What are you currently playing? 4.0

[Avaitor]

The flower world in Paper Mario is really pissing me off. There's no heart shelter, so I keep on dying. It's a pain to go back and forth through different parts to get berries to boost my HP, but unless I want to waste time and get back to Toad Town, that's all I can really do for now.

[talonmalon333]

The flower world in Paper Mario is really pissing me off. There's no heart shelter, so I keep on dying. It's a pain to go back and forth through different parts to get berries to boost my HP, but unless I want to waste time and get back to Toad Town, that's all I can really do for now.

I actually liked that part of it. It's not quite as safe as the other locations, and you need to be more cautious. It was one of my favorite locations in the game.

[gunswordfist]

If Max Payne had Max Payne 2's infinite shootdodging and Bullet Time system (God, I love that shit), they had more V junkies you can fight (none being at the lab was just CRIMINAL. I think Jack Lupino was the last one.), the dream sequences were better and they didn't use random Remedy staff members as actors for the game, then MP1 would be perfect. Still easily my favorite TPS though. Even without Bullet Time, I think it would be the best.

Would it even be possible to beat Max Payne 1 without bullet time?

:DI was thinking about that but didn't want to go there.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I got Shinobi PS2 for $3. I played through the first two full levels.

What I like:

• Basic controls - Jump, Dash, Slash, Shuriken are the basics for Shinobi. I'm glad they brought back Spells, even if I barely use them
• Wall-running - Very satisfying to pull off in between jumps and air-dashes
• Platforming - Having combat situations while jumping platforms is nice and reminds me of classic Shinobi
• Speed - Very fast, but not too crazy. Controls are rather tight
• Enemy types - Some block, some dodge, some are fast, some are slow, some are different elements. Nothing too fancy, but good enough
• Music - The level themes sound like Shinobi. However, the rest of the music is kind of generic ninja stuff. But the level themes more than make up for it.
• Art style - the game has a great look to it
• It tries to go for a 3D Shinobi feel - In everything but the combat, this is basically Shinobi in 3D. Hopefully there's more platforming later on.

What I don't like:

• The camera - It really needs to either be further out or locked behind Hotsuma.
• Repetitive level design - 2-B is pretty much the same level traversed three times. I hope this doesn't become common later.
• Shurikens suck - Yes, they stun. No, that's not good enough. Shurikens have been the main attack in the series since game 1. I understand they want you to use the sword more, but it makes the game crawl to a halt instead of keeping it flowing like the 2D games.
• No checkpoints - If you have one hit pit-deaths you really need checkpoints. This isn't really a complaint, but its really discouraging to try new things when there's the possibility you'll have to redo the whole level if it doesn't work out.
• The sword draining mechanic - Unnecessary. It rewards rushing, but if I'm in a platforming section my sword just drains and there's nothing I can do about it.
• Hotsuma's design - I understand he's not Joe Musashi, but other than the scarf, Hotsuma seems way too sleek and moody.
• That awkward pause - The one you get for beating every enemy on screen. This also goes with the unnecessary gore, in the old games they just exploded into smoke or evil essence. The gore just ups the age rating, it adds nothing to the game.

I also like that he says "Forgive Me" when he kills enemies. and he doesn't kill innocents for fun. Almost like he has a soul! 

The flower world in Paper Mario is really pissing me off. There's no heart shelter, so I keep on dying. It's a pain to go back and forth through different parts to get berries to boost my HP, but unless I want to waste time and get back to Toad Town, that's all I can really do for now.

Oh, I think I know which part you're talking about. I didn't care for that much either.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, the part where you get Lakilester and have to help bring the sun out of the light. It's just getting on my nerves.

[Rynnec]

I got Shinobi PS2 for $3. I played through the first two full levels.

What I like:

• Basic controls - Jump, Dash, Slash, Shuriken are the basics for Shinobi. I'm glad they brought back Spells, even if I barely use them
• Wall-running - Very satisfying to pull off in between jumps and air-dashes
• Platforming - Having combat situations while jumping platforms is nice and reminds me of classic Shinobi
• Speed - Very fast, but not too crazy. Controls are rather tight
• Enemy types - Some block, some dodge, some are fast, some are slow, some are different elements. Nothing too fancy, but good enough
• Music - The level themes sound like Shinobi. However, the rest of the music is kind of generic ninja stuff. But the level themes more than make up for it.
• Art style - the game has a great look to it
• It tries to go for a 3D Shinobi feel - In everything but the combat, this is basically Shinobi in 3D. Hopefully there's more platforming later on.

