Goetia (Switch)

 

COME BACK!!!

Finally finished Goetia. I got it when it was released on a whim. Think it was the spooky atmosphere I was promised that made me go for it. Why did it take so long? Well, I played a couple of hours, got stuck and took forever to get back. It's about this wandering spirit Abigail who has to search her old family home to find out what happened with her sister and trying to release the six demons that have been trapped within it. It's a puzzle game and it gives me 7th Guest vibes. It draws you in with the mystery of what happened and then you uncover demon worshippers, souls trapped and ghost towns.

Graphics and music are good, although I wished I could adjust the lightning somehow in game since I can't see everything in the dark. It's fairly long. Total time would be somewhere around 10 hours, but then again, after hour 4 I made sure I had a walkthrough besides me since some of the puzzles are just weird to me. Also the larger areas where you travel back and forth with items makes it harder and harder to solve by my own thinking. 

Finally, I got the good ending... but I though I actually screwed it up. To get the ending you need to gather 4 items belonging to your sisters sons and to get the good ending find the 4 items that completes the items. I had trouble with a picture album behind a safe. I got it... but I couldn't get the album. So I thought I had to get the bad ending first to get it to spawn, I get the ending, resume game after credits and go back and still no picture album. I wonder if it glitched out and finally finding a walkthrough with pictures and such and guess what, it automatically transported to the pillar room. This why I needed more light in the game. Also, I'm not opposed reading a lot in games, but for good sake, the font of the handwriting in many of the notes makes it really hard to understand what happens. Also, the system in where notes are stored are a bit hard to go through for the mansion, since there is so many of them. Don't know how many times I had to start over from the top since I overshot the last page. 

Interesting for one playthrough... and do it at once instead of separating for a couple of years.

Galaga (NES Classic Mini) & Galalga '88 (PC Engine Mini)

 

Man the stations, incoming aliens!

Played a bit of Galaga mostly because I really don't feel like starting up a 100 hours JRPG and Diddy Kong Racing DS has some infuriating moments, but I at least got it to work. So I spent 2-3 days of my vacation to check how many games I have and also to find how many copies there is and how many I've finished. Probably shouldn't have done that since it gave me some horrendous back pains so I hardly could get out of bed the next day and was forced to do stretching excercises for a couple of days after that. 

But now I know that I have two versions of this game, this one on the NES Classic Mini and the other on PC Engine. Played the NES one first and made it to stage 8 after a couple of tries, but no further than that. I don't expect more than that either really. Basic colours  and not a lot of them. Galaga '88 on the other hand, a real step up in graphics with more colours and a background beyond the blackness of space. Even your spaceship has more than just black and white. On the other hand it makes it harder since a planet or space-station happens to make the spacecraft you pilot blend in the background together with the enemies bullets. So maybe it wasn't that strange that I only reached level 5 on that... or just that I'm bad at it. 

Doom (1993) (Switch)

 

Warmer Than Hell!

Was gonna play some Diddy Kong Racing for the DS, but the cartridge I got isn't working. Probably just dirty, but I need some cleaning solvent first, so instead of a cute racing game with cartoon animals I played through the original Doom (1993) for the first time instead (well, I might have played it on some computer as a kid back in the 90's, but I can't recall it). Bought it on Switch together with the sequel and Doom 64. It was rather fun. Mind you, I played it on the easiest setting. Basically you are a marine stationed on Mars that have to clean up a demon invasion after a failed experiment by some military force. You travel through different maps looking for weapons, ammunitions and healing items. Takes pretty much 10 to 30 minutes. Of course, you can do it around a couple of minutes if you know what you do and where to go. After battling a Hell Baron you get ambushed by a horde of demons awakening on another moon around mars that disappeared a couple of years ago. Battling through more hoards of infernal kind makes you confront the Cyberdemon. I was rather lucky in that fight since, he was caught in a room where I could pummel him with the Plasma Gun before he was able to get out and then continue with the rocket launcher. 

