
This was a good choice.
I adore the time-travel element, being a massive Doctor Who nut, and its criss-crossing. The narrative, the characters and their interactions are kind of predictable, not detrimentally so, but the game's draw is within its mechanics anyways, where I found it surprisingly breathy and living, little surprising when taking into account it's a turn-based beasty.

The score is jammed firmly within my cranium, with gems like Gato's Song and Frog's Theme now on constant rotation in the House of Misc., to such an extent, my RPG-loathing, better-half can now heard humming the tunes about the place. The visuals too, they possess this hypnotic, pulply, anime-vibe that is extremely digestable, which is to be expected, considering they were charged by Dragonball's Akira Toriyama.
Fortunately, I came to realize my affection for the game quite swiftly, thus didn't rush it like a mad-thing, similiar to other titles I've burned through this year, and so far, have managed to savour it somewhat (25 hours over the space of about 3-4 weeks). It's been a thrill having it to come home to every night, waiting like a weighty, immersive tome. Sadly, I'm almost at the end and can't procrastinate any longer, time to party like it's 1999.

Yes, I made a Prince meet Trigger reference. Bow, mere mortals.
Point Blank (DS):

I took a fit of nostalgia and hankered for a bit of old-school arcade-shooty, high-score mini-game brillance (technical term, I believe). I resolved to escaping to the nearest arcade possessing it, only to find the cab in a wreck, with a borked sensor and boatloads of lag when a hit did register. Shameful stuff, people. I couldn't get the home version, as my television is of the LCD variety, thus rendering the PSone ports null and void. Seemingly, a nostalgia craving would go unsatisfied.

Then, one morning, whilst reading the Wikipedia article on the series, I found that there'd been a DS remake/mash-up of the original trilogy. Dr.Dan and Dr.Don live! (well, if you want/you're skilled enough). What followed was surprisingly faithful to its pink & blue gunned older sibling, to such an extent there's now three very noticeable scratches on the face of my DS' touchscreen. Namco expertly transfering the skills of click, click, click, to tap, tap, tap, with thimble full of skill at the higher levels of play.
It gets addictive, fast. It's stocked with sizeable add-ons too, like brain-training, a parody of the Dr.Kawashima fad, digitial renditions of old fair attractions such as Crabs, Gators and Namco's Clay-Hunting, coupled with the original arcade-mode and individual score-attacks modes for each level. I've not put it down for some time.
One complaint I'd levy against it though, is that in the Arcade Mode, beyond a certain point, getting a high-score is based on sheer chance, as the mid-game mini-game of shooting a floating chest for a random, concealed bonus can be the difference between a high-score and an unranked one, regardless of the outcome of the main Arcade score.
King of Fighter XI (PS2):

There's a whole lot of character changes and mechanical tweaks too, majority of which will be lost on anyone coming into the series for the first time. Really, I use Kyo, Iori and Terry, sometimes Ryo. All I've needed, ever.

Of course, the big, bad boss of the Arcade Mode, Magaki, is so broken, even SNK has gone on to note that he's overpowered. Needless to add, if an SNK boss is exceptionally difficult relative to SNK standards, you're sure to be firmly in 'Kill yourself, it's less hassle' territory. Observe below, in all its blood-curdling, teeth-gnashing, thigh-stabbing glory:
one of the more successful attempts you'll see
I have sadly never played any of these three games, Jyr. My brother and I actually owned Chrono Trigger as youngsters, and I believe *he* completed the game, but I don't remember ever playing it -- and for some dumb reason I've yet to do so even today. It sounds like I've completely missed out by doing so, though, so maybe I'll finally pick it up and play it soon. Other than that, I never knew the Point Blank games were supposed to be such fun. Gotta check out the DS iteration too sometime soon, I guess...
ReplyDeleteIt's always heart warming to see someone else discover a SNES great.
ReplyDeleteI also missed out on the explosion of SNES RPGs back in the day, it pained me to read about them in Super Play when I knew there was no chance they'd ever see the light over here (save the odd few).
I eventually got round this by buying a Super Wild Card (before I had internet access), it was horrendously expensive but it came with the likes of Chrono Trigger, FF VI, Breath of Fire and Ogre Battle so it was worth it I guess.
I've spent so many hours since then playing through boat loads of RPGs, some of which are obscure and have been fan translated...and I'd heartily recommend it.
If only a few more had been released back then, I mightn't feel the compulsion to play as many as possible now!
@Pablo, I remember when I first started getting heavily into the SNES, and seeing this list of top 10 SNES titles, I scanned expecting to have played the majority of them, only to find my play history containing only the likes of Super Mario and Donkey Kong Country. Such a deep library, I'd go as far as to compare it to the PS2, which sold how many more than the SNES could ever dream of? It's crazy that this little, dinky machine hosted so much gaming goodness.
ReplyDelete@Mr. Ochalla: Point Blank DS gets so crack-like so quickly, I remember the day I got it I missed my bus stop, and then missed the next bus back. I can still easily sink hours into without so much as a second's thought toward the time.
Did you own the PSone or the SNES version of Chrono Trigger? I know the DS version takes the anime cutscenes of the former along with the smooth of play of the latter.
Hello again! My brother and I owned the SNES version back in the day, but I no longer have it :( I currently own the PS1 version, although I haven't touched it due to the fact that people complain so horribly about its load times. So, maybe I should invest in the DS iteration?
ReplyDeleteAs for Point Blank: You definitely make it sound like a blast. Have you played the PS1 versions, by chance? I ask because I wonder if I should get the DS version or one or more of the PS1 versions.
The DS version takes the PS1's cutscenes, the SNES' smoothness/loading, a bit of script editing and a few format exclusive distractions. By all accounts, it seems to be definitive.
ReplyDeletePoint Blank DS is an amalgamation of the original arcade/PS1 trilogy, the DS version serves as a decent launch/reintroduction point, wouldn't you think?
Insanely addictive game, though. Even just writing on it for a moment, I've had to pull out the DS and have a game.
Ah, thanks for the info, Jyr. Guess I'll have to pick up the DS version soon. You've certainly piqued my interest in it :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Chrono Trigger it is personally one of my favorite SNES games.
ReplyDeleteI also played KoF XI i enjoy it as well but man the final boss was hard as nails.