Explaining My Decision In More Words Than Is Really Necessary For A Post Like This One Here.

I recently (as in a month ago but it was "recently" when I began typing this all out) purchased Theatrhythyhm: Final Fantasy Curtain Call.  I can never spell that god damned word!  T-h-e-a-t-r-and then I'm lost.  Theatrhythm.  Let alone that I have a hard enough time spelling rhythm, rhyme and garuntee. . . I mean guarantee, which I didn't need spell check for that last time.

ANYWAY!

Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy: Curtain Call for the 3DS.  If you don't know the game yet, it's a rhythm game using the music from the Final Fantasy series.  I recently (see above reference to "recently") purchased this and I would like to give my long and drawn out thought process for my decision because this is the Internet and things like this were the reason for its creation.

So I had $35 of Gamestop gift cards in my possession and following Steam's Wallet Drain Sale (aka: Winter Sale) and I knew that I wanted to use this for buying a 3DS game.  I knew my choices ahead of time, and even then, the choice was not made without great thought and care (stop laughing Ma).

Bravely Default

I played the demo for this game earlier in 2014 and I immediately loved it.  The visual style reminded me a lot of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light and the music, while not of Nobuo Uematsu's creation, was very fitting for the game and setting.  I very much enjoyed what was shown to me, being an introduction to how navigate towns, how battling and the "Brave" vs. "Default" battle commands worked.  It was everything that you wished all demos could and would do.  There was even the option of transfer over experience earned from the demo to the main game if you played one and purchased the other.  Very enticing.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

This was a great looking game and I really liked the concept introduced by the trailer.  Even the title, for me, was a call back to A Link to the Past and after starting and not getting beyond the first temple in Spirit Tracks or finding the chutzpah to finish Twilight Princess, I was hoping that this would be the Zelda game that got me back into the series.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

I loved the fecal matter out of this game, even more so than Ocarina of Time, and when I saw that this game was finally getting a remake on the 3DS, I was very excited along with the rest of a good portion of the Internet.  Currently, Majora's Mask has a release date of February 13th of this year, but at the time of purchasing, there was no official release date.  Plus, I have already played this game before and I still have a functioning copy for the N64.

Fantasy Life

No, not another Final Fantasy game (thank Odin SquarEnix hasn't been a douche-canoe and copyrighted either the words "Final" or Fantasy").  From what I understand, Fantasy Life is an open world RPG, which doesn't sound all that original except that it's on the 3DS and has gotten some pretty decent reviews.  It looks and sounds like a fun little game when I'm not busy escaping some prison in Tamriel or traversing some apocalyptic wasteland (take your pick on that front).

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Now, I've never played a game in the Animal Crossing series and (most) everything that I've heard about New Leaf has been positive and that it's a shamefully addicting game.  I figured that this might be a good game to get started in that world.

Tomodachi Life

Similar to New Leaf, Tomodachi Life is a life-sim-type game where you use your Mii avatar along with other characters you create and have them interact on an island full of shops and activities.  Knowing me, this doesn't sound like something that I would normally go out and buy, but what sold me was the concert arena where you can have your characters perform.  This was one of the last options in the demo and I had to wonder if the game somehow tailored it to my own interests.  The band (and it being the only option in the demo) was a power metal band that sang about wizards and dragons.  How'd they know!?

So ultimately, as you by now already know, I went with Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.  As I told Conklederp the other night, I made my decision because I really just wanted a game that would  not require a massive amount of my time as I already have a backlog of RPGs that I am eagerly looking forward to playing.  A game that I could pick up and play anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour without fear of losing my place within a larger story.  Plus with 220+ wonderfully composed songs from a series that I have been playing off-and-on for 26 years.  There will probably be another post about Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call on Monday, so come back Monday. . . or don't, that's cool too.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
It's Been Three Whole Weeks

Full Review: Witch and Hero (3DS)

First off, apologies that this article is coming out a few days late.  Things happened in the later half of the week that I hadn't anticipated (nothing bad) and I wasn't able to complete this article on time, or even in a form that I could post on Saturday, which is something that I've done in the past.  So now, here is Friday's post today, on Monday.

