EC2151

So there are no more massive armies? The only way I play CIV (and the only way i've PLAYED CIV since Civilization II, my first) was to go the ubermensch route and conquer everyone on the planet. Because that way is the most fun. Now, I am not saying that I won't get this (I probably will during a holiday sale Xmas time), but if it's way harder to do that, I'd be a sad panda... Being a total political douche is one of the most fun parts of Civ. Even more so that after conquering and wiping out so many people, you could win diplomatically. Good times.

You have to fight that thing a surprisingly irritating number of times. You're not done yet!

I was excited about Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light Because I was like "A brand new, TURN-BASED, FF? Count me in; I love old-school RPGs!" Having beaten Final Fantasy 1 the most out of any other game in the series, mind you. But see, my enthusiasm dropped when I learned the main "game mechanic" of 4HoL was that in battles, you cannot select which enemy to attack- the AI automatically attacks the weakest enemy. And the heal spells are automatic- they heal the person with the lowest HP in the party. Which completely removes any and all strategy with Turn-based battles. That's when I said "Square, you fucked up again." I mean, you have shit like RPG maker. It's not hard to make a decent, or even COMPETENT RPG nowadays. But some people find ways.... Anyhoo, I'm playing Contact right now. Please tell me SOMEONE around here has played it. It's seriously, for me, one of the most thought-provoking and interesting games ever released on the DS, even if the gameplay is not the best (it really is a big ol' grindfest, but being an RPG veteran, I'm used to that). It's also great in that it has one of THE best soundtracks I've heard on the DS (sorry for the link dump) Technically Difficult- Army control device Habara- Super Department Store DRAGON AND DRAGON RPG OF THE YEAR ALL YEARS My personal fav: Seriously, this shit is great, and I hope to remix a track or two if I ever get the skill. It reminds me a lot of the Earthbound soundtrack, so if you like stuff like that. And the story really rocks (right blend of funny and serious), and the stat-building is fun. SO WHY NOBODY PLAY

an even better question to ask is "Remembuh me?"

You'd actually be surprised at how many Metroid fans are now actively comparing Sakamoto-san to George Lucas. Because they're REALLLY similar. I just hope the difference is that we don't get an Other M, episodes II and III. FROM MY POINT OF VIEW THE JEDI ARE EVIL WHAT ABOUT LOYALTY TO THE REPUBLIC? TO DEMOCRACYYYYY?

Well, in the early days, Sakamoto's flaws in his writing abilities were held in check by the fact that he wasn't a one-man show: he had co-writers, and he wasn't a big man on campus, so to speak. There was a balance which everyone contributed. However, with the fame of Metroid (mainly due to Prime lol), he's been allowed to become that "My way or the highway" type of "ideas" guy that should only be allowed in the case of people like Miyamoto, who is a verifiable genius. I mean, the credits have him as Director, Producer, and Story. I think it'd have been better if he would have shared the responsibilities a bit. I mean, folks like Kensuke Tanabe, an old Ninty stand-by a worker on the Prime games (as well as a lot of other games like OoT and Punch Out)- there was an interview with him when the Trilogy was being released- talking about how Samus is a badass who if a Space Pirate took someone hostage, she wouldn't worry but instead headshot the pirate, and about how Samus is a person who has a lot of passion but does not like to outwardly show it.... I was like "Hey, that's the right idea. Good for him (maybe he should be in charge of the next Metroid game)!" Then Tanabe says something like "that's the vision that Mr. Sakamoto has for the character." And I'm like "...?..." I read in a recent interview where he was talking about Super Metroid that he still is quite aware of the importance of environmental-based story-telling, and this confuses me, because it shows that the respect I've had in Sakamoto is not misplaced, but he clearly misfired here in the story department (very few people complain about the actual GAMEPLAY of Other M- at least as the primary complaint). All I can really hope for is that he saw Other M as an experiment to see if Metroid could tell a single, straight, and overarching narrative, and that he sees that the experiment didn't work, so he can go back to refining his core strengths (eg every Metroid game before Other M).

I was actually looking forward to The Four Heroes of Light on the DS, because I just REALLY wanted to play another Turn-based FF that wasn't gay like FFIVDS (don't kid yourself it was bad). But see then I heard Square Enix "modified" the gamplay of the DS game so that in the turn-based battles, you CAN'T select targets for attacking and for Healing- it's all automatic and AI-controlled (your lowest HP guy gets healed, you attack the weakest enemy) and they said this added 'strategy.' This is where I start to agree with that post above mine. Really, why do you ruin the GREAT part about turn-based combat? Y'know the strategic part? SE can't make a good game.

