Category: Video Games

Skyward Sword Replay: Week 5

Well, I was wrong. At least one dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has multiple floors. Indeed, the Ancient Cistern has both a 1F and a B1. Also, like the first two dungeons, it is a teeny-tiny little thing. Seriously, it’s like five rooms. Two of those rooms are massive, but that’s besides the point.

It’s also worth noting that the Ancient Cistern is aesthetically my absolute favourite dungeon in the entire series. It’s bright and vibrant, full of gold, blue, and green. It has a very pleasant Buddhist temple aesthetic that jives so perfectly well with the game’s painterly visual style. It’s just really nice.

Continue reading Skyward Sword Replay: Week 5

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – June 2016

My free time from mid-April to mid-June was reduced very drastically by both school and my renewed efforts to get into slightly better physical shape, and now, now I am free from the clutches of higher learning (for a while) so that I can go back to wasting that portion of my spare time on mind-dulling television games.

😀 😀 😀

~ Game Over ~

Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS) – Played through the story mode again for… collection purposes. Yeah, I’ll probably be playing this one forever.

The Legend of Zelda (NES) – All that Hyrule Warriorsing often makes me want to play real Zelda, and sometimes I do. Like this time, when I played the first one!

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Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) – It’s almost exactly like Triple Deluxe, but the Robobot Armor is a much more fun gimmick than Hypernova. Also, the sub-games are somehow even better. You can expect that I’ll be writing a big ol’ thing about them soon. As another note, the final boss is friggin’ AMAZING. Fanservicey as all heck, and I loved it.

Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) – I also played through the entire Meta Knightmare Returns mode, which is playing through the game again as Meta Knight, but it’s all lined up as one super-long level, and all the bosses are powered up and there is a super-sweet trio of legacy bosses at the end.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game (360) – I got really frustrated with Ornstein and Smough in my Dark Souls replay, so I flipped over to something a little more friendly. In fact, this game is very easy to burn through when you have a maxed-out character. Still fun, and the music is phenomenal.

Cibele (PC) – A narrative game about a girl who meets a guy online, falls in love, and then meets up with him to bone. Guess how it ends.

Her Story (PC) – A narrative game where you’re sorting through hundreds of little interview clips to piece together the story of a murder. Only I didn’t realize that the game wasn’t functioning properly for me, so I only got audio clips when there were supposed to be accompanying videos! The game still worked, and I loved it. Recommended to everyone.

Mighty No. 9 (WiiU) – What was supposed to be the glorious (off-brand) return of Mega Man instead turned out to be half-baked and disappointing to most. I don’t hate it, but it’s generally underwhelming and the final boss is just so difficult.

~ Now Playing ~

Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) – Speaking of wanting to replay Zeldas… I hadn’t revisited Skyward Sword since I beat it the first time, and man, I am really digging it. I’ve been writing about it weekly, so… you know. Read those entries.

Monster Hunter Explore (iOS) – Most of my playtime was during the bus rides home from school. Now that I’m out of school until ????, I probably won’t play it until then.

Fallout 4 (PS4) – Started up a new game on my shiny new Playstation 4. I suppose that above all else, this spells the end for my stalled game of New Vegas. Also, no other game makes me wish there were more hours in the day. So that I could squander them on pointless video games, you see.

Pokémon Pearl Version (DS) – This was a very spur-of-the-moment replay decision. I really can’t even remember why I decided to go back to it. What I do know is that even after I’d confirmed that all the important Pokémon had been safely transferred away, it still killed me to overwrite my old save. This is why I very rarely replay Pokémon games.

Final Fantasy VII (PC) – One thing I always forget about FF7 is that enemy attack animations can be really long, and as a result, really drag out the battles. I would like a separate timer just to see how much of the game time has been spent watching monsters do elaborate attacks. Or a switch to just turn them off like Pokémon has.

Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (WiiU) – Yep. Still poking around in this one. I beat it, but I wanted to go back to find all the stamps and poes (which I still haven’t accomplished). I’ve played the game like five times before, and never explored the world nearly as thoroughly as I have this time around.

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Dark Souls (360) – I get about an hour in each Saturday afternoon, and have managed to make my way back to Anor Londo. Yaaaay. As stated above, NG+ Ornstein and Smough are an absolute nightmare. I did manage to get past them, though, so it should be easy street from here on out, right?

Skyward Sword Replay: Week 4

Week 3 was a little quiet, but week 4 was pretty huge, since I was on vacation and had plenty of time to play. On the other hand, I spent most of it playing Fallout 4 instead. Still! Much progress was made.

To pick up where my last session left off (and they quite often seem to end as I’m entering a dungeon), I had just stepped into the third dungeon, the Lanayru Mining Facility. While it’s another tight, single-floor affair (I’m beginning to think that none of Skyward Sword’s dungeons have multiple floors), it felt about twice as long as the previous two and was much more enjoyable to solve. Felt a lot more puzzley, like a Zelda dungeon should be. I actually got lost at one point, and it took me a while to figure out that the key to progress was a lesson that I had previously learned while exploring the desert.

