Well, I suppose the first thing I should do is acknowledge how long it's been since I last put anything here. Yeah, it's been two months since the last time I actually wrote anything for this. And, in coming back, I'm changing a bit about how I'm doing things. This is not going to be any sort of regularly-scheduled video game reviews or anything like that. It's just going to be a matter of whenever I have something I feel like talking about, I'll put it up here. Might be about video games, might be about anything. For example, today's topic is Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and, in particular, its finale.
For anyone who isn't aware, GLTAS has been running on Cartoon Network sporadically for a little over a year now, with the series finale having just aired yesterday. Let me just get this out of the way: This is a good show. The CG can be a little jarring, and, to be honest, kept me from watching for the longest time. But once I actually started watching, I found it had a good story, likable characters, and I overall enjoyed it. Hell, it's got me wanting to look into the comic series, but that is neither here nor there. So, if you're looking for something good to watch (and can deal with the CG, because I know that's a deal-breaker for some, and I completely get that), I would definitely recommend this show.
But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about the series finale, 'Dark Matter,' and what I thought about it. Now, since I am talking about the finale, there are going to be some MAJOR spoilers, so if you haven't watched it yet, and you plan on watching it, don't read anymore.
So, over the course of this arc, Aya, Green Lantern Hal Jordon's ship's navigation AI, has turned evil, and plans on going back in time to stop all biological life from ever having been created. She had taken control of the Anti-Monitor's body, granting her great power and the ability to control the Manhunters that the Guardians had once created. Now, let's forget for a minute that Dr. Ian Malcom told us that life will always find a way, and just assume that this plan could work. The Green Lantern Corps is planning one last final battle against Aya and the Manhunters she controls, which is about where our episode begins.
Hal's looking at a map of all the star systems that Aya has destroyed to gain power, because he's angsty like that, when he's approached by fellow Green Lantern Tomar-Re. In talking with Tomar, Hal learns that Aya destroyed an entire system in Tomar's sector, but it just happened to be devoid of all life. Realizing that he's on to something, Hal cross-references a map of the systems Aya has destroyed with a map of lifeless systems, and learns that Aya has actually only destroyed systems devoid of life.
And here's my first problem with this episode. This whole story arc, they had been setting it up that Aya had undergone a Face Heel Turn, but with this revelation, you find out that Aya hasn't really done anything. Sure, she's destroyed some lifeless rocks, and yes, she killed Gi'ata, but, compared to some of the other villains this series has had, that's not much. This might just be my opinion, but I feel like the type of story that most resonates with people is one of redemption. And with this plot twist, the writers have pretty much killed all chance of telling such a story with Aya, which I feel would've been a really good plot in a hypothetical season 2.
Anyway, the battle starts, and I don't really have any complaints here. Some fun action scenes, everyone kicking ass and taking names, moving on. Hal tries to stop the battle, but, as per usual, nobody listens to him, so, as per usual, Hal does something reckless and stupid and rushes to confront Aya with his new-found knowledge. And in thanks for his aiding her in the past, Aya decides to take Hal with her to the moment of creation, so he can watch her unmake all biological life, and then die as reality's last living creature.
Hal calls for Razer to be sent in after him, as his Red Lantern ring is the only nearby that can harm Aya. More action ensues, and Kilowog and the other Green Lanterns construct a giant... cannon-thing to launch Razer at the Anti-Monitor's body. Razer is obviously a little distraught at this plan, as he's kinda-sorta in love with Aya, but he agrees to it anyway.
Hal, meanwhile, is trying to convince Aya not to undo all life, but she's not having any of it. Hal tries one last attempt to convince her, showing her a recording revealing that she was actually made from a biological being. She chooses not to believe, Hal reminds her that he's not smart enough to fake that. This convinces Aya of the truth, resulting in her... attacking Hal and proceeding with her plan anyway. I've got to admit, her dedication to her plan is admirable.
As Aya begins to unmake all life, Razer forms a dagger construct, sneaks up behind Aya, and... gives a battle cry, alerting Aya to him and causing her to reflexively attack Razer. Gotta say, not the smartest plan there, Razer.
I will admit, I kinda love this scene. As he's about to attack, you can see tears falling from Razer's eyes, and once Aya turns to face him, the dagger formed from his hate fades. And then the look on Aya's face when she realizes what she's done... you feel for her. I'm a huge fan of the love redeeming, and if they had been able to work in a redemption plot in the next season, this would've been a great starting point. However, as I mentioned earlier, Aya really has nothing really to be redeemed for.
Hal finally snaps Aya out of her near-story-arc-long crazy, and she rushes to Razer. She and Razer have a very brief, albeit touching, moment, Aya un-undoes all life as we know it, and she, Hal, and Razer return to the present. Aya then uses the last of her Anti-Monitor power to heal Razer, returning to her green and white coloration to show that she's a good guy again.
Also, I'm going to lie, Aya and Razer have a really cheesy moment after Razer wakes up, but I'm more-or-less okay with it. I do wonder how Aya managed to cry, though. That just makes little-to-no sense.
Anyway, back outside in space, the Manhunters are still fighting. Aya reveals that she replaced their programming with copies of her own, meaning that she can no longer control them. But, she has something that can stop them: a virus, designed to shut down her programming. She releases it, shutting down all of the Manhunters, and saving the day. Sadly, the virus also attacks her, killing her as well.
And therein lies my biggest problem with this episode: Aya's death. First off, why did she replace the Manhunter's programming with her own? I can't see any advantage to be gained from doing this. Secondly, why did she just happen to have a virus that would kill herself? Even if you claim that maybe she made it before turning evil, just as a fail-safe in case she ever did, then why didn't she destroy it upon become the Aya-Monitor? Neither of these make any sense to me at all.
Thirdly, and most importantly, I go back, once again, to the idea of redemption. I get the feeling that the writers were going for a Death Equals Redemption thing here, and I get that, villains redeeming themselves through sacrifice is always something I enjoy, but I don't feel that it was appropriate here. Like I said earlier, Aya didn't have much to be redeemed for. She killed one person, and destroyed some lifeless rocks. Compare that to Atrocitus, an unrepentant whose actions lead to the deaths of countless Green Lanterns. Atrocitus's punishment? Imprisonment. And what punishment did Aya, a repentant villain who killed, to the best of our knowledge, one living being, get? Death. I don't know, that just seems a little unfair to me.
Anyway, the day is saved, and everyone is celebrating. Hal and Kilowog go to comfort Razer, who tells them that he's going to search the galaxy for Aya, confident that she'll be out there somewhere. And, as he flies off into the distance, we see a Blue Lantern Ring, the symbol of Hope, float into view, flying off after Razer. And there ends the series.
So, my thoughts on all this. The series overall? As I said earlier, I really enjoyed this show. If you want a good DC animated series, I would definitely recommend this. This episode in particular? Probably one of the weaker points of the series. Plot holes and, in my opinion, bad themes make this a fairly unsatisfying conclusion to the show. Do I think that this show should be renewed? Yes and no. While I would like to watch more of this, and I would be curious to see where they went from here, I'd rather it end while it's good, rather than have to watch the series slowly decay as I have with other shows in the past.
