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- Sep 6, 2013
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- 2,330
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- SquireGrooktook
-Gunstar Heroes is over-rated. It's a good game, but it really comes off as a case of style over substance if you compare it to any Contra, Metal Slug, Mega Man, or Ghouls and Ghosts of the time. The level design is not particularly memorable imo and mostly is just a string of boss fights, and the whole thing just feels very loose and unfocused to me. Not saying it's not a good game, but people talk about it like it's THE action platformer which is something I could never quite understand.
-Jamestown is over-rated. I keep seeing reviews calling it a "Cave killer" or whatever, but imo in terms of pure gameplay design it doesn't hold a candle to some of the more refined and focused bullet hell shooters that came before it. I like the scoring system, but I feel like the level and boss design is not particularly memorable. In particular, I think it lacks variety. A lot of the stage gimmicks don't really change the way you play, and a lot of the boss bullet patterns feel very interchangeable imo. It's a good game but it's obvious that it's the developers first try at the genre, let's not forget that Cave, Touhou, even Gradius weren't perfect on the first game either.
-Final Fantasy is not an rpg. It's a linear story telling game that just happens to have gameplay mechanics (turn based battles, leveling, etc.) that are common among rpgs. There is no actual role playing in the series beyond the first game (and MAYBE the third, if I'm being generous), so I don't think they should be called rpg's.
-I really don't like the Shin Megami Tensei anime or manga adaptations that retell the original story. I think the main stories lose a lot of their charm when you take the focus on the player out. I'd prefer to see more adaptations that explore and expand on the world as a whole, maybe only showing the silent protaganist as a cameo or in a flash back.
-Turn based battles are not obsolete. They can have the same sense of excitement as any action game battle, they just go about it differently. Action vs Turn Based both have their advantages so it's more of a trade off picking one over the other. Turn Based leads itself more to the "imagination" aspect of rpg's though.
-Some people think that EVERY opponent action can be read in a fighting game. I'm a bit more moderate. I think generally it's very possible to read most of what your opponent does, but there is a margin for error and it is possible for an opponent to more or less just make a mental coin flip. That being said, strategy will generally still give you the best results.
-Shmups are not about memorization. It's a sweeping over-generalization, and it's stupid even beyond that. It's like saying fighting games are "about" training mode. Fighting games are about fighting and shooters are about shooting. What skills the game prioritizes is completely up to the developer. There are many shmups that are very static, or do not telegraph their hazards well. There are also many shmups that telegraph their hazards well and introduce random elements to force reaction.
-Skill does exist. There's a disturbing belief that seems to be going about that everything is just game knowledge and that true skill doesn't exist. This is provably wrong. Numerous studies and tests have proven that people who practice skills like reactions, motor skills, precision, etc. will eventually become more consistent with them. People just tend to forget about this in games, because it's hard to really measure fundamental skills, and most major improvement tends not to come until after you've practiced the game long enough to learn about every nook and cranny of it.
-Jamestown is over-rated. I keep seeing reviews calling it a "Cave killer" or whatever, but imo in terms of pure gameplay design it doesn't hold a candle to some of the more refined and focused bullet hell shooters that came before it. I like the scoring system, but I feel like the level and boss design is not particularly memorable. In particular, I think it lacks variety. A lot of the stage gimmicks don't really change the way you play, and a lot of the boss bullet patterns feel very interchangeable imo. It's a good game but it's obvious that it's the developers first try at the genre, let's not forget that Cave, Touhou, even Gradius weren't perfect on the first game either.
-Final Fantasy is not an rpg. It's a linear story telling game that just happens to have gameplay mechanics (turn based battles, leveling, etc.) that are common among rpgs. There is no actual role playing in the series beyond the first game (and MAYBE the third, if I'm being generous), so I don't think they should be called rpg's.
-I really don't like the Shin Megami Tensei anime or manga adaptations that retell the original story. I think the main stories lose a lot of their charm when you take the focus on the player out. I'd prefer to see more adaptations that explore and expand on the world as a whole, maybe only showing the silent protaganist as a cameo or in a flash back.
-Turn based battles are not obsolete. They can have the same sense of excitement as any action game battle, they just go about it differently. Action vs Turn Based both have their advantages so it's more of a trade off picking one over the other. Turn Based leads itself more to the "imagination" aspect of rpg's though.
-Some people think that EVERY opponent action can be read in a fighting game. I'm a bit more moderate. I think generally it's very possible to read most of what your opponent does, but there is a margin for error and it is possible for an opponent to more or less just make a mental coin flip. That being said, strategy will generally still give you the best results.
-Shmups are not about memorization. It's a sweeping over-generalization, and it's stupid even beyond that. It's like saying fighting games are "about" training mode. Fighting games are about fighting and shooters are about shooting. What skills the game prioritizes is completely up to the developer. There are many shmups that are very static, or do not telegraph their hazards well. There are also many shmups that telegraph their hazards well and introduce random elements to force reaction.
-Skill does exist. There's a disturbing belief that seems to be going about that everything is just game knowledge and that true skill doesn't exist. This is provably wrong. Numerous studies and tests have proven that people who practice skills like reactions, motor skills, precision, etc. will eventually become more consistent with them. People just tend to forget about this in games, because it's hard to really measure fundamental skills, and most major improvement tends not to come until after you've practiced the game long enough to learn about every nook and cranny of it.
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