Last game you finished and your thoughts

I love Dark Cloud! One of my favourite RPGs - lost the disc ages ago though, really ought to rebuy it.

I finished something too.

Evoland - Very interesting premise to this. You start as a bare bones NES-style RPG, but as you progress you find parts of the game engine in chests, thus improving the game mechanics and graphical quality before you eventually end up with a fully fledged 3D RPG. There's some neat levels that serve as tributes to Zelda and Diablo in there too. The lack of any real progression in their gimmick from the halfway point onwards though makes it a slog to finish, as there's not a lot to it in the end. If they'd continuing upgrading the game engine or perhaps staggered out their existing upgrades it might have performed better in my eyes.

JayMoyles wrote:

I love Dark Cloud! One of my favourite RPGs - lost the disc ages ago though, really ought to rebuy it.

I finished something too.

Evoland - Very interesting premise to this. You start as a bare bones NES-style RPG, but as you progress you find parts of the game engine in chests, thus improving the game mechanics and graphical quality before you eventually end up with a fully fledged 3D RPG. There's some neat levels that serve as tributes to Zelda and Diablo in there too. The lack of any real progression in their gimmick from the halfway point onwards though makes it a slog to finish, as there's not a lot to it in the end. If they'd continuing upgrading the game engine or perhaps staggered out their existing upgrades it might have performed better in my eyes.

Yes, yes you had!

What machine is Evoland on? That sounds like something a bit different.

PC. It was certainly a unique experience, but one I probably won't go back to. Killed a few hours nonetheless! There's a classic version available here, although I haven't played it so I don't know how good it is.

I also just finished up Borderlands. Highly highly recommended. It's a typical FPS action-RPG, like Fallout, but with a lot of charm. The art style is a blend between cel-shading and gritty, dusty realism, and there's a lot of humour to its writing. It manages to do the job of making its world feel alien quite well. There's plenty of replayability to it. The character designs, the level design, it's all top notch. I wish I'd had the chance to play it in co-op - seems like the sort of title where it would be fantastic.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Warning: Spoilers, maybe?

So, yeah, finally finished WW. Only a decade late.
Obviously, it looks gorgeous and the music is beautiful. Nothing in all of gamesdom can compare to sailing across that open sea as the sun soars overhead. I felt genuinely guilty using fast travel to finish off the fetch quests at the end.
The world felt so alive and all the characters and their little lives were ace. I genuinely didn't mind just floating about, exploring for myself, which I think is how the game wants to be played.
However, this approach meant that for me it never quite reached the epicness of some of the other Zeldas. I never really knew why I was doing anything; my boat would just say "right, you're going here now." By chatting to characters and poking around, I discovered the amazing story and I know that's te best way to tell a game story but a little bit more direction would've been nice.
Also, its way too short and way too easy if you just concentrate on the quest.
So overall, not my favourite Zelda, but probably my favourite Wii U game so far.

Buskalilly wrote:

it's way too short

That's a criticism I've never heard directed at Wind Waker before.

JayMoyles wrote:

That's a criticism I've never heard directed at Wind Waker before.

I probably brought it on myself; I was in the mood where I just wanted to beat it so I went from dungeon to dungeon, powered through and oh- that's it!
I understand the remake has reduced the triumph forks bit a bit but it didn't feel that bad to me.

I think it is short by Zelda standards if you pretty much stick to the story but on the whole with side quests too I would probably say it's the longest, always something hidden away.

The triumph forks were never that bad anyway, it doesn't give you much guidance but if you've been paying attention then you'll enjoy it.

Jolly Smurf wrote:

The triumph forks were never that bad anyway, it doesn't give you much guidance but if you've been paying attention then you'll enjoy it.

Well I had the triforce chart already, didn't even remember getting it, and I had the one for the ghost ship, so I already knew exactly where to go. Just a matter of bringing the fish and getting on with it.

I think Tingle sends it you in the mail (for an unreasonable amount of ruppees of course).

Evoland sounds amazing, the sort of thing that would be right at home on the 3DS eShop.

Last night (well, more "this morning", really), I finished Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.

Dual Destinies, particularly overarching villain:

Agreed with that, especially the villain. I really didn't like...

About said villain:

ZJ Seal of Approval GET!

I beat To The Moon. I said over in the PC currently playing thread that I was going to stretch out my time with this game, but I caved and finished it in two sittings. It's short at four hours long, but it's quite likely the best example of storytelling I've seen in a game. It's the story of a man who wants to go to the moon, but he's in his deathbed. Luckily, science is advanced enough in this world that scientists can enter a person's memory and implant the desire to do something at a young age - think Inception - and this desire is so intense that their dream becomes a reality within the confines of their memories. In order to implant this desire, the scientists have to traverse backwards through this man's memories. What ensues is a heartfelt and emotional tale about marriage.

It's a love story at its core, but there are lots of other themes and story points wrapped up in the game. It's amazing just how much story they manage to fit into a four hour experience. The graphics are nicely stylised and reminded me a lot of Earthbound. The music is divine - plenty of emotionally charged piano tracks smattered with tense string driven tracks when the mood calls for it. The writing is, as you'd expect in a story-driven game, top notch. It's earnest and moving most of the time, but there's just the right amount of wit to ensure the emotion isn't overwhelming.

By the end of the game, I was reduced, unashamedly I have to add, to tears by the poignancy of this game. In four hours, I was more immersed in the experience than many forty hour RPGs I've played. Even if you own a guff ten year old laptop, I really recommend you track this down. It's an experience that a couple of paragraphs can't really express as well as playing it can. Brilliance.

masofdas wrote:

Pokemon X

I finished this 1am this morning, with a activity log of 27hrs. It was good but did reinvent the wheel or anything, the new mon weren't that great apart from Sylveon, story was a bit muh especially after B&Ws. But the jump to 3D was good. It's a very good pokemon game but not the best out of all them. Still a high 8/10 though.

