There are two series which as the years go on I keep thinking they would collide. The Lost in Blue line of games from Konami, and the Harvest Moon series from Marvelous AQL. I’ve talked a bit in the past and recently of series which I think need fixing. In my mind these series don’t need fixing, they are more incomplete. While the resent console Harvest Moon are riddled with increasingly longer loading screens which made me stop playing one of the resent titles I picked up in the series, the games are quite well built, and the most recently announced Harvest Moon which just released in Japan; Harvest Moon: The Land of Origin, is at the top of my list when it comes to waiting for a 3DS game worth a dam.
However I believe these series will one day collide, a big bang of sorts to make a new series. I don’t think the series could learn from each other, while Lost in Blue could have elements from Harvest Moon Incorporated into it, I believe that doing so to either series would drain from the core experience of the titles which still have a considerable market and strong concept. With this in mind, the only logical outcome is a new series in its own, or a spin off by both companies. Regardless of who makes it, I believe one day a title like this would release, and be one of the leading simulation games on the market.
The series would separate itself from Harvest Moon at the start and be quite frankly more Lost in Blue than it can handle. With the basic washed up on shore principle, followed by salvaging to survive etc. However once the player is at a certain point the player should be able to grow fruit, food etc. This is where the game becomes like Animal Crossing in customization and Harvest Moon once the general populace is called into the island. The sudden realisation that it is good to grow things increases the population and allows the player to have one awesome farm. Sustainable gameplay, sustainable population. A simulation game which grows from this premise and into a fully operational survival game.
The question then becomes, what would such a game do to the other series similar to it, especially ones which its copying ideas from. Which in this case seems to be it becomes a completely different game, the introduction of Animal Crossing ideas, and possibly other ideas if it was a fleshed out idea would cause it to evolve from the primary games which it borrows inspiration from. Like other games which have recently came out which have had inspiration from other franchises, it wouldn’t stop gamers from buying the other product because it would have given itself a new world to play with. It would be a concept which changes the way the other franchises think as well as giving birth to a new parallel genre.
The question also becomes, if such a idea could work along side previous franchises, would it also work for consumers? I believe this is where it gets tricky and starts to disappear from a worth while idea into a vibrant explosion into the void of nothing. While the two franchises can move into been one concept, its obvious that it lies on other games such as Animal Crossing and concepts from that league of social and simulation worlds instead of the key original franchises. The issue also occurs when Harvest Moon is a simulation game based around farm life instead of a survival game. While they can be combined, they clip together unsuccessfully around the edges, and feel more forced together then they should be.
The end result should be from growing the other franchises with ideas, instead of trying to mash them together. While this can bring new and interesting games, in this case its colliding natural evolution of the titles with forced ideas from other franchises to create its own instead of standing on its own to feet. While its an interesting concept, it bases itself around the logic that Harvest Moon players and Lost in Blue players are one in the same, and would buy into a game which combines those ideas. The only thing good which could come out of combining the franchises is starting fresh with new concepts and ideas to build a solid title, instead of the commercial and uninteresting concepts which have started to fester onto the franchises. Specifically Harvest Moon which is getting more and more titles closer and closer together. These titles are starting to become less, instead of more.
So if instead of moving them together, we rip them apart and focus on the two series concepts instead of combining them, it then becomes a world still filled with possibility. Harvest Moon could become more social, as well as allowing much more farming options compared to the traditional options expected in the title. Which the series has started doing in recent years, it could also expand these ideas further. On the same token games like Lost in Blue could become more series when it comes to survival methods, such as finding abandoned towns and villages which the player can find food in, as well as simple things such as introducing the ability to grow food around the players camp. While these ideas would work well in a new series, when they would work perfectly fine with their current series, why not expand the world of the games they originate from instead of trying to make an outlandish concept right this momment.
Ask any gamer about Sonic in the early 90s when the console wars where just kicking off once more and you will learn about a mutral respect between both competitors while they tried to announce their console is better. However as years went on Mario became successful, and Sonic became more and more in the dumps. What happened if often asked by everyone who remembers the series, and more importantly how to fix the series always comes up in some way or another within the community. The official series with a tacked on Internet meme which describes the cycle from loving the game to ending up playing it and hating it forever, verses fan games which just aren’t as good as the series they clam to fix.
The series also has another major problem besides the fan stigma which is that fans don’t know what they want from the series. This is much more evident then many other series, even ones like The Legend of Zelda series. This problem causes fans and the developers themselves to pick and choose what they think makes a Sonic game. Is it speed? Graphics? Characters? Story?
So the question is, how does a series like Sonic get fixed? Especially when the series world is filled with inconsistencies, bad ideas and blind nostalgia. Quite simply, one of the least preferred, but most discussed options of giving the series a rest for a while is the only way the series can return to its highest points and possibly even further. While there are some Sonic titles of resent which hit the mark of acceptable, such as Colours, the majority do not.
I feel one of the major reasons the series has so many misses compared to the few hits, is due to that the developers and publisher must be just sick of the series and in a creative hole. They tried to do the whole “old school” thing to please the fans, and even that failed, not because the concept was bad, but because of execution and design choices which ultimately is the primary cause of many of the series short comings. There is a strong concept there, however the design choices are lacking and pushing the games down. Also another reason could be target market and style of game choice. It’s not necessary a good observation, or a bad one- but does Sonic have to be a big budget title like Mario for example? Can’t we see just a streamlined version which adapts itself more for the mobile gaming emergence and feels more like Angry Birds then Call of Duty? In terms of target, concept and design? The simplified ideas and targeting a specific area of the industry such as mobile gaming could primary save the franchise by allowing the developers to rescope what makes a Sonic game and get the core elements into an easy pick up and play title. Then once the idea works and becomes successful, they could consecrate once more on making it big budget, console and adding the more detailed stories/concepts.
