Messages

801

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

« on: May 12, 2012, 12:56:53 AM »

As I recall, he wasn't particularly interested in making any Smash Bros. games after Melee, either.  Nintendo strong-armed him into doing Brawl by threating to make a game that would suck.

802

Rockman Series / Re: The story of Rockman Online

« on: May 12, 2012, 12:53:58 AM »

*tosses RMO's dead carcase into the pile with Universe and Legends 3*

Mother [tornado fang]er. I didn't wholly expect to be able to play it, given the region issue, but mother [tornado fang]er.

My thoughts exactly.

Capcom will, perhaps justifiably so, play the "we weren't developing this one so it's not our fault and we will do nothing about it" card.  Same thing they're doing with the whole "will or will not Project X Zone be localized" issue.  But that doesn't make it suck any less.

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

« on: May 09, 2012, 12:58:21 AM »

You know, I COMPLETELY forgot about those.  Probably because I haven't had much of a reason to visit those two stores lately.

Oh yeah, and my Centurion Orbitar properties are Health+1, Shaking+1, Speed+3, Forward Dash Charge Shot+1, Forward Dash Continuous Fire+1, and In-peril Autododge+2.

We ought to just list the stats of our favorite weapons sometime.  I've been trying to keep a solid weapon of every type, although it was an awfully long time before I settled on my Phoenix Arm...

Petrification+4, that is pretty darn sweet.  But yeah, lack of melee can really screw you over in single-player at times.

804

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

« on: May 06, 2012, 05:19:40 PM »

And that's not even the only time they do that.  

Made some nice weapon progress yesterday.  Fused some awesome Centurion Orbitars (6R/3.5M, same as my Jetstreams).  Also managed to get myself a better Palutena Bow (I had a 6R one before, but its modifiers were pretty much useless).  6R/4M, +2 Paralysis and Melee Dash Attack, and +1 Speed, Dash Charged Shot, and Heart Bonus.

Clearing Chapter 11 at 9.0 Intensity with an Arm, that took a LOT of practice, mainly because I was struggling to fuse a decent Arm in the first place.  Finally pulled it off with a Phoenix Arm.

For now, it's more Together Mode, since playing it 100 times is the only block I have yet to clear in Viridi's Treasure Hunt.  And I'm only missing two blocks in the Power Portrait, so here's hoping!



...oh yeah, and I somehow sank 70+ hours of playtime into the game before realizing that changing your menu theme also changes who shows up in the Offering screen.  Funny how the little things can slip by you. 

805

X / Re: Why wasnt X5 the last game?

« on: May 05, 2012, 06:13:48 AM »

Indeed.  While I personally love X6 to the point of it being my favorite main-series game, I love for the fact that it is different (and yes, for the fact that it corrected a great deal of what X5 tried and ultimately failed to do).  Not only would the novelty wear off if the entire series were that way, but it would surely doom the franchise, because I can recognize the difference between my personal taste and what sells.  If anyone calls X6 "bad" or "broken", I will argue with them to hell and back.  However, I acknowledge that it is not approachable.  Even though it DOES play on the key thematic strengths of the Mega Man series (open structure and growing stronger), it does so to such an extreme that it throws off the typical balance, alienating all but the most dedicated fans, and games like that make attracting a new audience virtually impossible.

There's a reason I keep calling X6 the "Lost Levels" of Mega Man X.  You know the big stink over Nintendo of America thinking that SMB2J was too difficult for the mass market?  THEY WERE RIGHT.  The only reason people like it is because they were told they can't have it.  The old Tom Sawyer fence mentality.  X6, not unlike Zelda II, doesn't have that benefit.  It is not a game that does, or should, direct the series.  It is, rather, a game that treats long-time fans to a unique challenge that they will not find elsewhere in the series.  For those who are up to the task, such an experience is irreplaceable.

806

X / Re: Why wasnt X5 the last game?

« on: May 02, 2012, 01:35:17 AM »

I consider that "announcement" to be overhype/mistranslation of the Nightmare System, which is basically X1 except rarely beneficial, and not any indication of the developer's intent.  Kinda like how both X7 and X8 were allegedly cooperative (the earlier mistranslating Scramble Change and the latter mistranslating Double Attack).  If anything shows an intent that they couldn't follow through, it was probably the fact that the Nightmare System can open an alternate path in Wolfang's level, which is a matter of branching paths more than it is "randomizing", not really the same thing.

