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Post by Sarge on Feb 25, 2020 13:10:05 GMT -5
I guess the reason this sort of thing doesn't bother me as much (unless it's really egregious) is that I like puzzling out where these items are hiding. I suspect it simply comes down to whether I like the game in general or not - and I liked Zenki a lot. I thought it was cool using Chiaki's spells to find where the items were hidden, even if in a few cases, I didn't even know at the time what they were for.
Metroid Prime 2 was one where the gameplay is solid enough to make me want to push forward, and I genuinely liked puzzling out where those items were, mainly because I like puzzling out finding items in those games (and 100%-ing them) in general. Terranigma is a special case (and y'all know I love that one) where there was something compelling about the "real world" exploration. I liked poking around the map, seeing what I could find, whether it was Star Stones or hidden upgrades.
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Post by Ex on Feb 25, 2020 13:16:26 GMT -5
I think Metroid Prime 2 is the worst case of this type of gating I've ever seen. And for those who don't know, I'm not talking about finding items in that game. I'm talking about finding keys.
I do plan to go back someday and finish SPP, MP2, and T eventually. I just really don't enjoy retracing my steps to simply look for hidden keys. Just feels like a busy work waste of time to me. But we all have our own gaming pet peeves that don't necessarily bother the next player.
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Post by Sarge on Feb 25, 2020 13:34:46 GMT -5
True dat.
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Post by Ex on Feb 25, 2020 17:54:12 GMT -5
Well I finished this one off this afternoon. Kishin Douji Zenki for Game Gear that is. Not gonna write a big detailed review for this one, as toei and Sarge have already explained this game pretty well. I will mention I played this in English using the fan translation: www.romhacking.net/translations/3767/ For those that don't know, this action-platformer is based on a manga/anime property from the '90s. Some quick positives/negatives: +Attractive colorful graphics look nearly 16-bit. +Great animated cutscenes. +Two unique characters to play as. +Hardly any slowdown. +Optional stages to unlock and explore.
-Lame backtracking fetch quest in the middle of the game.
-No apparent way to save your progress?
-Enemies don't leave power-ups of any sort.
-A forced loss while fighting a boss.
-Physics can be wonky VS unresponsive controls sometimes = aggravation. Overall I was pretty impressed with Kishin Douji Zenki. For me it goes up there with Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouple and Tails Adventure, in the upper pantheon of quality Game Gear platformers. This is way better of a game than one might expect given it's a licensed affair. I'll bestow "hidden gem" status upon this one. Although this is not a gem without a few blemishes.
Ex's time to beat: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ex's rating: 7.5/10
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Post by Xeogred on Feb 25, 2020 20:17:43 GMT -5
I never recall having an issue with the keys in Metroid Prime 2. Weren't they just a key item you needed throughout the game to simply push the narrative/progress forward? As in, just like the medallions in a lot of Zelda's for the Master Sword, or whatnot, key collectibles that don't actually really do anything mechanically in game. I guess this stuff just doesn't bother me. I've long been a sole defender of MP2 anyways. My only issues were that the faux ammo system was weird, the music wasn't as good as the first, and the first half of the game environment wise wasn't anything spectacular... but Torvus and Sanctuary Fortress made up for it tenfold and I greatly enjoyed how the difficulty was way higher than the first game. The complexity of some of those areas in a 3D space was insane from what I remember, along with some tough bosses. I was not happy with how linear and how much of a cake walk MP3 was in comparison, but most seem to like that one more than MP2 for reasons I can't fathom.
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Post by Ex on Feb 25, 2020 21:41:32 GMT -5
the keys in Metroid Prime 2. Weren't they just a key item you needed throughout the game to simply push the narrative/progress forward? These were more like hidden collectibles that you MUST find in order to finish the game. (I guess Retro was channeling Rare for a minute.) In MP2 you have to find a total of 18 keys to finish the game. 3 keys in the Dark Agon Wastes. 3 keys in the Dark Torvus Bog. 3 keys in the Ing Hive. Then there are the 9 Sky Temple keys. Those are the worst. You have to scour the whole game using the Dark Visor, in order to find invisible Flying Ing Caches. Literally the things you have to kill to get keys, are not only tucked out of the way, but also invisible unless you wear a special visor. And you have to do that NINE times. Just remembering it pisses me off. A bunch of busy work nonsense designed to artificially lengthen the game completion time. As far as MP2's dark atmosphere and hard bosses go, of course I as A-OK with that.
