Soooooo what'cha playing?

[henrymidfields]

On 9/19/2021 at 6:09 PM, ping said:

[about character growth in P4G, no endgame spoilers]

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Yeah, I've been playing P4G on and off for the last *checks steam* 5-6 months after playing the original years ago and I can't really disagree with this. A lot of the social links have a structure of "I want to change! ....no actually, I'm fine with who I am."

I find that it works for some characters: Yukiko doesn't so much hate the work at the inn, but loathes that everybody assumes that she'll take it over - so when she discovers that her parents fully support her plans to move away to study, it's not too outlandish that she reconsiders.
And I actually like that Kanji's sexuality is kept ambiguous, even though my cynical butt can't help but think that this is to no small parts so that a) Naoto is bangable by the self-insert MC but b) they don't dare to explicitly show a character that is homo- or bisexual. But I love how Kanji accepts that his love for ""girly"" stuff doesn't make him weak or less "manly", and how you find other characters in his social link who reinforce that.

But I didn't like Naoto's social link and actively despise Rise's ("I'm not just Cutesy Dumb-Dumb! ...no actually, Cutesy Dumb-Dumb is part of who I am!"), and it's true that a lot of the time, social links seem to be about accepting what is, and not about changing what you don't like about the status quo.

 

Totally agree with your points on Yukiko, Kanji, and Naoto:

Spoiler

Yeah, I think a lot of people overlook the conformist and family/elder-prioritised mentality that Japan still has to this day with Yukiko. In Japan, there is always this societal pressure of having to follow your family's wishes and legacies. Sometimes, it is explicitly written, but in many cases, it is an unwritten rule. And I think in Yukiko's case, it is more about her being absolutely sure that she has at least some say in the matter and that she is seen as Yukiko Amagi, as opposed to the heiress of the Amagi Inn. 

I also like Kanji's social link as well. One thing that I believe people overlook is manly people having girly tastes. While most of the world are more or less used to see women breaking gender roles (Japan being one of the few exceptions in the first world), there still this mentality that men are not allowed to have girly tastes. And as you said, Kanji's social link kicks that in the guts.

I'm not sure about what you dislike about Naoto's Social Link, so I can only guess. As for me, I really do not like her inconsistent writing, and the near-lack of discussion in sexism in the Japanese society and workplace, and how that negatively affects her - two things that defines her. In my planned fanfic, I would actually re-write her social link entirely, so that Naoto being a victim of misogyny is more addressed here. I'd like an actual scene of how a group of officers dismiss her, and maybe a later scene which she is proven right, and because of this Dojima or another officer sympathetic to Naoto yells bloody murder at the former group of officers.

 

[Samz707]

I think Extra Credits were the only people who said that amd I recall hearing alot of people disagreed on them with Persona 4 since they misunderstood what those characters were actually about.

Kanji is mostly ment to be about liking "unmanly" things and not feeling like you're wrong for it than being gay.

 

Extra Credits has stupid stuff. (Like saying WW2 MP games shouldn't have playable Germans and then claiming a non-Nazi German symbol still used today was a Nazi Symbol in the same video, The Iron Cross.)

Edited September 20, 2021 by Samz707

[ping]

On 9/20/2021 at 1:30 PM, henrymidfields said:

I'm not sure about what you dislike about Naoto's Social Link, so I can only guess.

Spoiler

I think it's mostly that it completely backs away from Naoto's issues as they were presented at first. Naoto's shadow made the impression that Naoto might be trans... but no, she is only frustrated that other crime investigators look down on her because she's a) young and b) a girl, so she dresses as a boy to at least avoid b).

Buuuut then the main problem isn't sexist and condescending coworkers, it's that Naoto lost the joy of solving crimes and her granddad wants to rekindle that.

It's maybe a bit unfair to criticize the SL because it isn't what I wanted it to be, but I found that the game sets something up and then just left it dangling in favour of a cute, harmless aesop.

I'll add the caveat that the last thing I did in my current playthrough is the Void Quest dungeon, so Naoto is still the rather smug boy that you are initially presented with. It's quite possible that I misremember some stuff about her SL.

[henrymidfields]

33 minutes ago, ping said:

  Hide contents

I think it's mostly that it completely backs away from Naoto's issues as they were presented at first. Naoto's shadow made the impression that Naoto might be trans... but no, she is only frustrated that other crime investigators look down on her because she's a) young and b) a girl, so she dresses as a boy to at least avoid b).

Buuuut then the main problem isn't sexist and condescending coworkers, it's that Naoto lost the joy of solving crimes and her granddad wants to rekindle that.

It's maybe a bit unfair to criticize the SL because it isn't what I wanted it to be, but I found that the game sets something up and then just left it dangling in favour of a cute, harmless aesop.

I'll add the caveat that the last thing I did in my current playthrough is the Void Quest dungeon, so Naoto is still the rather smug boy that you are initially presented with. It's quite possible that I misremember some stuff about her SL.

No, I don't think you misremembered anything. Exactly as you described. It just makes her look like a Mary Stu. I mean, Mitsuru in Persona 3 having to face a misogynistic suitor for her arranged marriage and how that negatively affects her is exactly why I consider her better, even though she's more of a Stu in paper in comparison to Naoto. It shows that sometimes, your capability/ability can still only help so much in a world full of prejudice.

I even feel that Naoto should have had a minor (non-plot related) social link in Persona 5 to show just how she continues to be negatively affected by a misogynistic, corrupt, and vested police force in Tokyo. She struggles to find work, everyone openly mocks her, and politicians keep tabs on her to keep her from stepping out of line. If you maxed out her social link in 5, then she is the one that investigates Ren's past guilty conviction and exonerates him.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

The earlier talk about Digital Eclipse and Mega Man inspired me to put on Mega Man 7. It's the last of the classic series I had yet to play - save for the game boy entries. My PS2 happened to be hooked up so I played the game on the Mega Man Anniversary collection, which means no access to save states or time rewind. The game does however keep track of my most recently earned password to save me the time of inputting it. If you weren't one of the hundred or so people savvy of the emulation scene in 2004, this was pretty convenient stuff. Unfortunately the password system does not keep track of excess extra lives, how many times you found proto man to unlock his hidden boss fight, or your progress in the Fortress stages. So I had to redo quite a bit once I turned the game off upon reaching the final stage.

MM7 robot masters seem particularly tamed when you have the boss weakness. That's not unheard of in a Mega Man game, but I'd swear this is the only one that has such a wild effect on all eight of them. I've got no problem with special weapons making bosses much easier, but when all you have to do is fire the weapon the moment their I frames run out and never give them a chance to move or do more than a single attack, then it just feels lame. Boss AI should be predictable enough that you can learn, but never get stuck in a helpless loop like that. Everybody likes to see them react different to being hit by various weapons, but some level of challenge should be maintained. Other than that I really enjoyed the game. The special weapons were especially helpful, the super adapter is fun, Shade Man's stage was a blast (I googled if it was intended to be a ghosts n goblins reference only to learn about the amazing easter egg), and despite the embarrassing typos the story was not bad at all. Even the shocking ending where Mega Man nearly goes Skynet fits when you place it in the game's context.