I love it. I heard this a while back on youtube and thought "Now why isn't this on OCR?" I guess it was just backlogged! Technically and musically, this is a great listen. Now I just need to get people onboard for the awesome music in the THIRD Lufia game!

But then how did she manage to get a GFED freeze fun to get Maurice? On a different note: Hey, Prime 2's soundtrack rocked. Torvus, Sanctuary Fortress, Temple Grounds, Chykka, Dark Samus.... All of these and more are pretty damn good tracks! Corruption didn't have as much good area music outside of Elysia and Bryyo Jungle, but the themes for Rundas and Gandrayda were pretty sweet. And beating metroid II for the first time last night, I do have to agree that A) it's soundtrack was great and B ) it was really ahead of its time as far as GB soundtracks go. Heck, Other M was trying to do with an orchestra what MII was trying to do with beeps and boops.

A far more productive conversation would be to continue to talk about tracks you liked out of the minimalist soundtrack. Like Search for Clues (spoiler: after Lyle's death) The Space Pirate theme, while not as memorable as Prime's was fittingly frantic and buglike. And the alternate title sequence... I'm trying to find the orchestral one in the game. The credits are great, outside of the out-of-place main theme at the beginning. I actually really like the credits sequence from the game; it's wonderfully shot and the music is really wonderful. And of course, Ridley's theme has never sounded better, in my opinion. EDIT: 1% SA-X is pretty easy when you get down to it: Just charge a shot and fire. The SA-X will screw attack forward, so move back and fire another shot. The SA-X will continue this pattern. So just jump over it repeatedly and it should be a peace of cake. And yeah, the reason I've played ZM so much is because there are just so many fun ways to play the game.

I hope you are referring to Chicago's infamous Disco Demolition riot, when Comiskey park back in the 70s decided to stage a rally during a White Sox game and as a promo they told everyone to bring their disco LPs and vinyls so they could blow them up in the middle of the field, and when they finally did blow up the disco LPs, the crowd which was mainly comprised of drunk and rowdy teenagers stoned to high heaven decided to riot and storm the field, cancelling the baseball game in the process. I really hope you were referring to that.

As far as the Deleter goes.... I'm pretty sure the game wants you to think it's James. He was at the computer room first, after all. And his helmet has a faded 07 on it. When you see the Deleter throw a Marine into the lava, the Deleter's helmet has a faded 07 on it too. The reason why KG was labeled MIA was because his body was the one thrown into the lava. You can't find a body burnt into carbon, can you? I thought it was KG too when I saw the MIA, but then other folks are like "dude, the lava," and I'm like "ohh." I think James was killed by MB when he tried to shoot her to cover up the final piece of evidence.

Holy shit is that a number muncher avatar? Oh God that brings me back to my grade school days....

I listen to J-Pop every now and then and a few anime openings (along with Touhou mixes), but other than that I usually try to be a bit more "refined," i guess you could say. As my one pal put it "Every now and then our tastes have bad days" But no, Kesha is utter garbage, through and through.

People who say Sequence Breaking sucks OBVIOUSLY have never tried it and have seen just how fun it is. Which means for the most part their criticisms mean nothing. Do you know what it's like to get the Varia suit (less damage and heat resistance) as soon as you get the bombs in Zero Mission? So basically, 5 minutes into the game? It's FUN. And yes, low item runs are fun. Heck 1% (one unavoidable missile expansion) run in Fusion is a blast.

I really like that Password mix- it's bouncy and a whole lot of fun!

Dude, sequence breaking is what makes the older Metroid games so fun! Some of it may not be on purpose, but it's hard to deny that it's given those games a whole lot of longevity. And Zero Mission. Which had INTENTIONALLY put in Sequence-breaking routes. How else could you beat that game collecting only 15 items or less, TOTAL?

