Finally, another Mario RPG update, dammit.
I now have three stars, having just beaten Punchinello, and I just got Bowser on my team. Apparently, Peach is at the top of Booster Tower, where I'm heading next. I haven't gone inside yet, because I've decided to level up my characters so they are all around the same level, which at this moment happens to be 10.
I had stopped playing at the Forest Maze, because that area is bullshit. Easily my least favorite part of the game so far. I had no problem with it until the Lost Woods-ish part at the end, where you supposedly have to go left, left, straight, right. But you also have to follow Geno, then make some other weird turns, and I eventually had to look up where to go online because I was frustrated as hell, and even THAT didn't help because the people who wrote the FAQs on GameFAQs are fucking idiots who don't know how to write directions for an isometric perspective!
Let me spell that out for you. If a game is set up like Mario RPG, and you walk diagonally up, left, right, and down almost all the time, then guess what? When you are denoting turns (or exits), you say upper-right or lower-left! Not left, right, up, or down! When you say up, what the fuck does that mean?! Upper right, or upper left? So, suffice it to say, I eventually figured out where to go, but I don't remember what I did. But once I beat that fucking level, I resolved to never go back.
And what is it with the Lost Woods thing? It always seemed like lazy design to me (yes, even in the Zelda games). All the areas look the same, and I don't care if they are intended that way or not, it's not fun. It's annoying. I've seen it in multiple Zelda games, a couple Mario games (this one included), and probably a bunch of other ones too (Crystalis comes to mind). Developers: stop it. Nobody likes playing this; I hated wandering around for like an hour fighting annoying enemies (including Donkey Kong! Er, I mean, Guerrilla...). So fucking quit it.
Anyway, after I beat that area and got the second star, I went to Moleville and played through the mines there, and had a blast doing it. I actually enjoyed the fights, really with no complaints, even the boss was fun. And the mine cart ride afterwards using the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 was pretty sweet as well. I always love seeing Mode 7 stuff - it feels so outdated, it's awesome.
I'm still really enjoying the game, though. Very well done, and extremely playable, perhaps even as much as the later Mario RPG games - Forest Maze aside, of course.
(Click here for Part 1 of my Mario RPG Impressions)
(Click here for my first Mario RPG article)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Well that was fast... I have Wario Land 2 already
So on a whim, I went to my hometown's Gamestop today, before I picked my girlfriend up from work (her job is just a few doors down from Gamestop). I see a sign advertising 25% off Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, so I look at what they have, hoping to find either Kirby's Dreamland 2, Kid Icarus: Myths and Monsters, or Wario Land II.
Usually, it's the same old shit. A bunch of card games, perhaps a Tetris clone, maybe a Mario Land.
I got lucky, though. "Holy shit! They have Wario Land II!" It was listed as $9.99 as well, so I ended up paying about $7.50 because of the sale, which is about 5 dollars less than what was being asked at the eBay auction I was looking at.
So, I picked the game up and brought it home. I intend on playing through it, but there is a slight problem: it appears as though whoever previously owned this game didn't take proper care of it, because a tiny, tiny part of where the cartridge connects to the system appears to be slightly corroded. From what I've played so far, the game works, but I have had it delete my save once already (possibly due to my using an old Super Game Boy). Luckily, that file was deleted only about 5 levels in, so I started over on my Game Boy Player and have had pretty good luck so far. If I get far, though, and my save gets deleted, I probably will put the game down for a while - I can't stand replaying the same levels over and over again because the fucking game decided to delete itself.
Anyway, Wario Land II is a pretty cool game. It is like a combination of Wario Land 1 and Wario Land 3, and it is succulent. The invincibility and powers of Wario Land 3 combined with the linear level progression and the importance of coins of Wario Land 1 - seems like a pretty good combo so far.
I will say this, though: the minigames leave a lot to be desired. Ooh, guess the number! And try to figure out where this picture is if we show you for a split second! I may not have liked the golf minigame very much in Wario Land 3, but it beats the pants off these two.
Oh, and Zombie Wario can't jump in this one. Apparently, Zombie Wario got an upgrade for Wario Land 3.
Usually, it's the same old shit. A bunch of card games, perhaps a Tetris clone, maybe a Mario Land.
I got lucky, though. "Holy shit! They have Wario Land II!" It was listed as $9.99 as well, so I ended up paying about $7.50 because of the sale, which is about 5 dollars less than what was being asked at the eBay auction I was looking at.
