Now Playing: Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Danger of the Ooze

 I believed in you, and you failed me.

 There's this company called Wayforward, they've done some neat, little games for handhelds before. Remember that Thor game for the DS? Pretty good, right? Aliens Infestation was pretty cool as well. And Contra 4 was as good as the classics. I trust Wayforward, if someone could get a modern TMNT game right, it was them.

 Well, maybe I'm being a tad harsh. Danger of the Ooze is a Metroidvania, y'know, one of my favorite videogame genres. And it was developed by Wayforward. Double whammy. And yet, there's something... something missing. I can't quite put my finger on what feels off, what feels out of place, why I'm not liking this game as much as I think I should.

 Just as with the previous game, it has that cheap, floaty, slidey feel to it, like nothing really has weight. The combat is kinda odd, how after the third hit you have to hold Y before using a finisher? What's up with that? A simple press of the button would've been better, heck, I just mash the Y button and the direction.

 The music is pretty good, but the graphics are.... they are bad. Cutscene graphics look much better than the previous game's, but in-game... it's not a pretty game to look at.

 Eh, I dunno, I'm not giving up on it. And hey, at least it ain't TMNT on the PSP!

Review #245: Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 Shellshocke'd

 After Peter Laird sold the rights to TMNT to Nickelodeon, fans were worried. Then the initial renditions of the new fab four were released, and fans were not happy. Joke was on us, the new TMNT reimaging by IDW is, to date, my favorite version of the TMNT, and Nickelodeon's show, while not quite as tight as 2003's, is fantastic. So of course a videogame had to follow.

 Gotta give credit where credit is due, if Activision's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got something right, it's the feel of the show. The dialogue isn't quite as polished, but dammit if it doesn't feel like an episode of the show. The plot has to do with the Turtles tailing Xever, Dog Pound and Baxter Stockman before they can complete a Mutagen Bomb, but eventually, and naturally, they have to deal with the big bad himself, The Shredder. The story isn't particularly good all well written, but the dialogue, the characters, that's where it's at.

 The game is just your run of the mill beat'em up: You walk to the right(Sometimes left!), then the scrolling freezes until you defeat every single enemy. There's not a whole lot more to the game! You play as any of the four turtles, and can switch character's at a button press, while the others tag along, either as other players or as CPUs. Something that should surprise nobody is that the CPU is terribly, content with just watching what's going on than take part in it, still, the game is easy enough that their input isn't really needed. And even though extra Lives are shared among turtles, it seems that turtles used by the CPU are extra resistant to damage. Throughout each level you'll find canisters, which unlock extras, and sparks, which can also be found from fallen enemies, that allow you to upgrade your four turtles. The extras are: Survival, in which you try to survive waves of enemies, Time Attack, in which you try to finish stages as fast as possible, and a shoot'em up minigame that isn't half bad. The upgrades are rather boring, but at least it's something to work towards to.

 As far as gameplay goes, it's very simple: B jumps, A attacks, C grabs(Only and ONLY when the enemies are near death), Z does a special attack and + or - are used for the rather useless extra weapons, like Shuriken or smoke bombs. I'd never go too hard on a beat'em up for being simple, it's a staple of the genre, particularly the earlier ones, as long as they got the feel of the hits right. And they didn't. The game has that very floaty, slidey, cheap feel that low budget games have. Collision detection seems to be off at times. As a matter of fact, sometimes, even though the 'C' symbol above weak enemies is flashing, it won't allow you to grab them, heck, sometimes fallen enemies will stop you dead on your tracks unless you angle your run. Not to mention the occasional bug, like that one time that Leonard got stuck behind an invisible barrier he couldn't cross, at least the game will respawn turtles near you if they fall behind. As for the bosses, they are really easy, but take so long to kill! Still, I'd lie if I said that there's no fun to be had with the game, as long as you like 'Beat'em ups', it's not too bad.

