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Mar 3rd, 2008 at 04:42:00 - Paper Mario (N64) |
GAMEPLAY
I played the game for another two hours or so, and I started to notice more things.
First off, there is only one Hit Point(referred to as HP from now on) meter, and thats for Mario. I believe this to be a huge departure from other RPGs. And aside from one HP Meter, which isn't shared, there is a shared Flower Point (FP) Meter. The FPs serve the same idea as Magic Points. So instead of the other team members having an HP meter, if they are hit (which seems rare), the amount of damage they recieve puts them out for that number of turns. And where normally you can switch teammates during your turn, it is also disabled.
I really havent liked having to share flower points with my partners. I wouldn't mind except I am given very little flower points. This was made, as best a guess as I have, so you have to really think whether its wise or not to use a certain special move. Because some of the special moves are really powerful. Especially the ones that attack multiple enemies at once.
One thing I have enjoyed a lot is the different characters in the game. There are, at least up to the point in the game that I have played, five different sidekicks. There's Goombario, which is a good Goomba that's also one of Mario's biggest fans. He's also a know it all, so you can ask him about an enemy and from that point forward an HP meter will appear under that enemy. Second was Kooper, he's a good Koopa Troopa. His specialty is Mario can jump on him and he'll spin on his shell retrieving items that are just out of Mario's reach. Third to join the party was Bombette. She's a good Bomb-omb. Her specialty is being able to explode, and if done next to a wall with a crack, she'll blow a hole in the wall. Third to join the group was Para-Karry. He's a flying Koopa Troopa Mailman. His specialty, aside from delivering mail, is being able to carry Mario across gaps that are a certain distance. The most recent person to have joined my group was Bow, which is a good female boo. Her specialty is being able to make Mario transparent so no one can see him.
These characters have made the game interesting to play because as I progress different puzzles are put in requiring the use of the different characters in a certain order. And because I like using characters that are normally associated as being on Bowser's side.
DESIGN
This game was made in typical Mario fashion. Where really bright colors are used. And the only places that a darker palette is used is where there is supposed to be a scary area, or where there is a mysterious area. Although some people don't like it, all the Mario games have shown that using the bright colors is in fact a winning element in the Mario Series.
One thing I have come to appreciate about this game is that it really keeps the player interested. In fact, I ended up playing this game for six hours according to the game clock. But what the game does to keep the player interested is to immerse the player in the world. They do this by unfolding the story as you go. Initially you don't know what is going on. Or why the Star Rod is so powerful. But as you go you learn that it has the power to grant wishes. There is also alot of short term goals in the game. You have to ____ in order to do ___, or in order to acquire ____. All those short term goals kept me interested as the long term goal of defeating Bowser was looming.
I feel like this game has a really upbeat feel to it. This is achieved through the use of the bright palette and the characters. The bright palette is something people associate with light, and light is usually associated with happiness. It is also achieved by having everything be in the day. I almost get the feeling that this game is taking place in the middle of summer. Only certain things take place in darker environments. And as I said earlier this is usually places that are meant to be scary, or mysterious.
All in all, I really liked this game. But there are a couple of things I would change.
1) Make it so my team members have their own hit points. I don't like the fact that everyone goes for Mario. And this is only because he's the only one with HP. This sucks because once Mario runs out of HP, Game Over. I cant even use a revive or nothing.
2) Only two of my team can fight at a time. This really sucks because I have to face upwards of four bad guys at a time. I usually come out on top, but it sucks because they get four chances to attack me, where I only get one.
But besides that, this was another well made game by Nintendo. Mario games have usually been associated with quality. And this game only adds to that reputation.
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Mar 3rd, 2008 at 03:14:33 - Paper Mario (N64) |
SUMMARY
In Paper Mario, the player controls Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom who must once again save Princess Peach from the claws of Bowser. Although this time Bowser has stolen the "Star Rod", which is whats used to grant wishes, and has locked up its seven wise star protectors. The only way for Mario to even remotly have a chance to beat Bowser is to free the Seven Stars and with their help face him.
GAMEPLAY
The people at Nintendo once again created a fun game with Paper Mario. Its the same basic story line as any other Mario Game, but in my opinion that doesn't make this game any less fun to play. Although I am wondering what kind of incompetent security Peach has, and why she hasn't invested in better security. But things don't necessarily have to make sense in a Gameworld.
The story here follows a very similar story to Super Mario RPG. But deviates enough that the game can be seen as creative and not just a carbon copy of a previously successful game. It is similar in the fact that in game the player needs to locate seven star somethings. In Super Mario RPG, these somethings were Star Pieces, and in Paper Mario the somethings are Star Spirits. Also there's another similarity I noted. In Super Mario RPG, the Star Pieces were part of the Star Road which was needed to grant wishes. In Paper Mario, Bowser has stolen the Star Rod, which is what the Seven Star Spirits use to grant powers. I just thought that it would be nice to note these similarities in the story.
