Sean and Jeff's Totally Radical VG Review

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Sean and Jeff's Totally Radical VG Review
Topic Started: Jul 7 2008, 06:43 PM (336 Views)
Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:43 PM Post #1
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	Sean's Note: For those unaware, these were done on Gaming Overkill, hence why we mention it being "for" said board. Just so people don't ask. The mighty SFX: Alright, n3wbz, This is Sean, and my friend Jeff. Together, we are going to review a game for great justice! BlackDjeffgo: This isn't a part of my weekly series, so don't expect daily updates or anything... The mighty SFX: Yeah, Yeah. The Group Review thing is dependent on when it is most convenient given our busy schedules. The mighty SFX: In other words, we do them when we feel like it. BlackDjeffgo: Right. This time, since it's a game franchise we're well-associated with, we're going to be taking an overview of the Nintendo games - Pocket Monsters. Known in the states as Pokemon. The mighty SFX: I WANT TO BE THE VERY BEST...Shot BlackDjeffgo: ... Moving on. First, the Red/Blue/Yellow games were what we in the USA received first. Sean, how did you find out about them? The mighty SFX: Uhhh...I was like seven, I think. I remember it fairly well because I was living with my mom and grandfather; I heard about the games, mostly from an advertisement in one of my Pokemon VHS tapes Former Pokemon Anime Fan. The mighty SFX: My mom took me and my older brother to get the game, I got..I think Red and he got Blue. it's been too long, so I don't know for sure. The mighty SFX: Some time after that I got Yellow for like my eight or ninth birthday The mighty SFX: Yes, I'm a whore who had all three versions by the end of it all << BlackDjeffgo: Hm. I first discovered it due to the change in my schedule when I went on to middle school. I remember I returned home from school one day and flipped through the channels and happened upon the anime first. I remember it very distinctly - it was the "Squirtle Squad" episode. The mighty SFX: KAMINA SHADES SQUIRTLE! The mighty SFX: ...ahem...anyways, continue BlackDjeffgo: My curiosity flared up, so I hit the internet to find out more about this unusual concept of "Pocket Monsters" The mighty SFX: And the internet hit him back ba dum-pish ..I'll stop before Jeff kills me D: BlackDjeffgo: Well, I learned a lot and began seeing advertisements concerning Blue and Red, which were still relatively new at the time. I cited my interest to my parents and request the Blue version. Being the over-achievers my parents love to be, they kindly got me both versions. BlackDjeffgo: I picked up yellow later, but I don't recall when/how. The mighty SFX: Alright, we've talked enough of back stories on HOW we got the games. Now, to the games themselves. Shall I start or will you? BlackDjeffgo: You can start us off. The mighty SFX: Well, the game is..pretty simple. You're a ten year old kid from Pallet town (Your name is something you can determine at the beginning, along with your rival's, two of the more famous defaults are Red and Ash for your player). You're going to see Professor Oak Tree to get your first Pokeyman. Er..Pokemon BlackDjeffgo: The three 'starters' are Charmander - a flame-affinity lizard, Squirtle - a bipedal turtle, and Bulbasaur - a frog with a plant atop its back. My personal choice was always Charmander. The mighty SFX: Charmander is also the challenging choice since that leaves you at a disadvantage for two of the gyms (more on that later) Squirtle, personally, I find the best because he learns a solid water type move quickly, but some choose Bulbasaur due to an advantage on up to the third gym leader. Anyways, after you pick one, you get the option to nickname it, and your rival will pick the one that has the advantage against yours, going by: Fire beats grass, Grass beats water, Water beats Fire. BlackDjeffgo: Of course, you always pick first, conveniently. Anyways, the game handles in the vein of the traditional "Battle Cricket" concept from Japan. The first monster breeder was of the franchise America knows as "Demi Kids" as far back as an early title on the original GameBoy. In the same vein, you could have a team of up to six and whether you wanted to emphasize one key trait, or diversify was all up to you. The mighty SFX: Yes. The main objective is to become the League Champion. How do you do that? Well, first you must go from town to town, and find Gyms. Gyms have many trainers, who usually center around a specific type, as well as the Gym Leader. The Gym leader has powerful pokemon with good moves...sometimes...but since they're constantly centered around one type, all you need is the type which has the advantage...strike one for difficulty. The mighty SFX: You need to collect Eight Badges to go to the Pokemon League The mighty SFX: And there are only eight. Seriously, they should at least give you ten gyms, so that you can decide which to go for and then leave two as extra training or something... BlackDjeffgo: And more annoyingly still, sometimes gym leaders went "Out to Lunch" and forced you to complete some contrived "plot" point in order to get them to come back and battle you. The original set of gyms were quite straight-forward until you got towards the 6th to the 8th. Also, side trips to places like the S. S. Anne added for an amusing distraction and chance to level up, but it got old rather quickly when you had other things on your mind. The mighty SFX: Also, your rival always loves to show up at the worst time to challenge you with his team of failure. BlackDjeffgo: Which was usually a predictable team as the new additions were often pokemon from the immediate region. The mighty SFX: Yeah. Another recurring appearance in the first generation were Team Rocket, some thugs who tried to "use Pokemon for their own selfish goals", as some state.. The mighty SFX: But really, what makes them that much different from YOU? BlackDjeffgo: Though these goals are never explicitly said... BlackDjeffgo: Basically, you kidnap wild creatures in little capsules and force them to bend to your will because you have shiny badges. I'm not even making this up. The badges you get can force Pokemon to obey you. The mighty SFX: Well, the ones you catch yourself will automatically bend to your will. The mighty SFX: The traded ones will bend to your will if you have enough shiny badges though The mighty SFX: Otherwise they'll go "no, u" and either do nothing, fall asleep, or perform a different action BlackDjeffgo: That was another thing that bothered me. The entire concept behind the games was marketing. Two different 'versions' of the SAME GAME, except some random, certain critters only appeared in one version, forcing you to "trade" to complete your monster encyclopedia. The mighty SFX: Yes. GOTTA CATCH EM ALL The mighty SFX: Urgh.. BlackDjeffgo: Which, in turn, forced you to have at least two gameboys, a link cable and each respective game BlackDjeffgo: And you'd need MORE than that just to get all three starters The mighty SFX: Well, There is just trading a starter, restarting, and choosing a different one, but that takes time The mighty SFX: Less time though than finding like four copies of the game The mighty SFX: And four friends BlackDjeffgo: Nintendo had been accused of only caring about money since they opened. People cited Pokemon as proof of it. I kind of agree in that light, but other companies emulated the concept, including CapCom - which is a big name. Anyways, on to more important things... The graphics. Well, it was a GameBoy game, so we have to give it a little slack BlackDjeffgo: But they were still pretty bad. The mighty SFX: Some of the sprites gave me nightmares....;_; BlackDjeffgo: Rightfully so. And the sound effects were just plain bad - especially the Pokemon cries. BlackDjeffgo: However, the music was quite catchy, I must say. The mighty SFX: Oh yes, I quite enjoyed the music... The mighty SFX: Abgsdjbg... the Sandslash sprite.... The mighty SFX: It's staring at me.. The mighty SFX: Like it's going to rip me open with its claws... The mighty SFX: hide me...;-; BlackDjeffgo: ... Right then. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the overworld sprites were just plain and generic. BlackDjeffgo: Nothing terribly exciting. BlackDjeffgo: But I suppose they got the job done. The mighty SFX: The Surfing sprite sucked...Your character looks like he turned into a seal or something BlackDjeffgo: That's not just limited to the B/R/Y generation. All of the games up until the third gen are guilty of that. You're supposedly riding on top of it, but you disappear when you leap on board The mighty SFX: Indeed. BlackDjeffgo: The game's difficulty was laughable. BlackDjeffgo: When I first played the game, I dominated the entire thing in a very short span of time, though I never bothered to fill out the Pokedex. The mighty SFX: filling out the Pokedex is aggrivatingly difficult, and only got worse as the series dragged on The mighty SFX: The fact that you didn't proves that you still have hope as a normal person The mighty SFX: ...very little hope. BlackDjeffgo: Another thing I found amusing is that the big catch to Pokemon was that it had "So many monsters" BlackDjeffgo: Rival franchises, Digimon and Monster Rancher, had/have more than Pokemon ever has - and it's been that way since the beginning. BlackDjeffgo: Then the anime started all big and popular and then they released the "Yellow" version The mighty SFX: Which is the SAME DAMN GAME BlackDjeffgo: Basically, it's JUST like the first two games, but now you start off with a Pikachu and can earn the three starters by... doing the SAME THING. The mighty SFX: Yeah, and they had to also adjust some movesets for pokemon, several which became mainstays in the series (Such as Pikachu Learning Thunderbolt by level up) The mighty SFX: Actually, the changing movesets was because otherwise it would take you forever to finish the first gym The mighty SFX: Pikachu can't hit Brock's pokemon for squat, Pidgey is useless, so is Rattata, and Weedle and its evolutions, Butterfree is good when it learns Confusion, but that's not until like Level 15. BlackDjeffgo: The game also suffered from the fact that the little rat didn't go back in its Pokeball and instead follows you through the entire game, and it becomes angry with you if you try to evolve it. BlackDjeffgo: Actually, it was ALWAYS angry at me. The mighty SFX: Level 10, actually, confirmed that, sorry. BlackDjeffgo: But that's because I went out of my way to anger it... The mighty SFX: Pikachu is the definition of Marketing. BlackDjeffgo: I remember when Yellow was released a flurry of rumors shot up across the internet about how incredible it was that there MIGHT be a Pikachu who MIGHT could learn surf The mighty SFX: Also, Pikachu is the Spawn of Satan! I HAVE PROOF! The mighty SFX: But I won't go into it right now because... BlackDjeffgo: Stick to the review. The mighty SFX: because I have to stick to the review or Jeff will taze me T_T BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, another rumor arouse when new Pokemon began being announced. The mighty SFX: Yeah, because NOBODY expected a SEQUEL, RIGHT? BlackDjeffgo: Allegedly, finding a Pikachu who could use Surf and doing some contrived and often not-specified method could evolve it into "Pikablu" - which later turned out to be an entirely unrelated creature named "Marill" The mighty SFX: Seriously, people TODAY STILL BELIEVE THAT The mighty SFX: And this game is nearly ten years old now The mighty SFX: There is no Pikablu, no Mewthree, no Supa-dupa-uber-pokemon-9000, NOTHING LIKE THAT The mighty SFX: STOP WITH THE RUMORS BEFORE I HURT YOU ALL The mighty SFX: ..recomposes self BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the 2nd set of games came out a bit later on, introducing an entirely new region named "Johto" BlackDjeffgo: These games, unlike the first generation, were released on the GameBoy Color. The mighty SFX: Yeah, and we finally got a name for the first generation region, Kanto BlackDjeffgo: Pokemon Gold and Silver - which was probably named aptly so for what Nintendo was bathing in at this point. The mighty SFX: He'll be here all week, ladies and gentlemen BlackDjeffgo: You took the role of a totally new hero, and you could even pick your gender, and set an internal clock that affected in-game events. The mighty SFX: Actually, Jeff, Gender Picking wasn't until the obligatory third version where all of two things are different BlackDjeffgo: Sorry. My mistake. The mighty SFX: For Gold and Silver, you were still stuck with a d00d The mighty SFX: Which personally was fine for me because I AM a d00d The mighty SFX: I came across Pokemon Gold in a bargain bin while my family was shopping...for what, I don't remember. My attention span sucks The mighty SFX: I forgot when i got Pokemon Silver, and I never got Crystal BlackDjeffgo: Same here, and it was the general audience they were initially aiming for, but broadening it to females was a good idea, because that gave way for more money. Also, it paved the path that gave us literally dozens of cutesy, sickening creatures such as Pichu, Igglybuff and other such abominations to evolution and intelligent design. The mighty SFX: Yeah, and you know what? There weren't that many pokemon WORTH USING BlackDjeffgo: I ended up, again, with all three versions in the long run, though Crystal became my primary before all was said and done. At the start of this game, you're called to your neighbor's house to, again, pick a starting Pokemon. The mighty SFX: But this time, there is no rival to take one right after you The mighty SFX: Your "Rival" in this game steals one while you're out on a mission The mighty SFX: and calls you a weakling, even though he sucks even more than the first generation rival BlackDjeffgo: Said "Rival" is some prick with a serious chip on his shoulder. You get to name him while filling out a police report, ironically. The mighty SFX: And no, stop saying he's the son of Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. The mighty SFX: There is no direct confirmation of that, I don't care if they say he is in the Manga, if he is, I don't care. He isn't in the games, and that's what I'm sticking by, you Rumor spreading bastards. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the starters this time around are pretty uninspired. A burning rat - Cyndaquil, a leafy rat named Chikorita (Racism and sexism all at the same time! Nice going, Game Freak!) and finally, Totadile, some little croc-thing. No, I don't care if I spelled those right. The mighty SFX: I'm usually a spelling nazi, but I really don't care BlackDjeffgo: I went with Cyndaquil, since I prefer the fire types. The mighty SFX: This was the only game where I picked the fire starter, usually I go with the water starter. The mighty SFX: And the objective is the same thing BlackDjeffgo: 8 gyms. 8 badges. Pokemon League. The mighty SFX: Get Eight badges, fight the Pokemon League, and beat the evil Organization in the middle of it The mighty SFX: Which was once again Team Rocket The mighty SFX: But, AT THE END, ZOMG TWIST The mighty SFX: You get to actually GO BACK TO KANTO, THE FIRST GENERATION REGION! The mighty SFX: AND EARN ANOTHER EIGHT BADGES The mighty SFX: 16 IN ONE GAME! BlackDjeffgo: In addition, this game introduces two new elements - Steel and Dark. As far as I recall, no other games to date have done this. BlackDjeffgo: It was a pretty big deal among the fanbase, since Psychic was nigh-on unstoppable in the first gen. The mighty SFX: Yeah, and Dark and Steel helped on that The mighty SFX: Also, some pokemon got type changes (Magneton, which went from Electric to Steel\Electric) The mighty SFX: And some moves (Gust became a flying type move and Bite became dark) BlackDjeffgo: And then, you got to do Kanto again. This is also the only set of Pokemon games with backwards compatibility, but not all the bugs got ironed out. Transferring a Magnamite/Magneton to the older games, since the older games don't recognize "Steel" as a valid type, would instead give you a resulting creature of a Flame/Elec alignment. The mighty SFX: I actually didn't know that. The mighty SFX: Wow... BlackDjeffgo: Yeah. Anyways, in terms of gameplay, little ended up changing. BlackDjeffgo: The interface was polished up, and your mother stole half your money to buy useless trinkets... The mighty SFX: Seriously The mighty SFX: She was like "OH I'M SORRY, I TOOK YOUR MONEY AND BOUGHT THIS CUTE LITTLE CLEFAIRY DOLL" The mighty SFX: Thanks. The mighty SFX: You bought me a Doll The mighty SFX: .... The mighty SFX: Wait, is your in-game mom implying you're gay? BlackDjeffgo: Which should actually be more of a concern for family than Pokemon. Until the third generation of games, none of main characters had a father. BlackDjeffgo: Wonderful. Your father abandoned you and your mother thinks you're gay. I'd have left home at age 10 too. The mighty SFX: Seriously BlackDjeffgo: Speaking of the third generation, with the birth of the GameBoy Advance brought us into the next games of the franchise. The mighty SFX: WAIT, JEFF. We didn't talk about the PokeGEAR BlackDjeffgo: Oh right. The useless trinket you get that does nothing in the long run? The mighty SFX: Actually, it had some useful functions. The mighty SFX: Like the Phone BlackDjeffgo: How was that useful again? The mighty SFX: Which allowed you to store a few Trainer numbers, and they'd call you if you want a rematch The mighty SFX: MORE EXP AND MONEY The mighty SFX: That's always good! BlackDjeffgo: Oh, right. I forgot that part. The mighty SFX: But yeah BlackDjeffgo: Yeah. That, and your mother could update you on how much money she's wasting. The mighty SFX: Other than that, it has a map, which....yeah The mighty SFX: a clock to make sure your time is correct... BlackDjeffgo: Maybe she should get a job and quit watching QVC all day... The mighty SFX: and a radio The mighty SFX: a RADIO The mighty SFX: Which overall does almost nothing BlackDjeffgo: The radio which had like 2 stations that both did nothing? The mighty SFX: I think some songs might influence wild pokemon encounter rates... The mighty SFX: I THINK The mighty SFX: But yeah, that's it The mighty SFX: NOW We can move on to that fateful day BlackDjeffgo: Right. That was totally worth backtracking for. Moving on! The mighty SFX: Where I saw Pokemon Ruby in a video game store... The mighty SFX: And I played it The mighty SFX: THIRD GENERATION The mighty SFX: So I herd you liek mudkips... BlackDjeffgo: I ended up finding Sapphire in a bargain bin for like 5 bucks? I figured, why not? BlackDjeffgo: This time around, the starters ended up being a bit more diverse. BlackDjeffgo: First there was Torchic - a little fire-bird that grew up to become a fighting type. Mudkip - a water/ground type that birthed a 4chan meme. And the one no one liked. The mighty SFX: Treecko or something like that BlackDjeffgo: Yeah. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the graphics received a MAJOR overhaul, as did the music. The mighty SFX: I guess I liek mudkips since I picked Mudkip BlackDjeffgo: With the exception of color, the 2nd gen. didn't get much in terms up graphics, but this game changed that. BlackDjeffgo: And it also introduced probably the best antagonists the series has thus far seen - Team Magma and Team Aqua. The mighty SFX: Team Magma and Aqua are opposing forces who want to manipulate the Earth Tier God Pokemon, as I like to call them, to either Increase the land mass (Team Magma) and flood the earth (Team Aqua) BlackDjeffgo: And this game also had, arguably, the best design for the heroes as well. BlackDjeffgo: The opposing gender you did not pick for yourself becomes your rival and a continuous flirt throughout the game. The mighty SFX: Yeah, and he\she sucks. BlackDjeffgo: However, due to the fact s/he does not become a ravenous, flaming prick, I'm willing to say it's probably the most rewarding rival experience of the franchise. BlackDjeffgo: The 3rd generation new species of Pokemon are also kind of a breath of fresh air and do offer a lot of new options and abilities - including a few that are actually worth getting. BlackDjeffgo: My beef with the game comes from the fact that it is STILL 8 gyms, 8 badges and the Pokemon League with Magma and Aqua offering bit parts of the story. The mighty SFX: And there are some interesting new features The mighty SFX: Like Abilities, which are little effects that some Pokemon have. The mighty SFX: Like some pokemon like Gyarados have Intimidate, which lowers the attack of your opponent(s) when called out The mighty SFX: And Wonder Guard, which is used by.... BlackDjeffgo: SHEDINJA - the super pokemon The mighty SFX: Yes. BlackDjeffgo: And "nature" which is kind of like the Pokemon's personality - though they're still basically your mindless slaves though it allegedly affects your stats The mighty SFX: It does. Beneficial Natures give some pretty decent boosts The mighty SFX: Getting them isn't worth it though for all of a 10% stat raise BlackDjeffgo: One of the coolest new concepts for this generation is the Double-Battles. BlackDjeffgo: You send out the top 2 critters on your list against 2 enemy critters BlackDjeffgo: It actually adds a level of depth and strategy to the game not before seen in the franchise. BlackDjeffgo: Rather than "Hit enemy, get hit, hit enemy, get hit"... The mighty SFX: I totally Predicted Double Battles back when Second Generation was still new BlackDjeffgo: Regardless, it was a breath of fresh air for me, though not quite common enough. BlackDjeffgo: of course, you couldn't do it from the get-go, since you start with 1 creature The mighty SFX: Right. BlackDjeffgo: The game also offered you a PokeNav, which replaced the PokeGEAR of the previous titles. BlackDjeffgo: It had a map, info on trainers you previously battled... and that's really all there is to it that's worth mentioning... The mighty SFX: I think one of the trainers says that she bathes with her pokemon. Or maybe that was just a parody thing I saw.... BlackDjeffgo: I don't know off hand. This was also the first game of the series that actually involved the version-specific legendary as a pivotal plot point. The mighty SFX: Yes The mighty SFX: Grounding and Cryogre. ....I said those wrong, but I felt like being an [I am a potty mouth]. BlackDjeffgo: And, as we all predicted, a third version was made to round-off the Ruby/Sappire generation. Predictaly - it was "Emerald". The mighty SFX: This changed nothing except, while in the other two versions, depending on which one, one of the teams was bad and the other was good, in Emerald, both are evil and want to do bad things to the world's pooper. The mighty SFX: Although it did add one thing: THE BATTLE FRONTIER The mighty SFX: Which consisted of seven different places where you could battle in varying conditions to try to get 14 Symbols. Two for each area, Silver Symbol and Gold Symbol The mighty SFX: I didn't get a single one T_T BlackDjeffgo: I never bothered. By this point, I quit buying and starting emulating. The mighty SFX: Yeah, this was also around the same time I starting hanging out with this guy here and he started corrupting my innocent youth. BlackDjeffgo: Heh heh heh. Anyways, the R/S/E games were satisfying experiences, but still leave something more to be desired. BlackDjeffgo: That brings us to the latest installments of the Pokemon universe - Diamond and Pearl - the least manly names to date! The mighty SFX: At this point I tried to get myself away from Pokemon myself.... The mighty SFX: But..I failed The mighty SFX: This summer I went to my Cousin's graduation, where he was growing bored with Pokemon Pearl The mighty SFX: I inherited it The mighty SFX: Diamond and Pearl are my favorite games because they introduce... BlackDjeffgo: Well, upon learning that a number of good friends of mine had gotten the DS Pokemon - most of them, if not all of them, had Pearl The mighty SFX: :B BIDOOF BlackDjeffgo: I got Diamond, since I had some money at the time. BlackDjeffgo: And we met... Bidoof. The mighty SFX: Best Pokemon Ever BlackDjeffgo: Err-- I mean - three new starters! BlackDjeffgo: A flaming monkey, a metal penguin and a turtle that later appears in Zelda: Majora's Mask! Err... I mean... has a palm tree on its back. The mighty SFX: Yes The mighty SFX: The plot, however... The mighty SFX: IS STILL The mighty SFX: THE SAME BlackDjeffgo: 8 gyms. BlackDjeffgo: 8 badges. BlackDjeffgo: Pokemon League. BlackDjeffgo: Bad guys with bowl cuts and Bidoof. The mighty SFX: Don't forget Zubat. BlackDjeffgo: Yes. Those too. The mighty SFX: Zubat are scary D: The mighty SFX: Cause they can Mean look you without EYES The mighty SFX: HOW DO THEY DO THAT The mighty SFX: IT'S SCARY ;_; BlackDjeffgo: Probably the same way that that same mean look prevents you from running away from something with no sensory organs. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, you play as the ugliest/most fashionably challenged trainer to date The mighty SFX: XD BlackDjeffgo: Your best friend is a serious ADHD kid BlackDjeffgo: And you get TWO rivals BlackDjeffgo: the ADHD kid and the opposite gender'd trainer The mighty SFX: But the Opposite Gender'd trainer never fights you The mighty SFX: The ADHD kid's timing is even worse The mighty SFX: It's like, you're chasing a galactic grunt, and suddenly he runs into you and is like "HOW ABOUT A BATTLE, LoLZ" The mighty SFX: And you pwn him because all he has are pokemon that should have evolved 10 levels ago BlackDjeffgo: For obvious reasons, in my save file, the ADHD kid is named after my co-host... The mighty SFX: ..... The mighty SFX: I DO NOT HAVE ADHD The mighty SFX: PROVE I DO D: BlackDjeffgo: Hey, look, a Bidoof! The mighty SFX: .... The mighty SFX: No, u. Smacks Jeff with a Fish BlackDjeffgo: Laughs Anyways, the hyper-active rival also has this annoying tendency of charging into you at full-speed BlackDjeffgo: However, since you're not a Pokemon, you take no damage for it... The mighty SFX: And he also has a tendency to demand you meet him somewhere and threatens to fine you 10 million if you're late The mighty SFX: Real funny kid The mighty SFX: You know what else is funny? The mighty SFX: Me kicking you in the balls The mighty SFX: YOUR BALLS, MY FOOT. HA HA HA! HILARITY ENSUES! BlackDjeffgo: The enemy team this time is Team Galactic. As we mentioned, they have bowl cuts, Bidoof, and Zubat and leaders who look like rejects from Dragon Ball and Inuyasha The mighty SFX: And they want to use the Powers of Dialga and Palkia... The mighty SFX: Some dinosaur-dog-things that control Space and Time The mighty SFX: I don't care. The mighty SFX: Jeff, what are you betting on the name of the third version of third generation? BlackDjeffgo: Something about starting a "New World" or something taken from MegaMan X8 or something like that. BlackDjeffgo: Of course there will be. Nintendo likes money. The mighty SFX: The NAME The mighty SFX: THE NAME The mighty SFX: LISTEN TO ME DAMN YOU BlackDjeffgo: But what comes after Diamond and Pearl, I don't know. Since diamond is a gem and pearls aren't... The mighty SFX: fine The mighty SFX: It'll be all about Giratina, the Giraffe-Dog-Ghost-Dragon whatever The mighty SFX: Gamefreak....really isn't trying much anymore with some of these pokemon BlackDjeffgo: They used up all their good ideas in the GBA generation... BlackDjeffgo: Now we're left with... Bidoof. The mighty SFX: But Bidoof kicks (No swearing) The mighty SFX: so we can forgive them BlackDjeffgo: I suppose. BlackDjeffgo: And the new features of D/P involve your wrist watch. The mighty SFX: The Pokewatch, or Poketch. BlackDjeffgo: With the least user-friendly interface yet! BlackDjeffgo: You have like 50 Poketch applications. You have 1 button that moves you up by 1 each time you hit it. BlackDjeffgo: Did you hear that scream? That was your patience. BlackDjeffgo: Being torn in half. The mighty SFX: >_< The mighty SFX: Actually, there are only half as many The mighty SFX: LET'S DIG EACH ONE OUT AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM BlackDjeffgo: Oh, and now you can get random ribbons for nonsensical stuff for your Pokemon. BlackDjeffgo: Some crazy lady asks you random stuff The mighty SFX: You got ribbons in third generation, just not that many BlackDjeffgo: I just answer "Bidoof" to everything and get free ribbons. The mighty SFX: There's One ribbon which I dub the "WAY TOO MUCH FREE TIME" Ribbon The mighty SFX: Since you need 999,999 money to get it The mighty SFX: Anyway, the Poketch The mighty SFX: Here are the features one by one The mighty SFX: 1: Digital Clock, for those who don't have any clocks in their immediate area...which is probably impossible BlackDjeffgo: Toki wo tomare. The mighty SFX: #2: Calculator. Yeah, because I could totally see someone bringing in a video game to do their math. Damn, I should actually try that during math class. The mighty SFX: And no, you can't divide by zero BlackDjeffgo: This gives you "?????" The mighty SFX: Yesh The mighty SFX: 3: Memo Pad: In case you need to write something down. But it sucks BlackDjeffgo: It's worthless. The mighty SFX: 4: Step Counter: This traces how much you've moved during the game. Its only use is to let you know how close you are to hatching an egg, really BlackDjeffgo: "Note to..." delete "Self..." delete "Get bigger..." delete "Note..." delete "Pad..." BlackDjeffgo: For those of us who give a rip about Poke-eggs The mighty SFX: 5: Your Party: SOMETHING THAT'S USEFUL! This shows your team, if they're holding an item, and a rough estimate of how much health they have left, without having to go into the menu. FINALLY, SOMETHING I'D USE BlackDjeffgo: I can't think of anything funny to say. It's actually helpful. Poking them lets you hear their sound. The mighty SFX: 6: Happiness Checker: This is a semi-decent indicator for those Pokemon who evolve by happiness. One small heart means they're okay with you, two small hearts means they like you, and two big hearts mean they love you BlackDjeffgo: Mine all give me the finger... The mighty SFX: 7: Itemfinder: FINALLY, I CAN SEARCH FOR ITEMS WITHOUT HAVING TO CONSTANTLY GO INTO MY ITEMS BlackDjeffgo: I've lost the bleeps, the creeps and the sweeps... The mighty SFX: 8: Berry checker. This is good if you need to find berries. This tells you what plants have bloomed and where they are. Nifty! BlackDjeffgo: If you actually plant them and don't just horde them all for yourself like I do. The mighty SFX: 9: Breeding Center Checker. This displays who of your pokemon are in the Breeding place, what level they're at, and if you have two pokemon, if they've been.."busy" BlackDjeffgo: I'm going to abstain from comment this time. The mighty SFX: 10: Pokemon History: Shows you the last 12 Pokemon you obtained through any means. Useless BlackDjeffgo: "Wow! I caught a Bidoof once upon a time! How helpful and insightful!" The mighty SFX: 11: Counter. Press the button and the number goes up one. Woo. BlackDjeffgo: Only fun for algebra teachers. The mighty SFX: Really only useful for EV Trainers The mighty SFX: 12: Analogue Clock. WHY DO WE NEED TWO CLOCKS BlackDjeffgo: Cuz I stopped the first one. Hence the "Toki wo Tomare"... The mighty SFX: 13: Marking Map: This tells you "YOU ARE HERE" and also allows you to place markings in the event you're a dumb [I am a potty mouth] and need to remember where to go. It's also the only way to hunt the two traveling legendaries. BlackDjeffgo: "How did I end up on the moon? I'm pretty sure I was on route 201 just now..." The mighty SFX: 14: Wireless Searcher: This thing basically says "SOMEONE ACTUALLY PITIES YOU ENOUGH TO WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU!" BlackDjeffgo: "This thing never works... or..." The mighty SFX: 15: Coin Flip: For the indecisive people BlackDjeffgo: "What? It landed on its side AGAIN?!" The mighty SFX: 16: Type Chart: This tells you if something is effective or not against another type. Really, you should all know this stuff by now... BlackDjeffgo: "WHAT?! I didn't know water beat fire! Crap! Now I have to re-work everything..." The mighty SFX: 17: Calendar. Another useless feature BlackDjeffgo: I hate Mondays, so I poke them. The mighty SFX: 18: Drawing Board: If I wanted a challenging puzzle, I wouldn't be playing Pokemon for it. The mighty SFX: That's what it is. BlackDjeffgo: Back to the drawing board! The mighty SFX: You get a picture, it gets scrambled, and you have to piece it together The mighty SFX: 19: Roulette: Useless, moving along... BlackDjeffgo: It's amusing for like 2 seconds... The mighty SFX: 20: Pokeradar Checker: This tells you how many times you saw the same Pokemon in a row. Useless. Moving along BlackDjeffgo: Hey! ANOTHER Bidoof! Today must be my lucky day! The mighty SFX: :B The mighty SFX: 21: Kitchen Timer: For those mothers who want to cook and play Pokemon at the same time. BlackDjeffgo: Oh dear! I only have 45 seconds left on this cake, but this mother f**ing gym leader is going DOWN! The mighty SFX: 22: Color Changer: Incase you want a different color to look at while running through all these features, half of which useless BlackDjeffgo: Why are there~ so many~ songs about rainbows~ and what's on the other siiiiiide? The mighty SFX: The Next Three are Nintendo Events, so nobody gives a [I am a potty mouth] The mighty SFX: They suck anyway BlackDjeffgo: But they print money! The mighty SFX: One determines how much wild secks two of your pokemon want to have The mighty SFX: The other is a stopwatch BlackDjeffgo: Oh dear... The mighty SFX: And the other is an Alarm Clock The mighty SFX: So you can try to time how long it takes for your Daycare pokemon to hump each other and produce an egg The mighty SFX: That's..it BlackDjeffgo: ... BlackDjeffgo: Nope. Got nothing. Not touching that with a 20-foot-long pole. The mighty SFX: Also, Evolutions can now be determined by Gender The mighty SFX: so you guys shouldn't have Male Gardevoirs. << BlackDjeffgo: Not saying it. NEXT! BlackDjeffgo: The biggest upside to the DS-era games is the BIG update in graphics and sound The mighty SFX: And also slightly more 3-D ish environments The mighty SFX: Bad news: There's FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE [I am a potty mouth] POKEMON NOW The mighty SFX: AND ABOUT 85% OF THOSE POKEMON SUCK The mighty SFX: ...ahem* BlackDjeffgo: He's basically right, y'know. Most of them are either horrendously ugly, waste of space, or both. The mighty SFX: Except Bidoof The mighty SFX: He's so bad he flips around and become awsum BlackDjeffgo: Like when you get the super high scores in old arcade games The mighty SFX: Or if you get to Level 255 in Pac-man The mighty SFX: Also, there's now a time of day, which... The mighty SFX: Determines all of nothing The mighty SFX: The pokemon appear any time of day The mighty SFX: So...yeah The mighty SFX: Except for maybe some dumb event for a ribbon The mighty SFX: It does nothing The mighty SFX: But change the appearance outside BlackDjeffgo: These ribbons are simply /Pegasus/ FABULOUS! /Pegasus/ The mighty SFX: And also, The Fourth Generation has the dumbest [I am a potty mouth] pokemon ever The mighty SFX: Phione, which is the only pokemon which is the baby variation of a legendary The mighty SFX: The Manaphy baby, in essence The mighty SFX: Except it's weaker than Manaphy and doesn't evolve into one The mighty SFX: So the whole purpose of having it is so you have an inferior pokemon in your party The mighty SFX: Really worth the effort The mighty SFX: Totally... The mighty SFX: I Must admit, I do like the battle system though The mighty SFX: Although Animations for separate Pokemon take too long sometimes, controlling battle is fairly easy The mighty SFX: You can utilize the touch screen to issue commands and toggle through items The mighty SFX: A new feature is also the ability to use the item you used last without having to go through your item list BlackDjeffgo: Which helps during long battles of trying to capture legendaries and the like The mighty SFX: That's...about it, isn't it? BlackDjeffgo: Well, there is one last thing I want to mention - the Underground The mighty SFX: All you, Jeff BlackDjeffgo: Very well - sometime in the second or third town, you're given a pack that allows you to rip a hole in space and leap down to an elaborate cave system below the region. BlackDjeffgo: There are no trainers, nor wild pokemon, but rather an oppertunity to hunt for rare items, use a different form of (rather annoying) currency, and build your own secret base rather than waste a Pokemon attack to do so above ground. BlackDjeffgo: It's a nice change of pace, but easily forgetable, as we've proven. BlackDjeffgo: So, that's just about it for specifics. Okay, Sean, onto overalls. BlackDjeffgo: Overall best game in your opinion? The mighty SFX: Ehhh....Hard to say, really. The mighty SFX: I would be inclined to say Fourth Generation due to some cool features and the Wi-fi access BlackDjeffgo: I'd put my vote on Pokemon Emerald, myself. BlackDjeffgo: Overall lowest quality of the franchise? The mighty SFX: First Generation because of all of its glitches BlackDjeffgo: I'd agree. BlackDjeffgo: Best new-generation pokemon? The mighty SFX: :B The mighty SFX: BIDOOF BlackDjeffgo: :B BlackDjeffgo: And finally, which Pokemon is your favorite? The mighty SFX: Hmmm... The mighty SFX: Snorlax, because it's lazy, sleeps all the time, and eats all the time The mighty SFX: JUST LIKE ME BlackDjeffgo: I'd say mine is Flygon, cuz it's powerful, aesthetically appealing, and immune to like 3 different elements BlackDjeffgo: Or, alternatively, there's always BIDOOF. The mighty SFX: :B BlackDjeffgo: :B BlackDjeffgo: And before we go... BlackDjeffgo: BIDOOF SALUTE! BlackDjeffgo: :B The mighty SFX: :B The mighty SFX: Also The mighty SFX: There are many Spin-offs in the Pokemon Series The mighty SFX: All of them, save for like two or three suck The mighty SFX: Maybe we'll rant about those some other time The mighty SFX: Maybe... BlackDjeffgo: But not right now. BlackDjeffgo: Good night, everybody! The mighty SFX: Leave Feedback.. The mighty SFX: And maybe give us money The mighty SFX: so we can buy more games... BlackDjeffgo: Please? The mighty SFX: and review them BlackDjeffgo: For you, of course. BlackDjeffgo: Totally selfless request. The mighty SFX: Yes! Indeed! The mighty SFX: And who knows! The mighty SFX: Maybe next time it'll be something else we go on about that ISN'T A game! With us, you can never tell The mighty SFX: Anyways, this is Sean, Masta of all that is Orange. BlackDjeffgo: For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff. BlackDjeffgo: Peace out, and Bidoof to all.



