@HunterLeon I'm not a big JRPG guy, or at least, not yet. I recently played Dragon Quest 11 and absolutely LOOOOVED It! I've since tried a couple others like Ni No Kuni and Xenoblade Definitive Edition, but I've fallen off both of them after about 10-15 hours, each. I need to pick them back up, though.
See my response to Krull if you want my thoughts on Odyssey, lol. I haven't played much Rachet and Clank other than a little bit of the remaster on my brother's PS4. I didn't love what I played, but I also don't think I played enough to fairly judge it. Jak and Daxter is great, and if Sony would put it on Switch where it belongs, the way Microsoft did Cuphead, I could finally die happy.
@Not_Soos Hmm, I can’t rebut any of those points on Odyssey, because that’s how you feel. But...
I loved controlling Mario in that game - the move set is fantastic, particularly with the tossing of the cap, and then diving and bouncing off the top. It’s so joyful. I agree that some moons are a joke, and there are so many that they lose their value ... BUT I found the joy was less in trying to find moons, but in trying to find EVERY moon. For every two or three easy ones, you’d come across one that required some serious head-scratching or a genuine test of your abilities. I loved that.
In fact, I think that’s indicative of the pacing of the whole game. You were disappointed by how short some kingdoms were. Personally, I found myself feeling slightly burnt out by the longer kingdoms and it felt really refreshing to have those huge sandboxes broken up with shorter ones. Also, I’m glad Lake Kingdom was one of the shorter ones because swimming sections are always my least favourite!
Finally, I also really enjoyed how challenging some bits of Odyssey are. Anybody can get to Bowser, but the dark and darker side of the moon do actually require some platforming chops. I found that I liked Odyssey well enough up to the point of beating Bowser, but it was the postgame when I really fell in love with it.
As for Oddworld, I was actually thinking of Stranger’s Wrath, not Abe’s Odyssey (my mistake!), but the point is the same. It’s a 3D platformer, but not a very good one, blended with an FPS, and that’s not a particularly good one either. Yet it still somehow all works. Worth a look, at least.
@Krull It's funny, I had almost the opposite experience where I loved the game until beating Bowser, and activating those moon cubes (I can't remember if they had a name) was where my enjoyment went down a notch. That's when every level really started to feel samey to me, as they were all given very similar challenges (Koopa racing, etc.).
While the Darker Side of the Moon certainly offered up a challenge, even that didn't quite feel on par to me with the difficulty of Galaxy 2's Grandmaster Galaxy or the final level in 3D World. (Although those levels were more frustrating of a difficulty spike than they were fun, so maybe Odyssey's final challenge is actually better.)
Generally speaking, I'm also not a huge fan of water levels. The Lake Kingdom really resonated with me, though, because of the aesthetic, and I wanted to spend more time in that world. Looking up into the starry sky evoked strong Galaxy vibes, which I don't even think the Moon world itself was able to capture as well. Something I absolutely haaaaaaate about that level, though, is when the time of day changes after you defeat the Broodal. It gets way uglier, and there's no way to make it dark again. I wish they pulled a page out of Zelda and allowed you to manually change the time of day once you've completed the story objectives in a world.
Another thing I should give Odyssey credit for, though, is really ushering in a new era of Nintendo--and Mario as a whole. This was the first time since the Wii that Nintendo really experimented with Mario in innovative new ways that didn't feel like the same, basic thing. I actually really enjoy the New Super Mario Bros. games for their core gameplay, despite how bland and basic their environments were overall. But I was upset to see that leak over into games like 3D World and even the spinoff games, with the RPG titles completely abandoning original characters.
It was such a simple thing, but even just seeing those weird fork people in the debut trailer and wondering what they were was such a refreshing feeling. It gave me confidence that the next Paper Mario game would once again have unique NPC's, though that unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case. Still, though, Odyssey took a lot of risks and--like many Switch games to follow--was a true return to form, even if it didn't quite deliver on all fronts for me. I haven't even touched on how awesome it was they made Pauline relevant again and even put her in a mainline game!
Odyssey has a world of realistic humans, songs with vocals, street names that reference a completely different franchise, and so many other little oddities that seem so unlike Nintendo to do. Sometimes the game felt a bit too random to me with its weird mishmash of ideas, like an episode if Adventure Time or something, but coming from a company with as conservative of a game design mindset as Nintendo, I can't complain too much about a lack of consistency because it was just so bold and refreshing to see.
I know this isn't the thread for that, and I risk being called "toxic" (which is quickly becoming one of my least-favorite words), but I desperately hope the Paper Mario series will get that same breath of fresh air one of these days.
@Not_Soos I agree! Crash bandicoot is just in general such a good platforms. Everything about it is so glamorous. It’s cool you like it too! I just wish the new one coming out soon was coming to switch 😞
@Apportal Knowing Activision, we will probably have to wait a full year for them to port Crash 4 to the Switch, which sucks. That's how it was for the Crash and Spyro trilogies. I don't see any reason why it couldn't run on Switch hardware, so I think it will come eventually.
I'm thinkin about playing Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon again for the first time in like 15 years. That is a truly grade-A 3D platformer from the genre's golden age. I can't believe that game managed an international release. It is insanely Japanese
KlonopinVanNess
3DS Friend Code: 2423-3835-6168 | Nintendo Network ID: alexntb
@Not_Soos, granted, I'm not the most well versed in 3D Platformers, but I thought New Super Lucky's Tale was a pretty fun time. I'll agree it wasn't that challenging mostly, but I did find the post game levels to be pretty stiff.
@alexntb I only know of it from Smash Ultimate when it was given representation as a Mii costume. Had no idea it was a 3D platformer! I'll have to look into it.
@RR529 I appreciate the very thorough breakdown! I'm glad you contrasted it to Kirby Star Allies by saying Super Lucky's Tale felt much more complete. Having heard the game is pretty short and easy, I was worried it would be another Star Allies scenario, as that is probably my most hated Switch game. And this is coming from a guy who loves Kirby. Just knowing Lucky has more effort--and for cheaper--makes me feel much better about it. I'll definitely pick it up at some point, though I may still wait for a sale.
3D-platformers is on of my favorite genres since I got Super Mario 64 on my N64 back in the day.
On the Switch I played:
Mario Odyssey
Yooka-Laylee
New Super Lucky's Tale
Candleman
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
And I just bought the Crash N Sane Trilogy.
If Toad's Treasure Tracker counts, then Luigi's Mansion should also count (I played both).
I got Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy for my birthday a few weeks ago. I started the first game with the intention that if I got frustrated by it I would move onto Crash Bandicoot 2, and while I did start the second game at one point, I ended up going back to the first game and finishing it. It did have quite a few frustrating moments but on the whole I enjoyed it - it felt like Donkey Kong Country translated into 3D. Visually it looks great too, I would never have guessed it was a remaster of a PS1 game just by looking at it. I don't think I'll be going for 100% any time soon though haha. Onto the second game!
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Topic: The All-Encompassing 3D Platformer Thread!
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