So, I picked the game up and brought it home. I intend on playing through it, but there is a slight problem: it appears as though whoever previously owned this game didn't take proper care of it, because a tiny, tiny part of where the cartridge connects to the system appears to be slightly corroded. From what I've played so far, the game works, but I have had it delete my save once already (possibly due to my using an old Super Game Boy). Luckily, that file was deleted only about 5 levels in, so I started over on my Game Boy Player and have had pretty good luck so far. If I get far, though, and my save gets deleted, I probably will put the game down for a while - I can't stand replaying the same levels over and over again because the fucking game decided to delete itself.
Anyway, Wario Land II is a pretty cool game. It is like a combination of Wario Land 1 and Wario Land 3, and it is succulent. The invincibility and powers of Wario Land 3 combined with the linear level progression and the importance of coins of Wario Land 1 - seems like a pretty good combo so far.
I will say this, though: the minigames leave a lot to be desired. Ooh, guess the number! And try to figure out where this picture is if we show you for a split second! I may not have liked the golf minigame very much in Wario Land 3, but it beats the pants off these two.
Oh, and Zombie Wario can't jump in this one. Apparently, Zombie Wario got an upgrade for Wario Land 3.
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Last Wario Land 3 Post
Okay, so one more post before I take another break for a day or two of exam work.
I just got all 100 treasures in Wario Land 3, so I'm pretty much effectively done with it. I doubt I'll be getting all 8 coins in every level, because, well, I have other shit to play (namely, Super Mario RPG, which will now probably get my full attention unless I buy Mario Kart Wii soon).
Just a few closing thoughts on Wario Land 3:
(Click here to read my second Wario Land 3 article)
(Click here to read my first Wario Land 3 article)
I just got all 100 treasures in Wario Land 3, so I'm pretty much effectively done with it. I doubt I'll be getting all 8 coins in every level, because, well, I have other shit to play (namely, Super Mario RPG, which will now probably get my full attention unless I buy Mario Kart Wii soon).
Just a few closing thoughts on Wario Land 3:
- Above the Clouds is an annoying fucking level. In fact, its the most annoying level in the game.
- The last boss, to me, seems like an easier version of Donkey Kong GB's last boss, which I thought was odd. And somewhat lame. Granted, Wario Land 3 came out six years after that game, so I guess they assumed most people hadn't played both? Or it was just a coincidence? I don't know.
- The music is very well done, which is something I don't think I've said before. I haven't played much of Wario Land II, but the Wario Land series overall has fantastic music, even though most of them are on the Game Boy.
- The puzzles are great, as well, because they aren't super easy nor do they become incredibly frustrating (aside from climbing the clouds in Above the Clouds, as mentioned before).
- The golf minigame is okay, but to me it seems tacked on. Sometimes, it seems as though the designed the holes merely to drain your coins (but I think thats just me - I tend to try to always hit the "ball" as hard as possible rather than aim my shot).
(Click here to read my second Wario Land 3 article)
(Click here to read my first Wario Land 3 article)
Exams
I'll keep this short and sweet: once exams are over, I will be posting again, probably just as frequently or more frequently than I have been. So, on Wednesday or Thursday, expect another post.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Mario RPG Impressions Part 1
So I'm really enjoying Mario RPG so far. I can tell you, however, that it's very odd coming from playing all of the later Mario RPG games (Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, Mario & Luigi Partners in Time, and Super Paper Mario) to this one.
I can see how Mario RPG influenced those games, though. As different as Mario RPG is from the others, the roots are there. The timed button presses, the witty dialogue, goofy situations, wierd minigames, and Mario character staples are all there.
But, Square's interpretation of the Mario RPG is much harder than the later games. I mean, this game is not too difficult (well, at least so far... I guess I'm only one star in), whereas the other games were pretty much a cakewalk. And as far as the humor so far goes, Superstar Saga is still the winner (really, for me, that's one of the funniest games of all time, all because of this guy. I can't get enough of him).
But I am still very happy with my purchase. Yes, it is partly because I own a game I've wanted for a while and it is one of the more moderately expensive SNES games, but it's also because I love the Mario RPG games and I want to play through the original.
I think I'm about to get Geno, which is cool, because people on the internet seem to love him, and I know nothing about him. I guess we'll see.
(Click here to read my first Mario RPG article)
I can see how Mario RPG influenced those games, though. As different as Mario RPG is from the others, the roots are there. The timed button presses, the witty dialogue, goofy situations, wierd minigames, and Mario character staples are all there.