Witch and Hero is a game that I first saw back in January when the demo became available in Nintendo's eShop, despite the game having been released since April 2013.  The demo was pretty short, coming in at only 19 minutes, but it did everything a demo is supposed to do.  I was introduced to the concepts of the game and played through the first couple of levels.  I was immediately taken with the "retro" visual and musical style, enough so that a week or two later, I bought the game via Nintendo's eShop.  FK Digital, the company behind Witch and Hero have made a game that's charming, fun and can be played in short bursts when you know you'll only have a few minutes while the Top Ramen noodles boil to perfection.

STORY
You probably shouldn't be expecting much in the way of story from this game, as it is attempting to emulate the JRPGs of the late 1980s (Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, Ultima: Exodus).  The story is something that you find out before the gameplay begins and it's about as bare bones as an RPG story can be, but it's all done with a sense of humor.  You're told in the intro that the Witch and the Hero go off to kill Medusa, but the witch is turned to stone and the Hero is beaten to a pulp.  The Hero manages to escape with the Witch, but he seeks revenge and must kill Medusa to release the curse on the Witch.  How much more of a story do you need?

GAMEPLAY
The game is pretty basic.  You move the Hero with the joystick.  Your mission/goal is to kill of the hordes of enemies that come at you from all over the screen.  You are to protect the Witch who is sitting stationary in the middle of the screen.  You both have your own health meters and while you regenerate health after you reach 0 HP by lying prone, if the Witch loses all her HP, she crumbles.  You attack enemies by running into them and you damage to each other.  If you attack from behind, you are awarded with a different attack sound, you do more and take less damage than from frontal assaults.

Later in the game when you are able to temporarily bring the Witch back to life (with the blood of your enemies), you can change between two spells she continuously casts with "X" and have her face whichever direction you want her to cast her spells in with the "L & R" shoulder buttons.  Even later, after you find the Holy Sword (of course there has to be a holy sword), you can become super charged and do a lot of damage by charging up a meter that fills as you kill enemies in the stage.

As you go through the stages, you earn both experience points and money.  The experience points raise your level (this is an RPG after all), while the money you use to upgrade your Sword, Shield, Boots (speed) or the Witches Fireball or Storm spell.  I do not know if there is a level cap for experience (I reached level 48), but the equipment and spells max out at level 20.

A lot of the reviews online bring up the repetitive gameplay that makes up the majority of Witch and Hero and I cannot argue at all with this observation.  The game is exceedingly repetitive.  You will often find yourself grinding at the last stage you were able to complete so that you can purchase enough upgrades to get you through the next stage.  If you never played any of the late 80s / early 90s RPGs and were used to grinding levels, then this game probably will become very boring to you very quickly.  What I liked was that I could pick the game up, go through a stage which would take no more than two minutes, maybe raise a level and make enough gold to buy an upgrade or two then put the game back down.

VISUALS

As you can tell, the art style is very similar to something that you would find in the early Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy games.  This is something that really drew me into the game.  Just looking at the world map, I knew what it was that F K Digital was trying to get across to the player.  While there is no exploration of the world and each stage is only a single screen with a graphical style that represents the geographical region/area that you are in, I feel that anything more would have felt out of place.

Even the monsters look like they could be found in Dragon Warrior, although as the game progresses, they look more like early SNES era monsters.  And yes, in classic RPG style, a lot of the monster sprites are reused but given a different pallet, meaning they are stronger.  Little touches like this that harken back to established rules for RPGs are very welcome.


SOUND & MUSIC
I was very pleased with the sound effects in the game.  There was a different tone when you struck an enemy and when you hit them from behind.  It's like the difference between a high five, and one that connects with a satisfying SMACK!  When the Hero gets knocked unconscious, there's a very stereotypical "Wee-wee-wee-woo-woo" sound as you spin away from your last hit and then fall to the ground.  There's even a separate heart crushing sound when the Witch takes too much damage and she crumbles into pieces.  It's a simple sound bite that would be missed if it had not been included.

The music in the game continues to fit with the style set forth by visuals.  During the credits, Sound is credited to PANICPUMPKIN while "Background Chip" is credited to REFMAP.  After some preliminary searching, it appears that PANICPUMPKIN might very well be the composer, but whomever it is that composed the music did a fantastic job.  The overworld and shop themes all sound appropriate for what they are while the battle music is very catchy in the same way that the battle music from Final Fantasy I & II is memorable.  I only wish that I would be able to purchase/acquire the soundtrack.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Witch and Hero is not going to be a game for every person out there.  It is a short game, taking me 5 hours 24 minutes to complete; I reached level 43 and maxed out everything except the Fireball spell.  On one side, I would say that the game is marketed towards those who grew up playing NES era RPGs, but on the other side, it could be aimed at people who are looking for a pick up and play RPG-type game that doesoften  require you to grind for a while just through the next stage.