There's a larger conversation about where this game "fits in", not so much in the classic series, but the X trilogy. No doubt players saw it as a step back rather than a step forward, and that's doubly frustrating when you consider how long this series spun its wheels on the NES (the SNES was three years old when 6 released, and official mentions of the 'Ultra 64' might have been circulating by the time 7 dropped). Even I was peeved at the first few minutes. The controls feel so much like X's slower walking speed and floaty yet low jump arc, and you don't have the dash or wall climbing to make up for that. The slide certainly gets a workout though.  When you think about it, in an age where everybody is playing Mega Man either on a PC emulator or the legacy collections, we don't need to have this debate, and can appreciate MM7 for what it does instead of nintendon't. And I like it! 

Turning this into a Mega Man week, I also spent some gold coins that were about to expire on Metagal, a Mega Man clone. This was much shorter to get through, with only four robot masters and four fortress stages. Instead of a special weapon energy gauge, this game has a meter that fills up passively and depletes when you fire the special weapon. That's not a bad idea to encourage more special weapon usage. What I do like about this game's special weapons is how several of them allow for new means of traversal. Once you get to the fortress stages, the level design feels considerably different from the first four levels' jump and shoot experience. And once you beat the game, you unlock the ability to play again as one of the four robot masters. From what I can tell, they don't have a unique plot or unique stages beyond their tutorial, but their attacks and platforming change the game completely. Fight on Metagal. For everlasting peace.

[vanguard333]

After playing through the classic Mega Man Legacy Collection, I remembered that I have The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition, and I thought I would use it to play another NES classic: the original The Legend of Zelda. I decided that I wanted to see how much of it has aged well and how much has not. And of course, I am playing it with a walkthrough next to me, but simply to have a map and to know which trees to burn and which walls to blow up to unlock secret areas. 

What I can say right now is... a lot has not aged well at all:

1. Link only being able to stab with the sword rather than having a cutting attack means that his hitbox is rather tiny in a game where even the slightest touch from an enemy will hurt Link. Only being able to save & quit is a pain even if it's easy to just start playing again. This need to stay away from enemies makes the sword beam attack extremely useful early on for defeating enemies while keeping your distance... but the sword beam attack is only available at full health. I always thought that the sword beam attack in 2D games and Breath of the Wild only working at full health was a stupid idea, and to see that it was something from the original game that they thoughtlessly kept bringing back just further proves to me that it's a bad idea. Nintendo really needs to come up with a better limitation for the sword beam attack.

2. I don't mind save systems that force you to start at a specific area like how Ocarina of Time has you start at Link's house if Young Link and the Temple of Time if Adult Link, but at least Ocarina of Time let you save and keep going. This is made even worse by the lives system the game has, which makes resetting your best option a lot of the time if you get a game over, and you're going to get a game over in this game a lot more than in other Zelda games.

3. No map. The most you get is a mini-map in the top-left part of the screen indicating where you are in the overworld, and it is the most featureless mini-map I have ever seen. It's not even a grid like one would expect from a mini-map that's just a featureless box, so you can't think, "Okay; I'm at tile [number] across and [number] down; I remember the great fairy being two tiles up from here" or anything like that.

4. Certain enemies endlessly respawning; namely River Zora and Leevers (the things that pop out of the sand and charge towards you to attack). I cannot stand either of them at this point in the game, and I cannot figure out a consistent way of avoiding the latter. These are the only enemies I've encountered so far that keep respawning after you defeat them; for others, you have to leave the tile and come back, and they are endlessly frustrating.

 

That said, there is quite a lot about it that still works today:

1. Having the game open with the player having to make a choice about where they want to go is rather brilliant, and I like how the path that leads to a useful item (the wooden sword) stands out among the options by being a cave rather than a path.

2. Having different shops have different prices for certain items is actually rather genius, as it rewards exploration, patience and being careful about what you buy and when.

3. Having it that you can only get heart containers and not heart pieces is great as the effect of the reward is immediate, rather than it only being immediate 1/4 (or 1/5 for Twilight Princess) of the time.

[Lord_Brand]

8 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

After playing through the classic Mega Man Legacy Collection, I remembered that I have The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition, and I thought I would use it to play another NES classic: the original The Legend of Zelda. I decided that I wanted to see how much of it has aged well and how much has not. And of course, I am playing it with a walkthrough next to me, but simply to have a map and to know which trees to burn and which walls to blow up to unlock secret areas. 

What I can say right now is... a lot has not aged well at all:

1. Link only being able to stab with the sword rather than having a cutting attack means that his hitbox is rather tiny in a game where even the slightest touch from an enemy will hurt Link. Only being able to save & quit is a pain even if it's easy to just start playing again. This need to stay away from enemies makes the sword beam attack extremely useful early on for defeating enemies while keeping your distance... but the sword beam attack is only available at full health. I always thought that the sword beam attack in 2D games and Breath of the Wild only working at full health was a stupid idea, and to see that it was something from the original game that they thoughtlessly kept bringing back just further proves to me that it's a bad idea. Nintendo really needs to come up with a better limitation for the sword beam attack.

How about charging the sword? The Oracle games included a Magic Ring that allows you to shoot sword beams rather than spin attack by charging, and Skyward Sword made charging the default via Skyward Strike. Would have been cool if the Skyward Strike returned in BotW by holding the throw button to charge the sword. If they ever make another sidescrolling Zelda, the sword beam will work better as a charge attack than the usual spin, I think.

8 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

2. I don't mind save systems that force you to start at a specific area like how Ocarina of Time has you start at Link's house if Young Link and the Temple of Time if Adult Link, but at least Ocarina of Time let you save and keep going. This is made even worse by the lives system the game has, which makes resetting your best option a lot of the time if you get a game over, and you're going to get a game over in this game a lot more than in other Zelda games.

Lives system? Are you talking about how the game keeps track of the number of times you've died? The only Zelda game with a conventional lives system is Zelda II, unless you count the Bottled Fairies or equivalents thereof in later games. But yeah, having to restart at the same location every time is annoying.

8 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

3. No map. The most you get is a mini-map in the top-left part of the screen indicating where you are in the overworld, and it is the most featureless mini-map I have ever seen. It's not even a grid like one would expect from a mini-map that's just a featureless box, so you can't think, "Okay; I'm at tile [number] across and [number] down; I remember the great fairy being two tiles up from here" or anything like that.

Yeah, it's vexing that the dungeons at least get grid-based maps showing the rooms, but the overworld gets a gray box with a single colored square on it. Why they thought that was acceptable even back then is anyone's guess.