 Fun fact: This game is a port of a 3DS game, and it shows. However, let me set the record straight, even for a 3DS game, this would've looked bad. Character models are devoid of detail, for example Raphael's shell missing dent, are coated with muddy textures and the animation isn't very good. Stages don't fare much better, but at least they make a decent job at emulating the backdrops of the TV Show. The music is forgettable, but there's very few tunes so you'll hear the same tunes quite often, that said, I think there's a remix of the Japanese Opening, sans lyrics, in there? I could be wrong. The voice acting is amazing, they got the cast of the show and they knocked it out of the park.... but for some reason, some audio lines have very bad quality, with a lot of garbage noise accompanying them.

 Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is mediocre. It's not particularly bad, but it doesn't do anything particularly well, besides getting the feel of the show.
 5.5 out of 10

Now Playing: Nickelodeon'sTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 Not too bad

 I was planning on finishing the Konami handheld games before going into the Activision era... but Mutant Nightmare is so bad(Not as bad as TMNT on the PSP though) that I got tired. I mean, one thing is being hard. Another thing is being tedious. But being hard AND tedious? I'll elaborate on the review, but I got tired of that game to the point of not wanting to play it any more.

 Nickelodeon's TMNT plays and looks like a budget title, it's even got that trademark cheap floaty feel these games have. And y'know what, at first I thought it was a bad game, but by level 9, I can attest to having had fun with it. Is it perfect? Far from it, is it as good as Konami PS2 games? No quite. But it's not a bad game, it's just simple and lacking in production values.

 That said, it nailed the feel of the show perfectly, the script and dialogue made me feel as if I was watching an episode of the show. A+ for effort.

Now Playing: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 - Battle Nexus(GBA)

 No bueno. Konami, what'd you do!?

 So, um... I heard that this was supposed to be an improved sequel... but sadly, I'm not seeing it. First of all, new modes for multiplayer, even if they are just mini-games... that's something, right? But the game was overhauled in more ways than one, and I can't say that it was for the better.

 Firstly, characters have been redrawn, and they don't look particularly good. They've been shrunk, but I fear some animation frames were lost as well? Tied to this, the fighting is different, characters have different combos, and now the up+b, down+b variations are done with the hold B thingie, which at least, is now almost instantaneous. Regardless, I'm not convinced.

 I only finished the first stage, and attempted the second one... So this 'Start with no weapons' is gonna be a thing now? I like the new stealth mechanics, but having to find my weapons in each level, and also collect crystals so that I can open up new worlds... It doesn't sound like my cup of tea.

 First Impressions: Not good, not good at all. I heard it was supposed to be better than the first one, but so far it feels like a huge misstep. Hopefully it picks up.

Review #244: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(GBA)

 Enter Konami.

 Back in 2003, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally got the TV adaptation they deserved. It was a happy medium between the gritty comics and the dumb show for kids from 1987. Alongside with the reboot, Konami was tasked with handling the videogames, like they did in the past. TMNT for the GBA is a very interesting beat'em up that plays it safe, but doing what it does well.

 The game has no form of multiplayer, and it's made up of 13 levels. Each Turtle has 4 'Acts', or stages, to its name, as well as an unlockable 13th scenario. Each set of four levels is a loose retelling of particular episodes in the series, for instance, Leo's 4 acts would be the very first Baxter Stockman episode, while Raphael gets to play through the episode in which he meets Casey. All four acts are made up of two beat'em up sections, a vehicle stage and a boss fight of sorts. Sadly, each Act can be finished in between 6-15 minutes each, to call it short is an understatement. Lastly, the 13th scenario allows you to play as any turtle as you take down Shredder.

 Basic controls are the same for each turtle. B initiates a normal attack string, B+Up is a juggling move, B+A is a desperation attack that consumes some health, every one but Mikey gets a B+Down variation, then there's the A button which is used for jump. The game also uses a 'charge' mechanic, holding down the B button allows you to use two different special moves depending on how much you held the button down. It's a bit... weird in this kind of game, but enemies, at least in the normal difficulty, are dumb enough to allow you to charge your attacks. Controls are responsive, and are just fine, for the most part... For some reason, they decided that after walking for a few seconds, your turtle will automatically start running. This is absolutely annoying, as 'dash attacks' are a thing. Sometimes I just want to get close to an enemy in order to initiate a combo, not knock'em down with a dash attack. Why it was done this way, particularly when dashing can be done by double tapping, is beyond me, and annoyed me quite a bit more than I'd have liked.

