04-20-2010, 01:18 AM
More mini-reviews, now with 50% more Sega Genesis! C'mon everyone, let talk about some games. :P Oh, and no disappointments this time. Yay!
Surprises: Dynamite Headdy (Sega Genesis): Now here's an awesome game. You play as Headdy, some sort of puppet thing whose world is being taken over by the Dark Demon (Original name! /not). It's a great game though with some awesome graphics and music that rival those in SNES games.
The game also has a bit of Battletoads vibe in that most of the levels try to do something different. The first level is a chase scene, followed by a basic platformer stage, but later on you have to climb a vertically scrolling tower, blast through a space shooter like level, and run through a stage while dodging giant rockets that take up half the screen.
DH doesn't fuck around though. It has no difficulty levels in the options, but the game is pretty challenging and you'll probably be forced back to start at least a couple of times (though probably more than that). Every boss has some effective strategy or weakness though so the game never gets too cheap.
Speaking of bosses, there are quite a few in the game and they all are rather unique from huge robots with spiked fists, to mechanical scorpions with laser beams, and a puppet which gains different attacks depending on its costume. Babyface in perticular was a fun boss with his changing forms as you knock down his lifebar.
All in all, it's a fun platformer that's really worth checking out. Fun Fact: This game was made by Treasure which also did the awesome Gunstar Heroes, Sin & Punishment, and Ikaruga games if you need another reason to get this.
Persona 3 FES (PS2): To be honest, I was somewhat tempted to put this a disappointment. Not because it's a bad game, but because Persona 4 takes engine of this game and does things so much better.
Okay though, let's talk about the good things about this game. This (or at least the original version of P3) game was the first to introduce the One More system where if you hit an opponent with their weakness, you can knock them down and make one more move. (The enemy can also return the favor if they can hit your weakness so planning ahead is key.) It's also where the All Out Attacks originated from which reward the player for taking advantage of the One More system if they can knock down all the enemies.
Another things I love about this game is that you can see your enemies outside of battle and have a change to sneak past them or get preemptive attacks on them. This system shows exactly why the Random Encounter system in other RPGs is a joke. Rather than just have the computer determine when you fight, you have choice in the matter.
Speaking of choice, the awesome Social Link system and various activities you can conduct after school are pretty much all here from P4. One thing I didn't like though was that not all of your party members had social links you could grow, and in addition, the ones that do have links don't get cool battle abilities as you strengthen their social links like in P4.
Persona collection and creation is still about the same as Persona 4. It has a Pokemon feel to it, but with added elements such as fusing new Personas, Fusion Attacks, and eight move slots instead of a constrictive four in Pokemon.
The story is okay, but it isn't very lighthearted to say the least. Death is a real big theme in this game as depicted by the story, some of the music, and the dungeon in general. It kind of comes across as emo, which deducts points from the game in my opinion. I can appreciate darker elements in a game, but I do like having some lighter ones as well to balance things out. Persona 4 handled this a lot better I think.
Speaking of the dungeon, it's kind of boring in this game save for the trippy looking Block 5. It's basically one big tower that's slowly unlocked to you by one big stack of floors at a time. I wouldn't have such an issue with place except that the dungeon theme sucks, sucks, SUCKS! It fits the theme of Death well, but in a bad way. Hearing this damn tune makes me want to die, it's just so depressing and boring. It's a shame too since the main battle theme is a great, somewhat funky tune.
And finally, in regards to the characters, they're kind of a mixed bag. I really like some of the characters including Shinjiro (it's hard to hate someone who's victory catch phrase is "Adios, asshole.") who past his gruff demeanor is actually a good person. Aigis is another interesting character to watch as she deals with her inner conflict (human personality vs. mechanical body).
On the other hand, characters like Koromaru (Who is a cool dog to be fair, but doesn't lend himself well to character development.), Ken (Seriously, you guys let a little kid on your team?), and Fukka (who does little to make herself interesting and has a terrible voice) are characters I could do without.
All in all though, this game is good, if not a little repetitive at times. I'll still play this any day over Final Fantasy X in the least. You have lots a choices in this game, the story is okay, the monster designs and most of the music are awesome, and none of the characters are as bad as Tidus. A word of warning though, playing Persona 4 (they aren't connected) may damage your opinion of this game a little since that game really streamlined things and improved everything.