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:44 PM Post #2
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	The mighty SFX: Hello thar, everyone! It is I, Sean-Man! Has been playing Megaman 7 lately BlackDjeffgo: And for Gaming Overkill - I'm Viewtiful Jeff. Today we're here to discsuss Final Fantasy - Square's brainchild and favorite little cashcow. The mighty SFX: Yes, Final Fantasy...Was once a great series! But now it's been reduced to overrated games that get belched out every few months when Square needs some easy money. BlackDjeffgo: Make up some crap, throw in some Moogles and some Chocobos and you got Final Fantasy Whatevernumberthey'reonatthetime The mighty SFX: I'm sure one of the last things that'll happen before we die is the announcing of Final Fantasy 9630. BlackDjeffgo: But we're not here to complain about that. We're here to discuss the series before it became an infamous lineage over over-rated mediocre games. The mighty SFX: Starting with the very beginning! Final Fantasy I, or just Final Fantasy BlackDjeffgo: Said name was given unto the franchise due to Square's lack of being able to make a game worth playing. In a last-ditch attempt, Square decided to gamble it all away on an RPG to rival the famous Dragon Warrior games which had already established a name for themselves on Nintendo's first console. The mighty SFX: Final Fantasy sets us in a world where the earth is rotting, the seas are running wild, and the wind has died. The Four Fiends have been causing disorder in the world, and it is up to four heroes, each carrying an ORB BlackDjeffgo: Or, crystal, as the later, innumerable remakes would later say. Anyways, one of the most immediate details worth mentioning is how a new game begins. You get four heroes that you get to name, as well pick their class. The mighty SFX: One complaint I have to make is that you only had four letters to go by The mighty SFX: That was fine if we wanted to use our names, cause we have simple four-letter names The mighty SFX: Sean and Jeff. BlackDjeffgo: But if you were named "Roger" or "Holly" you're just out of luck. You're now "Roge" and "Holl". Or potentially "Holy". BlackDjeffgo: And good luck if you come from Poland. Yngwie Malmsteen, anybody? BlackDjeffgo: The remakes attended to this issue, but that's not the point. The point is, you only had four letters. Get used to it. The mighty SFX: You also had Six classes to go by, and one thing I did like was the ability to have any combination you wanted. The mighty SFX: We have: The mighty SFX: The Fighter: High attack, defense, and HP...I admit, the fighter seems a bit broken in this game. BlackDjeffgo: The Monk: High attack and HP, and was cheap to equip. Though he receives no upgrades during his class change, he can kick a lot of tail. This one's pretty broken too. The mighty SFX: Actually, The Monk sucks a bit early game, and his low defense does become an issue later on. He is broken if you max him out, but otherwise he has his faults like everyone else...except the broken fighters, moving along... The mighty SFX: Thief: The Thief is speedy, being one of the fastest to be able to land multiple hits, and is good when you need to run like a [I am a potty mouth]. sorry though, Stealing didn't exist yet, so that's..about it BlackDjeffgo: The White Mage: This androgynous aid has mystical powers to heal your team if you get your butt handed to you. Though they suffered from the same issue as their counter-parts, the Black Mages, with terribly low HP and defense, this helper was a vital part of any team. And, some think it's a girl, so that may be bonus, who knows? The mighty SFX: The Black Mage: The main offensive spell casters. While having worse HP than a White Mage, and bad defense, they are invaluable because spells are the ONLY WAY to hit multiple targets. Later in the game where you have five-six enemies on your tail, these guys are great! BlackDjeffgo: Finally, the Red Mage: the jack-of-all trades. The Red Mages are godsends early on, being able to equip fighter-quality weapons and use spells from both the white and black libraries (which was a nice deal, as most of the extra spells sucked). They're biggest weakness stems from the fact they aren't GOOD at anything. Just so-so. The mighty SFX: Now, the game opens up with you just showing up in front of a town with NOTHING. Haul your butt to town and buy some supplies. Towns have several shops. The ones to look out for are the Weapons shops (with a plaque of a Sword), the Armor Shops (Shield), Magic Shops (These Blue and Black Backgrounds with an odd symbol on the front), an Inn (INN), an Item Shop (Potion) and a Church (Heart), that's right, Inns don't revive. Gotta revive them separately for a nice chunk of change, and even then they come back with 1 HP. Try not to die too much....because the money early on that's spent on it can be used on so many better things BlackDjeffgo: Now, the graphics are nice for they're time, and they're bright and colorful, as well as fairly detailed for being early NES material. The mighty SFX: I do have to complain, that some graphics are a bit...off. I swear, the mountains in this game look like giant mounds of ice cream with chocolate syrup over them..at least, to me they do BlackDjeffgo: Right, but the primary thing worth noting is that, compared to its peer - Dragon Warrior - this kind of graphical level was revolutionary BlackDjeffgo: Now, I'm not saying Dragon Warrior sucked... BlackDjeffgo: oh wait... BlackDjeffgo: yes I am. That game DID suck. The mighty SFX: Calm down, we're not here to rant about Dragon Warrior... The mighty SFX: for now... The mighty SFX: FORESHADOWING BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, next up to bat was the audio BlackDjeffgo: The music was great - again - for its time. This was also the game that gave us the original Final Fantasy victory theme known and loved throughout the gaming culture. The mighty SFX: I find myself occasionally humming the battle theme, myself. Dunno why, I guess it's just catchy BlackDjeffgo: The music itself is catchy, but complaints do arise later in the game when you realize - hey, I've heard this before. The music is good, but there's just not enough variety. In fact, the final boss doesn't even have his own music - instead it gets the typical boss fanfare. Way to overachieve, Square. The mighty SFX: Jeff makes a good point, sometimes it just gets really repetitive. BlackDjeffgo: The music isn't bad, but there could've and should've been more tracks. Again, later games did fix this complaint, but we're not talking later. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the gameplay was pretty standard RPG fare, akin to Dragon Warrior, again, but even though it followed the template of another game, Final Fantasy's simple and user-friendly interface set the standard for RPG's for decades to come. The mighty SFX: In this game, you can actually SEE THE SPRITES OF YOUR CHARACTERS! ZOMG BlackDjeffgo: Right, and a single button replaced DW's clumsy and irritating menu system, and, thank God, everybody spoke plain English. The mighty SFX: One thing that was a bit confusing was that Potions were separated from items and became part of a Drink Command The mighty SFX: I suppose that's because there were only three potions in the game The mighty SFX: HP restoring Potions, Poison Curing Potions, and Stone Curing Potions BlackDjeffgo: Not sure why they did that, but thankfully, later games didn't. BlackDjeffgo: Now it's time for JEFF'S USELESS VIDEO GAME TRIVIA! BlackDjeffgo: In the original NES version of Final Fantasy, using a cabin fully healed your party's HP and MP and let you save anywhere, anytime BlackDjeffgo: Problems emerged, though, when people realized that the cabin saved the game prior to restoring the HP and MP values BlackDjeffgo: Thus, the game was saved but your party was still in the shape it was prior to using the cabin! The mighty SFX: The only way to fix that was to save again by using another item like that, for example, the much cheaper tent BlackDjeffgo: The game plays, largely, either on the overworld where everything is done by the "A" (confirm) or "B" (cancel) BlackDjeffgo: Wherein battle, everything is handled in a menu format. The mighty SFX: One thing that I hated was that if you accidentally pressed A anywhere where there was nothing to interact with, you would get a text box stating: Nothing's here The mighty SFX: No, really? Nothing's here? I couldn't have guessed! BlackDjeffgo: The game wanted to make sure that all us stupid gamers could understand that out in the middle of nowhere "Nothing's here" The mighty SFX: yes, yes... The mighty SFX: Another annoying flaw was that if two characters targeted an enemy, and the first attack killed it, the second attack would basically swat at the air BlackDjeffgo: And this wouldn't be corrected until Final Fantasy 3, which wasn't released for American NES's, so American's had to wait 'til Final Fantasy 4 (initially released as FF2) before getting this upgrade. BlackDjeffgo: But in spite of these flaws, the game was fun - that doubled with the fact Nintendo Power practically FORCED it down our throats - it did well and gave birth to a sequel game - Final Fantasy 2. The "Hotel Mario" of the Final Fantasy franchise until the PlayStation release of FF8 - which even two system generations later managed to suck worse than a flat and boring NES game. You can take this one, Sean. The mighty SFX: Yeah, because I actually played two in spite of its awkward-ness The mighty SFX: The second game opens up where a time of peace in the world is about to come to an end. The empire known as Palamecia has begun a campaign of world conquest, lead by its powerful emperor, who is called Emperor. Your main four characters are orphans fleeing from the Rebel City of Fynn, when they are attacked by the Emperor's Knights The mighty SFX: The game literally starts you right off the bat, in a fight you cannot win The mighty SFX: I've tried. The mighty SFX: You can't BlackDjeffgo: Orphans seem to be a recurring theme in RPG's. Why, I must wonder. The mighty SFX: If you actually DON'T miss, you'll do 0 damage The mighty SFX: And they deal 700 damage to your 30-40 HP characters The mighty SFX: Did they REALLY have to send four of one of the highest tiered enemies in the game to defeat them? The mighty SFX: Anyway, let's get on to the subjects The mighty SFX: Audibly, The game is similar to Final Fantasy I, good tracks, but just not that much variety. and bosses STILL have the same music The mighty SFX: Graphically, the game is also the EXACT SAME as the first game, as far as the overworld goes. there were actually a few new sprites for the battle screens, and each character has a facial portrait. But still, it was a really weak improvement overall The mighty SFX: Now for the real meat: Gameplay The mighty SFX: This "unique" gameplay here is what makes FF2 the Black sheep of the series The mighty SFX: Levels are a thing of the past with this game The mighty SFX: Your actions determine how you level up? Beat many opponents down? Strength goes up? Get your (No swearing) handed to you? Endurance goes up. Fight with swords? Sword proficiency goes up The mighty SFX: Interesting concept, terrible execution The mighty SFX: The concept itself was good, because it made your characters very customizable The mighty SFX: The execution was bad because it took too many battles just to raise the stat a little The mighty SFX: Now it's time for SEAN'S USELESS VIDEO GAME TRIVIA BlackDjeffgo: Geez, I let you review one flippin' game and you're already walking all over my schtick... The mighty SFX: You see, when you pick an action, the game already acknowledges that toward your growth. By canceling, you stop that action, but the acknowledgment of growth stays. So by Choosing to FIGHT, and canceling that action, it acts as if you actually attacked once. So by repeating this, you can level up quickly in one battle The mighty SFX: And honestly, I would have done that myself had I known of it The mighty SFX: Another problem with execution is that the bosses have WAY TOO MUCH DEFENSE BlackDjeffgo: We don't just review games, we also promote morals. BlackDjeffgo: Cheating is bad, kids. The mighty SFX: There's no point in trying to become a physical fighter because everything in the game will rape you if you do BlackDjeffgo: This game is bad. Really bad. So bad, in fact, it wasn't even brought to America until Square released Final Fantasy 7 here. Fans picked up on the numbering inconsistencies and wanted to know why - and since internet was just starting, we were finally able to go on-line and realize we had been jipped three games - 2, 3 and 5. The mighty SFX: Instead of saying: WHAT THE [I am a potty mouth] HAPPENED TO FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX?! you should have been saying: WHAT THE [I am a potty mouth] HAPPENED TO TWO, THREE AND FIVE?! BlackDjeffgo: Basically, yes. Speaking of three, that's next in line, and also the most recently re-released FF game to the Nintendo DS, for those of us who don't believe in pirating. The mighty SFX: Remember kids! Pirating is bad! The mighty SFX: ...hides ROM folder BlackDjeffgo: ... hides his too Anyways, three was the first game to feature a flexible class system, which made it somewhat of a staple in the Japanese FF series. The mighty SFX: For the record, we're going by the DS re-release because that's the one we're both most familiar with The mighty SFX: Final Fantasy III opens up with some stupid kid falling into a hole in a cave. BlackDjeffgo: Right. Inside, he runs into a horde of angry beasties, then meets with a talking rock. The mighty SFX: Crystal, but yeah, just about The mighty SFX: It tells him that he must gather three other stupid children so that they can save the world from darkness The mighty SFX: And then you get warped outside BlackDjeffgo: And, ironically, they're ALL orphans and ALL heroes of light. BlackDjeffgo: Go fig, right? This is TOTALLY not a re-hash of FF1 and 2, right? The mighty SFX: And when you go back to the cave, you find that hole you fell in to be in plain sight and really hard to fall in unless you're an idiot The mighty SFX: Once you gather your four stupid orphans, you are gifted with the powers of the crystal, giving you classes! BlackDjeffgo: Well, you gather the other Lil' Orphan Idiots (tm) you begin to tinker with these classes and their intricacies. The first batch should be familiar - they're the same classes available in the first game. The mighty SFX: And that's your intro! The mighty SFX: On to specific subjects BlackDjeffgo: On the NES version, 3 was IDENTICAL to 1 and 2 in terms of graphics. The mighty SFX: And Music. The mighty SFX: But at least 3 introduced separate boss battle music BlackDjeffgo: Which was a plus, in spite of just how uncreative the bosses were. BlackDjeffgo: I'm going to spoil it all for you. The final boss - was a ghost. BlackDjeffgo: That's right. A flippin' ghost. BlackDjeffgo: BFD, right? The mighty SFX: a Naked Lady Ghost. The mighty SFX: With Tentacles...[I am a potty mouth]in' Japan BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the only REAL difference from the previous titles is that you can change jobs at will. The mighty SFX: In the NES game, it was based on Capacity Points earned in battle, and the cost was dependent on from what job to what. The mighty SFX: In the DS version, there was a cooldown period that was determined by what job to what BlackDjeffgo: It's too elaborate to even bother explaining. The mighty SFX: Time for SEAN'S TOTALLY USELESS TRIVIA AGAIN BlackDjeffgo: You wasted no time stealing my thunder. The mighty SFX: For the record, the battle cooldowns don't have to be won fights. You can just encounter anything and run and it counts The mighty SFX: Also, Three added something to the actual battle system The mighty SFX: First off, if one person kills an enemy that someone else targeted too, it redirects. The mighty SFX: THANK GOD BlackDjeffgo: Unfortunately, America didn't see that, as I said, 'til FF4 BlackDjeffgo: Which happens to be the next title on our list. The mighty SFX: For the kids today, you have NO IDEA how good you have it BlackDjeffgo: Seriously. BlackDjeffgo: But if you were smart and just skipped FF2, you only had to deal with it once. The mighty SFX: And yes, I'm old enough now to speak to "The Kids", because I PLAYED The old school games The mighty SFX: I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE that today's generation of young gamers have it easy The mighty SFX: Jeff does, too. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, Final Fantasy 4, released in America as FF2, was the first FF title on the Super Nintendo The mighty SFX: Hey! The mighty SFX: I wasn't finished BlackDjeffgo: Get on with it, then. The mighty SFX: Final Fantasy III also introduced displaying the numbers beside the enemy instead of putting it in a text box, which very much contributed to the hastening of gameplay The mighty SFX: The game also introduced summoning The mighty SFX: Alright, now I'm done BlackDjeffgo: Excellent. As I was saying, FF4 introduced a set cast of characters, all led by a Dark Knight named Cecil. The mighty SFX: The game opens with the airship military fleet of the Kingdom of Baron, known as the Red Wings The mighty SFX: The Red Wings are heading to Mysidia, the town of the mages, to forcefully rip the crystal of water from them. BlackDjeffgo: Cecil begins questioning his ruler's methods when he realizes that the mages didn't even put up a resistance, though they were under order to kill them all. The mighty SFX: When he confronts the King, he is stripped from his position as commander of the Red Wings, and is reduced to becoming a delivery boy. BlackDjeffgo: He and his best friend, Kain (a dragoon), are sent out with a package, which sets the stage for the rest of the game's events. The mighty SFX: The Music in this game is the complete and utter step up from Final Fantasy III That we were waiting for BlackDjeffgo: Definitely. The boss music is definitely held as one of the best themes the FF series has had. BlackDjeffgo: Also, the graphics, rather than borrowing from their predecessors, are entirely new sprites, representing whoever is "On point" (in the front of the line) BlackDjeffgo: The graphics are vivid, detailed and colorful, and a BIG step in the right direction The mighty SFX: Yes, The Music AND the Graphics are a wonderful step up BlackDjeffgo: The game also differs from previous titles by having Cecil your only constant character and even then he himself changes as the story goes on. By the end of the game you'll have ended up with a dozen different characters with multiple party set-ups. The mighty SFX: The Actual fighting system is not as "unique" as its predecessors, but considering Final Fantasy II, that's not actually a bad thing BlackDjeffgo: Right. And each character has a unique in-battle action for them. BlackDjeffgo: Now it's time for JEFF'S USELESS VIDEO GAME TRIVIA! BlackDjeffgo: FF4 is different in that there are actually two versions of the game. One of which is the "hard" mode, where you have unique moves and the game is generall much more difficult. There's an "easy" version wherein you have no special moves, but the game is much simpler (and tends to suck a bit more as a result). BlackDjeffgo: Why this happened is anybody's guess. It was a bad move and nobody liked the 'easy' version. BlackDjeffgo: It was also FF4 that gave way for some of video gaming's classic one-liners. The mighty SFX: YOU SPOONY BARD! BlackDjeffgo: Jump, Kain, jump and stop her spin! BlackDjeffgo: And so on. BlackDjeffgo: In general, the game is held in high regard among the fanbase, but the best was yet to come. Next up to bat - FF5. The mighty SFX: When Men were Men and ch1ks could be pirates! The mighty SFX: Oops, Spoiler << BlackDjeffgo: Oh dear... BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the game is a lot of fun, taking elements from older games and using them to great effect. BlackDjeffgo: The story was simple and smooth, with few real "shocking" moments BlackDjeffgo: Unlike FF4, where murder and betrayel were pretty common - FF5 instead opens us up with a King heading to the Wind Shrine to check on the Crystal of the same Affinity BlackDjeffgo: A pirate becomes worried about the wind's dying, and an old man exclaims his need to hurry onward BlackDjeffgo: A meteorite slams down near the camp of a young adventurer who has a unique sprite so, of course, he's our main character BlackDjeffgo: The 'hero' quickly picks up the princess, the awesome old man, and a pirate as his teammates and get to the Wind Shrine BlackDjeffgo: There, they witness the aftermath of the Wind Crystal having shattered, and then pick up the pieces (literally) BlackDjeffgo: Whereby they get - surprise - job classes The mighty SFX: And thus, their journey begins to stop the evil The mighty SFX: Sounds familiar, right? BlackDjeffgo: Graphically - the game is only a small bit better than FF4 BlackDjeffgo: They at least had the decency of removing the hideous character portraits, though BlackDjeffgo: Until the GBA remake, where someone who hated FF5 did the portraits. The mighty SFX: Hey, I liked some of the FF4 Portraits D: BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the music was stellar. Taking what they learned from FF4, Square improved the music and really made it work well The mighty SFX: I completely loved the dramatic feel of the boss music. BlackDjeffgo: Totally. The mighty SFX: Now, on to Gameplay BlackDjeffgo: Right. As said, the job system returns, but in a more refined way The mighty SFX: Yes. The mighty SFX: You can pick a Job, and as you fight, you gain Ability Points The mighty SFX: This would level up that person's proficiency with said class. With Each level up, you get a new skill from that class. The mighty SFX: Now, the fun part here is that if you were to switch classes, you could set that same skill as your secondary ability The mighty SFX: A major part of the game becomes properly mixing and matching skills to your advantage BlackDjeffgo: Exactly. Doing so can give you a great edge. BlackDjeffgo: The game continues with tradition in that the battles are simple menu-based ordeals BlackDjeffgo: And the story is what moves things along BlackDjeffgo: The game offers a lot of diversity and some fights that require... gasp shock horror THINKING! The mighty SFX: Yes. The mighty SFX: Several fights, if you don't think them through, will end in you getting your [I am a potty mouth] kicked without knowing what the [I am a potty mouth] happened CoughAtmosCough BlackDjeffgo: Right. So all-in-all, FF5 was a great game, and I have few complaints. BlackDjeffgo: However, the best of the classics was the next in line The mighty SFX: Gilgamesh FTW The mighty SFX: And now we fight like men! And ladies! And ladies who dress like men! BlackDjeffgo: Heh heh. Yes. Anyways, the next title was originally released in America under the moniker of FF3, when in reality, it was actually the sixth installment The mighty SFX: I'm going to let Jeff take over since I didn't even get halfway through the game, and he knows it so much better than I BlackDjeffgo: The game definitely has the deepest story plot of any of the FF's thus far, and introduces, rather than a class system, an enormous cast of characters yet unsurpassed in any FF title afterwards (except maybe Tactics, but it's not considered part of the mainstream) BlackDjeffgo: I'm not going to go into depth - save me some breath and go play it yourself. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the graphics are the biggest improvement to the series yet seen The mighty SFX: Yeah, there are tons of characters BlackDjeffgo: It also became the first and only FF game until Final Fantasy 9 to use the same graphics for in and out of battle for the characters The mighty SFX: Jeff totally lurves Celes, but he probably won't openly admit to that because everyone will think he's a nerd. he'll probably delete this, too. BlackDjeffgo: Celes is an awesome character who falls for the most awesome Final Fantasy character ever - Locke. The mighty SFX: Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you name Locke after yourself in the games? Hmmmm....coincedence? BlackDjeffgo: I plead the fifth. The mighty SFX: That means yes BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the music is arguably the best the series has so far seen - ranging with different boss musics, overworld tunes, character theme songs The mighty SFX: Ordinarily I'd say Jeff is a bit biased when it comes to this game, but it is true BlackDjeffgo: And beyond a shadow of a doubt the best FF villain yet was in fact, Kefka. The mighty SFX: SON OF A SUBMARINER! BlackDjeffgo: By the way, you never fight Sephiroth in FF7 - it's a clone made my Jenova cells, so it's not ACTUALLY Sephy ever. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, Kefka is like David Bowie, but gayer and more evil BlackDjeffgo: Kefka also has awesome one-liners as well BlackDjeffgo: As Sean has demostrated The mighty SFX: And he also has his own laughing sound effect BlackDjeffgo: Which is a first among the FF games - unique, character-specific SFX The mighty SFX: Did someone call me? BlackDjeffgo: ... never mind. BlackDjeffgo: Anyhow, 6 is easily top contender for best game of the franchise BlackDjeffgo: This is as far as we're going to go - and we may leave later FF titles for another day. The mighty SFX: Into Overalls? BlackDjeffgo: Definitely. BlackDjeffgo: First - overall best of the first six? The mighty SFX: I pick Five BlackDjeffgo: I'd say six, though five could easily be a close second. BlackDjeffgo: Next - overall best soundtrack? The mighty SFX: Six BlackDjeffgo: I'd agree BlackDjeffgo: Then - overall best one-liner? The mighty SFX: YOU SPOONY BARD! BlackDjeffgo: I'm partial to FF1's "I, Garland, will KNOCK YOU ALL DOWN!" BlackDjeffgo: Overall favorite character? The mighty SFX: Bidoof. BlackDjeffgo: ... BlackDjeffgo: Fair enough. The mighty SFX: :B BlackDjeffgo: Bidoof Salute! :B BlackDjeffgo: So, that wraps up our review of the classic Final Fantasy games. Once again, for Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And this is Sean The mighty SFX: Good night, and Bidoof to all BlackDjeffgo: Peace out.