 One little touch that I did enjoy is that every turtle is slightly different from each other. Take Mikey, he can instantly turn around from a dash, heck, he can initiate a turn around attack from a dash, which no other turtle can do, although he can't crouch, which can be a huge handicap when facing the overpowered shooting enemies. Lastly, Mikey is the only turtle capable of double jumping... which he only uses in one level. Donatello's dash attack is a flying kick, which propels him forward quite a bit, and must be used for some platforming. He can also use his staff to do a pole jump, at the cost of the double jumps his brothers can perform. Then there's Raph, he can use his Sai to climb certain walls, on that one stage of his. And Leo is the only one that can crawl. This is very neat, but very underutilized, take Raph's climbing, he only gets to do it in one of his stages, a 10-15 minute stage.

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' presentation is a bit lacking on the visual department. Sprites are colorful, and I appreciated the different animations for each Turtle, but.... said animations could've used a few more frames, I think. The style in which the turtles were drawn takes a bit of getting used to, as they have huge shoulders, but tiny legs! On the flip side, the game has quite a few different tunes, and, as far as the Gameboy Advance goes, they are pretty darn good.

 All in all, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a valiant first attempt for a then-next generation Turtles game. It's a bit short, and some features go underutilized, but at its core it's a really good game.
 7.0 out of 10

Favorite Game Franchises.

 So, yeah, why not?

Honorable Mentions:

 Shin Megami Tensei: Probably the best JRPGs around nowadays, everything since and past Nocturne has been pretty much awesome as far as I'm concerned. Digital Devil Saga, SMT III: Nocturne and Persona 4 being among my favorite games of all time! It only just barely didn't make it into the list, but taking into account that I'm in no hurry to play the older games, I just couldn't place above other entries.

 Borderlands: Borderlands 1? Loved it. Borderlands 2? Adored it. These games seem tailor-made to my tastes, I just can't get tired of them. Reason it didn't make it into the list? It's only two games long, and as much as I love the games, the Spin offs and alternate adaptations(like the comics) don't really interest me in the least. Which means, as much as I love the main games, I just can't be arsed to get invested in everything Borderlands(Which probably speaks volumes of just how much I love the gameplay).

 Pursuit Force: Pursuit Force is awesome, it's like a playable over-the-top popcorn action movie. Just like Borderlands, these games also seemed to be tailor made to my tastes. Why didn't it make it? It's only two games long.

 Suda 51: Goichi Suda is my favorite videogame director, and everything he makes, I must play. Reason it didn't make it?... This isn't really a franchise per say, but a long list of games that share many elements and themes, made by the same director.

 Orcs & Elves/Doom RPG/Wolfenstein RPG: ID Software really struck gold with Doom RPG and the eventual Doom RPG 2. Then they branched off into an original series with Orcs and Elves and Orcs & Elves 2, ending with Wolfenstein RPG. These are mobile games, although Orcs & Elves had a fantastic DS port, but they are amazing. Highly addictive, fast paced(For turn based games!) and perfectly suited for on-the-go gaming. I finished every game a thousand of times, and I've yet to get tired of any of them. Why it didn't make it in? I just preferred  the other franchises a tiny bit more!

 Final Fantasy: Man, I've such sweet memories of the franchise. Final Fantasy IV? Great. Final Fantasy VI? Amazing. Final Fantasy VII? Grandiose. I'll admit that not every game in the franchise has aged very well, particularly VIII, but at the time, Final Fantasy meant business. Why didn't it make it into the list? Final Fantasy just ain't what it used to be. Back in the day, reading 'Final Fantasy' in a headline meant rushing to read whatever it said, now a days, I just don't care any more. After Final Fantasy X, it was misstep after misstep. Square has lost its mojo, and now Final Fantasy isn't synonymous of 'fantastic JRPGs' anymore.

THE REAL LIST OF EPICNESS(Or something)

 10) Dragon Ball Z - Yes, this is technically not a videogame franchise, which is why it's at the last spot. But I've never much cared about the series, however, the games? I'm always up for new Dragom Ball games. I've grown accustomed to Goku and his friends gracing almost every console in existence, and I've yet to grow tired of playing as them. Seriously, I could care less about the series, just give me the games.