However the problem with streamlining Sonic and putting it on the back burner for SEGA is a big one. The publisher barely has any key franchises which have a strong fan base backbone, which means financially, while they do produce other games which sell well, the success that Sonic still lies even in its shattered self gives SEGA the cash flow which allows them to stay alive as well as relevant in the eyes of gamers. Moving one of their key franchises to a mobile ecosystem which while the ecosystem has its ups, it has many downs which are the key reasons why many there is still a considerable diversity in the industry when it comes to options and strategy for releasing games.
So if SEGA can’t put all their eggs into one basket and mobilise the series for a period of time just to get the fundamentals which they have long forgotten, actually I will stop myself there, forgotten isn’t the word which should be used, as they haven’t forgotten anything, they remember quite well what Sonic was, is and will be, what the problem is that many of their ideas have collided with that they see as key functions of the series. The idea of streamlining the series for mobile would be more to make a basic quick to develop title which would encapsulate small pick up and play worlds which has Sonic just running and collecting coins, with no catches. No escalated story plots, no crazy concepts, just the core game play principles which are still the fundamentals to many of their games today. The game wouldn’t be for gamers, while it could be a success, its fundamental purpose would be to reteach the core concept of the title.
Even if a big budget title needed to happen, SEGA shouldn’t rush into it. What they need to do is something a bit unorthodox, they need to research the series. Look into what the series was, from the original releases and detailing every pixel and what it represents to the game, as well as controls and then look over the newer releases. Even unsuccessful Sonic games or bad Sonic games have a good concept at the core of them, the craziness does have some method, that needs to be researched and it needs to be outlined why the various concepts never worked. I’m not saying to a game based on what the consumers interests are and successful titles are at the time, last time that happened we got Shadow and Sonic 2006. What needs to happen is the reverse, they need to look at themselves and see the series from a developers point of view, as well as looking at the concepts and direction which went into the titles over the years. By looking at their mistakes and as well as their successes, they should be able to mold the two.
For me what a Sonic game in the future should explore if it is a big budget title is to move the camera to a more over head view. As well as making the world filled with voxels and that pixel style which looks super awesome. That and make the world ever moving and exploding, make Sonic be able to effect the world by running into a hill really fast and just make voxel dirt fly everywhere. Give the feeling of speed, breakable objects and gold coins. It might not be a fan favorite idea, nor where the series should head, but its an interesting idea which for me is the direction which I want to see Sonic go.
No doubt if you are a fan of the Pokemon series you would of had the choice during your play through of which fossil out of the two the game has do you want. The toughest choice the series would ever propose to you, and one which rattles your mind once you choose if you made the right choice.
Each title in the series has a fossil range in it which you can acquire at a certain point in the game and then get them turned into a real Pokemon. Once you get the Pokemon you will notice one major thing they are not cute and fuzzy Pikachus, no they are big mean fighting machines. They are ancient beasts which more often then not used to rule the world. What did these Pokemon do in their past life, where they trained by the humans of the time? Questions like these are what make you think, why hasn’t there been a Pokemon set in the past or distant future yet? One which shows a different league of Pokemon, one which shows the evolution to our favorite new Pokemon, and ones which show the prime time of the ancient fossil Pokemon.
A Pokemon set in the past would show a new era of Pokemon, we will see the prime life of the various Pokemon from fossils and the evolution to some of our favorites, as well as even some which we haven’t even heard of. There could even be ancient humans training and collecting the Pokemon. Gameplay could either be the same as the current line of Pokemon games, or be similar to Ranger- or even drastically different with trust and companionship been what attracts the Pokemon and makes them stay with their owner. The evil team would obviously take the Pokemon by force and beat them into submission, and the good guy would have the goal of teaching them about love and harmony with their fellow Pokemon.
The game could also feature some of the “legendary” Pokemon of the series as simple low grade Pokemon, it could be a story which shows how these Pokemon become “legendary”. The level system could also be changed to hold much higher level Pokemon which once they go over 100 gain “legendary” status. Some “legendary” Pokemon could even be starter Pokemon for the title. Maybe even an introduction of actually killing Pokemon instead of stunning them could be introduced which would trim down the amount of Pokemon which are around at the end of the game as well as make sure the legendaries are all powerful. It would be sort of like its own mini mass extinction in the world of Pokemon. Heck maybe you are the evil guy in this game- maybe by setting Pokemon in the ancient past can a story which fits the series lore be made which the main character could be evil. Or at least turn evil after the slow increase of power which drives them mad once their legendary Pokemon are level 200 and kill everything in sight.
Pokemon like Mario is the one of the only series which Nintendo can attach to anything they dream up and it would sell like hot cakes. The series has a large amount of spin off games which are various genres. There is even a new spin off coming out soon which clashes the series with another series by introducing Nobunaga characters to the world of Pokemon. The Mystery Dungeon and Ranger spin off series are also resent attractions in the world of Pokemon, so it is clear that Nintendo wants to expand the series to more then the traditional titles which it has been putting out for so long. With this in mind, how long is it until Nintendo starts expanding the lore of the series themselves instead of putting out “Pikachu is Missing” titles for the next twenty years. The expansion of the series lore and one itself which puts it into a more darker world could be what the series needs to keep the older fans who have long since left the series. While Nintendo was able to bring back many fans with the remakes of Silver and Gold as well as Black and White, the series doesn’t have a continuation with the fanbase as much as it used to, with no doubt this new install base of original customers feeling that they don’t need to buy any new titles because they would not be any different to the titles they have previous played, just with more monsters and a crazier story. A spin off which puts the series into the past would put a more series tone to the series, as well as making the spin off titles have some level of reputability and must have for fans.