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:44 PM Post #3
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	BlackDjeffgo: Hey everybody; it's time once again for that ever-radical time where my co-host and I join forces like the Bad Dudes and review us some games. For Gaming Overkill, I'm the always-lovable, smooth and smarmy Jeff. With me, as usual, is my main man, the lightning-in-a-can, guy-I-got-hooked-on-super-robot-anime, Sean! The mighty SFX: Headphones on, facing away ....And one last time to be the one who understands...my soul and my spirit will go on....for all of eternity.... BlackDjeffgo: ... Wow, what a waste of an intro. We here at GmOv do not promote violence, so this scene was cut. And may that be a lesson to you. The mighty SFX: THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH WORDS IN THE DICTIONARY TO DESCRIBE MY PAIN! BlackDjeffgo: You kind of had that one coming. The mighty SFX: Owww....what was that for? I was just listening to music! ;_; BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, we realize we kind of left you guys hanging after our first review on the Nintendo money-maker, Pokemon. We mentioned some of the spin-offs in passing, though we never elaborated on them. Now it's time for our follow-up, where we look over some good and bad spin-offs the series created. There are too many to review in-depth so we picked some personal favorites and least favorites from the pack. The mighty SFX: Wait, wait! The mighty SFX: The review is NOW? The mighty SFX: I thought I said when the pickles crossed the Delaware river and overtook the ketchup packets! BlackDjeffgo: When did you say that? The mighty SFX: Or did I just daydream that? BlackDjeffgo: I think you just made that up just now. The mighty SFX: [I am a potty mouth], does that mean I didn't take over Europe? BlackDjeffgo: ... Anyways, the first game we picked was the GameCube title - Pokemon Colosseum - originally billed as the 'Cube's follow-up to the N64 titles of Pokemon Stadium - which were just fighting sims at their core, and offered no real game of which to speak. The mighty SFX: Yes, but Pokemon Colosseum gave us a game that was actually bad-[I am a potty mouth]! The mighty SFX: Wait.. The mighty SFX: Pokemon? The mighty SFX: Bad[I am a potty mouth]? The mighty SFX: .... The mighty SFX: I THINK THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END The mighty SFX: JUST LIKE WHEN THE ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD FOUND A GAME HE ACTUALLY LIKED BlackDjeffgo: I know that may come as a shock, but he isn't making this up. Pokemon Colosseum was AWESOME. BlackDjeffgo: The game opens with this guy, a trainer, who actually BEGINS with two Pokemon at a decent level, breaking and entering, stealing something from some mob and then BLOWING UP their base as he rides away on his awesome bike. BlackDjeffgo: Not even just a bike. A HOVER MOTORCYCLE. The mighty SFX: Yeah! The Colosseum Hero pwnzes all those loser trainers from the other games BlackDjeffgo: And rather than the traditional Fire-Water-Grass starter, you begin with a Psychic type (Espeon) and a Dark type (Umbreon) and get to pick a similar starter choice later on for your FOURTH team member. The mighty SFX: Yeah. The mighty SFX: Getting Pokemon is different in this game though... BlackDjeffgo: And this time, Oh my God, they actually CHANGED the story and gameplay. The mighty SFX: The Story is, you're a former member of a thieves organization called Team Snagem...which yeah, sucks. You took their snag machine prototype, the only way to catch another trainer's pokemon. The mighty SFX: And you're catching Commie Pokemon...er...Shadow Pokemon The mighty SFX: I'll let our Expert on [I am a potty mouth]holery explain how the Shadow Pokemon process works The mighty SFX: Jeff? BlackDjeffgo: Thank you. A "Shadow" Pokemon is different from a "Dark" type. Basically, these guys began using this method to "Close to the door to the heart" of a Pokemon, basically making it a killing machine with no emotional attachment (which was an awesome idea), but doing this also inhibits the Pokemon from leveling up or learn new attacks - and forces upon them a non-elemented move called "Shadow Rush" which was actually quite helpful, actually. BlackDjeffgo: Basically, the hero is disgusted by this concept, and decides to screw the rules. BlackDjeffgo: Along the way, he meets a young girl who has the gift to see the "aura" emitted by Shadow Pokemon. BlackDjeffgo: And by using the Snag Machine, you're instructed to steal away the Shadow Pokemon for your own use, and to (optionally) Purify them, thus returning their emotions and any experience gained during their Shadow phase. The mighty SFX: To Purify Them, you have to increase their purifying meter, which can be done by calling them to battle, calling them out of Hyper Mode (I'll let Professor [I am a potty mouth] hole handle that too), and by using Massage Cologne or something like that. Or you can insta-purify them with a Time Flute, but there are only like three or four in the game BlackDjeffgo: In battle, the menu is slightly different. Primarily because there are no wild Pokemon in the region the game takes place in (it's a barren desert only recently populated by people) and the fact you can't run from trainer battles the "Run" option has been exchanged for "Call" where the hero yells out the Pokemon's name. This can wake Pokemon up from sleeping, as well as bring them out of "Hyper Mode". Hyper Mode is a side-effect of being a Shadow Pokemon, where they get all angsty and whiny and want to cut themselves and write in a live journal. BlackDjeffgo: By calling them, they calm down, and their purification meter goes up. BlackDjeffgo: When the meter is full, you go to some rock in the girl's hometown, which was blessed by the Pokemon Celebi, and can bring the Pokemon's mind back to the time where it wasn't an emo kid. The mighty SFX: Another time for: Sean rants at idiots who like to make rumors The mighty SFX: Attention Idiots: Eagun, the d00d you meet in the game around the time you get access to the aforementioned rock, IS NOT OLDER ASH UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME JUST BECAUSE HE HAS A PIKACHU AS HIS LOYAL POKEMON FRIEND. Freaking morons.... The mighty SFX: Anyways... BlackDjeffgo: I hadn't heard that one. Anyways, a big change in the gameplay is also the fact that all battles happen in the 2 on 2 format by default. The mighty SFX: Right! Assuming all of your pokemon aren't fainted except for one... The mighty SFX: in which case you're screwed. sorry BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, on to the game itself outside of story - the graphics The mighty SFX: The Graphics are 3-D for this game, and they are quite well done, at least if I do say so myself BlackDjeffgo: Definitely. The animations are smooth and well-done, overworld and in-battle. BlackDjeffgo: The game's unique feature of not being on a hand-held also gave this game the ability to make unique characters for almost everyone. The mighty SFX: Yes, quite. Instead of everyone looking like the same 8 or 9 people BlackDjeffgo: And people actually look the same in the overworld as they do in battle - which was a nice change of pace. The mighty SFX: I concur! Shall we move on to music? BlackDjeffgo: Yes. The audio tracks, for the most part, were taken from the previous games on the GBA. BlackDjeffgo: Though they were re-vamped to be a bit more exciting and deep for the new game. BlackDjeffgo: So it's a mix of nostalgia and familiarity as well as a hint of newness. The mighty SFX: Indeed. There are some new sounds as well, and some battle music is actually, DIFFERENT! GASP BlackDjeffgo: The problem arises from the Pokemon cries. They -still- all sound like crap. The mighty SFX: Yes BlackDjeffgo: The Zubat sound effect has literally not changed since the first-gen games. That's just pure laziness, especially on the GameCube. BlackDjeffgo: That's just one example. BlackDjeffgo: One out of 151, to be exact. BlackDjeffgo: That's right. Not a single one has been altered! The mighty SFX: Wow...I don't really pay attention to the cries though, so I didn't know that BlackDjeffgo: Yeah. I learned to ignore it over time, but it still annoying. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the game also has a challenge mode. The mighty SFX: Which is basically like the Stadium Games BlackDjeffgo: Using Pokemon obtained in the story mode, you go through 100 consecutive battles where saving is just a placeholder. BlackDjeffgo: By clearing this, you unlock Ho-Oh. That legendary from the 2nd games no one ever really cared much about, sans anime fans. The mighty SFX: Also, this is the only way to get Ho-oh without hax The mighty SFX: Unless you're from Japan The mighty SFX: In which case you cannot read this, so I will state: [CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT] BlackDjeffgo: But one of the most satisfying parts of this game was that there were NO FREAKING GYM BADGES nor Elite Four to deal with. Catch Pokemon, fight evil guys, feel good about yourself. Simple as that. The mighty SFX: Get some ch1ks BlackDjeffgo: Exactly. It was simple, it was to the point, and it didn't screw around with useless crap. It was simple. And that was good. The mighty SFX: Some trainers would ninja down from the ceilings to you The mighty SFX: It's like, you're walking down a hallway and BAM! The mighty SFX: Ninja Trainer pops out of nowhere BlackDjeffgo: And unlike past games, there were usually 2nd, and in some cases, infinite chances to capture missed Shadow Pokemon. The mighty SFX: Yeah. The mighty SFX: Most trainers just stayed in their spot The mighty SFX: Those who didn't would appear again somewhere to get the Shadow Pokemon BlackDjeffgo: But... there was a little catch in the system that, once you got the Master Ball, it was easy catching from then on out. The mighty SFX: But you only had one Master Ball.... BlackDjeffgo: It's a simple, and easily re-doable process. BlackDjeffgo: Simply buy some cheap Pokeballs after getting the Master Ball. BlackDjeffgo: Find a Shadow Pokemon, and in your first move select the Master Ball for use. BlackDjeffgo: In your second turn, switch the item slots for the Master and Standard Balls. BlackDjeffgo: You'll always capture the target, but you'll maintain your Master Ball, while the normal Pokeball count goes down by 1. The mighty SFX: Huh... The mighty SFX: I wish we could test that in the Handheld games...but there's only a few places where you can double-wild battle in Diamond and Pearl and most of the Pokemon aren't worth it... BlackDjeffgo: I'm willing to bet Game Freak learned its lesson from Colosseum, since that rumor spread like wildfire once it was found. BlackDjeffgo: Anyhow, another satisfying aspect of the game was simply that it was action-packed. BlackDjeffgo: None of this "Pokemon are not tools of war!" BlackDjeffgo: This game proved to us, once and for all, that they are tools of war. The mighty SFX: Yes. Seriously The mighty SFX: Who says they AREN'T tools of war? BlackDjeffgo: None of this touchy-feely crap the anime pulls on an episodic basis. The mighty SFX: IN THIS EPISODE, ASH FINDS A POWERFUL POKEMON BUT INSTEAD OF CAPTURING IT, HE BEFRIENDS IT AND KEEPS GOING WITH HIS CRAPPY TEAM BlackDjeffgo: Another thing I want to point out is the hero's use of a device called the PDA The mighty SFX: Hahaha PDA. So clever BlackDjeffgo: It replaces the Pokedex, the PokeNav, the Map, and everything all at once. BlackDjeffgo: You don't even NEED to capture the Pokemon to get its data - you only need to see it to get all you need to know. BlackDjeffgo: It also acted as your e-mail system, which is used throughout the story mode. BlackDjeffgo: Frankly, it really is the only device any trainer would ever need, yet we never see it in any of the handheld games... The mighty SFX: Because it's too easy, right? BlackDjeffgo: The only real big downside is that, in spite of the PDA's usefulness, that there's only 30-40 some Pokemon to catch and use in the game, though you can trade out with the 3rd gen game. The mighty SFX: And, for those who had some awesome Colosseum Pokemon: The mighty SFX: Trade them over to the 3rd Gen Games, and from there to 4th Gen! The mighty SFX: Kee Kee Kee...I should do that... The mighty SFX: oh, wait BlackDjeffgo: I'm going to when I can. The mighty SFX: [I am a blasphemous potty mouth], I sent all my worthwhile ones to my Ruby File The mighty SFX: Which got delorted The mighty SFX: >_< BlackDjeffgo: Bummer. The mighty SFX: Meh, I might just make a new file then BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, any last comments on Colosseum, Sean? The mighty SFX: You can't have Bidoof in Colosseum? BlackDjeffgo: ... BlackDjeffgo: :B The mighty SFX: :B BlackDjeffgo: And with that, we wrap up out exciting look into Pokemon Colosseum! Tune in next time where we look into the opposite end of the spectrum - the worst of the worst Pokemon spin-offs. The mighty SFX: shudder The mighty SFX: Which recently had a sequel released too, I may add BlackDjeffgo: You're kidding... The mighty SFX: No BlackDjeffgo: Ugh. The mighty SFX: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Time and Space The mighty SFX: That came out in Japan not too long ago The mighty SFX: North America is still safe from it, I believe BlackDjeffgo: Well, next time, here with us, you'll be seeing our review of the first set of Mystery Dungeon games. The mighty SFX: What little of it we played...even though I did go through beating the story mode The mighty SFX: But that really encompasses 20% of the game The mighty SFX: I'm not kidding you BlackDjeffgo: My co-host has a thing for pain, though. The mighty SFX: Points to his "I Wanna be The Guy" File Yeah, I am The mighty SFX: T_T The mighty SFX: Anyways, That's all The mighty SFX: This is Sean. BlackDjeffgo: For Gaming Overkill, this is Jeff. The mighty SFX: LOVE AND ROCK! LOVE AND ROCK, PEACE! BlackDjeffgo: Peace out and Bidoof to all y'all.



