Lurker > plasmabeam

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

The main issue is that first impression, but on replays when you're past those psychological hurdles it really isn't a problem, so I hesitate to say it's outright bad design. If anything that means they were TOO good at creating a spooky atmosphere?

Damn, that's a great insight. The atmosphere in the dark world is spot-on. Danger literally everywhere, the need to cling to light...almost reminds me of Silent Hill if the fog could damage you.

pjbasis posted...

My only gripe with prime 2 is the areas feeling too self contained. It helped their design, but it also made things feel a lot more predictable, more obvious game-y.

I'd say Prime 1 suffered from the same issue, especially considering that every area is an elemental-themed world (forest, desert, tundra, volcano, etc.) that sharply distinguishes itself from the others.

And of course Prime 3 was extremely guilty of this because you had to take your ship to the different areas. Gamey as it gets.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

foolm0r0n posted...

Most Metroid fans also think Prime 1 is better than 2

Technically Prime 2 s***s all over the original, but the problem is that Prime 1 got there first and Prime 2 has the exact same feel/controls. Law of Diminishing Returns is what doomed Prime 2 to become the black sheep of the series. (That, and the fact that some gamers simply hate the dark world concept).

Which is a shame, because Prime 2 has some of the best boss battles in all of gaming.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Mac Arrowny posted...

Horizon has text logs too though, and you still have to pause the action to listen to the audio ones.

You can continue on toward your destination in HZD while listening to the audio ones. In a game like Metroid, where you have to revisit old locations for optional materials, I'd like this.

KamikazePotato posted...

Space Pirate logs are the best. RIP those ones who tried to recreate Morph Ball technology.

Haha forgot about that one

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Hollow Knight has a story? Haven't played, so I can't rate.

Nominate Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

wg64Z posted...

I mean, something that's worse doesn't necessarily mean the thing its worse than is great.

The handling of lore in the 2D Metroid games I thought was fantastic, especially Super Metroid. You can gather what happened best on what you see, come across, notice, and intuit. Stopping your movement to fill a bar up and read a bunch of text boxes over and over and over again absolutely murders the pacing.

Agreed. It's like how in OoT you can ponder what the Forest Temple (or all the temples, really) used to serve as. Adds a layer of mystery and invites the audience to speculate.

KamikazePotato posted...

I loved the scan visor. You take that out and you lose a part of what makes the Prime games great.

True, without the Scan Visor you run the risk of Prime feeling like any other FPS.

At the same time, I'm not a fan of frequent infodumps in a videogame. One thing that might work is if they have "audio file" infodumps like in Horizon Zero Dawn. I wouldn't mind listening to them while I'm tracking down a Missile Expansion, but pausing an action game to read wrecks the momentum.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

GFNW baby!

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Group is loaded.

+3 Chloe Price (Life is Strange)
+2 The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)
+1 Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)
-1 Agent 47 (Hitman)
-2 Robin (Iconoclasts)
-3 Debora (Dragon Quest V)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

8/10

Best Uncharted story. Feels like a modern Indiana Jones, as it should.

Only gripe is that it's kinda forgettable. The train sequence and the Chloe parts are the only things I vividly remember. (Played in 2011)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

+3 Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
+2 Edelgard (Fire Emblem)
+1 Proto Man (Mega Man)
-1 Vectorman (Vectorman)
-2 Crono (Chrono Trigger)
-3 Gordon Freeman (Half-Life)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Nominate Horizon Zero Dawn since I finished it last night

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

foolm0r0n posted...

This. There's maybe a 10% chance Dread is gonna be better than Fusion or ZM, let alone both. Why would you take 13 years of Metroid hype and waste it on a $10 emulator port, when you could funnel the demand into a brand new game? And THEN you can sell your emulator ports when people are disappointed by the new one.

People could play Super Metroid for FREE on NSO. There is no way you're telling me that Dread will be better than Super.

Waluigi1 posted...

Why do we think the old games being available would decrease the sales of the new game? That's...generally what happens when a series is about to get a new release. They rerelease the old games as ports or HD versions to build hype and interest towards the new game. This isn't a novel concept or something. So...?

