Snickerd00dle's Summer Challenge 2012 - how is it going?

[dsheinem]

Not that I would ever call it "superior", but God of War came out after Ninja Gaiden. The games that truly did surpass it - Vanquish, Devil May Cry 3, Bayonetta - all came later.

God of War 1 had combat that I will grant you was not as good as NG (despite coming after). However, later entries in that series had many more block/parry techniques that had to be used, much of it better than what I recall in NG. I'll admit I haven't spent enough time with NG as a series (2 ports of the 2004 game and the DS game) and all of that time was afer the PS2/Xbox generation was over (thus after the DMC 1-3 games and GOW 1 & 2), but it just wasn't compelling to me on any front. I am surprised to see you lump Vanquish into that list as the combat feels very removed from any of those games (though quite excellent in its own right). I thought Bayonetta was ok, but like an easy and less-complex version of a DMC title with far more embarrasing-to-be-seen-playing moments.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Haven't played too much of Golden Sun... It seems like it's one of those games that takes a while to get into, kind of like Star Ocean 2. Hopefully things pick up soon so I'll actually have the desire to play more than an hour a day.

[Nionel]

Does she even appear in any other SNK games? I'm not sure but she might be a Garou exclusive. Anyway, yeah. Awesome game.

Yes, actually. She's in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and the PS2 version of King of Fighters XI.

[noiseredux]

Does she even appear in any other SNK games? I'm not sure but she might be a Garou exclusive. Anyway, yeah. Awesome game.

Yes, actually. She's in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and the PS2 version of King of Fighters XI.

I was actually wondering if she had appeared in NGBC -- a game I really like a lot, but have barely familiarized myself with its huge roster. Garou might be a great excuse to get back into it.

[sabrage]

Not that I would ever call it "superior", but God of War came out after Ninja Gaiden. The games that truly did surpass it - Vanquish, Devil May Cry 3, Bayonetta - all came later.

God of War 1 had combat that I will grant you was not as good as NG (despite coming after). However, later entries in that series had many more block/parry techniques that had to be used, much of it better than what I recall in NG. I'll admit I haven't spent enough time with NG as a series (2 ports of the 2004 game and the DS game) and all of that time was afer the PS2/Xbox generation was over (thus after the DMC 1-3 games and GOW 1 & 2), but it just wasn't compelling to me on any front. I am surprised to see you lump Vanquish into that list as the combat feels very removed from any of those games (though quite excellent in its own right). I thought Bayonetta was ok, but like an easy and less-complex version of a DMC title with far more embarrasing-to-be-seen-playing moments.

Maybe Sigma just doesn't live up to Black? I threw Vanquish in there because the combat required a similar balance of alternating dodging and calculated aggression - in that regard, I'd say it's more similar than God of War, which I agree is more akin to a beat-em-up (though the guns obviously distance Vanquish quite a bit in the moment-to-moment gameplay). By comparison, God of War feels absolutely mindless to me. The blocks and parries are there, but they never felt necessary. They're fun, I played them all, but I'm just not seeing the criticism you're leveling at Ninja Gaiden vs GoW. I never felt like there was any reason to use anything but your chains and the AoE lightning spell, to be honest.

[foxhound1022]

Garou FTW. I love that game. Gato is badass, too.

NGBC is good, too.
I think it's cool that they even threw some Metal Slug characters in the mix.

[lisalover1]

Disc one of Panzer Dragoon Saga is complete! I'm so glad I'm finally getting around to playing this game; everything about it is beautiful.

Haven't played too much of Golden Sun... It seems like it's one of those games that takes a while to get into, kind of like Star Ocean 2. Hopefully things pick up soon so I'll actually have the desire to play more than an hour a day.

I adored Golden Sun as a kid. It's a fun game with an engaging take on the standard turn-based battle system. The music is bold and adventurous, and never fails to put you in a good mood. Also, the graphics are gorgeous for a GBA title, especially one released so early in the system's life. Highly recommended.

[Xeogred]

Not that I would ever call it "superior", but God of War came out after Ninja Gaiden. The games that truly did surpass it - Vanquish, Devil May Cry 3, Bayonetta - all came later.

God of War 1 had combat that I will grant you was not as good as NG (despite coming after). However, later entries in that series had many more block/parry techniques that had to be used, much of it better than what I recall in NG. I'll admit I haven't spent enough time with NG as a series (2 ports of the 2004 game and the DS game) and all of that time was afer the PS2/Xbox generation was over (thus after the DMC 1-3 games and GOW 1 & 2), but it just wasn't compelling to me on any front. I am surprised to see you lump Vanquish into that list as the combat feels very removed from any of those games (though quite excellent in its own right). I thought Bayonetta was ok, but like an easy and less-complex version of a DMC title with far more embarrasing-to-be-seen-playing moments.

Maybe Sigma just doesn't live up to Black? I threw Vanquish in there because the combat required a similar balance of alternating dodging and calculated aggression - in that regard, I'd say it's more similar than God of War, which I agree is more akin to a beat-em-up (though the guns obviously distance Vanquish quite a bit in the moment-to-moment gameplay). By comparison, God of War feels absolutely mindless to me. The blocks and parries are there, but they never felt necessary. They're fun, I played them all, but I'm just not seeing the criticism you're leveling at Ninja Gaiden vs GoW. I never felt like there was any reason to use anything but your chains and the AoE lightning spell, to be honest.

Nope. Sigma has more lag and had more instant-loading points throughout the levels. I couldn't believe it, Black is superior in every regard. Not to mention the extra Rachel segments were just awful, the game is completely fine without them. I hated NG2 and I'm not touching NG3, but NG1 is one of my favorites for sure and completely destroys the God of War games. I didn't like Bayonetta at all either though, too many interruptions during levels for hilariously bad cutscenes, the gameplay was solid but there was like 5 interruptions per stage every 5 minutes and I couldn't handle it. DMC had way better balance with that stuff and better humor.

[sabrage]

That's a shame about Sigma. I actually liked NG2, but I readily accept that it's not the masterpiece that Black was.

None of these games have good stories. That's such a ridiculous argument... They're designed to be played and replayed and the cutscenes are designed to be skipped. I didn't find Bayonetta any more annoying than Kratos' grunting or Dante's 90's catchphrases.

[CFFJR]

I didn't find Bayonetta any more annoying than Kratos' grunting or Dante's 90's catchphrases.

Generally I don't get annoyed either, but still I've grown fairly tired of Kratos' screaming and passing kidney stones.