The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap Review

The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (GBA)

Now, here is an interesting Zelda game for me to cover. Most people believe this to be my favorite Zelda game and sometimes think this is my favorite game of all time. Despite these ideas, I will - as always - keep this review as unbiased as possible.

I remember getting this game, accidentally, right after it came out. My family was going on a Beach trip, and I begged my mom if I could buy a new game for the ride. My mom ok’d the request and gave me some spending money. Now, I had yet to buy the Oracle Zelda games and was planning on buying those. However, when I walked into EB games I saw the displays for a new handheld Zelda title: Minish Cap. Without a second thought, I bought the game and hurried on my little way. Fast forward about 6 years, and with my 5th time of finishing the game I figured I would finally break it down into if it is actually good or not.

The game opens up with a back story about the Picori Sword and the original hero who had wielded the legendary blade. Afterwards, Princess Zelda is shown walking in the woods to Link’s house. Link’s grandfather, Smith, greets the Princess and tells Link to wake up. It is found out that Zelda has snuck out of the castle because she wanted to go to the Picori festival with Link (because meeting Link at the Town gates was too boring?), and that the festival only occurs every 100 years when the door to the Picori realm opens. Link then escorts her Highness to town, where she acts like a hyperactive monkey that Link must track down and follow.

After everything is said and done at the festival, Zelda and Link attend the ceremony for the winner of the sword fighting tournament earlier in the day. The winner of the tournament is allowed to TOUCH the legendary Picori blade; which seems like a lame prize and an obvious way of getting something bad to happen. The winner of the tournament is none other than a pale-skinned, purple haired, red eyed boy dressed in dark colours named Vaati. It’s as if the boy could have been wearing a sign that read “I’M AM A BAD GUY!” and Hyrule’s guards still would not have noticed. Upon giving his greeting of flinging a bunch of guards off the screen, breaking the Picori sword and unleashing hoards of enemies onto the land, Vaati turns Princess Zelda to stone and disappears in search of something called the “Light Force”. Link is then tasked with finding the Minish (aka the Picori) so that the sword can be fixed and Hyrule returned to normal.

The gameplay of Minish Cap is basically the same as every other 2D Zelda game. You have 2 buttons (A and B) to select and use items; with A also being used to talk to people. The directional pad is used to move things and control Link. L is used to fuse Kinstones (a new addition in Minish Cap) and R is used to perform actions; like grabbing objects. You can also use Select to talk to your new sidekick, Ezlo, for information about where to go next.
A few of the items in Minish cap are the same as other games but it also offers a variety of new things as well. Your biggest new asset is the White Sword (later Four Sword) which over the course of the game allows you to split Link into multiple beings. As far as inventory items, along with regular bombs, later in the game you are given the option of using Remote bombs; bombs that explode only when you want them. Working similar to the Remote Bombs, you can also get a Magical Boomerang; which is probably the precursor to the controls of the normal boomerang in later handheld Zelda titles. You can also obtain a Gust Jar which sucks and blows air, the Cane of Pacci which allows you to flip things over (because Link is apparently a weakling), the Mole Mitts which can be used to dig through the ground, and Roc’s Cape which gives you the ability to glide through the air. Other than that, you still have the classics: the bow, the light arrows, bombs, boomerang, mirror shield, lantern; and some older classics like the Pegasus Boots and Flippers.

Along with all of these items, there are also new items called Kinstones. Aside from small bits in the main story, Kinstones are mainly used in side quests. There are different coloured and different sized Kinstones that each correspond to particular randomized people in the game. Once you find the person, and fuse the stones together, good things are said to occur. This can range from revealing treasure chests to summoning golden enemies to making beanstalks grow to creating… butterflies? However, because most of the Kinstone requirements are randomized, there is a very big chance that you will end up with a lot of the little things left over at the end of the game. Aside from the Kinstones, you may also find Seashells which can be traded in the game for figurines of characters in the game (which seems a little creepy if you ask me).

The graphics of Minish Cap are styled after the Cel-Shaded styling of other Zelda titles. The 2D sprites are akin to those in the Four Sword titles; as which makes sense because of all of the games involving Vaati in some way or another. Despite that, every time I play Minish Cap I am constantly reminded of A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo, and it is not only the graphics that leave this impression on me. About half of the soundtrack to Minish Cap sounds like it was remixed from past Zelda titles; mainly A Link to the Past. However, there are enough new songs mixed into the game as well. Even if I don’t remember every little song in the game, there are particular ones that stick out for being good on their own.

Overall, the game is very good and is better than a lot of other Zelda titles. As far as it being the best Zelda title, I must disagree to this claim. The game has a little bit of Twilight Princess Syndrome where you don’t feel like the world is actually in danger. You do, however, help people here and there, but the world as a whole didn’t feel 100% threatened. Yes, Vaati is a strong villain (and all of this is reversed later when he becomes a pimp in other titles) but he felt more like a jerk than anything else. Another strike against Minish Cap is the abrupt (and I mean ABRUPT) ending. However, as I have stated before, if the gameplay of a game is solid then I can normally overlook most other features of the game.

Afterall, that is the magic of a game versus other media; because a game can have a great story, but if it isn’t playable then what’s the point?

Katamari Damacy (PS2) Review

Katamari Damacy (PS2)

There are certain games where someone will crack a joke or make a remark about how the developers of said game had to be on some kind of drugs to come up with the idea for that game. Katamari Damacy left me in a similar mentality and speechless upon seeing the opening cut scene. To be honest, I am quite surprised that this was localized outside of Japan, but I am thankful that someone decided to take a chance with it.

Originally when I was told of the “plot” of Katamari Damacy, my then-14 year old self thought it was stupid… I guess that just goes to show how idiotic teenagers can think. The plot of Katamari Damacy is that the King of All Cosmos has gone and destroyed all of the stars in the sky… OH NO! The King, who seems to constantly refer to himself as “We”, is so kind as to leave the job of fixing the universe to you, The Prince (or one of his cousins, if you choose to play as one of them). Well, how exactly are you going to fix the sky? By going to Earth and rolling up objects into big balls to turn into stars of course!