So, I think that wraps up my... review?... of this. I dunno what I'll do next, maybe some more DC stuff, maybe a video game, maybe a DC video game (probably not a DC video game), who knows? I can't say when it'll be, but... yeah, I'll post some more sometime. Until then, see you later.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
So, the year's closing out, and here I am wrapping up the year with the last (for now) installment in the Mario and Luigi series, Bowser's Inside Story.
This game was released for the DS in 2009, having been developed, like the other titles in this series, by AlphaDream. Like the other two games, this game stars Mario and Luigi. Unlike the other two, this game also features Bowser as a playable character.
As the game begins, the Mushroom Kingdom is beset by a plague called the Blorbs, with any toads infected swelling up to a ridiculous size. A meeting is called with Princess Peach and her advisers, including Mario and Luigi, and a representative from the stars, a young Star Sprite named Starlow. Bowser interrupts this meeting, claiming that he came to offer his help, but the sight of Mario infuriated him into attacking. After Mario trounces Bowser, Peach and Starlow send him flying away. Bowser lands in the woods, where a mysterious man gives him a mushroom that will give him the power to defeat Mario. The mushroom does that, but also temporarily brainwashes him. Bowser uses the power of the mushroom to suck up the toads in Peach's Castle, Peach herself, and Mario and Luigi, and the villain that gave Bowser the mushroom is revealed to be Fawful, from the first game. After sucking up everyone, Bowser is sent away by Fawful, and Bowser decides to get his revenge. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi are inside Bowser, trying to find a way to get everyone out. All three have to work together, though Bowser never knows it, to stop Fawful.
In terms of gameplay, this game is very similar to the previous two titles in the series. Once more, everything Mario and Luigi do is done with the A and B buttons, and Bowser uses the X and Y buttons. This game still technically used Bros. Items for Mario and Luigi, but the attacks were done using points like the first game, instead of consuming items like the second. Like I said in my Partners in Time review, I prefer this, as it allows the player to have greater choice in what attacks they can use, so I am happy to see its return. Bowser, on the other hand, doesn't use items at all, instead utilizing his minions to perform special attacks. This goes from lighting Goombas on fire and launching them at the opponent, to having Shy Guys form a slingshot to fire Bowser at the enemy, to even using bouncing Koopa shells off of Bowser into the enemy. Bowser also keeps the ability he gained at the beginning of the game to suck up foes. Sometimes this heals him or gives him a stat boost, and sometimes it actually swallow his enemies, allowing Mario and Luigi to fight them from inside Bowser.
When it comes to the writing, this game is a lot like Superstar Saga. You go to many different locations across the Mushroom Kingdom, meeting various characters, few recurring, but many memorable, at least to some degree. Like Partners in Time, however, this game once more includes a Navi-like character in the Star Sprite named Starlow. Honestly, I found Starlow to be much more annoying than Stuffwell ever was, not seeming to do anything other than explain where I needed to go next, when most of the time, I figured that out without any help from her. I still don't see why they added either of these characters to the game, as they didn't do anything to progress the plot, nor were they entertaining, but I talked about that last week, so I don't feel like repeating myself too much.
Like I said earlier, Fawful has returned as the main villain of this game, much to my pleasure. I mean, much as I love other aspects of these games, Fawful remains my favorite part, and is probably one of my favorite characters of any game. Joining him as second-in-command in Midbus, a... pig-like monster who, like his boss, has a very strange way of speaking. I think I've heard it compared to an old kung-fu movie, and that's as good a comparison as any, I suppose. I haven't really seen any old kung-fu mvoies, so I can't say if it's accurate, but I digress.
All in all, this is probably my favorite game in the series. It's very well-made, the writing is fun, and I really don't have anything else to say. While I would recommend playing any of the games in this series, this is the one I'd recommend above the other two.
But, seriously, if you're only going to play one of them, play this one. Easily the best of the three.
And if you're not going to play any of them, still play this one. It's awesome. And Fawful's in it. Fawful is awesome.
So, yeah, that wraps up this review. See you next year, er, week, when I'll be back, same as normal.
This game was released for the DS in 2009, having been developed, like the other titles in this series, by AlphaDream. Like the other two games, this game stars Mario and Luigi. Unlike the other two, this game also features Bowser as a playable character.
As the game begins, the Mushroom Kingdom is beset by a plague called the Blorbs, with any toads infected swelling up to a ridiculous size. A meeting is called with Princess Peach and her advisers, including Mario and Luigi, and a representative from the stars, a young Star Sprite named Starlow. Bowser interrupts this meeting, claiming that he came to offer his help, but the sight of Mario infuriated him into attacking. After Mario trounces Bowser, Peach and Starlow send him flying away. Bowser lands in the woods, where a mysterious man gives him a mushroom that will give him the power to defeat Mario. The mushroom does that, but also temporarily brainwashes him. Bowser uses the power of the mushroom to suck up the toads in Peach's Castle, Peach herself, and Mario and Luigi, and the villain that gave Bowser the mushroom is revealed to be Fawful, from the first game. After sucking up everyone, Bowser is sent away by Fawful, and Bowser decides to get his revenge. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi are inside Bowser, trying to find a way to get everyone out. All three have to work together, though Bowser never knows it, to stop Fawful.
In terms of gameplay, this game is very similar to the previous two titles in the series. Once more, everything Mario and Luigi do is done with the A and B buttons, and Bowser uses the X and Y buttons. This game still technically used Bros. Items for Mario and Luigi, but the attacks were done using points like the first game, instead of consuming items like the second. Like I said in my Partners in Time review, I prefer this, as it allows the player to have greater choice in what attacks they can use, so I am happy to see its return. Bowser, on the other hand, doesn't use items at all, instead utilizing his minions to perform special attacks. This goes from lighting Goombas on fire and launching them at the opponent, to having Shy Guys form a slingshot to fire Bowser at the enemy, to even using bouncing Koopa shells off of Bowser into the enemy. Bowser also keeps the ability he gained at the beginning of the game to suck up foes. Sometimes this heals him or gives him a stat boost, and sometimes it actually swallow his enemies, allowing Mario and Luigi to fight them from inside Bowser.
When it comes to the writing, this game is a lot like Superstar Saga. You go to many different locations across the Mushroom Kingdom, meeting various characters, few recurring, but many memorable, at least to some degree. Like Partners in Time, however, this game once more includes a Navi-like character in the Star Sprite named Starlow. Honestly, I found Starlow to be much more annoying than Stuffwell ever was, not seeming to do anything other than explain where I needed to go next, when most of the time, I figured that out without any help from her. I still don't see why they added either of these characters to the game, as they didn't do anything to progress the plot, nor were they entertaining, but I talked about that last week, so I don't feel like repeating myself too much.
Like I said earlier, Fawful has returned as the main villain of this game, much to my pleasure. I mean, much as I love other aspects of these games, Fawful remains my favorite part, and is probably one of my favorite characters of any game. Joining him as second-in-command in Midbus, a... pig-like monster who, like his boss, has a very strange way of speaking. I think I've heard it compared to an old kung-fu movie, and that's as good a comparison as any, I suppose. I haven't really seen any old kung-fu mvoies, so I can't say if it's accurate, but I digress.
All in all, this is probably my favorite game in the series. It's very well-made, the writing is fun, and I really don't have anything else to say. While I would recommend playing any of the games in this series, this is the one I'd recommend above the other two.
But, seriously, if you're only going to play one of them, play this one. Easily the best of the three.
And if you're not going to play any of them, still play this one. It's awesome. And Fawful's in it. Fawful is awesome.
