Archview #38: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

  It's really good, despite its use and abuse of motion controls.

  Skyward Sword is the latest(To this day!) Zelda game, and the last one to grace the Wii. Like most other Zelda games, it's an action-adventure game in which you play as Link, the hero chosen by destiny. As one of the last games made by Nintendo for the Wii, it tried to make the most of the Motion Plus technology, to arguably mixed results.
 First of all, yes, motion controls are used everywhere, from riding your Bird, balancing over thin ropes and free falling to swimming, heck, all the sub items use motion controls. Do they work? Yeah, mostly, but there's a huge learning curve. Sword fighting in particular may take you a while to get used to it, it's not really 1:1, and you need to get used to thing's like recoil, lest the game registers one huge motion as two. Regardless, Swimming will always feel quite clunky, sadly, it's a shame they felt the need to incorporate moton controls everwhere, even to throwing items.

 Chronologically, this game takes place before every other Zelda games, and tells of the origins of the Master Sword and other trademarks of the series. This time, there's no Hyrule, instead, Link lives in the town of Skyloft, a town that lies above the skies, due to the Goddess Hylia sending it skyward in order to protect her people from harm, thousand of years before. In this town, every citizen has a partner bird, which they use to ride. This time, Link is being trained as a Skyloft Knight, in an academy, where he is a childhood friend of Zelda. For the first time in Zelda history, Link and Zelda actually share a very deep relationship, which is why him going through all these hardships in order to save her is so much more believable.

 The skies act as the overworld, using your bird to traverse them, but most of the dungeons lie below the clouds. There are three distinct zones, accessed through the sky, that besides having their own theme( Farore's woods, Eldin's volcano and Lanayru's dessert) each has their own gimmicks. A disconnected world is a bit of a departure from the other console Zelda's, but I didn't mind it much, since it made sense inside the context of the game.

 Throughout his adventure, Link will come across many items that serve as sub weapons or equipables. Some of these, like Shields and the bow, can be upgraded in Skyloft by collecting various materials found on the lands below the clouds. Gathering materials and insects can be quite fun, however every time you reset the game, the "Got a new item plus description" scene plays every time you pick up an item of a kind for the first time, which will become quite annoying. Upgrading items, however, is a great new addition, you can even empower potions and add more effects. Given this new mechanics, you'll also notice that money is way more plentiful than in other Zelda games.
 Another new addition is the Stamina gauge. It's a bit of a "two steps forward, one step back" kind of thing. Sprinting is a great idea, and it consuming the Stamina gauge? Fair. But other actions are now governed by the same gauge, like pushing blocks or carrying some items, that's not so fun. Then there is dowsing. Many times during the game, you will have to dowse, point at the TV screen and search for a glowing target, and find the source. It's not engaging nor interesting, and it's very overused throught the whole adventure.

 Visually, it's fantastic. It's not as brown and washed out as Twilight Princess, but it's also not as overly cartoony as Wind Waker, it's probably my favorite look of the series yet. Characters, from the NPCs to Link himself, are extremely expressive in their facial expressions and body animations, pretty impressive actually. Most dungeons are also a visual treat, having some of the most visually appealing dungeons in the series yet, like the Cistern. Soundtrack has a very epic feel to it, and you might run across some familiar tunes. Sadly, like the other Zelda games, there's no voice acting. I don't mind reading, but this game could've benefited from Voice acting, but then again, the animations help convey the feelings of the characters perfectly.
 The game lasts a solid 30 plus hours, with many items for the player to find. After beating the game you unlock Hero Mode, which makes it harder. This would probably be my favorite Zelda, had it not been for the use and abuse of the motion controls, and to be fair, sometimes moving Link himself feels a bit clunky, lining up jumps can sometimes be a bit harder than it should. Regardless, it's a pretty good game, you just need to get the hang of the Swordplay in order to fully enjoy it.
 8 out of 10.

First Archimpressions: Samurai Warriors 3

 Skyward Sword is done, review coming up soon!