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:45 PM Post #4
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	BlackDjeffgo: Welcome back, once again, to a dual-review, brought to you all courtesy of Gaming Overkill. Hey, I'm Jeff... The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean! We got ourselves all nice and frustrated up on a different game just to provide the maximum rage for this horrible game! BlackDjeffgo: Last time we discussed Pokemon Colosseum. Man... that game was AWESOME. The mighty SFX: And now we're checking the opposite end The mighty SFX: Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon Red and Blue Rescue Teams BlackDjeffgo: Which were horrible abominations to video gaming. The mighty SFX: You start us off, Jeff. BlackDjeffgo: Right. In traditional Pokemon fashion, both versions, in spite of system differences, are the EXACT SAME GAME. You start off with a little personality quiz which is, frankly, the highlight of the game. You really needn't go any further than that. The mighty SFX: This will determine: WHAT POKEMON ARE YOU? The mighty SFX: And no, I'm not breaking into song The mighty SFX: Because Jeff will shoot me The mighty SFX: And it will hurt The mighty SFX: and probably kill me The mighty SFX: ...again BlackDjeffgo: Right. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, after a series of Yes/No questions, you are offered a species - you can accept or reject it (and thus, do it over again). If you accept, you are actually brought into this horrible game. The mighty SFX: You awaken as a Pokemon. The mighty SFX: despite recalling being a human prior to your nap BlackDjeffgo: I ended up being a Charmander, which was pretty cool, admittedly, but the game got bad, REALLY quickly. The mighty SFX: Shortly after, you find a random partner, which is also determined by your little quiz The mighty SFX: Stuff happens, and eventually the game sends you on your first dungeon The mighty SFX: This is where you should just say hi to your off button BlackDjeffgo: Right, because it all goes downhill really fast. The mighty SFX: Let's go to the Gameplay The mighty SFX: Basically, Dungeons go as such The mighty SFX: You move around in a direction. You encounter a Pokemon The mighty SFX: You beat it up The mighty SFX: You move around more, encounter another Pokemon, and beat it up The mighty SFX: In later dungeons, you'll find several pokemon that will gang up on you. The mighty SFX: You beat them up too BlackDjeffgo: Overhead map view on a randomly-generated floor, attacked by randomly-generated enemies. Ouch. Strike 1, Game Freak, you stole this from TECMO's Game Boy Color game - Monster Rancher Battle Cards. Oh, wait. That game was actually fun... The mighty SFX: Occasionally, you'll find trap floors. The mighty SFX: Which are RIGHT THERE IN PLAIN SIGHT The mighty SFX: YOU FIND TRAPS The mighty SFX: THAT ARE SITTING THERE The mighty SFX: LABELED FOR YOU The mighty SFX: WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?! BlackDjeffgo: You can tap the Button to do this pitiful little tackle move, or alternatively call up a menu to do a "Special" attack. This is inevitably pointless, honestly, because if you play in long enough to need specials, then you've played for too far into this monotonous non-adventure. The mighty SFX: The game tries to entice you into the tedium of menu-looking by offering up Extra EXP for use of skills The mighty SFX: Which is a bit unusual, since why would you get bonus EXP for using STRONGER SKILLS? BlackDjeffgo: You level up pretty similarly to the mainstream games, except you can basically game up on single enemies when you have more than yourself available for battle BlackDjeffgo: So the game basically gives you every incentive in the world to fight dirty. The mighty SFX: And sometimes, like I said, in later dungeons, there will be larger groups The mighty SFX: And then that's when it turns from you owning them, to them OWNING YOU The mighty SFX: DSLNSDNHFLSDGNLSFDT)@$&%^#$&^)#$&^%()#^&#%^ I HATE THE FIERY CAVE WITH A PASSION! The mighty SFX: Goes off in the corner to be pissy* BlackDjeffgo: And basically, after the first dungeon, your partner talks you into forming a "Rescue Team" to help Pokemon in need. It's a good idea, in theory, but the gameplay is monotonous and the story is horrendous. Along the way you meet other rescue teams - one of which, if I recall correctly is "Team Meanies" and they want to take over the world. The mighty SFX: Walks back Also, Jeff didn't finish the story, but you eventually get blamed for all the problems in the world and everyone decides to hunt you down and kill you. BlackDjeffgo: Strike 2, Game Freak, for ripping off Final Fantasy Tactics. Oh wait... that game was good too... BlackDjeffgo: But I didn't play in far enough to get to that point. The mighty SFX: And that's the most aggrivating part of the game BlackDjeffgo: I knew crap when I saw it. My unfortunate co-host, though, has a thing for pain. The mighty SFX: You're stuck with you and your partner the entire game The mighty SFX: AND YOU HAVE TO FIGHT BOSSES The mighty SFX: I swear to god I wanted to pull my hair out against Articuno, trying to fight with my !$^ing bulbasaur....... BlackDjeffgo: Right and in this game, Pokemon have, for some reason, forgotten how to evolve. The mighty SFX: They never knew how to evolve, according to the story The mighty SFX: and yet we see fully evolved Pokemon in this game The mighty SFX: So what, they were BORN that way? BlackDjeffgo: Strike 3 for complete and utter crap and plot inconsistency. Way to go. You FAIL, GameFreak and we've only just gotten to the graphics. BlackDjeffgo: The graphics, viewed in the overhead for the most part, with small anime mugshots of each critter are well-rendered The mighty SFX: Yeah, I thought the graphics were good, actually...a bit of a change of pace. BlackDjeffgo: It was pretty refreshing, I have to admit. What about the sound, Sean? The mighty SFX: I didn't have the sound up much, but it was decent. The mighty SFX: Nothing horrible, but nothing to write home about BlackDjeffgo: I agree pretty whole-heartedly. The sound effects were pretty bland, though, where as the music was just kind of unexciting. BlackDjeffgo: This game, in spite of how terrible it was, actually did surprisingly well and SEQUELS have actually been released in Japan. The mighty SFX: Yes, which are probably worse than the previous game The mighty SFX: I don't have a DS emulator, and I REFUSE to shell out money for it when it's released here BlackDjeffgo: I know that may strike you as odd as how a crappy and terrible game coughFinalFantasycough* could possibly sell well on brand name alone coughSquareEnixcough but yet, it seems to be happening anyways. BlackDjeffgo: Back when I had a subscription to GameInformer, the mag put Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in the Top 10 Worst games of the year due to its terrible handling, unbalanced difficulty, lame plot and bland audio/visuals - citing that being able to play as a Pokemon didn't make the game good. BlackDjeffgo: Now, as if this could possibly be much worse, there's some more things to the gameplay that I only just recalled BlackDjeffgo: One of the most frustrating things about this game was a hunger gauge. That's right, venturing into the dungeons wore you out and made you hungry. But they didn't even have the decency to call it such. They give it some dumb name like "Belly" or "Tummy" and you have to collect/buy food so you don't STARVE TO DEATH doing what you'd normally BE doing in all the other installments without eating every 5 steps. The mighty SFX: Yeah, We're tired, folks, so we may not be....all together BlackDjeffgo: Why did they do this to us? We've never had to feed our Pokemon before. They're just little killing machines anyways. So why now? Why? Because, obviously, the game just didn't suck adequetly alone with its monotonous dungeons which can range between 5 and 50 floors of randomly-generated nonsense. The mighty SFX: Yeah, the Hunger thing really becomes an issue on the 99 floor late game dungeons, wherein you need your supplies for HEALING, but you're practically forced to bring items for FOOD The mighty SFX: It's ridiculous BlackDjeffgo: It's a useless concept that only made the game harder than it needed to be. If they removed THAT it would be a step in the right direction, but they'd also need to make a decent plotline, much better gameplay and less monotony for it to even be playable. BlackDjeffgo: Heck, I'd compromise the plotline for better gameplay The mighty SFX: Indeed....the gameplay just does not work..... BlackDjeffgo: That pretty much sums up this disaster-piece. On to the overalls? The mighty SFX: Sure. BlackDjeffgo: Overall Best Aspect of the game? The mighty SFX: ....It isn't worse than the Friday the 13th game? BlackDjeffgo: I'd say either the personality quiz, or maybe the graphics. BlackDjeffgo: Overall Worse Aspect? The mighty SFX: The Gameplay completely BlackDjeffgo: I agree. BlackDjeffgo: Overall lamest facet outside of gameplay? The mighty SFX: The Story was idiotic? BlackDjeffgo: I agree, completely. "Team Meanies"? Did a five-year-old write this story? BlackDjeffgo: Anyhow, this game sucks and giving it a long review is too kind. Any final remarks? The mighty SFX: :B BlackDjeffgo: I should've seen that one coming... BlackDjeffgo: Anyhow, Bidoof Salute! :B . With Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff The mighty SFX: And I'm Tired! Er..Sean! BlackDjeffgo: Peace out and good night to all. BlackDjeffgo: Oh, the ending sucked too.



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:46 PM Post #5
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	The mighty SFX: OBJECTION! I'm Miles Seanworth. BlackDjeffgo: HOLD IT! We're not doing a Phoenix Wright review. The mighty SFX: I know that, but can't we open Phoenix wright style? BlackDjeffgo: I guess we did whether I like it or not. For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And Jeff and I have discovered The mighty SFX: what is possibly The mighty SFX: THE HARDEST The mighty SFX: GAME The mighty SFX: EVER BlackDjeffgo: And, surprisingly, SNK had no hand in it. BlackDjeffgo: Instead, some no-doubt lonely soul creeped up from the fringes of Hell, took the BattleToads' (NES) source codes and made it off that basis. The mighty SFX: The game is, I wanna be the guy: the Movie: the Game, by some d00d named Kayin, who apparently made the game on a whim after playing some hard game on 2chan BlackDjeffgo: Thus further proving that the 'chan boards breed nothing but hatred and malice. Cuz that's all we felt after playing this game. The mighty SFX: This game, will kill you. The mighty SFX: It takes all the things we hated from Megaman and magnified them to 200x difficulty, in essence The mighty SFX: Spikes, Appearing\Disappearing blocks, laser beams of death The mighty SFX: ...and then we move on to OTHER Classic gaming obstacles that we hated BlackDjeffgo: Well, the story is a humorously simple concept - upon his birthday, a young boy sets off to prove that he was "the guy". The mighty SFX: Yes. The mighty SFX: This now 15 year old embarks on a quest wherein you die by spikes, falling stars, lightning, laser beams, worms that look like they were made as a result of the "SHOOP DA WOOP" meme, and Cherries. The mighty SFX: Giant Cherries The mighty SFX: that fall UP BlackDjeffgo: Right. The very basis of sheer logic, or any previous experience with life, reality, or even video games will not help you. The very basis of common sense does not apply. The mighty SFX: It isn't even FALLING The mighty SFX: Falling implies a DOWNWARD motion The mighty SFX: They're FLYING The mighty SFX: WE ARE DEALING WITH FLYING CHERRIES The mighty SFX: WHAT THE FLYING [I am a potty mouth]?! BlackDjeffgo: You start off in a very generic little chamber. You can jump, double-jump, walk (at a pitifully slow rate), fire off a pea shooter which does all of nothing, and die. Yes. There's a SUICIDE button. The mighty SFX: And you die in one shot The mighty SFX: which is all fine and dandy, yes The mighty SFX: but when you're dealing with obstacles based on games where you could take multiple hits..... The mighty SFX: then it becomes insanity The mighty SFX: I think I died some 400 times. The mighty SFX: On the easiest setting The mighty SFX: and I got, at max, six screens into the game BlackDjeffgo: Your immediate options are thus: you can go downward and attempt to avoid the super-fast spike walls, or go upwards and face the wrath of GIANT CHERRIES that ignore the very notions that govern the universe. The mighty SFX: There are multiple paths to take The mighty SFX: The game isn't finished, so who's to say if they all lead to actually FINISHING IT, but meh. BlackDjeffgo: But you'll never find out. The mighty SFX: That's assuming the game doesn't drop you in a spike pit after finishing the final boss. The mighty SFX: Yeah The mighty SFX: You won't The mighty SFX: Jeff and I, while not UBER, are pretty [I am a potty mouth] good gamers in our own rights. The mighty SFX: And this game PWNED US BlackDjeffgo: Right. And you can die within SECONDS of beginning the game. Your sole saving grace is that you have unlimited retries from various save points found throughout the game - limited only to location and difficulty. Those difficulties are: Medium, Hard, Very Hard and Impossible. Of course, the names are semantic. This game is IMPOSSIBLE. BlackDjeffgo: I'm not one to believe that a game being difficult makes it not fun. I find amusement in a lot of abusive titles - Medabots: Infinity, Soul Calibur 3, even Athena are at least fun in one way or the other. This game takes it to a whole new step of absurdity. BlackDjeffgo: The creator even has the brass to become offended when challenged that he sacrifices good level design in lieu of the game just being flat-out hard. He cites how "interactive" everything is. By "interactive" he means "it kills you dead". BlackDjeffgo: Interactivity does not equate to dying by coming in contact with - well, just about anything sans dead air (no pun intended). It can't even be considered "interactive" since you always die in the same, uninspired "explosion" death, with bits of the main character flies out in different directions. The Flash version of Portal was interactive. That game actually made dying amusing - whilst still being mildly difficult, but fun. This game doesn't even have the redeeming grace of being so bad that it's good. It's just so bad that it's bad. The mighty SFX: I'm going to list the "levels" I've encountered thus far The mighty SFX: Room 1: Room of spikey death. Uber-speedy Spike walls, two of which you have to stick to one spot where they won't hit, the last one you have to avoid by moving where it won't trigger. And then you go to a second screen, where you drop into spikes. You're supposed to shoot a wiggling one and land on it. and then you must deal with appearing\disappearing blocks to get to the other side. Alternatively, you can double jump from the first screen and go somewhere else...but that's for later. The mighty SFX: Room 2: Room of Spikey Death II. This one has ridiculous amounts of spikes. Basically, you have to make your way around a spike obstacle course, with blocks that fall downward, and sometimes ELEVATE YOU INTO MORE SPIKES. From there, you're offered two paths, one of which you'll likely miss. The mighty SFX: Room 3: Room of Deadly LASOR BEAMZ. Remember Quickman's stage from Megaman 2? Where Instant death beams would spawn? Yeah, this is that stage magnified to insane difficulty levels. Basically, you have to RUN. For your life. Once you move past the save point, you are on the clock to shoot by that screen before the LASOR BEEMZ obliterate you. While doing that, you have to deal with blocks that fall and elevate. I have NOT Completed this screen. I've gotten close but because of the slower speed I employ at the last part, the beam att he end takes me out. BlackDjeffgo: Another issue you're find is just how terribly programmed this game is. For instance, it's entirely possible to land on top and center of a block and go CLEAR DOWN through it like it wasn't even there. It's one thing for a game to be hard, but when a lot of the difficulty is based on how CRIPPLED the programming is, making it entirely possible to die through no fault of your own, it's not fun. The mighty SFX: I mentioned an alternate path from Room 2. Here's the other one The mighty SFX: Room 2a: Freefall of Spikey death. Basically, you drop into a hole, and you have to move in midair to cross two screens of spikes, and then use your offered mid-air jump to cross screens. The mighty SFX: Room 4: The APPEARING BLOCKS You appear in an empty room. Jump, and Blocks will appear to impede your path, and you'll die The mighty SFX: So basically you have to find the invisible path to the end, else wise you die. The mighty SFX: Room 5: Metroid. Yes. You're in Tourian from the first Metroid game on the NES. There are two ways to get to the next screen. One is falling and using a mid-air jump to get past the spikes. One takes you to a safe platform. Yeah. Safe? Go there and a Metroid eats you. I'm not kidding. you HAVE To take the dangerous route or die. The mighty SFX: BOSS TIEMS: Mother Brain Yes, you have to fight Mother brain. This is the EXACT SAME ROOM, give or take some altercations from the NES Metroid game. Except, where in Metroid, you could take a few hits before dying, here, you die instantly with one hit. The only solace is that you're smaller than Samus. I haven't cleared this boss. I've gotten TO mother Brain, and landed some shots, but the insane jumping you have to do killed me eventually. The mighty SFX: Remember that Jumping thing from Screen one? It takes you to...... The mighty SFX: Room 6: CHERRIES THAT FALL UP Yes, you have to navigate passed Cherries. That fall Up. And Down. You'll never know until you do it like 20 times. BlackDjeffgo: Because, again, you walk TOO SLOW to avoid anything The mighty SFX: Room 7: "CLOUD"y future. HERE, you have to Navigate clouds that will actually start falling BEFORE YOU LAND The mighty SFX: So you have to LAND, super fast jump to the next, and hope you don't DIE The mighty SFX: And then when you think you've gotten to safe land? The mighty SFX: BOOM! The mighty SFX: Spike trap The mighty SFX: Dead The mighty SFX: Room 8: Cliffs of Spikes You have to jump in a specific path so that you land on an invisible block. It doesn't matter, going this way is a dead end. the real path is by using the aforementioned spike trap to get higher up... The mighty SFX: Room 9: The Stars You're in the sky, now. First, you have to move to avoid being levitated into spikes, and then you have to land on a moving platform and maneuver around, guess what? MORE SPIKES. The second screen brings more of the same stuff, but falling causes a [I am a potty mouth]ING PLANE TO SHOOT OUT OF NOWHERE AND KILL YOU. If you get by this, you reach.... The mighty SFX: BOSS TIEMZ: Giant Mike Tyson (Punch-Out) Yes. You're fighting the hardest enemy in Mike Tyson's Punch Out. Basically, the pattern goes like this. He Uppercuts three times, if you're in the path, DEAD. Then he does a straight punch, which destroys blocks, and then he opens his mouth to BREATHE FIRE. The mighty SFX: That's when you're supposed to Shoot him. The mighty SFX: Round 2 is the same thing but now he moves toward you as he does uppercuts. The mighty SFX: Round 3 is him moving faster, but he uppercuts only twice. The mighty SFX: I DID Defeat him, but the game froze where I got the Castlevania esque orb because I had the LOUD MUSIC turned down The mighty SFX: So that's as far as I've seen The mighty SFX: I've seen roughly 9 areas in general The mighty SFX: Good considering most probably couldn't see more than TWO SCREENS The mighty SFX: So the measure of your skill is how far you can actually get into this thing The mighty SFX: If you beat it, you're good enough to beat any game The mighty SFX: I'm serious BlackDjeffgo: And it took more than our fair share of deaths to get as far as we did. BlackDjeffgo: Then, of course, now you know just how crippled, terrible, bland, and generally one-sided the gameplay is. Now for the graphics. BlackDjeffgo: Mostly stolen from NES/SNES games, anything that was done by the creator... sucked. BlackDjeffgo: Oh, and if you put the difficulty on Medium, the creator thought he'd be funny and give you a little pink sissy ribbon, and mark some extra save points as "Wuss" BlackDjeffgo: You can tell a lot of areas weren't beta tested, probably on the count the creator himself couldn't get to them to test them BlackDjeffgo: I've noticed Mario Paint, MegaMan (NES), Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Metroid, and other various stolen sprites. How creative and original! BlackDjeffgo: The ones done by the actual game maker, are bland and could be done on a Windows 3.11-esque software. BlackDjeffgo: They're terrible. BlackDjeffgo: The 'blood' are little red dots that look, for the most part, pretty solid. BlackDjeffgo: Dying is the same tedious thing where your body parts fly all over the place and you spray some of the semi-solid blood all over the place BlackDjeffgo: Which leads into the audio. BlackDjeffgo: Unlike the graphics, where the creator actually made a few for himself - EVERYTHING is just stolen BlackDjeffgo: Why waste precious time and effort when you can just TAKE everything you need? BlackDjeffgo: I'm looking at you ebaumsworld.com BlackDjeffgo: And I'm not even kidding. All the music in the game is either ripped from the other games, or a remix someone else did and ripped from there. BlackDjeffgo: But the music is so deafeningly loud, it's better to mute it BlackDjeffgo: Oh wait, if you do that, you can't get anywhere, cuz it causes the game to freeze. BlackDjeffgo: Clever. BlackDjeffgo: And that takes us into the overalls. BlackDjeffgo: Overall best feature of the game? The mighty SFX: ....... BlackDjeffgo: I agree BlackDjeffgo: Overall worse feature? The mighty SFX: ........ The mighty SFX: Everything? BlackDjeffgo: I also agree. BlackDjeffgo: That's all you get, I Want To Be The Guy: The Movie: The Game. This game is terrible. Save yourself some stress and don't even waste the 2 minutes of download time. The mighty SFX: I'm going to hunt down some Youtube videos because I want to see what OTHER Torture this game inflicts on you BEYOND what very well may be the "easy" stuff BlackDjeffgo: Oh, yes, and as a sick, sadistic joke, the game offers you three save slots for which to "save your progress". Like you even care. And, even so much as resetting the game resets the controls to default - which suck. BlackDjeffgo: All-in-all this game is only better than E.T. for the Atari 2600 on the sole merit that it's actually playable. But not by much. BlackDjeffgo: For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff... The mighty SFX: And I'm pretending to be a Prosecutor from a popular Video game franchise (Which Capcom will probably screw up) BlackDjeffgo: Here to remind you, and beg of you, if you ever get inspired to do anything by a 'chan forum, especially if it involves making your own video game which sucks in every conceivable way - have a heart. Commit suicide. Or go work for Atari.



