Saturday, September 14, 2013

Top 5 characters I want OUT of SSB4

A note to anybody reading this today (spoilers though): This was made in the summer of 2013, and this is now out of date. Especially since all of the characters who appear in this list make it in Super Smash Bros 4. No, they made little to no changes in the characters, not even the changes I wanted. (Although ROB did get a new final smash, and I thought it was cool.) If I were to update this list I'd replace Meta Knight and put a tie between Dark Pit and Lucina at Number 3. All I changed was grammar, and some really stupid spelling mistakes. (I misspelled "Ghirahim" as "Girham." No joke,) Looking back, I was a bit too hard on these characters, (if the Duck Hunt Dog can be a playable character despite people hating him before, I guess ROB's inclusion is not an issue anymore) and I just wanted to do something different, since people were making countdowns on characters they want in Smash, and are still doing it since DLC characters are now officially a thing. Until then, enjoy this dumb list.

-Elijah Berry July 6th, 2015


PS: Characters I want as DLC are Wolf, Krystal, King K. Rool, Travis Touchdown, Simon Belmont, and/or any Square Enix character.

Yes, we are all making countdowns on characters we want in the next Super Smash Bros, but there might be some characters that have a possible chance of not getting in, whether they were terrible in battle, not relevant as they are today, or just random unnecessary choices. That's where I come in, however I will be fair and talk about how the moveset can be changed if possible. The only rules are that I'm going to pick characters that were in the roster in Brawl, veterans or newcomers. This isn't a new characters I don't want in the next smash list. Also, I'm excluding the third party characters (Sonic and Snake) because it's very possible they won't be in, because guest characters don't usually last for more than one game in a series, especially in fighting games. Let me get my water gun to douse the oncoming flames and let's start this list!

Number 5
Toon Link


I don't exactly hate the character and know he can be changed, hence why he's ideal to be at the very bottom of this list. He is only one of few clones on this list- actually calling them clones is getting old, in a way, they are just model swaps, it was a bit more obvious in Melee because while they were changed aesthetically (slowing them down or speeding them up, size, or the color of fire, etc), there are no other changes in their moveset. That's going to come back later. What can be changed if Nintendo wants him back, since the remake is coming out soon, is of course his moveset, all from his games that uses the cartoony style. For Example, his Up-B move can be a deku leaf instead of a spin slash, his bombs can become the remote bombs from minish cap, his side be can be the pegasus boots, the bow element can change from fire, ice, or light, every time you use it, and finally his final smash would be him using the wind waker and summoning a big tornado to blow away his opponent. So I forgive characters who are kind of the same if the moveset has at least a few big changes, like Mario and Luigi. Their side-B and down-B are different in Brawl and thus Luigi no longer qualifies as a clone. So unless they can give him the moveset I have, I'd see him be replaced with either Ghirahim or Groose from Skyward Sword.

Number 4
Jigglypuff

OK, obviously a water gun isn't going to work, let me get my fire hydrant ready.

Yes. I know she was one of the 12 playable characters in original Smash Bros. Yes! I know that she's going to become a fairy type in Gen 6! YES! I KNOW SHE HAS THAT REST ABILITY THAT OTHERWISE USELESS IF YOU PLAYERS AREN'T TOUCHING HER! Regardless, she's not really that relevant. The only reason (I think) she was chosen was because of the anime, but the anime doesn't feature her anymore, at least that one Jigglypuff that has the mic/pen thing. Does anybody use it in the games? No? Then why keep her there?! Fairy Type, or no Fairy Type, it wouldn't make that much of a difference as a fighter. I mean, what? Are they going to make Jigglypuff's moves super effective against Yoshi or Bowser?

...

Anyways, you want Jigglypuff? Then implement some of the new Fairy Type moves in the moveset, and change her final smash into something useful. Otherwise there was enough Gen 1 in the series anyways. I have a feeling most of the staff were Genwunners, so aside from Pikachu or Mewtwo (with his new forms) just replace them with other generations, I would put the Pokemon Trainer there, but like Young Link, he can be replaced with another incarnation like the Kalos Trainer (using Gen 6 starters), or N (using a Gen 3, 4, and 5 Pokemon).

Number 3
Meta Knight

Yeah, it was either him or Ike for an overpowered character, and Ike can be replaced with Roy for maximum irony, and Meta Knight is too fast and too strong at the same time. He might be the most infamous in the Smash Bros community that he was taken out of Brawl Tournaments, so taking him out means less complaints. If he has to be kept it's best to have one without the other. Keep his speed but lower his power to the point where one hit is 1% of damage, and it'd be hard for him to KO an opponent. So yeah, change or bust, that's what I say for him, moving on.

Number 2
Falco

Yeah 911? It's seems the fire hydrant wasn't enough to stop the flaming, could you get some firemen here asap? Thank you.