 Wow this game is slow. So yeah, with DW 7 still fresh in my mind, this game is soooo slow, but after getting over the hump, it ain't that bad. I've but played two of Kato's story missions and dabbled a bit in character edit, and so far it's pretty alright. So yeah, it's fun, but nothing makes it stand out from the other warriors games. The Gundam warriors are very fast paced, and look very flashy. Hokuto Musou is slow, but it feels very heavy and it's quite violent. Samurai Warriors is... a reskined DW game, basically, althought it has some tweaks to the formula, but nothing game changing.
 The presentations is alright too. Graphics are quite decent, models remind me of Onimusha(A good thing), and I didn't notice much slowdown, the music on the other hand... While Dynasty Warriors' upbeat music makes you wanna crush giant armies, this music is too... tame in comparison. Ah, lest I forget, I love the menus, the art is fantastic, kinda wish they went with that instead of the CG renders on the character select screen!

Progress Report 7/1/2013

 Status:

 Another month, another monday, another report.
 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: 14 hours in, I'm making steady progress, and I'm loving the living S... out of it. Also, I think I finally got over the hump and the motion controls no longer pose as much a challenge as they once did. They are still annoying mind you, but they don't get in the way so much. I assume I'll finish it this week?

 Kirby's Epic Yarn: It's alright. I mean, I'd have prefered a normal Kirby game, but that's just me. Since I'm Co-oping it with my sister, it might be a while 'till I finish it.

 Next: Once I'm done with Kirby, I'll tackle Donkey Kong Returns in Co-op, and after Zelda comes Samurai Warriors 3. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 just you wait, I will finish you before this year is over, I swear it on my honor.

Month Overview: Game of June

  Games completed in June:
Chrono Cross                                 8                                              
Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2                 6
War of Monsters                              8
Dynasty Warriors                              5
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore                    8
Injustice: Gods Among us                       8
Robotech: Battlecry                            7.5
Bushido Blade 2                                  9
State of Emergency                                 5
Rival Schools                                       9
The Legend of Dragoon                            9
Justice League Heroes                            7

 Awesome month. The only real stinker was Dynasty Warriors, leaving that one aside, they were mostly great games or games that were quite fun(State of Emergency was not very good, but it could be fun). Actually, there were two real shockers:
 A) I no longer love Chrono Cross as much as I used too
 B) I now love The Legend of Dragoon.
 Guess I gotta update my E-mail adress, eh!

 Game of June:

 This was actually hard to pick, since I had a blast with some of the other games, but all in all, Legend of Dragoon trumpted them all. Gotta admit I never thought I'd be giving The Legend of Dragoon accolades, yet here I am, considering it one of the greater PSOne RPGs, no the greastest, but above some the better of them.

 Runner-up:

 I almost chose Bushido Blade 2 or Robotech Battlecry. I almost created a "Runner-up Honorable mentions" section, but I didn't wanna cheat, so I had to make a choise.... and Rival Schools was above them. Sure, Bushido Blade 2 is quite unique and very fun, but RS is as fun as BB2, and unlike that game, has a memorable cast of very distinct characters. Robotech Battlecry was also a fantastic game, but unlike Rival Schools, sometimes it felt unfairly hard, plus the numerous sound glitches....

 My point is, Rival Schools stood on top of them, both in technical prowess and in the amount of fun it delivered. 

Archview #37: Justice League Heroes

 Since Marvel did it with Ultimate Alliance and Xmen Legends, DC had to get it's own RPG'em up!

 As much as fanboys would love to deny it, DC and Marvel are constantly borrowing ideas from each other, and it seems that trend applies to their games as well. Justice League Heroes is a beat'em up with a couple of RPG elements thrown in, in the same vein as Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Except on a smaller scale, but I'm not here to compare them, so let's get on with it.
 A meteorite rock falls upon the earth, and at the same time, a army of killer robots runs amok the city, and it's up to the Justice League to deal with it. Eventually the plot deepens, and many familiar faces, among some a bit more obscure like The Key, make their appearance. The Story is very Comic-y, there are alternate dimensions, missile silos and, of course, men in tights, but there's nothing to ground breaking about it, yet it gets the job of tying all the levels together done.