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:46 PM Post #6
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	BlackDjeffgo: In a realm where First-Person Shooters and half-baked dungeons crawlers rigorously attempt to dominate the market, there comes one game - a game with both ingenuity and fun intertwined... and a light broke through. BlackDjeffgo: Today, that game is our topic. I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean, who clearly has a thing for pain judging by what I subject myself to. The mighty SFX: And I wasn't going to open with anything witty this time The mighty SFX: But I felt it would be a discredit to my adoring fans BlackDjeffgo: Today, our game in question is Boktai: The Sun if in Your Hands - known in its native land of the land of the rising sun as Bokura no Taiyou (Literally: Our Sun) The mighty SFX: Yesh. An awesome game indeed. BlackDjeffgo: Made by a man who loves to think outside the box, Hideo Kojima, this charming Game Boy Advance title had the guts to bring gaming to a never-before-seen realm. OUTSIDE. The mighty SFX: Ba-dum-pish. BlackDjeffgo: Quite literally, the genius lay with the cartridge itself. It's bigger than most - and has a solar sensor atop it. BlackDjeffgo: Within the cartridge unfolds the story of Django the Solar Boy, and his teacher, Master Otenko, as they move across the cursed lands of Istrakan, striking down the unholy undead using the pure light of the sun and Django's father's legendary weapon - the Gun Del Sol (Gun of the Sun) The mighty SFX: It's a very fun game, and also a challenging one, if you don't know what you're doing The mighty SFX: Or maybe that's because I play recklessly and I personally found it hard BlackDjeffgo: Like Kojima's Metal Gear Solid titles, the game's primary focus is stealth. This is more or less forced upon you because until very late in the game, your gun is worthless The mighty SFX: And using it requires having sunlight BlackDjeffgo: When Django is out in the sunlight, his gun will slowly, automatically recharge over time BlackDjeffgo: You can press and hold the "A" button to do a quick charge and hear Django's battle cry "TAIYOH!" BlackDjeffgo: As cool as that may seem he's just yelling "SUN!" so don't start going around saying it, unless you need a white, padded room. The mighty SFX: Like some people I know...... The mighty SFX: cough BlackDjeffgo: The "B" button is to use your gun. That sounds simple, but the gun itself offers a wide variety of options. The gun is composed of 3 main parts and 1 optional part. The mighty SFX: You have the Lens, the Frame, and the Battery as the main parts. The mighty SFX: and the grenade as the optional part. BlackDjeffgo: Right. The battery is your power storage, as well as the handle of the gun, the frame is the stock and barrel of the gun and alters how the gun is fired and how powerful it is, as well as how much energy is used, and the lens changes the element of the gun. The default lens is light-elemented. The mighty SFX: Over the course of the game, you'll find many Gun Parts, some of which will prove critical to getting through the game with minimal difficulty. BlackDjeffgo: Though none are technically "required" sans a few "you-can't-skip" parts, you'll want to get as many as you can. The gun is your only line of defense against bosses or when enemies spot you. Either way, going unarmed is a bad idea. BlackDjeffgo: The grenade is a special bomb which can be fired off in a number of ways, depending on what type. No matter what, they're limited-ammo and are fired off with the "L" shoulder button. The mighty SFX: All of them are useful in some way The mighty SFX: Also, over the course of the game, you'll find various fruits which will restore health and energy, increase strength or speed, or even make your steps unheard by enemies BlackDjeffgo: There are a ton of items in the game. Most aren't needed, in truth, but it's nice to have them, since Django also seems to have a bottomless backpack. BlackDjeffgo: You go through the games, killing lesser imps and demons, all the while hunting powerful vampiric creatures known as "Immortals" BlackDjeffgo: You fight them in two phases. The first is a straight-out battle. BlackDjeffgo: After the fight is over, the creature is sealed into a coffin. You must then grab a hold of the coffin and drag it back through the dungeon you just cleared outside. BlackDjeffgo: That sounds difficult, and it is. You can't attack unless you let go of the chain and the coffin will, periodically, begin shaking, attempting to knock you over and ESCAPE from you The mighty SFX: Which means that the battle isn't over until you've purified it The mighty SFX: even trapped the immortals will try to kill you. BlackDjeffgo: The nice part is that, usually, it's easier leaving a dungeon than going into it. Once outside, you arrive at a device Otenko explains as the "PileDriver" BlackDjeffgo: You lock the immortal in the center of this circular device and activate four generators with your gun, then stand at the bottom and press "A" to begin the 2nd phase of the battle. BlackDjeffgo: Here, the generators blast full-powered lasers of solar light into the immortal's 'dark energy' which is their true essence BlackDjeffgo: You have to dodge attacks, keep the generators going on 'em until their energy is drained away and purified - thus eliminating them forever The mighty SFX: Yes. And then, you move on to the next area! BlackDjeffgo: Along the way, there are also mini-dungeons you can opt to take on, or go around BlackDjeffgo: You can find lots of neat little goodies within them The mighty SFX: and goodies are.... The mighty SFX: well...good. BlackDjeffgo: Right. You want them. Also, as you progress, certain special items can extend your life bar, and your lens can level up. It sounds strange, but by using a lens a great deal, it can level up. Doing so makes your shots bigger and more effective. They can be level 1 (lowest) up to 3 (highest). The mighty SFX: Leveling some of them will take a while, some of them will level faster than you'd expect The mighty SFX: I mean this in the sense of "You using certain Lenses more than others BlackDjeffgo: Some lenses, like Star or Lunar, are useless. BlackDjeffgo: The ones you'll use the most will more than likely be Solar, Flame, Frost, Cloud, Earth and, when you get it, Dark. BlackDjeffgo: Eventually, this game will reach its climax in an epic fight to the finish against the Queen of the Immortals. Upon completing the game, you'll be given a passcode. BlackDjeffgo: You can enter this passcode on Konami's official website and get your statistics for your playthru and your "Rank" in relation to how much or how little you did. BlackDjeffgo: Then you can play through the game again - going through on harder difficulties if you wish - or going back to retrieve items you may have passed up the first time. The mighty SFX: Yeah, you can get different titles based on how you played through the game BlackDjeffgo: For instance, when I first played I got "Bishop" because I purified a lot of enemies. BlackDjeffgo: In addition, by playing through several times you can not only work on getting a great tan, but also get things such as the Infinity Battery - a gun battery that'll never run dry. The mighty SFX: Yeah, which allows you to play the game with...a little LESS of a stealth standpoint BlackDjeffgo: But because of this stealth component, even the best equipment in the game isn't all that potent. This leads to one of the game's biggest drawbacks. The levels are do-able but the bosses are just plain hard. The mighty SFX: Yeah....urgh BlackDjeffgo: Of course, you're not OBLIGATED to play stealthy-stealth mode, but doing so has serious drawbacks since your gun is about as effective as a peashooter. The mighty SFX: And it's limited thanks to the fact that it has a battery The mighty SFX: Which drains fast BlackDjeffgo: The most powerful frame in the game, in terms of attack, are the 'sword'-type frames. They're short-ranged and do, comparatively, a lot of damage. BlackDjeffgo: The problem lies in the fact that they don't do ENOUGH damage, and suck way too much energy away. BlackDjeffgo: In truth, Django might've been better off just HAVING a real sword. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, if we've covered most of the bases, I think we can move on to the overalls. The mighty SFX: Alrighty BlackDjeffgo: Overall best aspect of the game? The mighty SFX: Stabbing vampires with the sun BlackDjeffgo: Heh heh. Yes. I agree. The unique weapon choice made the game truly out-of-the-ordinary. BlackDjeffgo: Overall worst aspect? The mighty SFX: Too much reliance on stealth BlackDjeffgo: I agree. That and the gun is too far nerfed. The mighty SFX: The stealth isn't a bad thing The mighty SFX: but.....when you go from Stealth to a big battle, it seems...awkward. BlackDjeffgo: Right. BlackDjeffgo: Anyhow, there's not too much else to say. The graphics? Well, overhead view. They were okay, and high-res for their time, but nothing terribly Fetching. The audio? Well-done, I'd say. BlackDjeffgo: Anything else? The mighty SFX: I don't care if it didn't exist yet, you should have been able to get a vampire slaying Bidoof in the game The mighty SFX: :B BlackDjeffgo: ... BlackDjeffgo: Brandishes Gun Del Sol and shoots Sean The mighty SFX: .... The mighty SFX: Doesn't seem injured BlackDjeffgo: ... The mighty SFX: It only works on Undead, stupid BlackDjeffgo: Oh. Right. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, all kidding aside, a sequel came out for this game. Two, in fact, though only one reached American shores. Tune in next time when we'll discuss the follow-up, Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django. BlackDjeffgo: For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean, and we're here not only to review games but let you know that through SHEER FORCE OF WILL, you can do the impossible and see the invisible. The mighty SFX: Also The mighty SFX: remember to donate. 'Tis the season. I mean, we'd only spend it on games...to review! It's for you! BlackDjeffgo: That's right. BlackDjeffgo: And with that - see you next time. The mighty SFX: Good night, and bidoof to all



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:48 PM Post #7
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	The mighty SFX: Happy Belated New Year, Gaming Overkill. I'm Sean. BlackDjeffgo: And I'm Jeff. When you talk about great games for the classic SNES - odds are pretty good the first things that'll come to mind are platformers and RPG's. BlackDjeffgo: During the SNES's lifetime, Square was at their prime - releasing games like Final Fantasy 4 through 6, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, and in Japan, the totally awesome Seiken Densetsu 3. AKA: They hadn't started sucking just yet. The mighty SFX: Yeah, this was the prime they were at before it started going downhill. BlackDjeffgo: And during this prime time, Square released a charming new title, unrelated to the Mana/Holy Sword or the Final Fantasy franchises named "Chrono Trigger" BlackDjeffgo: And in spite of its sequel being a horrible abomination that should forever burn in the fires of hell for destroying the series before it could even BECOME a series - that's not the point - Chrono Trigger owned. And owned hard. The mighty SFX: Yes, Chrono Trigger stands as one of my favorite games, even though I have yet...to actually beat it. BlackDjeffgo: I, however, have seen all 14 endings. The mighty SFX: Let's not get ahead of ourselves, okay Jeff? BlackDjeffgo: Including the 15th anime cutscene Square threw together on a whim to vaguely establish a connection to the bastard child sequel BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, let's start with the beginning. BlackDjeffgo: Sean, if you please... BlackDjeffgo: Hit us with that hot plot action The mighty SFX: ...You don't remember, do you? The mighty SFX: sigh fine. BlackDjeffgo: I know it better than you do. I'm giving you a chance to speak now, cuz I have a lot to say. The mighty SFX: The story begins in 1000 A.D with the silent protagonist, Crono, waking up late (as all heroes do, I think it's a law that all heroes have to be late for something) for the Millennial Fair, and the showcasing of his friend Lucca's Warp Pod. At this fair, he meets Marle, whom at first appears to be just an average young lady. However, once something goes wrong with Lucca's warp-pod, Crono winds up on an adventure to save the future from its inevitable doom at the hands of the planet destroyer, Lavos. The mighty SFX: Was that sufficient? BlackDjeffgo: Good enough, I suppose. Let's cut to the chase. BlackDjeffgo: The graphics were amazing. Taking full advantage of the SNES' Super FX chip and Mode 7 capabilities, this game made use of some of the most impressive display of light and color to really bring this fantasy world alive, be it merely the detail of the character's weapon changing as you give them new equipment, or your characters displaying their ultimate magical ability. It's simple beautiful. The mighty SFX: Yes, I agree that the graphics were amazing. I also liked the graphics used with some of the more complex Techniques of the game. Specifically, the Double and Triple Techs...but that'll be explained better in gameplay. BlackDjeffgo: The audio was also an amazing strong point the game boasted - be it the ever-catchy character theme (especially Frog's theme, perhaps the very best song the game has in its sound track) even to the eerie hum of a dungeon or the merry song played in a peaceful town, it was all incredible. The mighty SFX: Personally, I enjoyed the battle themes myself, but I've always found myself enjoying a game's battle music. I guess I'm biased in that regard. BlackDjeffgo: Okay, is sounds and looks great. That's always a plus. What makes the game so awesome, though, was how it handled. You moved around the overworld screen with simple use of the control pad - and while in a town or cave or where ever, you could hold the B button to run (and amusingly, even walk around while people were talking to you sometimes), A button to examine stuff, X to open your menu, or pause the game with the start button - which won't bring up your menu. BlackDjeffgo: One of the things that makes this game different from, say, Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, is that the enemies are not random encounters The mighty SFX: Correct. The mighty SFX: Monster appearances vary with each area. Some will be out in the open, giving you a chance to avoid them. Some will pop up and try to throw you off and cause you to trigger battles, and some will happen automatically when you step in the right area. The mighty SFX: In other words, some you can avoid, some you can avoid if you're cautious, and some you have no choice but to accept, unless you intend on running. The mighty SFX: Boss battles excluded, of course. BlackDjeffgo: Also, there is no "battle screen". Where you encounter the beasties in is where you fight them - so you never lose your orientation or sense of direction - which is nice. BlackDjeffgo: The battles themselves are carried out through fairly standard RPG menu fair. BlackDjeffgo: One thing that's different, though, is that in addition to your Techniques/Magic option, if you allow your teammates to get their turn at the same time, you can - if you already obtained the proper moves for it - perform dual and triple techs The mighty SFX: Dual and Triple techs, as already mentioned, requires all members involved (In the case of Triple Techs, your entire team), but they are capable of doing major damage, especially when you exploit an enemy weakness. BlackDjeffgo: And some early-game dual and triple techs are also worth getting rapidly, since the first full-party healing move is a dual tech between the silent protagonist and the alpha female BlackDjeffgo: The game handles smoothly, in addition to a nice, gradual difficulty curve as the game progresses through the ever-more-interesting storyline The mighty SFX: Yes, as long as you keep yourself up-to-date on equipment, levels, and techs the game never gets too difficult. The mighty SFX: Is it about time to mention the New Game + Feature? BlackDjeffgo: Well, sort of BlackDjeffgo: One of the replay aspects of this game stems from the fact that, as I mentioned, there are multiple endings BlackDjeffgo: After a certain event in the story, you're given the oppertunity to engage the final boss at your convenience BlackDjeffgo: Doing so at certain points, or after them, can change how the story pans out BlackDjeffgo: There's even a 'bad' ending that results from losing against the first form of the final boss The mighty SFX: Actually, I've seen videos that gives you that bad ending against ANY of the forms. BlackDjeffgo: Really? Huh. I guess I just never lost against the 2nd or 3rd forms... BlackDjeffgo: Oh well. The mighty SFX: But...the future refused to change. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, should you complete the game in the hardest way to do so - the quest called "The Black Omen" - can unlock the New Game + feature The mighty SFX: Lavos' screech scares me ;-; ...anyway, move on BlackDjeffgo: It might have even been the first game to do so - I can't verify it, but it was among the first, if not. Doing this will let you start a new game, but retain all items, equipment, levels, magic and techniques gained from a previous playthrough BlackDjeffgo: You lose all your money, but if you're like me and beat the game at level 65 after clearing every side quest in the game, it isn't a big loss The mighty SFX: This allows you to achieve the other endings of the game without spending large amounts of time playing the game so many times. BlackDjeffgo: Playing in a New Game+ file gives you free access to the final boss whenever you deem it fit - thus opening up more possible endings, including a secret ending gained from defeating the final boss before you even know of his existence as far as the story is concerned. The mighty SFX: Also, one ending basically REQUIRES a New Game + unless you do SERIOUS Grinding. The one Jeff just mentioned, for example. BlackDjeffgo: Right. BlackDjeffgo: It also lets you tackle the boss after or before any story event you wish to do - which lets us see lots of possible alternatives BlackDjeffgo: Some of which are quite funny The mighty SFX: Heh heh.... BlackDjeffgo: So, the game is a rarity, being an RPG that offers a ton of replay value The mighty SFX: If you aren't into the whole Emulation thing...you'd best hope that you have a SNES or a PSX (Chrono Trigger was re-released with two of the SNES Final Fantasy Games, I believe. Ask someone else who actually knows). If you have neither, pray that it actually gets on the Virtual Console (I've heard that issues may not allow that to be possible, though) BlackDjeffgo: Now it's time for another episode of "THIS IS NOT TRUE, YOU FREAKING RETARDS"... The mighty SFX: ....go ahead, Jeff. BlackDjeffgo: In the game, late towards the end of the linear parts of the story, before you really get control of what you feel like doing, you are introduced to a character named Schala - the likes of which has the personality depth of a facial pore and the plot significance of saving the heroes one time from plot-induced stupidity. She has somehow garnered an enormous fanbase due to her Mary Sue character. BlackDjeffgo: There have been rumors abounding across the internet that you can save her and have her show up in the ending - and cause the sole optional party member to stop being emo. BlackDjeffgo: This is not the case. AT ALL. The side quest was SUPPOSED to be in the game, but it was removed before the game's completion. The mighty SFX: I've heard rumors that she can be added into the party. The only basis for this is that there was some remaining data for an additional party member in the game (or so I've heard) BlackDjeffgo: Via cheating or hacking, it is possible to get a quest item that was to be the key to making the quest do-able, or so I've been told, but even if you do that, the quest does not exist. And I say "Thank God" because the more Mary Sue characters that die and never return - the better. The mighty SFX: So, anything else we need to mention? BlackDjeffgo: The fact that this game allows you to wear a pair of pants as a helmet? The mighty SFX: XD BlackDjeffgo: I'm not even kidding, either. The mighty SFX: I know you aren't. The mighty SFX: I HAVE THE ITEM IN QUESTION EQUIPPED ON ONE OF MY CHARACTERS. The mighty SFX: The item description is "????" BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, I think that sufficiently wraps up that. Let's move on to the overalls. BlackDjeffgo: No pun intended. The mighty SFX: Alright. BlackDjeffgo: Over best feature? The mighty SFX: Hmmm....hard to choose. I think the Time Travel thing was done surprisingly well (It's easy to drive yourself into a wall with the concept, after all) BlackDjeffgo: Right. It is difficult to choose - but I'd say the overall game play and replay values. BlackDjeffgo: Overall worst aspect of the game? BlackDjeffgo: I can summarize my thoughts on that in a single word: Schala. The mighty SFX: Aside from that, I can't name a particularly bad aspect. BlackDjeffgo: Other than Schala and the horrendous sequel. Anyways, there's not much else to cover, since I think we did so rather well. Anything else you wanna add? The mighty SFX: JUMP KAIN JUMP AND STOP HER SPIN! The mighty SFX: ...wait, wrong game. BlackDjeffgo: Right company. Wrong game. The mighty SFX: I do have one thing to add. BlackDjeffgo: I swear to all things good and holy if it has ANYTHING to do with Bidoof... The mighty SFX: I'm glad we managed to go a review without mentioning Bidoof in any shape. The mighty SFX: ....DAMMIT! The mighty SFX: WE BOTH RUINED IT BlackDjeffgo: stabs Sean The mighty SFX: OW! The mighty SFX: Runs before any further harm can come to him BlackDjeffgo: And with that, for Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean. Don't hate me because I'm awsum. BlackDjeffgo: Now I'm going to go kill my co-host. Good night, everybody! The mighty SFX: .... The mighty SFX: CRAP! The mighty SFX: Run