8 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

4. Certain enemies endlessly respawning; namely River Zora and Leevers (the things that pop out of the sand and charge towards you to attack). I cannot stand either of them at this point in the game, and I cannot figure out a consistent way of avoiding the latter. These are the only enemies I've encountered so far that keep respawning after you defeat them; for others, you have to leave the tile and come back, and they are endlessly frustrating.

Strange, when I played through the game on the online service the Leevers didn't keep respawning. I don't think the River Zoras did either. Did they change that between releases or something?

If you plan on playing through Zelda II, let me give you a bit of advice: don't fight the bosses during your first trip to the Palaces. Grab the item inside the dungeon, then move on. The Palaces only become inaccessible once you both defeat the boss and have the dungeon item, so you'll be able to come back later. And whenever you defeat a boss, you get enough experience for a level up - but only as much as you need to level up, whether that's 1000 or just 100. Early on, you'll gain levels easily enough just by slaying monsters worth 100+ EXP. Your stats all max at 8, and there are six palaces to clear, so once your stats are all at 6, you can start knocking down the bosses one by one and be maxed in time for the final dungeon.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Lord_Brand

[vanguard333]

6 minutes ago, Lord_Brand said:

How about charging the sword? The Oracle games included a Magic Ring that allows you to shoot sword beams rather than spin attack by charging, and Skyward Sword made charging the default via Skyward Strike. Would have been cool if the Skyward Strike returned in BotW by holding the throw button to charge the sword. If they ever make another sidescrolling Zelda, the sword beam will work better as a charge attack than the usual spin, I think.

Lives system? Are you talking about how the game keeps track of the number of times you've died? The only Zelda game with a conventional lives system is Zelda II, unless you count the Bottled Fairies or equivalents thereof in later games. But yeah, having to restart at the same location every time is annoying.

Yeah, it's vexing that the dungeons at least get grid-based maps showing the rooms, but the overworld gets a gray box with a single colored square on it. Why they thought that was acceptable even back then is anyone's guess.

Strange, when I played through the game on the online service the Leevers didn't keep respawning. I don't think the River Zoras did either. Did they change that between releases or something?

If you plan on playing through Zelda II, let me give you a bit of advice: don't fight the bosses during your first trip to the Palaces. Grab the item inside the dungeon, then move on. The Palaces only become inaccessible once you both defeat the boss and have the dungeon item, so you'll be able to come back later. And whenever you defeat a boss, you get enough experience for a level up - but only as much as you need to level up, whether that's 1000 or just 100. Early on, you'll gain levels easily enough just by slaying monsters with 100+ EXP. Your stats all max at 8, and there are six palaces to clear, so once your stats are all at 6, you can start knocking down the bosses one by one and be maxed in time for the final dungeon.

Making it a charged attack would be a great idea. Sadly, I don't think I've seen either of those examples. I've only played Oracle of Seasons and I don't think I found that ring, and while I have seen the skyward strike in videos, I have not played Skyward Sword (I refuse to play it until Nintendo adds a left-handed mode for the motion controls; it's a matter of basic consideration).

I'm talking about how there's the number 2 beside a new save file, and when you get a game over and save & continue, it ticks down to 1, then 0. I haven't seen what happens if you're already at 0 and get a game over, so, if that's not a lives system, please correct me and point out what it actually is.

The dungeons get a grid-based map? I haven't gotten to a dungeon yet.

I don't know. I just know that when I tried killing them and succeeded in killing one, another took its place even though the other one was still alive. As for the river zora, they don't respawn until you've left the tile, but where other monsters remain defeated until you've travelled a considerable distance before coming back, the river zora respawn as soon as you leave the tile and come back. Does that make sense?

Thanks for the advice. That sounds like something they didn't take into consideration rather than something that was intended to be there as a strategy, but I think I'll use it.

[Lord_Brand]

3 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

Making it a charged attack would be a great idea. Sadly, I don't think I've seen either of those examples. I've only played Oracle of Seasons and I don't think I found that ring, and while I have seen the skyward strike in videos, I have not played Skyward Sword (I refuse to play it until Nintendo adds a left-handed mode for the motion controls; it's a matter of basic consideration).

I'm talking about how there's the number 2 beside a new save file, and when you get a game over and save & continue, it ticks down to 1, then 0. I haven't seen what happens if you're already at 0 and get a game over, so, if that's not a lives system, please correct me and point out what it actually is.

The dungeons get a grid-based map? I haven't gotten to a dungeon yet.

I don't know. I just know that when I tried killing them and succeeded in killing one, another took its place even though the other one was still alive. As for the river zora, they don't respawn until you've left the tile, but where other monsters remain defeated until you've travelled a considerable distance before coming back, the river zora respawn as soon as you leave the tile and come back. Does that make sense?

Thanks for the advice. That sounds like something they didn't take into consideration rather than something that was intended to be there as a strategy, but I think I'll use it.

The number ticks down? In Zelda 1? The number should be ticking up each time you die, as most Zeldas track the number of times you die. You started a new file and it began with a 2? Where did you get your copy of the Collector's Edition, by chance?

Yeah, the dungeon maps are marginally more useful since they show not only you but also where the boss is located, in addition to individual spaces for rooms. Nothing like what ALttP or later games would offer, but it's better than the overworld map at least. Just so you know, Zelda II doesn't have in-game maps at all.

Ah, okay, so the Zoras respawn whenever you return to the screen. That sounds about right. Yeah, it's annoying, but the Magic Shield at least allows you to block their shots. I believe Leevers come in waves. My experience is that screens that have them usually produce about 4-6, two at a time.

If you're willing to brave the Lost Woods, Lynels, and the Graveyard, you can get the Power Bracelet shortly after starting the game and grind up Rupees to buy the Blue Ring (250 Rupees, out of a maximum carrying capacity of 255) in a shop hidden under a statue, giving you doubled defense before even starting the first dungeon. You can also find two Heart Containers and acquire the White Sword before the first dungeon. If you have the NES Classic or the Switch online service, you can also save scum the "money-making games".

Incidentally, I've considered remaking the original LOZ in the style of the Game Boy and GBC games, complete with additions like the arcing sword swing, cuttable grass and bushes, and treasure chests. Though honestly, I think a reimagining would be more apt since the original Zelda map is painfully barebones compared to the handheld 8-bit entries which all managed to make their maps much more interesting with much less screen space, to say nothing of the much more varied casts of NPCs.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Lord_Brand

[vanguard333]

9 hours ago, Lord_Brand said:

The number ticks down? In Zelda 1? The number should be ticking up each time you die, as most Zeldas track the number of times you die. You started a new file and it began with a 2? Where did you get your copy of the Collector's Edition, by chance?

Yeah, the dungeon maps are marginally more useful since they show not only you but also where the boss is located, in addition to individual spaces for rooms. Nothing like what ALttP or later games would offer, but it's better than the overworld map at least. Just so you know, Zelda II doesn't have in-game maps at all.

Ah, okay, so the Zoras respawn whenever you return to the screen. That sounds about right. Yeah, it's annoying, but the Magic Shield at least allows you to block their shots. I believe Leevers come in waves. My experience is that screens that have them usually produce about 4-6, two at a time.

