“I Just Think They're Neat.” Like What You are Playing

[FelixSH]

The experience of Flower is very nice. I wished the controls were more precise, though. Dunno, I have a goal, and sometimes I get very close to a flower and it doesn't bloom, and than I have to slowly turn around, it's annoying.

I really like the game, I do, when it works, it's beautiful. Making flowers bloom is very enjoyable, especially with the music that is playing, when you make a lot in one go bloom.

 

[Kirin]

Man, I loved that little game. Such a neat concept. Glad people are still finding and enjoying it!

 

[Bongo]

It's regrettable, though understandable, that after Thatgamecompany's first game was called Flow and their second one was called Flower, they didn't call their third one Flowest.

 

[Violentvixen]

It's regrettable, though understandable, that after Thatgamecompany's first game was called Flow and their second one was called Flower, they didn't call their third one Flowest.

Dammit why haven't I ever thought of this until now

 

[Baudshaw]

Flowourney: Flildren of the Flight

The biggest Sky shill on this site will then try to convince you to play Sky. But seriously, if you like the atmosphere of Flower, then you'll like it. The main game is only 4 hours, but the world itself is filled with tons of hidden stuff.

 

[FelixSH]

Muppet Monster Adventure is a Spyro clone for the PSX. I was a bit disappointed at first, as I had expected a Banjo-Kazooie clone, with a bit more specific challenges inside the level, but than I realized what it was, and am happy with it. You have a short-ranged weapon, works like the fire breath, and a spin attack, which is similar to the ram attack, aside from it being stationary. Monsters drop collectibles, there are different collectibles to find. You also find tokens, which, if you collect all, give you transformations. Except that the tokens are pretty easy to find, but that's fine. The transformations are more like abilities, if you are on the water, you can transform for diving. Or in midair, you can transform into a monster with batwings, to glide.

The whole thing is monster themed, you are in a scary castle, and the adult muppets are transformed into monsters. The little kermit-like guy, whose name I don't know, is your playable character.

My only small gripe is, that there is no hub world. There is a hub, but it is just a level select screen, with a bit of graphics.

But that doesn't matter much, it's a fairly competent Spyro clone, specifically Spyro 1, with non-threatening enemies and just a big level to collect stuff in. There is a bit more structure, like quite a few targets to hit, that open doors (which, unfortunately, change back to not hit, when you leave and reenter the level), but on the whole, you just run around and collect stars and other collectibles. To me, it's a really nice surprise, a collectathon from back then that I had never heard of, and that is fun to play. Not as fun as Spyro, because it's quite a joy to control the little dragon, but if you like Spyro 1, you should have a good time with this one.

 

[Lokii]

A fun hidden gem, and the only game to give Pepe the King Prawn a staring role as the omnipresent tutorializer.

 

[ShakeWell]

The whole thing is monster themed, you are in a scary castle, and the adult muppets are transformed into monsters. The little kermit-like guy, whose name I don't know, is your playable character.

That's Kermit's nephew, Robin.

 

[JBear]

Dicefolk asks the very important question "What if a roguelike deckbuilder* had cute dogs?"

I'm still early (two runs, two wins), but I'm enjoying it a whole lot so far. The synergies are fun, the 3 vs 3 positional battle system is unique, and the Pokemon are very cute.

* - Technically dice, not cards, but the distinction is academic.

 

[lincolnic]

Dicefolk asks the very important question "What if a roguelike deckbuilder* had cute dogs?"

Welp, I know what I need to play whenever I finish being obsessed with Balatro.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Muppet Monster Adventure is a Spyro clone for the PSX. I was a bit disappointed at first, as I had expected a Banjo-Kazooie clone, with a bit more specific challenges inside the level, but than I realized what it was, and am happy with it. You have a short-ranged weapon, works like the fire breath, and a spin attack, which is similar to the ram attack, aside from it being stationary.

This made me think I wish Telltale folks made an FMV Muppet adventure game.

 

[FelixSH]

Decades ago, in the era of the N64, I read about a game called Tonic Trouble. Seemed to be some weird plattformer, that, for some unclear reason, stuck in my mind. I tried it years ago, and was just confused, gave up for something else.

I tried again today. After watching retrospectives on Rares output on the console, I wanted to get the feeling of an N64 plattformer, and why not try a game that I was always curious about. I'm just 30 minutes in, but I think I get what it is trying to do. It's probably subpar, but I do enjoy it. Mainly for the asthetics, I think. Dunno, there is something about these early 3D console environments, that are just so rectangular and bizarr, a bit like a fever dream. Maybe it's all the edges, but it's something that feels like it doesn't exist in todays games anymore? Maybe I'm wrong, I guess there might be indie games that go for this. But it certainly feels of an era, and I enjoy this feeling.