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Mighty Number Meh

Mighty No. 9 finally came out this Tuesday. I spent a bunch of time yesterday playing through it, and while I don’t have the will to write a big long thing about it (it’s not worth the effort), there was one thing that really stood out to me.

The entire game is difficult. Like, “I don’t know why they felt the need to add a hard mode” difficult. And the final boss is literally impossible for someone of my ability. What? You think I’m supposed to be good at games? Think again, my friend. Anyway, I banged my head against that boss fight for nearly two hours and still could not win. The words “Game Over” came up and I turned the system off and walked away.

I was super frustrated. The game had betrayed me right at the very end. I went straight to the internet to make a post on a forum about how upset I was that I couldn’t beat this boss. But then I realized that I wasn’t angry. Usually, getting stuck in a game like this will drive me mad. It wasn’t two years ago that I ripped the Donkey Kong 64 cartridge out of the N64 and chucked it across the room after losing my mind to the Beaver Bother mini-game. Yesterday, I simply powered down the system, turned off the TV, and moved on to something else. No shouting, no fuming with rage.

Guys, I am proud to announce, that I think I may finally have grown up.

Will I return to Mighty No. 9? Probably. I need to finish this fight, but I’ll give it a few days. After that… I’ll likely never touch it again. I liked it, but there are enough bad things about it that I feel no need to relive the pain. I never replay Mega Man just for fun, because It’s pretty bad too. Only when I’m doing a series replay will I give that one a go. And since I don’t fancy Mighty No 9’s chances of getting a sequel, I think it’ll probably just be one of those games that get lost to time.

Skyward Sword Replay: Week 3

I had fun revisiting the mining area of Lanayru Province last week, but when I moved into the actual desert area, it got significantly more annoying. The desert is huge and open, but on your first time through, you’re more or less restricted to a very linear path. Faron Woods and Eldin Volcano are the same, really, but the woods allow you to run around freely and the volcano’s map make it obvious that it’s a linear path. There are hookshot targets everywhere in the desert, and of course, you won’t have the hookshot (or whatever variation is in this game) until much later on, so the freedom to truly explore the desert is hours and hours away.

This isn’t totally new for Zelda, as every game has obstacles that you can only clear if you come back later with the appropriate tool. None, however, are so clearly built around one specific item, to the point where you are like “Oh well I guess this is going to be an important place later.” I suppose this also runs into the complains that many people have about how hookshot targets have changed from normal objects like trees and roofs and treasure boxes to big, bright bullseyes. But that’s a whole different rant in itself.

On the other hand, this is where you get the first Beetle upgrade, which allows the Beetle to pick up bombs (or other small objects) and fly around with them. I don’t know how other people feel about this, but I think it’s super fun. Picking up bombs and dropping them on unsuspecting foes is a riot, and I’m sure there’s a million other uses that people smarter than me have come up with. I did manage to use it to make a particularly annoying “puzzle” a little more bearable.

I guess I haven’t really touched on the flying aspect of Skyward Sword yet, have I? Well, there’s good reason for that: flying is pretty boring. An coming from someone who usually plays the apologist for questionable Zelda features, that means a lot. Fortunately, it’s not like you need to do a ton of it, and the sky is considerably smaller than Wind Waker‘s Great Sea. You basically just fly between Skyloft and the different portals that lead to the surface. There are a couple of other things in the sky, but overall it’s really empty and blah.

And I guess that’s really about it for last week. I just opened the next dungeon and that was about it. Mostly I was focusing on Kirby: Planet Robobot when I had any downtime (of which there was very little).

Breath of the HYYYYYPE

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks awesome.

I… I don’t think that I can wait until next March to play this. At the very best, I’ll be tided over the Skyward Sword replay, and then I’ll go mad with anticipation.

I don’t know what I like more about it. The massive open world? Being able to play dress-up with Link? The ability to scale (seemingly) any surface? The ducks? It’s all so good! I could write up an analysis, but… meh. Just watch the trailer and be awed with me.

Actually, the real best part is that they made it so that I could create a half-assed Monster Hunter reference. Thanks, Nintendo!

Skyward Sword Replay: Week 2

I picked up this week in the middle of running around Skyloft looking for Gratitude Crystals. What are they? A reward for doing little sidequests for people around the world, which you can turn into a monster named Batreaux in exchange for prizes. It’s not unlike the Goddess Cubes in how it’s just inserting another step between you and your reward. At least Batreaux (“Uncle Bats”) is a fun character.

I didn’t get around to mentioning it last week, but there’s a “bar” in the sky called The Lumpy Pumpkin. Inside, there’s a chandelier with a heart piece resting on top of it. There are also signs warning not to roll into the walls, as you may knock down the (very expensive, custom ordered) chandelier. Of course, you will do this anyway, because you want the piece of heart. And when you do, you get chewed out by the barkeep and have to run errands for him to make up the cost of a new chandelier. The bar patrons will also question what the heck is wrong with you if you talk to them. It’s a fun little “actions have consequenses” sequence that pokes fun at video game conventions, like the penalties for shoplifting in Link’s Awakening.

Can you get the heart piece without breaking the chandelier? I don’t know. I broke it right away. I wanted the piece of heart! Doing jobs for the barkeep gives you the opportunity to learn a little more about some of the Skyloft residents, so it’s worth the effort. Plus you can just ignore him and leave if you really want to be a dick.

