Doin' the Omoralisk Schlagerfestival (3)

I don't know if the week before scared me so much, but the first few songs of this week sounded... good. I know, I must have caught something. How's the temperature? Well, it didn't last since nr 5-6 was the slowest ballad dragging it to a stop. Not bad either, but not something I thought would work in this place. What's nr 7 then... A Sami??? Could this be a new Roger Pontare? Oh boy, he even dresses up like him in full sami clothing. This is gonna be awesome, this.... wait, what languish is he singing in? Sami? Great, now I can't even understand the Swedish contributions to the show. Again, this set me up for something grand like Roger Pontare and pulls me down faster than a falling star. Really, is it to much to ask for something like this?

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

 

Castlevania: Circlke of the Moon, more commonly known as Castlevania for the Game Boy Advance was the second game I bought for the Game Boy Advance and the second Castlevania game I ever played (the first one being Castlevania 64) and it's one of my favorite Castlevania games. The design of the castle and enemies, the magic system and best of all the best music of any Castlevania game that I've played (might be due to reusing much music from Castlevania: Bloodlines on a better hardware). The story is that Dracula has been resurrected by Camille and you as Nathan Graves have to stop him and rescue your master Morris Baldwin to be sacrificed. You aren't a Belmont so instead of the Vampire Killer you have the Hunter's Whip.

This is Metroidvania game so you run around the castle looking for artifacts to give you special abilities so that you can traverse more of the Castle. Things that stand out from later games is that you can hold 99 things of anything (compared to max 9 in later portable Castlevanias) and your magic system is card based. You gather attribute and action cards and combine two to make a magical effect like summoning familiars or damaging screen clearing spells, changing weapons to swords or punches etc or boosting attributes or enhance thing like exp and so on. The bad thing about this system is that the cards is randomly dropped from certain monsters and there is no clue to which one so you must be rather lucky to get them in some cases. Worst are the false candles that reappears in the two first bosses rooms after defeating certain bosses. So an item walkthrough is recommended. Also a walkthrough for each cards combination effect since they don't say what it is until you done it, for example it doesn't show protecting against poison until you have that combination activated and run into a poisonous enemy. And this game came out in 2001, glad I had Super Play that gave me the basic rundown of where to find the cards and how to use them. Worst are the summoning cards which needs a button combo to perform. How would you know that without looking it up on the internet?

So those things can be a bit annoying. The same goes for the item drop system. You don't have a monster collection book so you yourself have to remember which monster drops what. Where do I get the super potions? Those are a must if you are going through the arena since you don't have any magic there and it's rather impossible otherwise. The arena also has two unique monsters caring a card each. Thanks for that game designers! Luckily the following games fixed that problem by having both a store and a monster collection book with item drops in them (together with a percentage so you know which monsters to fight for the best item drop).

Why do I bring it up? It was released a couple of weeks ago on the Wii U virtual console and I had to have it and replay it, this time on a screen that I actually could see on (compared to the original Advance where I had to point a light directly on the screen to see what was going on. And it still looked amazing and the sound, the sound was fantastic. 8 hours to run through this game (of course this time I knew what I was doing but still) and then I looked at the electronic instruction manual (a scanned version of the one that came with the game) and so many memories followed when I read through the manual over and over again so that the pages fell of. Still has the game, box and manual in the attic at home (maybe a bit squashed, but still). It was so fun. Expected the sequel one week later, but it took them a bit longer to release.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

OJECTION!

Another game I didn't think about buying and I heard about these game since they came out. Original Game Boy Advance games ported to the DS and now piffed up for 3DS and HD. Basically a point-and-click adventure game centered around a defence attorney protecting the innocent from death row... with the help of a spirit medium and a bumbling police detective. A really fun game with interesting stories and characters that really connects with me (if other feels the same I don't know). I really feel for the characters, even some of the murderers you feel for since sometimes the victims are not some little angel. Since the games are more story driven than anything else I will not spoil anything that tells who the murder is or something like that. Which makes it hard to say anything about the special cases so I'm gonna speak of overall themes. The first game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney overall feels more about the prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The cases ties in more with him overall and tells his background as he became prosecutor and also his connections to Phoenix Wright. A fun little note is that there is one case that probably comes when it was ported for the DS since it also have moving pictures on a videotape, several pictures where you must press the screen and characters that I guess came in later games. Which is rather noticeable since it isn't mentioned in the other games or even make a cameo compared to most other characters that show up again and again.

I presume the first game sold enough to warrant 2 direct sequels since both games feels like their stories are connected more than the others and was made at the same time. The first sequel, Justice for All is more about Maya Fey (your spirit medium side-kick) and her heritage. Plus they set up a really great arching enemy for the next game, Trails and Tribulations which incidentally is more about Phoenix Wright. And the truth is that when the game ended after almost 70 hours I felt a bit misty eyed. All the characters, the ups and downs in the courtroom and then it was all over. No more Gumshoe, Edgeworth, Pearls and Maya Fey and no more Phoenix Wright, well until he was back again, but for that I need a larger memory card. A funny thing is the localization where it's stated they are American and ergo the games take place in America. Then explain to me how it can be that there are Japanese shrines and temples fricking everywhere I go, not to mention all the Japanese symbols and texts all over the place?

