The NEW Game Journal

[Jimmy]

That said, to me, the best thing about TP was the later dungeons and the bosses of those dungeons which still remain the best in the series and both the music and the direction of the early game were really good.

This.

I knew when I put on the Iron Boots and walked on the ceiling of the Goron Mines that the dungeons in TP were going to be something special. Honestly I didn't care much for TP story wise. But the dungeons, bosses, combat, and the direction of some of the cutscenes really made up for what I thought was lacking in story. I feel almost exactly opposite for Skyward Sword. Really liked the origin story, but didn't care for the combat or dungeons. And even though I thought Midna was mostly uninteresting, I will admit to her being more...agreeable than the Master Sword robot thing.

Speaking of Zelda, I've been playing through Ocarina of Time. I realized I hadn't played it since before I started my master's program 2.5 years ago and thought it would be good to play through it again. I completed the game 100% about a year after it was released for the N64, and in each subsequent playthrough I remembered where everything was and would usually get close to 100%. It's not the case anymore. I just finished the Spirit Temple and I have 3 heart pieces and I wanted just one more to have one more heart container before going to Ganon's castle, but for the life of me I couldn't think of where to find one. Had to look at a FAQ. I'll probably finish it up tomorrow and go back to Xenoblade Chronicles.

[Mickeymac92]

I could never finish Ocarina of Time. I always got stuck on the Shadow Temple. :(

Speaking of Zelda, I've been playing the original Legend of Zelda. Just cleared the Third Dungeon (That boss was a piece of cake with a well-placed bomb or two). I think the fourth one is by the south-east Corner...right?

EDIT: Nope, it was near the middle of the Map. Beat that dungeon (Boss wasn't so bad once I found out his weakness was the necks), got two extra heart containers, and now I'm off to the 5th dungeon on top of the mountain.

[MeshGearFox]

Dark Souls - Raised some portcullis in Undead Burg. Figured I could use this as a shortcut. Turns out that if I try to I get killed trying to run through it, or if I do run through it I have to get to some stairwell immediately to avoid the bull. If I get in the stairwell, there's a dude at the top of it, and I'll get followed by another undead soldier, so I get caught in between them and killed instantly.

Why.

Also I hate how if you, say, attack four times and run out of stamina, which causes you to stun a bit, if you hit the attack key while stunned, you'll immediately attack as soon as you un-stun, because usually by the time you've un-stunned the enemy is out of stunlock and can start attacking you while you're not blocking.

Sometimes my guy also quits blocking randomly. Not sure if it's my keyboard or what.

Also how are you supposed to figure out how to get the drake sword without using a FAQ :|

[Dice]

So many people *finally* complimenting TP?????

Oh my god.... the cycle.... it continues~!!!!

[MeshGearFox]

That's pretty much true about gaming as a whole and why most (sane) game devs completely ignore the fanbases.

[Jimmy]

So many people *finally* complimenting TP?????

Oh my god.... the cycle.... it continues~!!!!

Haha! That's so true! I liked Wind Waker once I actually played it, but I was pretty skeptical prior to release. I was really excited for TP, and loved the dungeons but was disappointed by the story.

Going to finish this playthrough of OoT today. Off to Ganon's Castle.

[Raziel]

That's pretty much true about gaming as a whole and why most (sane) game devs completely ignore the fanbases.

Exactly. The moment developers start listening to player's advice, all's doomed.

[Yggdrasil]

That's pretty much true about gaming as a whole and why most (sane) game devs completely ignore the fanbases.

Exactly. The moment developers start listening to player's advice, all's doomed.

Player advice can be useful but making a game around the idea of what players want can be very risky, stupid even in some cases. It all depends in what type of game and audience said game is targeted at I think.

[Kevadu]

The worst thing about trying to listen to the fanbase is that they never want anything new (they are, after all, fans of what came before...).  There would be zero innovation if developers actually listened to them.

[Aeolus]

And you're never going to please all the fans. If I had a dollar for every time someone suggests making the next Zelda Steampunk I'd be able to afford that Brigandine game I posted about (the point of this is that I hate Steampunk; its always this gangly mess of a combination between the most extreme Victorian era styles and the most needlessly convoluted mass of brass and pipes cobbled together, and the majority of these designs comes from nerds who couldn't design a pair of pants to save their life).

Also, I never once said I hated the dungeons or the bosses of TP (except for the first one since that was a very basic forest temple dungeon and nothing really thrilling to write home about). I just wish the rest of the game didn't fall so short on the other fronts (dat Dominion Rod would've been awesome if there was any reason to use it outside of its dungeon beyond opening the occasional doorway; Gale Boomerang was OP'd and either needed a later upgrade to make it into it or make the bow more than slightly better at the range department compared to it, even with bomb arrows; teh Spinner wtf; wolf form moar liek puppy form; Light Sword, I can't tell if its doing more damage to anything other than those sudo wizrobe enemies from the dungeon you get it in).

[MeshGearFox]

I used the spinner constantly after getting it.

---edit---

Got the La Mulana remake from some pay-what-you-want sale, after some guy I know recommended it.

At one point you have to walk through a wall. Prior to this point, you've never had to walk through walls, and there's no indication that certain walls CAN be walked through. The only hint hat you can do this is a skeleton in front of the door that has a note saying it found an escape route.

How are you supposed to figure this out on your own? The puzzle is based around the game world behaving in a manner that's not internally consistent. How is that good design?

Apparently you don't need to go through the invisible door.

Wait yes you do.

[Lando]

Re: the Zelda conversation.  It's like with some albums.  You dislike them when they first come out because they're not like the precursor, but years later you realize that it's brilliant.  A lot of people weren't really feeling the Tool album Lateralus when it first came out because it wasn't as good as Aenima, but years later people realize that the album is absolutely fantastic.  It had to grow on me, but grow on me it did and I think it's an even better album than Aenima.

As for my gaming, I'm playing Code of Princess.  Stylish, mindless fun, and it has Zozo- the cutest anime zombie girl since Rottytops in Shantae.  

[Losfer]

I beat, like, all six endings in 999 and my mind melted out of my ears.

[Jimmy]

Also, I never once said I hated the dungeons or the bosses of TP (except for the first one since that was a very basic forest temple dungeon and nothing really thrilling to write home about). I just wish the rest of the game didn't fall so short on the other fronts (dat Dominion Rod would've been awesome if there was any reason to use it outside of its dungeon beyond opening the occasional doorway; Gale Boomerang was OP'd and either needed a later upgrade to make it into it or make the bow more than slightly better at the range department compared to it, even with bomb arrows; teh Spinner wtf; wolf form moar liek puppy form; Light Sword, I can't tell if its doing more damage to anything other than those sudo wizrobe enemies from the dungeon you get it in).

Yea, that was another aspect that I didn't like. All the new items that were ridiculously cool (like the ball and chain) were pretty much useless outside of their respective dungeons.

Well, finished OoT. I have a desire to play Majora's Mask, but that game is a major commitment that I don't think I'm willing to make right at this moment. I guess I'll get back to Xenoblade Chronicles. Maybe I can get it finished before Sly 4 and the new Fire Emblem game are out in February.

[MeshGearFox]

SPinner totally replaces epona once you get it unless you're a total putz btw.

Kingdoms of Amalur - Did the quest where I destroy a bunch of potions, then bought a Greater Heal for another quest. Combat is a blast and I need to get better at chaining combos. I also like how the game has nice, lightweight NPC schedules that effectively convey a dynamic environment without having to go down some wonky Radiant AI route.

It's surprising that ex-Morrowind guys worked on this because it's deftly avoiding all of Morrowind's pitfulls in the most inverse ways imaginable.