While this idea does have the stench of a crazy fan idea, it does have merit and is the type of concept Nintendo needs to be pitching themselves to bring the series forward in the next coming generations. Unlike Mario which has the appeal to everyone, Pokemon has a stronger demographic attachment to the younger players and collage kids. Which with the ever changing market of video games, shows that the series doesn’t attach to the blue ocean which has now become the red ocean, which has become the blue ocean again- which I’m pretty sure somewhere along the line became a green murky ocean filled with Call of Duty remakes and Just Dance with Guitar Hero attachments. Or a mix of all three games, shooting lasers out of a plastic guitar controller while dancing. Now that is a type of game I would buy.
There is a game which exists were more fish or bugs compared to the previous titles in its series is a feature which can be slapped on the back of the box. A game which is filled with talking animals which tell you about their day a hundred times over. A game which is often associated with a particular animal which runs a monopoly on the general store and retail business.
That game is Animal Crossing, and it is returning this year for the 3DS.
For me the series is an interesting one, I like it because for every different person their goals in the title are slightly different. It is one of those games which you can either do one particular thing instead of one other particular thing with both choices been the correct way to play. Animal Crossing does this with its array of activities which the player can preform. At the end of the day the game is a relaxation title, which isn’t changed with the 3DS irritation.
The key change in the 3DS title is now you are the mayor. Which is quite unusual that this hasn’t happened before, because really you pretty much do everything when it comes to the town while everyone else just sits around. However that isn’t the point, the point is this time you have the “badge”, your the mayor- BAM! While it is unknown how detailed the mayor integration within the title will go, it is known you get to put buildings and objects where you want them in the town. Quite similar in some ways to how the next Harvest Moon title is approaching the game world. While I don’t know if you can move buildings once placed like in said Harvest Moon title, it is an interesting feature which will no doubt expand the games world. You also have an assistant which follows you around. The previous mayor, that turtle dude is probably still rocking it around your town- but as the event planer, which is pretty much what he did anyway, well that is just speculation but it is popular belief.
The world is also much bigger then previous Animal Crossing games. The beach for example isn’t just a pit of sand on the edge of the map, it has its own section as well as been one huge beach which wraps around the town. You can also swim too! As for the town there is a shopping area which is over the train tracks and a display home area behind that. Display Homes come from street pass and spot pass which means you get to check out what other people have done to their homes in that area.
Speaking about homes, did I tell you that you start off in a tent for some reason? Yeah. Also there is heaps more customization added which includes modification down to the mailbox.
Also when it comes to customization there is almost no bounds, furniture can be modified much more then previously, as well as clothes can be modified. There is even no gender limits on what your character can wear, so if you want to spruce your boy character up in a skirt- you can.
The general theme of Animal Crossing is that for some reason you are moving to a town full of animals, as the only human per town it will make you scream for more interaction. So the game puts you through the place of building up your home, teaching you responsibilities as well as forcing you to interact with those animal creatures. The AI for these animals are questionable, but in the 3DS iteration it seems so far from footage seen that the game will improve on this slightly.
Your town itself has various limits to what exists, there are expected buildings however which will remain in the 3DS version such as the museum, town hall etc. With buildings like Nooks been questioned if it will be in the town or the shopping center. Nook is also just a pompous real estate agent as well, so no doubt his cusions or children or what ever they are will be running his chain of high priced low end good supermarkets.
So overall there are much more features which have already been announced for the game, as well as features which haven’t been announced.
For me Animal Crossing 3DS will be a major player in game of the year, especially when just counting 3DS games. With the release date expectation been late Q2 all the way to Q4 and the fact that many of the major 3DS games which are game changes might not just make it this year in the west means that this will be one golden game. Even then if it was up against major game changes for the system, it could still be near the top. The overall aspects of Animal Crossing are perfect for a handheld ecosystem and after many of the games in the series just copied each other one which on the surface seems to change it all is a good thing. With everything banking on the mayor feature, as well as the online interaction which the game will deliver on- will this game be a game changer in itself? Find out when it launches later this year.
Did you know Nintendo has released a new handheld? Well they did back in early 2011, called the 3DS, you know that DS which does 3D. What you never knew that it was a new system? You thought it was just an upgrade? Oh my. Well while this missguideded fact is thrown around through the publics mind thanks to Nintendos way of advertising it, and similar effect happened for the Wii U- the system itself has managed to sang a good amount of sales. The thing is though despite that, I’ve never seen or heard of someone owning a 3DS besides me. Now I know your about to say “but trinest, your a hermit”, however I have to retaliate with the simple observation that I do go outside sometimes, and even then all I see is people with Lites and the i series of consoles.
Now you probably read my blog for the laughs, or the misspelled words and horrible grammar. I don’t blame you, that does give a few laughs- but listen closely my dear subscriber, as I’m about to bring a point to this article. Especially with such a degrading and controversial title such as the one this article has.