But, Square's interpretation of the Mario RPG is much harder than the later games. I mean, this game is not too difficult (well, at least so far... I guess I'm only one star in), whereas the other games were pretty much a cakewalk. And as far as the humor so far goes, Superstar Saga is still the winner (really, for me, that's one of the funniest games of all time, all because of this guy. I can't get enough of him).
But I am still very happy with my purchase. Yes, it is partly because I own a game I've wanted for a while and it is one of the more moderately expensive SNES games, but it's also because I love the Mario RPG games and I want to play through the original.
I think I'm about to get Geno, which is cool, because people on the internet seem to love him, and I know nothing about him. I guess we'll see.
(Click here to read my first Mario RPG article)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
I just sold a couple of Game Boy Colors to this goofy shop up here that has no idea how much stuff is worth, and I got 30 bucks. I then went to a different shop and picked up Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and paid ten more dollars and got Final Fantasy Legend II and Super Mario Land 1, both for Game Boy.
It's been a good day so far.
I'll be writing about these games as time goes on, as well. I've never played Mario RPG, so that one will be interesting.
It's been a good day so far.
I'll be writing about these games as time goes on, as well. I've never played Mario RPG, so that one will be interesting.
Monday, April 21, 2008
It Would Be Super Effective
Wouldn't it be great if the Pokemon games had some sort of random element to them?
Okay, let me be more specific. What I would like is for when you start a new game in Pokemon, the game randomizes which Pokemon will appear where throughout your journey. Obviously, there would have to be some restrictions. I mean, if you were to run into, say, nothing but Pidgeys and Rattatas for three gyms, that would be unfair. But, if I started a new game in Pokemon Pearl, and after I obtain my first set of Pokeballs, would it not be sweet if I encountered a Gible? Sure, it'd mean I'd get a chance at some fantastic Pokemon right off the bat, but that would certainly encourage replay value, at least for me.
Plus, it would encourage trading, I think. I mean, if my friend and I are only two gyms in and I have a couple Gibles and he has a few Riolus, I would most certainly trade with him as soon as possible.
But this will never happen. It'd be too difficult, and really, how would you catch them all? All the FAQs online for finding Pokemon on specific routes would be useless. Still, it'd be great to have different Pokemon at the beginning to start out with...
Okay, let me be more specific. What I would like is for when you start a new game in Pokemon, the game randomizes which Pokemon will appear where throughout your journey. Obviously, there would have to be some restrictions. I mean, if you were to run into, say, nothing but Pidgeys and Rattatas for three gyms, that would be unfair. But, if I started a new game in Pokemon Pearl, and after I obtain my first set of Pokeballs, would it not be sweet if I encountered a Gible? Sure, it'd mean I'd get a chance at some fantastic Pokemon right off the bat, but that would certainly encourage replay value, at least for me.
Plus, it would encourage trading, I think. I mean, if my friend and I are only two gyms in and I have a couple Gibles and he has a few Riolus, I would most certainly trade with him as soon as possible.
But this will never happen. It'd be too difficult, and really, how would you catch them all? All the FAQs online for finding Pokemon on specific routes would be useless. Still, it'd be great to have different Pokemon at the beginning to start out with...
Wario Land 3 = Fantastic
Wario Land 3 continues to be amazing. I have played and beaten it before (back in 2000, before high school even), but since that was so long ago, I had basically forgotten how good it was.
One of my favorite things about it is that it obeys all of my laws of good handheld games. Which are these:
1. Let me save anywhere, anytime. (Preferably letting me resume at the exact spot I left off, which Wario Land 3 does do)
2. Give me hints on where to go next if I want them, and make them easily accessible(i.e. don't make me slog through tons of text on the main menu - let me get the hints in-game).
3. Use bright and/or contrasting colors so I can tell the difference between enemies, walls, floors, etc.
Wario Land 3 fulfills all of these requirements fully. I have no problems playing it. I have no problems seeing it even on a Game Boy Color, which if you recall did not have a backlight. So, essentially, it is the perfect handheld game.
Sadly, it's one of the best games I've played in a while. I'm not saying recent games like Smash Bros. Brawl or New Super Mario Bros. are bad, but they don't pull themselves together so coherently like Wario Land 3 does. Wario Land 3 just seems to do everything right.
I'll have to get a hold of a copy of Wario Land II - it's the one game in the series I've only played briefly, and I've heard that's pretty good as well.