I have really enjoyed the battles in this game. Its basically RPG Style fights. Where instead of fighting there and then, the screen changes, and the fights are turn based. I haven't really played many other RPG's, but I feel like this one has added a few things to make it unique. For one, you can only have one partner to fight with you at a time. In other RPG's I remember it being possible to fight with a party consisting of people that you decide belong in these parties. I could be wrong, but I remember some RPG's being your avatar and three other characters. A second thing is that you have timed hits. This makes it so that if you do a certain number of things, or thing timed right, your attack points momentarily increase, or your defense will increase momentarily. Depending on whether you are attacking or defending.
Thats all I have for now.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 02:10:52 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
GAMEPLAY
I played this game again, and once again was very happy with my experience. The way the story has progressed has been exciting. Initially I knew that an evil man was trying to take over the world, and was told the story about how the world was created and about the triforce. When I went to Princess Zelda, she told me more of the story, she told me that the triforce was stored in the Secret Realm. More of the story was revealed. But my main point is that I like how doing certain things leads to more of the story being revealed. This in a way can be seen as a sort of reward.
While playing this game I felt pretty happy. Maybe its cause all the kids in Hyrule Forest only have smiles on their faces. Or cause all the citizens of Hyrule seem so happy. I don't know what it was about this game but it made me feel pretty happy. It could be cause everything seems so vibrant when Link is a kid. But this of course changes as he gets older. Hyrule looks ugly and destroyed. But beforehand I feel happy.
I like how its pretty difficult to get lost. Every so often a giant owl will come along and tell you where to go next. And if you happen to be running around for a long time without doing nothing your little fairy guardian will remind you of what you are supposed to be doing or where you are supposed to be going.
DESIGN
I really think Nintendo did an excellent job with the camera in this game. It seems that they took Super Mario 64's camera, and improved it dramatically. Where SM64 would frustrate me with its camera Angles it seems that Zelda only makes me happy. It could also be that I don't need the camera in the same ways that I needed it in SM64.
The tone of the Gameworld is initially happiness. Like I stated earlier, everyone and everything is happy. Dogs are running around, people are in the town center talking, there's a couple looking in love. Everyone is just happy. But as you progress and go seven years into the future, everything changes. The world goes from happiness to ugliness. There is no longer people hanging out in the town center, and to make things worse everything is destroyed. The game does a good job of conveying this by using alot of brown. Where everything was once full of life and color, seven years later in the game the town center is in ruins and full of dirt.
As has become standard in my game logs, I shall summarize my likes and dislikes.
First off the stuff I like:
I love the camera. Its always, at least up to this point, where I want it to be. In fact, as I have been playing I have forgotten about the camera. Where in Super Mario 64 where I was constantly shifting the camera, here its like that set it and forget it infomercial.
I also enjoy the "z-targeting". I have now come to believe that GTA:SA in fact took their targeting system from this very game. And if that is not the case, then Rockstar is years behind. But I enjoy being able to target a specific enemy and then killing him, or being able to fight multiple enemies at once without getting hurt too badly. It has also made the boss battles I;ve had so far a hell of a lot easier to finish.
I like how this game took the puzzle elements of the original Zelda games, and brought them to the world of 3D. How you might ask do they bring into the 3D world. Well at least in the very first dungeon, the deku tree, you have to fall from the third floor onto a web covered hole on the first floor to break the web and access the basement floors. There you go, one puzzle in the bag.
Some of my dislikes.
Having to run across the land. It takes so long. Not having Epona really makes this portion slow. So I actually figured a way to traverse the gameworld faster. I use "z-targeting" and face perpendicular to the path I need to take. I then jump sideways which seems to be a hell of a lot faster. I don't think I should have gone through all this trouble.
But aside from that I don't know anything else I haven't liked so far. It could very well be that that's my only obvious dislike.
Because of this, I believe this game was very deserving of its perfect or near-perfect scores when it was reviewed back when it was released.
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Feb 19th, 2008 at 21:24:41 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
SUMMARY
"Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time" is an action-adventure game that has puzzle elements within its dungeons, and RPG elements in which you have to find stronger weapons and can equip or unequip weapons as you choose. The player controls Link, a kid from Hyrule Forest whose mission is to save the world. He must travel throughout Hyrule collecting the necessary items to battle the evil villain.
GAMEPLAY
First and foremost, this game is pretty cool. I remember a friend of mine, who is 28 now, telling me that this game single-handedly brought him back into the world of video games.
Link is a very interesting character. From talking with the different Kokiri, basically children of the forest, Link is different from them. While everyone has a fairy guardian, he has none. And visually, everyone else has a greenish tint to their complexion, while Link doesn't. So he has been from the start different than all of them. But, it seems that Link is different because he is destined to save the world from evil from his birth. So he's been born with that mission. Until his mission in life was revealed did he get a fairy guardian. And to the "Kokiri" boss' disbelief.
While playing this game thus far I have had a sense of exploration. I like trying to see what each map has to offer. So far since I've only been in Kokiri Forest and Hyrule Castle Town, thats all I've explored. But this game is so immense that not exploring would almost be like cheating oneself.
As common with most of the games I've played thus far, one player mode is all thats offered. This means that although people can watch me play, they haven't the same sense of fun, or control as I have. So sadly, this experience has been a personal one. Sadly because this is a fun game for all.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 20th, 2008 at 02:12:48.
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