The 3DS might be selling a good number of consoles, and it might have a few more games since launch, however the simple fact is these games are not been picked up by gamers and the system is left alone in many peoples minds once it has been bought. It’s like the Wii again, without the horrible “dusting off our Wii” puns. At the end of the day there are not many titles so far which can be given the “dusting off the 3DS” tag line. With 2012 showing some promise in good games arriving finally for the system, it lacks the great games which will define the system for generations to come.
Let’s look at when the original DS launched. Lots of gamers seem to be forgetting some facts, that there were games. Many people have slammed the originals lineup has worse then the 3DS and that people who think otherwise are misguided. In fact it is the opposite in this case, the 3DS line up was poor and even when games did start coming out, like Steel Diver and Pilotwings at the end of the day they where just tech demos. Then the remanding year of 2011 was quite weak and filled with ports and at the end of the year Mario Kart finally came out. However Mario Karts problem was that it was a mixture of the Wii and DS games, which in theory should be good however presented major problems when they took the bad stuff from each game instead of the good stuff. However if we look to the original DS, yes the lineup at launch was weak, but it was enjoyable, titles such as Project Rub (Feel The Magic) brought dare I say- a little magic to the systems launch. There was also big hitter ports such as Mario 64 DS at launch. Even the chat game Ping Pals got some love by some gamers. With the year (2005 for those playing at home was the AUS launch) just getting better, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Another Code to name a few. Yes you heard me right, Another Code the game which inspired me to make serious websites instead of playing around in Geocities, was a 2005 game. No game so far for the 3DS could be said as inspiring or magical, and titles which come close such as Good People Die and Layton vs Phoenix are miles off the first year of the system been out.
I don’t think the biggest problem is the lack of games, like I’ve said there are games, however the games are pretty b grade compared to previous generations. No I think the biggest issue would be the 3D. The 3D was meant to be the biggest selling point of the system, and probably is the reason why so many systems have been moved so far, the curiosity and ideas which 3D could be used for do sound like a great time. However the 3D was marketed too much as the systems focus instead of what else the system can do, it was also because of the difficulties on how to show 3D to gamers quite limited to how it could be approached. Before launch there was heaps of opportunities for gamers to try the system and experience the 3D. I didn’t go to any of these sort of events, however if I did I would of seriously reconsidered buying the system at launch. I would of had say the taste of what the system could do in my mouth and I would of been able to look with much clearer eyes towards the lineup and say “yes I can wait for that”, instead of “oh wow, new hardware I must have that to see what the fuss is”. You see 3D is horrible, for a few reasons. The main reason why I don’t like 3D comes down to it gives me headaches, I’m one of the few people in the world which isn’t bullshitting when it comes to saying that 3D gives me headaches and I know there must be heaps more then just me. In fact I can play with 3D on for a bit, but I do have to turn it off after awhile, my brother on the other hand can not look at 3D on the system for longer then a few seconds. It also isn’t because of poor setup, sliding the slider just changes it depending on the title from eye raping to eye murdering. Moving off from that fact which not many people will experience anyway, I think the biggest issue is how it is implemented and designed. Each title for one will have a different level of 3D as its base level, with most of the games having the highest level been double vision. Even then, just look at games which are meant to use the 3D great- Mario Kart for example was hyped before launch has been one of the titles which really make use of the 3D. Well if make use of the 3D means that the slider works properly instead of going from a little bit of 3D right into double vision 3D, then yes- Mario Kart uses 3D great. If using 3D to the best the system can offer however means sections which use 3D amazingly and want you to use it over just using 2D, then no- Mario Kart doesn’t have any of these. The main problem with 3D is that it when it works enhances the playing field so insignificantly, that without it, it doesn’t seem like a big deal.
My final dislikes with the 3D can easily be seen by anyone, which is how the eShop runs, the quality of applications and the general service etc. These problems are not an uphill battle to make people see the light that they exist, these problems are quite clearly there and that is just great.
Back to the title, it’s as clear as day “Nintendo should say Sorry for the 3DS”, you want to know why? Because it has no charm, no magic, no soul- it doesn’t sell the Nintendo brand to the mass market and isn’t the same level of design quality which made the Game Boy range and the original DS range win. This device is what I’d expect Sony to push out after seeing the success of the original DS and wanting to do better back when the original DS was out. It would of launched along side the original DS a year later and be rushed to the market with design faults and imperfections just so they can have a device which does what the competitions does. The 3D would be added just because it is a “one up” in their mind, as well as their high level of pushing 3D in many devices.
Gamers don’t want 3D and Nintendo learned that the hard way if it doesn’t pick up steam and make this puppy fly. There might be sales now, but that is only off the back bone that it is a Nintendo device and the inquisitive nature as to what 3D is and how it works. That will ware off and if Nintendo doesn’t have the marketing push and games to support the system it will end up failing in the next few years. However like I said before the system does have some games slowly popping up over the next year for the system, but none are from Nintendo (okay Animal Crossing is, but even then fans know to expect just Animal Crossing 64 upgraded for the 4th time).
These problems happened when the Wii U was revealed, but for different reasons, but are still the same core ideology which could result in failure with such a system. That is why Nintendo is consternating on a re-reveal, they need to make sure the market knows what their next console is, what it does and what makes it special but have the backing of quality games behind it, which the 3DS missed out on.
