Thalzon

V is for Vanguard Bandits.

I recall, long ago, that a new Vectorman was in development for the XBox. Screen depicted it as a thoroughly generic first-person shooter with Vectorman looking more like a space marine than an awesome robot that turns into a drill (or any other number of forms). After that Vectorman didn't even get the courtesy of appearing in Sega Superstars Tennis, while two-bit nobodies like Reala and some chick besides Ulala from Space Channel 5 made the cut. If Sega is planning something, it better be good.

Sega doesn't give Vectorman any love. Then again Sega doesn't give most franchises it owns much love.

Sonic games also invariably come along after Mario has shown how it's done, which makes Sonic look even worse in comparison.

Pretty much, yeah.

So then a balance must be struck between a great new idea and maintaining Sonic's core gameplay and timelessness. Perhaps a new old-school-type Sonic game is just what the series needs to re-establish itself and stop with all the werewolf/time travel/sword/genie nonsense it's been pushing since 1999. In a way, finding that happy creative medium is harder than any other part of the design process. Something familiar yet fresh does not come easily.

Sonic's an interesting case. Whereas most things with Mario in them can be determined to be quality (or at least bug-free and good for an afternoon or two), any Sonic game that deviates from what is considered the norm is derided. Gamers in general love the Mario RPGs (a series unto itself now) and, despite any complaints, Mario Party is still pretty successful. Yet Sonic, in any attempt, is found to be a pale imitator... Because he is. Sonic is unfortunately the result of Sega's direct competition with Nintendo in the 90s, and has yet to find his place as a standalone series, free of Mario's comparison. I think, for a Sonic game to truly be upheld as an instant classic worthy of the earlier games, it can't just rehash those games mechanics and ideas, or attempt to imitate the star-collection or genre shifting that Mario does. Sonic needs a new idea, something not even Mario has done, to really stand on its own. That said, I'm not sure what that could be. It needs to be something that can't be written off as a gimmick.

hugz 4 everyone! **

Demon appear suddenly, so Chibiterasu and Susano's kid go on an adventure to find out why. That's basically it so far.

A holdover from FF6 (and maybe 5) having that option on the SNES. Lord of the Rings: The Final Fantasy X Ripoff also had a two-player option, but in that one you only had 3 characters and it made for ridiculously boring battles.

Well, if you haven't played Little King's Story you are doing yourself a disservice. There's also Muramasa coming out, and a Wii sequel to the DS game Drawn to Life. Hm, what else... Silent Hill Origins, New Super Mario Bros, Tales of... Grace, I think? No More Heroes 2, and a few other games I can't immediately recall. Also, the Metroid, Mario, and Zelda Bahamut mentioned. So there's lots coming down the line.

Moving without changing where you're aiming.

OK, there's a boss fight in Little King's Story that's really pissing me off... Or rather, it's a miniboss, one that is comprised of 3 normal enemies. It's a chicken... with two hula oniis dancing around it. It's a one-star battle (in other words, supposed to be really easy). But I find it impossible. Those two hula oniis are invincible until you destroy what they're hula-ing around... In this case, the large chicken. The large chicken attacks periodically by shooting a stream of feathers straight ahead. I currently have 17 units at any given time. WHY CAN'T I WIN?! It's virtually impossible to attack the chicken because of those damn hula-oniis, but until I deal with the chicken, those oniis won't stop and will be invincible! They'll trample anyone I send to attack the chicken! Has anyone figured this out? I'm completely stumped.

Ahaha.... ha? Aha... Hahaha.... Eh.

Possible, but I recall a friend of mine mentioning that the person behind the Phantasy Star RPGs (who was also behind Skies) was starting development on a totally new RPG project. This may be it. But the silhouette of the girl does bear a passing resemblance to Fina, at least... So you might be right.

The football game? Man, my friend and I used to play that all the time! It was an awesome little gem. But honestly, beyond the old Squeenix stuff, I can't rightly remember too many games from that generation that aren't already on the VC. Well, those and Earthbound, but we're never getting that.

So what will Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor get renamed?