Do you get back to earth now? No, time to fight the demons in hell itself, ending with the confrontation of the Spider Mastermind. Got the BFG so was able to fight him off and finally return to earth. And then supposed to play through the 4th episode. I think we are reaching the point where my abilities don't match the task at hand. I got to the second chapter and after that is stuck. Read up on it and apparently a very hard episode overall so I won't probably be able to overcome it without training and I don't really feel like it. Still, all you get is an end screen with the doom marine vowing vengeance on the demons for invading earth and killing his pet bunny.

Still, it was fun and enjoyable. The music is classic and the graphics are rather good. Somehow the smooth movement of the hand and weapons as you run is almost hypnotising. As much as its seen as an FPS, it's also a bit of puzzle and platforming. What is a bit irritating is how they put floor hazards in several rooms, give you a suit to walk over it, but this one map wants you to explore a maze and if you (like say, a newbie) takes all suits and still not find the key you are supposed to find. Still, overall find it rather fun. Also noticed there's a documentary on the game on the Swedish Public Channel so might check that out, although it seemed to focus on the ultra violence aspect of the game. Which, granted, are a lot, but you fight the legions of hell, isn't that something good? (As I write this I'm watching the 4th season of Seven Deadly Sins that pretty much put some grey morality of good and evil so maybe not).

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)

 

Fold Them!

Latest entry in the Paper Mario-series and first time on Switch. I got every game in series besides Paper Jam, the crossover with the Mario & Luigi-game series. Story is that as the Mushroom kingdom prepares an Origami festival all toads and Bowser's Minions are folded into figures, trapped in walls etc. by King Olly, the titular Origami King. Together with Olivia, Olly's sister Mario sets out on an adventure to unfold all trapped paper characters and find the 5 streamers that puts out a protective "shield" around Princess Peach's castle that was taken to the top of a volcano. 

The story is fun and even dramatic at places. I mean, how often do I feel sorry for a bob-bomb that explodes, sacrificing itself just so that he at least made an impact? Kamek is always a joy to listen to about his troubles in fighting Mario on Bowser's orders. It's really well written and the graphics looks fantastic and it is all followed by a fantastic soundtrack. Now, the gameplay... and for the most part it works fine. The gimmick of this game is that you are supposed to solve puzzles in aligning enemies in formations to either take out with the hammer or jump on them. With the main enemies it can be fun and addictive with the puzzle solving. But then we have the bosses. Instead of standing in the middle you stand on the side and creates a path with arrows to gather treasure, activate switches to unleash attack, either standard attacks or summons. And I hate it. The stress of the timed puzzles with the fact I clearly ain't that bright when it comes to seeing patterns here. Mostly because the bastards cheats and upset the game board so i can't figure out how to move. Worst were the Vellumental bosses and guess what? The final boss is using all of them, but you gotta hurry, since he also heals if you ain't quick enough. Thanks, makes me really appreciating the Ice Vellumental since it apparently could be much more frustrating.

So bosses really frustrating. But boss characters where fun. The disco dancing Hole Punch that taken over the Tomb of the Shroom where the DJ plays some funky tunes, the Rubber Band boss that enacts several plays in Shogun Theater and a mobster Tape roll. Really fun. There is a section when you travel the sea and I wonder if they just did a simplified Wind Waker and as you fly one of Bowser's airships you bomb paper airplanes out of the sky as they dive bomb against you. I liked collecting trophies and treasures, finding all the toad and hidden blocks (thanks to the developers giving you all the tools you needed). So, as most Paper Mario games, there are moments that you just have to experience, but sadly the boss fights  ain't one of them. Maybe a second playthrough in the future when I don't get blindsided by each boss gimmick. Or maybe just finish off the last 4 trophies to get 100 % and never play the game again. Sill got a large back catalog of  games, but the summer vacation is on its last leg so we shall see if if I can get one game in before that (I know it's December when this goes up, but that makes it just more fun).

