Messages

1451

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: March 01, 2011, 03:47:28 AM »

But there is simply no entry in the series where we see Space Pirates that are non-Zebesian.

Whether we see them or not, that they exist is the only logical inference.

I think you misunderstand what I'm saying here. As I see it, without Mother Brain, the Space Pirates would not settle on a single base of operations and instead wander the galaxy on their "pirate ship" and raid whatever planet they come across. As such, there are no Space Pirates that settled down outside of Zebes until the Primes starting splitting the Zebesian remnants into two groups. And thus, in a classical interpretation, the destruction of Zebes would naturally wipe out all the Space Pirates after some thorough remnant clean-up by the Federation.

Despite the fact that they did settle on such a planet without her at some unspecified time before Prime 3?  If they can organize a ship, they can organize a base.  Whether or not they chose to and when, is unknown.  But Zebesian Space Pirates, having never experience Mother Brain's guidance, are feral creatures incapable of either.

You're working under the assumption that all Pirates post-Metroid1 originate from Zebes, and we don't know that for a fact.  Prime merely states that it was Zebesian survivors that discovered Phazon on Tallon IV.

Further, Zero Mission specifies that the Pirates lost not only Tourian but their mothership as well, making their first defeat all the more damaging, and yet they survived.

If anything, Prime 3 contributes to rather than damages the notion of the Pirates being eradicated.  The numbered titles, no matter how you rationalize it with regards to Pirate behavior, run into the same problem: They lost Zebes once, they lived; they lost Zebes twice, they didn't.  The Primes demonstrate continued battles with the Pirates across space, and in Prime 3, they suffer particularly heavy losses, what with Dark Samus taking them over, their brief civil conflict against any who doubted her, the Federation occupying another Space Pirate planetary base, and the destruction of Phaaze, during which any possible space-dwelling Pirate survivors would have been left stranded at the site of battle anyway.  The loss of Zebes alone, however critical, has been proven to be within the realm of recovery, but the loss of Zebes following the loss of two other planetary bases in Prime 3 is quite a bit more plausible as contributing to the Pirates' annihilation.

1452

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 11:49:00 PM »

As I see it, both Ridley and Mother Brain are the leaders of the Space Pirates. It's just as Other M states, the way Mother Brain and Ridley guide them are different. Which incidentally fits with Prime's description of the Space Pirates as "interstellar nomads" under Ridley, but having a planetary base of operations under Mother Brain.

It may be worth noting that Melee describes Ridley as "the head of the Space Pirates on Zebes".

I see Mother Brain as being crucial to Zebes' planetary defense as well as responsible for Metroid breeding.  Nothing's suggested that her influence extends beyond the Zebes base, while we know for a fact that Ridley gets around, making him more crucial in the role of a force to "rival the Federation".  If he does in fact lead Zebes as well, then he is of a higher authority than Mother Brain, regardless of how vital Mother Brain is.

Either way, in a non-Prime interpretation of the series, the Space Pirates are restricted to Zebes

Zero Mission.  Mother Ship.

For that matter, the fact that Samus was raised on Zebes.  The "nomadic" trait to the Pirates is by no means whatsoever exclusive to the Primes; Zero Mission absolutely cannot happen without it.  The non-Prime canon is clear: the Space Pirates moved in to Zebes some time after Samus spent the majority of her childhood and more than likely teenage years there.

It is for this reason we need to remember that "Zebesian" in Other M is shorthand for "Zebesian Space Pirate" and not synonymous with "Space Pirates" in general (as the general context of the game fails to indicate), regardless of whether you are taking the Primes into consideration or not.  Other M states that Zebesians require Mother Brain to, for lack of a better term, "awaken" them in order to function as proper Pirates.  No evidence suggests that other Pirates, who predate the occupation of Zebes (and therefore all accounts of Mother Brain's involvement with them) are subject to the same rule.