The only thing that I felt the game lacked was any 3Dness, despite being sold/marketed for the 3DS market.  While any 3D effects would have potentially conflicted with the visual theme, I feel that I would have been a simple endeavor and would have only added to the "charm" factor.  That being said, not have any 3D effects did not in any way detract from the game or my overall feelings towards my enjoyment.

Normally retailing at $3.99, Witch and Hero is currently on sale via the Nintendo eShop for only $2.79 until May 1st (2014).  I find the price to be about right for what the game is, which a single screen combat game stylized after NES era RPGs, and if that's your thing, you will have fun.


~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
With Action Overcomes Death

The Nintendo 3DS: A Review, 461 Days Later

I've now had my 3DS for over a year (specifically since June 11, 2012) but before buying the system, I was a little concerned as to how it would hold up over the years.  I say "years" because I spent because a system costing over $100, it damn well better last more than a year.  The point is, my DS Lite officially died (sort of) when the plastic casing covering the right hinge finally broke off and could not take any more super glue, which is what my solution was the first two times that the hinge broke.  I had other obvious concerns such as scratches and wear marks on the touch screen, dead pixels (although I never had the problem with my DS Lite, I do have 3-5 on my PSP) and long term battery life.

THE HINGES

Next to the screen, and I guess the buttons, the hinge is the most important part of the construction for the 3DS.  If the hinge is compromised, the top screen  will wobble from the screen cable like an arm hanging from a tendon or a bit of nerve. Considering that I saw myself opening the system, playing for a bit, closing it, opening to play a little bit longer then closing it again for the night before putting it back on the charger, the hinge is a key element.  Clearly what the system is designed to do.  In reality, I probably open/close the thing close to 5-10 times any time I have it off of the charger.  Those hinges are going are going to be seeing some serious action.

Presently, the hinges feel a little loose, almost as if I've been opening and closing the system close to every day.  Which is what I've been doing.  There is a little bit of a wobble, but that only happens if I consciously and gently shake the system back and forth while playing a game, which is something that I do not do.  Most of the time I just have the screen open to the first "click" and not all the way back.  I like a bit of an angle and having the screen all the way back makes it feel like I'm creating an obtuse angle.  So yes, after a year, I have noticed that there has been some wear on the hinges, but not enough so that I am overly concerned that the hinges will break within the next year.

THE SCREEN

If the screen dies in any way, there's no point in having the system around.  Unless you're the kind of person that has a use for parts, which some people do, just not me.  I have noticed a little bit of wear on the bottom touch screen.  Nothing out of the ordinary for a screen that regularly has a stylus scrying across it's surface nearly every day.

I should also mention that I do not have any scribble heavy games such as titles from the Wario Ware series.  The World Ends With You has given the touch screen the most ware and even after 56 hours, the screen still looks pretty good.  Theres still some give on the screen when using the stylus, which I will take as a good thing.  As for dead pixels, I have not noticed any.  Both screens work just as well as when I first bought the system and I haven't found that they get any smudgier than any other screen in our apartment.

In other news, I have not noticed any dead pixels on either screen.

BATTERY LIFE

This section will be entirely speculative.  I have no data to back up anything I'm going to say here, but this is the Internet, so it's all okay.  I haven't noticed any significant decrease in battery life.  I know that "common knowledge" dictates that you shouldn't recharge a battery until it's either very low or dead because doing so will shorten the overall life of the battery.  Everyone knows that right?  Anyway, I will frequently play the 3DS until I get the red flashing YOUR BATTERY IS ABOUT TO DIE light and then I'll put the system back on the charger.  That is what would happen in an ideal world.  Most of the time I'll put the system back on the charger overnight after having only played for 30-60 minutes.  Sure, there have been times where I thought the battery barely lasted an hour, even with the 3D slider either off or barely on.

With absolutely no data to back this up, I will say that I am happy with how the battery has been holding up.