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Post by Ex on Feb 26, 2020 1:31:45 GMT -5
I've managed to beat the first two stages of it, but ggeeezzz is Tails' Sky Patrol freakin' hard.
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Post by Ex on Feb 27, 2020 23:53:06 GMT -5
Oh my GOD this game. Been a long time since I raged at a vidja this hard, but it's beaten. Ugh. Tails' Adventure is an obstacle course anger inducement simulator for Game Gear. It's a Japan-only release, developed by SIMS and Sonic Team, and published by SEGA, in 1995. Although this is a Japanese release, apparently the whole thing is in English, or at least it was by playing with my region set to USA. I don't know what the plot is. I think Tails wants to beat down a witch. Or at least, a witch was the last boss.
So in Tails' Sky Patrol, Tails can fly. Except he can't fly like he normally can in Sonic games. Meaning, Tails can't just hover in one place, or fly indefinitely. No, in this game Tails is always moving to the right. And Tails runs out of Fuel gradually over time. When Tails runs out of Fuel, he dies. To refill Tails' Fuel, he must eat pieces of candy scattered throughout the level. The base game design here then, sees Tails navigating through five different stages. With four of those stages culminating in boss fights. Every stage is littered with obstacles, projectiles, enemies, and traps. All of this sounds fairly straightforward, except for one thing. Tails' ring. There was a time when SEGA was obsessed with the idea of Sonic characters using rings to attach themselves to things. Examples of this include Sonic Crackers and Knuckles Chaotix. And in turn Tails' Sky Patrol uses this ring-hold idea as well. Except Tails uses his ring to grab onto objects in stages, rather than a partner. Two examples would be, to grab a lever, or to swing on a pole. Unfortunately Tails' ring has a mind of its own, and will often grab hold of objects that the player would really rather the ring not grab. In addition, Tails can shoot out this ring as a projectile, to kill enemies or destroy enemy shots. The base gameplay of flying, trying not to run out of fuel, navigating through obstacle filled stages, and utilizing Tails' ring successfully - that all sounds simple enough. Except for one problem; This game hates its player with an unbridled passion. Folks I don't use the word "Brutal" to describe a game's difficulty unless I really mean it. Tails' Sky Patrol is BRUTAL. I cannot even begin to describe how unfair, and unceasingly sadistic this game is. Oh sure, you can go on Youtube and watch a Let's Play that makes this game look easy and quick. Except for the fact that those videos are tool assisted, and edited expertly, to make that illusion happen. No. This game is BRUTAL. Did I mention that Tails' Fuel meter also doubles as his life bar? So when Tails gets hit, he loses precious fuel. Also, when Tails gets hit, he tumbles towards the ground. The player has to frantically mash buttons trying to wake Tails up before he plummets into the earth. And if Tails hits a wall or object (as opposed to an enemy or projectile) Tails just instantly dies. Trust me, this game is pure torture to actually make progress in. Oh I forgot to mention the boss battles. I'll just say they are not pleasant, and leave it that. If it weren't for the fact that Tails' Sky Patrol has a level select code (press Up + button 2 + start at title screen) there's no way I would have finished it. I used that code so that I could start back at the last stage I'd previously made it to. But even then, I hated pretty much every minute of this obscene torture-fest of a video game. I really don't understand what in the world the developers were thinking with Tails' Sky Patrol. Maybe because there's only 5 stages, they decided to make each stage psychotically difficult. Or maybe they didn't even bother playtesting this thing before shoving it onto store shelves. Whatever the case may be, it doesn't matter how nice this game looks or sounds, all that charm is for naught. This is a candy coated razor blade. I would not recommend this game to anyone. Not even the biggest Tails fan in the world. I personally only beat Tails' Sky Patrol to spite Jeremy Parish (long story). And that's only because I loathe him just ever so slightly more than I loathed this putrid pile of binary bile. To end things on a positive note though, at least SEGA bothered this time around to give the title a proper possessive apostrophe. Ex's time to beat: 2 hours 45 minutes Ex's rating: 3/10 - Welp, there's only one GG game left on my list. I'm sure it's gonna be a whole lot better than what I just suffered through.
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Post by Sarge on Feb 28, 2020 0:05:32 GMT -5
Now I'm tempted to give it a try. Sounds miserable.
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Post by Ex on Feb 28, 2020 0:10:25 GMT -5
Now I'm tempted to give it a try. Sounds miserable. Who knows, maybe you'll find this game to be a piece of cake?
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