I have to concede that the actual randomized block locations in Scaravich's level are pointless at best and annoying at worst.  It's the same basic theme/direction and you're just hoping they're not in the way.

I don't really call X6 "cheap" difficulty.  I mean, it's hard as hell, yes, but it's legitimate.  Inticreates has a tendency of "faking" difficulty by either encouraging you to ignore power-ups (MMZ) or blind-siding the player with hazards you couldn't possibly react to (MM9).  X6 is easily overcome through either careful planning or just sheer determination, and it actually balances quite well with the game's wealth of power-ups (which goes far beyond what MMX games typically offer).  The Reploids' health restores offer a crutch for the early-going, while return trips expect you to have grown familiar enough to make it on your own.  You legitimately feel far more powerful after you've obtained Shadow Armor, Overdrive, and 16 Life-Ups, because you ARE.  The core level design of X6 is rock solid and its power-up locations have enough availability to encourage the basic game formula's non-linear nature.  Growing stronger and choosing your own path, two core elements of Mega Man where X5 failed miserably; your starting armor is over-powered, being literally the end-game secret minus Nova Strike, and the game is very obviously made with a specific stage order in mind, to the point where obtaining the Gaea Armor without visiting all 8 stages is virtually impossible.  What mainly weakens X6 is the Nightmare System, which is manipulatable only with advanced knowledge, otherwise leaving the player feeling helpless.  It could very easily be salvaged with a few user-friendly tweaks, though (a more straightforward menu, more weapon counters, and the ability to restore a cleared stage to neutral condition).

The other thing that works against X6 is, simply put, perception.  The game is not only badly localized but its harder obstacles are of a more open nature which seasoned Mega Man players are simply not accustomed to.  In most Mega Man games there is "one" solution to a given obstacle.  One weapon that destroyed that one block, one power-up that you need to clear that one jump.  In X6, there are multiple ways to clear any given obstacle.  People see it, look at whatever is most apparant, assume that one thing is outright required, and call the game broken for not making sure that they already have it.  The truth is that nine times out of ten they're giving up too easily, but it is admittedly a force of habit that the rest of the series encourages.

807

X / Re: Why wasnt X5 the last game?

« on: May 01, 2012, 02:56:05 AM »

Zan was a lot shorter and more to the point than I could ever hope to be, but suffice to say, I don't think of X5 as much of a series ending.

Besides the obvious flaws in the "finality" of the storyline that Zan already mentioned, I also think that their method of killing Zero leaves the entire game feeling cheap and unsatisfying.  Zero dies in a boss explosion, something we see over a dozen times a game, and not only that but there's a 50/50 chance that said explosion happens directly in X's face, who regardless gets off with a sore arm.

Furthermore, even looking at X5 solely as a gameplay experience, the game simply reeks of missed potential.  Alia constantly interrupts, it's impossible to obtain more than half the power-ups (and even that requires repeated suicide), the boss battles are excessively long thanks to overly generous invulnerability frames after the use of weakness weapons, the armor balance is entirely out of whack, with your starting "4th" being overpowered and Gaea virtually impossible to complete in any reasonable amount of time, and Zero's boss AI is one of the slowest and most moronic that the series has ever seen.  Say what you want about how ball-breakingly hard X6 is, but it corrected all of those problems.  And the whole multi-armor thing was never used to its full potential until X8.

X6 is just terrible. Zero is a gimmick character. He is very useless and has no reason to be played as. I didnt like it.

Your status as any kind of Mega Man fan is in serious question if you honestly beat X6 without noticing that EVERY SINGLE BOSS IN THE DAMN GAME is weak to the Z-Buster.

And that's not even touching the topic of how wonderfully broken the Ensuizan is.

808

X / Re: Zero the original X?

« on: April 28, 2012, 04:36:52 PM »

Actually, no, I don't.  Because in the above quote Inafune admits to working under a presupposition: While he envisioned Zero as the "new Mega Man", he did NOT want Zero to be the "traditional Mega Man".  Not only as a matter of design but also as a matter of the character's personality.

As I see it, Inafune wanted to do a darker, grimmer game, such as Mega Man Zero, back in 1993, but the transition directly from Classic into that would have been a major upset to anyone familiar with the series, and he knew it.  It was too soon.  The character's personality is the character's personality, regardless of what they look like, and that is not the personality that Inafune wanted for Zero.  The X series is effectively the bridge that allowed Inafune to make the kind of game he actually wanted to in 2002 (which is probably why he asked for it to end without bothering to involve himself in the ending).