Anyway I'm going to go play Y.

Same as above but for Pokemon Y, which I did in 23hrs this time.

Skyward Sword on Hero Mode. I'd drunk all my potions, my shield had broken, and I had 2 hearts left (which is essentially 1 hit). I had to sidestep Demise to get my hit in.


Thoughts: well, as a Zelda game it's superior to most things; I certainly miss going back to Skyloft to check on the folks. I'm still not entirely convinced of motion control over buttons though (e.g. the harp playing bits: Oh, by "in time with the circle" you meant "not in time with the circle"), and actually at the very beginning I don't think Link and Zelda were at all likeable; they're kind of like the Alpha-male high-school teens I'd want nothing to do with. But places like the desert ship and the ancient cistern (which manages to be the forest temple, water temple and shadow temple in one) prove that Nintendo still has "it".

10 out of 11

Desert Ship was rubbish. Ancient Cistern was great though, and Grooose was much more jocky than anyone else. He may or may not come good in the end, though...

Me again - Legend of Zelda - Oracle of Seasons

You know what, this is good, and sort of timeless. Given the still-quite-limited technical scope of the Game Boy Color, the Oracle games are really quite something. The backgrounds have limited colour depth, but everywhere evokes a "feeling". The subtle colours of Tarm Ruins (and of course the music) imply a long-forgotten land; Subrosia's dingy greens and reds feel uncomfortable to a surface-dweller. I know this is the weaker of the two Oracle games (and bizarrely, is almost an HD remake of the NES original), but now I've played it again since its original release, I really appreciate the work that's gone into it, and can't wait until Oracle of Ages (which will have to wait until A Link Between Worlds).

11.5 out of 13

Wow, that was all very serious... er...

In both the Oracle games, there appears to be a lot of "boob-focus" in the credit sequences. I'll leave you with that.

I beat Electronic Super Joy (PC). It's one of those twitch reaction platformers that expect you to repeat sections dozens of times in order to pass. You rarely feel like it's your own fault though when you die - the game ramps up its difficulty by throwing more and more shit at you, like homing rockets or enemies that vomit lasers in your general directions. It doesn't feel challenging: it feels cheap. The thumping techno electronica soundtrack does nothing to help your stress levels, and it all comes off as an altogether finicky experience. There's little feeling of satisfaction when you beat a level, and the less said about the "bosses" the better.

On a positive note, it looked pretty. I can't recommend it just on its visuals though, but if you find it for a couple of quid and you're masochistic enough to enjoy these type of platformers, you might be able to drudge out a few hours of enjoyment. Oh, and most of the achievements I should have unlocked didn't unlock, so fuck that noise.

I should try the Oracle games out again. I never got very far in Seasons. I just don't think I'm much good with retro games in general.  

Anyway, Picross e3. It's not going to win any Game of the Year awards, but I have to commend it for the Mega Picross mode, the first innovation I've seen in Picross that works (shut up Picross 3D). It made my brain hurt for ages and ages, but then you start picking up on the similar-yet-subtly-different tricks and it all becomes tremendously rewarding.

Sadly, they seem to have run out of ideas on the Picross puzzles themselves. Far too many flowers. Anyway, recommended over either of its predecessors.

JayMoyles wrote:

I beat Electronic Super Joy (PC). It's one of those twitch reaction platformers that expect you to repeat sections dozens of times in order to pass. You rarely feel like it's your own fault though when you die - the game ramps up its difficulty by throwing more and more shit at you, like homing rockets or enemies that vomit lasers in your general directions.

Is it a designed game or a procedural/random one? Super Meat Boy is of the same genre, but the fact that the levels are designed rather than random means that it's less a matter of unfairness and more a matter of working out what the designer was thinking and spotting the shortcuts, which does feel rewarding.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

Buy it!  Or, don't if you don't like puzzles.  Because that's still what most of the game is.  Sliding blocks, codes, algebra behind a fluffy façade, trick questions...  They're all here.  

But the story may be the best in a Layton game: certainly, only Lost Future gives it competition.  It loses a bit of pace in the middle, but that aside...  And oh God the ending.

beemoh wrote:

JayMoyles wrote:

I beat Electronic Super Joy (PC). It's one of those twitch reaction platformers that expect you to repeat sections dozens of times in order to pass. You rarely feel like it's your own fault though when you die - the game ramps up its difficulty by throwing more and more shit at you, like homing rockets or enemies that vomit lasers in your general directions.

Is it a designed game or a procedural/random one? Super Meat Boy is of the same genre, but the fact that the levels are designed rather than random means that it's less a matter of unfairness and more a matter of working out what the designer was thinking and spotting the shortcuts, which does feel rewarding.

I think it's designed - but the difference between Super Meat Boy and Electronic Super Joy is the controls. SMB has really tight controls, whereas ESJ feels finicky and you feel like you're grappling with them. Your only form of offense is a ground pound which instantly smacks you to the ground, not a gradual descent like in Mario. They expect you to use it to platform as well, and it just doesn't sit right.

Last night I beat the final Mega Picross in Picross e3. Although Mega Picross drove me crazy on numerous occasions, I can see what they were trying to do. The rest of the game was much the same as the other Picross en's.

This morning I blasted my way through 3D Space Harrier. Never having played it before (though I have seen a mate blast through a few levels on MAME) I didn't know what to expect! It is, though, a fun game with what seems to be a very faithful conversion from the arcade original. The 3D works well, too (don't often get to say that!).

Did you like Mega Picross? I found it really rewarding when I got the hang of it!