It's no secret that the most infamous example of clones are the Star Fox characters since Falco and Wolf have the same exact moveset as Fox. Falco is the most obvious clone that was somehow kept in Brawl. Don't get me wrong, Falco is not a bad character in his series, but what makes him different than Fox other than his species?

"Well, Fox's gun is more rapid, while Falco's gun can stop opponents"

Fox could do that in the original Smash.

"OH! I know! Fox can hold his reflector while, Falco can 'kick' his reflector in Brawl!"

(Sarcasm)That's very clever.(Sarcasm) So that attack is less useful because you can attack him from behind while he does it. It doesn't even last long.

Just... Kicking the reflector. Kicking it! That's awesome!

So he's here on this list is because, while he might have personailty, there is nothing I can think of for Nintendo to change his moveset. (Other than kicking the GUN!) The only thing to do is to replace him with Krystal, because I agree with RabbidLuigi that she can use her staff for her moveset and if you've played Star Fox Adventures, you'll know what that staff can do. Just make sure she doesn't have the same low amount of brain cells she had in Command. Trust me, I'll go into that piece of scrap metal one day. The point is, that I don't understand why you guys enjoy playing as him. Speak of the devil, this is a question for...

Number1
ROB

Why did Sakurai want him there? Why R.O.B and not Krystal, or Cloud, or Megaman?

Now I'm not against putting in characters that are just stupid. (Not that this series wasn't kind of stupid to begin with) In fact, when I first saw that trailer showing the Wii Fit Trainer as a playable character for the next game, I was laughing hysterically, and it just made me realize something. The team is no longer taking this seriously, they really want to just have fun making it just as we are going to have fun playing it. Brawl seems to have took itself seriously, evident in the Subspace Emissary story mode. ROB was there for the story, but why even make him a playable character. Before you harp on me, I am aware that he was responsible for ending the video game crash of 1983, but the truth is... he was a third of the reason. Nintendo marketed the original NES as a toy, right? So they had to make some Toy like peripherals for the NES, there was ROB, but there was also the light gun. Nintendo would bundle the game with Duck Hunt and of course Super Mario Bros. So really it's the Zapper and our beloved Mario that saved us gamers from the crash. So again, why? He has made cameos, why don't you leave it at that? Hell, he made a cameo in Brawl's F-Zero Stage? He's not the worst character I played as, but he's not great, with his moveset being slow, clunky, and not to mention an easy to dodge Final Smash. There's not enough material you can even do with him, it's like making a power glove a playable character. Though it'd make a good skin for Master/Crazy Hand. So, Why...

This is Elijah Berry of Dokemon Studios, and it looks like the firemen are here.


Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Super Paper Mario Review

I decided to make reviews about video games when I've completed them. I don't know if this should be a recurring thing. So let me start off with Super Paper Mario.



This may not be the most debatable game, but when it came out there seems to be a difference between critics and fans. Critics gave it positive reviews, while "some" fans of the series did not like it. I say some because I know there are many people who love the game despite the change in gameplay, but we'll get to that later. For now, do I think it folds with the rest of the series or should it be crumbled up and thrown in the recycle?

Story
Since this is an RPG I feel like I need to explain the story. I know, "story is non existent in the Mario series!" But considering the Mario RPG series is actually known for having interesting stories and twists, this one needs to be worth talking about, and besides, this game is well known for having a good story and if I can't share my opinion then who can? So this means I'm going to be sharing spoilers, but just in case, if I do more reviews I'm going to be adding spoiler boxes down below, so you can enjoy for yourself or in case you're one of those gamers who don't give a s**t about story in a video game.

So Princess Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser (must be monday), and Mario and Luigi goes out to save her. Until a new villain named Count Bleck takes all of Bowser's forces, along with Bowser himself, Peach, and Luigi. Mario on the other hand gets sent to Flipside, where their universe (honestly that part was kind of vague, they never really said what it is.) is going to be engulfed by a void. Because Count Bleck has forced Bowser and Peach to be married, because a tome known as the Dark Prognosticus foretold that the Chaos Heart will be summoned once a couple has been married and that's exactly what happens. However, A Light Prognosticus foretells that a hero will bring 8 pure hearts to flipside and stop destruction from happening, and Mario is chosen as the hero. Later on, it's revealed that 3 more heroes will assist Mario with his quest, so Peach, Bowser, and even Luigi much later in the game. Throughout the game we see some flashbacks (not exactly see, it's literally all dialogue and no visuals.) about a couple named Timpani and Blumiere who  his father banished Timpani to other dimensions and eventually it's revealed that the couple might be among each other.

