Comments 3,538

Re: Mailbox: The Mario RPG-naissance, Xenosaga Sadness, Golden Days - Nintendo Life Letters

Dr_Corndog

@Bigmanfan The complaints you mentioned relate more the game itself than the ones I usually hear, which are basically just ways in which it differs from TYD.

I don't think the lack of unique characters is a problem. I see it as a joke on the fact that the Mushroom Kingdom is inhabited by legions of identical Toads all named...Toad. The Toads also have their own personalities despite looking the same (although this is a lot more apparent starting in Color Splash).

I also don't think the linearity as being an issue. It's not any more linear than a lot of other RPGs (and I do consider Sticker Star an RPG). More importantly, "linear" has become a dirty word in gaming (much like "downloadable content" and "free-to-play") to the point that a lot of people will rail against a game for being "linear" without considering whether that's even a bad thing. A lot of great games are very linear; a lot of nonlinear games could have benefited from being made more linear.

As for the unbalanced combat system, do you mean the boss battles that were a slog if you didn't have the right card in your inventory, but became trivial if you did? Because that is my one main complaint with the game (if you couldn't already tell). Still, the boss battles are a small part of the game, and I found the regular battles with common grunts very fun. I really enjoyed figuring out how to finish each battle optimally using the stickers I had.

I disagree that the game would have been received poorly under other circumstances, mainly because it wasn't received poorly at all. It has a 75 on Metacritic, and it apparently sold well enough to receive two sequels. The complaints are largely from a vocal subset who went into the game expecting something different and ended up unsatisfied with what they got. I do think it would have had better reception had it been untethered from expectations, but there are still plenty of people who enjoyed it regardless.

Re: Random: Is This The Harshest Mario Kart 8 Has Ever Been?

Dr_Corndog

Once I was playing MK Wii, having a rough time, and I got annoyed with one opponent in particular. I pledged to make things miserable for this player. On the next race, Sherbet Land, I immediately rolled triple red shells and a mushroom, and hit the brakes.

Miraculously, the entire pack swept by me without disturbing my rotating shells. More miraculously, the last person to pass was my sworn enemy. I had him in my sights.

I let fly the first red shell. Direct hit. I waited until my opponent had recovered from the attack, then let fly the next shell. Direct hit. By this time all the other racers were well out of sight. I fired the third shell. Direct hit. Then I accelerated, used my mushroom for a speed boost, and slammed into my unfortunate prey as I went.

After so many frustrating losses that day, it was very cathartic.

Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Mega Man Zero 3

Dr_Corndog

I like the style of the European art, but as you look at it you start to notice the problems. Zero's left eye is way bigger than the right, for instance.

Tough choice between NA and Japan in the end, but I went with NA.

Re: Review: Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

Dr_Corndog

Finally tried out this game and I've been having a great time the last several days. The negative opinions surrounding it say a lot more about the people holding those opinions and their expectations than they do about the game itself.

Re: Poll: Are You Ready To Move On From The Switch?

Dr_Corndog

I don't really have much of a backlog unless you count NSO games. But I'll be ready for the Switch U 360 whenever it comes. I mean, MP4 is probably going to be a cross-platform launch release, and that'll be plenty of incentive to get the new hardware.

Re: Soapbox: Metroid’s Mother Brain And The Rewind Dilemma

Dr_Corndog

Old-school boss fights can be annoying not because of the difficulty, but of the tedium. They often force you to replay a large chunk (or the whole game) just to get another attempt. NES Mother Brain is a great example.

Zero Mission's MB is far more manageable. Stock up on upgrades and it's fine.

EDIT: Changed "but" to "not."