The story is equally weird, with a Rayman-esque creature with hands and feet, but without connecting limbs, letting a tonic fall out of his spaceship, which then falls into the hand of a wiking-like dude. It gives everyone (him, creatures, vegetables) more power and makes everything evil (and adding googly eyes, which is very important). But also, there is talk about a resistance, and similar, weird vocabulary. Like, there is corn, that talks about revolting against popcorn eaters, and then you throw the corn pieces it throws at you back, until it dies. Falls into the lava, becoming popcorn. Nothing spectacular, just weird, old stuff.

Again, quality isn't that high, but it's servicable from a gameplay standpoint. The mood is certainly right.

 

[FelixSH]

Tonic Trouble continues to be enjoyable. It feels very Rayman 2, which is not a surprise - it was made by the same studio, before. The artstyle gives it away, anyway. But Rayman 2 is certainly the better game, way more polished. This here feels like what it is, a first try for a 3d platformer.

To be clear, I enjoy it. It is a bit rough (and the flight controls are horrible), but it is actually surprisingly fun. It does the Rayman thing, in how you keep unlocking new abilites. More specifically, you have to collect 6 things of a kind in each level, and afterwards you get a new ability, which also makes it possible to collect stuff from the earlier levels. Because, just like the first Rayman, you need all 180 things of a certain kind, which there are 20 of in each level. You know, like these things in Rayman, in those cages. They are hidden, some of them very well, but you need them all to unlock the final level, and regular end of the game. Bad design, I think, you never should need all the hidden things. Part of the fun is to only need a part, and collect them only if you are really into it. So I might not play through the whole game, we'll see. It seems easier than in Rayman, in any case.

Hmm, I probably still sound more negative than I feel. It's a fun game, with a neat cartoon style, and getting new abilities is always nice. It also isn't too hard, and should be done in five hours, or so. I have a good time with it.

 

[FelixSH]

Phantasy Star IV starts very strong. It looks and sounds great, the atmosphere is amazing and the characters and writing are great. Alys is immediately a lot of fun, demanding 100 Pesetas (I think that's the currency?) from Hahn for following them - and then, you really have 100 more! There is a lot of stuff to interact with, getting reactions. After Hahn joined, he even joined in when I talked to an NPC, making the conversation go on a bit longer. And there is no need to talk about the great, great cutscenes.

I just did the first dungeon and got out of the first town. Such a great start. I did start a word document, though, to keep track of what each spell/tech/whatever does. Some (like EARTH) did nothing, I guess they are instant death?

I love Space. The first screen you get, before starting the game, is one of the planet we are on, in Space. It's ominous, it's scary, but it's also so strongly calling me back to something I can't describe. Old anime, I guess. Love it.

The whole mood is so fascinating here. We learn about one of the planets blowing up (I think this happened in the second game, right? I'd actually love to replay that one), and just get a sense of this, despite being clearly sci-fi, that there is a deep history, with details going back 2000 years, back to the first game.

An amazing start. Back some years ago, I played through the first and second game, and reached this. While great, it felt like a bit of a standard JRPG, compared to the other two games, making me lose interest (despite the apparent qualities). We'll see how it goes, but I plan to play it to the end. I really wished more of these games would do sci-fi. Anime sci-fi just feels so good to me. And Cosmic Star Heroine, despite nailing the look, failed misserably in the story, character and writing department.

 

[YangusKhan]

Back some years ago, I played through the first and second game, and reached this. While great, it felt like a bit of a standard JRPG, compared to the other two games, making me lose interest (despite the apparent qualities).

This is exactly what happened when I first played those games. I still haven't gone back to IV yet though... some day, I'm sure.

 

[Lokii]

yeah but what a standard rpg!

it’s still plenty phantasy star too no worries. it does lack some of I and II (and III)’s idiosyncrasies but it also shears off a lot of their rough edges making for a game that goes down smooth

 

[Bongo]

A while back, I started playing Phantasy Star IV, liked what I saw, got distracted, and then immediately forgot where I was and what I was doing. It has a nice quest log system for 1993, but the world map felt oddly labyrinthine. I'll need to give it more focus the next time I try.

 

[Issun]

yeah but what a standard rpg!

it’s still plenty phantasy star too no worries. it does lack some of I and II (and III)’s idiosyncrasies but it also shears off a lot of their rough edges making for a game that goes down smooth

It is interesting that PSIV and EarthBound both came out so close together in North America. They're both pretty bog-standard JRPG in their mechanics (which is perfectly fine sometimes) but the presentation and story in both games elevates the entire package in wildly different ways.

 

[Purple]

I mean... mechanical weirdness in Phantasy Star 4 I don't recall ever seeing before (or in most cases, since):

- We've got this macro system. Building off the "just do the same thing I said the last time I bothered giving you orders" system from 2, you can now set up I want to say 8 command sets, which don't just let you fine-tune what each character does in a given round, but will also have them delay if necessary to act in the specified order. Which is particularly significant paired with the next bit, to make sure things don't happen out of order or get interrupted by an enemy jumping in between.