If you're willing to brave the Lost Woods, Lynels, and the Graveyard, you can get the Power Bracelet shortly after starting the game and grind up Rupees to buy the Blue Ring (250 Rupees, out of a maximum carrying capacity of 255) in a shop hidden under a statue, giving you doubled defense before even starting the first dungeon. You can also find two Heart Containers and acquire the White Sword before the first dungeon. If you have the NES Classic or the Switch online service, you can also save scum the "money-making games".

Incidentally, I've considered remaking the original LOZ in the style of the Game Boy and GBC games, complete with additions like the arcing sword swing, cuttable grass and bushes, and treasure chests. Though honestly, I think a reimagining would be more apt since the original Zelda map is painfully barebones compared to the handheld 8-bit entries which all managed to make their maps much more interesting with much less screen space, to say nothing of the much more varied casts of NPCs.

That's a deaths counter? Huh; maybe I misunderstood it; I had an old save file that had 2, and I could've sworn that I never got a game over on that file. Maybe I was wrong and it ticks up, and I was simply misremembering. That's probably the source of the confusion.

I see. Thanks for the info.

Ah; that makes sense. Do you have a good method for dealing with or avoid the leevers? They're extremely annoying.

Yeah; I saw that in the walkthrough. You can also get nine heart containers and the most powerful sword before even the first dungeon.

That sounds interesting.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I was quite "diligent" in terms of gaming since my last update some months ago.

Finished games:

• Super Mario Galaxy 
• Deemo
• Kirby And The Rainbow Curse
• Kirby 64
• Kirby Battle Royale (story mode)
• Golden Sun
• Touhou Luna Nights
• Touhou Skyloft

 

Currently playing:

• Super Mario Odyssey
• Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

 

Since I have a Wii U now - mainly for its virtual console and less for its games (only owning Kirby And The Rainbow Curse and Star Fox Zero) I have access to play some GBA and N64 jewels. Finally I can play FE7 and FE8 legally. As for N64 games I only own Kirby 64 and I might not get anymore games for the Wii U depending on the price of the expansion pack of Nintendo Switch Online. Since DK64 and the Banjo duology is not offered for Wii U, I might get the expansion pack instead since these games I never could but always wanted to play.

 

As for the reported games I would like to give a shoot out to Kirby And The Rainbow Curse and Touhou Luna Nights. 

 

Despite first being a drawing subgame, Kirby And The Rainbow Curse made lots of fun. The level design was very creative and the boss fights were tough for Kirby standards. The soundtrack was among the best in the Kirby series.

 

Touhou Luna Nights was my first "Metroidvania" I have ever beaten. This game was really HARD, but it never frustrated me. Despite replaying a boss to like 100 times, I always felt motivated to learn the boss's attack patterns and how to dodge their attacks. Some features of freezing time or making a stairs with knife made it become a very creative level design. Some platformer sections were really tough and also required some attempts to master them. As for this the OST was amazing. For Touhou spin off a very good game.

[Lord_Brand]

On 9/24/2021 at 8:59 AM, vanguard333 said:

That's a deaths counter? Huh; maybe I misunderstood it; I had an old save file that had 2, and I could've sworn that I never got a game over on that file. Maybe I was wrong and it ticks up, and I was simply misremembering. That's probably the source of the confusion.

I see. Thanks for the info.

Ah; that makes sense. Do you have a good method for dealing with or avoid the leevers? They're extremely annoying.

Yeah; I saw that in the walkthrough. You can also get nine heart containers and the most powerful sword before even the first dungeon.

That sounds interesting.

The best advice I can give is to either try to avoid screens with them or to get yourself a stronger sword as soon as possible to defeat them faster. I believe the Boomerang can stun them, which can also help.

You can get the Magical Sword before the first dungeon? Was not aware of that.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Ys IX Monstrum Nox. It's a disappointing sequel after the masterpiece that was Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. I actually preferred Memories of Celceta.

 

Monstrum Nox feels... slow and meandering. Padded out. Not the exciting, pulse-pounding adventure that the others were.

[vanguard333]

5 hours ago, Lord_Brand said:

The best advice I can give is to either try to avoid screens with them or to get yourself a stronger sword as soon as possible to defeat them faster. I believe the Boomerang can stun them, which can also help.

You can get the Magical Sword before the first dungeon? Was not aware of that.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Anyway, since it was on sale, I decided to purchase Bug Fables. I've heard a lot of great things about it, though mainly from former Paper Mario fans. I decided to try it, even though I've never played any of the older Paper Mario games.

Now, if anyone reading this is unfamiliar with Bug Fables and is wondering why I brought up Paper Mario, the simple answer is that Bug Fables is one of those indie games where a group of fans grew dissatisfied with the way a series had headed in recent years (in this case Paper Mario), so they made their own game and said, "Hey, check out our new game, (wink) it's an entirely original IP, (wink)" and of course it's classic Paper Mario with a finger under its nose going, "I can't be Paper Mario; Paper Mario doesn't have a moustache. …Well; not a 3D moustache anyway."

Of course, as I said, I've never played a Paper Mario game, so I can't compare it to the old Paper Mario games; I can only say how good the game is on its own. And I can say that, from what I've played so far, it is really good.

The combat is really good; there's a lot of depth to it while still remaining fairly straightforward. One problem I find with some turn-based RPGs is that most of the depth to the combat is actually outside of the battle; with this game, there is a ton to think about during combat: the positions of each character, the order in which each character uses their turn, etc. There's also "action commands" that you use for attacks and skills to inflict the most damage to enemies; I've been fairly good at most of these with the exception of ones that require button-mashing (as I'm terrible at button-mashing), and you can block enemy attacks to take less damage by pressing the a button at the right time (this one I'm far less good at, and I can't tell if it's just me not being good at the timing because I'm new to this type of turn-based combat, or if some of the enemy attacks are just really hard to block in general).

The upgrade system is also great: every level up, you have to choose between an increase in HP, TP (basically skill points), or Medal Points (for holding more medals which have various effects), and it is often hard to choose between more medal points and more skill points.

The main characters are also great as characters; their dynamic is very hilarious and fairly well-written overall, and there's also a lot of charm to the world's visual design and the worldbuilding in general.

I also like the card game that's in the game as side-content; with what I particularly like is that you obtain the cards by using the ability that analyses enemies. I also like 

My only real problems with the game would simply be the following:

1. The platforming... isn't good. One problem is that you're controlling 2D characters in a 3D environment, and when combined with the fixed camera, it can make it hard sometimes to see where the characters will land. The character abilities are really interesting and enable interesting puzzles, and there are some interesting platforming challenges like the flytrap platforms and the electric tiles, but it really is let down by the problems I mentioned. Perhaps the best way to explain it is that there was one time where I had to walk diagonally across a somewhat narrow platform; I have no problem whatsoever with navigating narrow platforms in video games and pretty much never fall off... until now; I fell off multiple times because I could not clearly see both sides of the platform.