 9) Mega Man: I admit I haven't played as many Mega Man as I'd like to admit(Off the top of my head: 3, X1 to X7, Soccer, The Power Battles 1, 2 and Wonderswan, Command Mission, Battle Network 1, Legends, the entire Star Force, ZX and Zero Series) but my love for the franchise remains true. I don't know what is it about Mega Man, probably the fact that Rockman 3 was one of the very first videogames I ever played and finished, but I love the blue bomber. As for the spin offs? X is probably my favorite incarnation, the Zero and ZX series were amazing, Star Force, back in the day, was my 'thang', and while I never played the rest of the Battle Network series, when I was younger I was pretty fond of the first one.

 8) Dynasty Warriors: I don't care what people say, Dynasty Warriors is awesome. The games are the evolution of the old 'Beat'em up genre'. Some people call the franchise 'mindless button mashers' as if it was a bad thing. Sometimes, sometimes I like to be a badass chinese warlord and lay waste on hundreds, nay, thousands of enemies, using over the top attacks. And that's what Dynasty Warriors is, a power trip, and it's oh so satisfying. Another common complaint: 'They never change', well, buddy, the amount of changes between installments is far, far larger than the changes between Mega Man games, and you don't see anyone crying about how every Mega Man game is the same, now do you? Then there's the 'Enemies are so stupid and don't attack you'... well, d'oh? If the hundreds, upon hundreds of enemies surrounded you attacked you at the same time, you'd probably lose in a couple of seconds. This is not Dark Souls, YOU are the badass in these games, and enemies must be careful when taking you on. 'Sides, play these games in higher difficulties and you won't be so patronizing any more. Just sayin'.

 7) Wario Land: I love Wario, it probably has to do with the fact that yellow is my favorite color, but it also has to do with the fact that his games are amazing. Wario Land 1 was great, Wario Land 2 was excellent and Wario Land 3 perfected the formula. It received an overhaul with Wario Land 4, but it was just as good. Wario World on the Gamecube was surprisingly good, and Wario Land Shake-it... eh, it wasn't really up to snuff. Regardless, Wario Land games are a decidedly different branch of 'Mario' games, saving princess is for heroes, Wario wants the gold, and he will get the gold. And he is so strong, that in some games, while enemies may be able to alter his appearance, they can't kill him. Wario is a total badass, and so are his games, but seeing how 'Shake It' didn't do very well, the chances for a new game in the franchise are slim.

 6) Ace Attorney: Back when I was younger, I remember going through a phase in which I adored 'Graphic Adventure' games. Games like Monkey Island, King Quest or Day of the Tentacle. I loved the genre, but eventually I grew out of it. Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney harkens back to those games, and it does it perfectly. Every game is both funny and engaging, the spritework being one of the highlights of the series, watching the culprits freak out is one of the most satisfying things you'll get to watch. There were two spin offs centered around Miles Edgeworth, sadly we only got the first one, but it was every bit as good as the main series, this time playing more like the Adventure games I mentioned before.

 5) Castlevania: When it comes to Castlevania, there's usually two camps of people: Those that like the 2D sidescrolling action games, or Retrovanias, and those that like the Metroid-like adventure-RPGs, Metroidvanias. Me? I like both. There's something about the challenging, methodical and slow paced side scrolling adventures that I just can't resist, while gradually getting stronger, and earning new abilities while exploring a huge Castle is something I just can't get tired of.

4) Darksiders: Alright, so maybe, maaaaaaaybe it's a bit higher than I should've, particularly since it's only a two-game franchise, and that was a deciding factor for not including some games in here. But the fact is, Darksiders 1 is one of my favorite games of all time, and while I didn't think Darksiders 2 was just quite as good as the first one, it was still a phenomenal game in its own right. But what makes this franchise different than say... Borderlands? The fact that I was completely sold on into the lore. I just can't get enough Darksiders. I read the comics, and sought every single little morsel of information I could about any sequel. They owe us two horsemen! If it has 'Darksiders' on its title, I will most probably buy it, which is more than I can say for others.