That is exactly why Inafune asked Kaji to design the new Mega Man.  And Kaji knew up front that was who he was designing.  Had his design been rejected, Inafune probably would have tried something else entirely.  Pitching Zero as the lead would mean pitching Zero for the "nice guy image", which is exactly what Inafune didn't want.

809

X / Gate's Lab 2 no damage (by someone crazier than me)

« on: April 28, 2012, 04:21:37 PM »

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gs9_7_Oy3w[/youtube]

It's amazing what 170 back-to-back attempts can accomplish.

And I know that I personally have been playing X6 too long when I can look at THIS and still criticize.  Not that the no-damage speedrun thing is my bag, it isn't.  But this isn't really a "minimal" run as the author claims.

(click to show/hide)

Reading the description, the author claims to be withholding the use of special weapons, including the Z-Saber, unless absolutely necessary.  But there is no reason that the Ray Arrow is necessary.  Firing a charged shot point-blank at High Max will bypass his shield (works only as Unarmored and Ultimate), leaving him wide open for either Meteor Rain or Magma Blade, both of which are used anyway in this video.  He's probably using Ray Arrow to save time, since hitting High Max outside of his desperation move results in excessively long invulnerability frames, and the other two weapons will disrupt your movement when you need to be dodging.  Still, to call it a "minimal" run, I would call that cheating.

Still, very impressed that he cleared the "infamous" gap without the use of either parts or the pause screen.  Good timing goes a long way.

810

X / Re: Zero the original X?

« on: April 28, 2012, 05:01:36 AM »

Still, though, "The Mega Man" doesn't equate to lead character.

Re-read Inafune's quote above.  Take notice of the phrase "new Mega Man"  How Inafune envisioned Zero =/= how Inafune presented Zero.  It's that simple.

And seriously, get equipped with the book.

811

X / Re: Zero the original X?

« on: April 26, 2012, 11:36:38 PM »

There is interview where Inafune states he tested this assumption by showing two sketches to his superior, one of Kaji's X, and one of his Zero, without prior introduction . His superior immediately assumed X was the lead, and Zero the side character, just as he thought.

Word of God, Inafune:

"I wanted to make the character's personality a little more hardcore too, and I knew that if I was working from the design of the traditional Mega Man, I'd be stuck in that whole 'nice guy' image.  The whole time I was designing Zero, I was seeing him as the 'new Mega Man.'  But I didn't bring that up when I went to submit our designs to my boss.  I brought out the X that Kaji designed and said, 'Here's the new Mega Man!'  My boss had a very positive reaction to X, and when I brought out the design for Zero, I simply said, '... and this is the sub character.'  I figured that would ensure a less critical analysis of Zero and, as a result, got an immediate OK in the form of, 'Red, huh?  Hmm... yeah, that's nice.' (laughs)"

MMXOCW, page 8.

Zero was the kind of Mega Man that Inafune, personally, wanted to make (which is probably he was so eager to ditch the X series in favor of the Zero series), however it was Inafune, and nobody else, who made the decision not to present him as such.  Inafune was safeguarding his design, believing that a sub-character allowed him more freedom than Rock's successor would.

I skimmed the post, bite me.

Touchy, touchy.  Somebody found a hole in their Evidence bag today?

812

DASH / Re: DASH Album may lead to the release of the Prototype?

« on: April 24, 2012, 04:08:45 AM »

"Huge grain" doesn't begin to describe the amount of salt to take this with (many fans are overreacting already).  It's at worst gossiping nonsense, and at best a back channel; Reika isn't a Capcom employee.  Sven's doing some digging to see if the claim holds any water.  But regardless of what was said, or who said it, there is no commitment and it is completely deniable.

Nevertheless, even if it is a complete shot in the dark, it's still probably the best shot we've got (at least until we see a D-Arts Trigger, anyway).  And I actually happen to like Your Wind Is Blowing, so I do intend to track that CD down if it's at all possible (ah, living at the mercy of import shops...).  More than likely, I'll buy the CD and nothing will happen.  But I still get a CD.