Before that, when only Tourian went down, we might make the assumption that Mother Brain is still partially operational and thus continuing to carry out its function as "High Command." Alternatively, Mother Brain's influence on the Space Pirates could remain after her defeat;

Considering the above this is only an issue with Zebesian survivors.  But of your two scenarios, the latter is FAR more likely.  The earlier is contradictory due to Mother Brain not being mobile prior to Super Metroid, her "survival" would be incredibly difficult to miss.  Doubly so since both Zero Mission and Super Metroid allow returning to the original Tourian, where there is no evidence of Mother Brain's activity.

only the newly born Zebesians of the Bottle Ship, which have not yet been exposed to her or Ridley's presence, that will only act as feral creatures.

They ARE exposed to Ridley's presence, and moreover, they ARE responding to him.  Ridley is causing their increased aggression, hence the general loss of control on the Bottle Ship.  Yet the implication is that, however threatening he may be, Ridley is unable to lead them properly as an organized force.  If you do not differentiate Zebesians from other Pirates then this flies in the face of Zero Mission.

1453

Gaming / Re: The Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Topic (ITS MAHVEL 3 BAYBEE)

« on: February 27, 2011, 11:15:40 PM »

The devs were also strongly against Rock/X, as I recall.  The poll isn't official, so to hell with Capcom's internal desires.  It's full and sole purpose is to show fan-demand, whether or not they act on it is their own business.

1454

News and Announcements / Re: MegaMan Legends 3 is REAL, AND IT'S SPECTACULAR...LY IN 3-D

« on: February 27, 2011, 11:02:34 PM »

No reason it needs to be subtle.  As I mentioned in one of the last "Zenny For Your Thoughts" threads (regarding the notion of Roll naming Trigger after a game character), we've seen a great deal of MegaMan merchandise in the series already.  A video game, two cartoon shows, and a poster or two as well, in addition to X-Buster/Z-Saber being well established.

I for one love your idea.  The regional/development term switching was a nice touch, as well.

1455

Gaming / Re: Super Smash Bros. Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 03:00:14 PM »

I assumed he was talking about gameplay-relevant rewards.  "Unlocking" every panel in Challenge Mode is quite a task.  I'm STILL working on that damn Blue Alloy Trophy....

1456

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 02:54:03 PM »

The pirate threat in the old games was always considered entirely restricted to Zebes, with Mother Brain as the leader.

Actually, one of the most frequent Pirate-related debates is whether it is Ridley or Mother Brain who leads them, with a few seemingly contradictory sources thrown in.  While Super's dialogue points to Mother Brain, more recent sources favor Ridley.  Melee and Brawl's trophy lists both state that Ridley as their leader, and Zero Mission shows that Ridley commands the Space Pirate Mother Ship, in addition to some of its critical systems being modeled after him.  We may gather from this that Mother Brain controls specifically Zebes and the Metroids.

Incidentally, Brawl's trophy also provides a cross-reference for Ridley killing Samus's parents.  It neglects to mention when, but previous sources stated her being orphaned at K-2L before being raised by the Chozo, so the pieces aren't exactly difficult to put together.  I really see the Other M bitching as an indicator of how many "fans" simply don't pay attention.

As such, I think this mess is kind of for Metroid Prime to solve. With Prime3s secret cliffhanger ending, and a comfortable transition into Metroid II and Super being needed, we could only hope for a Prime4 to tie together the loose ends.

Retro is seemingly done with that.  I don't know what the point of that cliffhanger ending is; the only logical speculation at this point links it to Hunters, and even that's pretty loose.

1457

Original / Re: King Stages: It only exists to torment the player

« on: February 27, 2011, 06:22:54 AM »

You and me both.  That actually bugs me considerably more than the screen-size in the GBA version (and I actually like the GBA instruments better for the boss theme).

1458

Gaming / Re: RPM's Nintendo Wi-Fi lists (now with Monster Hunter)

« on: February 27, 2011, 06:05:32 AM »

For a Wii-to-Wii registration, both friends must register the other's code, and you must both connect to Wi-Fi at some point.  It doesn't have to be at the same time, it's just that new friends will remain greyed out numbers until your system confirms via Nintendo's servers that your friend has registered you as well.