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:49 PM Post #8
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	BlackDjeffgo: We're not actually going to start this review out on a horrible game-related pun! For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff! The mighty SFX: And I has food! Munch The mighty SFX: And today we'll see if I can finally go a review without mentioning bi...erm..that thing I talk about once every review. BlackDjeffgo: ... Right. Today, we're going to discuss one of CapCom's pet franchises. Specifically, one of the MegaMan spin-offs. The logical question then is "which one?" BlackDjeffgo: That one... is the GameBoy Advance-exclusive MegaMan Battle Network series. The mighty SFX: Indeed! BlackDjeffgo: I discovered the first game briefly after the second one actually was released - when I was browsing a site for downloading RO-- err-- I mean... where I legally obtained it... in legal ways... with legal tender. BlackDjeffgo: Being the MegaMan buff I've always been, I had to try it out. The mighty SFX: I found it in a store one day on my birthday, so I decided to get it, being a MegaMan fan as well BlackDjeffgo: The first game introduces you to a world completely unrelated to any of the previous ones - in a not-too-distant future - where the entire world from computers to cars to toasters that toast toast are connected to the big, wide, interweb. Kind of like real life. The mighty SFX: You control Lan (Yes, this game has its fair share of puns.), a...I think 5th grader in the first game....? BlackDjeffgo: Yes. The mighty SFX: YAY! The mighty SFX: Do I get a cookie? BlackDjeffgo: After the review. The mighty SFX: YAY! BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, everybody in this world - from children to adults - all have what's called a PErsonal Terminal - or a PET. It's like a pocket PC with accounting, e-mail, cell phone, and numerous other features all in one. BlackDjeffgo: Including one feature known as a "Net Navigator" abbreviated often as "Net Navi" or just "Navi" in some cases. Lan's Navi, as you might expect, is one MegaMan.exe. The mighty SFX: And he constantly has to wake Lan up, because he oversleeps ALL THE TIME BlackDjeffgo: It's a rule of RPG heroes. Oh? Did I surprise you? Yes, MegaMan Battle Network is an action/RPG game, rather than the standard 2D platformers the other franchises hold. The mighty SFX: But no, it's not as bland as Attack, Get Attacked. Use Skill, Get attacked, use Item, attack, get attacked, etc for 2000 battles BlackDjeffgo: Right. On the overworld screen, you play as Lan. Lan can not fight on his own and thus, naturally, does not get attacked while you're playing as him. This holds true for the entire series. However, Lan can jack MegaMan into anything with a computer (which is almost everything) and send him into the computer or internet. BlackDjeffgo: There, while moving around, you do hit random encounters and are placed on a 3x6 grid of platforms to do battle with viruses, conveniently personified as cartoony enemies... who all want you DEAD. The mighty SFX: You fight by moving around on your side of the grid, and pressing B to shoot your buster, holding B to charge it (Assuming you have a high enough charge level, more on that level). Obviously, given that at the start, you do 1 damage per shot and even the weakest enemies have like 30-40 HP....you're gonna need backup...in comes the Battlechips! BlackDjeffgo: At the start of a fight, a menu is brought up, offering you 5 of the 30 chips you can customize in your folder at any time you're not in a battle. You can only use each chip 1 time per battle. There are also elaborate rules concerning which can be used in conjunction with which, but we're not gonna hit that since there's a lot to say. BlackDjeffgo: When you begin the fight, a long bar marked "CUSTOM" slowly builds up. When it's full, tapping one of the shoulder buttons brings the chip menu up again - allowing you to brandish more ammo. Should you run out of chips - and you really shouldn't - you're left with just you and your buster. BlackDjeffgo: You use these chips to destroy viruses - and at the end of each battle you get a rank based on several variables - how many steps you took, how much damage you took, how long you took, etc - and get a reward based on the rank, be it more battle chips, or a small handful of money. The mighty SFX: This makes tasks such as collecting all the battlechips a pain, because some enemies are a rediculous pain in the arse to defeat and get a good rank. BlackDjeffgo: Right. And in the first game there's over 200, and that number skyrockets with each successive sequel. BlackDjeffgo: As per the usual Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors of each MegaMan game, there's a simple design with each chip having an elemental affinity. Water beats fire, fire beats wood, wood beats electricity, and elec beats water, with some chips having no affinity, and thus, no strengths, no weaknesses. The mighty SFX: ....hmm.... The mighty SFX: Anything else worth adding? BlackDjeffgo: Well, that sums up gameplay. The mighty SFX: What about the Mystery Data. BlackDjeffgo: Right, I suppose it's worth mentioning that rather than "Treasure Chests" you find geometric shapes of varying colors that will more or less act as the chests - each holding an item of some sort. The mighty SFX: Blue hold rare, one time items. The mighty SFX: Or when the developers feel like kicking you in the teeth, a worthless amount of money. The mighty SFX: Green mystery data usually has items of low to medium value, but will reappear when you enter the internet again BlackDjeffgo: Lots of RPG elements - including puzzles and items - are introduced in unique ways into the MMBN universe. Anyways, let's discuss graphics. The mighty SFX: A few enemies are redesigns of classic Megaman enemies...not to mention the bosses. BlackDjeffgo: Many Navis are themed on classic MegaMan series. GutsMan, Roll, FireMan, IceMan, and many others. The general animation style is very anime-ish. BlackDjeffgo: It's difficult to comment on, but it gets the job done, though the internet is annoyingly bright and happy. The mighty SFX: Given what the internet REALLY is, can you blame them for sugarcoating it? BlackDjeffgo: I suppose I can't. Anyways~ the sound/music. There have been some interesting comments - such as "It's called RockMan in Japan, so it's supposed to be about the music, right?". Well, RockMan is a stupid effing name. And while this MegaMan series doesn't have the usual rock/metal soundtrack, it does amazingly well with a semi-techno-ish soundtrack. The mighty SFX: I liked the music. a few of them I have on my playlist actually.... BlackDjeffgo: The music is great, and the sound effects get done what needs to be done, though I can't think of any in particular that are noteworthy beyond that much. BlackDjeffgo: However, the game does draw some criticisms, as the exact same graphics and sound effects get re-used for the ENTIRE REMAINDER OF THE SERIES. The mighty SFX: Well, the overworld gets a change in the second half of the series at least... The mighty SFX: but yeah, it's repetitive. The mighty SFX: But.....that's the usual from Capcom, isn't it? BlackDjeffgo: Indeed. The first 6 NES MegaMan games used the exact same sprite for the titular hero. BlackDjeffgo: CapCom didn't get rich by re-drawing the same hero again and again... BlackDjeffgo: Anyways~ corner-cutting aside, the game was something new and it was enjoyable, albeit, linear. The mighty SFX: I disagree a bit on the linear part. while in the main internet, you don't get too much room for wandering, but you could still search for places with jack-in ports and wander their respective places in the internet for items and enemies. BlackDjeffgo: Indeed. The game also had the redeeming quality of having new things unlocked after having beaten the game. The mighty SFX: Such as the super secret bosses. BlackDjeffgo: Which usually involve ridiculous amounts of collecting or annoying boss runs. BlackDjeffgo: However, the few things that irked me have been fixed in MegaMan Battle Network 2. The mighty SFX: Yeah. The mighty SFX: It was annoying selecting chips because you couldn't tell what you could and what you couldn't combine without checking every chip. X_x BlackDjeffgo: In BN2, they finally had the common courtesy of MARKING them before you selected them - so your options were much more obvious The mighty SFX: Seriously. BlackDjeffgo: In addition, the battles you fight remarkably often also yield a new ability called "Style Change" where MegaMan will 'grow' into a specialized fighting type designed to better suit your fighting habits - and will get a random element ascribed to it. The mighty SFX: I usually get a Guts style. BlackDjeffgo: As do I - which is a style for those among us who are buster-happy, and doubles the attack power of said buster. BlackDjeffgo: There are others, though, and you can record 2 styles in addition to your normal form The mighty SFX: Well, for the second game. You only get one in the third, if I recall BlackDjeffgo: Right. BlackDjeffgo: The progression of the series also shows that, even in the future there's no shortage of jerks. The mighty SFX: sigh BlackDjeffgo: Battle Network 2 even introduced a "Help Board" where you could take on peoples' requests - which becomes a staple in the remainder of the series. BlackDjeffgo: It's easy to argue that BN2 is the best the series has seen. BlackDjeffgo: BN3, however, was something of a let-down for me, being that they took all the cool aspects of 2, cut them down, and didn't change very much except a story which still follows the same patterns of 1 and 2. The mighty SFX: Although, amusingly enough, BN3 was the game that actually got Jeff and I talking to each other. Because I made a remark about the game's final boss BlackDjeffgo: Which is more or less an amoeba with metal wings. The mighty SFX: Yeah...from there it went to us doing a Battle network RP that turned into a mess in the end...but...nobody's going to see, and as a result, get that. BlackDjeffgo: Ever. The mighty SFX: For multiple reasons BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, BN4 proved to be the first major departure from the series, progressing along in a randomly-selected tournament style, and also was sold in 2 "versions" The mighty SFX: MEGAMAN DIAMOND AND PEARL. Wait, I'm thinking of a different series. The mighty SFX: The joke is appropriate though BlackDjeffgo: Red Sun and Blue Moon - the only difference being which navis you can meet in-game. Which, except two or three noticable quests, all seem more or less the same. The mighty SFX: Basically, the game goes like this The mighty SFX: Short Arc. Tournament Round 1 (Which consists of a minigame of some sort and then a battle), Tournament Round 2, Tournament Round 3, another Plot event, Tournament 2 Round 1, etc etc.... BlackDjeffgo: Repeat for 3 tournaments and one foreseeable betrayel and you basically have MMBN4 BlackDjeffgo: MMBN4 earns the rank of "Zelda 2" in the MMBN series, in that while it's the worst the series has to offer, it's not a bad game. BlackDjeffgo: It also was the game that introduced me to the Boktai games, in that there's a direct cross-over, as in one dungeon you get to meet Django the Solar Boy! The mighty SFX: Heh. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, the multi-version phenomena went on to haunt the MMBN series until its end, as MegaMan Battle Network 5 came out in the names of the leaders of each version - ProtoMan and Colonel respectively. BlackDjeffgo: Thankfully, the patient ones among us were able to nab the DS release of the games, which has 2 save slots and both games available. BlackDjeffgo: And for those of us also to have a Boktai 2 cartridge, you get a special game-breaking power called SolCross. The mighty SFX: Remind me to use a cheatcode in my RO...er..legally obtained version to get SolCross. BlackDjeffgo: BN4 and 5 have a special feature called a NaviSoul. Using a respective-elemented chip will let you borrow features of another Navi's appearance and some of their powers BlackDjeffgo: And by the way, there is no SolCross in the GBA versions. BlackDjeffgo: BN5 tried to shake things up with the internet being completely taken over by an evil organization, and you and your team now have to endure mind-numbing "Liberation Missions" to free it. BlackDjeffgo: You can cover this one, Sean The mighty SFX: I actually liked the Liberation Missions...although it needed some changes to make it less frustrating. The mighty SFX: Anyways, the Liberation Missions create a Strategy Setup (kinda) to the game. You'll have control of multiple Navis that you meet in the game (obviously increasing as you go on), and you have to maneuver around the map, and liberate "Darkpanels", thereby initiating a battle. You have three turns Chip menu automatically comes in when the bar fills to defeat all the enemies. if you fail, the battle will end, and you'll have accomplished nothing. The mighty SFX: This is the main part that pisses off probably EVERYONE who does Liberation missions. The mighty SFX: THREE TURNS IS NOT SUFFICIENT. The mighty SFX: Late in the game, you'll be fighting enemies that can be almost impossible to deal with without the right chip...and when you'll probably get access to no more than 1\3 of your chipdeck to find those chips...it becomes a battle of luck, and around the 12th time you failed to Liberate because you didn't get one of the three or so chips you needed to win, you're going to start throwing your GBA around your parent's car while waiting for your mom to get back from clothes shopping. ....not that I know from experience. Ahem The mighty SFX: (true story, l0lz.) The mighty SFX: Also, around the field are "DarkHoles", which spawn Minibosses, and also must all be eliminated to destroy the barrier preventing you from the boss. The mighty SFX: And then there's item panels, which, upon liberation, will give you stuff...or, later on... The mighty SFX: IT'S A TRAP@! The mighty SFX: ....yeah. There's about...I want to say four or five in the main plot, plus three optional Liberation Missions which are ungodly difficult unless you have a game breaker Like, I dunno, SOLCROSS. I hate you Jeff. BlackDjeffgo: BN5 was still a satisfying experience... for me anyways. BlackDjeffgo: But this MegaMan series actually has a clearly-defined ending. This ending is MegaMan Battle Network 6 - Falzar & Gregar Editions BlackDjeffgo: CapCom finally realized to rip the gimmicky extras out and throw them away, and go back to what made MegaMan Battle Network 2 awesome - and turned it up to 11. BlackDjeffgo: The cumbersome Soul system which more or less required you stuffing your deck with chips that would allow you to transform was kicked to the curb and replaced with a menu-styled "PICK WHAT YOU WANT" type option in battle The mighty SFX: YES. BlackDjeffgo: And while chip adding was removed, CapCom realized it almost no one used it, and so it got the ax and was replaced by the new feature that would make BN4 and 5's "Dark Chips" (Great power = 1 HP gone forever is crap anyways) pee themselves - BEAST OUT BlackDjeffgo: This time, the version you picked literally dictated which of the two legendary Cybeasts you absorb BlackDjeffgo: as a result, MegaMan gets awesome powers that can be doubled-up with CrossSouls to make a CrossBeast - which is just... well... BEAST! The mighty SFX: Be it Falzar, the giant bird of death, or Gregar, who TOTALLY isn't based off of Gospel. BlackDjeffgo: The story is, for the first time in 3 games, captivating and full of mystery and intrigue BlackDjeffgo: (3 games not counting all the pointless spin-off crap) BlackDjeffgo: And the powers are actually WORTH getting unlike some games (I'm looking at YOU, MegaMan ZX). BlackDjeffgo: And, at the end of the net-based disaster, the most chilling message of all appears BlackDjeffgo: "MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK BlackDjeffgo: THE END" The mighty SFX: Yes, everyone. It actually says "THE END" BlackDjeffgo: A series actually ends. BlackDjeffgo: HOWEVER! BlackDjeffgo: CapCom pulled a fast one on us all. BlackDjeffgo: holds up his copy of MegaMan: Star Force: Pegasus Version BlackDjeffgo: THERE'S ANOTHER SPIN-OFF! The mighty SFX: holds up his copy of Star Force, Leo BlackDjeffgo: So, get this The mighty SFX: Yep. a Spin off of a Spin off. BlackDjeffgo: It's the spin off, of the sequel of the sequel of the sequel of the sequel of the sequel of another SPIN OFF. BlackDjeffgo: Oh, and guess what? BlackDjeffgo: THEY'RE MAKING A STAR FORCE 2! The mighty SFX: Which is basically Star-force with new bosses, slightly different plot, and this series version of the Darkchips, essentially. BlackDjeffgo: But that's a whole 'nother review unto itself The mighty SFX: Yes....which might be covered soon.. BlackDjeffgo: Now, for the rundown of the 6 BN games The mighty SFX: shaking violently for some reason BlackDjeffgo: Overall best game of the series? The mighty SFX: I wanna say 2 or 6. BlackDjeffgo: I agree. It's a close call. BlackDjeffgo: Overall worst game the series saw? The mighty SFX: 4. Too much Tournament BS BlackDjeffgo: Indeed. BlackDjeffgo: Worst spin-off game of the BN games? The mighty SFX: Battle Chip Challenge. BlackDjeffgo: AMEN. The mighty SFX: ......shaking BlackDjeffgo: And, finally, which Navi do you think was the coolest? The mighty SFX: B--...gurk...no..must resist..... The mighty SFX: Umm....I can't decide, honestly. BlackDjeffgo: It is tough. Maybe we'll do a top ten of them sometime. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, that wraps up over brief over-view of the BN games. All-in-all, they're pretty good. Maybe someday we'll sit down and review each game more in-depth. BlackDjeffgo: Any closing comments? The mighty SFX: ...... The mighty SFX: Just end the review. The mighty SFX: QUICKLY BlackDjeffgo: For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean. The mighty SFX: Goodbye, all The mighty SFX: BIDOOF! HAH! I MANAGED TO GO THE ENTIRE REVIEW! The mighty SFX: .... BlackDjeffgo: ... The mighty SFX: Wait, why is the Camera light still on? The mighty SFX: .... BlackDjeffgo: God, I hate you. The mighty SFX: Oh %^&@... BlackDjeffgo: See you next time, folks.