The gameplay of Katamari Damacy took me a little bit to grasp. Instead of using just using 1 button or 1 joystick to control things, it doubles the controls. To roll your Katamari you take use of BOTH analog sticks. Push both of them forward to roll forward, push back to roll backwards, push both left and push both right to roll to the sides. Pushing both joysticks down (R3) will cause you to do a 180 degree turn, and rapidly pushing opposite directions on each joystick will cause you to do a dash. This might not sound hard but things in this game can turn really fast really quick!

Not counting constellations or side missions, this game has 9 main levels. In each level, the King of All Cosmos demands that you reach a certain goal. Sometimes the requests are just "Reach X amount in size in X amount of time!" but then you can get some request like "Pick up ONLY 1 Bear!" You start the game rolling up small things... paper clips... erasers... birds... However, during the course of the game you can manage to get your Katamari big enough to pick up people, skyscrapers, and even entire land masses! Though, no matter what size you make your Katamari, the King will most likely always call your efforts "puny".

The graphics consist of 3D in a cartoon-esque style. As mentioned before, you spend all of the levels running around and rolling up as much as possible. During the load screens, a 2D drawing of the King’s head bounces around; sometimes mentioning odd things. At the end of each level, the King will either scold you for not completing the requirement (with some 2D animation of him looking scary in a lightning storm) or you and your Katamari will be pulled up on the ROYAL RAINBOW (a 2D animation of what looks like the King throwing up a rainbow and pulling you inside) where your Katamari will be judged accordingly.

Out of all of the series I have played, Katamari has to have one of the most memorable theme songs ever. Other than that, I don’t remember much of the rest of the soundtrack from the game. I remember it feeling appropriate to the game, and fitting as background music, but I honestly do not remember it beyond that. What I do remember are all the sounds in the levels… mostly of people screaming.

Overall, if you like weird things, then you will most likely enjoy this game. If you are looking for something completely random, then I also suggest this game. However, if you prefer your games being easy rather than hard and you get frustrated easily… Be warned: While the beginning of this game is easy, it does get hard by the end. It’s a bit annoying when you have to constantly redo a mission that is 15+ minutes because you barely missed the goal of the level.

Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland Review

Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland (PS3)

Soo... I've had this review sitting on my computer for the last month, lol.

This game is one of the reasons why I despise games with multiple endings. I had to replay this game 4 times to get the ending I wanted. With my first attempt, I ended up getting locked into a permanent Game Over because I was so focused on getting the character‘s ending flag. With my second attempt, I didn’t trigger the character’s ending flag quick enough. Almost giving up, my third attempt ended in failure due to not getting the town’s approval rating high enough. My fourth attempt finally netted me what I wanted, after a month worth of redoing things.

Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland is the eleventh main game released in GUST’s Atelier series (the sixth one to be released stateside), and it was their first jump into 3D graphics. I have never played any of the previous Atelier games (I fib: I played an hour of Mana Khemia, but I don‘t believe that to be enough to compare the whole series), so I will not comment on the differences between them. However, I will say that the graphics were nice, but I have seen better. Luckily, the emphasis during cut scenes were more focused on the static talking head images; which were nicely drawn too.

Going against the typical JRPG narrative of “THE WORLD IS IN DANGER OHMYGOD”, the story of Rorolina Frixell, nicknamed Rorona, starts as her being an apprentice to a somewhat lazy alchemist named Astrid Zxes. When informed that the Atelier would be shut down within 3 years unless they complete specific requests from the kingdom, Rorona starts to worry but Astrid just smirks. Bringing Rorona and her friend Cordelia outside the building, Astrid exclaims that she is giving the workshop to Rorona; and it is up to Rorona if it succeeds or fails.

The gameplay of Atelier Rorona is a combination of a few things. You have aspects of a Dating Sim, a JRPG, and an elaborate synthesis system. You can do quests for people to raise their friendship levels (which will trigger exclusive cut scenes per person), and you can do quests at the front desk inside the castle to raise your popularity in the town. However, each of these quests will have an end date and if you miss it, your popularity or friendship points will lower accordingly. Your town approval rating and your character relations will determine what ending you acquire. 

There will be times that require you to venture out of town to gather supplies for your alchemic creations. This is where the Japanese Role-Playing Game aspect comes into play. You can chose up to 2 other team mates to accompany you during battles for a price… no literally, you have to pay your friends to help you. Though because this game is heavily focused on alchemy, it is sometimes best to rely on your synthesis items more than physical strength (at least for Rorona) in battle. The battles are turn-based, but if I ever had any issues, I was able to instantly flee from the fight.

The elaborate synthesis system is not too elaborate. Item A combined with Item B will always equal Item C (unless you are not at a high enough level to complete the object or you try to add the item attribute “complex”). Different items have different attributes that can be added to the item you are trying to make. However, some attributes can work to your advantage while others can go against that. Something to keep in mind is whatever you decide to concoct will take a certain number of days to create. Most of the time, this game had me running around trying to plan out what days to talk to specific people, what days to go adventuring, and what days to do quests and in what order. I guess if you look far enough into this, you could say the game is a metaphor for Time Management in our daily lives.

I will admit that I played the game with the Japanese language track, but that was because Rorona’s English voice seemed to grate on my nerves, and things almost always sound better when it’s in a language you can not understand. Though speaking of audio, Atelier Rorona’s musical score was pretty, but that is what I have come to expect from GUST. Still, Atelier Rorona’s soundtrack is not their best one, but it still was not bad. 