813

Gaming / Re: A sequel is a coming to 3DS. Momma Mia

« on: April 24, 2012, 04:00:47 AM »

See, if we were talking about Mega Man, I'd agree with you.  The difference is that Mario is less about enemies and more about environments, so a character who does not affect your movement doesn't really contribute anything to your gameplay experience.  You and your friends can make NSMBWii as cooperative or competitive as you want, and the interaction encourages you to acknowledge and coordinate with your friends rather than proceed oblivious to them.  You read them, you help them, and yes, you even screw them over, gauging for yourself where that line is between friendly pranking and sheer dickery.

My oldest brother calls it "divorce mode", but I expect little from a man who refused to play 2-player SMB3 because he didn't want to share Toad houses.  Ultimately, I see people who complain about bumping as people who don't want to be troubled by other human beings, and they really should be playing single-player.  Or an online game where you bear no accountability for how you treat others.

814

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

« on: April 24, 2012, 03:51:49 AM »

I'm glad I'm not the ONLY person to have to wipe my thumbs before handling that damn Circle Pad...

Anyways, in camping the Reaper Fortress (which is surprisingly easy to clear at 8 Intensity; should get 9 done soon enough), got a Dark Bow of sheer badassery with 5.5 Melee and overall value over 300, making it EXCELLENT fusion material for a new Magnus Club!  I can get Speed+4 and 5-star Melee easily.  Gonna see if I can't do a little better on my Speed+4 weapon (I have three of 'em) before committing.

815

Original / Re: Favorite Special Weapon color scheme?

« on: April 22, 2012, 07:12:02 PM »

Hard Knuckle.  Ye-olde-grey-and-blue just grew on me for some reason, even though it's one of my least-used weapons in that game.

816

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

« on: April 22, 2012, 05:51:09 AM »

I would be surprised if it did.  The challenge reads "30 people" and all Spot-pass gems come from Palutena's Mii.

817

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

« on: April 22, 2012, 03:34:51 AM »

FINALLY got Chapter 11 No Damage today (Instead Death Lv1 on the Boom Stomper at the end, and Energy Charge/Mega Laser for Cragalanche, plus my ever-trusty Dark Pit Staff).  So that just leaves Pandora's mirrors and a bit more of Together Mode before I clear Viridi's treasure hunt.

I hope you haven't used the feather yet... In order to get it, you need to be Gliding, so that means no shooting. From there, just narrowly avoid shots by moving Pit a bit. No barrel-rolling, though! You'll hear a sound that tells you, you have "avoided a shot" if done correctly. At level 5 and higher is recommended seeing as they relentlessly shoot you, making it faster to earn the shots.

I have, but at least now I can remove that feather icon from the picture.
Seriously, they couldn't add "while gliding" to the description?  Not shooting flies in the face of both score and hearts.

818

Gaming / Re: A sequel is a coming to 3DS. Momma Mia

« on: April 22, 2012, 03:31:36 AM »

Because really, two toads? I thought it would've been like Super Mario 64 DS with more character choices (I.E. Wario, Playable Yoshi, and of course good 'ol Red n' Green) than a pair of color-coded toads.

Very, VERY much agreed.  I'm still trying to figure out why Daisy wasn't at Peach's birthday party.

819

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

« on: April 21, 2012, 05:00:24 PM »

There are two things I'm "feathering" my way through: Any "Nearby" stuff (nobody local, sucks but there's nothing that can be done), and the "Narrowly Avoid x Shots in Air Battles".  Yeah, seriously, I've played the game for over 50 Hours without unlocking the FIVE SHOT achievement with Palutena.  I guess they expect you to roll out of the way at the last second?  I dunno.

I have only four blocks left to go in Viridi's hunt, and besides the above-mentioned Chapter 11, the only other single-player block that's giving me trouble is shattering Amazon Pandora's mirrors.  I can drag that fight with her out forever and she never seems to want to throw a mirror up.  I think I've only seen two in my entire history with the game.  Anything you can do to prompt her?

Have you tried the Invincibility Power? You can just activate it then using Tirelessness or Light Weight, run to the end?

It's the end of the maze, where you have to kill the enemies to proceed.  I get nail the Jitterbug quickly enough, but between the little blade guys and the Boom Stomper that follows, one of them seems to always tag me.

I am more having trouble with the Finish Chapter 14 with 230 Kills and Finish Chapter 15 at Full health (5.0 Intensity). To do the first one, I need to be at Intensity 7 or higher to get enough enemies, but with the whole level electrified, my health goes down too fast. The second one, the boss has electrified floors, 8 cannons, and shields surrounding the Aurum Core. It'd be easy at lower Intensities, but 5 is required and that makes it "too long" for me to kill it with no damage whatsoever.