2. When I mentioned the level-up system, I mentioned that it is often hard to choose between the skill points and the medal points; I am almost never incentivized to pick an increase in health because the option is between three more skill points (enough to use a basic skill), 3 medal points (I have yet to encounter a medal that has costs more than 3 medal points), or 1 additional HP for each of the three characters. This is admittedly a game where the damage and HP numbers are rather small, but 1 HP is still almost negligible. I have only increased the HP of my team once, and I'm still not sure if it wasn't a waste.

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, vanguard333 said:

1. The platforming... isn't good. One problem is that you're controlling 2D characters in a 3D environment, and when combined with the fixed camera, it can make it hard sometimes to see where the characters will land. The character abilities are really interesting and enable interesting puzzles, and there are some interesting platforming challenges like the flytrap platforms and the electric tiles, but it really is let down by the problems I mentioned. Perhaps the best way to explain it is that there was one time where I had to walk diagonally across a somewhat narrow platform; I have no problem whatsoever with navigating narrow platforms in video games and pretty much never fall off... until now; I fell off multiple times because I could not clearly see both sides of the platform.

I've read the reviews for this game, and they generally agree the platforming is awkward. I got used to it, but yeah, it's flawed. 

Why does the platforming exist? Well, given this an attempt to replicate old Paper Mario (which I think it did fairly well, while establishing its own identity at the same time), the platforming stems from there. Why would Paper Mario have a touch of platforming? Likely as a nod to Mario's original genre, or so I think.

 

1 hour ago, vanguard333 said:

2. When I mentioned the level-up system, I mentioned that it is often hard to choose between the skill points and the medal points; I am almost never incentivized to pick an increase in health because the option is between three more skill points (enough to use a basic skill), 3 medal points (I have yet to encounter a medal that has costs more than 3 medal points), or 1 additional HP for each of the three characters. This is admittedly a game where the damage and HP numbers are rather small, but 1 HP is still almost negligible. I have only increased the HP of my team once, and I'm still not sure if it wasn't a waste.

I did put several early levels into HP, but I agree it's easily the weakest stat to invest in. It's 3 HP total, which I imagine the developers saw as equal to the TP and MP gains, which as an absolute value it is. Yet, they failed to take into consideration that it's 3 divided equally among three characters, diluting its value. And what you can do with HP is more limited than what you can with TP and MP. It should've been 2 HP per character instead, I think that would've made it a better choice. 3 HP per character sounds like it could be imbalanced in HP's favor.

By comparison, ye olde Paper Mario gave 5 HP, which was granted only to Mario (partners had no HP in PM1, partners gained stats via ranking up in TTYD, not leveling). Since it was entirely concentrated on one character, I felt HP was a better option than it ever is in Bug Fables. (The other old Paper Mario stat picks were 5 FP (same as BF's TP) and 3 BP (same as BF's MP).)

[vanguard333]

15 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I've read the reviews for this game, and they generally agree the platforming is awkward. I got used to it, but yeah, it's flawed. 

Why does the platforming exist? Well, given this an attempt to replicate old Paper Mario (which I think it did fairly well, while establishing its own identity at the same time), the platforming stems from there. Why would Paper Mario have a touch of platforming? Likely as a nod to Mario's original genre, or so I think.

 

I did put several early levels into HP, but I agree it's easily the weakest stat to invest in. It's 3 HP total, which I imagine the developers saw as equal to the TP and MP gains, which as an absolute value it is. Yet, they failed to take into consideration that it's 3 divided equally among three characters, diluting its value. And what you can do with HP is more limited than what you can with TP and MP. It should've been 2 HP per character instead, I think that would've made it a better choice. 3 HP per character sounds like it could be imbalanced in HP's favor.

By comparison, ye olde Paper Mario gave 5 HP, which was granted only to Mario (partners had no HP in PM1, partners gained stats via ranking up in TTYD, not leveling). Since it was entirely concentrated on one character, I felt HP was a better option than it ever is in Bug Fables. (The other old Paper Mario stat picks were 5 FP (same as BF's TP) and 3 BP (same as BF's MP).)

I see. Yeah; the reviews that I watched all mentioned the platforming.

That makes sense. Speaking of replicating old Paper Mario, what did you think of my "doesn't have a 3D moustache" joke?

Going back to the platforming, personally, I preferred when the dungeon obstacles were more about problem-solving than platforming.

 

I see. Thanks. Yeah; 2 HP per character would probably have been best; 3 HP per character would've been a bit much.

Interesting. I don't know how much skills and badges cost in Paper Mario, but that sounds a bit imbalanced against BP and towards HP.

By the way, because I only upgraded HP once, and I gave all the HP up medals to Kabbu since he's the obvious tank, if I ever fail to block against a powerful team-hitting attack (which happens since it can be hard for me to predict when they'll hit), Leif and Vi drop like flies (insect pun surprisingly not intended). The one time I was able to avoid this was against the Honey Factory boss, because I was able to predict that the boss was going to use said attack and I had Leif use his team-barrier spell. And yet, I know that I'm probably going to put points into MP the next time I level up, simply because 1 HP won't make a difference.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

In Bug Fables, while it is encouraged for you to try building one character up as "the tank" and keep them up front (I remember liking the poison based medals best, since it's easy to self inflict poison and that character gets to keep their turn for attacking or turn relays, unlike paralysis and sleep), remember that your team position is not permanent and can be swapped mid battle. The person in front has the highest likelihood of getting targeted. If you don't want to burn healing items, swapping in a healthy party members will lower the risk of them getting KOed. And keeping all three party members alive is crucial in Bug Fables because even if their attacks aren't particularly effective, they can pass their turn to another character that does have good attacks, or distribute healing items. I think it's that thought process that lead them to giving each party member equal HP gains. As I recall, reaching certain levels also awards characters with more base stats independent of what you picked. So you get more max HP that way too. Altogether I would agree that HP is the lowest priority stat to upgrade because the other two are so vital and tank builds are so straightforward. I especially love that when you game over on a boss fight you can adjust your setup before each rematch. Experiment!

2 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

Now, if anyone reading this is unfamiliar with Bug Fables and is wondering why I brought up Paper Mario, the simple answer is that Bug Fables is one of those indie games where a group of fans grew dissatisfied with the way a series had headed in recent years (in this case Paper Mario), so they made their own game and said, "Hey, check out our new game, (wink) it's an entirely original IP, (wink)" and of course it's classic Paper Mario with a finger under its nose going, "I can't be Paper Mario; Paper Mario doesn't have a moustache. …Well; not a 3D moustache anyway."