I want to take a step out for a moment and talk about the characters of Atelier Rorona. The character’s outfits are very well designed. They gave a feeling of a mix between modern clothing and clothes from the Victorian era. Normally there is at least one character that I do not like in a game, and aside from the typical evil Minister who is trying to shut down Rorona’s workshop, I liked all of the characters in the game (including shopkeepers too). It truly felt as if different characters could be their own selves and not be criticized for doing it. However, I still have to question Rorolina’s magical age change during her transportation from Japan to America (Japan = 14, America = 17).

Overall, if you enjoy dating Sims and/or Japanese Role-Playing Games, then you will probably like Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland. If not, then I’m assuming you wouldn’t be looking for and reading a review of the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Review

 

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN, Wii)

Despite how much of a Zelda fan I have been during my lifetime, I will make sure to make this review as unbiased as possible; as I always try to achieve to do this. This was my fourth time finishing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but only my third time of finishing the Gamecube version of it. The reason for myself playing LoZ:TP again was because of my run of video games I have been showing to my boyfriend. Sadly, after replaying this I did not like it as much as I did when the game was first released.

Twilight Princess starts itself with a little bit of melancholic dialogue before informing You (or Link, since the game has the name programmed) that the day after tomorrow You/Link will be delivering a gift to the Hyrule Royal Family. Afterwards, the game starts showing you how peaceful life is in the southern Hyrulian Village of Ordon. You are introduced to your horse Epona, a couple children (including a smart-alec baby), their parents, and one of the game's female love-interest characters; Ilia. All of this is an obvious setup that something is about to go horribly wrong, and indeed, something does go wrong. Right before Link is able to leave on his journey to Hyrule Castle, King Bulbin appears. He clubs Link in the back of the head and kidnaps Ilia with the help of some lesser Bulbins. Once Link wakes up, he runs off towards the forest... only to be pulled into the veil of Twilight and pulled into an adventure bigger than he imagined.

The gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is akin to the gameplay of almost any other Zelda game with a few things changed. When inside the Twilight Realm, Link is transformed into a blue-eyed sacred beast (read: wolf), and all the inhabitants of the area are turned into spirits. The people can not see you, but you can see and listen to them. You won't be able to do much until you meet Midna... but don't worry as you meet her almost as soon as you become a wolf for the first time. As a wolf, you can dig in the ground to find hidden items, sniff scents to show you the way to go, use Midna to jump long distances (only in certain areas), and use Midna to warp to other areas once you open the corresponding portals. When encountering enemies, you can jump on them or you can use Midna to create a circle around you where any enemy enclosed in it would be attacked. Every area transformed into Twilight can be turned back to normal once you capture 20 Tears of Light from special bugs in the area.

Once you are "human" again, the gameplay turns into the routine style of past Zelda titles. You have a sword and shield... plus the items you acquire over the course of the game; like the Boomerang, Bow, and et cetera. There are a few different item choices in this game though. Instead of getting the Hookshot, you now have what is called a Clawshot... and you get TWO of them; but you have to wait till the end of the game for the second one. As awesome as it was to fly around with two Clawshots, I felt a little bit ripped that instead of getting a new exciting item in one of the later dungeons... I just got another of an item I received towards the middle of the game. Though, relating to another item decision, I thought it was interesting that the Latern required oil to stay lit... even if I used no more than 3 bottles of oil during the whole game.

Aside from items, Link is able to learn Hidden Skills thanks to the help of a glowing wolf/skeleton named the Hero's Shade. All of the skills are activated in battle depending on reactions from enemy attacks. Though, you  must go out on your own and find various stones with wind blowing through them to access the Hero's Shade. All of the these stones require you, as Wolf Link, to howl the same sound that the wind makes before the Golden Wolf will show itself.

The musical score of this chapter in the Zelda series was not as memorable as past Zelda titles; which is confusing since most of the score consisted of remixes from older Zelda scores. The instrumentals during the game were beautiful, and well placed, but after a while the music felt like it just mixed together and was undiscernible as to what song was from where. Nothing noteworthy to listen to outside of the game other than Midna's Theme and Ilia's Theme.

As far as how the game looks graphically, after being on the market for almost 5 years the game still looks decent. Twilight Princess does not fall into the 1080P HD 3D Realism, but it does indeed still look decent. Compared to other Zelda titles, the details and certain characters (such as Zora Queen Rutela) just stick out in my mind. The only thing I wish is that they would take the level of detail to Hyrule's landscape. Ever since Ocarina of Time (except for Majora's Mask), the landscape has looked bare with hardly any kind of vegetation growing. 

Overall, despite The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess being a "darker" Zelda title, and as all series know Darker = BETTAR... I was not entirely amused by the game. This is not to say that the game is bad. The game is good, but as far as being as amazing and deserving of the pedestal that people place it on... no. The whole time while playing Twilight Princess I had no feeling for the inhabitants of Hyrule. There was no sense of imminent danger for their lives. Even when the characters were transformed into spirits in the Twilight Realm they still continued on with their lives as if nothing happened. Now, there were a few who acted scared but that was in reaction to enemies moreso than the characters realizing that their world changed, and once you defeated the enemies the people were back to normal. During Twilight Princess, you feel more like a background character more than the character who is saving everything.

Costume Quest (PSN) Review

Costume Quest (PSN, XBLA)

I know I listed this on my top games of 2010 list (Honorable Mention) with only playing the Demo of the game, but unlike my Donkey Kong review, I still believe that this game deserves it's spot on my list.

Costume Quest is a downloadable game for the Xbox360 and PS3 that was released around late October of 2010. What originally caught my eye with this game is that it was developed by Tim Schafer (of Grim Fandango, Psychonauts and Brütal Legend fame). From what I have noticed from playing some of the previously mentioned games, Tim Schafer has an interesting sense of humour to his storytelling and his games tend to have amazing art design. Costume Quest is no exception.