You do NOT need to be at 7.0 Intensity to get that many kills in Chapter 14.  Quite the opposite, I found lower Intensities to be more helpful, as it allows you to kill more enemies in the Air Battle segment before they escape off the screen.  My Dark Pit Staff worked wonders for that one.

Clearing Chapter 15 at full health wasn't really a problem with me, even on 5.0.  I always pack a high-level Mega Laser, which bypasses the shield nicely, and you can destroy the cannons, leaving the electrified floors your only real concern.  So pick a weapon with decent running speed and bring a Health Restore power just in case.

820

Gaming / Re: A sequel is a coming to 3DS. Momma Mia

« on: April 21, 2012, 04:31:43 PM »

So I guess somebody looked back and realized there actually WASN'T any non-flight version of the raccoon tail.

New sidescrolling Mario on my 3DS, can't really not love it.  I'm just looking forward to seeing what new power-ups come about, and I'm REALLY hoping that they give Yoshi some better props (although that's probably wishful thinking).

With all the annoying multiplayer features like floating bubbles and characters screwing up your gameplay by allowing you to bump into them all the time. Oh joy!

please let this not be the case again.

It amazes me when gamers cannot find options in the menu.  Especially the one labelled "Single Player".

Those of us who are actually interested in multiplayer usually appreciate some level of interaction.

And seriously, bubbles?  Bubbles appear for one of two reasons: 1. You died.  2. You manually activated it.  In other words, stop sucking.  It was actually a brilliant mechanic for those of us who have friends/family/wives who aren't the best platform gamers, as it allows us to play together in any level despite the skill gap.

821

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

« on: April 21, 2012, 03:48:08 AM »

Killing Ornes is handy, but otherwise, I think their strength is fixed.  I've taken notice during a few replays that you can get normal weapons considerably more powerful than Light Arrows.

I'm a little stumped right now trying to No Damage Clear chapter eleven.  That last batch of baddies before Cragalanche always seems to nail a hit on me...

822

Gaming / Re: RPM's Nintendo Wi-Fi lists (now with 3DS)

« on: April 15, 2012, 03:23:08 PM »

Just added you, Jestah.  My play schedule is a bit erratic, but I'll keep my eyes open.

823

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

« on: April 15, 2012, 07:26:00 AM »

I haven't really attempted to 9.0 any chapters after Hewdraw.  Instead I've been focusing on the Treasure Hunts and on beefing up my weapons arsenal.  The best I did on Thanatos was 8, I think (had to survive at least his flight segment on 9.0 to unlock his Intensity Gate).  

In fact, today I went pretty much bankrupt on my hearts buying a badass 330-something Crusader Blade.  Maybe not the wisest thing to do when I never got the 300k heart achievement, but it gave me the fusion material I needed to make a high-star Dark Pit Staff.  5.5R compared to my old 4R.  And it has Running Speed +3 to boot!

Also today, got a 6R Twinbellows Cannon (thus joining the ranks of my Palutena Bow and Jetstream Orbitars), and FINALLY unlocked Centurion Orbitars.

Still wishing I could break 4.5M on my Magnus Club, but I've exhausted all avenues for now.  So it's back to treasure hunting, restocking my hearts, and maybe some more online later.

824

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

« on: April 15, 2012, 03:10:27 AM »

Not so much that it doesn't exist as it is that there's a reason it's such a pain in the ass to get it.  Stars and custom modifiers both contribute to the weapon's overall value, and the overall value of a fused weapon is based on the value of the weapons you're fusing (the two values have to be within 20 or so in order to rise).  5R/5M stars is perfectly doable (I have a Viridi Palm at 5R/4.5M), but even if you fused weapons with no other custom modifiers, the overall value would have to be above 250.  What's probably going on is that your modifiers are sucking up the weapon's value.

825

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

« on: April 14, 2012, 04:21:47 AM »

There is evidently a limit to how badass a weapon can be (detailed FAQs on it are out there; I've only skimmed them).

I got a 6R/3M Palutena Bow, which is plenty for me.  My real star-trouble seems to be the Magnus Club (well, that and the Dark Pit staff, but I'm not terribly concerned with it).  I'm trying to preserve one that has a Speed+3 by fusion loops, and even though I raised the overall value of the weapon I actually lost half a Melee star last time.  The best I've yet managed is 4.5.