Personally I’d go back to the design of the Gameboy Micro, and make a speciality retro styled handheld. With all the big technology advancements which would benefit such a console, while retaining the charm the original generations of older handhelds brought to the table. Like it or not, I do believe that mobile phones will take over the handheld gaming space. However I also believe that the style of games which are currently on the devices and what gamers expect from handheld titles will change as well. I believe that the phones will end up getting more social interactive titles, which a title such as Animal Crossing would find a great home on. Along side the smaller quick and easy titles which currently exist on the phone platforms, I also believe that there will be some big hitters in the more traditional genres however these games if copied by others will not receive similar success due to the type of market and how it is evolving. Handheld consoles should take a few generational spaces back so they become much cheaper and disposable, and if there is a high quality of gaming, interaction and marketing behind the change it would be a viable change in industry policy.
Continuing my ramped discussion on various video game titles over the month of December, I turn my direction to Rayman Origins. A title which came out in November this year which has been overlooked by many gamers, with its depressing sales is this a game which deserves what it gets, or is it a title with unimagined beauty.
The title was once to be a download game, with the developer expecting to produce the game in downloadable chapter instalments. Over the years the game got further delayed and it ended up been combined into one super game and released much later than expected.
The sales for the title showed that gamers don’t want this game. I believe that there are much more stronger factors at play with why it didn’t perform as well as expected or what it should have. However keeping it in consideration I do see reasons in this day and age why a 2D platformer would be overlooked by many gamers, and it could quite possibly have been a bad choice in design to have created such a title. However this isn’t to say that it is a bad thing it existed, the game was the first to be developed on a brand new engine Ubisoft have created, which brings amazing 2D art to games. It would be disappointing and a bad choice for Ubisoft if this engine never gets used again.
Rayman Origins overall plays like any other 2D platformer, if you think Mario then you pretty much have this game to a T almost. There are a few design choices and design changes which overall make it a fresh experience. The levels are amazingly detailed and jammed packed with various imaginative designs which you wouldn’t expect on a Mario title or even simular designed titles such as Wario Shake It, or A Boy and His Blob.
As for the soundtrack I’ve heard good things about the composer, however I didn’t really look into it too much. As for my person opinions regarding the soundtrack, I feel at times it can be forgotten and you will be more immersed in the title then the soundtrack. However when the music is noticeable it is one quality composted soundtrack and shouldn’t be held against the title.
The story is a bit of an issue, because how the game is set up Rayman and his pals are on a tree just snoring their heads off. Apparently that is enough for the people who live under the tree to declare all out war on Rayman and his buddies. I didn’t really get the point as to why I’m going out to fight these buddies, but anything introduced story wise only enhanced the basic premises behind the game, and overall the story is over shadowed by the platforming. Which in this style of game isn’t really a bad thing.
So we have established this game is quite good graphics, sound and story wise. In fact besides my nit picking I don’t think I’ve raised a proper issue with this title which would make it so overlooked by many. What I’m trying to say is if you own any console which this appears on (Wii, Xbox and PS3) then there shouldn’t be a reason why you don’t own this title.
James Noir is just like any other 3DS title, in that it has a great idea behind in, for example Steel Diver but fails to execute it, once again Steel Diver. So with video game rants been the flavour of articles which I’ve been publishing this past month, I decided to continue them into holiday season with James Noir.
The game was originally anticipated for the systems launch, but slowly it ended up been a game for the holiday season, with it launching in November. So how did it end up stacking up? That is the question which many people who are wary of what the system offers and the games available would like to know. Even those who see it as another Ubisoft title, one which could quite possible be shovel ware. The resulting answer however isn’t as clear cut as peoples gaming prodigious, no it is a complicated answer which ends up making this article even more worth the read.
I wanted to get this game since it was announced, and like many felt that Ubisoft would be picking up the gauntlet which so many developers left behind on the original DS system which amazing puzzle games which ranged from games having detailed emotion swinging stories such as any of CiNGs works, to games like the Phoenix Wright series and Professor Layton, full of puzzles and brain teasers which made the system worthwhile. Well in a way Ubisoft does continue the legacy of a strong puzzle/adventure game on Nintendo handhelds, however on the other it falls short. The main observation I find is that if the game came out when it was originally scheduled, aka around launch, then it would of been one of the best games for the system. However with the title launching alongside big hitters such as Mario Kart 7 and Mario Land 3D. (wow lots of Mario ay?) The title ended up falling short behind more detailed and thought out games released later in the year.
Well we have established that the game wasn’t as magical as what was once thought, but does the game offer the player anything? Well redeeming qualities are not the games strong suit, with it feeling like a tech demo unpolished to just have the game finally out, which has been the case with many of Ubisofts titles of late such as From Dust and the next downloadable title from them I am Alive. Anything besides puzzles in this game are attached to the title to a degree that it seems it just ticks a box for the game to have it, rather than offering anything solid. However that said, I did enjoy the overall story line which was that you are a contestant on a prime time game show which revolves around an old FBI friend coming to you about various murders which you guessed it- have puzzles at the scene. This overall back and forth between the game show and the FBI friend was probably one of the main things in the title which was done well. While the end twist is a bit predictable, at the end of the day the journey to get to that twist was quite magical and well worth the time.
Speaking of time, the game isn’t really that long. Depending on what puzzles you pick, and how good you are at solving them, you can knock the game over relatively quick. However I don’t believe this is a downside to the title.
The major issues I have with the game, for me which where enjoyment altering where mainly the controls in some stages of the game. When the game used 3D environments the puzzles which used this style where quite annoying to control at times, and were not cut and dry like the rest of the titles controls. The games verity in puzzles also at times had you completing “X puzzle type 4 or 5”, which was quite a disappointment, however in that regard there was a good amount of puzzle types for the player anyway, and they were much different at times then the puzzles you would usually find in say Layton or another puzzle solving title.