Reviews for Bug Fables contain quite a bit of projecting. Sure all of us have wanted to take the Paper Mario series into our own hands, but these guys just wanted to make games like what they grew up with enjoying. You know, like any indie developer. And they've talked openly about their inspirations. Even the paper aesthetic is supposed to reflect their old pencil and paper comics that they based the entire game behind. Saying that Bug Fables is inspired by Paper Mario is fine, saying that it's trying to BE Paper Mario is reductive. There's so much more going on here than those two games, and the world and characters are entirely unique. I don't remember the interview where I heard it (think it was a video/podcast interview), but they mentioned that although they want to make more games sort of connected to this world, they've long considered designing a different battle system with other core mechanics just to keep each game unique. And I fear people would cry betrayal because the internet made it impossible for the developers to control the narrative. They're just a half dozen people, and the language barrier probably doesn't help.

[vanguard333]

9 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

In Bug Fables, while it is encouraged for you to try building one character up as "the tank" and keep them up front (I remember liking the poison based medals best, since it's easy to self inflict poison and that character gets to keep their turn for attacking or turn relays, unlike paralysis and sleep), remember that your team position is not permanent and can be swapped mid battle. The person in front has the highest likelihood of getting targeted. If you don't want to burn healing items, swapping in a healthy party members will lower the risk of them getting KOed. And keeping all three party members alive is crucial in Bug Fables because even if their attacks aren't particularly effective, they can pass their turn to another character that does have good attacks, or distribute healing items. I think it's that thought process that lead them to giving each party member equal HP gains. As I recall, reaching certain levels also awards characters with more base stats independent of what you picked. So you get more max HP that way too. Altogether I would agree that HP is the lowest priority stat to upgrade because the other two are so vital and tank builds are so straightforward. I especially love that when you game over on a boss fight you can adjust your setup before each rematch. Experiment!

Reviews for Bug Fables contain quite a bit of projecting. Sure all of us have wanted to take the Paper Mario series into our own hands, but these guys just wanted to make games like what they grew up with enjoying. You know, like any indie developer. And they've talked openly about their inspirations. Even the paper aesthetic is supposed to reflect their old pencil and paper comics that they based the entire game behind. Saying that Bug Fables is inspired by Paper Mario is fine, saying that it's trying to BE Paper Mario is reductive. There's so much more going on here than those two games, and the world and characters are entirely unique. I don't remember the interview where I heard it (think it was a video/podcast interview), but they mentioned that although they want to make more games sort of connected to this world, they've long considered designing a different battle system with other core mechanics just to keep each game unique. And I fear people would cry betrayal because the internet made it impossible for the developers to control the narrative. They're just a half dozen people, and the language barrier probably doesn't help.

Yep; I know that team position can be swapped mid-battle; I even mentioned it as a plus. One strategy I've used a lot is to equip Vi with the Strong Start medal, have Vi at the front for their first turn, then move Kabbu to the front and have Vi either use an item or relay her 2nd turn to either Leif or Kabbu (since Vi's second attack from the medal is pretty much guaranteed to do zero damage due to the attack drop increase for that turn from the medal, but the attack drop increase from the medal doesn't apply if the turn is relayed).

I wasn't being serious; that was meant purely as a joke. Of course I don't actually think Bug Fables was trying to literally be Paper Mario.

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

That makes sense. Speaking of replicating old Paper Mario, what did you think of my "doesn't have a 3D moustache" joke?

😄

10 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

Interesting. I don't know how much skills and badges cost in Paper Mario, but that sounds a bit imbalanced against BP and towards HP.

As a child, I used to always load up on HP as the first thing, with FP and BP being secondary, since health keeps you from a game over.

However, when I replayed the first PM on the Wii U Virtual Console, I changed my mind. I still went for some early HP, yet otherwise I concentrated on maxing out BP (which has a cap of 30 in the first PM), and if wanted more HP or FP, there were three HP and FP Plus badges I could obtain over the course of the entire game and then equip for a mere 3 BP each, effectively letting BP be turned into HP or FP if I felt like it.

It's been much longer since I last played The Thousand Year Door, but there, the stat caps were all raised, and a select few badges became infinitely buyable or droppable from certain enemies. The results was badge creativity and insanity in the hands of dedicated hardcore players. One particular crazy setup involved buying at the casino many copies of the badge that increases Mario's attack when his HP is at the Danger level (more than 1 but less than 6), and the result was a super high-risk, high-reward build. If you want to not worry about Mario's HP ever going above 5, there happened to be an NPC who could shuffle one level's stat gain to another stat, and it was possible to funnel 5 of Mario's 10 starting HP into FP or BP, putting him in permanent Danger status.

 

10 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Saying that Bug Fables is inspired by Paper Mario is fine, saying that it's trying to BE Paper Mario is reductive. There's so much more going on here than those two games, and the world and characters are entirely unique.

Agreed. It's rather unfair to the game that it has to sit in the giant shadow of old PM. Since the developers of Bug Fables did put a lot of care into creating their own world and adding their own tweaks to the old gameplay formula. There is such a thing as slavish and unoriginal imitation, Bug Fables isn't that.

[vanguard333]

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

😄

As a child, I used to always load up on HP as the first thing, with FP and BP being secondary, since health keeps you from a game over.

However, when I replayed the first PM on the Wii U Virtual Console, I changed my mind. I still went for some early HP, yet otherwise I concentrated on maxing out BP (which has a cap of 30 in the first PM), and if wanted more HP or FP, there were three HP and FP Plus badges I could obtain over the course of the entire game and then equip for a mere 3 BP each, effectively letting BP be turned into HP or FP if I felt like it.

It's been much longer since I last played The Thousand Year Door, but there, the stat caps were all raised, and a select few badges became infinitely buyable or droppable from certain enemies. The results was badge creativity and insanity in the hands of dedicated hardcore players. One particular crazy setup involved buying at the casino many copies of the badge that increases Mario's attack when his HP is at the Danger level (more than 1 but less than 6), and the result was a super high-risk, high-reward build. If you want to not worry about Mario's HP ever going above 5, there happened to be an NPC who could shuffle one level's stat gain to another stat, and it was possible to funnel 5 of Mario's 10 starting HP into FP or BP, putting him in permanent Danger status.

 

Agreed. It's rather unfair to the game that it has to sit in the giant shadow of old PM. Since the developers of Bug Fables did put a lot of care into creating their own world and adding their own tweaks to the old gameplay formula. There is such a thing as slavish and unoriginal imitation, Bug Fables isn't that.

Thanks.

I see. That makes sense.

I didn't know the original Paper Mario was on the Wii U virtual console. So, Nintendo's been willing to re-release that one, but Thousand-Year Door is an example of an acclaimed GameCube title that Nintendo has never re-released?

 

I agree as well.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

9 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

As a child, I used to always load up on HP as the first thing, with FP and BP being secondary, since health keeps you from a game over.

However, when I replayed the first PM on the Wii U Virtual Console, I changed my mind. I still went for some early HP, yet otherwise I concentrated on maxing out BP (which has a cap of 30 in the first PM), and if wanted more HP or FP, there were three HP and FP Plus badges I could obtain over the course of the entire game and then equip for a mere 3 BP each, effectively letting BP be turned into HP or FP if I felt like it.