FINAL ANALYSIS

After 461 days and 291.733 hours of use (combined total of game and application use), the 3DS has held up as well as I would have expected it to.  The touch screen works fine without and dead pixels or dead areas.  The hinges are a little loose, but that's to be expected after the aforementioned usage.  I am happy.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

I'll Be In My Bunk

Full Review: The Starship Damrey (3DS)

I saw The Starship Damrey sitting all by itself a while ago in the Nintendo eShop.  The title by itself sounded interesting, but it was the description of the game that caught my attention.  I was told that The Starship Damrey was essentially a point-and-click game, but you are given no introduction. “With no tutorials, explanations, or hints provided, the game was created with the intent that self-discovery and experimentation be an integral part of the experience.”  How to do things is all learned by "doing" in this game.  As the disclaimer for the game says:

There are no explanations as to what button does what, the game is all trial and error.  I realize that can be a turn off to some gamers, but to me it was a selling point.  That's what I like, that the developers, Level 5 (Professor Layton series, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch), have faith that the player will know what to do and if they don't that they will not be afraid to experiment.  Now, with all that in mind, let's get down to our review.

Gameplay

The Starship Damrey is basically an old fashioned point-and-click game, like Shadowgate or Deja-vu,  with the main difference is that you play in a three dimensional environment.  The majority of the game is spent controlling a robot via remote with audio/video capabilities.  You are able to "point-and-click" various objects around the ship although where you're going and what your mission is, is pretty much unknown for most of the game.  One major departure from other point-and-click games is that the robot you control is only able to hold one item at a time.  This might seem like a hinderance, but the issue only comes up once or twice in the game where you wish you could just learn to hold three things with your mechanized arm/hand.

There was one point in the game where I couldn't figure out how to "click" something that I knew I needed to click and had to look it up on gamefaqs, but I don't see it any differently than if I had asked a friend, "Hey, how do I do this one thing that I can't seem to do?"

Story

I'm going to leave this section almost blank as finding out the story is part of the game and the experience.  I will say that the story is pretty well done for a short-ish three hour game.  I will say though that the story was pretty engaging and everything that I initially had questions about while playing the game were answered by the end.  Like, why the hell are you stuck in a box for the whole game?

There were only two instances during the whole game that I was forgetting about the story because I couldn't figure out what to do.  It did take me out of the game as I started thinking about the mechanics of the game and tried to think like a game designer, such as "Now what would be the purpose of having a robot carry around a cookie tin filled with oil?  If I were a game designer, where would I want the player to put this?"  I'm not going to cite the game for that as it's supposed to be difficult and there were times when I went around to every room I could access and looking at every screen/view I could, trying to figure out what to do with that damned oil.  Eventually I did figure it out (on my own) and felt very accomplished once I located, um, what it was that I was supposed to locate.

Graphics

I thought the graphics in the game looked great.  I was very impressed, considering it was an $8 download game, albeit from a reputed developer like Level 5.

I don't know really what else to add about how the graphics were/looked.  I was impressed; I thought they looked good; I felt the art fit the world and didn't seem out of place.  It was a good looking game.

3D Effectiveness

The 3D effects in the game never felt overdone, blurry or even out of place.  There wasn't anything that was flying out of the screen at you and I felt having the 3D slider at 50-75% helped to add depth (pun not intended) to the visuals.  The game could be played just fine without the 3D effect turned on.

Most of the effect was in the visual screen of the robot in the foreground with the environment pushed out in the background.

Music/Sound

There is a very distinct lack of music in The Starship Damrey, which works very well.  With the exception of one or two musical cues, all the sound in the game is ambient background noise and practical sounds.  Everything that makes noise in the game sounds how I imagine a robot aboard a space vessel would sound.  It was a pretty minimalist score.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed The Starship Damrey.  It was a fun game that updated a style of gameplay that isn't made too much anymore.  Because games of the early '80s had many limitations, point-and-click were pretty common, so to find that type of game today and not only looks great and plays great, but also expects a lot from the player and doesn't treat them like a novice, that's something that I really like both about the game and Level 5.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Instrumental

Full Review: Moon (DS)

I finally finished Renegade Kids' Moon a couple of weeks ago, shortly after I finished my initial review of the game and I wanted to have some time between that post and this.  Because this is all very important information and why y'all're here.  Now down to brass tacks.

