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Jan 31st, 2007 at 21:15:03 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Returning to SMB3, I realized that I forgot how cool the music is. Not only is it instantly recognizable to millions of people across the world, but it is also surprisingly complex. More importantly though, it always seems to fit the situation. The underwater theme sticks out especially to me because, for whatever reason, that music is just THE music that you use if you're underwater. Something about the way it's composed makes it seem like that is the only music you would ever need for being underwater.
The rest of the sound library is also nothing to sneeze at. Making a "boing" noise when you jump makes perfect sense (oddly enough), and the "boo-boop!" sound you get stomping on an enemy makes it seem strangely satisfying. All in all, the way the game sounds really makes a subsantial portion of the game to me.
How Mario handles is another major asset the game displays; variable jump heights, responsive control, and the effectiveness of the various power-ups throughout the game make SMB3 a title that, in my opinion, we ought to judge all current games against. Developers today seem to get completely engrossed in just one part of the dev cycle, the graphics, the story, etc., and wind up forgetting about tightening up the controls or unifying all the elements togethre to make a really cohesive package.
That's what I think Super Mario Bros 3 does best, and why it IS the best. I can't imagine it ever being dethroned in the gaming world from one of the greatest games of all time.
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Jan 31st, 2007 at 21:09:50 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Instead of going for a classic game that I hadn't played before, I decided instead to go for something I know and love: Super Mario Bros. 3. Because just about everyone in the universe has played this game to death, I'm going to instead focus on why I think this game was so incredible.
For starters, it has a really intuitive level design that really eases you into the gameplay. Coins and a mushroom are present right off the bat, and various types of enemies are also (re)introduced quickly and intuitively. Unlike most contemporary games, it is far from intimidating for new players to pick up.
Nintendo also did an excellent job of continuing the Mario franchise in this game. Mario 2 is, at least for me, sort of a sore spot in the history of Nintendo gaming because of how it isn't a Mario game, but instead is Doki Doki panic. I hate that. Mario 3 not only brings the game back to its roots, abandoning the borderline absurd gameplay of the previous entry, but shows that the NES was really no weakling as far as graphical processing was concerned.
Which brings me to the third point: the graphics. They're bright, colorful, and very fitting to the Mushroom Kingdom. I would put them at only about a half step down from Super NES graphics, which to me is saying something because that machine displayed some pretty beautiful sprites in its time.
That's all I've got for now, more in awhile.
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Jan 22nd, 2007 at 18:30:40 - Final Fantasy (PSP) |
Ok apparently I need another second entry (?) so I'm going to write this one evaluating the storyline and juxtaposing this and other games in the series.
The story, as I'm pretty sure I mentioned in my first gamelog, is that you're the warriors of light, and at the outset of the game you find out that you have orbs that can help save the world. There isn't much of a story except what happens as you reinstill light into the orbs. At the end you fight the ultimate evil and defeat it with the power of the orbs, and that's the end. I think it's pretty obvious how much improved the story of later games was. Stories weren't really a big part of the Final Fantasy series until around the third game, but the light warrior motif wasn't really dropped until the fourth game, where storytelling became the main motivator for the games.
As for gameplay, the only "major" alteration in gameplay happens when characters basically get a name change (Fighter becomes Knight, Thief to Ninja, etc.) and some slight ability boosts that only just match the obnoxious difficulty of encounter after encounter.
I think that about covers it, not a great game but at least it paved the way for an excellent series.
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Jan 17th, 2007 at 05:00:31 - Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Wii) |
I did that thing I do again where I get stuck, then beat a level and get all excited and forget to post. I beat that one crappy pirate level I was stuck on, and luckily the rest of the levels weren't quite so cheap. My overall experience with the game is resoundingly pleasant, and it's probably a game I'll continue to play to relax or just jam out to the music.
The levels were really creative, but I think where the game actually dominates is in the minigames. There are about a zillion of them, some with more repsonsive controls than others, but I can honestly say that I've not NOT had fun with any of them yet. Of course, when playing with friends even disc golf can get ruthlessly competitive and fun, but I think that's the point of the whole game. I probably enjoy this title more than any I've played in years. For sheer, uncomplicated fun, it's hard to beat. Although I am picking up WarioWare soon. . .
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schaver has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 14 days |
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