Microsoft didn't buy exclusivity for Meme Run. Even if they were insane enough to want it on their consoles, they could just make their own by importing the same graphics into the same endless runner template NinjaPig did. A whopping 44 seconds of work for any professional dev, I'm sure.
I really hope they do more Rusty's Real Deal (and Steel Diver) and less of this. I'm not complaining, but when I'm paying piecemeal for the parts of the game that I want, I'm happy to do so. In fact, that's the only reason I took a gamble on Rusty in the first place. (And I'm darned glad that I did. I'm still playing it.) But paying for plays is not my thing. That should have died with the arcade. I'd much rather pay for a game and play it as long as and as frequently as I like.
I don't glitch hunt, but I've already found a few bad ones. (I never seem to find the good ones!) It's majorly improved from the N64 original, which was a buggy mess, but it's still kind of annoying to have to redo all of your progress.
The first glitch was during the second beaver race. As far as I can tell, I swam just over a ring, and it bugged me out of the water, which for some reason counted as a death. (I think it registered me as being crushed somehow.) The area reloaded and I had to start again from the beginning of the first race.
Much more annoying was the Great Bay temple. I was about halfway done (going by number of fairies collected, anyway) and couldn't figure out what to do in a room. I jumped off a ledge figuring I'd explore the water again and...the game froze. When all I did was jump off the ledge. The music kept going, but I had to hard reset the system.
I loved it. (Though I agree with @Klimbatize that it had a "budget feel.") It seemed like a fun little timewaster at first, but it ended up being one of the few DSiWare releases that I bothered to 100%...and then replay. Looking forward to this.
Being as "jerk" describes the manner in which you've behaved on literally any outlet that I've seen you to literally every person I've seen you interact with, I'm going to go ahead and remain skeptical.
This game is brilliant fun. Probably the only time I waited for a sale, and ended up wishing I'd spent full price. Insanely difficult and crazily addictive.
(Gotta love that dark, dark game over screen, too...)
@Quorthon Sure, it's cynical. It's cynicism borne out of a career of playing and reviewing buggy games.
And bear in mind Horberg's original quote for context. He's referring to known bugs. Nobody's doubting that video games are so complex that bugs slip through simply because they're impossible to catch before release. I don't, however, think it's too much to ask that known bugs are addressed before you start charging people for your product.
Come to think of it, I don't believe that's cynical at all. I think that's just fair.
@LinktotheFuture Having them all in one place, not waiting for the next to be released, and (potentially) having them all cheaper.
Otherwise...not really. The bonus features didn't do much for me, but if you're a completionist by nature maybe you'll enjoy unlocking all the art. Then again, there's no shortage of stuff to collect in the actual games, so that may not be much of a selling point.
There's also an easy mode added to these games, but man does it suck the fun out of them.
Zero is a masterpiece. 2 is even better and refines almost every shortcoming of the first game. 3 and 4 (the latter of which I have a particularly soft spot for) are awesome as well.
Wall to wall it's my favorite Mega Man series, because the quality never dropped and the experience never stagnated. A brilliant set of games.
Not disappointed at all! Four things this week are getting downloaded. Whoa Dave and Steel Empire while on sale, Xeodrifter and Phoenix Wright whenever I clear out the backlog a little.
How many times, exactly, is Sega going to rush the development of Sonic games? By now how have they not learned their lesson? It's beyond bad planning at this point. It's willful stupidity.
Yeah, I think the unlocks (by number of battles) are random. I got Wario first, and I have Dr. Mario without Lucina or Falco. (And I've beaten Classic mode a bunch of times.) My most recent unlock was Ness, so it has to be random.
the online multiplayer can be very hit-or-miss in terms of connection quality
Great review, but after the unplayable nightmare that was online Brawl, I think this is going to be the breaking point for me. Here's hoping the WiiU version is reliable.
@CanisWolfred You and me both. But it's not a long wait, at least!
I've been dying for this ever since we got Gargoyle's Quest a few years back. It's a series I remember existing, but which I never bothered with as a kid. Now I've beaten that one multiple times and cannot wait to dig into the sequel. (Hopefully sequels...)
It's not that they had the audacity to toy with the art style. (Though, I must admit, it looks effing awful.) It's the fact that they rebuilt the game with 1) no understanding of how Cave Story flowed and 2) no understanding of how any game flows.
Just wait for the dialogues that span two screens. Were you ever hoping for a version of Cave Story that looked like crap AND made you wait through loading times between every spoken line? Then brother, this is the game for you.