Graphics
I found the graphics to be very good, considering that the game came out on the DS back in 2009.  Obviously one should not be expecting 2009 PC quality graphics such as F.E.A.R. 2 or Borderlands.  Keeping the platform in mind, Moon looks damn fine.  Throughout the game, I did not notice any break in the graphics and there was no fog obscuring enemies in the far off distance.  Moon also apparently touts a 60 fps frame rate, so if you're at all concerned that your eyes aren't being used to their fullest potential, you'll have no concerns here.

Gameplay
Moon plays like an FPS should on the DS and I feel it plays even better with the joystick.  About halfway through the game I realized I was using the joystick as opposed to the directional pad, tried using the d-pad and quickly went back to the joystick.  Moving with the joystick and looking around with the stylus on the touch screen was a very natural feeling.  Firing with L button was a very natural choice.  Switching between weapons (or choosing to use the Remote Access Droid) pauses the game, but only while the stylus is still touching the screen.  If Moon had come out on the 3DS, the d-pad could have been used to cycle through your weapons, but since that's a moot point, there's no point in making an issue about it.

One thing that I had issues with (issue as in my ability as opposed to a problem with the game) was aiming at enemies at a distance.  Even with non-automatic weapons such as the Huon Pistol, aiming at a moving target can be frustrating.  I would also like to note that in the couple of missions that require you to drive the resident moon-mobile, I'm not a great driver.  "Looking" is directed by moving the turret mounted on the tankified-moon-mobile while the d-pad/joystick control the direction of the vehicle.  I often felt like Caboose trying to drive Sheila.

Again, Wikipedia notes that Moon is criticized for it's lack of multiplayer, but I personally don't feel that not having a multiplayer function hurts the game, this is of course comes from someone who doesn't play many multiplayer games.

Story
The story in Moon is of the kind that reveals itself over the course of the game.  Early on, I got the feeling that I (the character) is some sort of astronaut-army-jarhead with the security clearance of a janitor.  You know you're on the moon and that there are other soldiers/astronauts in your platoon, but that's about it.  Oh, and initially why you're on the moon.  But, then shit starts to hit the fan at an incredible rate.

Backstory/history in the game is found out through various computer terminals throughout the game and for most of the game I wondered why each computer screen only had a couple sentences of information and nothing else.  This question was answered very late in the game, but not so late that I called bullshit on the whole thing.

At the end of the game, the story does give way to a potential sequel, which would be great to see on the 3DS and there have been whisperings about Renegade Kid working on another FPS for the 3DS.

In short and without giving anything (else) away, I really enjoyed the story.  It worked for the game that it came from.  Would it work in a book?  Maybe.  Would it work in a movie?  Probably not without some retooling from Renegade Kid as opposed to a Hollywood exec. who knows more about science fiction than the people who created the game.  Sarcasm.

Music
The music, composed by Gareth Vilday is very fitting for the game.  Some stages the music consists of ambient background sounds/noises and other stages has pulsing bass notes that work their way into a melody of sorts.  Often times the music sounds like it's being pumped through a headset in an astronauts helmet (as if I really know what that sounds like) and while the quality itself isn't all that great, it still works.  I was never once distracted by the melodies or the quality of the music.  It fits the game very well.

Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun playing Moon.  Conklederp will also tell you that I swore a lot while playing Moon.  Both statements are true.  Most of the swearing occurred while facing the Guardian II & III or which I did have to pseudo-cheat and look up information on youtube and gamefaqs.  After I don't know how many gos at the respective Guardian, I didn't know what I was doing wrong.  Turns out I just needed to used different weapons at different times, so basically stuff that I never did during the regular stages.  I used the same tactic when going up against the final boss.  Only after watching a couple of videos on youtube, I actually managed to get the boss stuck behind a pillar and in a way that it couldn't hit me with it's cannon

Life Pro-Tip: Don't Taunt The Game's End Boss.

The boss was nice enough to give me time to get my phone (without pausing as I was afraid that if I paused it would "unlock" him/her/it) and take three pictures (this is the clearest).  Shortly after this picture though, the boss finally moved and managed to take about half my life before I was able to kill it.  You can't see it in this picture, but his life was a very (very) tiny flashing red sliver of pixel while my life is at full.