Agreed. When RE8 got announced, I finally got around to playing RE7. That didn't kill my hype for RE8; only intensified it.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Haven't played, can't vote. But thanks for the reminder that I need to play this one.

Gotta say though... love seeing MGS1 and MGS2 ending up within 0.01 of each.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

They're probably not losing money. It's just like andy said - they expect Dread to be an entry point. That means they want people interested in the series to buy the $50 new release instead of trying an older one for $10-20 or whatever.

Also besides normal HD ports, look at the other ways Nintendo is putting out retro games. There's the Nintendo Online library, which is mainly to get people to pay the $20 recurring annual fee, and all the limited edition collectors item stuff - the NES/SNES Classic and the new Zelda Game & Watch, but also the Fire Emblem game and Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

Nintendo isn't that dumb. They know exactly what they're doing.

Fair points. Though I'm sure there are many Switch owners who wouldn't mind spending $5-$10 a pop on Zero Mission and Fusion while they wait for Dread's release. I don't see why playing either of those great games now would dissuade them from playing Dread.

LinkMarioSamus posted...

The only games in the series I don't own in any capacity are the first two (though I do have Zero Mission which should cover that), Hunters, Federation Force, and Samus Returns.

Samus Returns is above excellent.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

+3 Balthier Bunansa (Final Fantasy XII)
+2 Delita Hyral (Final Fantasy Tactics)
+1 Heather Mason (Silent Hill 3)
-1 Kate Marsh (Life is Strange)
-2 Mordin Solus (Mass Effect)
-3 GlaDOS (Portal)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

ZeroSignal620 posted...

Terrible elimination

This. I keep voting for Temple of Doom because it's so underrated, but I wish I'd saved Last Crusade

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Voted Ys IX because it's solid and the only one I've played of these.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

LeonhartFour posted...

Snake has a character arc akin to Squall's here, which is great, and he has so many memorable one-liners. FOXHOUND still might be the greatest collection of villains in any video game. The strength of MGS1 is in its characters, and it excels there. It has some silly plot beats, but I don't even regard that as a negative, really. It's part of the charm.

Damn, never made that connection between MGS1 Snake and Squall, but it's spot-on.

Agreed on FOXHOUND villains as well. Each is memorable, including Decoy Octopus, who we don't even get to fight. MGS1 has a Batman-caliber rogues gallery.

UltimaterializerX posted...

Snake actually is pretty one dimensional in the original. Its kind of jarring when you go back and play it after 2 and 4. Dudes just an insufferable prick to people, and not always in the cold badass way. His dialogue after the Mantis fight in particular is super tryhard edgelord. Its like, bro, shes only saying thanks.

The Squall comp is actually perfect, but you dont really see the character get over the arc until 2. In FF8, Squall gets there in disc 3. In MGS, you basically have to wait until the sequel.

Disagree here on Snake. Snake completes an arc at the end when he reveals his name David to Meryl. No longer does he insist on being called only by his "battlefield" name. That's a clear sign of him being humanized.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

10/10

The first three MGS stories are all easy 10s in my book. Every time I replayed them as a teenager, I never skipped through any scenes. That's saying something.

MGS1 has such tight plot, iconic characters, and that cold, isolated atmosphere on Shadow Moses. It hasn't aged perfectly, but compared to the PS1 gameplay (ugh...) the storyline is a fine wine.

EDIT: Basing my story rating on Twin Snakes btw.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

andylt posted...

Well right now Nintendo is making zero money on Metroid Zero Mission and Fusion because you can't get them on Switch!

With Dread being a direct sequel my hope was that GBA games would be put on Switch Online soon and Fusion would be available first to catch people up. But on Treehouse they kept saying what a great starting point Dread would be for newcomers to the series so never mind.

Exactly. Such a waste. You have a hyper-popular console with a new upcoming release that will drive interest in the franchise, and what do you do? Absolutely nothing.

Nintendo loses so much money on all the classic games they don't make available for sale.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

+3 Raiden (Metal Gear Solid)
+2 Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)
+1 Jennifer (Rule of Rose)
-1 Edgar Figaro (Final Fantasy VI)
-2 Freddy (Five Nights at Freddy's)
-3 Reinhardt (Overwatch)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

GuessMyUserName posted...