You know, the retort "Why are you picking apart the story IT'S A GAME" doesn't hold as much water when you consider that in ALL the months leading up to this game, the creator (and story-writer) Yoshio Sakamoto had been repeatedly REPEATEDLY stating that the story for Other M was going to be the best thing about it, and about how proud he was of the STORY and how we're all going to love the STORY. So if something like that is SO emphasized, you'd damn better believe people are going to scrutinize it if it's not up to par. He had me friken pumped that I'd finally see Adam Malkovich, that I'd see Mother Brain, that I'd see KL2... Gah. There wasn't as much picking apart in the other games, because they DIDN'T need to be picked apart. You could speculate on things not exactly told but implied. Unlike here where they tell you everything, throw subtlety out the window, and make some scenes unintentionally hilarious (and not like the good way, like in Corruption- SPACE PIRATE GRAY JUST ISN'T MY STYLE). However, on a different note: Some of the songs on the soundtrack are actually pretty damn great. Yes, I too wish there were more melodic elements, but some things like: Nightmare Tracking the Deleter Escape from Sector 0 Approaching MB KiHunter Hive/KiHunter Fight Pyrosphere Vorash battle Are really awesome in their own right. EDIT: Looks like someone agrees with me. Good find on the "Stage 4" song- that's pretty damn cool too! I mean, heck that Kihunter fight song is pretty bitchin', though my favorite tracks are Tracking the Deleter and Approaching MB. I don't think the OST is getting enough credit; it IS professional and some tracks are good. However, I think we were all wishing for Mr. Yamamoto to work his magic again. Too bad he and Retro are working on the new Donkey Kong game, which I have a feeling will be nigh perfect.

You say Metroid games have the defining trait of no story, but you seem to forget that, oh, Metroid II, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime: Echoes*, and Metroid Fusion all told stories and actually told them very well, and that those stories are what endeared the character of Samus Aran to us in the first place. It's not that a Metroid game should have no story; it's that I wish Sakamoto would've gotten his head out of his ass and actually allowed a few people to actually LOOK at and EDIT this story so it could've been something better than what we got. Free Roam does not imply sequence breaking. Free Roam implies NONLINEARITY. All the Metroid games are on the sliding scale of nonlinearity (with Metroid 1 being the most nonlinear) but that still means that in Super Metroid you could pretty much go where you want. And still some fans I've talked to say that sequence breaking is one of, if not THE most important aspect of Metroid! Heck I just played/beat Metroid 1 last night and got the varia as soon as I got the bombs; it felt great! *Didn't include Corruption because while it is a beautiful game, it's the weakest of the trilogy, storywise. On an aside, I heard that people have found ways that you can sequence break in Corruption now, of all games!

I'd say Other M is the slightly-more-attractive-but-personality-wise-much-less-desirable sister of Metroid Fusion. I mean heck, line the two plots together and you see a bunch of things recycled from Fusion. Protip: the proper counter to that argument is NOT saying "WELL LINE THE PLOTS OF METROID 1 AND SUPER METROID TOGETHER" because Metroid 1 is a bare-bones 4 sentence plot, while Super Metroid is an evolution of that plot along with a lot more depth. Sometimes I do wonder how a man who pioneered story-telling in games and was in charge of Super Metroid could write scenes like "CONFESSION TIME." Sigh. All said, I'm still playing and still enjoying exploring in this game (working towards 100% right now... almost there!). It's fun to play, and I think it's a good game. However, it's just that with this series I've really come to expect efforts that are more than just 'good'. Oh and without a lot of horseshit exposition.

However, I think we can all agree Manthony Higgs is the absolute best thing in the game.

Dude, when I hear sidequest, you know what game pops up first? Majora's Mask. Specifically? Anju/Kafei.

That enemy, if we read Super's manual, "taps into Mother Brain's vicious telepathy waves and is drawn to them, attacking any adventurer with deadly plasma" So my guess is that outside of fanservice, he is there because he sensed MB when MB went all THE HUMANS MUST BE JUDGED on the galaxy. But since he doesn't show up in hard mode (really, NOTHING shows up in hard mode... I'm wondering if it's worth it to play instead of just doing low percent runs), he's non-canon. Still a fun fight though.

It'd be fun if there was a Metal Man vs. Metal Man song, because that would be about .05 seconds long in total.

Dude, FFV is just FUN. The countless ways you can just set your party up for maximum (or minimum) ass kickery trumps previous entries, and the job system is a lot more fun to use than the Esper system in VI (which was fine, but when that happened I basically just made my party into Ultima-spamming bastards). I LIKED FFV before I played the retranslation on the GBA. However, when I did, I full out loved it, and finally came to appreciate it for what it was. The translation is really just perfect, better than the spotty PS1 job and the other fan-translations out there. I know the folks that like FFV the most is a rarity; most prefer the classic appeal of IV, or the greatness that is VI (which i might argue is the BEST game in the series, but not the most fun), but this game is just being a kid and playing make-believe adventure with your friends. Even in the 'dark' moments it has this atmosphere that I really prefer to the more brooding and melancholy stuff of later FFs. It reminds me of the fun armosphere of Chrono Trigger and Skies of Arcadia (don't get me wrong though; CT is WAY better than FFV, but that goes without saying since CT is one of those 'just about perfect' games).