All-in-all, I put in 12 hours 46 minutes into the game, which I feel is a solid amount of time for an FPS, especially one on a portable device.In closing, if you're looking for a good solid FPS for the DS/3DS, pick up Moon at your local Gamestop or on eBay or Amazon.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
Show Me The Way To The Next Whiskey Bar

Things that Kind of Went on at E3, 2013

If you've come looking for an article filled with information that you can find elsewhere, then you've come to the right place.  I'm just writing what I want about an event that I've never been to and have only read about.  And because here we cover predominantly video games, I feel somewhat obligated to bring up that little convention that just wrapped up yesterday down in SoCal.

So now, I bring to you, our wonderful reader:

I've actually read quite a bit this year before, during and after the megalopolis known as E3.  For some reason I had thought that the Electronics & Entertainment Expo was an all week affair, although I guess it only ran from Tuesday June 11th through Thursday June 13th, because the companies putting the expo on didn't want to get in the way of serious gaming time from Friday through Monday.  Maybe?  Keep in mind, during the next couple of paragraphs, that my knowledge is limited, I did not attend E3 and all I will be discussing are things that I liked that I read about.  So now you're getting second or third hand information and not information from a direct source.

That all being said, I would like to say that the thing that surprised me the most about this years E3, was that Rare and Double Helix Games are developing a new Killer Instinct game as an Xbox One exclusive.  Sigh.  Killer Instinct was the game that got me into fighting games, and when I say "fighting games," I should elaborate and say that I only fiddled with other fighting games (Street Fighter II, Tekken, Mortal Kombat) and I never mastered any of them, KI included.  The Joystiq article has the most concise review, being the trailer, then a few sparse words.  There wasn't any mention of who is going to do the music (if it's going to be Robin Beanland from Rare who did the original soundtrack along with Graeme Norgate).

The PS4 was finally (?) revealed this week as well.  Gizmodo has a pretty decent article comparing the PS4 and the Xbox One with a special guest appearance by the Wii U.  Speaking of the Wii U, the Penny-Arcade Report brought up Nintendo's lack of big show press conference-type activities that are the norm for this convention.  Basically what I came away from E3, was that I probably won't be owning any of the current next-gen consoles and I'll be sticking with my PC and 3DS for new games.  However, if I do end up buying a gaming console, it might be the Wii U as I really just want a dedicated video game console, not an all-in-one, that's what my PC is for, and I already have one.

David Wong over at Cracked.com wrote a great article about how certain powers in the video game industry view its consumers.  Not everything he brings up is from E3 this week, but enough is directly related to how the video game industry advertises and sells itself, hence my inclusion of it here.

Lastly I'm going to list a few of the games (and the system that I would be playing them on) that managed to catch my attention, which is just another way of saying that if I won't be able to play it, I don't care too much, such as Tom Clancy's The Division which comes out on the PS4 and Xbox One or Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U.

• The Evil Within from Bethesda Softworks (PC)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds from Nintendo (3DS)
• Dragonage: Inquisition from Bioware (PC) 
• [Although I still haven't played the first in the series].
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 from Konami (PC)
• [Haven't played anything from this series either].
• Batman: Arkham Origins from Warner Bros. Games (PC)
• Not mentioned at E3 was Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (3DS) from Armature Studios
• Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure (3DS)
• The Elder Scrolls: Online from Bethesda Softworks (PC)

That's really it.  That's all I know, maybe a bit more, but that's all I feel like I'm able to share about something that I've only read about.  So with that, happy Friday and y'all have a pleasant weekend.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

The Spark I Once Had Seems to Have Died

First Impressions: BIT.TRIP.SAGA (3DS) Part II: Runner, Fate & Flux

This is Part II of a two part review of the BIT.TRIP.SAGA game by Gaijin Games for the Nintendo 3DS.  Part I of the review can be read here, which covered the first three games in the series, BEAT, CORE and VOID, while this review will cover RUNNER, FATE and FLUX.

My review of RUNNER will be solely from the perspective of the 3DS game and not comparing it to the PC or Wii edition.  I will mention, however, that I was a little bit weary about purchasing BIT.TRIP.SAGA because of some negative reviews on Amazon.com about lagging in RUNNER and comparing to how it played against both the Wii and PC versions.  I will say that I have not experienced any lag or skipping frame rates in either 3D or 2D mode.  I typically play with the 3D slider set at about 75% of the way up, unless I'm too distracted by  all the bits and debris flying at the screen and then I'll turn in either down or off.  I will also add that when first playing this on the PC, I felt that it would be an amazing experience on the 3DS and I feel that I was very much right.