What I don't like:

• The camera - It really needs to either be further out or locked behind Hotsuma.
• Repetitive level design - 2-B is pretty much the same level traversed three times. I hope this doesn't become common later.
• Shurikens suck - Yes, they stun. No, that's not good enough. Shurikens have been the main attack in the series since game 1. I understand they want you to use the sword more, but it makes the game crawl to a halt instead of keeping it flowing like the 2D games.
• No checkpoints - If you have one hit pit-deaths you really need checkpoints. This isn't really a complaint, but its really discouraging to try new things when there's the possibility you'll have to redo the whole level if it doesn't work out.
• The sword draining mechanic - Unnecessary. It rewards rushing, but if I'm in a platforming section my sword just drains and there's nothing I can do about it.

• Hotsuma's design - I understand he's not Joe Musashi, but other than the scarf, Hotsuma seems way too sleek and moody.

[/b]

• That awkward pause - The one you get for beating every enemy on screen. This also goes with the unnecessary gore, in the old games they just exploded into smoke or evil essence. The gore just ups the age rating, it adds nothing to the game.

I also like that he says "Forgive Me" when he kills enemies. and he doesn't kill innocents for fun. Almost like he has a soul! 

Funny you say that, because one of the reasons the game caught my eye in the first place was Hotsuma's striking design.

My local Hastings has a copy of the game for $8. Though I'm waiting until I clear a few games from my backlog before I purchase it (knowing my luck, they'll have sold all copies of it by the time I actually decide to actually buy it).

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's a pretty good action game so far. The only thing I detest about it is the camera. Especially during boss fights. I guess it didn't happen until recently when locked-on boss cameras became standard.

[talonmalon333]

Flower Fields is my second favorite part of the game.

I can't help but notice Nintendo has not put the original Star Fox on the Virtual Console.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I got Shinobi PS2 for $3. I played through the first two full levels.

Glad to see that you're giving the game another shot. Its really underrated, IMO. If its compared to the classics, of course it won't stack up because its not the same game as those, but rather a 3D interpretation of the Shinobi gameplay style. While its probably not on the level of the older games, its still a fun and challenging action game in its own right, IMO.

• Platforming - Having combat situations while jumping platforms is nice and reminds me of classic Shinobi

Yeah, I like how it has that going for it, and in later levels I like how it intermixes both elements of platforming and combat by having you clear out enemies in mid-air while moving to the next platform.

• Music - The level themes sound like Shinobi. However, the rest of the music is kind of generic ninja stuff. But the level themes more than make up for it.

I love this game's soundtrack. The themes that play through each level are unique and feel like they belong in a ninja game, and while not every single one of them is golden, there are enough memorable tracks for me to keep me coming back for more.

• The camera - It really needs to either be further out or locked behind Hotsuma.

Yeah, this is an older 3D game, so like most action games of that time it just has that problem with it. To me, its not a huge deal because I got used to it later on, but the camera never becomes perfect, but to be honestly it rarely ever hindered me that much except every now and then during a platforming segment.

• Repetitive level design - 2-B is pretty much the same level traversed three times. I hope this doesn't become common later.

Well, unfortunately that's kind of another problem with the game, though at least each main stage set-up is distinct and unique from any of the other stages (there are 8 stages in total, each with a Part A and B to it).

• Shurikens suck - Yes, they stun. No, that's not good enough. Shurikens have been the main attack in the series since game 1. I understand they want you to use the sword more, but it makes the game crawl to a halt instead of keeping it flowing like the 2D games.

Actually, if you practice enough with the combat, you can wield the sword and strike really fast. Combine that with Hotsuma's dash ability and the combat in the later levels pretty much requires you to be a lot quicker on your feet. The shurikens are also more helpful than you think, but they don't become too useful until the enemies start becoming tougher in later stages.

• No checkpoints - If you have one hit pit-deaths you really need checkpoints. This isn't really a complaint, but its really discouraging to try new things when there's the possibility you'll have to redo the whole level if it doesn't work out.

Yeah, I felt that each Part A and B of each stage could have used at least 1 mid-way checkpoint. The levels still aren't that long so its not a huge setback if you die, but it is aggravating to be close to the end of a level only to be sent back to the beginning due to a single little error that caused you to die.