I've still just been coming back to my Wii U for most retro gaming needs, its virtual console library is just really incredible it makes me sad Switch went a different route.

I'll be crushed when the Wii U eShop is finally taken down.

I'm not hardware expert, but it baffles me that the Switch doesn't have every noteworthy GBA game available on it.

GBA and Switch are the most recent single-screened Nintendo systems. It just makes sense.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Nominate Telltale's Wolf Among Us

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

7.5/10

So I'm at the end of this game (just finished the first half of class trial #5), and IMO the story pales in comparison to Danganronpa 1. The first game was fresher, tighter, more mysterious, and it had a better cast.

D2 is more of the same, but the chapters drag and nothing has shocked me the way that D1's big moments did.

Maybe the ending will sway me to revise my score, but for now I'm grading it a full point lower than D1.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

1 > 3 > 2


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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Citan at -9?

You people disgust me.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

+3 Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)
+2 Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy IX)
+1 Millenia (Grandia 2)
-1 Pablo Sanchez (Backyard Sports)
-2 Jessie (Final Fantasy VII: Remake)
-3 Sora (Kingdom Hearts)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Vote Form:
+3 Citan Uzuki (Xenogears)
+2 Godot (Ace Attorney)
+1 Spyro the Dragon (Spyro the Dragon)
-1 Dr. Nefarious (Ratchet and Clank)
-2 Giovanni (Pokemon)
-3 Tracer (Overwatch)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

8/10

Tricky to rate this one because 2-2 and 2-4 have excellent storylines, 2-1 is a tutorial, and 2-3 is a wet fart.

Overall JFA is the weakest of the PW trilogy, but the highs are high, it has Edgeworth and Gumshoe, and I still vividly remember parts of it despite the fact that I haven't played it in over 14 years.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

LeonhartFour posted...

Skies of Arcadia then, maybe?

Skies is excellent, but not popular.


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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

ZaziGuado posted...

I feel like people have largely soured on Symphonia as the years have passed and more Tales of games have come out with widely varying reception. But I have little experience with the Tales of games. I played maybe 75% of Symphonia and no other.

Yeah, Symphonia was incredible back in 2004, but Berseria surpassed it in almost every way. I haven't played Vesperia yet, but from what I hear, that's another heavy hitter.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Nominate Xenoblade 2. Want to see some split opinions.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Previous games:

Life is Strange - 8.5/10

Cool concept, loved Chloe, hated Warren.

NieR Automata - 7.5/10

Yes, it's super philosophical, but it lacked the emotional punch and atmosphere of the original NieR, which I can't help but compare it to.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

5/10

It starts off well, but fizzles out quickly. The characters are meh, the plot is meh. The conflicts between the characters feel melodramatic.

The gameplay is what drove me to play this one. The story is just kinda there.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Vote Form:
+3 Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong)
+2 Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
+1 Frog (Chrono Trigger)
-1 Cave Johnson (Portal 2)
-2 Hat Kid (A Hat In Time)
-3 Talion (Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Group 12
Luigi (Super Mario Bros.)
Boyfriend (Friday Night Funkin')

Fiona Belli (Haunting Ground)

Guybrush Threepwood (Secret of Monkey Island)

Vote Form:
+3 Yoshi (Super Mario World)
+2 Auron (Final Fantasy X)
+1 Yoshimitsu (Tekken/Soul Calibur)
-1 Cuphead (Cuphead)
-2 Trilby (Five Days a Stranger)
-3 The Nameless One (Planescape:Torment)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Dread. Metroid Dread.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Kenri posted...

$90 for a steelbook and some concept art feels like outright robbery lol, is that confirmed to be the price or is it just BestBuy taking a guess?

Amazon doesn't list the price and Gamestop doesn't list anything yet, so BB is all we have to work with.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

StartTheMachine posted...

Yeah exactly, Fusion is the most relevant storywise and has it ever been re-released? Held back on a super archaic platform now.

Anywho, this collection looks absolutely sick.

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1404836937672888322?s=19

I'm 100% getting this. And I...think this might be the first ever collector's edition of anything my cheap ass has gotten.