Overall I did find the title enjoyable, however if players don’t know what they are going into when picking up this title I feel they will not appreshate the title as much as I did or if they where more informed about the style of the game. Picking up this game at full retail price would be a bit of a disappointment as well, so if you wish to get this game at some point I recommend getting it when it hits an appropriate price point you are willing to part money if it doesn’t reach your expectations. However overall I’d say it would of been in the top 10 games on the system (and probably still is with the lack of games on the system) around launch, but since bigger named titles from Nintendo have appeared on the system I feel it has lost that position.
It is time for another video game article, or just an article in general- with content been lacking the past few weeks I thought it would be best to return on a big bang, by sharing my opinions on some of the top video games which came out this holiday season. Now the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
Skyward Sword is the next game in The Legend of Zelda series. Like Mario Kart 7 the game promises a lot of new ways the game will interact with the player. It is also highly acclaimed and it is also a lie, like Mario Kart 7 there are issues with the game, and it comes down to “the game is fun to play, but at the end of the day it is designed like crap”. Which means another article roundup which goes deep into the latest from Nintendo to see what just went wrong?
While fans will disagree with me on the “there are issues” front, there quite certainly are issues, and one of the major issues is one which has been dismissed many times and even proven “false” by fans. That is the Motion Controls.
Skyward Sword introduces some brand new motion controls and one of the games which really should have come out years ago instead of now. The motion controls it uses have been around for quite some time from a peripheral called the Motion Plus and the Wii Remote Plus. However they haven’t really been used to their advantage in many if not any title, so Skyward Sword was the game to say “hey Motion Controls can be in hardcore games tooo”. Which Nintendo did prove their point that motion controls can be used to a traditional game, however the issue lies with the end product not with the idea.
For the most part, motion controls work- there is no arguing that. Even though fans backlashed media outlets who said otherwise and even made their own videos showing how accurate at times the controls can be. With the basic premise that whatever you do in your living room is copied to the screen. The simple fact is that the technology isn’t perfect and this is by now quite old technology, especially with the motion plus been an attachment from years gone by. The technology in the Wii Remote Plus is basically the same, which means old technology which just can’t really interpret what you’re doing 100% at times. Anyone who says otherwise is clearly blinded in this instance. The technology isn’t perfect I guess is the key message here. Which means when this imperfect technology is used for a traditional game with many functions which need to be replicated for control there is going to be times where it just doesn’t get what you want to do. I’m not saying this happens all the time, but it does happen and people dismissing that it doesn’t happen is the issue with Skyward Sword. When controls are mapped quite similar to other things you can do, it can get a bit muddled up and you might end up doing the wrong thing. I find it also loses the centre sometimes too, which can be an issue when centre is now much lower or higher then how you have been playing for the last half hour or so and suddenly you go to do something which ends up resulting in you throwing your bomb on top of yourself or something.
Moving on from motion controls which isn’t quite an issue as it doesn’t happen all the time and can mostly be fixed with resetting calibration is the new way the game works. There are two new ways the game works and I’m going to talk about the over world first. As the over world has been used in a similar style before with the Nintendo DS titles been the main culprits of using this style. What this style is, is an over world which isn’t really there, Spirit Tracks over world was just planes of fields which had simple monsters scattered around and a train running through it. Phantom Hourglass of course took Wind Wakers approach to having a huge ocean. Skyward Sword takes things one step further by limiting the over world on land to segmented areas which are accessed by the sky. The sky of course is filled with rocks which get collectables thrown to them from the land below. There really isn’t much in the sky to explore and the main primary location you go to in the sky is Skyloft a friendly little town which is pretty basic but amazing in its own right. There doesn’t seem much real feel of community in the town outside of the primary story interactions or the basic side quests which get thrown out once in a while. In sort, it is no Majoras Mask.
At the end of the day there really isn’t much substance in this over world style, with previous games which had a similar limited over world- dare I say it, having much more substance. It really is at the core a simple minimalistic point A to point B over world, which does seem fine but limits the overall player exploration to major areas well as minor areas. Which also makes the game feel out of place when we move onto the second new thing Skyward Sword features which is essentially the “underworld” aka the “area which isn’t in the sky” basically been “anything you can touch is one big dungeon”.
There are a few issues with this style of game play which is present primary because of other design decisions. Such as the limited over world and quite possibly the most annoying thing to mankind Fi. However more on that later, for now the underworld is the dungeon idea.
It isn’t really a bad idea at all, in fact I would love it if more Zelda games tried to encapsulate this idea. However the execution in Skyward Sword comes down to the fact that if the underworld (really probably the best way to describe it in this instance) is an extended dungeon why are the temples so huge at times and other times so small. There doesn’t seem to be a point in what makes one landmark considerably huge where another is considerably small. For me level design should try and make the temples more building style, as well as having more locations within the temple not specifically related to ending up at the boss room. My other problem with the execution in Skyward Sword can be shown much more prodomadly later in the game where many of the locations time is spent solving massive puzzles or problems which take a considerable amount of time only to get to another area which isn’t the area your primary heading too, but is still quite considerably huge.
Overall the areas just needed more variety and culture within them. This would of made them more interesting, a few more towns, shanty’s whatever- it would have been more differentiated.
As for Fi, her design is essentially someone who has played the game before and likes to spoil bits for you.
It is time for another video game article, or just an article in general- with content been lacking the past few weeks I thought it would be best to return on a big bang, by sharing my opinions on some of the top video games which came out this holiday season. First up Mario Kart 7.