When I was young, I just avoided the decision altogether by doing HP, FP, BP, repeating in that order. But in my last playthrough of the first game I got through just fine on 10 HP, 10FP, and managed to max BP somewhere in Chapter 4. The enemy damage really takes a long time to ramp up, and I was able to experiment with a bunch of badges and attacks I always overlooked like flower saver, HP Drain, All or Nothing, Dodge Master, and Zap Tap. Add to that the Happy Heart/Flower badges, passively topping you off and you can self sustain anything despite the low max HP/FP. As for Danger strats, I'm more of a fan of it in the second game. Since you can control who's tanking hits up front. Flurry's very indestructible with her high HP and overpowered Lip Lock attack that keeps her healthy. But I think the really impressive possibilities are giving those badges to your partner, and equipping Quick Change. Even though quick change is a massive 7BP cost, you can swap in Goombella or Yoshi at 1 HP, have them do 15ish damage, then swap them back to Flurry to tank hits. They're never in danger of getting KOd.

...really the biggest let down returning to these games is the low difficulty. So many ways to clown on the game once you know what you're doing. No wonder all the ROM hacks of Paper Mario just make the game super hard. And I appreciate Bug Fables' Hard Mode badge and other super hard side content.

[Interdimensional Observer]

13 minutes ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

And I appreciate Bug Fables' Hard Mode badge and other super hard side content.

I stuck to the default difficulty from beginning to end. Bug Fables began on the side "enemies deal too much damage" during the prologue and first chapter. Gradually my criticism that the damage intake was too high gave way, and later I felt if anything the game had become a little easy. Guess that evens out to moderate challenge overall, which worked for me.

 

45 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I didn't know the original Paper Mario was on the Wii U virtual console. So, Nintendo's been willing to re-release that one, but Thousand-Year Door is an example of an acclaimed GameCube title that Nintendo has never re-released?

Correct. Unless it's in a limited-time, SMG2-lacking package, Nintendo isn't willing to sell emulations of its GameCube titles I suppose. Have to upgrade to HD remasters like with Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Metroid Primes 1 & 2. 

Not to say TTYD is perfect, to name one criticism- the game can be bothersome on the backtracking at points. In general however, TTYD took the foundations built in the first Paper Mario game and successfully expanded on them. 

[vanguard333]

On 9/26/2021 at 8:36 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

I stuck to the default difficulty from beginning to end. Bug Fables began on the side "enemies deal too much damage" during the prologue and first chapter. Gradually my criticism that the damage intake was too high gave way, and later I felt if anything the game had become a little easy. Guess that evens out to moderate challenge overall, which worked for me.

 

Correct. Unless it's in a limited-time, SMG2-lacking package, Nintendo isn't willing to sell emulations of its GameCube titles I suppose. Have to upgrade to HD remasters like with Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Metroid Primes 1 & 2. 

Not to say TTYD is perfect, to name one criticism- the game can be bothersome on the backtracking at points. In general however, TTYD took the foundations built in the first Paper Mario game and successfully expanded on them. 

Funny; for me, I figured I would have the game on normal difficulty most of the time and only use the hard mode medal on the bosses & mini-bosses to get the reward medals for free, but I often find myself forgetting to un-equip the hard mode medal, so the difficulty fluctuates quite a bit for me, and I sometimes find myself thinking, "why are these enemies doing so much damage that I sometimes end up burning through some of my healing items?" only to then realize that the hard mode medal is still equipped.

That said, I have yet to find the difficulty to be unmanageable, though there are a number of bosses that I lost to several times. Perhaps the two biggest examples so far are the sidequest boss Monsieur Scarlet and the boss of the sand castle:

With Scarlet, all his attacks drain HP and I had trouble blocking and super-blocking quite a few of them in the latter half of the fight, so I had to rely on Vi's freezing skills (which don't always work) just to prevent Scarlet from attacking.

With the boss of the sand castle, it was a similar problem; even when blocked, his attacks often did a lot of damage, and there were a lot of times where the game said I didn't block even though I was certain I pressed the a button just before the attack, and that quicksand attack that you have to mash a to escape from was just a pain, so I often found myself having to rely on Vi's freezing abilities. Except, even though I equipped Vi with the medal that makes the user more likely to inflict status ailments, and I used the single-target freezing skill that has a high likelihood of freezing him, I would often go multiple turns in a row without successfully freezing the boss. It was only after I changed tactics by using the freezing spell for the first half of the fight, and then using Vi's team barrier spell for the second half of the fight whenever the boss was going to attack twice, that I narrowly managed to win.

 

Yep. Pretty much, if it was a GameCube title that didn't print money (which, sadly, is the case with most acclaimed GameCube games), Nintendo won't re-release it. 

I see. Speaking of which, the backtracking in Bug Fables is pretty great so far, thanks to both the tunnel system and unlockable shortcuts. That said, there isn't really a fast way to the start of the Golden Path, which is a shame for me, because if it had been faster to get back to, I probably would've explored it after unlocking Vi's barrier and obtained Chompy (I found out about Chompy completely by accident). As it is, I just started chapter 5, and I still don't have Chompy, so I'm going to obtain Chompy, complete some sidequests, explore the rest of Snakemouth Den, and then proceed with the main plot.

 

EDIT: I'm a lot further in the game now (well, I'm still in the middle of chapter 5, but I've completed a lot more side content and I completed the swamplands section of chapter 5). I  mentioned earlier that I really like the main characters and their dynamic, and that's still very true. Honestly, most of the characters are pretty good, with even the least-developed ones having at least a bit of charm.

That said, in the case of the main rivals: Zasp and Mothiva, they're both interesting characters, but their dynamic has a major problem. It's very clear what Mothiva is to Zasp: Zasp is head-over-heels for Mothiva, and it's interesting how he tries to rein in her worst habits and is a good guy whenever she's not around, while ultimately she brings out the worst in him. However, the main problem I have with their dynamic is that, at the point of the game that I'm at, it is never shown, stated, or even hinted as to what Zasp is to Mothiva. Is she just using him because the explorer's guild demands teams of two? Does she value him as a teammate in any way? Does she reciprocate his feelings for her on any level whatsoever? I have not seen anything yet to indicate an answer to any of these. I have to ask: is there any moment later on in the game that provides an answer?

Edited September 29, 2021 by vanguard333

[Zapp Branniglenn]

That Castlevania Advance Collection is pretty great. I started out with Dracula X and Circle of the Moon (knowing full well the reputations that these two games have). Dracula X, Which I may or may not refer to as Rondo of Bland in the future, is really not the worst action platformer I've played on SNES. Though I can't imagine the letdown among SNES gamers waiting four whole years to a followup for Super and getting this. I haven't played the original Rondo of Blood, but it seems like a poor comparison in that respect as well, with missing content and complete lack of Maria. It does maintain the moonwalk and item crash abilities and I enjoyed playing around with them. If you haven't lost a life recently then you've probably got a few dozen extra hearts to burn - and I notice that completing a level doesn't deplete your heart count down to 10 like other games in the series. Item crash can clear the screen of enemies, making platforming sections much less stressful. Though the game's final levels will begin tossing infinite spawning medusa heads which get around this strategy. 

