Messages

3251

Zero / Re: MegaMan Zero, then and now.

« on: October 24, 2009, 12:53:40 AM »

Inticreates themselves destroyed the 22XX estimate when they added a second sealing for Zero in order to explain the Dark Elf's origins.  Clearly they did not consider themselves bound by the calendar, so there's no reason Command Mission should have been.

I have to seriously question the "150 years" count.  That is bare minimum when you take MMZOCW into account, but I do not find the bare minimum to be the likely scenario in this case.  MMZOCW states "For half a century, Zero was used in many Sigma Virus-related experiments."  That tells us the length of experiments, not the length of his seal.  Zero did not seal himself to donate his body to science, he sealed himself for the removal of something not specified from his systems, and was expected to wake up in approximately 102 years.  Obviously things did not go as planned for him to have woken up in a copy body with the original spearheading the worst war in history, but that could yield a longer seal just as easily as it could a shorter one.

Which I don't think he has at that time.

Incorrect.  Dragon Slash is one of his three default abilities for Command Arts, he has it in Lagrano Ruins at the very beginning of the game.  Wave Slash and Skull Crush are the ones you have to earn.

Basically it just shows how awesome Zero is.  No other character can reliably hit aerial foes using Combat attacks without the use of Hawk/Eagle Eye.

3252

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 24, 2009, 12:28:41 AM »

unrealistic & archaic

Those are two completely unrelated terms.  Realism is irrelevant to age, and never did I discuss realism.  I have no idea what point you're trying to make, but I clearly lost you if you think I'm criticizing the ability to change directions in midair.

Hell, I lost you if you think "archaic" is a criticism at all.  Being old is not a bad thing.  It's just different.  Jumping in the NES games isn't the same as in more current titles.  You fall quickly and lateral movement is more sluggish.  In and of itself there's nothing wrong with that, but there are many instances where I feel MM9 simply throws the limitations of that setup in your face.  Not that the NES games didn't, but they reserved it for a select few gimmicks.

Your argument concerning GB games is irrelevant; they may re-use sprites but fall speed (and in fact the speed of pretty much anything) is considerably slower in order to accommodate the smaller screen size.

3253

Zero / Re: MegaMan Zero, then and now.

« on: October 23, 2009, 06:44:13 PM »

I'm still wondering whether or not Omega has two sabers...

Let this thread go without checking a little too long.  Some old stuff I missed:

@Hypershell
Who says that his Z-Buster in X7,X8 and CM malfunctioned?
It could just have been the case, that Zero just prefer close combat, instead of ranged combat or Capcom just not wanted to do it because of the gameplay balance.

As Zan said, I never said it malfunctioned, I said it was absent.  The cause of that absence is unknown.

The game balance argument is largely irrelevant to Command Mission; the only benefit of Shot versus Combat is aerial opponents, and Zero has the Dragon Slash for that anyway.  So there's no real reason Double Charge Wave couldn't have made an appearance in Command Arts.

Furthermore the absence of the Z-Buster leaves Zero conspicuously shoved off-screen during Redips's attack on the Central Tower, right after R is killed.  They seemingly figured that him taking cover with Marino, Massimo, and Cinnamon wouldn't be good for his image, and X and Axl are firing back.  Zero just disappears.

As for X7, Zero's already firing a seeker-missile out of his Z-Saber anyway.

I think it's less a matter of game balance and more a matter of just removing a similarity to X to try and keep them more distinct from each other.  They already did that in X4 before bringing the Z-Buster back for another two rounds.

Though, it might just be the case that it really isn't usable anymore. Note that he's an especially poor match with Mach Jentra even in cutscenes, because Jentra is an aerial adversary and Zero is a melee fighter. Likewise, Zero vanishes from the cutscene when the Federation attacks them with flying mechaniloids.

As stated above Zero has Dragon Slash to handle the likes of Jentra.  And as aerial advantages go Jentra is actually pretty lousy; a solid hit will leave him grounded for a bit.  I view Zero's poor matchup against him as simply further evidence of Force Metal tanking, same as X (who actually has the advantage in that case with X-Fire) against Jango.  It's not until Scarface's attack at the beginning of Chapter 9 that there are any implications, much less sure fact, of either X or Zero beating a Force Metal Reploid one-on-one.