 Players take up to two characters on each missions, and there's a pretty respectable roster, albeit a bit small. Sadly, most of the time the game picks the characters for you. On some levels it makes sense, as there are puzzles based upon the characters, but they are the minority. Worst part is, all of the unlockable characters go unused, only usable on the few missions where you can select your heroes, and they will fall behind in level, as you don't get to use them as often.
 Each character has access to 5 different powers(The unlockable characters get screwed, with only four), while sharing the basic weak and strong blows with the rest of the cast. Thrown about the levels are many objects that can be grabbed, but some of the physically weaker can't grab the bigger ones(Neat detail, although they kinda forgot that Aquaman is supposed to be of the stronger ones...). Characters can also jump, and by double jumping some get to fly, glide dive with a kick or simply jump again(How Aquaman pulls another jump on the air continuis to baffle me).

 As mentioned before, there are RPG elements included. When enemies are defeated, they drop experience points, get enough experience and you level up. Every time you level up you get a couple of points to spend in a variety of stats, Health, Combat, Energy or the abilities of your hero. Even better, sometimes enemies drop "Boosts", you can use these boosts to customize your skills! Maybe add a Duration boost to Green lantern's shield? Or a Range Boost to Aquaman's sword... It's a very engaging system.
 The controls do their job, but sometimes using skills can be a bit unresponsive, specially in the heat of battle. Also, the game is meant to be played with another player, drop in-drop out cooperative play is an awesome addition, as the CPU can be dumb as bricks. The tend to get stuck on walls, they love to get ganged up by enemies, and they refuse to use their skills. Take Zatanna, for example, she can heal... but the CPU will refuse to use said skill until either character has 10% HP left or less, usually getting itself killed.

 Visually, it's a very nice looking game. There's a lot going on at the same time, with very little slowdown. The physics are also very nice to look at, destroying vases, boxes and plates can be quite distracting. The models used on the CG cutscenes however... They don't look altogether right, the ladies have huge breasts and the faces? They are a bit unsettling. The music? You'll barely notice it due to all the grunts and noises, but it's nothing worth humming. Voice acting is totally overdone, like a Saturday Morning Cartoon, although Perlman's Batman could use some work. The lines, fitting the voiceacting, can get quite cheesy, but on the brightside, there's lots of dialogue, even from the unlockable characters and they pertain the mission they are in!.
 The game is a bit on the easy side, if you play with a human player, but with a CPU it can get a bit vexing, but you do get regenerating health, and going back to any checkpoint revives your teammate, should they fall in battle. There's a slew of unlockables, from costumes to heroes, but the unlockable heroes don't get much love. They don't have alternate costumes and they lack a fifth power. Surprisingly, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner are in, and although they each have a spot on the character select screen, they play just like Jon Stewart(Which means they are the only unlockables with 5 abilities).
 All in all, it's a decent game, though keep in mind that it can and it will get a bit repetitive after a while, so play in small doses!.
 7 out of 10.

First Archimpressions: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

 Look at that beautiful box art. It looks much better in person, trust me.

 I've never been much of a Zelda fan. My first Zelda was Ocarina of Time, and afterwards I played through Link's Awakening DX, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past and Twilight Princess, but I never saw what everyone else saw in the series. To be fair, after my second playthrough of Twiligh Princess, I did love the game, but that's another story. Regardless, Skyward Sword was the first Zelda game I got excited about in the "I need to play this" kind of way(Before I even learned to love Twilight Princess), and here I am.
 First impressions? I just clocked two hours, and I'm loving it. I'm still torn on which opening to a Zelda game I prefer, this one or TP's. In this one, you are introduced to a wide variety of unique NPCs, and I'm loving th setting: People in the sky, a lifelong animal partner, a academy of Knights... I'm really digging it. What I'm not digging are the motion controls for the sake of having them. After the beautiful scene between Link and Zelda atop the statue, I was forced to land on a circle. Said scene was soon ruined by frustration at having to retry the fall, since falling is now controlled with motion controls. Fun, except not.
 Also, controlling Link sometimes is a bit sloppish due to the camera, nothing major, but it's a bit annoying. On the other hand, the soundtrack is downright epic, and the graphics? EHRMAGHEDDDDD, characters look very appealing, all featuring unique bodies and face types. And they are VERY expressive, I love them. All in all, despite my annoyances at the controls, I'm looking forwards to it, I hope it doesn't disappint.