While certainly not an ideal game to cap off the era of action-based Castlevania, I still enjoyed the challenge, and I appreciate Capcom throwing it in this collection even though it's not a GBA game and nobody was asking for it. I'll also fully admit that I broke down to using save states during the first form of Dracula. He's not particularly difficult, just long and tedious. Most first forms of Dracula are as you wait for him to reappear. But this one is unique since getting hit will almost assuredly lead to a death. So will a slightly misjudged jump. It was just too much pressure to replay, so I dropped a save state just as the second form was spawning in.

I then moved on to Circle of the Moon. For the first couple hours, it felt like a retro castlevania experience with level ups thrown in. I was determined to get through the game on no grinding, but when you get to the final boss you'll see the game doesn't cater to that style of play. So I hit Google and grinded out the best armor and card combination for the fight. The only thing I didn't grind was levels, ending the game at level 38. The thing is, grinding in the game is pretty painless. This collection adds a notification that wasn't there in the original whenever you attack an enemy that drops a card. I assume it does the same for the souls of the two later games. And that's very convenient. If you're the kind of completionist that wants all souls anyway, then this is going to save you a ton of google searching and remembering what you've already collected. And if you're approaching the game from a more casual perspective this is great for that too, since you'll know immediately what enemies are worth killing compared to others. Plus, if the enemy drop you're going for is dangerous/tedious, you can drop a save state and reload before the killing blow for another roll of the dice against those 1% drop rates.

So Circle of the Moon, I'll admit the graphics and sound aren't terrible for a GBA launch title. People forget just how underpowered that hardware was, so you need experienced developers in order to make a game that looks and sounds like Golden Sun. It is baffling how this game ended up one of the most critically acclaimed games for the system however (higher than the latter two games in the series, Mario&Luigi, Minish Cap, both Fire Emblems, and Metroid Zero Mission,). The slow movement speed and high jump arc reminded me immediately of the original game boy castlevanias. Though i can't find confirmation that it's the same exact developers. The additional modes certainly add replay value, but none of them allow you to play as Hugh. And I would have appreciated if this remaster allowed you to select any mode you know the code for. Returning players would appreciate the magician and fighter modes for the unique challenge, but you have to play the game multiple times for all those options.

As a metroidvania, there are aspects that I like. Traversal abilities are given to the player early, there are warp points, and the level design has less long narrow hallways than SotN. I'm not a fan of how the camera is centered on your character 100% of the time. Since your base movement is so vertically inclined, you can't get a good look at the area above and below you until you're already there. Being stuck with just the whip may seem like a downgrade from other castlevanias, but it at least allows them to design enemies around that weapon's attack speed and range. That isn't to say the game is well balanced, just that it has the potential to be. The stat balancing is particularly out of wack. According to google, this is the only Castlevania where the intelligence stat impacts the effectiveness of neither your magic spells or item attacks. It only impacts passive MP restoration, and not significantly. There's no sense in boosting any stats other than strength and defense for a fight. And the cross is unusually powerful, firmly out damaging your whip while being much safer to aim against giant bosses who will chunk your health any time they twitch their body in your direction. I expect if I talk any further about the game's approach to "difficulty" I'll just end up repeating myself when I get to later games. 

[vanguard333]

I just completed Bug Fables. I did not 100% complete the game, but I beat the story mode, all the sidequests, and all the optional bosses.

I have to say that the Wasp King is a worthy final boss; I found him rather easy, but only because I had optimized my team beforehand with a strategy that capitalizes on his biggest weakness (see the weakness and the strategy in the spoiler section):

Spoiler

Most of his attacks are single-target. I put Kabbu at the back and gave him the deep taunt and favourite one medals, I had Leif in the middle, and I put Vi at the front with all the attack-boosting medals. Every turn, I would have Kabbu taunt, then have Leif put up a barrier around Kabbu, then have Vi either consume an attack-boosting item to poison themselves for the attack boost, consume a TP-restoring item if TP was running low, or attack the Wasp King with one of Vi's multi-hit boomerang skills.

The result was that the first fight against him ended in only a few turns, and the other only took longer because of the multiple phases of the fight. In both cases, my team still had full health.

 

As for the plant optional boss: the Devourer, I can see why people regard it as the hardest and most unfair optional boss: most of its attacks hit the entire team and it can swallow one of the bugs. However, I noticed a weakness it has that made me able to beat it on my second try:

Spoiler

At only 50-something HP even on Hard Mode, it has pathetically low HP for an optional boss. A Vi fully-optimized for offense can bring it down within two turns. I beat it in two turns even though it ate my Vi the first chance it got.

 

So, overall, it is a great game. Story: good. Characters: good. Combat: excellent. Exploration: mostly fun. Platforming: neat in concept; needs work. Card game: rather fun; it makes me wonder if they'll make a spin-off that's just the card game.

 

I am now moving on to the other indie game I bought during the recent eshop sale: Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.

The game seems fun so far, though I'm surprised there wasn't anything to explain the controls. It took me a little bit to figure out how to use downward aerial attack with the shovel. Once I figured out all the controls, the game quickly became very fun.

I knew going in that it took inspiration from multiple games in the NES era, but it was interesting and a bit surprising to see each different part and recognize its inspiration: the levels are like a classic Mega Man game but with clear checkpoints like a Mario level (and it's neat that you can destroy the checkpoints for gold if you feel confident about not needing them), but then the world map is like a 2D Mario game and the towns are like those in The Adventure of Link, and I'm sure there are other things that I missed.

One thing that surprised me was that King Knight; a boss that I thought for sure would've been the last Order of No Quarter knight that the player fights, is actually the second knight you fight (if the black knight is one of them), and he was about as threatening as King Augustus from Black Clover:

Anyway, he was still a fun boss fight; all the bosses I've fought so far except for Polar Knight have been fun boss fights.

I'm not a fan of the Souls-like "if you lose, you lose some currency and only have one chance to get it back". In boss fights, it means you're spending the first bit of the fight trying to get your gold back, and in platforming sections, the gold will sometimes appear in such a way that the only way to obtain it would be to lose again. I suppose it's better than a limited-lives system, but I'm not a fan.

It's certainly not helped that, in the third set of levels, there are a few platforming challenges that I think are rather unfair. So, when you combine, "You mess up, then we'll make it that bit harder for you" with the challenge itself being rather unfair, and you get stuff like the propeller knight level, where I started it with 14,000 gold (I had run out of things to spend the gold on), and ended it with less than 6,000 gold. Perhaps a bank system would've been a good thing to add to help mitigate the problem.

Edited October 4, 2021 by vanguard333