I originally had downloaded the demo since I'm not too keen on downloadable-only games (I prefer having hard copies of my games). However, I was blown away by the demo. I ended up finding everything that I could find in the demo and continued to play it for about almost an hour and a half! Though, I did not buy the full version of the game right then due to not having enough money. Luckily thanks to some magical invisible universal force making me wait to get the game, Costume Quest actually ended up going on a 50% off sale.

The game itself was a little bit shorter than I was expecting... but then again, I can not tell you the exact amount of time that I put into the game. All I know is that I sat down everyday for about 3 - 4 days straight playing the game. Even though I am playing the game "out-of-season" (since the game takes place on Halloween), I was too enthralled with how fun the game played moreso than to care if the game was relevant. There is DLC (Downloadable Content) for the game that extends the story a little more, and for the first time, I'm actually going to buy it.

As far as the story of Costume Quest, you start the game on Halloween night. The two twin children main characters, Wren and Reynold, are getting ready to go Trick-or-Treating. Their mother ends up assigning one of them to be in charge and protect the other one. This is where you get to choose your gender of playing as a girl or a boy. I chose Wren since I am of the female body type. The characters get changed into their costumes; for the playable character: a robot, and for the NPC sibling: a candy corn.

You go outside and both you and your sibling attempt to get candy from your neighbors, only to be shunned away because of your horrible costumes. When attempting to get candy from another house, a Goblin... err, a Grubbin comes out of the house (after tearing it apart for candy itself) and sees the NPC sibling dressed as a candy corn. Mistaking the child for actual candy, the Grubbin kidnaps them and thus begins your epic journey of cosplaying on Halloween to save your other half.

The game plays like a JRPG during battles, in the sense that the game is a Role Playing Game and all the battles are turn-based. You have 3 different attacks, each set to 3 different buttons, during battle. Though you'll mainly be using only 1 button combined with a quick-time event for the majority of battles; unless you equip skill-learning battle stamps to your characters. The third button of battle happens about once ever 3 turns, but opens up a special move (i.e. for the robot, you get a massive missile fire). When Trick-or-Treating, the enemies are randomized in the houses, while in certain parts of the game the enemies are viewable in the area.

Outside of battles, you explore the town for various items and dropped candy. You can talk with other children and accept quests from them too (like helping them obtain a certain kind of card). Though certain parts of the town are only accessible via the special abilities of your costumes (i.e. like using the robot to skate up ramps, and the knight's shield to block stuff falling overhead). You can find coffin-like treasure chests as well that mostly either contain candy or materials for a new costume.

I only beat the game at level  8, but I was fine with that. Sometimes it is nice to just sit back and enjoy a game for what it is, and not spend eternity grinding yourself silly against enemies to level up just to beat a particular boss.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (GCN CE) Review

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) and The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (GCN)


The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite video game series of all time. However, as with any series that I adore, I try not to be a bumbling idiot blinded by the words "LEGENDU OF ZERDA" (or any other game title) whenever a company announces a new game or port. Despite this, I still have bought almost every port of every American-released Zelda-related title. I have even imported the Japanese version of Four Sword Adventure just to play Tetra Trackers, and I am planning on importing Tingle's Rosy Coloured Ruppeeland eventually. Out of all the ports and remakes, Collector's Edition for Gamecube was one that I received right when it was available (via a Nintendo Power Renewal Gift) back in 2004. Even though it came out 7 years ago, I never rebeat any of the games on it until today... That game being The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Majora's Mask seems to be a special case amongst fans of the series that I have encountered. People tell me that they either: A) Did not play it because they hate time management in video games, B) Played it, but it was awful (this is mostly connected with "OCARINA OF TIME IS WAY BETTER"), C) It was really good OR D) OMG IT IS THE BEST GAME EVER!!!
As for if I fall into any categories on the above mentioned list: Yes and No. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is #4 on my Top 10 Video Games of All Time list. However, there is another Zelda game that is listed higher than it; and No, it is not Ocarina of Time... That one is #9 on my list.

I decided to replay The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask because my boyfriend fell into category A in the above list, and I wanted to prove that the Time Management in the game was not that bad. Without a way for me to hook up my N64, I figured I would pull out Collector's Edition for the Gamecube. What surprised me was how many differences there were between the two versions.

Technically, the save file I finally beat was not my first attempt to run through Majora's Mask on Collector's Edition. I was never able to finish my original attempt. The game would randomly delete my data at odd intervals. In my original save, the farthest I got was beating Twinmold in Stone Tower. What stopped me from going straight to the Final Boss fight is that when I saved my game at the Owl Statue, turned off my Gamecube, and returned to the game later, the save said I had not finished Stone Tower... or Ikana Castle. I would have chalked this up to fowl on my memory card, except if it had messed up, then my 2,000+ blocks of other data would have been corrupted as well and it was not.
When going through on my newest try, I realized that the game would only temporarily save at Owl Statues and then permanently save when you played the Song of Time.
Earlier in the game, right before activating the Owl Statue for Woodfall, my game ended up freezing and I had to do all of the Deku Palace again. I encountered this same problem on my second try (the now beaten file) when leaving the Tourist Hut in the Southern Swamp, and my game froze again.
Majora's Mask on Collector's Edition also had an issue with horrible lagging, but as my friend pointed out, MM on CE ran at a lower frame rate than the original game due to it basically being a ROM played on a built-in Emulator on the GCN disc. Our speculation lead us to believe that games with the N64 Expansion Pak are harder to emulate since Ocarina of Time on the Collector's Edition disc was fine.

On my now beaten file, I obtained every mask in the game so I could achieve the Fierce Deity Mask once again. To anyone who does not know of this item, it is only allowed to be used during Boss Fights and it allows you to play the game on what I call "God Mode". However, from what I found out, obtaining the Fierce Deity in Collector's Edition would come at a price.
That price would be because of the lagging, and would cause a not-so-strong Fierce Deity. I still managed to beat the game just fine, but I actually got hit quite a lot during the Final Boss fight and that never happened to me on the N64 version. Also, due to the lag, my Magical Sword attack barely connected with the boss.

