Re: off topic: Other games. Currently I'm playing Guitar Hero II, still haven't beaten Six and Jordan on expert. Also playing Cave Story. I can't believe I waited so long to download that game, it's great. I like the Kirby series, Zelda series, and the Wario series too. Mainly the old ones. The newer Kirby games, excepting Amazing Mirror, suck, I can't stand 3D Zelda, and Wario platformers started sucking by WL4. Wario Ware and Wario Ware: Twisted were great, though.
Re: off topic: Other games. Thanks for the recommendations colour_thief. I've actually not spent much time on Twinkle Star Sprites or Panel de Pon, so I'll definitely give them another go; and would you believe it, I've never even played Super Monkey Ball so I'll be sure to look into picking up a copy. What makes you recommend the first one over 2 or deluxe?
Re: off topic: Other games. I recommended the Gamecube version because the analog stick on the Gamecube controller has a guide to help lock the stick in the basic 8 directions. This is really useful, especially the ability to lock it straight up. Deluxe is actually Monkey Ball 1, 2, and some additional levels. It's not a bad deal at all, though you'll have to play with an Xbox or PS2 controller (sub optimal but not the end of the world). I'm recommending the first Monkey Ball in particular because it was originally an arcade game, and the level design is especially polished. Monkey Ball 2 has good stuff too, but there are a lot more easy filler levels and gimmicky levels. The GBA, DS, and Wii games are even farther away from reproducing the gameplay that made the first game so popular.
Re: off topic: Other games. I confirm all of this--Monkey Ball 1 is the superior game if you're playing the main game, 2 is on the whole too gimmicky, and Deluxe has less responsive controls (especially for the PS2 version, and though the XBox is supposedly a little better, neither hold a candle to the Gamecube controls--in fact, they're bad enough that a lot of the really difficult expert/expert extra/master levels are nearly impossible unless you're used to the less responsiveness, so beware). In essence: SMB1 has the superior main game SMB2 has (somewhat arguably) the better mini games SMBDeluxe is an mishmash of both, but you play on subpar controllers/with less sensitivity. Pick your poison. =P Also, I gotta say you've all got great taste--to those thinking about importing a Japanese PS2: It's worth it. Daioujou, ESPGaluda, and Mushi are all excellent games and worth the import. Speaking of, my imports of Psyvariar Complete and Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary (a modern Puyo Puyo with the ability to shed those obnoxious Fever rules? Count me in!) should be coming in this week, joy! Besides puzzlers and shooters, I find I still can't resist the allure of a good RPG: Persona 3 has currently captured my attention, and refuses to let go...plus I've gotta finish up Dragon Quest VIII and finish my re-playthrough of Skies of Arcadia...so I've clearly got quite a backlog to work off all around... ~EI
Re: off topic: Other games. The Wii version of Monkey Ball added a jump button.. pretty strange move if you ask me. But yeah, first Monkey Ball is the best one.
Re: off topic: Other games. Interesting how acronyms that are identical to those of arguably iconic products can confuse things. SMB1 is an NES game. SMB2 is an NES game. SMBDeluxe is a Game Boy Color game. LJ is a blogging community. I've seen videos of Espgaluda and other bullet hell shooters. Sure, the player's hitbox is tiny, but it's still hard to play for an hour without getting hit three times. Do the home versions of these games have an "easy enough for babies" mode, so that someone with a life doesn't have to endlessly replay the first 120 seconds of the game?
Re: off topic: Other games. I'm going to ignore the part that kotetsu already replied to. As for the rest, it's also hard (actually impossible) to play TA Death for an hour without topping out. Most of us do replay the first 120 seconds of that almost endlessly... I know the whole "but it's not Tetris" bit would come up, but point is, these games have little features in there which allow you to work on perfecting (for a bunch of points) the parts you have down while still trying to figure out the parts you don't. As such, there's a LOT of improvement you can work on while trying to get to the next section, which for the record, will happen pretty quickly in most cases. Lastly, I don't think you're supposed to be playing these games for an hour without getting hit three times...
Re: off topic: Other games. Most shmups only last about 20 minutes I think. And I played a bit of Galuda for the first time at the Strasbourg TGM meet... I only played a handful of times, but was making it to level 3. These games are hard but they are also approachable. Not to mention far more predictable than Tetris.