Yeah, I've never been more tempted to pony up for a special edition.

$90 is steep though:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/metroid-dread-special-edition-nintendo-switch-nintendo-switch-lite-digital/6464104.p?skuId=6464104

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

StartTheMachine posted...

Whoa I love Samus Returns but it's not better than Zero Mission

But yeah, I'm feeling a replay of the series now before this comes out

At the very least, Fusion deserves a replay so we can brush up on the details of the story

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Vote Form:
+3 Tidus (Final Fantasy X)
+2 9S (NieR: Automata)
+1 Sylvain (Fire Emblem: 3 Houses)
-1 The Outsider (Dishonored)
-2 Cammy (Street Fighter)
-3 Jin Kazama (Tekken)

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Dragonair posted...

Yeah this looked cool, probably the best thing in the direct.

I need to play the Metroid 2 remake I guess

@Dragonair It's excellent. IMO the best 2D Metroid since Super. The new gameplay mechanics (especially the aiming) are what won me over, and I'm glad they're returning in Dread.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Interested in seeing if the Phantom Cloak item can be used for more than avoiding EMMI. Might be cool to building a boss fight around this gimmick.

Also, very cool that Dread is intended to close the 2D Metroid story arc.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

pjbasis posted...

I liked Samus Returns a lot, though the graphical style is still kinda mid.

Day 1 baby

I never buy games on Day 1, especially that close to Black Friday, but this is a Day 1 buy for me.

colliding posted...

I don't like the armor coloring. Is there a story reason for her suit to look like that?

Remains to be seen. Typically her armor changes for plot reasons rather than purely aesthetic ones.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Hype hype hype!

Looks like the lovechild of Fusion and Samus Returns. Thrilled they teased some new gameplay gimmicks like that wall slider. Hope to see more.

And we only have to wait till October 8th!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tYzveufd9Q

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

• Metroid Prime 2 is noticeably absent from this discussion. The Torvus Bog boss (the giant insect in the poison pool), Emperor Ing, and Dark Samus all rank high IMO.
• MGS is loaded with great bosses as well. Sniper Wolf would probably be my favorite from a gameplay standpoint. The Boss from a story/emotion standpoint.
• The Elevator Crab fight from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia has stuck with me for well over a decade. Easily one of the best Vania bosses from a gameplay standpoint. Props to Legion in SotN for the WTF factor.
• Ghot from Majora's Mask is fun and unique because of the Goron gimmick.
• RE7's Garage Fight and Chainsaw Fight were insanely fun (though admittedly clunky). RE3 Remake battle with Nemesis on the rooftop was epic (assuming you played on Hard mode)

malyg posted...

No
MGR probably has the best ever first boss battle tho.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has an amazing intro fight as well. Early 2010s Konami had that down pat.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Previous games' stories (this is my first time voting in this topic):

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - 10/10
Final Fantasy X - 9.5/10
The Last of Us - 10/10
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 9/10
Bioshock - 7.5/10
Tales of the Abyss - 8.5/10
Super Paper Mario - 6/10
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - 6.5/10
Final Fantasy IV - 9/10

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

8.5/10

Great concept, great atmosphere, iconic villain.

The pacing could've been tighter, that's my only major issue with it.

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

banananor posted...

Walmart's not *that* much smaller. They've also been evil for a longer period of time

They're also more visibly a community destroyer

Walmart will roll into a medium/small town, undercut all of the local stores at a loss until they're choked out and have to close, then rise prices again

this is without going into the specifics of their practices towards employees and sourcing of inventory

When it comes to tech companies, i think amazon treats their workers the worst and facebook is the least responsible with data, but they're all pretty bad

The horror novel The Store by Bentley Little covers this very well. I just finished it last week, and the storyline follows the points you made.


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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

Snake5555555555 posted...

Yeah I think there's some merit to it. Honestly the result I get describes me pretty well, and I've taken the test a handful of times and have always gotten the same thing.

This. It's not perfect, but it's a great way for getting a better understanding of yourself and others.


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~Jacksonville Jaguars~

25

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~Jacksonville Jaguars~