Gameplay mechanics then. Looking for clues and evidence to use in the courtroom to expose contradiction in the testimonies. Nothing wrong for the most part. Sometimes though it's the usual point-and-click sin of having clearly seen clues that you can't pick up until you have a in-game reason to pick it up, even though I as the player can think one or two steps ahead. Of course this also bites me when trying to prove contradictions as I can see the contradiction and have proof, but the game doesn't allow it since I need to follow the game designers logic than how I think. It would work if the penalizing system wasn't made harder after the first game. In the first game every recess restored the penalty bar, but in the second game to restore the bar you have to unlock something called Psyche-lock during the investigation segments of the game, meaning I have to treck through 2-3-4 trails before it was back to 100 % meaning every penalty is hard on you (I think they did that since the first game had penalties for doing the right thing since you were a newbie at it) since they stick for a long time. 

Also, other things I don't like is proving contradictions on a photo cause it isn't always clear how Phoenix Wright thinks (which harkens back that it isn't my logic that solve the case, it's the game designer). Worst part is if you know it is a contradiction, you have the proof, but you must also choose which statement is false, even though it could be another one. Another worst part was the tape in the final case of the first game, where we time and time again went back and forth over the tape showing inconsistencies in the testimonies. You have to play each case in one sitting as well, since you need to keep all information in the head to see if somethings wrong. And this is when I'm shamefully admit that I time from time had some little guiding help from a walkthrough. Yes, I know, but sometimes the logic is a bit over the place and when the game throws instant game overs if you press the wrong statement or penalize you for even trying. I have a hard time going through the same dialogue again, especially if it's the very end of a long trail segment just before recess. Still, took me 70 hours with cheating here and there so it's still a massive game. I can also chalk it up to being more of a story kind of guy and really enjoying it and the suspense of a court room drama.

Final thing, the music is fantastic, the different prosecutor themes of Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma are the best, and the plot thickens sound bite puts me on edge every time. Most tracks are energetic and  want more and more of it. Even if it's just a 10 second loop. Hmm, need to get my hand on that.

Doin' the Omoralsik Schlagerestival '15 (2)

Watched the second part most of the time at least. Regrettably, I admit. Really, most of the songs worthless, slow, boring and even awful. This part probably had the most embarrassing song on multiple levels I've ever heard on this show. A song called "Groupie". And now most of you (I hope, it could be that I'm old fashioned) would think about fans to rock groups that follows back stage and such. Really, quite a well known word if you ask me. In this song it's about... selfies with more people. Now, I might not be the most hip or forward when it comes to cultural phenomenons, but I thought that selfies centered around the photographer taking a picture with him-/herself in the picture with or without other people in the photo. Otherwise how do you explain selfies with celebrities. Already there I'm pissed of, because I can't help but think that they don't know what groupies is, which is just a google away. Made even worse is that they clearly stated they wanted to push this "new" world. And the song is all about that, taking groupies. I feel sick.

Overall the songs are probably some of the most boring to watch ever. The first 5 songs (out of seven I might add) didn't have anything to catch your eye, a stage show with lights and dancers or anything... well, except groupie, but I couldn't watch it due to how embarrassing it was so it was wasted anyway. Also, most of them slow as a snail. I would fell asleep if it wasn't for the attempts at humor that forced me to stay awake so I could face palm over the bottom of the barrel jokes they throw at the audience. The last two songs at least had a stage show to watch. Song number 6 was from a veteran in the business and also had some speed to it and was pretty much the better song of this evening. Song number 7 - Don't stop Believin'. I wish it was something akin to the Journey song, but it isn't. It at least seemed to have something to it. The stage show showed promise, a pity the song didn't deliver. I was expecting either an operaesque sound or even better Phantom of the Opera rock opera. No, and the singers voice didn't make it. But I guessed both would go on to the finals and they did. Thank god for that. Really, nr 7 could have been the best if it had a singer like Roger Pontare with a sound and song similar to his last entry to Melodifestivalen - Silverland, the song that should have competed in Eurovision 2006:

Look at the stage show, hear the rhythm and sadly for you the lyrics is in Swedish, otherwise you would have liked it as well. Damn poetic and even epic. Song nr 7 gave me these vibes, but didn't deliver, damn waste of an evening. 4 more weeks of this.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

So what was I doing instead of watching Melodifestivalen? I played Shantae and the Pirate's Curse on the 3DS. You might not believe it, but I think I made the right choice. It was a really fun game, but I mostly picked it up since I had the two first games (also on the 3DS if you were curious) and I'm a OCD on collecting sets. Which mostly was the reason I got it for the 3DS instead of the Wii U. Other things was that I had more room on the 3DS as well. Bonus was that the 3D is amazing, the depth is fantastic although, I can't help notice that they seemed to put some real work into a certain area of the character portraits in story segments. Especially around the chest area.... I'm talking about their bre... How old is Shantae again? No one knows, but appears to be 15-16? Alright I'm staying out of this one. What about Rottytops? Age unknown? But then she is a rotting zombie which makes this rather awkward. Alright, Risky Boots then? Unknown age, but much older than Shantae? I can go with that. Of course, besides the sexy fanservice the environments looks awesome in 3D and if you want some dis-fanserive you can always go talk to the mayor of Scuttle Town. His stomach really pops out in 3D I tell you.