The latest 3DS title which is worth buying is a shock among many fans who thought the system would remain a paper weight, an actuarial game you say? Yes the 3DS seems to have games and Mario Kart 7 is the first one from Nintendo which isn’t a remake or a tech demo. So that should mean we should expect good things from Mario Kart 7? Wrong, it is a bastardised version of Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart DS. The two titles in the franchise which have a strong stigma of been playable and enjoyable attached to them. In short good games, so when they were mashed together it just didn’t happen- they became a shadow of what just went by and took primarily the bad things from the two titles instead of the good things.
Don’t get me wrong, Mario Kart 7 is a good game, but just like many other releases this holiday season especially from Nintendo fall to the simple factor of “you will enjoy it, however tech and design wise- it is a huge disappointment”.
Let’s start off with the new features in the game which are meant to be the biggest things to come to Mario Kart since the banana was introduced. I think you know what I’m referring to, the swimming and the flying- the thing Nintendo says will revolutionise the series. So the big question is does it?
Overall I was happy with the new flying and swimming features. However my big complaint here is that I don’t believe they were fully taken advantage of as core features. Flying seemed to be more gliding and essentially gave a few second boost to what normally a bunch of boosts on a slope would give you lift from. What I’m trying to say here is that the feature really could have not existed at all and it would of still given the game the overall basic functionality that the feature promises. Moving on to the swimming I felt it was more in tack than the flying portions of the title. However for the most part levels took it as an opportunity to have “underwater sections” rather than give it any reason of purpose to existing. Again the feature fell short and didn’t really grasp any desire to want to go underwater, it more the fact the level was going there so you have to go there. However I do have to commend the best parts of the swimming function was when there were just little holes in the level and you would fall through into a whole massive world under the track. Or in some of the retro levels with beaches you could go out much further before you died, with an underwater section existing alongside the level it seemed to add a new dimension and twist to the game. It was a shame that these functions didn’t always add depth to the edges of the map and instead were treated as a gimmick. Essentially I wanted the ability to jump back into the race even if I fell to the ocean bellow, maybe more caves and alcoves designed to get to the player back on the main track, or even include short cuts- that would have really enhanced the feature enough to be subtle and amazing.
While I’m talking about the levels I want to talk about the levels in general, there is one word which the kids throw around a lot which I think fits perfectly- they suck.
My primary issue with the levels is the new ones just feel unimaginative and quite boring. There isn’t really many levels which I can defiantly with 100% certainty say I like. For me the winners were the sprints, which are a new feature to Mario Kart 7 where levels are not just the run of the mill 3 lap tracks. There is only a few sprints in the game, which is of course Rainbow Road, which I believe is the best Rainbow Road ever in a Mario Kart game, it isn’t boring and flat like the SNES one, and also isn’t over the top like the Wii and DS ones had become. It also has a moon and a planet you race on, clearly that alone should make it a top track in anyone’s books. The other sprints are of course the Wuhu Island levels, of which are two an island loop and a mountain loop. These have had mixed reactions from fans, but at the same time I believe these are strong levels in Mario Kart 7. The only complaint I have with them is maybe they could have had more variety in music. Such as Smash Bros style music system where levels can have multiple music tracks. My other favourite levels include Melody Motorway, which I think is pretty creative and Shy Guy Bazaar. The rest range from been acceptable to downright boring, such as the predictable levels such as Alpine Pass. Also Koopa City which is called Bowsers something a rather in America is also a good level, but I feel it’s out of place in a Mario game and feels more like FZero then Mario Kart. On the path of small complaints and nit-picking I believe Rosalina’s Ice World has the biggest issue in the whole game, the music you see sounds more like Pokémon then Mario.
Retro Levels are amazing, okay maybe not. First impressions have always been “best retro lineup in the whole series”, but slowly people have been saying “but these where the worst levels in their respective games”, so it occurred to me, maybe they are so good because the new levels are so bad? It’s refreshing after playing hours of the new levels to move onto the retro cup which has much more solid race tracks. Besides Mushroom Gorge which I hated on the Wii for the same reason as Alpine Pass, aka it is predictable, boring and generic. The retro lineup features solid tracks such as Coconut Mall, Walugi Pinball, Kalimari Desert and Maple Treeway. I even enjoy Dino Dino Jungle and Airship Fortress at times.
Moving on to the motion controls, I feel while I’m dismissing the levels I should mention them. There is only one option to use motion which is in the first person mode, which is quite different to the third person motion controls which the Wii version offered. This new first person mode feels a bit odd and works at some points in the game, but in others it doesn’t. It limits the view the player gets much more drastically than the third person mode, which wouldn’t be a problem if motion controls where quite “easy” to achieve. In that line of logic what I’m trying to say is if you tilt the 3DS ever so slightly you will be running into a wall when you have a good combination cart customization. I feel as if the paths in the levels are not as wide as the Wii version, which is a problem with motion controls as tight cornering is almost impossible at times.
Well you might even ask, why even use the motion controls at all? Well I find them to be much more fluid then the slider. Which just feels wrong when playing the game for long periods of time, you will find you will slip off or can’t really get the slider to point in the right direction at times after long periods of play. In the end I would have been much happier if there was a way to play third person and have the motion controls in place.
So we have covered motion controls, levels and the new level features. Lets move on to another big hitter, the community functions. I believe this is a great step for Nintendo when it comes to online games. That been said it is overly disappointing after all the hype associated to the function, when all it does is make a room with limited customization features which sets the features as locked to the room once decided. It’s really disappointing how it is set up. However like I said before, a step in the right direction.
