rdm22

rdm22

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Re: Jet Set Radio Series Tops Sega AGES Poll As Most Wanted Retro Release

rdm22

I want Sega Ages to become the equivalent of Virtual Console (R.I.P.), but just for Sega. In other words, please give us all of your incredible back catalog, Sega — and don't skimp on Saturn / Dreamcast titles!

That said, if I had to pick one game, it would be Panzer Dragoon Saga. I never owned Saturn, and I don't have 1000 bucks to dish out on getting an authentic, used version of the game (plus I'd need to buy a used Saturn). This game is supposedly one of the lost gems of gaming. It should be played by more of us. Please share it with the world, Sega!

Re: Sonic Mania Plus Becomes The Highest-Rated Sonic Game In 25 Years

rdm22

Well deserved. Plus made an already fantastic Sonic game — fully worthy of and, in some ways, superior to the canonical 5 Mega Drive titles — even better. Love the changes they made to the Stardust Speedway boss (kinda makes me wish Sega Ages would include the obscure Knuckles Chaotix—isn’t that where the new final version of Metal Sonic derives from?), the menu layout is gorgeous, and 2 new characters plus two new playable modes? Unbelievable. Bravo, Sega.

Re: Site News: We Want Your Help To Become Even Better

rdm22

One other thought: I feel like the game collection feature is an underappreciated portion of the website. I don’t recall if you can, but having the ability to review the games within ones collection on a sliding scale a la NL would be great.

Also, there are probably enough retro gamers who visit this site that having a weekly segment for lost gems of the prior gens would be pretty cool. But that’s more of a pipe dream (Mario pun not intended).

Re: Fans Are Calling Out Nintendo And Camelot For "Lazy" Mario Tennis Aces

rdm22

I get the complaints re: cut corners, lack of balance between characters (though as a non-competitor, that's less of an issue for me), and it being so far removed from tennis as to be shocking / disappointing for those of us who loved the still-wacky-but-truer-to-the-sport stellar earlier installments. But perhaps because I read a lot of the hate-mail before I took it for a whirl (I had pre-ordered; I probably wouldn't have bought had I waited to read the reviews), I actually have found myself heartily enjoying Aces, warts and all.

The rallies are intense (even with the AI); the adventure mode is cheeky (and, at least some times, satisfyingly challenging) fun; and the racket-breaking, while ultimately something I'd prefer dropped from a subsequent installment, is not the game-ruiner I expected it to be and does make this game feel like a new direction. It's fast-paced (bordering on chaotic), it's gorgeous, and it's definitely distinct.

So in the end, while this isn't a timeless classic the way earlier iterations were, I still love the hell out of being able to pull out my Switch on a long train ride and blast through a tournament or nab a powerstone.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend?

rdm22

Switch: Lotta Kart with my sister; beat The Bridge; working my way through Cluster Truck; enjoying some puzzles in Chromagun later stages; progressing through Aces; and enjoying some Vs. Super Mario Bros.

Wii: Zelda II, Faxanadu, and Sonic 4: Eposode I.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend?

rdm22

All Switch:

Mario Tennis Aces

Phantom Trigger (beat it last night)

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (specifically SFII: The World Champion)

Batman: The Telltale Series

2020 Super Baseball

Probably will mix in some Kart, Oxenfree (second run through), Chromagun and Vs. Super Mario Bros. (but haven’t yet).

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend?

rdm22

All Switch (first weekend off from work in a while):

Batman: The Telltale Series
Phantom Trigger
Arcade Classics Donkey Kong
Arcade Classics Vs. Super Mario Bros
Cluster Truck
Chromagun
Oxenfree (second play through)
Real Bout Fatal Fury
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

Re: Nintendo Announces Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! For Nintendo Switch

rdm22

@rdm22 I did not realize this was not the “main” Pokémon RPG being released for Switch. Hence my long complaint about this being a disappointment yada yada. Perhaps if I’d bothered to read NL’s articles a little more closely I could have saved my self from he embarrassment of publicly and needlessly criticizing Big N / Game Freak. Mea culpa. I’d delete my post, but think instead I’ll leave it up as a humbling reminder of speaking before knowing what one is talking about.

Re: Nintendo Announces Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! For Nintendo Switch

rdm22

@rdm22 responding to myself: it’s not fair to say this isn’t revolutionary—the connectivity to the phone and accompanying toys certainly are—but what I meant was it doesn’t feel like a radical reinvention of the series. Instead it is building off the cash cow that was Pokémon Go! That may be smart, but I don’t think it will make for great gameplay. Then again, I actively avoided Pokémon Go! So maybe I’m just old and stupid.

I hope I’m wrong. I always root hard for Nintendo.

Re: Nintendo Announces Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! For Nintendo Switch

rdm22

I have not played a Pokémon game since Yellow on my Gameboy Color, but this strikes me as a major let-down. I had been excited for a massive, open-world Pokémon game—maybe with MMORPG elements—using an expanded / new roster of monsters. Now it feels somewhat like rehash and gimmick. I suspect this will play well with Children, which is fine — it’s important for their to be great games for kids, and this may well be a fantastic way to bridge the generational divide (in terms and game iterations) between older (me) and younger fans of the game. But for Pokémon’s first true foray onto “the big screen” on such a revolutionary console, this feels like a big missed opportunity. BotW and Odyssey — games which are instantly recognizable as somehow revolutionary and faithful to the beloved elements of their respective timeless series — this is not. A shame.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend?

rdm22

Loving Oxenfree. Also getting schooled in my first foray into the world of online multiplayer (turns out I’m not as good at MarioKart as I thought) and enjoying some addictive, destructive absurdity courtesy of Cluster Truck.

Re: Reaction: What are Your Thoughts on Nintendo Switch Online?

rdm22

The lack of a robust replacement is an absolute gut-blow. The “classic” series of consoles do not nearly fill the void, and cannot stand in for the mouth-watering prospect of Nintendo’s unmatched archives being playable in the palms of your hands.

The paltry handful of free games announced to-date are not nearly enough. Nor do they delve broadly enough into Nintendo’s back catalogue (unless I missed something, so far only NES titles).

That said, cloud saving is big. Playing these classics online with friends is nifty. And the fact that Nintendo is promising to roll out more titles for the free-to-play service (assuming it’s not a revolving door but an expanding library) makes this potentially a good deal down the road. So I plan to wait and see what else gets added to the list before deciding one way or another.

And one further caveat: Nintendo had not really missed with Switch—it’s just been a staggering success in terms of execution—so my concerns are far more guarded than they would have been had the details of online service been announced at launch, before Switch was a proven hit. In that sense, Nintendo may well have been savvy to delay the release.

Sorry for the long post!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend?

rdm22

Late to the party, but the limited time I had for gaming this weekend was spent looking for @#$&ing soul stones in Opus: Rocket of Whispers (just need 10 more and I have all the items...).

Really affecting game, though. Powerful narrative.