If you were to ask me which version of the game you should get, I would tell you "If you can get a N64, then get the N64 version. However, if you only have a Gamecube or a Wii, then get the Collector's Edition, because like I said, the game is still beatable despite it's nuisances."


If you are curious as why I adore Majora's Mask so much, then you'll have to wait. I'll talk about that on another day.

Donkey Kong Country Returns - Review

 Donkey Kong Country Returns - Nintendo Wii

Before I say anything, this game taught me that I need to finish the games I put on my Top 10 for a year before I make my Top 10 list. An ending to a video game, or any other type of media can completely change your opinions.

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When I was growing up, the video game consoles that I played were the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the Nintendo 64 (N64). My main love in video games fall into the realm of 2D games; so growing up the SNES had a bigger influence over me. Out of all the SNES games I played, the Donkey Kong Country series was one of my favorites to play. They were challenging, but they never pissed me off.

Fast forward 14 years since DKC3 came out: A new Donkey Kong Country game is released and is rumored to be a direct sequel to the original Donkey Kong Country. I was a little skeptical of this game being good since a lot of sequels to older games have disappointed me lately. However, I was willing to give this game the benefit-of-the-doubt... and I was right in doubting it.

Nintendo seems to be in the habit of "dumbing down" their games in an a way to appeal to the casual gamer (which is a vast majority of their customer base) by way of introducing a mechanic called "Super Guide". Now I am not having an argument against casual gamers, because if the "hardcore" crowd wants a hard game then there are a plethora of hard games out there. Getting back to mentioning the "Super Guide", at first I mocked the mechanic because I am normally really good at platforming games, but I ended up relying on the Super Guide heavily towards the end of the game... This includes the Final BOSS.

I want to make something clear that a lot of people in various gaming communities seem to forget. MEMORIZATION does not make a game HARD... it only makes the game IRRITATING. Now the only thing that I will mention about the game being hard was the Final Boss. However, that was because there was a memorization part that was attached to the level before the fight (which in a previous stage, the memorization part was not connected to the Boss) and then it would save at the Boss, which if you failed on the Final Boss you had to start the fight over without Diddy. I tried but I'm not that good with fighting parts in sidescrolling games; let alone doing it with only half the normal amount of health.

Aside from the memorization issues, there were a few other things about the game that depressed me. First off, for this game being a sequel-to-the-original-DKC/in-the-DKC-series then it is severely lacking animal buddies that help you. The only animals I saw in Donkey Kong Country Returns were Squaks and Rambi, and Rambi was the only one that was present in the actual levels (though only present in about 3 levels). Secondly, I was not amused by the new Rocket Barrel mechanic (which lead to my anger of memorization for the most part of the game). Thirdly, I was sad to see no King K. Rool, but I can always accept new villains in a series.

Now I'm not fully ragging against the game, there were some things I liked as well. For instance, I adored the levels that screamed "ARTISTIC VALUE" despite those levels only appearing about 2 or 3 times in the whole game. Though one of the artistic levels actually bothered me since it was too foggy most of the time to see everything, but I still managed to finish it without the Super Guide.

Overall, I really did enjoy the game... when it was not requiring me to memorize patterns. As far as the story, I enjoyed it's wackiness and for the sake that when a game can express it's entire story without ANY use of dialogue but still convey what is happening through the characters' expressions that I must give it a prop of some kind. Even if Super Smash Bros. Brawl was not the greatest thing EVAR, I still give it's unneeded Adventure Mode a prop for telling a story with no dialogue as well.

As far as what I would rate this game, I give it nothing. I used to rate games when I reviewed them, but not anymore. It should be evident by how I explain the game if it is good or not.

Best and Worst of 2010

I made it one of my New Years Resolutions to make a blog about my reviews and thoughts on Video Games. As far as the title, I let my friends name this, haha.

Anyways, 2010 was not as impressive as previous years and even 2009's best game is still better than the game I chose for this year. However despite this, there were still some good games released this year that made my list a little hard to come up with at first.

BEST RHYTHM GAME

Dante's Inferno (PS3, Xbox360)

Lol, I kid Holy Gitaroo Man wannabe.

God of Harp Hero III (PS3)

Now I’m just acting silly.

Lolz aside, below is my serious list:

BIGGEST LETDOWN

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: Portable (PSP)

When this game was announced, I was extremely excited. I mean, it is a portable version of one of my Top 10 games of ALL TIME. I was a little discouraged from the game when small bits of information were released mentioning that some of the gameplay was changed around, but I told myself that as long as the playability was not changed too much, then I would still be willing to play it. Now, before anyone gets me wrong, I was not expecting a perfect port (despite how amazing Gitaroo Man’s PS2 to PSP shift went) because I knew that there was too much information in the original version of Persona 3 that fitting all of it would be nearly impossible… even moreso after it was announced that there would be a female path as well. 

Upon actually playing the game, I turned it off within 20 minutes, and have not touched it since. I was amazed to see that the game had removed the animated cut scenes in favor of the static talking heads (which were similar to Trauma Center). For a JRPG that was known for it’s anime cut scenes, to remove them was a big knock against the game. Furthermore, for the female path, they could have done a better job of altering the story to fit. I could not help but laugh (in a disappointing manner) when they kept the same dialogue from the male path/original story of Mitsuru and Yukari questioning if the main character was allowed to stay in the dorm with the girls for the female path. Another thing is that everyone praised the new battle system that was added (which allowed you to control all characters in battle) but what most of these fans probably don’t realize is what made the original battle system (only being able to control the MC) so good for Persona 3 is that one of the themes of the game was how you could not fully trust other people; so letting the other characters do wacky stuff in battle further implemented the questionable trust.