Another thing that discounts Thanatos' notion is we have to factor in the use of the Z-saber as the bustershot's magazine to allow for charging. The Z-saber isn't part of Zero until X2, yet his Z-buster has noticeable charge capabilities even back then. Likewise, the Z-saber upgrade that allows for charging has not yet appeared in the X-series and the bustershot in question seems designed to work with it.

Vice-versa probably makes a little more sense; Milan's gun (or at the very least its magazine interface) being a common weapon at the time of the Z-Saber upgrade.  Otherwise we have to ask what the heck Milan is doing with such a specially made weapon.  Note that, although this could easily be dismissed as sprite laziness, some manner of magazine is visible before obtaining the Z-Saber.

3254

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 23, 2009, 06:10:55 PM »

ar·cha·ic
ADJECTIVE:
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a much earlier, often more primitive period

In the context of gaming I think 22 years and four console generations ago certainly qualifies as an earlier, more primitive period.  I didn't say that in and of itself was bad, I simply think that MM9 over-uses the snake-jumping gimmick.

3255

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 22, 2009, 11:53:03 PM »

the Mario (platformer) series doesn't have one weak link in its platforming level design.

I must strongly disagree when you take Mario Sunshine into consideration.  Not that it didn't have its moments, but the package as a whole was pretty lousy.  Bad pacing and a monotonous tone, no Mario game has ever felt that tedious.

Yoshi's Island DS, while good, isn't exactly the AAA material one expects from a Mario platformer either.  Certainly can't hold a candle to the original.

Even if it did, the majesty of Super Mario Bros. 3, Yoshi's Island & Super Mario Galaxy would make up for them and then some.

Very true.

3256

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 22, 2009, 11:40:12 PM »

that thing sucks so hard.

Well, then nothing left to do but hit zee buttons faster!!

There are different degrees of memorability

None of which are standardized, which is my point.  Aesthetics and enjoyment, the two degrees by which game "quality" are measured, vary based on individual preferences.  I find traditional fighters, especially "classic" ones, atrocious because I see memorizing special move lists as a chore and therefore having no place in a game which should be entertaining.  That doesn't make the games bad.  It makes them a poor fit for me.

Prior knowledge of where the level is poorly programmed. Especially that gravity maze. Rail mechanics in any Sonic game are awful enough; throw a bad camera on top of an area that insta-kills you for exploring, and we're talking major fail.

You may want to familiarize yourself with a stage before criticizing it, because there are no gravity stunts in Final Rush.  As for rails, try not sucking.  They're a thrill when you actually know how to maneuver on them (at least in SA2; I will not vouch for rail mechanics in other games, in fact I found Secret Rings's rails to be rather clunky).

I don't think there's a single third-person 3D game that SOMEBODY hasn't criticized for having a "bad camera".  People criticize Zelda for having a bad camera.  People criticize Sonic for having a bad camera.  People criticize Mario for having a bad camera.  SA2's camera may not be award-winning, but it beats the hell out of SM64's (one of the Stars on Tiny/Huge Island had a particularly lousy spot, and you constantly have to re-adjust in Bowser battles despite the lack of a much needed fine adjustment; the camera moves only in fixed increments).  And SM64's camera didn't stop me from enjoying the game, so you damn well better believe SA2's didn't.

Insta-kills for exploring?  No clue what you're talking about.  Not unless your idea of exploration is jumping into Earth's atmosphere.

Prior knowledge would more refer to the parts or how the Shadow Armor can't get through...Gate Stage 3? Or is it 2? Still not cool, either way.

I've been over this many times already.  You should never kill a game's default abilities in unfamiliar territory, which is what Shadow does in exchange for its power.  You simply do not take gambles like that without being prepared to lose, it's common sense.

3257

Gaming / Re: Obligatory Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum thread

« on: October 22, 2009, 11:22:56 PM »

Ah, the 4-attack limit is always troublesome...

Well, Feint won't help much against me since Steelix is my only 'man with Protect, and a physical Base-50 Normal attack would barely scratch him.  But yeah, a lot of it depends on who you face most often.

3258

Gaming / Re: Obligatory Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum thread

« on: October 22, 2009, 04:25:03 AM »

I actually changed my lead before I knew you were my opponent.  My team doesn't have a "fixed" opener, I alternate between three different pairs.  Cresselia is my only character with setup-moves, however Steelix/Rotom probably makes the most sense since they're the least powerful of the three sets, but then they carry some unique talents too.  I guess throwing any 'man to early can screw you, depending on who your opponent is.

