Messages

2201

Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 29, 2010, 12:26:54 AM »

Heroes' homing attack was weak as heck unless you timed it so that your partners hit with you, or you leveled up. The distancing also sucked pretty badly. But it was great in terms of recovery. If you tried to mash the A button in SA1, you would go way off course. In Heroes, you could mash your way across a whole line of enemies. Though I hated the robots with the spears. You really had to time yourself so you wouldn't home your way into the spears.

SatSR has terrible gameplay unless, and I repeat, UNLESS YOU UPGRADE YOUR RINGS. The only problem I had with the controls is inside enclosed rooms and in spiral areas like the towers in Levitated Ruin. They should have made the D-pad left and right usable to fix that issue. It was terrible, manuevering left and right in those places. And the 2D sequences were hard as heck too.

Heroes was a very average game overall. Nowadays, we consider it one of the good Sonic titles, because next to the horrible games we've been subjected to, a game without constant bugs and that actually has gameplay built for the levels that it has is considered good. But it still kinda sucks. In SA1/2, the homing attack worked with the timing. And it was pretty damn good gameplay. Your jinterval of attacks was as fast as you pressed the button. It gave you more control over it, while Heroes' homing attack has a forced lag into it. Add the health bars, the repetitive enemies, the low-quality boss encounter, the lame excuse for a story and bringing Shadow back just for the sake of it, and you got yourself an amazingly average game, not to say something worse.

2202

Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 28, 2010, 11:48:16 PM »

That isn't a good comparison as SA1 is free movement while SatSR is forward movement. And SatSR is slow only until you start upgrading. Once you hit level 40, you're speeding through levels in under 3 minutes. You can shake the wii remote to hit a bunch of enemies instead of waiting for it to re-lockon.

It's still much slower. And slower than Heroes' homing attack as well (not to mention that Heroes' homing attack is not just weak as hell, it has a much shorter range when jumping without a target.

2203

Gaming / Re: Multiple Tales announcements made in Jump. All Sony-based.

« on: July 28, 2010, 11:32:32 PM »

It's not terribly surprising with the Tales of series since we've always had a lot of the games not released here, but we usually got main releases. Vesperia PS3 was shaky at best when you consider we didn't get the (questionably better) Symphonia PS2 port, though this is more due to Nintendo having translation rights to the game.

We've gotten Legendia, Abyss, and Vesperia, all main series games. We've not gotten Innocence, Hearts, or the new mothership title Graces on Wii or pretty much anything since Dawn of the New World.

Now, please keep this in mind:

-Outside of the two Symphonia's, advertising has been non-existent for the games outside of Japan.
-Many of these games were positioned alongside other major releases... Abyss, for example, came out just a few days before Final Fantasy XII launched in the U.S.

Now, with Namco clearly moving its sights to PS3 entirely, you would think with the rather negative hammering Final Fantasy XIII got in the west and the general lack of interest in XIV due to being an MMORPG that Namco would smell blood in the water and try to make a push for a larger market share in the West before Square can restore its image or the niche is filled more by Atlus or XSEED.

Nope. They're doing nothing.

Frankly, at this point, Namco JP seems quite happy shoveling out some retarded Pacman drivel no one will buy and this year's Naruto/DBZ fighting game rehash.

Worst thing is, the Tales games ARE suitable for a current generation, and pretty fun even if you're not into JRPGs, because they have an action-based gameplay. They could be having quite a bit of success with them over here, if they wanted to.

2204

Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 28, 2010, 11:29:33 PM »

Really? Because I found the lock-on mechanic useful. And the homing attacks were fast as heck in Secret Rings.

The lock-on mechanism feels cumbersome and needless. And Secret Rings' homing attacks were MUCH slower than the ones in SA1/2.

The homing attack needed a lock-on mechanic in Secret Rings and a longer range because in the game, you are forced to always move forward, and end up not being able to set yourself at a suitable distance to the enemy. While on SA1/2, you do your homing attack by simply pressing a single button while in the air, instead of lunging your controller forward, which actually allows for much faster homing attacks. Imagine that part in SA1, Final Egg, where you're faced with tons of tiny little enemies coming out of compartments. At first, you pretty much do a homing attack to safety, mashing the button and going in a direction you want, before actually moving to the ladder above. Imagine that part, done with Secret Rings' jump, which is pretty much used as a means of locomotion, and not of attacking.

2205

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: July 28, 2010, 09:43:40 PM »

This thread everyone's talking about, I think I missed a whole lot of internet drama.

;___; I wanted to be a part of iiiiiiit!

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Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 28, 2010, 09:43:26 PM »

I see where you're coming from. But I never had that homing attack problem in Sonic Heroes or Secret Rings ._.

But yeah, Speed is a huge part of Sonic games. If it wasn't, you might as well call it a Mario game.

I had the exact reverse problem with those games. Slow homing attacks with a kind of lock-on mechanic which made them frustrating.

2207

Gaming / Re: Multiple Tales announcements made in Jump. All Sony-based.

« on: July 28, 2010, 09:41:44 PM »

Fix'd.

But hey, at least PS3 is region-free.