All that aside, RUNNER is a great game with an amazing soundtrack.  The game plays like a rail-platformer set to music.  Whenever you miss a jump, run into a wall, get hit by flying beats or fall down a pit, you don't die, the music doesn't stop, you just get flung back to the beginning of the level, all with the music continuously playing.  One might find this to be tedious, having to start over because you were hit by a stray beat, but for me, I feel motivated to play more to hear the music increase in complexity.

Like any platformer, some levels are harder and/or longer than others and there are times when I feel too frustrated and have to switch to another game or just shut the 3DS completely, but that doesn't happen very much.

FATE plays like another throw back to older shooter arcade-style games like Gradius or 1942.  The big difference, is that while it is a rail-shooter, it's more of a double rail shooter.  You're propelled through the level, but you're also attached to a track, all the while shooting enemies and obstacles earning points and replenishing health.

This game is played with a combination of the joystick, moving back and forth along the track and the stylus, which is what you use to aim your rapid-fire projectiles at anything that might be combustible on screen.  When not shooting, you're able to move a lot faster along the track, which I really only did to grab a power up that was floating away.

The music in FATE I probably noticed the least of all the games.  It's not that so much that I didn't enjoy or that didn't pick up on it, more like I was as aware of how the game play was affecting the music.

Like all the other games though, FATE is an exceedingly challenging game and again, like all the other games, I seem to have hit a very hard, tall wall with the second stage.  Is it impossible?  No, but it's going to take a lot of playing to figure it out and make my way through to another fun/frustrating boss fight.

FATE, the last game in the BIT.TRIP series is a throwback to the first game, BEAT.  It's a pong-style game, but the paddle is on the right hand side of the screen.  Other than that, the game plays pretty much the same as BEAT.  But, there are some little differences.

The first difference, is that like RUNNER and unlike BEAT, you have unlimited lives.  You can mess up as many times and not make it out of the Nether and you'll have to start the level from the beginning or from your last checkpoint.  On some level this is a nice bonus, but in some ways, I get tired of constantly messing up in a specific area and just wish the game would tell me by way of a "Game Over" that I need to play something else for a bit.

The second difference is that the beats you hit back don't make any noise or build upon the music until after they hit the left side of the screen.  This can be a little bit distracting as it almost feels like a lag, but because that's the way this game is designed, it's only disorienting for the first couple of beats during the beginning, when the song is just starting.

The third difference is that the beats like to play with you.  A series of them will come flying towards you, then about two-thirds of the way across the screen, they will start spiraling, fracture and you'll have to hit them, alternating between top and bottom of the screen.  It's crazy times like this that the beats seem to be random, but there is always a pattern and it's just something you have to learn or follow Peppy and just trust your instincts.

In conclusion, yes, these are pretty difficult games.  Have you tried playing Mega Man 2 or Ninja Gaiden?  Those aren't easy games (but they do look easy if you watch No Hit Speed Runs), but they're still a lot of fun to play, and that's exactly what Gaijin Games and Aksys Games have put together here.  Here you have six great games that play very well on the 3DS, with great, sometime subtle, sometimes distracting 3D effects, but that's all part of the experience.  If you could power through all six games in 3 hours, where would the fun be?  I've spent just over seven hours and am on the second stage in each game and while I've hit the aforementioned wall, the difficulty won't keep me from trying to find a way to climb, dig or smash my way through to the next massive wall.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

I Can Almost See What I'm Fighting For

First Impressions: BIT.TRIP.SAGA (3DS) Part I: Beat, Core & Void

BIT.TRIP.SAGA is an amazing compilation of the first six games in the BIT.TRIP series developed by Gaijin Games and released by Aksys, with Runner2 having been released a few weeks ago at the end of February (2013).  Additionally, as all the games in this series are available on various platforms, my review will only focus on how they play on the 3DS without comparing how they play on any other platform. Additionally, since this game is broken down into six separate games, I will review them as such although I will be covering the first three games in the series, Beat, Core and Void now and Part II of this review (Friday Edition) will cover Runner, Fate and Flux.

