expensive, so it is very much the lesser mutant power (like the lesser fan favorite he is, lol ). He does have basic attacks that connect easily and seem to be much better at stopping the enemy's counterattack. Like Cyclops, Gambit has good jumps than can be performed with a spin. There's a fair amount of dialogue in this game (bookending levels), and it is modified to whoever is your active character. Gambit's dialogue has all that Cajun/French accent going on like "bon jour ma belle" and "dis must be..". My favorite line in the game is this (after defeating a scantily clad female boss):
Gambit: She was cute, but hard to get a hold of. Just like I like 'em.
hahaha...What the hell, Gambit?
Nightcrawler is the favorite character of experienced players, which goes far beyond the level shortcuts he offers. I don't like him a ton, but he isn't the worst. You can use his teleport in a stationary fashion as a weapon (turning yourself into a deadly "contact damage" hazard for enemies). It drains very, very little mutant power. It can also be used to dodge projectiles with basically zero risk. Not quite broken, but it should draw comparison to broken abilities from other games. Some bosses, like Apocalypse, are trivial with Nightcrawler because he all he does is punch, which will hurt him if you stationary teleport. The movement-based teleports are hard to control, but seem to depend on how long you hold the button. His attacks and jump height are really bad (generally the worst) which is what I dislike, although his ducking attack is very good (the best) and his jumping attack (an infinitely diving diagonal kick) is very unique, but it means you don't have a standard jump attack. In any other action platformer, it would draw attention to itself as a "flying/gliding" ability that impacts how every level is designed. In this game you have to discover that potential yourself.
Wolverine is unquestionably the bottom, but only because he comes up short where everyone has something solid about them. While Cyclops and Nightcrawler and kind of wimps with their basic attacks, Wolverine is good. I guess that is his strength? When his claws are extended they do more damage and have better range, and turns his jumping attack into a very fast and powerful dive. The claw dive is the attack your muscle memory will lean to using all the time. Keeping your claws extended slowly drains mutant power. When you realize how easy it is extend/retract your claws to save energy it can make Wolverine feel weirdly "conservative" to play. Being dainty with your mutant power in this way just doesn't feel like you are playing Mr. Logan Badass, you know? Another observation is that because enemies and levels are made for all 4 characters, you never actually slice open enemies or doors as Wolverine. No wall climbing either. It's funny how these little details (present in other media but absent here) normally do a lot of the lifting to make Wolverine "cool". Wolverine also regenerates health automatically, but this is irrelevant. I'm not sure how slow it is exactly, but you'll only notice your health bar ticking up once or twice an entire level.
I think the appeal of this game back in the day was that rotating characters all the time (forced by health and deaths) made for a varied experience. They are really, really differentiated. The strengths/weaknesses are felt much more than, say, the characters of Castlevania 3 or Super Mario Bros. 2. It's more like taking the 4 most varied powers from Kirby Super Star, or for an even more apt example: 4 characters in Smash Bros. Right down to how attack speed, attack ranges, and jump heights are all different. Character heights in this game matter too. Gambit can't duck under the attacks in level 2, for instance.
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Something I will struggle to communicate is how there is a certain Arcade-y + Puzzle-y feel to learning and progressing in X-men. It's how the right mutant power or strategy can make a boss or level "section" (I'd hesitate to call them set pieces) feel very easy. Like the example of using Nightcrawler against Apocalypse, it is sorta like Contra 3 or 4 where you "plan on" having certain weapons for certain parts because you know they can get the job done consistently. There are 4 assist heroes that play into this (Storm, Rogue, Archangel, and Ice man). The first 3 are different types of powerful attacks, while Iceman creates a bridge. You can deploy these 4 "trump cards" once each per level, more often if you find and collect the assist refills. With fore-knowledge of where the tricky parts of each level are, where the assist refills are, and whether or not the assist heroes work against the boss, you gradually start to get better and better use out of them. There is a big juxtaposition between how comical the game can feel against the player's favor, to how "in the bag" the game gets one way or another by the time you've mastered it.
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Post by Sarge on Sept 25, 2020 19:29:15 GMT -5
I was always a big fan of Gambit in the comics. I also really liked Rogue. But then... I like Cyclops now, too (and he was my avatar for a while here), mainly because, much like Superman or Leonardo, he was always the super-serious boy scout leader. I can identify with that more now. When I was younger, there's no question the likes of Wolvie or Raph were my favorites.
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Post by EasyHard on Sept 25, 2020 20:09:34 GMT -5
I was always a big fan of Gambit in the comics. I also really liked Rogue. But then... I like Cyclops now, too (and he was my avatar for a while here), mainly because, much like Superman or Leonardo, he was always the super-serious boy scout leader. I can identify with that more now. When I was younger, there's no question the likes of Wolvie or Raph were my favorites.
I liked both Gambit and Wolverine as a kid, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Gambit was the consolation prize cool character. (It reminds me of Cyan and Sabin, where I'd reluctantly admit that my boy Cyan just wasn't as good of a bruiser -- or half as cool.). All of the X-men were pretty cool, but nowadays I can't help but think of Cyclops as dorky :0 Maybe it was the X-men movie. It is interesting to note that in most depictions, Cyclops is the only one with a steady girlfriend, ha! As for Superman or Leonardo, I don't have any opinion on them now but I do recall being able to identify/look up to the boy scout leader role when I was young. This was also tied to paladins in fantasy settings. Nowadays I look up to leader characters that resemble Major Kusanagi -- hyper competency and professionalism.
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Post by Sarge on Sept 25, 2020 20:29:34 GMT -5
I forgot to throw in Captain America. But yeah, no question the movies tended to emphasize him as being uncool, as opposed to his leadership qualities like in the comics.
I can definitely appreciate the hyper-competent folks as well.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 26, 2020 16:09:59 GMT -5
You guys don't have to get TOO detailed since I don't super duper care, but has Marvel/X-Men or someone higher up had an agenda against Gambit going on 20 years now? He was absolutely one of the most popular comic book characters growing up in the 90's to me, across multiple schools/states that I grew up in. Everybody loved him. So... what the heck happened to Gambit?
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Post by toei on Sept 26, 2020 16:14:45 GMT -5
You guys don't have to get TOO detailed since I don't super duper care, but has Marvel/X-Men or someone higher up had an agenda against Gambit going on 20 years now? He was absolutely one of the most popular comic book characters growing up in the 90's to me, across multiple schools/states that I grew up in. Everybody loved him. So... what the heck happened to Gambit? Maybe he was just too '90s? I thought he was badass around the same time I thought Cable, Apocalypse and Stryfe were. Where are any of those goons?
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