I honestly wonder...if this game were actually released back in the NES/SNES days and was simply getting a new review now on the VC console, with all the nostalgia and childhood favoritism that comes with these old classic games, if it would still score less than the likes of Mega Man 2...
Well, we'll never know, and I certainly won't pretend that personal preference doesn't enter into reviews. Considering, y'know, reviews are based on personal preference.
But that's what the text is for, silly goose. If you read the text and think, "This sounds like a 10 to me," then it's probably a pretty solid buy! Others will read all the nice things I have to say and think, "None of that sounds anywhere near a 9 to me." And that's fine, too, of course.
Nobody is obligated to agree with every review score. Again, that would be impossible. We do our best in order to present reviews that let you decided if you'd like to play the game. That fact that I'd give it a 9 and you'd presumably give it a 10 is academic...just as you might not give Mega Man 2 a 10 today, but I obviously did.
Staff
#1
Philip_J_Reed commented on Meme Run Disappears from the Wii U eShop:
Microsoft didn't buy exclusivity for Meme Run. Even if they were insane enough to want it on their consoles, they could just make their own by importing the same graphics into the same endless runner template NinjaPig did. A whopping 44 seconds of work for any professional dev, I'm sure.
#2
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Pokémon Shuffle (3DS eShop):
I really hope they do more Rusty's Real Deal (and Steel Diver) and less of this. I'm not complaining, but when I'm paying piecemeal for the parts of the game that I want, I'm happy to do so. In fact, that's the only reason I took a gamble on Rusty in the first place. (And I'm darned glad that I did. I'm still playing it.) But paying for plays is not my thing. That should have died with the arcade. I'd much rather pay for a game and play it as long as and as frequently as I like.
#3
Philip_J_Reed commented on Nintendo Download: 26th February (North America):
Only one DSiWare game?
Worst week ever.
#4
Philip_J_Reed commented on Majora's Mask 3D Glitch Unlocks Fierce Deity L...:
I don't glitch hunt, but I've already found a few bad ones. (I never seem to find the good ones!) It's majorly improved from the N64 original, which was a buggy mess, but it's still kind of annoying to have to redo all of your progress.
The first glitch was during the second beaver race. As far as I can tell, I swam just over a ring, and it bugged me out of the water, which for some reason counted as a death. (I think it registered me as being crushed somehow.) The area reloaded and I had to start again from the beginning of the first race.
Much more annoying was the Great Bay temple. I was about halfway done (going by number of fairies collected, anyway) and couldn't figure out what to do in a room. I jumped off a ledge figuring I'd explore the water again and...the game froze. When all I did was jump off the ledge. The music kept going, but I had to hard reset the system.
bah
#5
Philip_J_Reed commented on Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Br...:
Loved the first. I'm glad this finally has a release date!
#6
Philip_J_Reed commented on Weirdness: If Cheesy Romance Novels Were Based...:
@squidzilla
Exactly what I thought. Even the outfits made me wonder if someone made a Dayman video game...
#7
Philip_J_Reed commented on Nintendo's Wii U TVii Service is Formally Canc...:
I've literally never figured out how to get this working.
#8
Philip_J_Reed commented on RCMADIAX Scales Back Wii U Plans for 2015:
...don't people usually send out press releases to announce good news?
#9
Philip_J_Reed commented on More Details Emerge on Mutant Mudds Super Chal...:
Or, as I like to call it, Treasurenot.
#10
Philip_J_Reed commented on Renegade Kid Reveals a Snippet of Information ...:
@GeminiSaint
BLAKE STONE FTW
Seriously, I loved that game.
#11
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ...:
The original is still my favorite game of all time.
Very much looking forward to this.
#12
Philip_J_Reed commented on Ninja Pig Pulls The Plug On Wii U eShop Title ...:
Good. This leaves more room on the eShop for my upcoming release, Fire Emblem. It's a Frogger clone that uses the assets from Super Mario Bros.
#13
Philip_J_Reed commented on Antipole Gets the DX Treatment in Flip to 3DS ...:
I loved it. (Though I agree with @Klimbatize that it had a "budget feel.") It seemed like a fun little timewaster at first, but it ended up being one of the few DSiWare releases that I bothered to 100%...and then replay. Looking forward to this.
#14
Philip_J_Reed commented on Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Ar...:
@ninjapigstudios
"nor did I behave in a “jerk” manner which @PhotonStorm accuses me of."
Being as "jerk" describes the manner in which you've behaved on literally any outlet that I've seen you to literally every person I've seen you interact with, I'm going to go ahead and remain skeptical.