So, yeah, that wraps up this review. See you next year, er, week, when I'll be back, same as normal.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
Alright, second week of my look at the Mario and Luigi series. Here we are with Partners in Time, the 2005 sequel to Superstar Saga developed for the Nintendo DS. And that's all I've got for an intro.
In this game, Professor E. Gadd has invented time travel. And, instead of testing it himself or hiring someone to test it like a rational person might, he lets Princess Peach use it first. And, of course, she takes it back to when the Mushroom Kingdom was being invaded by aliens.
What, you didn't know that? Yeah, the Mushroom Kingdom was invaded by an alien race called the Shroobs, and when Peach found out about this, she decided she had to go back in time and get herself kidnapped by them, because they were about the only people that HADN'T kidnapped her yet. So when the time machine comes back sans Princess and with an angry alien, Mario must go rescue Peach. And Luigi comes with because he's in the title. Since the time machine (of course) doesn't work, they instead go through a hole in time and space that was opened by the time machine's usage.
Of course, that's only half of the story's intro. Shortly before the Shroobs invaded, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were at Baby Peach's castle when Baby Bowser decided to babynap Baby Peach. Baby Mario stops Baby Bowser, but then the Shroobs attack, and all of the babies (plus a young-ish Toadsworth) flee in the Koopa Cruiser. It's at this point that they find the adult Mario and Luigi struggling to fight off some Shroobs, so Baby Mario and Baby Luigi go to their rescue. The adults decide to take the babies with them on their quest to rescue Peach, which may or may not be kidnapping, I'm not quite sure. Thus begins our adventure, with the four Mario bros. using various portals scattered across Peach's Castle in the present to visit different locales in the past, so that they can collect shards of the time machine's power source, the Cobalt Star, and use the reformed star to gain access to the past Peach's Castle and rescue the princess.
In many ways, this game is very similar to Superstar Saga. Battles are still turn-based, with Mario and Luigi using A and B, and the babies using X and Y, to attack and defend. The Bros. Attacks are changed a bit in this game, though. Instead of spending Bros. Points to use them, attacks are used by Bros. Items found throughout the game in blocks, or purchased in shops. I actually preferred using Bros. Points, since it allowed me to choose what attacks I wanted to use, instead of being limited by what items I had. However, there are a lot more choices for each of the brothers, and if there's one particular attack you grow fond of, you can use that with either brother, so that's a nice improvement. But generally, this game plays the same as the original, so that's definitely a point in its favor.
This game does suffer a bit in terms of writing, however. The plot is, like I said earlier, fairly standard, with Peach being kidnapped for the umpteenth time. But where Superstar Saga had a multitude of interesting characters, this game decided to have a few recurring characters, few of whom I felt were very interesting. I did like Kylie Koopa, a koopa (what else) with the personality of an old-school reporter, always looking for a big scoop. On the other hand, there was Stuffwell, who, in addition to holding the party's inventory, served as the game's Navi. And yes, he was just as annoying at times as she ever was. I'm not sure why he was in this game. Saga did perfectly fine without a character like this, so I don't know why they decided to add it in here. But, I'm griping. There weren't really any offensive characters, even if there weren't really any memorable ones, so I'm not really going to complain.
I will mention that Fawful has returned in a bit part as the owner of a shop where he trades beans that you can dig up for badges. In particular, you can trade 90 beans for an Ulti-Free badge, which gives the wearer unlimited uses of any Bros. Item. And if you're paying any attention, it's not that hard to find 90 beans by the endgame, so you should be going into the final boss fight with at least one of the brothers able to use as many Bros. Items as you want, which makes the fight a lot easier.
I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the music in this series. I neglected to mention it in the Superstar Saga review, but Yoko Shimomura (probably better known for her work in the Kingdom Hearts series) does a great job composing music in all three of these games. In particular, I love the final boss theme. It's a great song, and if I ever do a list of the best boss themes, feel free to give me crap if it doesn't show up on that list.
So, to wrap things up, this is a good game. Not really a great game, and definitely my least favorite in this series, but it's fun, and I would still recommend playing it.
As one last added note, the beginning of this game is actually the reason I decided to review this series this month in particular. The first area Mario and Luigi visit in the past is called Holli Jolli village. It's snowy, the mayor is a fat Toad you find stuck in a chimney, and the background music is a somewhat eerie arrangement of 'Jingle Bells.'
Also, when you reach the village, it is full of smoldering craters from a recent Shroob attack, and almost all of the villagers have been abducted by the Shroobs to have their life energy drained from them as a power source.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
In this game, Professor E. Gadd has invented time travel. And, instead of testing it himself or hiring someone to test it like a rational person might, he lets Princess Peach use it first. And, of course, she takes it back to when the Mushroom Kingdom was being invaded by aliens.
What, you didn't know that? Yeah, the Mushroom Kingdom was invaded by an alien race called the Shroobs, and when Peach found out about this, she decided she had to go back in time and get herself kidnapped by them, because they were about the only people that HADN'T kidnapped her yet. So when the time machine comes back sans Princess and with an angry alien, Mario must go rescue Peach. And Luigi comes with because he's in the title. Since the time machine (of course) doesn't work, they instead go through a hole in time and space that was opened by the time machine's usage.
Of course, that's only half of the story's intro. Shortly before the Shroobs invaded, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were at Baby Peach's castle when Baby Bowser decided to babynap Baby Peach. Baby Mario stops Baby Bowser, but then the Shroobs attack, and all of the babies (plus a young-ish Toadsworth) flee in the Koopa Cruiser. It's at this point that they find the adult Mario and Luigi struggling to fight off some Shroobs, so Baby Mario and Baby Luigi go to their rescue. The adults decide to take the babies with them on their quest to rescue Peach, which may or may not be kidnapping, I'm not quite sure. Thus begins our adventure, with the four Mario bros. using various portals scattered across Peach's Castle in the present to visit different locales in the past, so that they can collect shards of the time machine's power source, the Cobalt Star, and use the reformed star to gain access to the past Peach's Castle and rescue the princess.
In many ways, this game is very similar to Superstar Saga. Battles are still turn-based, with Mario and Luigi using A and B, and the babies using X and Y, to attack and defend. The Bros. Attacks are changed a bit in this game, though. Instead of spending Bros. Points to use them, attacks are used by Bros. Items found throughout the game in blocks, or purchased in shops. I actually preferred using Bros. Points, since it allowed me to choose what attacks I wanted to use, instead of being limited by what items I had. However, there are a lot more choices for each of the brothers, and if there's one particular attack you grow fond of, you can use that with either brother, so that's a nice improvement. But generally, this game plays the same as the original, so that's definitely a point in its favor.
This game does suffer a bit in terms of writing, however. The plot is, like I said earlier, fairly standard, with Peach being kidnapped for the umpteenth time. But where Superstar Saga had a multitude of interesting characters, this game decided to have a few recurring characters, few of whom I felt were very interesting. I did like Kylie Koopa, a koopa (what else) with the personality of an old-school reporter, always looking for a big scoop. On the other hand, there was Stuffwell, who, in addition to holding the party's inventory, served as the game's Navi. And yes, he was just as annoying at times as she ever was. I'm not sure why he was in this game. Saga did perfectly fine without a character like this, so I don't know why they decided to add it in here. But, I'm griping. There weren't really any offensive characters, even if there weren't really any memorable ones, so I'm not really going to complain.