Overall, I have always mentioned how Persona 3 was ATLUS’ answer to SquareEnix’s Final Fantasy VII and the fact that they released Persona 3 Portable further proved it… even moreso since people are saying that it is so much better than the original now.

THE WORST GAMES OF 2010

#5. Metroid: Other M (Wii)

I’m not a gigantic Metroid fan, but there is one thing I despise in video games… which makes it much worse when it happens to a really well known series. What I am talking about is the “Damsel in Distress”, or when there is a fully capable female character who is reduced down to being portrayed as a wimpy do-nothing-on-their-own type of character. The over used theme of how Samus was an obvious female, so thus she spends the game talking about motherly referenced things (like following a Baby’s Cry), was only the tip of the iceberg of my annoyance though. What made me want to break the game was all of the narrations. Don’t get me wrong, I did not fully despise Samus’ chosen voice. However, when this game had more narration than Alan Wake (which had an author for a main character), then something is wrong.

I was hoping gameplay could save this game, but even I wasn’t amused by the gameplay. Motion controls are one thing, but why did they make Samus run around like she was a hyperactive little child. I got too frustrated with actually trying to properly control the character more than fighting things that I gave up. At least you have the redeeming feature of good graphics, but that’s not saying much since even crap can be made pretty, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to amuse me.

#4. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (NDS)

2010 can be summed up by saying it destroyed some of my favorite series. Dragon Warrior, as I recall it, was the very first RPG series I ever played. Specifically speaking, Dragon Warrior 1 on the NES was the first RPG I played. Now about two decades later for me, I’m depressed to see the wannabe MMO style role that Dragon Quest IX has taken. However, it is at least a playable game, just not enjoyable. I wonder if the creators forgot that most RPG fans like playing games by themselves; as in, with no one else, single-player only.

#3. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox360)

Despite being a huge fan of JRPG games, I went into this one expecting it to be bad; even though I had a ton of people telling me otherwise. Now, I’m not going to complain about it’s straight path, because every JRPG is pretty much a cleverly hidden straight path. I will complain about people telling me that I just needed to wait till about 20 hours into the game. With any type of media, you have a short amount of time to grasp the attention of the audience. 20 hours is not a short amount of time. If it takes a game that long to explain itself before letting you roam on your own, then the developers either think you can not handle being out on your own, or they are doing something wrong. 

I remember during the time that I was playing that the female cloud wannabe, Lightning, apologized to a door. Yeah, I know this had symbolic reference in the story, but if executed properly I would not be bothered. However, Barret wannabe, Chocofro, makes such a deal about how the door was not open, then an apology and bam, magical door opening time. It was just laughable, in my opinion. Also, I still want to know how the wimpiest character in the party is the strongest character in the game. Though, I’m glad to see that SquareEnix knows it’s target audience with their weird kissing scene. And if anyone is wondering, I only played about 4 hours of the game.

“Oh, just give it another 16 hours, I promise it gets good!”

And yeah, let me guess… The final boss is a door and Lightning has to cut herself for it to open; in a symbolic way of showing she is sorry for any crimes she committed… No thanks.

#2. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: Portable (PSP) 

To say what has not already been said, I would rather shoot myself in the head than play this. Oh wait.

#1. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (PS2, Wii)

For a game that has the phrase “A new way to SRPG” plastered all over it’s box, it does a very bad job of conveying that it is a RPG of any kind. This game is more akin to a very awkward Visual Novel. Now, I love visual novels, so I figured I would give it the benefit of the doubt. I tried playing it for 2 hours, and could not play anymore. Not even the vague story or uninteresting characters could save this game. I tried to give it a bigger benefit for being the first game in it’s series to be released outside of Japan, but I still could not convince myself to play more of the game.

There are some “RPG” games that are so bad that they are good, like Arc Rise Fantasia, but then again that’s not a compliment in the first place. However, Congratulations Sakura Wars… you are so bad that you are just bad. I gave you more benefits than I normally do, and you crushed them.

HONORABLE MENTION

Costume Quest (XBLA, PSN)

It is sad to see one of the biggest artistic developers of the video game industry reduced down to selling downloadable games due to their console released games not really selling, and thus the developer not able to be funded for projects. This game was in the spotlight for a month and then dropped out due to the fact that this game is based on Halloween, and before we are even done with All Hallow’s Eve people are already preparing for Christmas (even though I swore there is a holiday between those two).

The reason this game is listed under my Honorable Mention and not on my Top 10 is because I was only able to play the demo of the game before the end of the year. Based on the demo alone, I was completely amused and satisfied. The game is a Halloween RPG where getting new costumes gives you new skills in battle and abilities outside of combat. You go around trick-or-treating to get more candy, and you have to get a certain amount of candy to advance the story. Sometimes you will come across a goblin, who you will have to fight, instead of normal adults at the houses. From what I gathered from the demo, the plot of the game is about trying to save your sibling (based on the gender you choose to play) from the goblins who are in your neighborhood stealing candy; to which they kidnapped them because they thought your sibling was a candy corn based on their outfit. If you love RPGs as much as me, then I would highly recommend purchasing this game… as long as you have internet access.

RUNNER UP

#11. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)

There is only one reason as to why this game did not make my Top 10 list. It was an OK entry in a good series while the game I have listed for number 10 was an OK entry in a recently bad series. An OK game in a good series denotes a fall from the greatness of a previous title; while an OK game in a bad series shows that the company who makes the game is actually improving the quality of their game and working on making it better. I will give you props for being a hard game, but then again I could probably kick myself and remind myself that trying to beat a JRPG at level 25 was not exactly a smart idea. The branching storylines were a cool idea, but even with the in-game timeline I was giving myself a headache for trying to sort out all of the events. Also, I was not amused with Kingdom Party or Kingdom Karts, but thank goodness that those were not required events and I got to choose to ignore them, but then again, I shouldn't want to chose to ignore something in the game.