Continue reading Skyward Sword Replay: Week 2

Skyward Sword Replay: Week 1

Having finished up with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, and being totally obsessed with Zelda because of Hyrule Warriors Legends, I have decided to finally begin a replay of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Will I see it through to the end? Oh yeah, most likely. Unlike RPGs, more action-oriented games generally hold my attention all the way through on a replay.

I have also decided that I will take some time out to reflect on the game each week, as despite being one of my most anticipated games ever and having enjoyed it quite a lot, Skyward Sword really didn’t leave a very lasting impression on me. I could tell you every plot beat and plenty of pointless trivia from nearly every other Zelda game, but my memories of Skyward Sword are mostly blurry and full of holes.

To call this “Week 1” might be a bit of a misnomer, as it’s really just “Day 1” if I’m going for full disclosure. It was a very full day though! I played for like six hours!

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Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – May 2016

I’ve been trying real hard to focus on one game per system at a time over the last few months, but I’m failing at every turn. It seems like I’m constantly getting distracted by something else, be it new or half-complete. Anyway, May was a huge step in the right direction, with a greater number of finished games than “in progress” games for this first time since… maybe it’s just the first time ever? Of course, I had to throw some (admittedly hefty) demos in there to make the grade, so maybe it’s moot.

~ Game Over ~

Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (WiiU) – It feels wrong to say it for some reason, but I think Twilight Princess is one of my favourite Zeldas. I think the only thing that I truly dislike about it is the stupid canoe minigame. The forced-wolf sections in the first half of the game do feel a bit like unnecessary padding, but even those don’t really bother me all that much. I even like the “acres and acres of nothing” Hyrule Field.

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Bravely Default (3DS) – I decided, now that the sequel is out, that I’ve been putting this off for too long. So I beat it. Then I wrote too many words about it. What I didn’t write there is that the final boss seemed rally cheap and annoying on my first try, but then once I knew his tricks, I stomped him into the ground with very little trouble.

Bravely Second: The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers (3DS) – Officially, it’s just the demo for Bravely Second, but it’s got a unique scenario and took me about seven hours to beat. I thought that I was burned out on Bravely, but this demo really hooked me and I just may splurge on Second in the near future.

The Park (PC) – I bought this immediately after someone suggested to me that it was a Five Night’s at Freddy’s clone. That is not the case at all. It’s a still a spooky game, but it is a walking simulator instead of a security guard simulator and there are zero killer animatronics. I was still pleased, because the story was pretty good. Unfortunately, my PC could just barely run it, so the choppiness kind of ruined the mood.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 – Episode 3 (PC) – Surprisingly, this game has one of the least terrible sewer levels ever. Well, design-wise. Technically, the water was too fancy, which made the computer so unhappy and slowed everything down to a crawl, and made the game very difficult to play. Otherwise, it had a cool factory explosion and a great boss fight.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 – Episode 4 (PC) – A surprisingly brief chapter for Claire and Moira, then the longest chapter in the game for Barry and Natalia. It was really great, though, and had a pretty decent final boss. I can tell you right now that I will be replaying this one many times.

Pocket Card Jockey Demo (3DS) – A game about horse racing, in which you race horses by playing a variation of solitaire that I am not familiar with. It’s a lot of fun, but truth be told, I don’t think I’m going to buy it. It’s deceptively deep, and that’s not really what I’m looking for.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade (360) – Decided to play it a bit because I have been jonesing for some old-school TMNT action for months now. I didn’t actually finish it, but I was at the second-last stage and I would have finished it if I’d had more time. But I did get the fix that I needed. Close enough.

~ Now Playing ~

Monster Hunter Explore (iOS) – Do you remember Monster Hunter: Dynamic Hunting? I thought it was a passable way to get a MonHun fix in a pinch, but Explore is so much better. Its plays much more like normal Monster Hunter, just pared down for the mobile audience. It’s still not completely fulfilling, but it’s certainly a good deal of fun.

Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS) -I took a long break from this to finish off Bravely Default and the Bravely Second demo, and now I’m neck deep in Zelda Musou again. I’ve finally finished the Great Sea adventure map to 100% completion, at least.

Final Fantasy VII (PC) – Yep, this happened. For whatever reason, this time around I feel like I’m seeing a lot of things that remind me of Super Mario RPG. Also whenever anything silly or funny happens I think about how joyless the remake will be and it makes me sad.

Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge (WiiU) – I wrote enough words about this already.

Lost Reavers (WiiU) – A free, online loot-’em-up of sorts. It’s not especially good, but I’ve put in several hours because… well, I’m not sure why I kept it up. I guess it’s fairly fun, despite feeling like a C-tier game from a couple generations ago. Probably because it’s a multiplayer game that is 100% cooperative. That’s a big draw for me.

Dark Souls (360) – Yeah I’m playing this again. New Game+ is, well, hard. Which is the opposite of what I normally expect from NG+. Oh, Dark Souls. Played up to the point of defeating Quelaag, not sure how far I’m ultimately going to take this run.