I will mention that Fawful has returned in a bit part as the owner of a shop where he trades beans that you can dig up for badges. In particular, you can trade 90 beans for an Ulti-Free badge, which gives the wearer unlimited uses of any Bros. Item. And if you're paying any attention, it's not that hard to find 90 beans by the endgame, so you should be going into the final boss fight with at least one of the brothers able to use as many Bros. Items as you want, which makes the fight a lot easier.
I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the music in this series. I neglected to mention it in the Superstar Saga review, but Yoko Shimomura (probably better known for her work in the Kingdom Hearts series) does a great job composing music in all three of these games. In particular, I love the final boss theme. It's a great song, and if I ever do a list of the best boss themes, feel free to give me crap if it doesn't show up on that list.
So, to wrap things up, this is a good game. Not really a great game, and definitely my least favorite in this series, but it's fun, and I would still recommend playing it.
As one last added note, the beginning of this game is actually the reason I decided to review this series this month in particular. The first area Mario and Luigi visit in the past is called Holli Jolli village. It's snowy, the mayor is a fat Toad you find stuck in a chimney, and the background music is a somewhat eerie arrangement of 'Jingle Bells.'
Also, when you reach the village, it is full of smoldering craters from a recent Shroob attack, and almost all of the villagers have been abducted by the Shroobs to have their life energy drained from them as a power source.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
So, I originally planned on doing this review... almost 2 months ago now. Then I got distracted, then I did that thing for October, then... I did other stuff that wasn't reviewing this game. So, now it's December, almost Christmas in fact, and so I've decided to do some reviews all about the jolly fat man in red.
...Mario, of course, not Santa. Don't worry, you aren't the first to confuse the two. But we'll get to that later. Anyway, for the next three weeks (well, two and a half), I'll be doing a series of reviews on the Mario & Luigi games, starting by finally reviewing Superstar Saga.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for the Game Boy Advance on November 17th, 2003. It was the third Mario RPG released, after Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario. In this game, Princess Peach has not been kidnapped, surprisingly enough. Instead, her voice has been stolen... somehow. There's magic involved, that's all you really need to know. So Mario must journey to the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom in order to save Peach's voice. And, due to a wacky misunderstanding, Luigi comes along too.
This game is fairly basic when it comes to gameplay. In battle, Mario uses the A button for his commands, while Luigi uses the B button. They can attack individually, with Jump, Hammer, and Hand commands (Hand being elemental attacks, Mario using fire, Luigi using Lightning), or they can spend BP (Bros. Points) in order to pull off Bros. Attacks, powerful combination moves that require the player to enter the proper button sequence to deal maximum damage. Outside of battle, each of the brothers uses either the A or B button for commands, though this time it depends on the order in which they are standing, with the front-most brother using A, and the rear brother using B. The order can be switched using START, so that both of the brothers can use their abilities to their fullest. I only really have two complaints in this area: One, that the battles are a little too easy, but that could just be because I've played this game too many times; and Two, that the SELECT button is used to open the menu and the START button is used to switch the brothers instead of vice-versa, but that's just me being nit-picky. Overall, the gameplay in this game is solid and enjoyable.
My favorite aspect of this game, by far, is the writing. The story's more-or-less standard, the princess('s voice) has been kidnapped, and it's up to Mario (and Luigi) to save her (voice). But it's the details in what Mario and Luigi encounter in the Beanbean kingdom that make the game so much fun. You run into Hammerheaded Hammer-Makers that give you (What else?) hammers, an old man who ferments cola by telling it (truly awful) jokes, and a giant hermit crab with a lisp dressed as a Christmas tree who mistakes Mario for Santa Claus.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a thing that happens. But probably the best of all these characters is the main villain's cronie, Fawful. He is... incredibly strange, referring to people as 'finkrats' and making strange references to sandwiches. I don't understand a word that comes out of his mouth, but it's always fun to run into him.
This was probably my first (non-Pokemon) RPG, and remains to this day one of my favorites. This game, and its two sequels, are some of the few games that I make a point of replaying every year or so. So in case you couldn't guess, I'm strongly recommending you get this game and play it. Even if you aren't normally a fan of Mario, this is a great game.
...Mario, of course, not Santa. Don't worry, you aren't the first to confuse the two. But we'll get to that later. Anyway, for the next three weeks (well, two and a half), I'll be doing a series of reviews on the Mario & Luigi games, starting by finally reviewing Superstar Saga.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for the Game Boy Advance on November 17th, 2003. It was the third Mario RPG released, after Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario. In this game, Princess Peach has not been kidnapped, surprisingly enough. Instead, her voice has been stolen... somehow. There's magic involved, that's all you really need to know. So Mario must journey to the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom in order to save Peach's voice. And, due to a wacky misunderstanding, Luigi comes along too.
This game is fairly basic when it comes to gameplay. In battle, Mario uses the A button for his commands, while Luigi uses the B button. They can attack individually, with Jump, Hammer, and Hand commands (Hand being elemental attacks, Mario using fire, Luigi using Lightning), or they can spend BP (Bros. Points) in order to pull off Bros. Attacks, powerful combination moves that require the player to enter the proper button sequence to deal maximum damage. Outside of battle, each of the brothers uses either the A or B button for commands, though this time it depends on the order in which they are standing, with the front-most brother using A, and the rear brother using B. The order can be switched using START, so that both of the brothers can use their abilities to their fullest. I only really have two complaints in this area: One, that the battles are a little too easy, but that could just be because I've played this game too many times; and Two, that the SELECT button is used to open the menu and the START button is used to switch the brothers instead of vice-versa, but that's just me being nit-picky. Overall, the gameplay in this game is solid and enjoyable.
My favorite aspect of this game, by far, is the writing. The story's more-or-less standard, the princess('s voice) has been kidnapped, and it's up to Mario (and Luigi) to save her (voice). But it's the details in what Mario and Luigi encounter in the Beanbean kingdom that make the game so much fun. You run into Hammerheaded Hammer-Makers that give you (What else?) hammers, an old man who ferments cola by telling it (truly awful) jokes, and a giant hermit crab with a lisp dressed as a Christmas tree who mistakes Mario for Santa Claus.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a thing that happens. But probably the best of all these characters is the main villain's cronie, Fawful. He is... incredibly strange, referring to people as 'finkrats' and making strange references to sandwiches. I don't understand a word that comes out of his mouth, but it's always fun to run into him.
This was probably my first (non-Pokemon) RPG, and remains to this day one of my favorites. This game, and its two sequels, are some of the few games that I make a point of replaying every year or so. So in case you couldn't guess, I'm strongly recommending you get this game and play it. Even if you aren't normally a fan of Mario, this is a great game.
Friday, December 7, 2012
The 2012 VGAs: An Attempt at Live-Blogging
So, this last Friday night, Spike aired the 2012 Video Game Awards. And, while the show went on, I decided to write my thoughts on the show as it aired. And so, without any alteration (past maybe some spell-checking), here are my comments on the 2012 VGAs.
8:02 - First off, the South Park opening... which I missed, as I was watching the wrong video. Oh well, not too fond of South Park anyway. Oh hey, Samuel L. Jackson's hosting. He's pretty awesome, this could be good.