THE BEST GAMES OF 2010

#10. Sonic Colors (Wii) (The DS version is different, and thus this is based solely on the Wii version)

Well, this is a surprise. Where have you been for the last couple of years Sonic? That’s right, killing my childhood. However, I am not here to complain about Sonic’s past games, but to commend his recent adventure. Despite what some people would believe, I have actually bought all of the blue blur’s games over the last decade within the week, or sometimes month, of their release. So don’t think I have not been supportive of the Blue Hedgehog during his relapse.

I’m not going to say that Sonic Colors is the most AMAZING THANG EVAR… but for being a good entry in a series that has felt like it has been slowly dying over the last few years it deserves some credit. I was originally taken back in disgust of the new Voice Actor for Sonic since I could not get the fact out of my head that Ezio de Auditore de Firenze a la Pasta from Assassin’s Creed II/AC: Brotherhood was now voicing Sonic the Hedgehog. Though, my disgust slowly turned to actually liking the new voices by the end of the game; which came very abruptly by the way. The music was good as well (especially the BGMs from Planet Wisp). Another thing is that the writing and humor was better than some of the recent Sonic games too. The gameplay is decent too; following the old formula of platforming but combining the speed of the Daytime levels from Sonic Unleashed along with the new addition of Wisp abilities that allowed you to explore the levels differently depending on which Wisp you had obtained.

Like I said, I am not saying this game is exhilaratingly awesome, but it is a step in the right direction for Sonic Team. I’m just hoping they keep up this trend for whatever their next planned game might become.

#9. Squishy Tank (NDS)

Many of the people who read this are probably looking at this one and asking themselves, “What in the world is Squishy Tank?!” Well, it is simply an adorable puzzle game released by Natsume (of Harvest Moon fame) for the Nintendo DS. It came out at $19.99 retail value new, but when I got my hands on it the game had dropped to $10 new, and I am wholly satisfied with the purchase. The puzzling gameplay in itself is akin to a mix between Tetris Attack and Puchi Puchi Virus. Even though I played the game on easy (for the sake of having time to finish a lot of games this year) the game proved to be difficult towards the end. Though the gameplay alone is not what has Squishy Tank on my Top 10 for this year. What helped bump it up was also the adorable cut scenes and amusing humor (complete with a Metal Gear Solid reference too).

Overall this game only took me about 5 hours to finish, but this is one of those games that proves that as long as you get the gameplay (and sometimes story) correct when making a game, then the length of the actual game should not matter. Thus you have the replayability factor.

#8. Nier (Xbox360, PS3)

You know a game is probably going to be entertaining if even before you get to the Main Menu the game is already cussing at you. No joke. Even more, this entertainment is fueled when you find out that the character’s voice who had been yelling at you is actually a girl who goes around fighting things in her lingerie.

All sex fantasy jokes aside, I really wish I could place this game higher on my list, but I can’t for my own reasons of not beating the game yet due to a promise I made to my boyfriend of letting him finish first… no pun intended. Despite only playing about 4 hours of this game, I can honestly say that this game defies the laws of JRPGs; which is incredibly intriguing considering it is made by Square nix (aka the home of everything that is cliché in JRPGs). Instead of being a prepubescent boy who is a complete moron, Nier (Gestalt) lets you play as a loving father who is trying to cure his daughter from a mysterious illness. If you do not like change in your Japanese Role Playing Games, then buy a plane ticket, fly yourself over to Japan, and buy a copy of Nier RepliCant (PS3)… or just import the typical cliché version.

Nier Gestalt, as it was called in Japan, is the version of the game that was made before RepliCant, and is the version released in America. The graphics of Nier are absolutely amazing; which graphic quality is something I have come to expect from SquareEnix. Along with good graphics, the gameplay is really fun and well done as well. Another thing is that it has great voice acting too. However, over all of these good factors for it, the biggest thing I love most from it so far is the amazing soundtrack… for BOTH Nier, and Nier RepliCant. Both of these game’s OST have quite possibly become my number 1 Video Game Soundtrack of all time.

#7. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

This game was a major surprise when I heard it announced this year, and let alone, when I found out that it was coming out this year too! I grew up with the SNES and am a huge endorser of 2D games. The Donkey Kong Country series is a big series I used to play when I was younger. Yet again, I have not beaten this game yet, but that is because it actually poses a challenge. Now when I say challenge, I am not talking about how the game is hard… I’m saying it poses a challenge because of cheap kills and the stupid lives system still being in effect. However, I’m too stubborn to let the Super Guide beat the levels for me, because in my mind, that’s cheating.

Despite the challenging aspects, this game is really good. It has the right amount of nostalgia mixed with updated graphics and a new story line. I still despise the motion controls, but that’s a beef I have with most games on the Wii so I can’t fault Donkey Kong in particular. Still, it’s hard to believe that DK was originally just a monkey throwing barrels at a plumber.

#6. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)

Another game I never got to finish this year, but that’s because this one is actually hard. To be honest, I’m halfway through the final dungeon, but I just can’t beat it. However, I must be sadistic because I love an actual challenge… or maybe it is just my love of the Legend of Zelda series that is telling me that I can not give up on this homage.

This really did feel like a 3D version of a 2D Legend of Zelda game, complete with the fact that I played around in the editor and made my “hero” as the villain from The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap. As far as this game’s difficulty goes, I should have expected it considering it is from the same group that made Demon’s Souls. Though I loved all of the side quests in this game, and the comedic style in the dialogue of the characters; along with good gameplay and a nice customization feature as well. Out of all the games out there that claim to be an homage to something, this one is probably one of the best ones, if not the best one, you will find on the market now-a-days.

#5. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (NDS)

I’m still saddened that they changed the name of this from Perfect Prosecutor to Ace Attorney Investigations… consider that Edgeworth is a Prosector and not a Defense Attorney, but I can understand Capcom’s US branch wanting to stick with the same series name.