(Click here to read my first Wario Land 3 article)
One of my favorite things about it is that it obeys all of my laws of good handheld games. Which are these:
1. Let me save anywhere, anytime. (Preferably letting me resume at the exact spot I left off, which Wario Land 3 does do)
2. Give me hints on where to go next if I want them, and make them easily accessible(i.e. don't make me slog through tons of text on the main menu - let me get the hints in-game).
3. Use bright and/or contrasting colors so I can tell the difference between enemies, walls, floors, etc.
Wario Land 3 fulfills all of these requirements fully. I have no problems playing it. I have no problems seeing it even on a Game Boy Color, which if you recall did not have a backlight. So, essentially, it is the perfect handheld game.
Sadly, it's one of the best games I've played in a while. I'm not saying recent games like Smash Bros. Brawl or New Super Mario Bros. are bad, but they don't pull themselves together so coherently like Wario Land 3 does. Wario Land 3 just seems to do everything right.
I'll have to get a hold of a copy of Wario Land II - it's the one game in the series I've only played briefly, and I've heard that's pretty good as well.
(Click here to read my first Wario Land 3 article)
The Game Boy and Interesting Diversions
Wow, six days since I last posted here. What a crazy week it has been... It was an enormously crazy week for my girlfriend, and I really hope she can get through this whole ordeal relatively unscathed.
However, this blog isn't about my personal life, so I won't discuss it anymore than that.
Anyway, it's been six days since I posted here, and a couple things have happened as far as video games go. One, a coworker of mine has been unloading some of her old videogames on me (free of charge!), and she gave me a particularly interesting load last Saturday. It consisted of a Gamecube, two Gamecube controllers, a clear purple Game Boy Color, a semi-broken original Game Boy, Animal Crossing, 2 Memory Card 59s, Harvest Moon GBC, Pokemon Pinball, and Wario Land 3. The last game in particular I've been looking for lately, and it's not that I've had a problem finding it, I just didn't want to pay more than 15 bucks.
Regardless, I was happy to receive it. I've been playing it since I got it, and for a Game Boy Color game, it is surprisingly playable. In fact, it's fantastic.
It is (obviously) the third game in the Wario Land series for the Game Boy, and it has a peculiar feature: It is a sidescrolling game, and the player's character cannot be killed. The game makes up for this by allowing the player to traverse levels in such a way that when they reach a boss and get hit by the boss, they are turned into something that floats and they float out of the boss's lair and have to find their way back.
At times, yes, this can be annoying. Usually, however, the game only sets you back to the previous room, right before you enter the boss room. This way, you really only have to start the (usually always short) boss fights over.
Anyway, the point of the game is not to fight your way through levels to get to the end, like in a sidescrolling Mario game. This game is all about solving puzzles in order to find treasures to further explore the rest of the levels in the game.
Honestly, that's all I want to say about the game itself at this point - I'm sure I'll post more in the upcoming days about it. However, I will say this: Since Wario Land 1 was titled Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, it is implied that the Wario series was an offshoot of the Mario series, and that seems odd to me. The first two Mario Game Boy games were great and sold well, and then Nintendo went and made a game all about Wario, the bad guy from the second game.
What the hell made Nintendo do that? I'm certainly thankful, because Wario Land is a fantastic game, but wow, what an odd choice. You'd think Nintendo would only continue to pump out Mario games. Oh well, perhaps they were sick of them back then. It doesn't matter now, anyway; the Game Boy Advance's Wario Land 4 wasn't as good as the first three games, and the less said about Wario: Master of Disguise, the better.
However, this blog isn't about my personal life, so I won't discuss it anymore than that.
Anyway, it's been six days since I posted here, and a couple things have happened as far as video games go. One, a coworker of mine has been unloading some of her old videogames on me (free of charge!), and she gave me a particularly interesting load last Saturday. It consisted of a Gamecube, two Gamecube controllers, a clear purple Game Boy Color, a semi-broken original Game Boy, Animal Crossing, 2 Memory Card 59s, Harvest Moon GBC, Pokemon Pinball, and Wario Land 3. The last game in particular I've been looking for lately, and it's not that I've had a problem finding it, I just didn't want to pay more than 15 bucks.
Regardless, I was happy to receive it. I've been playing it since I got it, and for a Game Boy Color game, it is surprisingly playable. In fact, it's fantastic.
It is (obviously) the third game in the Wario Land series for the Game Boy, and it has a peculiar feature: It is a sidescrolling game, and the player's character cannot be killed. The game makes up for this by allowing the player to traverse levels in such a way that when they reach a boss and get hit by the boss, they are turned into something that floats and they float out of the boss's lair and have to find their way back.