Sam, that's not how RPGs work. Viewers making choices does not make this an RPG Awards Show. If anything, it's a Visual Novel Awards Show, and even that's not a perfect analogy.
Okay, looks like I'm not missing much South Park. Not really heard much about this game, let's see if the trailer can do anything for me.
...Okay, didn't really do much for me. I mean, the humor seemed very similar to the show's, and the gameplay was not there at all, and- Why is Kenny dressed as Zelda?
8:07 - Oh hey, Walking Dead People are presenting an award. Best Shooter... suddenly I don't care. Shooters have never been my thing, and I haven't played any of these games. So Borderlands 2 wins, and this means literally nothing to mean. And it also won best multiplayer, I guess. Good for them.
8:10 - The future of gaming? This should be interesting... and a gameplay trailer, too? Guy with a hook hand, that's unusual. Amnesia... that's more normal. As is the apparent In Media Res opening.
...This game actually looks kinda interesting. Or at least it might if I had any clue what was going on... Very actiony, at the very least. Was that guy riding a fire Unicorn? Anyway, the game is called 'The Phantom Pain.' Might have to keep my eyes open for that one.
8:14 - And we have a little skit with Master Chief and Cortana talking about his nomination for Character of the Year. That was pretty fun, and it turns out Chief is a Samuel L. Jackson fan, which I'm taking as canon.
8:20 - Okay, I like this skit. If only for the NPH cameo. Though future-Samuel L. Jackson being the president of the world seems unrealistic. And there's almost too much use of the word 'future.' Wait, did Samuel L. Jackson just go back in time just so he could insert himself into video games?
...Actually, I'd do that too.
8:23 - Oo, video game music time. I love video game music time. Can they turn off the sound effects though? I know it builds atmosphere, but I just want to hear the music.
This is a really good medley. It's doing a great job of smoothly transitioning between each of the games, and making the score to each one sound epic. I mean, if I didn't see the footage, I'd have a hard time believing these were composed by different people. It just seems like one big flowing piece, instead of a medley. I know I'm kind of going at length about this, but I'm really enjoying it. Easily my favorite part of the show thus far. But now it's over.
8:32 - And now a skit starring Assassin's Creed III's Connor. Where he kisses Ubisoft's ass. Pretty reasonable, they did create him.
8:35 - Trailer for The Last of Us. Not really heard a lot about this game, but the story (based off of the trailer) looks interesting, and I love the song that the composer's playing here. I have no clue what that instrument is, but it's really nice-sounding.
And immediately followed up by a trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Not gonna lie, not very interested in this, since I've never played any Castlevania- wait, you play as Dracula in this game? And it's a modern setting? Okay, I want this game.
8:39 - And now Samuel L. Jackson's Cortana. This is pretty weird. Not in a bad way, though.
8:45 - I have no clue who Claptrap is. I have no more comments on this skit. Kinda like him, though.
8:47 - And Jessica Alba's talking about some game from last year everyone loved that's getting a sequel. I have no clue what she's talking about.
Huh. Dark Souls 2. Never really heard of the first one.
8:49 - Oh, hey, another award. Been a while, hasn't it? About 40 minutes, I think. And Best Action-Adventure goes to... Dishonored. Which has done nothing to interest me, so I'm just going to move on.
8:52 - Wait, The Last of Us is set post-apocalypse? I thought it was just normal Pittsburgh. Huh.
8:58 - I have no clue who this character is, or what game he's from.
8:59 - And Linkin Park's playing. Ohai, mute button.
9:03 - Indie games time. Let's see if I've played any of thes- Nope. Thought some of them looked interesting, though, and probably would pick up Journey if I had a PS3. Which won. So, guess I made the right choice? And it won best PS3 game and best score. Good for them.
9:05 And now Samuel L. Jackson is in Star Wars Angry Birds. This actually makes perfect sense, and should be in the actual game.
9:12 - Oh hey, it's that guy who talked about his pubes in the pre-show. And he's introducing Snoop Do- Lion. So, we meet again, mute button...
9:15 - And a trailer for Assassin's Creed III DLC. And it seems to really be going into alternate history, which seems like a weird direction to take.
Wait, KING Washington? Okay, this shit officially went crazy.
9:16 - Ohai Shepard.... and Female Shepard. Now I'm just confused. Are they both canon? Is tha- Is that how that works? My head hurts...
9:19 - And Gears of War 4 trailer. Somehow I feel like this awards show was not made with me in mind. I mean, really? Pokemon Black and White 2 don't get a single nomination? What a rip-off...
9:25 - Samuel L. Jackson in Dishonored. Re-enacting Pulp Fiction. Also apparently slept with Lady Gaga.
9:27 - So, the best games of the year get a medley, but Tomb Raider gets a performance with her trailer all to herself? What's that about? I mean, it's not bad, but still...
9:31 - And Claptrap has won Character of the Year. And may in fact be insane.
...He's insane, isn't he?
9:37 - Samuel L. Jackson in an... oddly-animated Minecraft. With Gangnam Style. Which is then interrupted by Sam via crossbow. That was pretty awesome.
9:38 - Hey, it's Tenacious D. AKA a musical act I wouldn't mute.
...Except they're not performing, they're announcing Game of the Decade. This is one I'm interested in. Let's see what the people decided.
Half-Life 2, huh? Guess you guys REALLY want a sequel. No offense, just not what I was expecting. Not even the Valve title I was expecting. Though I suppose it says a lot when these guys got nominated for Game of the Decade twice.
9:42 - Leonard, you need your glasses, you look weird without them. And then Halo trailer. Bored now.
9:44 - Okay, is Bioshock one of those games I need to play sometime? Because it seems like it, given all the hype Infinite's been getting.
I feel like I need a list of these games.
9:48 - I'm just going to say, this is the second unique commerical break I've had. And hour and fifty minutes into the show.
9:51 - Oh yeah, and Mass Effect 3 won Best RPG. Why couldn't THAT one? I was actually interested in that. And somehow Diablo III was running against it. No clue how that works.
9:53 - They gave Samuel L. Jackson a mini-gun. Who thought that was a good idea? Who in the HELL thought that was a good idea?
9:54 - And here we go. Game of the Year is... The Walking Dead? Really? The only game of the five that I've played? Awesome. Good for TellTale, great game. Really need to get around to episodes 2-5.
9:57 - And to close it out, Tenacious D actually IS performing. More awesome.
So, all in all, an... interesting experience. Still want to know what the best Wii/WiiU game was (my money's on Xenoblade, which IS in fact on my list of those games). Kinda interested in some of the choices (Not having played it, I'm unsure what makes Half-Life 2 the Best Game of the Decade), but I'm not complaining. And Samuel L. Jackson was a good host.
Also, I kinda wish the one of the surprise trailers had been for Chrono Trigger 3, but I doubt that'll ever happen at this point. Still, I can always wish, right?
If you guys thought this attempt at live-blogging went well, be sure to say something. I just decided to do this because I thought it might be interesting, but if you liked it, I might try it again sometime.
8:02 - First off, the South Park opening... which I missed, as I was watching the wrong video. Oh well, not too fond of South Park anyway. Oh hey, Samuel L. Jackson's hosting. He's pretty awesome, this could be good.
Sam, that's not how RPGs work. Viewers making choices does not make this an RPG Awards Show. If anything, it's a Visual Novel Awards Show, and even that's not a perfect analogy.