The story then, it continues from where the last game ended. Shantae has lost her genie powers, but still try to protect Scuttle Town from invaders. This time it's the Ammo Baron, but for some reason you get summoned to the palace where they will cut your hair. At the same time Risky comes by and need your help in finding her crew and weapons to stop the Pirate Master from re-awakening. So you set out looking for the den of evils to find maps to the Pirate Master's grave, at the same time finding Risky's crew members and capture the dark magic that cursed them.

Which brings us to the gameplay, it's basically a metroidvania game where you go to a den of evil, look around until you get a pirate weapon like a cutlass, pistol or cannon which gives you a way to reach new places in the dungeons and the overworld. For example the cutlass gives Shantae a down-thrust so that she can destroy blocks below her, the pistol makes it possible to hit switches far away and the cannon gives you three extra jumps. And these weapons can also work as... weapons. Which makes the game easier and more fun than the original games. There you had very limited long range weapon meaning every enemy was close up with your hair whip, here I can stand and shoot them with the pistol or jump on them with the cannon or cutlass, making it easier to dispose of hard enemies. Great plus in my book... what brings it down a bit is that I can't shake the feeling that it is the same game over again. It's the same enemies, the same environments... but done better I guess. Instead of getting lost running back and forth on a singular overworld map you go to Risky's Ship and go to a special island. The boss fights are fun... although maybe a bit easy when you get the pattern down. Still, fun platformer that is worth a shot. Maybe more for you who have played the first games to see these characters again. Best news is that the forth game can't be that far behind.

Doin' the Omoralsik Schlagerfestival '15 (1)

And yet again it's this time of the year again. Two months of awful music, awful jokes and awful whatever they throw at us. It's Melodifestival 2015. So how was the first competition of the year? I... don't actually now since I preoccupied myself with other stuff while the program was on so I don't remember any songs or any contestants. I don't even know who won. Maybe I will focus more next time, but much of the fun for ripping it apart is gone since I only have my family around me and it's not as fun as with friends. So I basically failed you all to describe every song so maybe next week I wont be preoccupied with whatever I did.

Resident Evil 0

 

So after 5 I got the craving for some classic Resident Evil to get the full story. So I decided for the prequel. Got this for the Wii together with the Remake of the first game some years ago as well. Haven't touched this before. And it was an interesting experience. Maybe the intro turned me of because the intro music isn't horror, well except for my ears. So this takes place just before the original game and you play as B.R.A.V.O. teams medic Rebecca Chambers as she search and finds the fugitive Billy Coen and both need to team up to survive this nightmare. You start on a train, then a mansion and lastly a factory. Really, this game has atmosphere that really creeps me out. It might be together with the music and the sense I'm very vulnerable compared to the other Resident Evil games... or that might be the controls that makes the best course of action is standing still and shoot at any monster, no dodging here. I think I understand the talk about these so called tank-controls, a bit frustrating going back and forth trying to get in place to get ammo or whatever. Really, I'm so spoiled by the new games that just walking past important clues trigger a warning to press A or some sort... here I have to run around and press A all the time in order to stumble upon an important clue. The puzzles aren't that hard, I just needed to run around the areas two or three times before I get the right item on the right place. Really, the biggest problem is that my English isn't 100 %. Was some sort of rod for a "vise" (if I remember correctly) and I had no clue what it was. Worse was that I run around in the appointed room and just accidentally stumbled upon the thing I needed.

The story then is kinda hard for the main characters to figure out since important information is only given the player and someone that has played the original game. For example, the main bad guy is Dr James Marcus who was the head researcher for Umbrella on the original virus (which I learnt in Resident Evil 5) and supposedly killed by Albert Wesker and Birkin (the original bad guy and the sequels bad guy), but revived by a queen leech he crossed with the virus? Anyway, Birkin and Wesker tries to cover their tracks and stop Dr Marcus who releases the T-virus in the Raccon forrest which leads to the original game. Now, I don't get how the virus can give him control of looking old or young... or how it's supposed to work overall. Is it some sort of performance enhancing drug with healing abilities... or is it to create zombies? Cause all the games I've played the zombification seems to be the real goal of the research, proven by that they only talk about the B.O.W. as the goal and that none of the research goes into take that away. And this might be for missing the original three games that it doesn't make sense... or maybe it has to do with only some specific people can withstand the zombification, like Wesker and/or Jill Valentine (according to Resident Evil 5). Need to play the remake and Resident Evil 6 (and maybe hope for HD remakes for 2 and 3 on Wii U, although it seems unlikely).