A word to the wise, though: Running a wall/sponge in Doubles (your Dry Skin Toxicroak) carries the serious risk of encouraging the enemy to double up on their teammate.  Since you were not fortunate enough to Will-O-Wisp Steelix this time, I could freely ignore Toxicroak and focus on bringing down the Water attackers.  I'll probably regret telling you this, but getting a little more aggressive with Cross Poison Poison Jab (pardon my crappy memory, anyway it really should be your main attack unless priority is actually needed), and possibly also getting equipped with Focus Punch (would work great with the Substitute), could go a long way.

3259

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 22, 2009, 03:59:13 AM »

Adventure?  I dunno, I suck with classifying genres, but even I have to agree with Neko that "platformer" being applied to Zelda would be using the term pretty loosely.

They're not memorable, they inspired nothing, and they're both pretentious stage designs requiring that you know some things ahead of time rather than actually work with the given, standard mechanics. Final Rush is glitchy as all hell, too.

Do you want to debate, or do you want to leave the thread intact for others?

"Memorable" is a subjective term, what is memorable to you is irrelevant to me.  Inspiration is dependent on future developers irrelevant to quality of the original (case in point: Sentsuizan's reappearance in TvC doesn't make the X6 version any less crap).

And if you cannot get through Final Rush without prior knowledge, I am sorry, but you just suck.  It's nowhere near as glitchy as the entirety of SA1, either.

3260

Gaming / Re: Obligatory Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum thread

« on: October 22, 2009, 03:30:15 AM »

Ugh, JUST NOW shut my system off.

Okay, but let's make it quick.

EDITS: Couldn't have gone better.  Nothing like finishing your opponent off with some DRAGONITE POWER!!!

3261

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 22, 2009, 03:18:14 AM »

*gives Aldo ZEE UPPERCUT!!*

Keep practicing.

3262

Gaming / Re: Obligatory Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum thread

« on: October 22, 2009, 03:09:42 AM »

Since when is ANYTHING on the bench relevant to the battlefield?  Or does Aldo not realize this thread is for the video games and not the card game?

Well, looks like no battling for me tonight.

3263

Gaming / Re: Obligatory Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum thread

« on: October 22, 2009, 02:17:01 AM »

Figures.  That, and the ever-biting-in-the-ass Nature shpiel...  That's another 10% off your favorite stat, usually kills most promotional 'mans.  But at least in the case of Arceus his overly tanked Base Stats still make him viable, and easier to use as a mixed attacker, something the 3rd gen EV cap really killed.  Even using Vitamins alone, Arceus at Level 100 would range from 270 to 301 across the board.  Not too bad when you consider the benefits of any single type, always a strong special STAB, the only STABed ExtremeSpeed outside of Togekiss, and a frikkin' huge TM/tutor move pool.

Posted on: October 20, 2009, 09:01:47 PMI'm itching for another match, hopefully I can whip myself back into shape.  I'll be online for the next hour/hour and a half.  As any who have fought me know, Doubles is my forte, but I'll do a Singles rematch if so desired.

3264

Gaming / Re: Top 10 Platform Gaming Levels, Worlds, or Areas

« on: October 22, 2009, 12:31:00 AM »

Man, this *IS* hard.  But here we go:

1. Final Rush - Sonic Adventure 2
If there was ever a successful 3D Sonic stage, this is it.  It has it all; stunts, branching paths, jumps that are somewhat white-knuckle without requiring tip-toeing, shortcuts, environments that make your abilities useful without being necessary, and of course kick-butt music.

2. Gate's Lab 1 & 2 - MegaMan X6
More cannon fodder than any MegaMan game has ever seen.  The levels are challenging and require you to use your head.  Every "impass" has multiple solutions, which lets you change things around depending on your play style.

3. Toxic Seahorse - MegaMan X3
X3 may not be my favorite title, but I cannot deny that this level left an impression on me.  Climbing through raw sewage was never so badass.

4. Wily Stage 3 - MegaMan 3
This level really signified to me that you're getting "deep" into enemy territory.  The atmosphere change, both visually and musically, was excellent.  Both the stage traps and the bosses get a little more off-the-wall.

5. Tornado Man - MegaMan 9
It's no secret that I do not consider MM9's level design the best ever.  But if one stage came anywhere near worthy of standing in the ranks of the classics, it was Tornado Man.  Tornado Man did not force you to stop and analyze every lift and death trap, did not make a spectacle of how well you can snake your jumping path with an archaic physics engine, and did not blindside you with off-screen enemies.  Unique obstacles, good enemy placement, and a strong pace make this one of MM9's best segments.

