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Post by Xeogred on Mar 20, 2019 18:07:23 GMT -5
I have trouble enjoying Zelda clones, usually just the 3D ones but now that I think about it I never got far in Golden Axe Warrior either. Even though it looks really competent with all the images and talk here.
3D Dot Heroes was legit, though I never beat it. I recall the difficulty spiking quite a bit the further you got, bosses were pretty spongy.
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Post by Ex on Mar 20, 2019 20:24:30 GMT -5
You guys made me check my PS3 collection, I do indeed own 3D Dot Game Heroes - of course I've not played it yet. I remember I used to get annoyed when people would claim FromSoftware made this game. FromSoftware only published it in Japan. Silicon Studio actually developed the game.
I've still got a long way to go in Golden Axe Warrior, but I've already seen plenty of differences in it compared to Zelda. I won't deny GAW started off in conception as a Zelda clone though.
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Post by Ex on Mar 22, 2019 0:27:21 GMT -5
 4th dungeon entrance. I finished the 3rd and 4th dungeons tonight.   GAW's puzzles so far have been easy, but it's quite tough on the combat. Enemies are very aggressive, and they hit fast, and they hit hard. Enemies come colored in green (normal), blue (tough), and red (murder machines). Many enemies have projectile attacks. Bosses take large chunks of life off with each hit.
Some of the ways that GAW differs from the original Zelda...
Gambling.
Verbose NPCs.
There are small towns, complete with shops and inns.
But some stuff is still very similar, like you have a three slot save:
And this screen is patently ripped off from the big Z:
Anyway I have a little over 4 hours invested thus far. Not using a walkthrough slows things down. I probably would have beaten this game by now, but my day job has been brutal this week (bleeding into the evenings). Free time has not been at a premium lately.
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Post by Sarge on Mar 22, 2019 10:58:41 GMT -5
There was a simple gambling game in LoZ, but that looks like it's perhaps slightly more elaborate. Anyway, played some Sonic Chaos last night. I'm still not too sure about this one. It's definitely easy, as Ex says. Stages are also really short. The weirder thing is the bonus stages to get the Chaos emeralds. Once you complete one by getting the stone, it takes you to the next stage. Weird. I think maybe there were other Sonic games that did this, but still... weird. I won't be seeing that anymore, since I got 'em all. First three were easy, last two I might have loaded state a few times once I grasped what was expected of me. Will probably be finishing this one up soon. |
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Post by Ex on Mar 22, 2019 11:15:05 GMT -5
There was a simple gambling game in LoZI completely forgot about that. But to be fair, the last time I did a complete playthrough of the original LoZ was in 1990. I've surely forgotten plenty of things in those 29 years. |
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Post by Sarge on Mar 22, 2019 12:32:54 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, me too. It has probably been more recent than 1990, but the last full play I've made has to have been before 2000.
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Post by toei on Mar 22, 2019 22:29:45 GMT -5
Not enjoying Wonderboy 3 at all. I've played through the two Genesis Monster World games, and hadn't enjoyed either all that much, either, so I guess that series just isn't for me. Dragon's Curse in particular plays really poorly for a game that seems to be everyone's favorite. I'm giving up on it.
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Post by Ex on Mar 23, 2019 0:15:14 GMT -5
Not enjoying Wonderboy 3 at all. Dragon's Curse in particular plays really poorly for a game that seems to be everyone's favorite. I'm giving up on it. I don't blame you. I've tried multiple times to get into that game, it never sticks for me. And speaking of Master System games that don't stick for me...    The screens above illustrate why I'm quitting Golden Axe Warrior. Those screenshots are from the 5th dungeon. Here's the thing; my favorite aspect of Zelda is its clever dungeons. GAW's dungeons are not clever. They are increasingly filled with highly aggressive enemies that hit stupid hard, spikes everywhere, and continuous projectile spewing statues. Clever puzzles? Nowhere to be found. Frankly the dungeons suck. Sucky dungeons would ruin any Zelda, and they certainly ruin a Zelda wannabe. Golden Axe Warrior does have nice graphics, which is something I find myself saying about a lot of Master System games. It also has subpar game design - which is another thing I often find with Master System games. That isn't to say that good Master System games don't exist - they absolutely do. At the same time, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. I agree with Sarge that a lot of the best talent in the 8-bit era was siphoned away by Nintendo (and its shackled third party developers). I've read numerous people online say they think Golden Axe Warrior is superior to The Legend of Zelda. Yeah... I don't think so folks. Even as a SEGA Master System fanboy, that's just crazy talk. Without going into paragraphs of unnecessary detail, I'll just say after five hours with this game; Golden Axe Warrior is a 6/10 at best. Anyway, I've beaten 8 MS games so far for this theme. I plan to beat 10. I've already beaten the glorious Phantasy Star, and Miracle Warriors isn't something I care to get involved with right now. So it looks like two more short action games will be next then.
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Post by toei on Mar 23, 2019 3:19:51 GMT -5
That isn't to say that good Master System games don't exist - they absolutely do. At the same time, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. I agree with Sarge that a lot of the best talent in the 8-bit era was siphoned away by Nintendo (and its shackled third party developers). Nintendo didn't siphon anything. They made few games of their own, and most of the significant ones were led by the same guy. They did not have any kind of monopoly on talent. They did monopolize third parties for a few years, but only on the home console front - the best and most experienced at Namco, Capcom, Konami and so on were mostly making arcade games. The main exception is in genres that belonged at home, such as RPGs - and even then, a lot of important developments took place in computer games rather than the NES, and Japanese console RPGs only really came into their own as a genre in the early '90s, mostly on 16-bit consoles. Good games are the exception on the NES, too! Wikipedia lists over 1,000 Famicom and NES games. There aren't 100 really good ones among them. Realistically-speaking, they're the exception on every console ever made. During the 80s, most of Sega's best and most experienced devs were working on the arcade side, while their most promising talent on the consumer side - the same who'd go on to make their best Genesis games - were still learning the ropes. Golden Axe Warrior came out in 1991, well into the Genesis era - Sega was mostly focused on the Genesis and arcades by then. They still had one team cranking out solid titles, though - all those Mickey Mouse and Asterix platformers. I'd say they got serious about the Master System/Mark III in '87, and essentially moved on to the Genesis in '88. Most of the best games came out during those two years. That's a very short period of time, all things considered. It did get a extended life due to its success in Europe and Brazil, but as a secondary product - a home to Game Gear ports, subcontracted titles and miscellaneous European games that mostly don't matter. That's why it's always nice to find a really good Master System game; it was really a short-lived console whose potential was only rarely exploited. |
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Mar 23, 2019 11:17:16 GMT -5
Golden Axe Warrior is a weak game. Kinda glad you didn't like it, Ex. I feel vindicated.
The dungeon design is ass. The overworld is dull.
It's inferior to Zelda in every manner. Some will argue that the graphics are "better" -- I just say there's more color. There's no charm whatsoever, and the enemy and boss designs are just lame.
But the combat is the worst part. It's so unsatisfying. There's no sense of weight or impact. Fighting anything is an absolute chore.
Want a good Zelda knock-off? Neutopia my dudes.
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