Surprises: Dynamite Headdy (Sega Genesis): Now here's an awesome game. You play as Headdy, some sort of puppet thing whose world is being taken over by the Dark Demon (Original name! /not). It's a great game though with some awesome graphics and music that rival those in SNES games.
The game also has a bit of Battletoads vibe in that most of the levels try to do something different. The first level is a chase scene, followed by a basic platformer stage, but later on you have to climb a vertically scrolling tower, blast through a space shooter like level, and run through a stage while dodging giant rockets that take up half the screen.
DH doesn't fuck around though. It has no difficulty levels in the options, but the game is pretty challenging and you'll probably be forced back to start at least a couple of times (though probably more than that). Every boss has some effective strategy or weakness though so the game never gets too cheap.
Speaking of bosses, there are quite a few in the game and they all are rather unique from huge robots with spiked fists, to mechanical scorpions with laser beams, and a puppet which gains different attacks depending on its costume. Babyface in perticular was a fun boss with his changing forms as you knock down his lifebar.
All in all, it's a fun platformer that's really worth checking out. Fun Fact: This game was made by Treasure which also did the awesome Gunstar Heroes, Sin & Punishment, and Ikaruga games if you need another reason to get this.
Persona 3 FES (PS2): To be honest, I was somewhat tempted to put this a disappointment. Not because it's a bad game, but because Persona 4 takes engine of this game and does things so much better.
Okay though, let's talk about the good things about this game. This (or at least the original version of P3) game was the first to introduce the One More system where if you hit an opponent with their weakness, you can knock them down and make one more move. (The enemy can also return the favor if they can hit your weakness so planning ahead is key.) It's also where the All Out Attacks originated from which reward the player for taking advantage of the One More system if they can knock down all the enemies.
Another things I love about this game is that you can see your enemies outside of battle and have a change to sneak past them or get preemptive attacks on them. This system shows exactly why the Random Encounter system in other RPGs is a joke. Rather than just have the computer determine when you fight, you have choice in the matter.
Speaking of choice, the awesome Social Link system and various activities you can conduct after school are pretty much all here from P4. One thing I didn't like though was that not all of your party members had social links you could grow, and in addition, the ones that do have links don't get cool battle abilities as you strengthen their social links like in P4.
Persona collection and creation is still about the same as Persona 4. It has a Pokemon feel to it, but with added elements such as fusing new Personas, Fusion Attacks, and eight move slots instead of a constrictive four in Pokemon.
The story is okay, but it isn't very lighthearted to say the least. Death is a real big theme in this game as depicted by the story, some of the music, and the dungeon in general. It kind of comes across as emo, which deducts points from the game in my opinion. I can appreciate darker elements in a game, but I do like having some lighter ones as well to balance things out. Persona 4 handled this a lot better I think.
Speaking of the dungeon, it's kind of boring in this game save for the trippy looking Block 5. It's basically one big tower that's slowly unlocked to you by one big stack of floors at a time. I wouldn't have such an issue with place except that the dungeon theme sucks, sucks, SUCKS! It fits the theme of Death well, but in a bad way. Hearing this damn tune makes me want to die, it's just so depressing and boring. It's a shame too since the main battle theme is a great, somewhat funky tune.
And finally, in regards to the characters, they're kind of a mixed bag. I really like some of the characters including Shinjiro (it's hard to hate someone who's victory catch phrase is "Adios, asshole.") who past his gruff demeanor is actually a good person. Aigis is another interesting character to watch as she deals with her inner conflict (human personality vs. mechanical body).
On the other hand, characters like Koromaru (Who is a cool dog to be fair, but doesn't lend himself well to character development.), Ken (Seriously, you guys let a little kid on your team?), and Fukka (who does little to make herself interesting and has a terrible voice) are characters I could do without.
All in all though, this game is good, if not a little repetitive at times. I'll still play this any day over Final Fantasy X in the least. You have lots a choices in this game, the story is okay, the monster designs and most of the music are awesome, and none of the characters are as bad as Tidus. A word of warning though, playing Persona 4 (they aren't connected) may damage your opinion of this game a little since that game really streamlined things and improved everything.