At times, yes, this can be annoying. Usually, however, the game only sets you back to the previous room, right before you enter the boss room. This way, you really only have to start the (usually always short) boss fights over.
Anyway, the point of the game is not to fight your way through levels to get to the end, like in a sidescrolling Mario game. This game is all about solving puzzles in order to find treasures to further explore the rest of the levels in the game.
Honestly, that's all I want to say about the game itself at this point - I'm sure I'll post more in the upcoming days about it. However, I will say this: Since Wario Land 1 was titled Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, it is implied that the Wario series was an offshoot of the Mario series, and that seems odd to me. The first two Mario Game Boy games were great and sold well, and then Nintendo went and made a game all about Wario, the bad guy from the second game.
What the hell made Nintendo do that? I'm certainly thankful, because Wario Land is a fantastic game, but wow, what an odd choice. You'd think Nintendo would only continue to pump out Mario games. Oh well, perhaps they were sick of them back then. It doesn't matter now, anyway; the Game Boy Advance's Wario Land 4 wasn't as good as the first three games, and the less said about Wario: Master of Disguise, the better.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Baby Park Is the Worst Mario Kart Level Ever
Mario Kart Double Dash was an alright game. It didn't gel too well with me, however. I mean, I played it, but you know, it was never fucking sweet. Sure, it had some cool ideas (character specific powerups being the best), but I didn't like some of them. The two people on one kart thing? I could really take it or leave it. I would rather just be able to hold two items than have two characters.
But the lack of hopping with the R button. Wow, that really ruined the game for me. I could never master the powerslide; I'm sure I could've had I gave it enough time and effort, but I never really cared about it because I didn't like the controls too much. Which is sad, because I love the controller (Let it be said: the Nintendo Gamecube controller is the most comfortable video game controller ever made, and I mean ever), but without hopping the game seemed wonky to me.
And then there's Baby Park. Which is really the shittiest Mario Kart track ever. First of all, its a short track, consisting of just two turns. There is a lot of item boxes, and so it seems the whole point of the level is for it to be a big battle.
Fuck that.
I don't care what anyone says; they are wrong. Baby Park sucks. If you have ever bitched about Blue Shells taking "skilled" play away from Mario Kart and adding to its "random" winners, then you cannot, CANNOT like Baby Park because the whole level is one giant fucking blue shell. Bullet Bills, Blue Shells, Red Shells, and all of them all combine to form the most annoying level known to Mario Kart. Are you really good at racing? Powersliding? Anything like that? Well, you might as well forget leading the pack on Baby Park, then, because the winner is always completely random. It really is whoever gets the star on the last lap, or the Blue Shell two laps before the end.
And the worst thing about Mario Kart DS is the fact they included this bullshit level.
Anyway, to sum up: Mario Kart Double Dash is an okay game, but the lack of R hopping and fucking Baby Park are two abortions of ideas that I hope Nintendo never revisits again.
But the lack of hopping with the R button. Wow, that really ruined the game for me. I could never master the powerslide; I'm sure I could've had I gave it enough time and effort, but I never really cared about it because I didn't like the controls too much. Which is sad, because I love the controller (Let it be said: the Nintendo Gamecube controller is the most comfortable video game controller ever made, and I mean ever), but without hopping the game seemed wonky to me.
And then there's Baby Park. Which is really the shittiest Mario Kart track ever. First of all, its a short track, consisting of just two turns. There is a lot of item boxes, and so it seems the whole point of the level is for it to be a big battle.
Fuck that.
I don't care what anyone says; they are wrong. Baby Park sucks. If you have ever bitched about Blue Shells taking "skilled" play away from Mario Kart and adding to its "random" winners, then you cannot, CANNOT like Baby Park because the whole level is one giant fucking blue shell. Bullet Bills, Blue Shells, Red Shells, and all of them all combine to form the most annoying level known to Mario Kart. Are you really good at racing? Powersliding? Anything like that? Well, you might as well forget leading the pack on Baby Park, then, because the winner is always completely random. It really is whoever gets the star on the last lap, or the Blue Shell two laps before the end.
And the worst thing about Mario Kart DS is the fact they included this bullshit level.
Anyway, to sum up: Mario Kart Double Dash is an okay game, but the lack of R hopping and fucking Baby Park are two abortions of ideas that I hope Nintendo never revisits again.
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