Also while I’m nit-picking, does anyone really play the 3DS with 3D on anymore? I know I don’t, and after hearing that Mario Kart 7 was meant to be “super awesome” when it came to 3D, I just knew I had to try it. Well it was even more disappointing than any other game I’ve played with 3D functions. Even James Noirs crossed eyed hyper set 3D is better than this. At least in that game it seemed to have a purpose. But in this, it’s either so good it doesn’t seem like it’s on at all, or it’s so bad that it just doesn’t make anything pop in a meaningful way.
Overall I feel that Nintendo should make a franchise which tries to be a successor to the Mario Kart range, because it’s getting time for a reboot and fast. Maybe make a game which is more all-stars or Mario but an array of third party characters like Fortune Street is. Which I’m disappointed isn’t taking over the Mario Party franchise. That aside, before I finish off, one major annoyance was the shooting items back for me. I found I couldn’t do it for a long time for some reason, then today I did it once and I don’t know how- because I just did the stuff I’d usually do when trying it. Maybe it was because I was more impaintaint with the feature and did the “move” over and over.
With another Zelda gaming coming any day now, the series has become a topical buzz on the internet. The anticipation is growing for a title which sets its story back a few years to be a prequel to Ocarina of Time in a roundabout way. It has a nasty little problem with the introduction of possibly alien technology in a certain area which for a Zelda game is approaching on slightly a bit to advance, at least a bit to advance when you consider in a few more centuries Ocarina of Time happens. Ocarina of Time was a very bare and baron game technological wise, with the series also been centred especially in the early games as some middle ages quest, with latter titles such as Sprit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass starting to approach some sort of crazy middle ages industrial era hybrid.
So the question is, as Zelda games ever so slightly start to add technology which might seem alien in the early titles start getting added into the series- how could Nintendo create a Zelda game which is set in the 21st Century with our modern day laws, cities and organizations. I remember years ago reading a fan fiction which proposed this exact idea, while it ended up going a little crazy like all fan fictions do the idea was the same- how would a 21st Century Zelda title work?
The gameplay and core elements of the story would have to change slightly there is no arguing there, but is the abandonment of these values enough to make this title feel Zelda? Possibly no, however with the series been placed around many time travel elements, as well as magic I feel as if this crazy idea could work in some ways.
If the game could work with some magical elements and time travel, the next main goal is a ghastly one at that how would the main three characters be defined in the 21st Century? Who would Link be, or Zelda, or Ganondorf? Well one mistake would be to have the evil villain be an extensive rich monopolistic business man, that is defiantly going a bit too crazy. I believe the best way to protect the sanctity of characterisation in the series in a modern setting would be to make all three main characters; Link, Zelda, Ganon. As childhood friends who go to school together. As this is a Zelda game a modern setting the game would clearly have the multiculturalism and races which previous titles have. So the believability that these characters would find themselves drawn to each other in a modern setting isn’t that hard to believe. I also think that keeping the characters as children would benefit such a title then compared to having full grown characters. For one a full grown character would come off as a bit crazy and a bit depressing to be running around saying the end is near with swords. However keeping them as kids allows the childs imagination in describing areas and events to flow through the story. The locations can alter without having to physically of altered, just because this kid believes that this ledge is a high unsalable wall, doesn’t mean in the real map that it is. The world can be altered and changed without much effort. What I’m saying is the kids are just playing, yes possibly they are really saving the world- and it might come off a bit corny or unbelievable in that regard, but I believe the only way to make a serious attempt to try and latch onto a modern day Zelda would be to explore this option. As for where time travel comes in, the characters could find themselves taken back in time through portals created by the series gods to allow them to obtain spiritual stones which would have long been gone.
Moving on to the map, the location would be a small country city which has become the capital of the land. I believe that the land around this city would be walled off but still easily accessible for children, with the surrounding areas to be ruins of times gone by where only monsters sprawl the land. Or maybe not, maybe the land is vast but baron, the point is that the ruins in these areas would be the dungeons and it would be up for the kids to travel to these locations to find the various stones and magical artefacts which would bring back the Triforce.
Centring back to the adults in this world and how they would react to the kids (specifically Link) running around in town. The elements of most Zelda games is the town is a centre for bustling shops and interaction. In this idea I feel as if this could still happen, with the Adults just been aware of what Link is doing (at least to them, he is obviously a kid been a kid, playing around etc.) so they would humour him and that wouldn’t change any of the core elements from previous series in that regard. Another angle which could be explored could be if Link comes home with certain elements or ancient stones that he gets grounded, or they get taken off him. Also when Link gets the legendary green tunic, he is a boy after all which means closed minded people in the town might react differently to Link then. Remember in this idea he is still a kid and in a modern setting over parenting is quite the common scenario, it could be an interesting angle to explore even in a title which isn’t set in modern settings.
Also I think at this point many of the old ways would have dried up, even the royal line if it still existed wouldn’t have a clue as to what they once believed in, basically the whole world has become atheists. The only problem is if a game did exist with these elements when the Triforce is reunited and everyone goes back to believing in the Gods this is basically saying atheism is wrong and I believe in this day and age that could be some tricky footing to be on, even though currently more people are religious then others I believe any “this is right” or “that is wrong” in regards to religion in a title would be a bad move. Despite that I believe that a modern day Zelda would have many avenues to explore, especially with how it interacts back with the previous titles and lore. I for one wouldn’t mind a title which explored these elements in the future.