Re: off topic: Other games. But at least TAP has the easier modes Normal and Master, which is why I asked whether these manic shooters have easier modes than the modes I see on YouTube "superplay" videos. As I understand it, when you play a scrolling shooter, and you get hit, you go back to the last checkpoint, except if it is your third time, in which case you go back to the first level. This is true of Xevious, Star Force, Silver Surfer, and several other games. Do these newer games have a life bar or something? Random Generator makes things lots more predictable, as we hashed out in that Playing forever article. Is it the case that these shooters have no random element at all?
Re: off topic: Other games. Most of them got lives. When you got hit, you lost a life, respawn with a few seconds of invicibility. When you run out of life, game over. If you continue, you start right from where you left. You are usually offered a MAX POWERUP OF DEATH that bounce on the screen. Authentics gamers (read: that are in a game center and must pay to play) usually don't continue due to arcade logic ("Why continue if it's too hard for me ? I should rather train the earlier levels"). Some pattern are randomly orientated, I think. Or there are some zone where bullet are randomly sent (boss 1 in DoDonPachi, the circle bullet thing)
Re: off topic: Other games. on the topic of shooters, i played cs for about 5 years, and q3 cpma for about a year
Re: off topic: Other games. Mushihime-sama has got arrange mode. It auto drops a bomb that clears the screen of all bullets if you would get hit. You have 2 bombs every life (and very occasional you can get an extra one), so in that mode of play you sort of have 9 lives instead of 3 ...
Re: off topic: Other games. about ESPGaluda : this game is not too hard for average shmup player if you just focus on surviving. as ct described you can survive quite decently even if you have never played the game before, but if you aim for score attack it is another story. Raiden (oldschool) DX for the win !!
Re: off topic: Other games. @ Tepples: There are easy modes for manic shooters. The pattern comes with way less bullets compared to the 'normal' mode. More so, if you play the insane difficulty, some games add tiny bullets which are way worse.. Plus, like IRS/IHS/DAS, bullet hells shmups(some) comes with a 'slow' button. Makes your ship slower and much easier to control. Some even a boss bar at the bottom, so you can see where the boss is because you spend too much time avoiding bullets, and not the killing boss (not looking upwards) _________________ Topic: Currently playing Scarface for the Wii. Metroid 3 this month yea?
Re: off topic: Other games. Oh dear God, there are no checkpoints. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE shooters which have those and evidently most people today are with me on that; now you basically always respawn precisely where you died. All of the shooters I've brought up work that way as far as I know, except for the second loop of Progear, which sends you back on a death unless it's on a boss. Luckily I'm still on the first loop, so there's no putting up with that...
Re: off topic: Other games. Ontopic btw. I'm currently trying to develop pop'n music skills. I got me an arcade controller from play-asia and just finished pop'n music 14 fever the arcade mode / easy / 5-button.
Re: off topic: Other games. If you want some advice for learning Pop'n Music, I think there are two things to train your brain for: 1. Memorize the colors, and their corresponding positions on the controller. 2. Small Pop-kun = top row, big Pop-kun = bottom row. Just read the notes based on those two things, and don't bother as much over their positions. Also, if you get confused by a big random-looking Pop-kun blob on the screen, set the Hi-Speed modifier higher. And I definitely agree that the first Monkey Ball was by far the best one, in terms of the main game. It's also the most challenging - took me over 2 YEARS to get the Master levels.
Re: off topic: Other games. It's funny, i play exactly the opposite way. I know the positions better then colors. I can get no bad with beat-pop turned on and not without it. At the moment my biggest problem is blindly finding back the center of the controller (red). 5-button is no problem, but when i switch to 9 buttons and use 2 hands for white / yellow series on one side i can't center again.
Re: off topic: Other games. I've been playing Pop'n Music for years (although my Ransai ASC has a shorted wire that needs repairing, so I haven't played for a little while). I'm level 33-36 player for reference. Learning the button layout will come naturally with practice. If you want to become better quickly, force yourself to play 9 button only. You'll be amazed how quickly you learn the exact position of each button without looking. At lower levels this isn't a big deal because the buttons are nice and large and you rarely have to hit 2 with one hand at the same time. When you start playing higher levels (20+) however your accuracy will need to improve dramatically so that you can hit 2, 3 or even 4 button combinations accurately and in rhythm. Please ask away if you have any questions.