Okay, looks like I'm not missing much South Park. Not really heard much about this game, let's see if the trailer can do anything for me.
...Okay, didn't really do much for me. I mean, the humor seemed very similar to the show's, and the gameplay was not there at all, and- Why is Kenny dressed as Zelda?
8:07 - Oh hey, Walking Dead People are presenting an award. Best Shooter... suddenly I don't care. Shooters have never been my thing, and I haven't played any of these games. So Borderlands 2 wins, and this means literally nothing to mean. And it also won best multiplayer, I guess. Good for them.
8:10 - The future of gaming? This should be interesting... and a gameplay trailer, too? Guy with a hook hand, that's unusual. Amnesia... that's more normal. As is the apparent In Media Res opening.
...This game actually looks kinda interesting. Or at least it might if I had any clue what was going on... Very actiony, at the very least. Was that guy riding a fire Unicorn? Anyway, the game is called 'The Phantom Pain.' Might have to keep my eyes open for that one.
8:14 - And we have a little skit with Master Chief and Cortana talking about his nomination for Character of the Year. That was pretty fun, and it turns out Chief is a Samuel L. Jackson fan, which I'm taking as canon.
8:20 - Okay, I like this skit. If only for the NPH cameo. Though future-Samuel L. Jackson being the president of the world seems unrealistic. And there's almost too much use of the word 'future.' Wait, did Samuel L. Jackson just go back in time just so he could insert himself into video games?
...Actually, I'd do that too.
8:23 - Oo, video game music time. I love video game music time. Can they turn off the sound effects though? I know it builds atmosphere, but I just want to hear the music.
This is a really good medley. It's doing a great job of smoothly transitioning between each of the games, and making the score to each one sound epic. I mean, if I didn't see the footage, I'd have a hard time believing these were composed by different people. It just seems like one big flowing piece, instead of a medley. I know I'm kind of going at length about this, but I'm really enjoying it. Easily my favorite part of the show thus far. But now it's over.
8:32 - And now a skit starring Assassin's Creed III's Connor. Where he kisses Ubisoft's ass. Pretty reasonable, they did create him.
8:35 - Trailer for The Last of Us. Not really heard a lot about this game, but the story (based off of the trailer) looks interesting, and I love the song that the composer's playing here. I have no clue what that instrument is, but it's really nice-sounding.
And immediately followed up by a trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Not gonna lie, not very interested in this, since I've never played any Castlevania- wait, you play as Dracula in this game? And it's a modern setting? Okay, I want this game.
8:39 - And now Samuel L. Jackson's Cortana. This is pretty weird. Not in a bad way, though.
8:45 - I have no clue who Claptrap is. I have no more comments on this skit. Kinda like him, though.
8:47 - And Jessica Alba's talking about some game from last year everyone loved that's getting a sequel. I have no clue what she's talking about.
Huh. Dark Souls 2. Never really heard of the first one.
8:49 - Oh, hey, another award. Been a while, hasn't it? About 40 minutes, I think. And Best Action-Adventure goes to... Dishonored. Which has done nothing to interest me, so I'm just going to move on.
8:52 - Wait, The Last of Us is set post-apocalypse? I thought it was just normal Pittsburgh. Huh.
8:58 - I have no clue who this character is, or what game he's from.
8:59 - And Linkin Park's playing. Ohai, mute button.
9:03 - Indie games time. Let's see if I've played any of thes- Nope. Thought some of them looked interesting, though, and probably would pick up Journey if I had a PS3. Which won. So, guess I made the right choice? And it won best PS3 game and best score. Good for them.
9:05 And now Samuel L. Jackson is in Star Wars Angry Birds. This actually makes perfect sense, and should be in the actual game.
9:12 - Oh hey, it's that guy who talked about his pubes in the pre-show. And he's introducing Snoop Do- Lion. So, we meet again, mute button...
9:15 - And a trailer for Assassin's Creed III DLC. And it seems to really be going into alternate history, which seems like a weird direction to take.
Wait, KING Washington? Okay, this shit officially went crazy.
9:16 - Ohai Shepard.... and Female Shepard. Now I'm just confused. Are they both canon? Is tha- Is that how that works? My head hurts...
9:19 - And Gears of War 4 trailer. Somehow I feel like this awards show was not made with me in mind. I mean, really? Pokemon Black and White 2 don't get a single nomination? What a rip-off...
9:25 - Samuel L. Jackson in Dishonored. Re-enacting Pulp Fiction. Also apparently slept with Lady Gaga.
9:27 - So, the best games of the year get a medley, but Tomb Raider gets a performance with her trailer all to herself? What's that about? I mean, it's not bad, but still...
9:31 - And Claptrap has won Character of the Year. And may in fact be insane.
...He's insane, isn't he?
9:37 - Samuel L. Jackson in an... oddly-animated Minecraft. With Gangnam Style. Which is then interrupted by Sam via crossbow. That was pretty awesome.
9:38 - Hey, it's Tenacious D. AKA a musical act I wouldn't mute.
...Except they're not performing, they're announcing Game of the Decade. This is one I'm interested in. Let's see what the people decided.
Half-Life 2, huh? Guess you guys REALLY want a sequel. No offense, just not what I was expecting. Not even the Valve title I was expecting. Though I suppose it says a lot when these guys got nominated for Game of the Decade twice.
9:42 - Leonard, you need your glasses, you look weird without them. And then Halo trailer. Bored now.
9:44 - Okay, is Bioshock one of those games I need to play sometime? Because it seems like it, given all the hype Infinite's been getting.
I feel like I need a list of these games.
9:48 - I'm just going to say, this is the second unique commerical break I've had. And hour and fifty minutes into the show.
9:51 - Oh yeah, and Mass Effect 3 won Best RPG. Why couldn't THAT one? I was actually interested in that. And somehow Diablo III was running against it. No clue how that works.
9:53 - They gave Samuel L. Jackson a mini-gun. Who thought that was a good idea? Who in the HELL thought that was a good idea?
9:54 - And here we go. Game of the Year is... The Walking Dead? Really? The only game of the five that I've played? Awesome. Good for TellTale, great game. Really need to get around to episodes 2-5.
9:57 - And to close it out, Tenacious D actually IS performing. More awesome.
So, all in all, an... interesting experience. Still want to know what the best Wii/WiiU game was (my money's on Xenoblade, which IS in fact on my list of those games). Kinda interested in some of the choices (Not having played it, I'm unsure what makes Half-Life 2 the Best Game of the Decade), but I'm not complaining. And Samuel L. Jackson was a good host.
Also, I kinda wish the one of the surprise trailers had been for Chrono Trigger 3, but I doubt that'll ever happen at this point. Still, I can always wish, right?
If you guys thought this attempt at live-blogging went well, be sure to say something. I just decided to do this because I thought it might be interesting, but if you liked it, I might try it again sometime.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
This Week in Gaming: 11/25-12/1
So, another week has passed, and I once again don't have anything to review. However, never let it be said that a lack of things to say will keep me from saying things! So, I decided that this week I'd try something new; I'm going to be going over a few gaming-type news stories from this week. Odds are, if you're reading this, there's a decent chance you already know this stuff, but I'll just talk about it anyway.