For wapanese speakers. And in a JRPG, you pretty much have to be.

...but I must confess  was the one single person in the face of the Earth who bought FFXIII in japanese when it came out SPECIFICALLY because I didn't want to pay any attention to the story and was just interested on how it played.

2208

Entertainment / Re: GENERAL COMIC BOOK THREAD (MANGA NOT ALLOWED)

« on: July 28, 2010, 09:40:15 PM »

I know that the ending isn't.

I quit long before the ending.

2209

Gaming / Re: New Capcom game to be showcased at Comic-Con

« on: July 28, 2010, 09:40:05 PM »

It's not really a Japan-centered thing at all. It's more of a thing that the Fighting Game market is, again, quite a ways different from everything else. Capcom and Namco, the two "leaders" in the genre, know this much to be true. Furthermore, I believe the individual fall-outs that resulted from both HDR and MvC2's demos have only done more to showcase why there is such a reluctance to do such a thing. 

I mean, Capcom just put out a demo for Sengoku BASARA 3 on PSN a day or so ago. And that applies only in Japan, where it stands to benefit those fangirls and kids who want to try out the game before they buy the full game tomorrow/today. But unless I stand to be surprised, MvC3, for example, won't get such a demo. Thus far, they've been doing the exact same thing with the game as they did with SF4 years prior, where the game's progressive builds were passed along at live demonstrations/loke tests instead of thrown up on PSN/Live.

It's the exact same kind of closed group crowd when talking about simulators and certain games, and they still have demos. Pretty much any game can have a demo, or simply a gameplay demonstration for the player to know if he or she feels comfortable in it.

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Gaming / Re: Multiple Tales announcements made in Jump. All Sony-based.

« on: July 28, 2010, 05:40:44 PM »

And I'm betting not one of these will ever see a non-japanese release.

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Gaming / Re: New Capcom game to be showcased at Comic-Con

« on: July 28, 2010, 05:25:05 PM »

Because that's what the numbers have shown. The more "Shounen"/kid-friendly a property is, the more likely the company will actually invest in putting out a demo. Otherwise, the likes of Capcom and Namco stand to save money by just relying on "in store kiosks" in Gamestops and their Japanese-equivalents to be optimal way to showcase a game.

Is this Japan-centered? Because most PC games have demos nowadays. If not demos, betas, to showcase the engine before people play it on the actual game. Console games have quite alot of demos out too. I count alot of racing games, sports games, RTS... even a few simulators. What's wrong with putting out a fighting game demo? For example, all XBLA games are obligated to have a trial game available for download, with just a tiny bit of the game to show off before buying. It's a way to show people how the game is. It's not just for kids, most adults would like to try out a game before buying.

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Gaming / Re: Multiple Tales announcements made in Jump. All Sony-based.

« on: July 28, 2010, 05:19:02 PM »

...wasn't this studio broke?

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Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 28, 2010, 01:20:08 PM »

When they added the spin dash and loops for it to go through.
Ever since 2, speed has had a small part in Sonic. Hell, you had to be fast to dodge certain obstacles, outrun walls, etc.

Sonic was divided into speed parts, which pretty much did themselves at certain points, and parts where you had to move yourself a bit slower to go through obstacles and platforms. That didn't change on SA1/2.

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Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:37:58 PM »

I love the story of the new Alan Wake chapter, but honestly, they coulda done much more than just put together some recycled environments from the game and setup new invisible enemies.

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Entertainment / Re: GENERAL COMIC BOOK THREAD (MANGA NOT ALLOWED)

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:36:14 PM »

Editors are awful writers. Stick to your own job, people!

And Didio wrote Countdown as a way to show he could do something better than the stellar 52 (52 is still one of the best DC Universe-written comics in a VERY long time), and ended up doing an incredibly shitty comic, which [tornado fang]'d up so much story, it had to be almost fully taken out of canon. Hell, I don't currently know how much of Countdown is canon and how much it's not.

2216

Entertainment / Re: All-Star Superman confirmed for animated movie!

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:33:38 PM »

Don't forget the Silver Age whimsy and fun that when along with it. The Weisenger-era Superman is the one I got accquainted to as a kid.

Exactly. It manages to be fun. It manages to put him in situations he'd find himself in when the Silver Age was going on, but taking an amazing approach to it.

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Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:32:43 PM »

I'm sorry, but SA was a terrible game period. I'm not sure why so many people loved it. Slow movement, terrible gameplay for the other characters, terrible homing attack range, worst final boss ever. Heck, I like Sonic Riders more.

Anyways, if what I heard about Sonic Colors being basically Sonic Unleashed without the Werehog, this'll be a good game. 

It wasn't really that bad. The environments and levels were better overall than SA2, and although most of the other characters' gameplay was just padding, the main Sonic game was still really good. And no, it wasn't slow gameplay. It was pretty much just right. When was Sonic about speed back in the original games? Sonic's a platformer, the fact that he can run fast is simply an addition to the gameplay. Being the first 128-bit platformer, ir was really fun for its day, and people still play it and compare it side to side with the best Dreamcast games. So yes, it is a good game. The final boss is simply a "race", but the rest of the game is justy pretty good. And the homing attack range, I find it's the game with the best range, really. I don't like doing the homing attack and being veered off to the side because it randomly selected some faraway enemy.