• The sword draining mechanic - Unnecessary. It rewards rushing, but if I'm in a platforming section my sword just drains and there's nothing I can do about it.

See, I honestly never had a problem with this, though, since the sword draining occurs extremely slow. Dying from having my health drained in the game was always the last thing I had to worry about, since there were plenty of enemies in each stage, and I always found new enemies to take out before it even got close to filling out the yin-yang symbol so it rarely ever even got to start draining my health (and even when it did, it drains your health pretty slow, and it'll stop as soon as you take out another enemy). So, really, that gameplay gimmick never became an issue with me in the game, honestly. Also, with or without it, you'll have to play faster in the later levels just because enemies become tougher and you'll want to deal with them as quickly as possible, in general.

• Hotsuma's design - I understand he's not Joe Musashi, but other than the scarf, Hotsuma seems way too sleek and moody.

Personally, I like his design. It doesn't seem moody to me. It just seems like a ninja costume. I always thought it looked pretty cool.

• That awkward pause - The one you get for beating every enemy on screen. This also goes with the unnecessary gore, in the old games they just exploded into smoke or evil essence. The gore just ups the age rating, it adds nothing to the game.

Eh, I can understand that, but for one thing its not really gore, its just blood. Secondly, its not even that excessive. Its just an effect, and while it doesn't add anything to the game, I'd argue that it doesn't take away anything either. Its just an effect that
gives you some player feed-back to let you know that you have damaged or killed an enemy. It could have been cleaner, but as it is its not like its just throwing blood and gore at you on the level of something like MadWorld or Gears of War, its just part of the game's design.

As for the pause, yeah, there really should have been a way to turn that off. It was kind of cool at first like a very anime-esque effect after you take out a whole group of enemies, but having that happen after each battle makes it get tiring rather quickly.

I also like that he says "Forgive Me" when he kills enemies. and he doesn't kill innocents for fun. Almost like he has a soul! 

I like that Hotsuma is pretty much the exact opposite of Kratos. I mean, he doesn't have much character to him, but I do at least like when a basic video game character has a clear sense of honor and dignity to him. That's all I really want from the character that I'm playing as in a game like this, anyways.[/list]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, it's a possibility I'll just get used to it as I go, but I don't remember this game at all. I literally remember nothing about it. Maybe I played a demo level or something, because the first two levels aren't familiar at all.

But yeah, a separate checkpoint would be nice. In the old game levels frequently had 3 sections, but there would usually be a checkpoint in the middle of each. Honestly, I would have preferred if they gave me 3 lives and gave me a checkpoint halfway per level then made me restart on a Game Over. That would have been the best way to do it. Then they could have even included hidden pick ups in the level (the one thing the game is outright missing from old Shinobi, the many pickups) to encourage more dicey platforming to reach them. Shame it never got a proper sequel. With a better camera and level design it could be something amazing.

But I do like it. More than what I remember, for sure.

Music rocks, too! But the game desperately needs a remix of this in it.

[Rynnec]

Isn't Nightshade basically a sequel to Shinobi '02 though?

[Spark Of Spirit]

Isn't Nightshade basically a sequel to Shinobi '02 though?

From what I hear it's basically a spin off with similar (but worse in every way) game play.

But I guess EK would know better.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It is. I haven't played more than the first level of it, but a lot of people don't seem to like it. I'd like to try it for myself sometime, since I used to have a friend who was a fan of both games and said that the hate for Nightshade was pretty baseless (people just didn't like that you had a female Shinobi to control instead of Hostuma or Joe Musashi, or some stupid stuff like that according to him). If its worth anything, Greg Kasavin, one of the last good reviewers from Gamespot (who left the site back in 2006, I believe), gave it a good review and said it was basically a good game that alleviated some of the problems of the first game, making it slightly better (it took away the health draining feature, and apparently had slightly better level design). So, whether its a proper sequel or not depends on who you ask, but I would still like to play it for myself at some point in time.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Music rocks, too! But the game desperately needs a remix of this in it.

I'm glad someone else finally acknowledges this game's soundtrack. As I've said before, the music in Shinobi (PS2) is so good yet so often overlooked. It really is some awesome stuff. Personally I like it just as much as the soundtrack of the classic games, and I feel as though the Shinobi series in general has some of the best music in all of gaming. I still need to get into playing the classics themselves, though.

[Foggle]

What I played of Nightshade was only slightly worse than Shinobi. Shinobi is the better game, but they're both pretty great IMO.