#15
Philip_J_Reed commented on Woah Dave! May Become a Real NES Cartridge Rel...:
This game is brilliant fun. Probably the only time I waited for a sale, and ended up wishing I'd spent full price. Insanely difficult and crazily addictive.
(Gotta love that dark, dark game over screen, too...)
#16
Philip_J_Reed commented on Gunman Clive 2 Delayed for a Few Weeks More:
@Quorthon
I don't know. Why would you keep asking the same question I've answered three times in a row?
MYSTERIES FOR THE AGES
#17
Philip_J_Reed commented on Gunman Clive 2 Delayed for a Few Weeks More:
@Quorthon
Man, I think you need to look up the word precisely. Because here is precisely what I said:
"Repeat these words to yourself every night, 99% of developers working right now, until you understand them."
And it means what I've already said it means. It's solid advice, and I think nearly every developer working today would do well to keep it in mind.
#18
Philip_J_Reed commented on Gunman Clive 2 Delayed for a Few Weeks More:
@Quorthon
"You said 99% of developers, almost deliberately, release buggy games."
lol no, I didn't, but nice try. I said Horberg's words should be repeated by 99% of developers until they understand them, as it's solid advice.
Agree or disagree, that's fine. But don't put words into my mouth and then spend long rants trying to debunk them.
#19
Philip_J_Reed commented on Gunman Clive 2 Delayed for a Few Weeks More:
@Quorthon
Sure, it's cynical. It's cynicism borne out of a career of playing and reviewing buggy games.
And bear in mind Horberg's original quote for context. He's referring to known bugs. Nobody's doubting that video games are so complex that bugs slip through simply because they're impossible to catch before release. I don't, however, think it's too much to ask that known bugs are addressed before you start charging people for your product.
Come to think of it, I don't believe that's cynical at all. I think that's just fair.
#20
Philip_J_Reed commented on Gunman Clive 2 Delayed for a Few Weeks More:
"it would feel worse releasing it knowing about the bugs."
Repeat these words to yourself every night, 99% of developers working right now, until you understand them.
#21
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Shantae And The Pirate's Curse (Wii U ...:
@leemeyer26
But then why did you rate it higher than Mega Man Zero!?
...oh, wait.
#22
Philip_J_Reed commented on GAME's Zelda: Majora's Mask Pre-Order Bonus Is...:
Dang. I'll buy / trade for this if anyone pre-orders and doesn't want it.
#23
Philip_J_Reed commented on Mega Man Zero Arrives Along With More Discount...:
@LinktotheFuture
Having them all in one place, not waiting for the next to be released, and (potentially) having them all cheaper.
Otherwise...not really. The bonus features didn't do much for me, but if you're a completionist by nature maybe you'll enjoy unlocking all the art. Then again, there's no shortage of stuff to collect in the actual games, so that may not be much of a selling point.
There's also an easy mode added to these games, but man does it suck the fun out of them.
#24
Philip_J_Reed commented on Mega Man Zero Arrives Along With More Discount...:
Zero is a masterpiece. 2 is even better and refines almost every shortcoming of the first game. 3 and 4 (the latter of which I have a particularly soft spot for) are awesome as well.
Wall to wall it's my favorite Mega Man series, because the quality never dropped and the experience never stagnated. A brilliant set of games.
#25
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: My Life on a Farm 3D (3DS eShop):
^ Comment of the year right there.
#26
Philip_J_Reed commented on Nintendo Download: 11th December (North America):
Not disappointed at all! Four things this week are getting downloaded. Whoa Dave and Steel Empire while on sale, Xeodrifter and Phoenix Wright whenever I clear out the backlog a little.
Seems like a pretty good week to me!
#27
Philip_J_Reed commented on Renegade Kid’s 3DS Metroidvania Title Xeodri...:
Grabbing this for sure. I love Treasurenauts and Moon Chronicles chapter 2!
#28
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U):
How many times, exactly, is Sega going to rush the development of Sonic games? By now how have they not learned their lesson? It's beyond bad planning at this point. It's willful stupidity.
#29
Philip_J_Reed commented on Moon Chronicles Developer Seeking Interest for...:
TBD posted what I was just going to post.
I'm...getting kind of tired of "episodic" releases that never actually get the episodes.
#30
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX (3DS eShop):
@maceng
That's the first time I've heard somebody say "Having said that..." without having said anything.
#31
Philip_J_Reed commented on Feature: The Biggest 3DS Games of 2014 - Fall ...:
It's insane how much great stuff the 3DS is getting before the year is out.
#32
Philip_J_Reed commented on XSEED Will Release Rune Factory 4 as an eShop ...:
XSEED is wonderful.
