Now Playing: Maximo - Ghosts to Glory

 Yet another trip to my childhood.

 Maximo Ghosts to Glory is another one of the first PS2 games I played, a group made up of Metal Gear Solid 2, Okage: The Shadow King and Dynasty Warriors 2(And I believe Final Fantasy X as well?). And just as with Okage and Dynasty Warriors, I didn't know what I was getting myself into... yet it was another homerun. I remember that Maximo was considered one of the toughest games around back then, and even though I played the Japanese version(Considered to be the easiest one!) I had trouble with it, I don't remember ever getting past the Ice World!

 But lo and behold, I already defeated the first boss, have 7 lives and 7 Death coins to my name! I must've died twice or thrice, which means... It's not THAT hard. Or maybe F-Zero GX makes everything else look easy, heh. But I digress, time has not been kind to Maximo. It's one of those weird PS2 games that don't make use of the right analog stick for the camera, and the camera itself leaves a lot to be desired. Movement is very slow, it feels as if Maximo is treading through mud the entire time. And the combat? Simple and a tad clunky. Oh, and it also happens to be one of those games that require in-game currency in order to save.

 And that's about all the bad things I can say about it, it's still a charming little game, true, I fear for my life every time I have to platform, but I haven't had a single death due to platforming yet, so I just need to believe in Maximo's prowess! I also happen to like the skill system, and how you can have three of them locked, so that you don't lose them upon death. I doubt I'm ever gonna swap Double Strike, Magnet and Shield throw. Double Strike is almost a necessity, at least to my gaming style, Magnet is so dang useful, particularly to gather all the spirits that are used to get Death Coins(Continues) and Shield Throw? Well, it made the first boss a complete push over, so it might aid me on further bosses.

 Still, it's funny, it was considered challenging back in the day, but... I wonder if it's for the same reasons I think? Right now I blame the camera. I blame the slow as molasses movement that interfere with the platforming. I blame the simple combat.... and I think all of these can be attributed to it's age. So then... why was it considered a challenging game back in the day? I might read some reviews after I'm done with it, just out of curiosity.