6. Bowser In The Fire Sea - Super Mario 64
I could probably fill a top 10 list of Bowser stages alone.  But this one really stood out for me.  This level really showed off what a 3D Mario can do.  All manners of jumps, poles, gates, lava, and fire to maneuver through, this is perhaps my favorite "obstacle course" of any Mario game.

7. Storm Owl - MegaMan X4
Referring mainly to the first half.  Many have tried to do a stage riding on top of a fleet/convoy, most have failed.  But X4 nailed it.  Powerful arsenals on both the player and enemy sides, and lots of destructible ships, make this a great stage to wreak some havoc.

8. Flying Battery Zone - Sonic 3 & Knuckles
An excellent mix of challenge, stunts, and atmosphere.  Flying Battery never gets old.

9. World 9 - Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Mario stages are consistently good but on the flip-side that can cause a lack of stand-outs.  Not so here.  World 9 is so ludicrously off-the-wall that you'll never forget it.  If the rest of Lost Levels is throwing the kitchen sink at you for difficulty, then World 9 is throwing the water pipes at you just because they can.

10. The Last Way - Shadow The Hedgehog
The whole game basically should have been this with a less strict time limit.  No missions, no being punished for running for the goal by being told you're a robot ( ), just move your butt, kill stuff, and when all else fails, CHAOS CONTROOOL!!!

3265

Gaming / Re: New Super Mario Bros. Galaxy 2 Wii Turbo Edition

« on: October 21, 2009, 11:40:29 PM »

Anything and everything is valid for postgame; the story's over.  It doesn't have to make sense anymore.  But at the same time, re-working an ending for the sake of character selection is not Nintendo's forte.  See SM64DS.  Part of me is thinking they wanted an all-male and non-disturbing (Wario) cast so that Peach can comfortably kiss whoever saves her.  Otherwise they could have used original Toad and Toadette instead of Blue Toad and Yellow Toad.

3266

Gaming / Re: New Super Mario Bros. Galaxy 2 Wii Turbo Edition

« on: October 21, 2009, 03:52:48 AM »

Hm...  I'll have to check that again.  But the animation in and of itself was annoying enough.

3267

Gaming / Re: New Super Mario Bros. Galaxy 2 Wii Turbo Edition

« on: October 21, 2009, 03:45:17 AM »

Pretty sure we prove that on a regular basis with Sonic.

I can't help but find it ironic that Ben uses an example of a fan's reaction to a character's absence as evidence to why a character's absence to avoid irking the fans is acceptable.

And that's the thing.  I don't agree that kicking Peach out of the game dodges the issue, not if reviewers are already raising eyebrows before game release (when we could have been hopeful for some sort of unlockables, they rather jumped the gun, and Miyamoto confirmed).  I will reiterate again however that I *DO* find her absence acceptable; she's a damsel-in-distress character and that's what she's doing.  We can't rescue a group of dream-bee-people every game.  But even outside of her it's not as if there weren't other characters to consider, even other princesses, or even other pre-established Toads.  Using two new Toads, especially when we already have THREE Toads, is pointless.

She did Float in that game (when she was all Joyful).

That's actually counter-productive to your argument, then.  If there's precedent for the float being acceptable as a situational move, then Peach's presence in any game with an aerial power-up should be fine.  Again, the propeller-suit would have her covered.

In your example, the one game is one player (much like its "American" counterpart) and was also conducive to having the differing characters play differently. The other games (the original versions of SMB1, 3 and World), were able to support 2 player, and had Mario and Luigi play exactly the same.

I believe my original post already said that in simpler, if more vague, terms.

Although to be fair, and I'm not condoning this (in fact I hated it), but SMA4 broke that trend.  It was very clearly developed with Gameboy Player use intended, making multiplayer viable as long as your friend puts their controller down when it's not their turn, and yet Luigi still floaty-jumps.  I actually do find it annoying in that one because the run-in-the-air shpiel really doesn't work for me outside of Sub-Con, and I find the All-Stars SMB3 sprites badly animated for it, especially in conjunction with the raccoon tail.

3268

Off The Wall / Re: Reposted Picture Thread (56K Warning)

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:59:20 AM »

As old as the boy/girl joke is, that was a frikkin' hilarious take on it.