So what don't I like about the story? Well, this game seems to hammer in the fact that Mario is the Chosen One, when he has barely any development or even impact on the story, yes he collected all of those Pure Hearts, but any hero in their own story could've done that. He's like Ash Ketchum from Pokemon the Movie 2000, he claims to be a hero yet he overshadows the true main characters story arc, in SPM's case, it's Tippi and Count Bleck. It's like the chosen one thing was just thrown in, because hey kidnapping the Princess is cliche, but we can't change the premise in the main games, let's get a different story cliche here. But I will say this about Tippi and Count Bleck's character arc, in the end when they reunite is a satisfying reunion. The emotion they bring, the farewells they bring, and the redemption from Count Bleck is done well. It brings in some sad stuff, but keeps it bittersweet, because of the hope that the couple will come back. But in the end the story is a bit unfocused.

Also here's a quick summary on the characters (How some of the will play is for later), there's Mario, Peach, and Bowser who to be honest don't have an impact on the story, there's Luigi, who gets possessed and turns into Mr. L which I have to admit was kind of cool. But then you got Dimentio who is actually the best part, even to fans of the game for good reason. Just the fact that he still keeps his calm throughout the game just gives me his charm. The other characters are kind of forgettable and really not much to talk about.

Gameplay
I bet you want to know what I think of the gameplay. Well, I can sum it up like this. Nintendo, if you wanted to make a Mario platformer for consoles, make one. Don't put it in a spin off that has a different focus. As for the gameplay itself, you can switch between 2D gameplay and 3D gameplay. I think the problems for me is in the controls. I understand that Nintendo wants to be like the NES controller, but I wish you could also use the classic controller. I'm glad there are motion controls, but I don't really like playing the wiimote at least sideways. It's like using a TV remote sideways and all of words and numbers are on their sides, it doesn't look right. This is one of those games where they should at least have more controller options, like the Gamecube controller (because a PM game was released for it). Mainly because there's not many buttons for the Wiimote on it's own. you press up next to the door. Now that would've been fine in 2D, but sometimes when you flip in 3D trying to enter a pipe it gets confusing. (It gets worse in 4-4 where the gravity changes along with the control scheme in any direction) If only they could've used the B button. The controls are just too restrained. The platforming itself is fine, but what I really hate are the segments where up have to go up the level, because any time you get hit or make a wrong move, you get knocked back, and fall down sometimes back where you started. It's starting to become a bad cliche isn't it? I feel I should mention the Pixls, they act as weapons and special attacks, like throwing, bombs, hammers, ground pounds, etc. Like Zelda, some of the Pixls can be underused, sure they can be used to solve puzzles, but in battles only a few are useful. It gets worse as some of them aren't even useful in boss fights. Speaking of which, except for some bosses, a lot of the game is too easy, more or less than the other Mario platformers depending on your skill, Granted in my recent playthrough I got Barry right after I beat the Chapter 3 Boss and it made most of the game easier because if your timing is right, you can get through the bosses easily. Even if you don't have these kinds of crutches they can still be easy because you can just use Throueu (sp. right?), or do the usual jumping on technique to hit the enemies, and they are not that hard to dodge, the only real challenges are Francis (who doesn't really turn invisible as much as turns unsolid..), and Count Bleck. I haven't beaten Pit of 100 Trials yet, but that's optional and not really part of the main game. So while the gameplay can be good and not bad, it needs to be more of a challenge. This is before people complain about the main Mario platformer series being too easy mind you.

Graphics and Sound
I will say that the graphics are the most creative I've seen on the Wii and the level design looks good. Especially when you begin a chapter and all the lines draw themselves revealing the level, that was amazing! The character designs made for this game, don't really match up with the previous Mario characters, to the point where I don't know if the new characters are out of place or the old characters. For the music, not a lot of the music stand out. Most of us know the final boss theme, The Ultimate Show and... that's it. I barely even remember the songs in this game. (Note: I know this part was very short compared to the rest, but just expect that for other future reviews)

Overall
This game is not really that bad, and I'd appreciate Nintendo for trying something new, but if Chuggacconroy calls this game a "love letter" to the classic 2D Mario games, then it could technically be called a dear john letter to the Traditional Turn based gameplay. While the story at times can be good, it just comes off as being unfocused. Some people have said this is a parody, but if this is a parody, then I must ask why we have some emotional conflict done right and a dark tone? That's like making a funny satire with a dramatic scene that makes you cry. Also one minor point, the cameos need to stop! They just feel forced and for the references to previous Paper Mario games, don't make sense since this game takes place in an alternate dimension, that isn't the one from the previous Paper Mario games, so how do they know this stuff?

My rating will be different, instead of numbers or letters, it'll be depended on this.

Worth Keeping
Worth Playing
Worth Renting
Worth Testing
or Worthless

And the rating for this game is: Worth Renting

Now that I'm done with this, the next game I plan to play is... this.

Wish me luck, guys!

Intro Crap

So yeah, this is where I'll be doing my reviews here. Don't expect anything special.