EPISODE 3 REBORN!!

Hello once again!

Here's the re-imagining of Episode 3, which highlights Tennis, Pinball, Kid Icarus and Super Mario Bros.

Even though I've remade these videos from scratch, I've made sure that I stick to my original notions back in early 2011. After playing (*cough cheating cough*) my way through all of Kid Icarus this year, I was almost tempted to say that it sits. But then I remember that if I was playing it the normal way, I'd probably still be stuck on the second or third level. So tough luck Kid Icarus, you FALL!

 

IN OTHER NEWS...

I am this close to finishing Dragon Quest VI on the DS. The game is fine. Mechanically it's as good as Dragon Quest games always are. But the story is just so, so BLAH.

D.Q.4 had that really clever concept of splitting the game up into (seemingly) unrelated "chapters" with different characters. It was novel, and I dug it. Then D.Q.5 went the opposite route and had you follow the main character throughout his entire life, from childhood all the way through to old age. Again, really original idea and well-implemented.

D.Q.6 has you travelling between a "real" world and a "dream" world. Only problem is, 90% of these worlds are the same! They have the same town names and everything! I would have thought that the dream world would at least LOOK thematically different, but no. They pretty much look exactly the same. Which makes the game very confusing.

And the double-worlds thing is its only real hook. The rest is just Regular Dragon Quest 101. Which is not BAD per se, but it's certainly disappointing after what came before.

ANYWAY.

Once D.Q.6 is done-and-dusted, I will have completed D.Q.4, 5, 6, 8 and 9. And guess what just got a 3DS release recently? That's right, D.Q.7, notoriously the longest game in the entire series... Forgive me for not leaping for joy... Bad back, you know.

In all honesty, I'm going to leave it a while before jumping into that game. I'm a bit Dragon Quested out right now.

IN MORE OTHER NEWS...

I had held off on buying the new Shantae game (1/2 Genie Hero) until the physical copy came out. Then I found out today that the physical version is for the U.S. only. Boooooo!

 

So I guess I'll just have to buy it digitally like some poor person or something. Bleugh.

IN OTHER OTHER NEWS...

It's almost the end of 2016. What a year. Following on from today's horrible news that Carrie Fisher had passed away, it's ridiculous how many celebrities have bitten the dust this year!

I listened to a guy on IGN's "Game Scoop" podcast saying that he thought 2016 was the best year for gaming in over a decade, and I almost spit my coffee out. I feel like 2016 has been a horribly disappointing year for gaming. At least for the games I play. Let's see...

 

Star Fox: A disappointment. The story was a complete retread (for the third time!) and the gameplay was borderline broken.

Disney Infinity: Ooooh, this one hurt. I feel like there are still SO many figurines that should be added to this amazing collection. I can't believe they pulled the plug just when it was finding its feet!

Street Fighter: Capcom lost me pretty much as soon as it launched. I haven't even bothered getting any of the D.L.C. characters yet. I'll wait until there's some big sale on or something. I sure as heck can't buy them with my game playing points, since you need to be a PSN member to play. Also, the game is STILL lacking an Arcade mode... Y'know, the MAIN GAME?

Final Fantasy: People are constantly saying it's a miracle that a decent game ended up releasing this year after a decade in development. Well, yeah. The game is decent. But is it a good Final Fantasy game? No. It constantly feels like the important parts of the story are happening elsewhere, and the combat is just awful. It pains me to see the FF7 remake going with such a similar-looking battle system. Add a couple of little tweaks to the old ATB system and you have a winner. FF15's combat is sloppy, messy and confusing.

Mario & Luigi: Admittedly, I feel like "Paper Jam" has the most refined and enjoyable combat system of the entire series. Too bad the story is dull, derivative and just pointless. Where's the creativity this series was known for?

Paper Mario: A renowned disappointment, though not unplayable. Just forgettable. Considering what classics the first two games were, I can't help but shake my head in disbelief at where they've taken this series.

I Am Setsuna: Was designed to be a follow-up to Chrono Trigger. It's just blah. Nice piano music though.

Ratchet & Clank: Beautiful graphics and perfectly "fine" gameplay. But it just felt like a paint-by-numbers remake. Nothing "wow" worthy or exciting, except perhaps the final boss.

Mighty No.9: Where do I even begin?? I am a MASSIVE Mega Man fan, which makes this game an even more MASSIVE let-down. Kinda breaks my heart...

Pokemon Go: The game that made the entire world go (temporarily) crazy, turns out to be actually pretty crap. I played it for a day or two and then realised that it's not a good game, and stopped. Looks like it took most people a bit more time to realise this, but it's happening...

Metroid Prime Federation Force: For the love of all that is good... This is Nintendo SPITTING into the eye of its most passionate fans. Insulting. (At least one fan managed to create a fantastic game in the Metroid 2 "AM2R" Remake - better than anything entire teams at Nintendo are doing...)

So what do all of the above games have in common? They were all 2016 disappointments. Here's hoping for a much more exciting 2017. Hopefully the Switch will add a new spark into the industry.
 I suppose this year wasn't all doom-and-gloom. There were a few games I did really enjoy...

Twilight Princess HD: One of my favourite Zelda games got an absolutely beautiful makeover. Right here in Melbourne too! Love this game to pieces! I just completed the Wolf Link Shadow Dungeon with 19.5 hearts so that my Amiibo will be ready-to-roll when Breath of the Wild launches next year!

Uncharted 4: The gunplay is still blah, but the story, the acting, the stunningly beautiful environments... Exploring the world of Uncharted is just a joy.

Pokemon Moon: It's still clutching on to too many past cruxes, but this one has definitely taken a huge step in the right direction. Really enjoyed it.

Inside: Beautiful. And messed up. To say more would be spoilers. Highly recommended. And - hooray! - a game that I can finish in just a few hours! I LOVE those games!!

Have a happy new year, everybody! Fingers crossed for a really awesome 2017!