3269

Gaming / Re: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (the sequel topic)

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:40:16 AM »

Actually, the Command Mission pic quite clearly shows none.  The "hole" referred to in X4 is an actual extension, it would be visible if it were there.
http://www.sprites-inc.co.uk/files/X/X4/MiscScrn/
Scroll down to the character-select images, you'll see what I mean.  Those extensions do not exist outside of that image, and no "hole" has been seen in other artwork.  There is no image that shows Zero's backpack as being any different on one side than on the other.

DIFFERENT SWORD

Movement of the arm and the type of sword you are moving aren't all that relevant to each other.  Not unless you're going to get into hardcore real-life techniques as to how your leverage differs and all that stuff, which I'm fairly certain MegaMan X disregards (recall the fighter stance topic ages ago).

Besides, the solidity of the X4 Z-Saber varies with the artist.  Compare the opening cinema to the Memorial Hall clip.

You're missing her point entirely.

Then I'm in good company.

3270

X / Re: Megaman X6. No parts. Shadow Armor. Gate 2....

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:36:01 AM »

I'd imagine that depends on what game level you're playing on.  Doesn't boss health vary with difficulty?

(I always play on Xtreme, but I'm also a completist, so I'm a little out of my element)

3271

Gaming / Re: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (the sequel topic)

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:28:47 AM »

Thank you.

3272

Gaming / Re: Obligatory Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum thread

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:24:48 AM »

Wow.  Signature moves from the three dragons, that was news to me.

Most "tourney" players will probably axe all besides Judgement (obviously) and maybe Spatial Rend.  But I personally wouldn't mind seeing a Ghost-type Arceus with Shadow Force.  I can think of a damn evil idea or two with that.

3273

Gaming / Re: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (the sequel topic)

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:20:34 AM »

I've got better things to do tonight than die. [/Springer]


I didn't mention the backpack either.  Beam Sabers are a logical sci-fi extension of:

Swords

You may as well be criticizing someone for being unoriginal by using laser pistols.  Nobody gives a [tornado fang].

3274

Gaming / Re: New Super Mario Bros. Galaxy 2 Wii Turbo Edition

« on: October 21, 2009, 01:02:04 AM »

If you have Peach play just like Mario and the others, you'll have people crying foul:

"OMG, SHE DOESN'T HAVE DAT FLOAT! PHAIL!!1111!"

I know for a fact Peach did not hover in Super Paper Mario, she merely slow-falled with her parasol (and since NSMBWii has the propeller suit for aerial stunts, she doesn't need any of her own).  Not sure about Super Princess Peach.  What you have to bear in mind is that in SMB2 there were no power-ups beyond health/being big.  That's WHY it made sense for every character to have their own abilities.  When you've got a mushroom, a dinosaur, two suits, two flowers, and who knows what else available, there's no point.

Somebody ALWAYS bitches about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.  You cannot honestly tell me that the people who care whether or not Peach hovers are more than negligible.  If every other character is a Mario clone then the fact that she would be could hardly be seen as unusual.

Do not misunderstand me.  I am not arguing for the SMB2 cast minus abilities.  I think that they should have gone well beyond that.  It's reported fact that they already assigned character selection to player preference rather than player number (Player 2 is not automatically Luigi, and so forth), and since this is a "party" platformer, there's no reason they need to limit themselves to four characters.  Much less three plus a clone.  I can think of nine characters off the top of my head without even touching the playable-koopa department.  For that matter I could well understand why they'd want Peach as the damsel in distress and not a player, but "skirt physics" is an obvious cop-out, and it knocks out two other characters besides her.

this is supposed to be a "classic" style game

"Classic style" has nothing to do with it.  They simply wanted all players to handle the same.  It's fair, and it's easier to approach.  I respect that.

you can't take Yoshi with you from level to level.

......

It ain't perfect, but again...it is what it is. Still not going to stop me from enjoying probably the most enjoyable Mario game in years, in any case.  

Well, it's the one non-versus simultaneous game that my wife will probably play, so it won't stop me either.  I'm just saying, they were negligent on a few points.

3275

Gaming / Re: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (the sequel topic)

« on: October 21, 2009, 12:47:55 AM »

Was Zero ever shown conclusively elsewhere to have only 1 hole?

No, no, and no.

Zero's backpack has always been symmetrical.  X4 is just the only one to show a "hole" for the Z-Saber at all, and it did so on both sides.  In all other cases the Z-Saber just magically stays there (magnet lock?).

CAPCOM, PARAGON OF ORIGINALITY

You cannot honestly think that Gundam is the first thing to ever use two swords.