From the looks of the art, it might be... some post-apocalyptic steampunk setting, maybe? The fact that Mickey, Goofy, and... Dumbo, I guess, all look like reconstructed automatons kind of tells me the theme park was remade into a series of ships (and the castle was left by itself on the plateau). Maybe the frozen brain of Walt Disney destroyed the world and is leading his theme park army on a mission to cleanse the earth of humanity. Exciting.

"Oh my god the Princess is FAT this is SEXISM this game is SEXIST and shows all gamers are ALSO SEXIST PIGS." Something like that.

I'll only buy the next game if they rework the battle system to change the following: 1) Stop making us watch the life meter deplete. At high levels this can take several seconds to happen and is downright tedious as it slows battles down to a ridiculous degree. In 40 hours, you might watch HP deplete for 20 of them. At least it feels that way. 2) Stop reminding me it's raining/snowing/sandstorming/sunny EVERY TURN. A weather icon or even a constant animation would work just as well. 3) If the message window can't be removed entirely, at least try to reduce the time spent reading repetitive battle messages. For example, just have the numbers pop up in front of the target like every other RPG. 4) No more grid. Seriously, it sucks. Give us free-range movement. Maybe make better sprites while you're at it. 5) I, swear if I see one more new bug/poison, grass/poison, normal/flying or plain water or normal type in the next gen I will burn the copy of the game I purchased.

Unfortunately it seems like all the silly controversy around the game has coloured peoples' opinions on it in some form or another. Just like some people will buy it because of the controversy, some won't for the same reason, rather than any of the merits or faults in the game. As for me, I'd probably give it a shot if I had a PS3.

His points are somewhat fair on a few of them. Bicycling, for one, and Jetski is pretty difficult to properly steer. Basketball also feels like a hit-or-miss thing, but then for me I've never been very accurate with my real-life throws either. That said, I LOVE the exploration with the airplane, and frisbee is indeed a blast.

Get Excitebots if you want a ton of bang for your buck. Granted, that bang is long and needlessly stretched-out (first you must unlock stuff. Then you have to buy that stuff with stars earned from races in single-player and online, but everything is pricey and it'll take a ton of races to buy everything). Mario Galaxy is a quality title, of course, and a pleasant challenge. Mario Kart is cheap as hell, though that can arguably be part of the appeal. Both Mario Kart and Excitebots have gpretty good online. If you want a serious timesink that still manages to be fun, I strongly suggest Rune Factory Frontier. It's an addictive action-RPG where fighting is just the crunchy crust to a gooey delicious-flavoured filling of farming, fishing, mining, crafting, marriage, and festivals. Only downside is the micromanagement aspect of maintaining the little spirits on every field map.

I've bought so many Wii games this summer and barely finished ANY of them. Punch-Out!! - Stuck on Aran Ryan in Title Defense mode. Excitebots - Played it half to death already, and I STILL need to unlock the Ant, Lizard, Roach, Squid, and Monster Truck vehicles. Online is a blast, though. World of Goo - I actually finished this one. Used 3 passes throughout the game for particularly annoying levels. FF4 After Years - I'm at Kaipo. Megaman 9 - I've only been able to beat Galaxy Man. I suck at this 2D platformer stuff. Little King's Story - It's still in its shrink wrap. Wii Sports Resort - I popped it in to give it a try. Surprisingly compelling! Flying around with the plane is currently my favourite thing to do. Basketball is a tiresome pain in single-player. 100-pin bowling = <3. Startropics 2 Zoda's Revenge - I'm on Chapter 4, the London Sewers right now. The boss is tough, but then the whole game is thanks to the more "free" movement and lack of many bonus weapons. This isn't even counting all the DS games. Guh... Thank god the job I applied for doesn't begin until mid-september and nothing else I want comes out til then, too.

Fuck that. I rub those manatees hardcore, yo. And you can't say it doesn't scare the shit outta ya to be swimming around the abyss and have that chord go and then WHOA HOLY SHIT A SHARK FUCK AGH I CAN'T SEE WHERE I'M GOING HOLY SHIT BIG CREEPY OCTOPI. And nobody offers better tours of the ocean than me. I find what they wanna see pronto. Hardcore.