Emails should only be involved if you're adding an actual email address to your Wii's Address Book, which to my knowledge no game requires.

1459

Gaming / Re: Super Smash Bros. Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 05:58:12 AM »

It's been a LONG time since I unlocked crap in Brawl, but I remember this: Subspace Emissary is completely optional.  The only thing it unlocks is characters, and it's one of three methods to do so IIRC.

That said, it's probably the easiest way to do so.  Only three characters can possibly be missed by that method (Toon Link, Jigglypuff, and Wolf), since finding them in SSE requires backtracking to old stages after the game's been cleared.  Everyone else is a guarantee.

1460

Gaming / Re: The "What are you currently playing?" Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 04:24:42 AM »

Is that Celebi from Gamestop or is there/will there be a wi-fi event?

So far, Gamestop.  Dunno if a Wi-Fi version is coming like with the beast trio, or not.

Celebi triggers two events, one in HG/SS and the other in Black/White, so do try to pick one up.

1461

News and Announcements / Re: MegaMan Legends 3 is REAL, AND IT'S SPECTACULAR...LY IN 3-D

« on: February 27, 2011, 04:19:31 AM »

Too bad.  I was routing for Smearcian; glad it at least got an honorable mention from the motion staff.

Janusbot flew under my radar during the event, but that one looked pretty badass, too.



Man, we're running out of time to come up with easter-egg submissions, and the ONLY thing I can come up with involves snow...which I'm pretty sure isn't going to be on the island in question.  Gotta figure out something...

Posted on: February 19, 2011, 23:53:37Eguchi and Kitabayashi made their case at a "green light" meeting with Capcom's big-wigs, and Kitabayashi posted today that the verdict is...an extension.  Not approved, not canned, just more time in concept.

I can only hope that this is just an attempt to light a fire under everyone's ass, so as to avoid the devs getting content, because words will never describe the pain I wish on those responsible if the game were to actually get cancelled.

News of this meeting really emphasizes to me, for better or worse, how truly disconnected the Devroomers are from the actual development.  Did anyone on there know what steps were involved in not only creation but in approval, and where the game or "project" stood in relation to that?  What checkpoints would be hit between the devroom opening and the game's release?  Nope.  We just got the little "%" number by the rocket with a few random Servbot conversations.  Near every Devroom post has been about what's going on in the here and now, with very little as to what to expect.

Okay, they can't spoil the whole thing pre-release, I get that.  But if they're going to ask for people's support, then they need to know what the hell it is that they're supporting, and what road they're committing to if they want to see it through.

Posted on: February 25, 2011, 05:45:35 PMFinally came up with an easter egg submission.  The event ends at noon on Tuesday, so hurry up, all!

I honestly intended that as just a "dig for spare change" kind of thing, like the shovel in Zelda LttP, but with the added chance to annoy random people/dogs.  But then the "what-if"s started floating around in my head, and that last scene just fell together.  Kind of a switcheroo on a tried-and-true Legends tradition.

1462

Gaming / Re: VG Music Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 03:25:37 AM »

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlioLCwjnsM[/youtube]So...EPIC!!!  I cannot express in words how happy I am that I bought Monster Hunter Tri.

1463

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: February 27, 2011, 03:01:18 AM »

It's not just the manga, Fox.  The subject was also touched on in Zero Mission's Fusion gallery.



Still, that's not enough to make it common knowledge, so the point stands.  Agreed on the commercial; a full-on flashback in scenery, as opposed to throwing child-Samus into the Bottle Ship, would have worked a lot better.  I'm just saying, the premise works even without resorting to manga-is-canon.

1464

Gaming / Re: The "What are you currently playing?" Thread

« on: February 26, 2011, 05:34:26 PM »

I SOMEHOW managed to get myself a Suicune ([tornado fang] yeah.) off Wi-Fi. Thought they ended the event. Anyways, it refueled my drive to actually play Platinum.

Funny story there, if anyone watches Psych, and saw that one episode with the "One square foot of reception", it was the same story in my backyard with Wi-Fi.

Got Entei, Suicune, and Celebi, but missed Raikou, so I gotta shark him.

