Few thoughts on some games I just played through recently...

[PGchris]

...if you've played these games recently Id love to hear what you thought of them too

Viewtiful Joe: Really fun game, I started it out thinking it wasn't really going to be for me cause beat em ups usually don't hold my attention if they aren't multiplayer focused, but they definitely put a new spin on this game to keep it fresh. The game has a unique look and has tons of little bells and whistles keep the combat from getting stale(they also throw a short shmup level in there for ya), and I thought the difficulty range was perfect. King Leo the boss before the final boss took me forever to beat, and I ended up giving up on beating it the game on hard mode about half way through WHICH IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE! All in all a really good game and I'm definitely going to pick it up later down the line to beat on hard. B+

Castlevania: Dracula X(snes): Ooof, I ended up forming a kind of love-hate relationship with this game. I started it coming off just beating Castlevania 4, which I loved, so when I began this game I was really excited seeing a pretty substantial graphics update, some awesome backgrounds, and new special attacks. However, once I got into the meat of the game there were some parts that had me pulling my hair out. I found areas of this game brutally hard and I would probably still be trying to beat it if it weren't for a couple strategically place saved sates(thats right I cheated) and also something about the controls seemed a bit off to me, maybe the jump height or something, anyone else feel this? Besides all that the game is still good, the tough bosses and creepy environments that are the staple of the Castlevania series, which is turning out to be maybe my favorite collection of games, are still there. I dunno if I'll pick this one up again but I gotta get a TG 16 emulator so I can play that version which I think is supposed to be much better. B-/C+


Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Nice little 2d platformer, but I didn't think it was anything special. The games cute look and some unique things like running around on the ceiling as baby Mario, and transforming into a Yoshi-coptor gave it some charm but really the lack of any challenge until the end of the game made it pretty boring at times. Some of the levels just seemed like they attempting to be hard but just ended being really long but still easy, also I didn't loose one life while battling a boss until the final bought against baby Bowser. A lot of people like this game, and it's not horrible, but to me it can't really hang with the other "Super Mario" titles. C

Mario Galaxy: I'd say it's the best 3d platformer I've ever played, and one of the few games where I'm actually compelled to want to beat it completely. Got 78 stars right now 42 more to go...i think, 120 stars right? A

[chipperkwah]

A "C" ON YOSHI'S ISLAND!? Whooo calm down, ok, im ok.

Mario Galaxy is ridiculously good, maybe even too good... I thought Viewtiful Joe was pretty sweet as well.

[BigTinz]

You should really take down your post before ya get flamed.

You game Drac x and Yoshi's Island lower scores that MARIO GALAXY?!

..how old are you?

[PGchris]

You should really take down your post before ya get flamed.

You game Drac x and Yoshi's Island lower scores that MARIO GALAXY?!

..how old are you?

Haha I don't care it's just my honest opinion, and I really want to hear others thoughts. I knew I was gonna get a lot of backlash for how I feel about Yoshi's Island, but really the game just didn't do it for me. As for galaxy, I'm 23 and I love retro gameplay, but I was trying to look at these games objectively and I think alot of times we let our retro bias get in the way of appreciating some really good modern games. I really think that Galaxy is head and shoulders above both Drac x and Yoshi's Island and am curious if the rest of the board disagrees.

[Dakinggamer87]

I personally like all these games..

Mario Galaxy is awesome... I thought Viewtiful Joe was pretty cool as well...

[Mozgus]

From the first 60 seconds of playing Viewtiful Joe's demo disc before the game hit, I was in love. I literally had sparkle eyes. I think I even 'd, which never happens. I felt reborn at 5 years old. God damn, that game is wonderful.

[equalsign]

You should really take down your post before ya get flamed.

You game Drac x and Yoshi's Island lower scores that MARIO GALAXY?!

..how old are you?

Haha I don't care it's just my honest opinion, and I really want to hear others thoughts. I knew I was gonna get a lot of backlash for how I feel about Yoshi's Island, but really the game just didn't do it for me. As for galaxy, I'm 23 and I love retro gameplay, but I was trying to look at these games objectively and I think alot of times we let our retro bias get in the way of appreciating some really good modern games. I really think that Galaxy is head and shoulders above both Drac x and Yoshi's Island and am curious if the rest of the board disagrees.

I haven't played Dracula X, but I do agree with the Yoshi's Island comment. I may be a pretty big retro gamer, a lover of platformers, and a bit of a recovering Nintendo fanboy,but for some reason I detest all of the 2D Mario games without exception.

[PGchris]

Yea, I felt bad bashing Dracula X because I love the castlevania series, playing SOTN right now and it's near perfect. Anyone else think Dracula X was a flawed game?

[Ziggy]

Of course it was, and it's no secret. Rondo of Blood came out, and then SOTN was a direct sequel. But since Rondo was never released outside Japan they made a bastard, half ass version of the game just to fill us in on the story. They probably made that game in a day.

If you have a PSP, pick up Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles. It's a 2.5 remake of Rondo (pretty good, too) and you can unlock the original Rondo and SOTN. This game is the reason why I bought a PSP in the first place.

And I too didn't care much for SMW2, although I don't hate it. I also loved Mario Galaxy, I got 120 stars with Mario, although I think I'll pass on getting 120 with Luigi. PS, good luck with the Luigi coin board star... trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about if you don't already.

[HellHammer]

I agree very much about Mario Galaxy. It's been such an amazing game, I've often had memories of playing older Mario titles as a kid while playing it. I think Nintendo more than made up for Mario Sunshine and at the same time, fed a part of my old-school gaming needs.