2218

Gaming / Re: New Capcom game to be showcased at Comic-Con

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:27:58 PM »

It's basically because, unless it's a game like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm or DBZ: Raging Blast, there's no real need for it. Making a demo for the sake of an impressionable demographic that largely consists of kids is fine in that case, because you want those kids to play the game. Such a thing can't be said for the likes of more "hardcore" fighting games, where the majority of the fan base expresses neither the need or desire for a demo. Just tell them when they can buy the full release. So, with that much in mind, the companies don't see the need spend the money and time to craft such a demo.

Why would the demo-playing demographic largely consist of kids? What's stopping most adults with a console to download a demo to a good fighter, so they can see it's decent?

2219

Gaming / Re: The "BlazBlue" Thread

« on: July 28, 2010, 01:38:54 AM »

Oh I know that by now. For single player there's beating arcade mode with everyone (which unlocks their Astral Finish or in the case of Ragna/Nu/Hakumen/Rachel their Unlimited form), there's the story mode and all of its branching paths (which I doubt you'd take seriously, but the silly/"joke" alternate paths are totally worth it IMO ), there's score attack which WILL kick your ass if you're not good at FGs unless you cheese the AI, there's getting all the achievements/trophies, and a gallery with stuff that gets unlocked as you play (unlike Portable where you buy it).

The best part of BB is its great online play, but since CS will come out I doubt there's going to be many people playing anymore. Still, it should be cheap by now (hell, I think it was cheaper than Portable when I bought it and I got it new), so I don't think you can go wrong.

Story with branching paths plus unlockables. More than enough for me.

You won't like the story.

I know that already.

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Off The Wall / Re: The Mystery of the Forum Users - Take 4

« on: July 28, 2010, 01:24:19 AM »

She sounds like too much of a newbie to this internets business.

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Gaming / Re: The "BlazBlue" Thread

« on: July 28, 2010, 01:18:19 AM »

I'll be honest and say that I think the story is kinda overrated (well, it is good for an FG though), if you have a PSP you could "get" Portable instead of CT if you ever want to see the story.

I played the japanese Portable on the PSP. I'll just go ahead and say this. I am a guy who is hard to please in terms of story, and kinda hates the typical anime bullshit. So either the game's story would SERIOUSLY wow me, or I'd just disregard it. Still, I'm thinking of just getting CT, as I don't think I'd get CS at full price as soon as it comes out, and I just want an amusing fighter to entertain myself. Is there alot to do in the game's single player mode?

2222

Entertainment / Re: GENERAL COMIC BOOK THREAD (MANGA NOT ALLOWED)

« on: July 28, 2010, 01:09:17 AM »

What about Spider-Girl?   XDs

...you mean the recently killed Mattie Franklin, who was one of the few cheered up and enthusiastic characters in the Spider-Man saga, or do you mean May Parker, the future daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Ja... whoops, forgot about that. I mean NONEXISTANT future May Parker.

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Gaming / Re: The "BlazBlue" Thread

« on: July 28, 2010, 01:07:03 AM »

I would say go for it. The best part of BB is the story, which each characters has different routes to. While CS is more or less an updated CT, Story wise it continues where the latter left off.

...define "good story", since fighting games normally don't have much of one.

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Gaming / Re: Sonic Colors (Wii, DS)

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:54:09 AM »

I just don't see anything wrong with that.  What's the difference between aiming at the enemy and aiming around the enemy's obstacles?  Perfect Chaos is huge, SHOULD be huge, and his body is effectively used as a stunt to send you into your attack.

The core mechanics of Super Sonic mandate that stalling is the only way the enemy can hope to win.  Making your strikes speed-dependent simply places further emphasis on the point.  You can't actually hurt Super Sonic, so there's no reason for Sonic to ever fall back besides that play mechanics demand it so.

Ironically, if I were to look for an example of a lousy Super Sonic battle, I'd have to look at Dimps.  They frequently leave Super Sonic with no actual attack to call his own, rather he has some force field to reflect crap, and that's your only means of offense.  Doesn't feel very "ultimate" to know that you can't so much as touch the enemy on your own.

I much prefer a battle where there's an actual weak point for us to direct against, ala SA2. In SA1's fight, we didn't really do much except for flying forward, and dodging some stuff. If Super Sonic actually had to race through several different streets and buildings before he could gain the speed necessary to damage Perfect Chaos, and while that happened, we saw stuff like his tentacles swooping in as obstacles, which we had to avoid, and then AFTER speed had been gained we had to direct a direct flight into Perfect Chaos' mouth, THEN it would have been a decent boss fight. This just seemed like ramming against a monster that stands on the same spot. Not very menacing...

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Gaming / Re: The "BlazBlue" Thread

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:21:30 AM »

Question: Should I get Calamity Trigger right now, cheap? I'm not gonna play online or competitively much, and when Continuum Shift comes out, I dunno if I'm gonna buy it at full price. I got the option to get CT right now at 20 euros. Should I go for it?