'Wii Mini' Announced for Sale in Canada
Nintendo announced on the 27th that, starting on December 7th, the Wii mini will be available for sale in Canada. The system will be more compact than the original Wii, and will be priced at only $99, making it the cheapest Wii unit yet. However, this comes with some disadvantages. First off, the unit will be unable to play Gamecube games. This is due to the fact that Nintendo decided to remove the Gamecube controller ports from the unit, which also means that any Virtual Console/Wiiware titles that require wired controllers will also not be playable. However, this latter fact shouldn't be too big a problem, as the Wii mini will also not be able to connect to the internet, and will not be able to use SD cards as storage space.. This leaves you with a cheap console, yes, but one that is only able to play Wii games, a somewhat limiting experience*.
On the plus side of things, I think it is a nice-looking console. I like the red-and-black coloring, it looks pretty cool, but I just don't see the point of it.
Honestly, this seems to me to be kinda like what happened with the Game Boy Micro. Nintendo releases their new console/handheld, and THEN go back and release a smaller version of their previous console/handheld. And, memory serving, the Game Boy Micro didn't sell very well, sleek-looking though it may have been. This all just leaves me wondering what Nintendo's thinking with this idea. Also, why are they just selling it in Canada? That just confuses me.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/11/wii-mini/
Black Friday Console Sales Announced
With Black Friday come and gone, thank God, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have all released their sales numbers for the week. Microsoft announced the sale of 750,000 Xbox 360s between November 18th and 23rd, a number that seems ridiculously high, given how long the 360 has been out for, but there you go.
Nintendo says that 400,000 Wii Us were sold during its first week, from the 18th to 24th, putting it well above the Wii, which only sold 200k during its first week, and sold 300k units this Black Friday week. In addition, the 3DS sold 250k units.
Sony finally released their sales numbers on the 29th, with a time frame matching that used by Nintendo. 525k PS3s were sold during that time, in addition to 160k PS Vitas and a 259% increase in Playstation Plus subscriptions over last year.
All in all, all three companies appear to have done well, at least as best as I can tell. The Wii U did sell the weakest out of the consoles, not counting its predecessor, but from what I have heard, there were some shortages in some places, which, if true, could explain the weaker sales.
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/29/comparing-nintendo-sony-and-microsoft-black-friday-sales
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Released
The original Baldur's Gate was released just over 14 years ago, and has gone on to be recognized as one of the best RPGs ever made. To this day, Baldur's Gate II retains an active community, and the series has held up remarkably well. So, when the Enhanced Edition, developed by Overhaul Games, was announced earlier this year, fans got excited. In fact, when the option for people who had pre-ordered it to pre-load the game, the site was actually shut down when I went to download it, presumably from the number of people trying to get the game.
And then, this week, the game is finally released, to cheers of the fans**. Finally, after over 11 years, the series gets something new, with word of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition down the road, and the possibility of Baldur's Gate III if sales of the first two go well enough.
What I'm saying is, go get Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. No, really, go. This article's over, go to www.baldursgate.com, and buy the game, and then play the game, as it is awesome***.
*Note: I'm not saying Wii games are bad, just that I enjoyed having a wider catalog with a basic Wii.
**Or at least mine.
***Not gonna lie, this last section might've just been me plugging the game.
'Wii Mini' Announced for Sale in Canada
Nintendo announced on the 27th that, starting on December 7th, the Wii mini will be available for sale in Canada. The system will be more compact than the original Wii, and will be priced at only $99, making it the cheapest Wii unit yet. However, this comes with some disadvantages. First off, the unit will be unable to play Gamecube games. This is due to the fact that Nintendo decided to remove the Gamecube controller ports from the unit, which also means that any Virtual Console/Wiiware titles that require wired controllers will also not be playable. However, this latter fact shouldn't be too big a problem, as the Wii mini will also not be able to connect to the internet, and will not be able to use SD cards as storage space.. This leaves you with a cheap console, yes, but one that is only able to play Wii games, a somewhat limiting experience*.
On the plus side of things, I think it is a nice-looking console. I like the red-and-black coloring, it looks pretty cool, but I just don't see the point of it.
Honestly, this seems to me to be kinda like what happened with the Game Boy Micro. Nintendo releases their new console/handheld, and THEN go back and release a smaller version of their previous console/handheld. And, memory serving, the Game Boy Micro didn't sell very well, sleek-looking though it may have been. This all just leaves me wondering what Nintendo's thinking with this idea. Also, why are they just selling it in Canada? That just confuses me.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/11/wii-mini/
Black Friday Console Sales Announced
With Black Friday come and gone, thank God, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have all released their sales numbers for the week. Microsoft announced the sale of 750,000 Xbox 360s between November 18th and 23rd, a number that seems ridiculously high, given how long the 360 has been out for, but there you go.
Nintendo says that 400,000 Wii Us were sold during its first week, from the 18th to 24th, putting it well above the Wii, which only sold 200k during its first week, and sold 300k units this Black Friday week. In addition, the 3DS sold 250k units.
Sony finally released their sales numbers on the 29th, with a time frame matching that used by Nintendo. 525k PS3s were sold during that time, in addition to 160k PS Vitas and a 259% increase in Playstation Plus subscriptions over last year.
All in all, all three companies appear to have done well, at least as best as I can tell. The Wii U did sell the weakest out of the consoles, not counting its predecessor, but from what I have heard, there were some shortages in some places, which, if true, could explain the weaker sales.
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/29/comparing-nintendo-sony-and-microsoft-black-friday-sales
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Released
The original Baldur's Gate was released just over 14 years ago, and has gone on to be recognized as one of the best RPGs ever made. To this day, Baldur's Gate II retains an active community, and the series has held up remarkably well. So, when the Enhanced Edition, developed by Overhaul Games, was announced earlier this year, fans got excited. In fact, when the option for people who had pre-ordered it to pre-load the game, the site was actually shut down when I went to download it, presumably from the number of people trying to get the game.
And then, this week, the game is finally released, to cheers of the fans**. Finally, after over 11 years, the series gets something new, with word of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition down the road, and the possibility of Baldur's Gate III if sales of the first two go well enough.
What I'm saying is, go get Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. No, really, go. This article's over, go to www.baldursgate.com, and buy the game, and then play the game, as it is awesome***.
*Note: I'm not saying Wii games are bad, just that I enjoyed having a wider catalog with a basic Wii.
**Or at least mine.
***Not gonna lie, this last section might've just been me plugging the game.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Five Greatest Songs (From Games I've Never Played)
The music in video games has always been one of my favorite parts of playing a game. Hell, easily half of the songs on my MP3 player are either straight from a game, or a cover/remix of a song from a game. It's something that aids the storytelling process so well, and can help inspire the emotions the game is trying to convey. And so, loving video game music as I do, and not having a review ready this week, I've decided to do a list of some of my favorite video game songs. However, this is going to have a slight twist: This list will be completely composed of songs from games I have never played. And so, without further ado, the five greatest songs from games I've never played!
Note: As I've said before with these sort of posts, these are completely my opinions. There are a lot of games I've never played, and I'm sure there are some great songs I've missed. However, these are the ones that I've somehow managed to find and absolutely love.
5. Pursuit ~ Cornered (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
4. Blinded by Light (Final Fantasy XIII)
I have been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since I first picked up Final Fantasy IV a few years back. One of the things I loved about it was the beautiful soundtrack composed by Nobou Uematsu. However, he did not work on this game. Instead, I'm listening to 'Blinded by Light,' the Final Fantasy XIII battle theme composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Now, while it's true that I've never really heard any good things about this game, I love this theme. It has feeling of epicness to it that just makes for an amazing boss fight.
