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Jan 31st, 2007 at 16:36:47 - Kirby's Adventure (NES) |
The biggest gripe that I have with this game is its failure to reward the player's mastery of each level. Beside platform or simple boss challenges, the only reward the player gets comes with collecting different enemy abilities. Swords, parasols, and lasers are fun but the player can ignore them and push forward easily without grabbing them. The Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 all but require the player to gather coins, while later games like Super Mario World or Donkey Kong Country encourage the player to master each world and collect a few rare or hidden coins in order to fully complete the game.
Despite this lack of challenge, Kirby's Adventure is still a hell of a lot of fun. New gamers should feel comfortable learning the genre through Kirby, while experienced players can plow through each level and savor the minor challenges casually. Console games of today are no doubt more challenging than they were on the NES, yet a pickup game of Kirby is just as fun as contemporary games. Challenge is an important factor to consider when sculpting a game world, but its surprising how little of it is necesary to still have fun.
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Jan 31st, 2007 at 16:36:19 - Kirby's Adventure (NES) |
The level design and gameplay of Kirby's Adventure remind me of a mix of Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3. Like Mario 2, the backgrounds and sprites are soft, almost fluffy, and the visual experience as a whole is quite inviting. The levels feel more interactive than Mario 2 though, and emphasize speedy gameplay with few challenges than today's player expects. Like Mario 3, a vertical dimension is required as well as alternate status attacks. Kirby can devour enemies and take on an attack of their characteristic, paralleling Mario's changes with a fire flower, raccoon suit, or mushroom. Platforms and platform challenges also owe a lot to the Mario series with their stacked platforms that require a plan to avoid and properly challenge the multiple enemies.
Overall, Kirby feels like an update to the Mario series. Gameplay is much more inviting and, upon retrospect, you can feel SNES on the horizon. Unfortunately, the level design doesn't really affect gameplay like it does in the Mario series. The range of feeling isn't there that is provided by Super Mario's ice levels or Giant levels. Kirby's challenges stay largely the same; race through a level, perhaps do a few simple moves to clear a blocked path, and complete some sort of swallow-and-shoot type challenge to beat the boss.
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 15:33:01 - Katamari Damacy (PS2) |
Despite the sheer fun that can come from mindlessly playing this game, Katamari is a game whose linear path must be followed in order to beat each level. In order to clear a level and unlock a new world, one must complete discrete objectives. When building a new star the Katamari's diameter is the rubric on which success is determined. Other missions, where the Prince is to re-build whole constellations present more of a challenge, asking the player to complete an array of more challenging objectives. The linearity of Katamari is most apparent in the game's longer missions. Unless the player pays attention to recently-unlocked areas, the Katamari's diameter will suffer. After missing the game's cues and staying in an area she's familiar with, the gamer will find little means to get bigger as all her potential objects have been gathered. Because of this, satisfactorily completing each star relies on memorization of a map, along with understanding the best routes through a level which cued by the placement of objects along a path.
Above all else, the most striking feature of Katamari Damacy is found in its controls. Few games offer controls that provide so much fuel for debate and the deviation of personal taste as does Katamari. After two sessions of play, I can say that no game's controls have pulled me in more than Katamari's. As I play, I find my thumbs moving the ball with enormous ease. To get around an object while at speed, simply moving the right or left stick a few degrees is the solution. I can't help but dream of playing Mario with Katamari's controls, jumping and moving the character even without the push of a button.
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 14:30:56 - Katamari Damacy (PS2) |
As it pulls the player into its unique and ultra-stylized world, Katamari Damacy shatters any expectations that the player may have. Silly music, quirky cutscenes, and a simple-yet-challenging control scheme alienate the gamer yet these aspects, both confusing and alienating at first, are the exact aspects that won't let you put this game down. When I first started playing, the use of both analog sticks was hard to adapt to, but I didn't want to put the controller down by the end of my 45 minute session. While it couldn't be more confusing upon first play, the alienating quirkiness of Katamari is exactly what bonds the player to this fresh and fun game.
Play comes number one in Katamari; the rules are only there to string the gameplay together. Its not hard to find a game whose deep and nuanced ruleset matures throughout a game; in Katamari, few rules change as you go through the game. Roll up a few thumbtacks and you can roll up an eraser; be careful though, that frog will knock a few bits off of your ball; pick up a few more orange pieces and you'll be able to get that frog. As you get bigger you can roll up more matter, and with more matter you'll find a new part of the map unveiled; don't stay in one spot too long, keep moving or else you won't complete goal in time. Building the stars under the gun of the clock, levels that use this scheme of rules, is the most fun and rewarding part of Katamari.
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davehansen has been with GameLog for 17 years, 11 months, and 3 days |
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