Sean	Jul 7 2008, 06:49 PM Post #9
The ⑥of Four Against Nature Posts: 736 Group: Four Against Nature Member #1 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote Deep-minded, covered in about three layers of nerdiness.	BlackDjeffgo: A long, long time ago, on a forum not-too-far-away... YES! We're still around and still reviewing games. For Gaming Overkill - I'm Jeff The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean. No, not doing any witty entrance today The mighty SFX: nor am I doing Bidoof references. They got stale a while ago BlackDjeffgo: Like the 3rd or 4th time... BlackDjeffgo: Anyways! On with the show. BlackDjeffgo: Today we're reviewing the browser-based, real-time game, Ogame. The mighty SFX: Root showed me Ogame one saturday because he was bored and wanted something to do. The mighty SFX: We then showed Jeff The mighty SFX: and we tried to enjoy the game....however with some key problems BlackDjeffgo: Well, at first, the game IS enjoyable The mighty SFX: But then later on.... BlackDjeffgo: A simple and user-friendly interface puts everything in plain English for you BlackDjeffgo: Basically you're govener of your own personal little planet BlackDjeffgo: And you decide what gets built and utilized The mighty SFX: yes, and you can also interact with other players in game.... The mighty SFX: be it friendly...or hostile BlackDjeffgo: You start off laughably weak, and you need to build your little rock up into something worthwhile BlackDjeffgo: You're initially isolated in the big, wide universe of your choice, being unable to engage anyone else in any way, shape or form The mighty SFX: You build resource mines for the four resources. Metal, Crystal, and Deuterium (The building units), and Energy (Which allow you to operate said buildings) The mighty SFX: well, Energy is moreso a power plant as opposed to mine...but you get the idea, right? BlackDjeffgo: Fans of StarCraft will immediately recognize some similarities. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, you build stuff BlackDjeffgo: Mostly mines at first The mighty SFX: and then you start to construct research labs and shipyards to further your weaponry BlackDjeffgo: Right. You can build ships, weapons, research new technologies - everything costs something and then has a building/researching time, but the nice part about that is you're not pressed to rush through anything The mighty SFX: I think we got the gist of the game down. anything else worth adding that can't wait until we get to specific categories? BlackDjeffgo: That's sums up the basics. The mighty SFX: Let's start with Graphics then. The mighty SFX: Very simplistic since it's a browser based game The mighty SFX: absoloutely no animation. Everything is a picture, but it's done well. BlackDjeffgo: That's a tough one... mostly you see pictures of the ships, buildings and your planet... but that's it The mighty SFX: Yeah...but they look pretty nice. BlackDjeffgo: That, they do The mighty SFX: Sound.... BlackDjeffgo: There's no sound, obviously The mighty SFX: there is none The mighty SFX: I prefer that because I hate websites forcing crappy MIDI music on me. BlackDjeffgo: Yeah. I usually listen to music while web-browsing anyways. The mighty SFX: for those that wonder what I'm talking about, look at 90% of the Geocities cites in existance. BlackDjeffgo: Or Angelfire, while we're at it. The mighty SFX: Now...the gameplay. The mighty SFX: As we said, it's a rather enjoyable game at first BlackDjeffgo: Basically, you click on what you want to do The mighty SFX: "at first" being a key word here. BlackDjeffgo: Some things - like defense turrets or missiles - require a number input BlackDjeffgo: but as long as you have at least one functioning arm, you can play this game The mighty SFX: Until you become noticed by the high tiered players of the game The mighty SFX: you see, the minute you join you are assigned a rank. x out of all of the players in the game. The mighty SFX: This offers a set protection against players who are significantly higher...I don't recall the math but it ultimately becomes worthless by the time your rank hits three digits BlackDjeffgo: You have auto-protection from high-leveled enemies, but only to an extent, and once you exceed 5000 arbitrarily-assigned "points" you're beyond the point of no return... The mighty SFX: At that point you'll wind up being attacked by somewhere in the range of 30 cruisers while you're saving up to build ONE BlackDjeffgo: I even had some high-level prick e-mail me, tauntingly telling me about things I'd known for a long time, saying how basically he and everyone else who plays Ogame would be after me as soon as I exceeded 5000 points. The mighty SFX: Yeah. The mighty SFX: I tried building strictly defense oriented units, but that didn't help as I was still facing number disadvantages. BlackDjeffgo: Exceptionally high-tiered players are either apathetic pricks or annoyingly aggressive pricks. I was attacked with such frequency, I lost all my defense systems and resources so quickly I couldn't build anything. Basically, I was locked in a stalemate. The mighty SFX: it didn't help much that I had to devote several resources to a Missile Silo so I could build Anti-Ballistic Missiles The mighty SFX: otherwise they would use Interplanetary Missiles and destroy all of my defenses with roughly four of those. The mighty SFX: The bashing rule prevents you from being attacked more than six times a day by the same person BlackDjeffgo: But six times a day is still a lot The mighty SFX: which is rather useless cause all it takes is five attacks from one person reduce your defenses to nonexistence. BlackDjeffgo: Also, there's some vaguely-written "rule" saying if you're going to attack an alliance, you must declare war in their forum BlackDjeffgo: Their forum is a profound waste of time and is about as helpful for actually learning something as jamming a fork in a toaster The mighty SFX: which is "Don't do it again" BlackDjeffgo: The mods don't seem to pay any attention to any activity in-game The mighty SFX: Ogame is continuously in development, but I really don't give a rip anymore since I can't even maintain my planet anymore The mighty SFX: unless I spend every bloody second watching Emraldia it's gonna get ruined The mighty SFX: Unless I stop sleeping and eating I'm screwed. BlackDjeffgo: And even then, some of these guys have forces so enormous that even watching it wouldn't save you The mighty SFX: Exactly. The mighty SFX: And god help you if someone actually declares war on you. The mighty SFX: which means you can usually do one of two things The mighty SFX: 1) Pay them an absurd amount of resources to keep yourself alive, or 2), Bend over and hope it'll end quickly. The mighty SFX: Spoilers: it probably won't BlackDjeffgo: And that's putting it nicely. BlackDjeffgo: And if you stop and take a look at some of the value/time charts, building some exceptionally high-tier'd gear would require more time than the human life expectancy The mighty SFX: Because build times aren't set by the programmers, they're done by an algorithm BlackDjeffgo: Regardless, you can only go so far into the game before it becomes obtuse, annoying high-level players notwithstanding The mighty SFX: Yeah The mighty SFX: it's a nice time waster for a week or so The mighty SFX: then it's just worthless. BlackDjeffgo: It's quite literally the personification of the term "excersize in futility" The mighty SFX: also, the company that makes this game makes like...twenty others The mighty SFX: I tried one of them, Wild Guns, which was a Wild West version of Ogame The mighty SFX: Hoping that it was new and I could build myself up before I could get wrecked, I tried it The mighty SFX: In this, your newbie protection lasts about two weeks The mighty SFX: two weeks after playing, I come home from school to check my stuff The mighty SFX: I was already attacked three times in a row by the same person and had several thousand resources taken and all my units killed The mighty SFX: So much for that BlackDjeffgo: Fun fact about the company behind Ogame BlackDjeffgo: All their games suffer the EXACT SAME FLAWS. The mighty SFX: Warpfire doesn't, but that's the only other one I've played The mighty SFX: that one I enjoyed a bit because it's more standard BlackDjeffgo: Yeah, the one that I found to be nigh-on-unplayable BlackDjeffgo: I drifted through space being randomly attacked by NPC's before running out of ammo and getting lost in the obscenely enormous world map... The mighty SFX: I can leave it alone for a while and come back later The mighty SFX: So if you want to play a good Online game? The mighty SFX: get Gunbound and play it with friends. BlackDjeffgo: Definitely. The mighty SFX: Maybe you'll find us playing one day! BlackDjeffgo: Maybe we'll do that one next. The mighty SFX: It's not that hard to find us. By our screenames, anyway BlackDjeffgo: Yeah... The mighty SFX: Should we go into overalls? (Wow, I feel like I'm leading this Review.) BlackDjeffgo: Might as well. Let's wrap this up. The mighty SFX: Overall best aspect? BlackDjeffgo: The interface was aesthetically-appealing and user-friendly. The mighty SFX: I'd say I liked the concept of lording over my own galactic empire. BlackDjeffgo: That too... The mighty SFX: at least I would if my empire wasn't constantly getting obliterated by bigger empires. The mighty SFX: Overall Worst aspect? BlackDjeffgo: The other players? The mighty SFX: It reminds me too much of Middle school The mighty SFX: being abused by the tougher and bigger students ;_; BlackDjeffgo: Ogame... new slogan? "It'll bring back those memories of middle school PE class" The mighty SFX: Yes. The mighty SFX: Anything else to add? BlackDjeffgo: I wouldn't waste my time again. If you're going to play Ogame, play to the 5000 mark, then change your planet's name and leave. The mighty SFX: Yeah The mighty SFX: Also, Gaming Overkill Viewers! The mighty SFX: I intend to do some audio reviews soon for the GmOv podcast. The mighty SFX: so...yeah, hopefully you'll see those soon. BlackDjeffgo: My solo reviews will be always where they have been. Expect my review of Portal soon. The mighty SFX: Final words? BlackDjeffgo: "Hey guys, watch this!" The mighty SFX: This (review) was a triumph. BlackDjeffgo: Don't steal my thunder. BlackDjeffgo: Anyways BlackDjeffgo: For Gaming Overkill, I'm Jeff The mighty SFX: And I'm Sean. BlackDjeffgo: Good night, everybody!



Jeff	Sep 26 2008, 04:08 PM Post #10
Lord of Pie & BBWs Posts: 1,387 Group: Four Against Nature Member #3 Joined: Jul 6, 2008 Quote You are but the strongest KNIGHT! You should be able to ROCK ME!	The mighty SFX: Greetings, all. BlackDjeffgo: For the first dual review on FAN - and the first in many months - I'm Jeff. The mighty SFX: And I am of course Sean. Let's make this one flashy! Double-Action! The mighty SFX: ...ahem right. BlackDjeffgo: ... BlackDjeffgo: SMACK The mighty SFX: OW! The mighty SFX: ;-; BlackDjeffgo: Today, we're here to discuss the latest entry in a series as old as I am. The mighty SFX: There are things that old? The mighty SFX: I kid, of course. BlackDjeffgo: A few days ago, for download on all three next-gen platforms, CapCom released MegaMan 9 The mighty SFX: Jeff isn't old. The mighty SFX: Yes, finally, Megaman 9! that was the first thought to cross my mind when I heard of this. BlackDjeffgo: Not counting spin-offs or sequels to spin-offs or spin-offs of spin-offs of spin-offs and sequels, it's been 12 years since the release of last game - MegaMan 8 The mighty SFX: I think it's 11, but close enough BlackDjeffgo: 1996 BlackDjeffgo: It's been 11 since its PlayStation release The mighty SFX: Meh, whatever BlackDjeffgo: Anyways, it's been longer than Duke Nukem Forever's been in development hell and that's saying something BlackDjeffgo: So when I heard CapCom announce a MegaMan 9, I got pumped up, especially after how great MegaMan X8 was. The mighty SFX: Then it was announced to be going back to 8 bit like the older games of the classic series. The mighty SFX: ...actually, it was like at the same time buuuut... BlackDjeffgo: Yes. Apparently guided by the wrong-headed notion that nostalgic = automatically good, CapCom went BACKWARDS technologically and mechanically. BlackDjeffgo: The first thing you might notice is the lack of an "Intro" stage, a staple in the franchise since MegaMan X/MegaMan 7, so you're pretty much thrown right to the boss select and wished the best. The mighty SFX: And of course you're given the choice of the usual eight robot masters..... The mighty SFX: which are living proof that Capcom is running out of bloody ideas for Robot Masters. BlackDjeffgo: BUT WAIT! It gets worse before it gets better. BlackDjeffgo: Mr. Inafune, the franchise's creator, apparently has such an affinity for MegaMan Zero that he threw in Harpuia and Leviathan as robot masters. Yes, ladies and gentleman, witness the great lack of innovation with TORNADO MAN and SPLASH WOMAN. Yes a "WOMAN" robot master. Look, I have nothing against females, but seeing as how this is the first one in the classic series to follow the "ELEMENT - WHATEV" formula, it's a bit jarring. Plus it looks like a guy in drag, as if Gem Man didn't. The mighty SFX: Jewel Man, I believe, but close enough. BlackDjeffgo: Mo'e like GHEY Man The mighty SFX: He'll be here all week for all of your overused joke goodness BlackDjeffgo: Anyways... BlackDjeffgo: You'll also immediately realize you're missing something. BlackDjeffgo: Two somethings. BlackDjeffgo: 1) No charge buster BlackDjeffgo: 2) No slide, slide The mighty SFX: And to get those? BlackDjeffgo: You pay for them BlackDjeffgo: Monies. No in-game currency (Screws). Real monies. The mighty SFX: Gotta shell out more money to get Protoman as a Downloadable Character....which isn't even available yet, mind you. BlackDjeffgo: The problem here is that in MegaMan 1-3, before the advent of the charge shot, the standard buster was remarkably stronger. Now, it has the weakness of the post-charge advent, but no charge to compensate, so you're a walking, jumping peashooter. Yes, MegaMan is weaker NOW than he was before MM1. The mighty SFX: Beautiful. BlackDjeffgo: Another thing worth mentioning is just how damn long the pre-game intro is BlackDjeffgo: Even the anime cutscenes in MM8 were short and to the point. BlackDjeffgo: But, damn, is it long enough? BlackDjeffgo: Though, I must admit, Chun Li as a news caster was pretty clever. BlackDjeffgo: In-game, how's it handle? Well, okay, after considering you're castrated from the word "Go" The mighty SFX: The game is just as hard as the other early 8-bit megaman games....possibly even harder. BlackDjeffgo: Again, another wrong-headed notion CapCom really wanted to pursue was the difficulty, taking everything we hated from the 8-bit era and pumping it up to 11 The mighty SFX: Now, before people call us wusses, bare in mind we've played the classic 8 bit games, we played I Wanna Be The Guy, and we enjoy a challenge The mighty SFX: a legitimate challenge. BlackDjeffgo: As a result, CapCom is aiming for a niche market that liked the original games - that is, males ages 20-23. BlackDjeffgo: That's not a very smart marketing demographic. CapCom is CUTTING OUT casual gamers. BlackDjeffgo: And for 10 bucks, casual gamers SHOULD be all over this stuff BlackDjeffgo: But they make it frustratingly hard, even for the veteran gamers and there's no difficulty setting in sight! The mighty SFX: also, each stage has what I like to call a dick move. something that will kill you and kill you until you're numb. The mighty SFX: And it isn't even something that you can appreciate. BlackDjeffgo: The only downside is that ENTIRE STAGES tend to be dick moves BlackDjeffgo: Tornado Man is an excellent example BlackDjeffgo: Introducing rotating magnet platforms - meaning you have to time your jumps as you would for NORMAL moving platforms, but also accommodate for the fact that the Blue Bomber must be on TOP of the platform, or instead plummet to his untimely demise. The mighty SFX: I just used the Rush Jet BlackDjeffgo: It can be done without, but it helps. BlackDjeffgo: Another thing I want to address is the 8-bit music. It's a fine accompaniment, I guess, if that's all we're getting, but I can't shake the notion about how much BETTER MegaMan 8's soundtrack was BlackDjeffgo: To paraphrase Ben "Yahtzee" Crowshaw, everything in the 8-bit era was inevitably left behind for a damn good reason. There are better things out there. BlackDjeffgo: The nostalgia-nuts will be all over me, condemning me for not worshiping MegaMan 2 as my God, but, sorry boys and girls, MegaMan 8 was better, and if pressed my favorite 8-bit MegaMan game was MM6. BlackDjeffgo: Which, if CapCom will bother remembering, failed because they tried to make an 8-bit game in a 16-bit era. Fancy that. BlackDjeffgo: So, Mr. Inafune, it feels more like I'm playing a "I Wanna be the Mega Guy" rendition of MegaMan 2 more than MegaMan 9 - and that's not a compliment - but let's get down to brass tax... BlackDjeffgo: Is the game FUN? BlackDjeffgo: At it's core? Yes. It's fun. There, I said it. The mighty SFX: Oh, don't get us wrong. We don't DESPISE It, we're just calling it out on its flaws and issues. BlackDjeffgo: Right. 12 years after a solid title like MegaMan 8, and they give us a stripped down game. That's annoying as all hell. However, the gameplay IS fluid and entertaining even when those FLOCKING BUZZARD block puzzles appear again. The mighty SFX: After I Wanna be the Guy, they don't seem nearly as bad... BlackDjeffgo: CapCom, listen, I thought we were in agreement that the block puzzles were passe, things of yesteryear, made for quarter-popping arcade machines. After they disappeared in the SNES era, I was mortified to see them AGAIN in MegaMan X5 (which was, admittedly, full of nostalgia-fluff, but, whatever, I forgave it for being a good game) I was, again, horrified to see them return. BlackDjeffgo: I must, however, admit that some of the elements employed in-game were rather clever, such as platforms that behaved like massive yo-yos The mighty SFX: Yes, we do have to concede that there are some amusing platforming elements. I did like the teleporting parts in Galaxy Man's stage. BlackDjeffgo: Those were rather fun, though it became PAINFULLY clear later on, Galaxy Man is your starting point... BlackDjeffgo: And even the rotating magnet platforms, when they weren't killing me, were at least interesting. The mighty SFX: Indeed. Overall, it's a decent game. Not fantastic, but not horrible, either. BlackDjeffgo: Okay, let's make some final comments and get down to the wrap-up The mighty SFX: Overall Best Aspect? BlackDjeffgo: The gameplay handled smoothly - even though it was in dire need of some new ideas beyond the few mentioned here. Also, CapCom, give my MY DAMN CHARGE BUSTER! The mighty SFX: I'd have to agree with you. The mighty SFX: Overall Worst? BlackDjeffgo: We wanted MegaMan 9, Mr. Inafune, not MegaMan 2+Zero The mighty SFX: I'd say the overall lack of balances. Stages were frustrating but the bosses were really easy if you knew what you were doing...or just bought 3-4 E-Tanks. BlackDjeffgo: Okay, any final notes you want to make? The mighty SFX: ... The mighty SFX: Clock up? BlackDjeffgo: ... BlackDjeffgo: WHACK! The mighty SFX: OW! BlackDjeffgo: For Four Against Nature - this is Jeff The mighty SFX: and I'm in pain..err..Sean. BlackDjeffgo: Good night everybody! ... Oh, and I want my damn MegaMan X9.
	Come visit me and my thought processes at my website: http://www.publishedauthors.net/tdotdw/news.html "In the cold light, justice and morality always look corny and you can't wave the flag and look cool. But like it or not, society needs its heroes." - John Hart; actor who played The Lone Ranger.


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