...Which is precisely why it isn't higher on the list. From what I understand*, this is the standard battle theme for this game. And I don't feel like that's where this song belongs. In fact, I could actually see this song getting annoying after a while. While it does have that feeling of epicness, that feeling should be saved for truly epic moments. It just doesn't feel right when you're listening to it while beating up nameless mooks.
3. You Will Know Our Names / Unfinished Battle (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Xenoblade Chronicles is probably my most-wanted game right now, and the soundtrack is no small part of it. Hell, 'Unfinished Battle' is the reason I first even heard of this game. I'm putting both of these songs in the number 3 spot because it felt unfair to have a single game represented twice on a five-entry list, but if it weren't for that, I'd take 'Pursuit ~ Cornered' off in a heartbeat to give both of these the spots they deserve. 'You Will Know Our Names' is the standard battle theme for the game, and it works really well as this. It gets the adrenaline pumping, giving the feeling of awesomeness without giving the impression that this should be saved for important events. Unlike 'Blinded by Light,' which I did enjoy, which I admitted could get annoying after a while, I would listen to 'You Will Know Our Names' looped indefinitely.
Now, I have no clue what 'Unfinished Business' is used for in-game, but I'm sure it's something big. It doesn't quite have the feeling of a boss battle theme, but at the same time, it does have this feeling of importance, the same sort of "Use this theme sparingly" quality that I felt in 'Blinded by Light.' And I'd be perfectly willing to wager that that's exactly how it's used.
2. Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Part of what makes this theme so great for me is the obvious James Bond homage. This feels exactly like a classic James Bond theme, which goes great to establish the setting of this game. And, honestly, I just love James Bond themes. They tend to have this really... grandiose feeling to them, and this song encapsulates this perfectly. Even the singer, Cythina Harrell, sounds like she stepped right out of one of those movies.
The only thing really, that keeps this out of the #1 spot is some of the lyrics. "Someday, you feed on a tree frog?" Really? I'm sorry, you just completely lost the feeling I was getting from you. I really have no clue what that was about, unless Snake does actually eat a tree frog in game, but even still, why talk about that in the song? I know, it's nit-picky, but it bugged me, and since this is my list, I can decide where these songs go.
1. Revived Power (Shadow of the Colossus)
Remember earlier when I said that boss themes should have this feeling of epicness, of importance, to them? Well, this song is EXACTLY what I was talking about. Kow Otani did a phenomenal job when composing this piece to accompany your battles with the Colossi. It honestly gives the feeling that you are fighting an enormous monster against impossible odds, but that you MUST somehow come out on top. From what I understand, I realize that this game has a bit of moral ambiguity to it, but as far as this song tells me, you are a paragon of virtue fighting insurmountable evil, but through the righteousness, you WILL prevail. And even if that's not true, I'd still love fighting the Colossi just to hear this song. This is easily the best song I've ever heard from a game I've never played.
Well, that wraps up this week's post. If you can think of any other awesome video game songs, feel free to tell me about. But, for now, this is me signing off until next week. See you then!
*Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Note: As I've said before with these sort of posts, these are completely my opinions. There are a lot of games I've never played, and I'm sure there are some great songs I've missed. However, these are the ones that I've somehow managed to find and absolutely love.
5. Pursuit ~ Cornered (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Despite my best efforts, the only game from this series that I've played so far is Apollo Justice. From everything I've seen, this looks like a great series. Good story, engaging puzzles, and most of all, a great soundtrack. And the song that stood out most to me was 'Pursuit ~ Cornered.' I love the feeling this song has. It gives off this impression of, "You just made a huge mistake, and I'm about to win!" that I love in video games. Much love to Masakazu Sugimori for being able to express this feeling so well in just about 45 seconds of music. To me, this is the epitome of comeback music, and for that, I love it.
4. Blinded by Light (Final Fantasy XIII)
I have been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since I first picked up Final Fantasy IV a few years back. One of the things I loved about it was the beautiful soundtrack composed by Nobou Uematsu. However, he did not work on this game. Instead, I'm listening to 'Blinded by Light,' the Final Fantasy XIII battle theme composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Now, while it's true that I've never really heard any good things about this game, I love this theme. It has feeling of epicness to it that just makes for an amazing boss fight.
...Which is precisely why it isn't higher on the list. From what I understand*, this is the standard battle theme for this game. And I don't feel like that's where this song belongs. In fact, I could actually see this song getting annoying after a while. While it does have that feeling of epicness, that feeling should be saved for truly epic moments. It just doesn't feel right when you're listening to it while beating up nameless mooks.
3. You Will Know Our Names / Unfinished Battle (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Xenoblade Chronicles is probably my most-wanted game right now, and the soundtrack is no small part of it. Hell, 'Unfinished Battle' is the reason I first even heard of this game. I'm putting both of these songs in the number 3 spot because it felt unfair to have a single game represented twice on a five-entry list, but if it weren't for that, I'd take 'Pursuit ~ Cornered' off in a heartbeat to give both of these the spots they deserve. 'You Will Know Our Names' is the standard battle theme for the game, and it works really well as this. It gets the adrenaline pumping, giving the feeling of awesomeness without giving the impression that this should be saved for important events. Unlike 'Blinded by Light,' which I did enjoy, which I admitted could get annoying after a while, I would listen to 'You Will Know Our Names' looped indefinitely.
Now, I have no clue what 'Unfinished Business' is used for in-game, but I'm sure it's something big. It doesn't quite have the feeling of a boss battle theme, but at the same time, it does have this feeling of importance, the same sort of "Use this theme sparingly" quality that I felt in 'Blinded by Light.' And I'd be perfectly willing to wager that that's exactly how it's used.
2. Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Part of what makes this theme so great for me is the obvious James Bond homage. This feels exactly like a classic James Bond theme, which goes great to establish the setting of this game. And, honestly, I just love James Bond themes. They tend to have this really... grandiose feeling to them, and this song encapsulates this perfectly. Even the singer, Cythina Harrell, sounds like she stepped right out of one of those movies.
The only thing really, that keeps this out of the #1 spot is some of the lyrics. "Someday, you feed on a tree frog?" Really? I'm sorry, you just completely lost the feeling I was getting from you. I really have no clue what that was about, unless Snake does actually eat a tree frog in game, but even still, why talk about that in the song? I know, it's nit-picky, but it bugged me, and since this is my list, I can decide where these songs go.
1. Revived Power (Shadow of the Colossus)
Remember earlier when I said that boss themes should have this feeling of epicness, of importance, to them? Well, this song is EXACTLY what I was talking about. Kow Otani did a phenomenal job when composing this piece to accompany your battles with the Colossi. It honestly gives the feeling that you are fighting an enormous monster against impossible odds, but that you MUST somehow come out on top. From what I understand, I realize that this game has a bit of moral ambiguity to it, but as far as this song tells me, you are a paragon of virtue fighting insurmountable evil, but through the righteousness, you WILL prevail. And even if that's not true, I'd still love fighting the Colossi just to hear this song. This is easily the best song I've ever heard from a game I've never played.
Well, that wraps up this week's post. If you can think of any other awesome video game songs, feel free to tell me about. But, for now, this is me signing off until next week. See you then!
*Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
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