 3) The Legacy of Kain: I'm a firm believer that 'Gameplay > Story=Graphics', however, The Legacy of Kain puts that to the test. Every game in the series was incredibly ambitious, every game contains a lot of cut content. None of the games were all that they could've been. Heck, I can find faults in every game, mostly which add up to tedium.... And yet the story always kept me going. I can't think of any other franchise with a lore as rich or well thought out as this one(Maybe Warcraft?). None of the games were the best at what they did, all five of them were flawed in one way or another, and yet the game's story was always a major driving force. So what if the platforming was terrible, I was Raziel, and my vengeance would not be denied. So what if the combat grew boring and I was avoiding it as much as I could? I was Kain, and my will would not be denied.

 2) Gundam VS series: It's no secret that I love fighting games, though looking at this list would make you wonder. I also happen to like Arcade-like gameplay, fast-paced, instantly gratifying and based around points. Oh, and I also like Gundam! Now mix all three, and you get the Gundam VS series. My first dip into the series was with Federation VS Zeon, made by Capcom, and it was love at first sight. And while Capcom would abandon the series after VS Seed(Not the exact title), it's a series that only got better with each entry. As far as I'm concerned, Gundam Extreme Vs is as close to perfection as you can get, and here I lie patiently waiting for a console port of Maxi Boost.

 1) Onimusha: I've been talking about games that mixed elements that I really liked, or how they felt tailor made for me. Well, I lied a bit. If one franchise, if ONE franchise had everything a game needed for me to like it, it'd be Onimusha. Lemme mention them:
A) Sword wielding heroes.

B) You can level up equipment, both weapons and armor change, and said changes reflect on the character's model. You can also extend your life bar and magic bar via items, and I like powering up my characters.

C) Color-coded, elemental weapons.

D) The main character has some sort of transformation. I love transforming heroes.

E) Supernatural elements, in the way of monsters and magic.

F) Fast, arcade-like gameplay. You can argue that point, but Onimusha is a fast paced series, as a matter of fact, the combat's main gimmick, 'Issen', is a twitch-based mechanic, pressing Attack just before you get hit will produce an instant kill. And you can chain them. And it's glorious.

G) This may seem superfluous, but if there's one thing I hate, is when combat feels like it amounts to nothing. Games like Zelda, where enemies are just... there. Why do I need to kill them? For money? Money to buy... what? I can get everything I need from bushes! Not in Onimusha, enemies drop souls, the currency used to enhance your equipment. You want to fight enemies, heck, you want to score Issen instant kills so that the rewards are bigger. Combat is rewarding, killing enemies matters.

H) Flippin' Samurai.

 I'll admit that Shin Onimusha did away with some of these things, but it made it up with other features. There was also the 'Blade Warriors' spin off, which apparently, 'fans' loved but... I'm not gonna lie, I hated Blade Warriors, it was a bad Smash Rip-off, but even then, even then, I could play as Samanosuke side by side with Jubei, which was badass. And then there was 'Onimusha Tactics', which most critics labeled as an 'uninspired SRPG', but I actually really, really liked. Some of the characters, like Onimaru and Ageha, were badass, and it's a shame they never managed to make an appearance on the main games.

 At the end of the day, Onimusha is a perfect concoction of a ton of things I really, really like in a video game. Capcom, where's Onimusha 5?

Month Overview: June 2015

 Games finished in June 2015:

Persona 4 - The Golden                                                          10
Persona 4 - Arena Ultimax                                                     7.5
TMNT(PSP)                                                                           1.5
TMNT(GBA)                                                                         8.0
TMNT(GC)                                                                            5.0
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Arcade Attack                     4.0

Eh, it was a rather uneventful moth, chalk it up to me deciding to catch up with my Book backloggery and the final tests of the Semester. Also, decided to give Ninja Turtle Month an early start.

Game of June:

 Persona 4 still got it. Every bit as good as it once was. The new content is mostly fluff, but hey, it's more of Persona 4, so I can't exactly complain!

Runner-up:

 Ubisoft's run with the franchise was, at least disappointing and at most terrible, but if they did one thing right, it was TMNT on the GBA. It's pretty friggin' good, and I wouldn't be surprised if they used it as the foundation for Scott Pilgrim VS the World.