Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=238https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1400So after my second round of playing Kirby's Adventure, I still have most of the same conclusions as last time. There are still no other main characters and the level design seems to be pretty constant. Though, in this second area, I notice the dungeons have more doors spread around them. The boss fights for the dungeons are still pretty simple though I suppose Kirby can't really do much else besides copy techniques and spit things at enemies. I didn't get all the way through the second level so I don't know what the boss is yet but I'm probably fairly close. I bet had I played this game years and years ago when I was younger, I probably would have found it more difficult but I think being older and being able to figure out the puzzles easily kind of takes away from the fun I could be having.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:45:52 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1400&iddiary=2966https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1400So I decided to play Kirby's Adventure for this GameLog. It's a pretty sweet game so far. The beginning was kinda easy even though I kept forgetting to use the A button for jumping and instead kept using the directional pad. I was a little surprised at first because the game just threw me in a level without telling me any story or what I was supposed to be doing. As I got nearer to the first boss, I kept dying a whole bunch. I'm not sure if it was from my lack of Kirby skills or the late hour but whatever. When I got to the boss (that big tree) I totally didn't know it was the boss because the room above it had a little star. I have to go back and unlock that eventually because it looks shiny. I love Kirby's facial expressions when he gets hit by something or when another event happens. As far as I know, there aren't many other games that have that feature. So far there aren't really any other notable characters. The game reminded me of Mario Party a little because of the way the levels were designed. Or at least the homeworld type levels because there were little doors and you had to complete those levels before moving onto the next area. The enemies were pretty repetitive after the first dungeon/area. I noticed a few new ones would get added in every so often but for the most part they were all little birds and those beam whip guys.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:41:06 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1400&iddiary=2962https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1225Continuing on with my game after beating Black Waltz No. 1 and his little seal friend my party got to rest in a nearby village. While in this village you learn a lot more about the plot and there are a few new things left unexplained like the black mage puppets and the reason why the queen is making them. The boss fight for this level is Black Waltz No. 2 and it took me a couple times to defeat him. Mainly because Vivi and the rest didn't have the skills they apparently should have had (I consulted a guide after getting owned a few times) at that point. The fact that he wouldn't harm Garnet at all was very beneficial since he got angry every time Vivi cast Fire on him... A rest at the inn and a short cut scene later you're ready to fight the last Black Waltz. I forget if this one was easy or not because it was really late. I may have died once but this guy was pretty easy even though I still didn't have the right skills. His lightning attacks in the cut scene were pretty badass though... I thought it was kind of funny that the designers threw in a high speed flying craft chase with you and Black Waltz No. 3. You know who I already don't like? Those two little jester looking guys working for the queen. They're obnoxious.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:07:14 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1225&iddiary=2645https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1225So I finally was able to pick up a copy of Final Fantasy IX a while back. My first experience with this game was years and years ago when I rented it a few weeks in a row. I didn't get very far but I had always wanted to beat it. The game begins and within the first five minutes there is a battle. It was pretty easy but it was supposed to be since it was a little intro to the battle system. You play mainly as a monkey boy, Zidane, who is traveling with a theatre troupe who is going to abduct the beautiful princess Garnet. After the intro scenes and battle, the point of view switches to a small black mage named Vivi. You have to wander around town and talk to a bunch of people and get to the theatre where the play is showing. I thought it was pretty cool that the point of view switched so soon after the beginning of the game. I had completely forgotten about the shifts but I think they're cool because you get to learn about the town and some more about the plot. The point of view shifts back to Zidane and you get to run around and do a mock battle with one of your shipmates. It is a fun little game but it is hard to get all the nobles to like you. I was sad that I could never get above 50-something. The point of view shifts once more when the Queen finds out her daughter has been "abducted" and you play as a knight in the queen's guard. Basically, after a few scenes of searching and fighting and cut scenes and flying and crashing, you get to run around the first level, a cursed forest. Just like the beginning of the game a (kind of) large battle with some plant thing starts off this level and sets the stage for the remainder. I remember when I first played this game years ago thinking the boss was hard. Maybe I was just a noob last time or I got smarter or something but I don't know how I could think the first boss was hard. Oh well. In the next level, an ice cave, you are introduced to what/who will be your opponent in the next three boss fights: one of three Black Waltz's. The first guy summons this funky seal-bird thing that was pretty hard to beat years ago. The one thing I don't like about boss fights in this game is that they don't give you any experience points. Or at least they don't yet...Fri, 09 Feb 2007 07:09:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1225&iddiary=2608https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1030The next time I picked up Soul Caliber Three I played the versus mode. That was a lot of fun because, though it was many battles in a row, there was interaction between my partner and I. Various comments made by both of us made the game more interesting and pushed the repetitive aspects of the game to the background. Most of the time we played the versus mode where the weapon effects are turned off and that was alright but it sort of defeated the purpose of having different weapons. We tried effects on once and we got stuck in the crazy cage with the walls that do more damage than the weapons. My partner didn't see the point in effects on so we went back to effects off. After a few hours of playing and me losing to him pretty badly, we went started trying to learn our character's attacks rather than just mashing buttons. The attacks ranged from pretty easy to freakishly hard. The hardest we found was one of Ivy's throws that looked pretty awesome but was almost impossible to do.