Grab this. The game is great.
#33
Philip_J_Reed commented on Guide: How to Unlock the Full Roster in Super ...:
Yeah, I think the unlocks (by number of battles) are random. I got Wario first, and I have Dr. Mario without Lucina or Falco. (And I've beaten Classic mode a bunch of times.) My most recent unlock was Ness, so it has to be random.
#34
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS):
the online multiplayer can be very hit-or-miss in terms of connection quality
Great review, but after the unplayable nightmare that was online Brawl, I think this is going to be the breaking point for me. Here's hoping the WiiU version is reliable.
#35
Philip_J_Reed commented on Two Castlevania Classics Confirmed for Wii U V...:
I just finished Circle of the Moon for the first time a few months ago. I loved it.
#36
Philip_J_Reed commented on Engine Software Announces MineFeud For 3DS eShop:
I've not heard of this before...looking forward to it.
#37
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darknes...:
@Stu13
Whoops, my mistake. Ignore me.
#38
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darknes...:
@CanisWolfred You and me both. But it's not a long wait, at least!
I've been dying for this ever since we got Gargoyle's Quest a few years back. It's a series I remember existing, but which I never bothered with as a kid. Now I've beaten that one multiple times and cannot wait to dig into the sequel. (Hopefully sequels...)
#39
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Mega Man 7 (Wii U eShop / Super Nintendo):
Thanks @Knuckles!
I love this game, which is actually what I came here to say. One of my favorites for sure...though the soundtrack overall is a bit weak.
#40
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Mega Man X3 (Wii U eShop / Super Ninte...:
Hopefully this reviewer does better research on future reviews.
This was at least my 30th time playing through X3. Let me know how many times I should play the next one I review.
Mega Man X3 for the SNES is truly a great game and does not deserve such an unfair low review based on the personal preferences of the reviewer.
I agree; reviews should never reflect the personal preferences of the reviewer.
...erm, wait.
#41
Philip_J_Reed commented on New Mighty No. 9 Trailer Builds The Hype as Ke...:
I can't remember the last time I've been more excited for a video game.
#42
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Steel Empire (3DS eShop):
Out of curiosity, does anybody have any strong feelings regarding the price?
#43
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Anonymous Notes Chapter 4 - From the A...:
"To be fair, it is the reviewers job to know everything about what they're reviewing."
wat
#44
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Anonymous Notes Chapter 4 - From the A...:
I make a point of completing every game 44 times before I review it, just in case something changes.
#45
Philip_J_Reed commented on Cave Story 3D to Arrive on 3DS eShop in North ...:
Cave Story 3D is atrocious.
It's not that they had the audacity to toy with the art style. (Though, I must admit, it looks effing awful.) It's the fact that they rebuilt the game with 1) no understanding of how Cave Story flowed and 2) no understanding of how any game flows.
Just wait for the dialogues that span two screens. Were you ever hoping for a version of Cave Story that looked like crap AND made you wait through loading times between every spoken line? Then brother, this is the game for you.
#46
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship E...:
This is one of the best games I've ever played.
#47
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Mysterious Stars: The Singer (DSiWare):
Correction: I HAD TO BUY THE TRILOGY
Stay tuned.
#48
Philip_J_Reed commented on Feature: The Biggest 3DS Games of 2014 - Summe...:
Dang, I keep forgetting EU doesn't have SMTIV yet.
When it comes out, BUY IT. That game is a masterpiece.
#49
Philip_J_Reed commented on Shovel Knight Soundtracks Released on Bandcamp:
I am going home to buy the arranged soundtrack and listen to it until I die.
#50
Philip_J_Reed commented on Review: Shovel Knight (3DS eShop):
I honestly wonder...if this game were actually released back in the NES/SNES days and was simply getting a new review now on the VC console, with all the nostalgia and childhood favoritism that comes with these old classic games, if it would still score less than the likes of Mega Man 2...
Well, we'll never know, and I certainly won't pretend that personal preference doesn't enter into reviews. Considering, y'know, reviews are based on personal preference.
But that's what the text is for, silly goose. If you read the text and think, "This sounds like a 10 to me," then it's probably a pretty solid buy! Others will read all the nice things I have to say and think, "None of that sounds anywhere near a 9 to me." And that's fine, too, of course.
Nobody is obligated to agree with every review score. Again, that would be impossible. We do our best in order to present reviews that let you decided if you'd like to play the game. That fact that I'd give it a 9 and you'd presumably give it a 10 is academic...just as you might not give Mega Man 2 a 10 today, but I obviously did.