I originally thought this game was going to be awful considering it was a game about everyone’s favorite Prosecutor, and the gameplay was completely different from all of the previous Ace Attorney games. Normally series with a pre-established formula for awesome that then turn and release a new game with completely different mechanics do awful; even moreso if they are based off of the most beloved character in the franchise, because then it just sounds like it is spiraling down into being a bad fan fiction. However, I was wholesomely surprised that all of my preconceptions of this game were completely unfounded, and that I should never really judge a game before I try it.

Chronologically this game had Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep syndrome where every case felt the need to jump around instead of going in a straight path of order, but at least it made more sense when I pinned this story together. This game still had the waist-up detailed sprites of characters, as well as full body small sprites for walking around and investigating. Also, as with all of the Ace Attorney games as of recent, this game included a new gimmick as well; Edgeworth’s Eureka ability of supreme thinking. Overall, it is not the best in the Ace Attorney line, but it still included all of the charm and humor that made the original such a success.

#4. Trauma Team (Wii)

The 5th game in the Trauma series, the 3rd Wii title release, and the first one to not be called “Trauma CENTER”. Unlike any of the other games in the franchise, Trauma Team allows you to play as 6 different doctors in [mostly] different fields (Surgery, First Response, Orthopedics, Endoscopy, Diagnostics, and Forensics). The only gameplay mode that irritated the hell out of me was Endoscopy. Everything else was well done, even if Forensics felt like a rip-off of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney at times. Another thing that made this entry different than the other games is that instead of the talking static heads used during the cut scenes of previous entries, Trauma Team uses an animated comic style in it’s cut scenes; which in my opinion was a lot more interesting than the flat character faces.

Although this game was quickly on it’s way to my list of  “Most Disappointing Games” with just offering the singular missions for each of the characters, and the only things saving it from that list were some of the ridiculous plot devices that were so crazy that they made me bust out laughing, and the extremely sentimental moments in the characters’ stories. However, my entire fear of this game falling to my disappointment did a full 180 degree turn when I finished all of the character’s stories and found out that there was a seventh chapter, and oh my God, that chapter was amazing and was exactly what I was expecting from the game the entire time I was playing it. This game is a prime example of how the ending to a game can completely change an opinion of a game as a whole.

#3. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (NDS)

This reminds me of a puzzle… Why don’t video game series that are already good stick to the same good formula when releasing sequels? Well, I don’t know, but thank goodness that Professor Layton has stuck to it’s proven formula of success over all these years.

As such with sticking with a working pattern, this game contains all of the stuff from the previous entries, but as with following the Diabolical Box pattern, this next entry in the Professor Layton series was a little bit more darker than the last… to the point of actually making me cry at one point. What makes this game better than Diabolical box is that I was actually expecting a crazed twist (and just all around craziness) this time, and it delivered in full force. Also, I have a slight intrigue of dystopian stories of the near future. This game does get knocked down a little for the puzzles being somewhat too easy this time, but then again that could be due to me 

Considering that this game is supposed to be the last one in the “Future” Arc of the Professor Layton games, and the next one starts off the “Past/Prequels” Arc, I’m only going to assume that the games are going to get darker from here on out, but as long they contain everything that made the series good in the first place then I say bring it on.

#2. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

There are certain games that scream artistic value, but then pointing out that video games can be art is fruitless when the game’s company did not even have enough funding to fully finish the game; as with Tri-Crescendo’s Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon abrupt ending. 

“Well, if it did not feel like the game was fully concluded, then why is it so high up on your list?” Someone might ask. The difference here is that this game had so many sub stories that were fully better than most typical video game stories as a whole. Fragile Dreams is all about how alone you are in world where almost all of humanity has died, and the only things remaining are ghosts and “artifacts” (that would contain memory stories) of a world long past. The motivation of the main character, Seto, is to find other remaining survivors (mainly a white haired girl) as he heads towards Tokyo Tower. I played the game in Japanese, but I can promise that the voicing was well done for that vocal track. Furthermore, it had well done graphics too (as well as the Wii can produce). I had issues with the inventory system at times due to it’s Resident Evil 4 approach, and the weapons tendency to randomly break versus the rare weapons that would actually be sturdy enough to last through most of the game. Also, the ridiculous prices for healing items combined with 3 really irritating enemy types made for quite a struggle at times, but then again, this game is all about survival; so the weapons, inventory and battles are a win for stay true to the game’s theme. The only thing I truly have against the game were the controls since I despise motion controls, but then again, I was able to cheat out of those simply by not pointing the Wii Remote at the screen and allowing myself to actually enjoy the game. However, the music in this game was well done as well; including beautiful opening and ending themes that fit perfectly with the theme of the story. I just wish that more artistic games would be given the funding that they deserve.

#1. Bayonetta (Xbox360, PS3)

One of the biggest factors for a game is the gameplay, which out of all the games I played in 2010, Bayonetta had the most fun gameplay. Surprising that one of the first games to be released in 2010 would actually be the best for that year for me. Although the gameplay is solid, I honestly have no idea what exactly happened in the story, but that’s the magic of video games; as long as the game play is well made, nothing else really matters. Despite what I have been saying, the gameplay is not the only thing that ended up being well done about the game. The art design, the dialogue, the graphics, and the music were all simply wonderful. Also, the voiceovers were well performed as an added bonus. The cut scenes were done differently from other 3D games in 2010, but even that did not distract from graphical quality.

I’m sad to see this game is mentioned more often for it’s sex appeal than for it’s game play (or even mentioned at all now), but if I were to recommend any one game this year, it would be Bayonetta, because I honestly have nothing bad to say about it.

Here is to hoping that 2011 will up the ante and give us some more good games... even moreso considering that it is supposedly "the last full year before the apocalypse occurs".

First

New Years Resolution A-Go-Go!