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:28:18 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1030&iddiary=2295https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1030So a couple of days ago I started playing Soul Calibur 3. I've played Soul Caliber 2 for GameCube before and I found them to be pretty similar but I don't like the Playstation controls much. Perhaps it is just because I'm used to GameCube but it took a while longer to get the hang of which buttons do which. I started off playing single player which I had heard was so-so. I played the story mode with Olcadan and that wasn't so bad. I died a couple times which was kinda lame because I wasn't able to get to the final boss but oh well. I think I like SC3's story mode better than SC2's because there's more story and background about whatever character you chose. I didn't play all of the single player options in either games but SC2 seems more straight forward and actiony and SC3 seems to do the story but I think there is also an actiony option for another game. One thing about Soul Calibur 3 is that it's a good button mash kinda game. Usually I button mash for a little while until I figure some attacks out. It doesn't take long to learn the controls and most of the time random series of buttons make for some good attacks. Something else I noticed was that the first player mode, regardless of the amount of options present, got really boring pretty fast. I don't think I'd be able to play story mode over and over again with different characters in a row.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 05:57:29 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1030&iddiary=2202https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=798Wandering around Hyrule is one of the best parts of the game. You have this huge, wonderfully done map and most of the areas are explorable. You get to run around and there are those funky spinning creatures that harass you. Unlike previous Nintendo games, there is no fog in the distance so you can actually see what's ahead of you. There are a bunch of hidden areas to explore and items to gather. A few of these holes in the ground have little blobs or egg sacks in one corner. Those were always kinda mysterious looking but I wasn't able to destroy them. I'm thinking they were there just to taunt people or it was part of a minigame that the developers never finished. When Adult Link goes to fetch Epona he's forced to race Ingo a few times. I remember the first time I played this game it took me forever to beat him. I'd always try to pass him on the wrong side or I'd use all my carrots or something else silly. The big gate that you have to jump over at the end is not very well placed for jumping which made me sad and the little cut scene when Link and Epona fly over that huge wall? Pretty unrealistic. Running over chickens is fun...Fri, 19 Jan 2007 16:59:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=798&iddiary=1839https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=798The first time I ever saw Ocarina of Time was at a friend's house about eight years ago and I remember thinking it looked like a pretty awesome game. I've now played it a few times and while some of the story line parts get boring because they're slow, it is still a great game, though fairly easy. As a kid, the first three dungeons you come across are The Deku Tree, Dodongo's Cavern, and Jabu-Jabu. The Deku Tree is your basic "learn how things are supposed to work" beginning dungeon. You encounter your first boss fight against Queen Gohma and you get a little Spiritual Stone. Sneaking into Zelda's Castle was kinda fun even though it was way too easy to get past the guards but once you meet Zelda, she gives you a shiny ocarina and tells you about the Spiritual Stones. Now, off to Dodongo's Cavern. Dodongo's Cavern was a pretty fun dungeon. I loved the multiple levels and little puzzles you had to figure out in order to move on. Fighting Dodongo is super fun. You run around trying to avoid this huge rolling lizard thing and then throw bombs in its mouth and make it explode. In Zora's Domain, you find out that Princess Ruto (who's really annoying) is missing so you have to go save her. At the top of the waterfall is the diving minigame where you get the silver scale. This was always one of my favorite minigames even though it was easy. I always liked how the diving was done and I haven't played any other game with a minigame like that. So, you go in Jabu-Jabu's belly and have to find Ruto. I think both water dungeons are the hardest ones in the game. The little jellyfish were really annoying but once you find Ruto you can just throw her at all the enemies which is pretty cool. The miniboss battle against that big octopus guy is fun but a little difficult. I always run into the spikes. Once you get going and get the hang of it though, it's pretty easy. After you fight the boss in this level, you get the last Spiritual Stone and Ruto makes you become her fiance.