Beat is the first game in the series, pseudo featuring Commander Video.  Beat plays a lot like Pong on steroids and a healthy dose of crack.  You're a paddle on the left side of the screen hitting back balls/pixels of various sizes, colors and sounds against an invisible foe who has an infinite supply of said ball/pixels.  The game can be controlled with either the stylus or the joystick, although I can't see using the joystick for some of the precise movements that are required for the game.  I'm sure there are people out there who prefer the joystick, but this guy, not at all.

After you successfully hit back enough beats and you fill up a meter at the top of the screen, you advance from HYPER to MEGA, MEGA to SUPER, and SUPER to ULTRA, which means that the music becomes more complex and more catchy, you also receive an increased score multiplyer, but that almost seems secondary while being assaulted relentlessly by a near never ending supply of beats.  It also means that the game tries to mess with you more, distracting you from successfully hitting back the beats.  For example, once you start playing MEGA, every time a beat bounces of anything, little pixel fireworks emit from the beat.  Eventually your screen can be filled with very distracting pixels, although it's still very possible to un-focus your eyes and yet, still focus on the beats that are flying at you.

The 3D effect in this game is subtle, focusing mainly on the score and information above the main game play.  The background, which is usually rotating scenes of interstellar-ness.  I've only run into a couple instances when the 3D effect became distracting, but I felt that that was part of the game, that that was it's intended purpose.  The music too blends in very well the action, which is not at all distracting.

After about nine stages, there is a Boss battle, which are fun and aggravating at the same time.  I've only made it past the first boss and to about the third or forth stage in the second level.  I die every time and by "die," I mean that I let too many beats past the paddle.

Core is the second game in the series and so far, the most difficult of the games in the collection.  In this game, you play as a "Plus" sign in the center of the screen and try to "catch" beats as the come flying at/past you.  To "catch" these beats, you hold the directional pad in the direction to create a net-like-thing then activate the net by pressing "A."  The net is only active for the 1/2 second after/while you press A.

In Core, I've found that I have a very hard time keeping up with the beats as they come flying toward the net area and activating the net in time.  I frequently find myself about a half second behind and my brain cannot keep up with where I'm supposed to have the net activated.

The 3D effect, from what I've been able to tell, is not very noticeable, although maybe that's because I'm too focused on not dying faster than I actually am.  This is definitely going to be a game that will take a lot of patience and practice, if I don't get too frustrated.

Void, being the third installment in the series and I feel that, aside from maybe Runner, is the most original game here.  In Void you play as a black hole, "void" type object, absorbing black beats that fly across the screen while avoiding white beats.  As you collect the black beats, your black ball/hole/void grows in size, making it easier to catch black beats, but harder to avoid white beats.  But that's where the "pop" comes in.

Did I forget to mention the "pop" ability?  Popping is what you do when you feel like you've become too big to avoid the white beats and it makes you your default size.  Popping also advances the music, adding additional tones and rhythms to the beats when they're absorbed, as well as progressing through the HYPER - MEGA - SUPER - ULTRA levels of personal development.

The 3D effect is pretty minimal, bringing out the void and beats while keeping the score, which scrolls in the background throughout the game separate and the ever changing color background in the very background.  So you have three distinct and noticeable layers.

I can still only get to stage 1-3 consistently and end up dying in roughly the same place each time.  It's only a little bit frustrating, but no more than say, frequently dying during Mega Man 2.

Up until now, I haven't brought up a feature in these games called the "Nether."  The Nether is exactly what it sounds like, a nether region apart from the main game, but the same at the same time.  In every game, except Runner, you are seamlessly sent to the Nether when you either miss too many beats (some of the games have a meter that fills up, which will decrease down to HYPER and then to Nether) or come in contact with too many negative/white beats in the case of Void.  The Nether plays exactly as the game you're currently playing except that that all color is gone except black and white.  All music is stopped as well except for a simple "beep" noise when you collect/hit a beat.  After enough successful hits, you're returned to the game, again seamlessly.  It's a pretty cool idea and executed really well.

Part II's review (up on Friday March 22nd) will cover the next three games that come packed with BIT.TRIP.SAGA, being Runner, Fate and Flux, so look for that article to come out sometime on Friday.  Happy Monday everyone.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Beating Emptiness