Archview #36: The Legend of Dragoon

 And so I lay my demons, err, Dragons to rest.

 The Legend of Dragoon was an JRPG released towards the end of the PS1's life cycle. It had a massive 100-hundred man team(That was a large team, at the time) and a very ambitious goal. It was released to a very mixed reception, some called it average, some called it good. Me? Well, back then I wasn't a fan...
 Regardless, LoD tells the story of Dart, a man in pursuit of the "Black Monster", the creature that killed his parents, who eventually finds out he is one of the selected "Dragoons", men who harness the powers of the Dragons. Of course, there are many other nuances to the story, it is a four disc game after all.

 When exploring, the game plays like any other JRPG, you go from towns and dungeons to towns and dungeons to advance the story. The overworld here is a bit more streamlined, as Dart can only walk through predefined tracks that lead from place to place. Combat is where the game adds it's own twist. For starters, after you get their Dragoon Spirit, every character can turn into a Dragoon after increasing their SP above a hundred, which you get by attacking, every hundred of SP you get another Dragoon turn, up to five. Dragoons have only two commands, Attack and Dragoon Magic, which make seem little, but humans have no spells of their own, what's more, Dragoons have a higher attack power and defence rating than humans, so early in the game, they are fantastic.
 The real "hook" of the game, however, are the additions. When you attack, characters don't simply execute an attack, nope, every attack is a rythim minigame in which you must press the X button following certain visual cues. Sometimes enemies may "counterattack", which has you pressing O instead, unless you want your addition interrupted and recieve some damage. As you level up, each character gets anywhere from 3 to 7 different "additions", with different number of button presses, which must be selected in the Status menu. I must admit I was afraid it would get tiresome in the long run, but they never grew old. As stated before, humans have no spells of their own, to use magic they must use items, and since item capacity is limited, you must choose wisely.

 LoD has a very mixed visual presentation, while characters are very jaggy, they are quite detailed, and the designs, while basic, are pretty cool, specially when they go Dragoon. On the other hand, the spells, particularily their particles and transparencies look very good. The Pre-rendered backgrounds themselves are pretty interesting too, and it's pretty clear where you can go and where you cannot. The soundtrack is the presentation's strongest asset, there are many different pieces, and they all sound so good. There's a bit of voice acting too, and it's passable at it's best, and hilarious at it's worst, it kinda ruined one of the scenes during the ending where I found myself laughing, but it's not that bad. Not always.
 Now onto my gripes, first of all, backtracking. Every time you need to go from point A to point B, you have to go through every town and dungeon in between, you do get... means of quick travel on the fourth disc, but only for a little a while, and a little bit too late. Speaking of backtracking, some cities are only found on some discs, which means that you may need to switch between discs if you missed any optional sidequest, I found this one to be a minor annoyance, but worth noting anyways. Also, I found some of the plot points to be a bit cliche'd, even for it's time. But I did find the characters to be very well defined, and each had their own personality, even if some got shifted a bit to the sidelines. Lastly, items. There is a limit, as stated, and as bothersome as that could be, if you try to open a chest with your inventory full you won't know what's in th chest. Which means, if you want to check the contents, you need to make a gamble and discard something.

 To sum up, The Legend of Dragoon is a bit different. It's not unique, but it has it's own unique twists on the Combat, and in my opinion, they work. I did have find some annoyances with the game, but they didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of it. I really don't get why I didn't like it back then, maybe it wasn't the game I needed, but the one I deserved...
9 out of 10.