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 14:28:37 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=798&iddiary=1789https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=594Continuing on with the Summer Forest level, you gather more orbs from some other worlds and a Speedway/flying level and then you can go fight the boss, Crush. One thing I did think was an improvement from the first game were the extra minigames in the flying levels. The first game had some pretty difficult flying levels from what I remember and Ripto's Rage does a good job of continuing the difficulty level while adding an extra minigame with Hunter which is usually fairly challenging. Ocean Speedway is the first flying level and it's not very difficult if you've done it once or twice before and know the best way to go about it and after you get all the hoops, arches, cars, and boats, you can go find some fish lady and she'll tell you to race Hunter for an orb. In the race, you follow Hunter through rings that gradually shrink after he goes through. Not very hard since you're slightly faster than Hunter most of the time but some of the quick, sharp turns he does makes it slightly difficult. Even though I've played this game multiple times, the sharp turns still give me trouble. Not as much as when I first played the game but enough to make me a little frustrated. From what I can remember, the flying levels in the first game were a little more difficult but I haven't played that game in a while so I'm not sure anymore. I do remember thinking that once you finished all the flying levels you somehow gained the ability to fly. Afterall, the first time you're introduced to the flying levels in the first game, you are told that they teach you how to fly. You don't get flight power. ): The boss fight against Crush isn't all that difficult if you know what you're doing. The first time I played Ripto's Rage, I think I died a few times before I got it because I was a noob but this last time took me about four minutes. Basically, you avoid the energy or fireballs Crush launches at you and try and flame him while he's not surrounded by an energy force field. After you flame him, he gets angry and smashes a huge club on the ground squishing himself with boulders. Get him to do that seven times and you get to go onto the next world, Autumn Twilight. I haven't really gotten far in Autumn Twilight this time so I'll save that for another entry. One thing I really miss from the first game are the little guys who stole dragon eggs. Chasing them was usually a fun (and sometimes very frustrating) challenge. Ripto's Rage may have a couple of those guys but I was pretty disappointed to find that they didn't play such a big role in this game.Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:58:11 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=594&iddiary=1395https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=594The second installment in the Spyro the Dragon series makes some small improvements (like new abilities, puzzles, etc.) from the first game but, overall, the game does not measure up to the gameplay of the first game. While it's true that the first one was pretty easy (except for that Tree level), Ripto's Rage is even easier (I can usually beat it in under eight hours). There are about two minigames that are actually challenging (helping the little guys in Skelos Badlands not get eaten by dinosaurs and making sure the chef does not make soup out of baby turtles in Sunny Beach) but most of the levels leave something to be desired. When a new game is started, you see Spyro and Sparx (his little dragonfly/health meter/gem collector friend) in the Dragon World about to go on a vacation to Dragon Shores. When Spyro and Sparx go into the portal, they are transported not to Dragon Shores but to another world called Avalar. Spyro meets the Professor, a silly old man who gives you kind of useful information, Elora, a fawn who helps and guides Spryo when he's lost, Hunter, a Cheetah who tries to prove he's more athletic than Spryo, Zoe, the fairy who saves your game, and Moneybags, the bear who's always trying to con you out of your money. They basically tell Spryo that Ripto came through a portal and is now terrorizing their world and hates dragons which is why Spryo's there. Then Ripto comes with his two goons, Crush and Gulp, and proves to be kind of an idiot and the game begins. You find yourself in the world of Glimmer and you have to help these litle rat things so you can get a Talisman and move onto the next level. For being the intro level, Glimmer isn't such a bad place. You learn how to use "power ups" and the importance of orbs and Talismans. It's not a very memorable level though. When you go back to the first main world in Avalar, Summer Forest, you can learn how to swim if you have enough gems to pay Moneybags off. Some of the levels I enjoyed the most in this first world were Colossus and Idol Springs. One of the minigames in a hidden area in Idol Springs involves using the Super Charge power up to knock all these hula girls off idols so they can do a dance and free one of their friends. While it sounds easy, it is a little hard to control the charging. The other minigame that I enjoyed was a series of three that you get to do after learning how to swim. The first part is a little puzzle where you have to illuminate all the squares. Not very difficult even if you don't know what you're doing. The second one is my favorite. You're outside in the beginning area and you have to feed the huge idol head in the lake fish but you can only feed him certain colors. Also easy but it's fun to mess around and feed the idol the wrong color fish. The third minigame is another puzzle where you have to push down some colored blocks in the right order. This one is alright and takes a minute-ish to figure out the pattern. One small element in the game that I noticed was when Spyro is underwater chasing fish, the fish don't just sit there and pretend you aren't there, they swim faster and try and avoid Spyro. I think it's pretty cool and provides more of a challenge when trying to chase the fish. In Colossus, you have to help some funny looking bear-like creatures defeat a Yeti who has decided to take up residence in a random temple. The level itself is pretty straight forward and you learn about the Spring power up. This level had a couple of fun minigames namely hockey and expelling demons from statues. In hockey you play one on one with some huge guy and a goalie and you have to score five goals in under five minutes. Next time you play hockey, you get a goalie too and it's more like a game. Expelling demons is a task given to you by the Professor and involves running around and flaming posessed statues. I think Colossus is one of the first levels you can complete 100% without needing to come back later with climbing abilities or something.Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:43:28 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=594&iddiary=1394