1465

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: February 26, 2011, 05:23:51 PM »

An excellent write-up, Zan.  As mentioned last time I around, I find the Pirate scenario plausible, just not well presented.  Other M being effectively a bridge title between 3 and 4, big news such as "Space Pirates were obliterated" is something that ought to have been worth mentioning in one of those two.  While I still find it unlikely that they would fail to survive Zebes' loss in itself, the Federation's efforts to mop up the remnants is worth considering.  This would still leave Samus as credited with dealing the death blow.

On both that and the Mother Brain/Aurora connection, what is seemingly contradictory can in fact be rationalized, it's just very poorly explained.

The main focus of Other M, though, isn't really the Pirates.  It's about Samus, Adam, and the Federation.  On those points, I must agree, the game is exceptional.  The Ridley encounter, controversial as it was to the rest of the internet, was probably my favorite part of the game.  It offers a great sense of comparison when you get to see how the GF forces measure up against him, which is something the series to date has thus far lacked.  For all the collective bitching about Samus panicking, Other M made it clear that she was the only one who really stood a chance against Ridley.  The likes of Anthony and Adam are just playing with death.

It's a shame that the climax of the story and the climax of the gameplay don't sync up, but they each work individually, for sure.

1466

Original / Re: King Stages: It only exists to torment the player

« on: February 26, 2011, 05:01:41 PM »

What stage is Bass NOT the best character to play?

1467

Gaming / Re: Official Nintendo 3DS Discussion Thread - Specs, Tech, Price? It's all here!

« on: February 26, 2011, 12:41:41 AM »

I'm a bit late in forwarding this, but IGN posted the actual North America launch-day lineup.

So we knew Nintendo wasn't exactly bringing their A-game, but Pilotwings Resort making launch is good news.  I'm bummed that we have to wait for DoA Dimensions, though.  Bad enough we're lacking a proper "Core" Nintendo game, now we don't even get the Ridley-raking-the-walls-with-my-enemy's-face cameo until two months or so later.

1468

Gaming / Re: The Light Myth: Palutena's Mirror / Kid Icarus Thread

« on: February 26, 2011, 12:19:51 AM »

IE: The game controls are akin to Metroid Prime Hunters.  Not my favorite setup, but it works.

And DAMN that video is awesome! Ah, the wait until that game is out is going to be painful...

1469

Original / Re: King Stages: It only exists to torment the player

« on: February 25, 2011, 11:50:08 PM »

ó .ò;

ó 3ò

Ah, the memories...  LOOONG debate on what defines "hard" to the individual gamer, there.  Between MM9 and the Zero series, I'm well convinced of how subjective the concept of difficulty is, as well as what is and isn't "valid" in gauging it.

That, and I wonder when people will learn to take the statement of a MegaMan game being "hard" within the context of the MegaMan franchise...

1470

Gaming / Re: Official Nintendo 3DS Discussion Thread - Specs, Tech, Price? It's all here!

« on: February 25, 2011, 12:06:08 AM »

The 3DS can download DSiWare, Rep, and of course the top slider will let you turn the 3D effect off if it bugs your eyes.

If I were you I'd skip the DSi altogether at this point.  It does absolutely nothing, and plays absolutely nothing, that the 3DS will not (besides homebrew, most likely).  At least if you have a DS phat/Lite, you can strut your Slot 2 stuff.

1471

Gaming / Re: The "What are you currently playing?" Thread

« on: February 24, 2011, 11:57:19 PM »

MM&B is brutal, but it feels considerably less cheap than 9 did, IMHO.

Midway through Apollo Justice, the one Ace Attorney game I missed.

It's a shame, character-wise, that Apollo himself has so little to differentiate himself from young-Phoenix, because the game's supporting cast is pretty awesome.

1472

EXE / Re: Did sequelitis get the better of the EXE series?

« on: February 20, 2011, 06:29:44 AM »

You've got to admit that, besides 3, EXE's versions have more differences than the Pokemon games though, specially 4.

