As I've mentioned a few times in scattered threads, instead of hunkering down for the big launch, I took a plunge deep into last generation, and then some, while also paying my own little tribute to Nintendo's recent streak of novelty*:
*cat not affiliated with reactionary line of thinking
Some brief impressions:
Valkyrie Profile: I've put about 6 hours into the game so far. What a fine piece it is, but at the same time, what a problematic one. It seems like a game made by a gifted amateur - absolutely brilliant and brimming with fantastic ideas, but because of inexperience, he didn't know what was realistic and what would turn out to be a logistical nightmare, either for the developer or for the player.
For example, the magic gems you acquire in battle. It's a crap shoot whether you get them, even if the animation looks like you clearly nailed the enemy with a combo strike in the air or on the ground. Further, the gems don't always show up in the final listing, and it's not clear why. There are a few more issues like this, such as the weird approach to platforming. Overall the battle system is highly original and effective, though.
I'm not so bothered by the extreme linearity of the game, because there are three endings and so it seems that the experience will be a little bit different each time. I am bothered by the fact that if you diverge from the path and enter a town, there's nothing there for you. The townspeople are absolutely dead and there is nothing to explore, nothing to find. For Tri-Ace to go from such neglect to such dedication with Radiata Stories is a major step forward.
What saves the game most, for me, is a dramatic sweep in the story that is really astonishing. More than any other game, even Metal Gear Solid, I felt a gifted director's hand behind the scenes, running the show. The situations that the poor humans find themselves in are real, and their expressions are genuine. As a result, the way that Valkyrie slowly surrounds herself with an army built of these fallen men and women - complete with their broken dreams, broken hearts, broken lives - is really powerful. The heart of this game is unlike any other, and it makes every other RPG I've played seem very narrow-minded by comparison.
Warioware Twisted!: I've been playing this on the bus. It has got me a couple of weird looks, but also quite a few compliments. Those perceptive enough to realize that I'm actually affecting the on-screen action by spinning the GBA around are often floored. It's a great little game, and feels amazingly refined in the hands, but I have a feeling it won't last much longer for me. But I might be wrong - there might be a lot more to it after the initial story missions.
The only real negative for me is the fact that the cart is extra-large and protrudes out of the system, which makes it a little bit difficult to handle. But it couldn't contain the mechanism without it, and anyway, it ensures that nobody will ever make a pirate version of it.
Gradius Galaxies: A little bit of 8-bit heaven. I'm a relative Gradius neophyte, but I've played 3, 4, and 5 and this is easier than any of them. You can carry up to 9 lives, and easy mode has unlimited continues. What a novelty! But what a blessing for someone like me who didn't grow up playing shmups and still needs to fine-tune his approach.
*cat not affiliated with reactionary line of thinking
Some brief impressions:
Valkyrie Profile: I've put about 6 hours into the game so far. What a fine piece it is, but at the same time, what a problematic one. It seems like a game made by a gifted amateur - absolutely brilliant and brimming with fantastic ideas, but because of inexperience, he didn't know what was realistic and what would turn out to be a logistical nightmare, either for the developer or for the player.
For example, the magic gems you acquire in battle. It's a crap shoot whether you get them, even if the animation looks like you clearly nailed the enemy with a combo strike in the air or on the ground. Further, the gems don't always show up in the final listing, and it's not clear why. There are a few more issues like this, such as the weird approach to platforming. Overall the battle system is highly original and effective, though.
I'm not so bothered by the extreme linearity of the game, because there are three endings and so it seems that the experience will be a little bit different each time. I am bothered by the fact that if you diverge from the path and enter a town, there's nothing there for you. The townspeople are absolutely dead and there is nothing to explore, nothing to find. For Tri-Ace to go from such neglect to such dedication with Radiata Stories is a major step forward.
What saves the game most, for me, is a dramatic sweep in the story that is really astonishing. More than any other game, even Metal Gear Solid, I felt a gifted director's hand behind the scenes, running the show. The situations that the poor humans find themselves in are real, and their expressions are genuine. As a result, the way that Valkyrie slowly surrounds herself with an army built of these fallen men and women - complete with their broken dreams, broken hearts, broken lives - is really powerful. The heart of this game is unlike any other, and it makes every other RPG I've played seem very narrow-minded by comparison.
Warioware Twisted!: I've been playing this on the bus. It has got me a couple of weird looks, but also quite a few compliments. Those perceptive enough to realize that I'm actually affecting the on-screen action by spinning the GBA around are often floored. It's a great little game, and feels amazingly refined in the hands, but I have a feeling it won't last much longer for me. But I might be wrong - there might be a lot more to it after the initial story missions.
The only real negative for me is the fact that the cart is extra-large and protrudes out of the system, which makes it a little bit difficult to handle. But it couldn't contain the mechanism without it, and anyway, it ensures that nobody will ever make a pirate version of it.
Gradius Galaxies: A little bit of 8-bit heaven. I'm a relative Gradius neophyte, but I've played 3, 4, and 5 and this is easier than any of them. You can carry up to 9 lives, and easy mode has unlimited continues. What a novelty! But what a blessing for someone like me who didn't grow up playing shmups and still needs to fine-tune his approach.
