Just finished a rerun of Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones. It's still solid FE, but even more misjudged than I remember it. Various monsters added as enemies and the extra skirmishes outside the main chapters are just a bad idea, and all that leveling up means the latter stages are stupidly easy. Not much thought required to plow through them.

I'm going back to the first GBA game now - familiar but reliable.

The first one - just 'Fire Emblem' - is the best version I've played and certainly my favourite strategy RPG. Superb level designs and a real challenge to get everything.

Sacred Stones not so much - it still has the basic gameplay intact but the more they fiddle with it the more they fuck it up IMO. The maps aren't as well designed and it's more grindy.

'Shadow Dragon' on DS is somewhere between the two - a little light on features because it's a remake of an older version, but good map designs.

Facewon wrote:

That was in the original too. Guess it just proves that it really is the old game under the bonnet.

I never noticed it in the original, but it seemed to happen all the time in Anniversary.

I promise it was there, swirl.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

Probably the cutest game I've ever played.

Castlevania : SOTN

Slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game, just not that good. Main concern was the structure, I spent a lot of the game wandering around trying to figure out where to go next. I know there's always a degree of that in Metroidesque games but in this it seemed to dominate the experience. Too many dead ends and red herrings.

Difficulty was also an issue; perhaps I ended up over-levelling because I spent so much time searching for the correct route, but the game seemed to start off vaguely challenging and then get easier. This surely is the wrong line of trajectory. Bosses were kind of uninspiring too.

Ultimately, I preferred Circe of the Moon (GBA). It's design may have been more conservative, but it was more satisfying and the game was harder (in a good way) and less confusing. Still, SOTN is a good game and a very welcome addition to my current binge of old-games-I've-never-played. These expensive ebay collectibles from the past + XBLA has allowed me to maintain a passion for gaming in the face of being increasingly alienated by modern video game tastes.

PS Wasn't something EPIC supposed to happen upon completion? Because it didn't - do I have to get 120 stars or something?

I definitely spoke to that woman a few times, can't remember if she gave me something to wear or not. I basically got to a bit where I killed that Belmont guy and it just rolled credits, didn't really feel like a proper end. I might FAQ it. I wasn't being sarcastic when I said EPIC btw, it's a great idea. I was just surprised when it didn't happen!

EDIT: I need Holy Glasses, apparently.

Shinji wrote:

Defeated Dark World Dr Fetus in Super Meat Boy.

Boss himself wasn't too difficult, the escape part after will cause me to have nightmares. Hello hand cramp!
Total completion is now at 81%. Have about 40 bandages and a few Dark Worlds left to try and tidy up

This has inspired me to do the same. As far as I can recall I'm stuck on one of the dark levels on Hell. Will have another crack this week. Fuck the bandages though.

Mouldywarp wrote:

I definitely spoke to that woman a few times, can't remember if she gave me something to wear or not. I basically got to a bit where I killed that Belmont guy and it just rolled credits, didn't really feel like a proper end. I might FAQ it. I wasn't being sarcastic when I said EPIC btw, it's a great idea. I was just surprised when it didn't happen! EDIT: I need Holy Glasses, apparently.

Sounds like you haven't really completed it. The Belmont ending is available the moment you get the bat form, but you've got a lot more exploring to do to really get to the bottom of things. It's difficult to appreciate fully until you've got much further.

The difficulty level was always a bit wobbly though. It's the result of giving you a more freedom to wander about. It's also possible to stumble on very difficult bosses later on, before you're really ready to take them on. I always found that to be part of its charm, though, rather than most games of this type where your 'free roaming' is actually guided to the point of near linearity.

JonB wrote:

Mouldywarp wrote:

I definitely spoke to that woman a few times, can't remember if she gave me something to wear or not. I basically got to a bit where I killed that Belmont guy and it just rolled credits, didn't really feel like a proper end. I might FAQ it. I wasn't being sarcastic when I said EPIC btw, it's a great idea. I was just surprised when it didn't happen! EDIT: I need Holy Glasses, apparently.

Sounds like you haven't really completed it. The Belmont ending is available the moment you get the bat form, but you've got a lot more exploring to do to really get to the bottom of things. It's difficult to appreciate fully until you've got much further. The difficulty level was always a bit wobbly though. It's the result of giving you a more freedom to wander about. It's also possible to stumble on very difficult bosses later on, before you're really ready to take them on. I always found that to be part of its charm, though, rather than most games of this type where your 'free roaming' is actually guided to the point of near linearity.

Indeed, the design is radical even by today's standards. But I think I prefer the more rigid design of COTM. I've explored a bit more of the game beyond Belmont but I think I got a bit tired of backtracking through the castle, not really sure where I was going. I definitely haven't finished with it though, but I need a short break.

Still can't shake the feeling that it massively influenced Dark Souls though. The openness of it, the RPG elements, the preposterous beasts, the weird WTF bits where something mental and genuinely creepy will happen with no explanation... I wonder if Hidetaka Miyazaki is a Castlevania fan or if it's just a coincidence?

I'm easily confused!

Completed Alan Wake this afternoon, although it's not fair to write a few paragraphs about it yet as I intend to do the Special Episodes DLC first.

Reads as I'd imagined. Novel scenario and top-tier game design rarely emerge holding hands.

Just got the end credits on New Super Mario Bros. 2, lawwwl. Needs moar coins.

Rage 

Had some good highs, and a reasonable length so as to be enjoyable without outstaying its welcome (albeit the ending did seem to happen pretty abruptly).  The tech definitely impressed, but not all the game lived up to it.  But heh, it's an FPS, what do you expect?

[7]

(PS: Highlight from the credits: Myongsuk Rim from Zenimax Asia.  Well done Mum & Dad.)