True, but to me that only made matters worse.  I minded "trading" on the GBA due to lack of fellow local gamers (that and the generational cutoff demanded sharking my Pokemon during 3rd gen); don't mind it now that we have wi-fi.  But in Battle Network, the vast majority of the version differences are completely severed from the game's trading mechanics, and as such, you wind up feeling like you don't have the complete game.

That's the difference.  In Pokemon versions, the gameplay is the same, and the versions exist simply to create variety so as to encourage the trade mechanics.  In BN, it's pretty much two different quests to the same story, with powers and scenarios completely overhauled, all having pretty much nothing to do with the chip-trading.  And of the few chips that actually are version-exclusive, you're not even allowed to trade the most powerful ones anyway.

FYI, my firsthand experience with this is BN6 Falzar (I have a soft spot for beasts, plus it has Iris).  Was REALLY REALLY hoping they'd give that one the "Double Team" treatment, but no such luck.



The above is more my personal opinion than it is marketing influence, though.  As far as that goes, yeah, dish out 2 quests a year and people will get tired of it sooner or later.  Even the greatest franchises in the world need an occasional break, and that goes for virtually all forms of scripted entertainment.

1473

Gaming / Re: Easy Mode Mockery why?

« on: February 20, 2011, 12:28:03 AM »

RPG difficulty is a touchy subject; seeings how the difficulty in a traditional experience system is effectively just how the enemy's stats compare to your own build-up.  And your own build-up can vary greatly by the individual player, based on how much time you spend wandering around, and whether or not you've attempted to avoid battles while doing so.

1474

EXE / Re: Did sequelitis get the better of the EXE series?

« on: February 20, 2011, 12:20:23 AM »

For me, personally, it was when they knocked off Pokemon that I lost interest.  Pulling the whole "multiple versions" thing gave the impression that they were more concerned with the collection aspect than the actual adventure.

And reviewers kept rating the .EXE games lower and lower despite logic dictating that if a sequel is about the same as the previous game, it should objectively receive a similar score.

Though, only specific instance if this that I can remember is IGN giving a low score to MMSF1 solely because it was similar to the last .EXE game.

IGN ratings will often radically differ over time due to varying tolerance of the exact same "flaws" that previous games had.  Sonic games are a great example: Heroes somehow scored ridiculously high compared to its followers (although they weren't kind to the Adventure ports that preceded it, either).  "Waggle" in Wii games is another one; at launch nobody cared and as the years went by it became justification to slash the game's score in half.

There is a lot of "sequelphobia" among them, as well.  Metroid Prime 3 for example, scored lower than the first *ONLY* because it was not the first.  That's it.  Because, not being the original, the experience is no longer fresh.  Truthfully that is a very selective criticism, since there's no guarantee that every gamer has played every previous entry and shares the reviewer's tolerances for recurring trends, so no it's not a practice I agree with.  At the same time, if a franchise is clearly milked, it is worth mentioning, right?  Drawing that line is pretty tough.

1475

Gaming / Re: Super Mario Collection (aka Allstars) slated to return soon

« on: February 14, 2011, 01:18:37 AM »

I'll confirm that in March, but I'm willing to take PB's word on it.

I'm still hard pressed to throw down $30 for what amounts to an emulator shell with a rom on a DVD.

Yeah, resell value, sure, but in terms of gaming, the version of it with Mario World is sitting on my Wii's SD card. The soundtrack and book just didn't seem worth it.

Well, it's a valid point.  I try to play by Big N's rules whenever possible, though I'm not above SNES9Xing when it isn't (ActRaiser 2, Joe & Mac, Star Fox...).

I look at it this way: All four games on Virtual Console total $20.  So, an extra $10 for the box, the bells and whistles, a little less SD hassle (and no I'm not referring to HBC, but rather to the Wii's craptacular storage limit) and dodging the whole "licensed to play" bullshit for anyone who pays attention to that.  It's worth it to me, even if the collection could have stood to be a bit fuller.

As for World, 'tis a shame, and there really is no excuse, but I still have it on GBA, where I can play as Luigi without having to kill Mario (though possibly killing Yoshi due to bulimia).