One thing that bothers me in the story is Olly's motivation. He hates toads because his creator scribbled on him so he wants to eradicate all toads. Now, we ain't discussing that he went the whole game without reading it and took it for nonsense, but the story proves him right. The toads are bastards. Early thing we encounter is that toads cut down the great tree of the woods... and are sentient. Later on we rescue the toad responsible and he intends to cut down the tree again so he can build a veranda. The toads in the Spa area is slave drivers and what do we make of the house of ninjas which is in itself a death trap? Maybe they actually deserve whats coming to them?

Astral Chain (Switch)

Demon Cop

Finally, a game that isn't a remake. And made by Platinum so high octane action is on the menu. It's about twins that joined the police force Neuron like their adoptive father. Neuron is a special division that targets attacks from Chimeras, demons from the astral plane that spreads corruption and started attacking humanity when a meteor hit the earth. The chimeras travels through these red gates and occasionally kidnaps people so you gotta save the people on the Ark. The Ark is a constructed island in the pacific that was created to gather people to save them from the corruption.  The Ark is run by the UNION that set up Neuron with the new technology of the Legions that was constructed by their commander Yoseph Calvert. With it the officers of Neuron have caught chimeras and turned them into fighting abilities by the astral chain. Theirs five legions, sword, arrow, arm, beast and axe. 

During one mission into the astral plane all legions are corrupted, but you take your back. As you escape the astral plane your father stays behind and presumably dies. Meanwhile a missing scientist, Jena Anderson appears after 20 years and with her hightened gate activity. You also meet the hacker Hal that works for Neuron that helps you uncover some information. Basically the government is evil and keeping the people in fear  (and it hints that they are behind the pandemic that hit the earth earlier). While confronting Jena your sibling is skewered and taken to the Ark Research Institute (ARI). And as you look for information from the hacker group Hermit in the forbidden zone you are attacked by a chimera controlled by Jena. Your sibling arrives in a new suit and with a new legion. Due to trespassing you get put in jail, but an emergency causes you to be released to save the people. The ruckus ends with Jena attacking Yoseph head on, but during the battle the player dies, and is awakened by merging with the legion, going on a rampage. When you almost kills your sibling, Jena steps in and is killed. And then Yoseph orders the Raven unit that taken over from Neuron and is led by your sibling to kill you, and pretty much reenacts the garage scene in Robocop after Robocop learns about directive 4. You are saved by Hal that went into hiding together with Olive, the communicator expert. You try to rescue Brenda, the Neuron medic that hides in the sewers, but are confronted by your sibling, but before anything happens the Raven unit arrives, and it turns out that they are all clones of your sibling. They kill your sibling to activate the legion merging. You learn to activate your own again and escapes. You regroup and head to ARI to confront Yoseph at the top of the tower. At the top the plot is revealed... I think. Seems that Yoseph tried to merge with the legions in order to make Noah (get it... Noah's ark?). He kills all the clones and your sibling. After a battle you beat him, your sibling stops him and then the legion kills him.

The game plot lost me at the end. Maybe if I can beat the post-game mission it would be clearer since there is three files with password protection, but I got beat up at the ARI and quit pretty much. Also, one clone of your sibling survived the destruction so status quo uphold. Now, the game was fun. Though, the action is standard for Platinum and it works. The more fun part was the detective side of the game. Go around the site, getting clues to deduce what happened or use as way to get information. Spy with your legions or help people in their everyday lives. Sadly, that is the smallest part of the game. You can save cats, take pictures of people, places and enemies. Find all toilets in game to get paper to a toilet fairy... this game is weird at times. Get costumes and dress up. Learning from my mistake with Wonderful 101 I played it on Casual and it took me some 25 hours. I encountered two bugs as well. First was where you find the ghost picture mission. I went away and intended to get back later, but I couldn't go back in the tunnel. Something stopped my character from getting in. Another was leaving Hal's secret hideout and I fell out of bounds. First I thought it was part of the story as I fell and restarted since Hal is a hacker, but when nothing happened I load my save and went out without problem.  Lucky nothing was lost there.