- We've got this whole complicated combo/team attack system where using certain abilities back to back with each other combines them into extra flashy and effective undocumented super-moves. It's not the first game to have multiple characters coordinating like this (FF4's twin magic was certainly a thing, probably something even older I don't know offhand), but I can't really think of anything else that's quite as much of a cool secret surprise, nor quite as ambitious (I actually only just learned there was a 4-character combo in there).

- Just for kicks we've got two different magic systems, one MP based, one Vancian. Apparently just because the devs were inclined to square away some obscure lore about magic actually being science in 2 but not 1 and also wanting some other weird abilities in there.

- Vehicular combat. With this whole subsystem of vehicle abilities and enemies and such. Sure would be something if they got more ambitious about that in some kind of follow-up game not part of this series.

- A couple characters are robots and therefore have a totally different relationship with HP to the rest of the party, expressed in several ways.

- The freaking Chat command which by all rights should have been a thing in literally every RPG from anyone made after that point. Probably some other genres too even.

- Partial credit to the whole mercenary work sidequest deal? It's really just a presentation thing, but it felt pretty novel at the time.

 

[FelixSH]

I can't even really explain what draws me more to PS I and II, and why IV felt kinda bland, in comparison? With "bland" being totally the wrong word, but I feel like I'm lacking a better one? But also, these games are so different, it's a bit hard to even compare them.

Like, the first one draws, to me, a lot from having a mix of old-school and approachability. Yeah, you have these first-person dungeons, but most of them are simple enough that you can memorize them (or you can still map them, which is fun, if you are in the right mood). And you do have to talk with all the NPCs, finding out about the world and what to do that way. But still in a way that, at least in my memory, is largely non-obtuse. If you talk with everyone, you should mostly find your way, which feels very remarkable. A bit of a best-of-both-worlds thing, where you make hardcore stuff playable for console players.

The second one is such a grim game. It starts you in what seems like a utopia, with a town straight out of classical sci-fi, and immediately throws horrible details at you, how this planet is falling apart, and everything is horrible. Isn't there a suicide, very early? When one of your team dies, they are dead. Yeah, you get a clone with all their abilities and memories, but it's still a clone. The other person is still dead. It feels a bit like a monkey-paw version of the wish for infinite life, as if a machine made it, misunderstanding a key part. Which feels pretty fitting, actually. It's really bleak, and with these brutal dungeons, even as a player you will just suffer. I tried to map out the first dungeon, like in the first game, and then realized that I needed more space than I had on a page. Gave up, used a guide, which worked. But I feel like I cheated. Like, these dungeons are such an integral part of the game, and I never really beat them. I want to conquer them, myself. And I want to re-experience this horrible world. And this crazy ending. It's such a unique game.

Still haven't played III, but will correct that at one point. I read a bit about what makes it special, storywise, which seems like a shame. Would have been a cool surprise.

And IV feels like a very, very polished game, immediately making clear the high quality, in every aspect. I'm only at the start, but as I already talked about, it is a super good start. I guess it feels less like its own thing (like I and II, and probably III as well, certainly do), and orients itself more on what worked for other RPGs. Which is perfectly fine. The game is fun to play and the presentation alone is amazing. God, I love the old-school anime sci-fi vibes that this game, this series, gets like no other. Is there even anything like this? (Cosmic Star Heroine certainly isn't it - I like that game, it just isn't that). And it combines it with Megadrive graphics, which will always feel special for me. Point is, it feels like this game borrows a bit more from others, stuff that really works, which makes it a bit less of an oddball?

Ok, enough analysing of a game I didn't play much, I mainly had the urge to talk about I and II. I just really wonder, why IV feels like it feels. Maybe I'll have a better answer after playing it, or maybe I will look at it different in general.

But seriously, if anyone knows any other game, that has a similar mood, specifically catching the old-school anime sci-fi vibe, please tell me. It makes me feel like I can reach the stars.

 

[Kirin]

Just finished no-hint 100%-ing Picross Genesis and Master System Edition. Good times, but would've been even better if I'd ever played more than like 20% of the games referenced. I would do unspeakable things for a modern NES/SNES Picross game from Jupiter, but we are not so blessed. (I realize the old Mario Picross ones from way back are on NSO, but I don't have NSO, and they're missing a lot of modern conveniences as well.)

 

[ASandoval]

I'm gonna record a thing about it for the new podcast, but I was pleasantly pleased with Alone in the Dark 2024. It's not amazing certainly, as it plays like a less polished RE2 Remake right down to (somewhat ironically) ripping off the inventory and puzzle UI of the recent Resident Evil games with worse combat and a nasty habit of getting your character stuck on the geometry and forcing you to reload the last autosave point. But it does have unique strengths such as an intriguing remix of the 1992 AitD story that, much like that game, gives you a serviceable, easy to follow in-game plot with plenty of good background and lore to dive into if you want to obsessively read all of the in-game literature, two playable characters the differ just enough to warrant a quick, easy mode second run and multiple endings for each character (a surprising rarity in games these days!).

Frustrations aside, we need more mid-budget games like this that are more reminiscent of the PS2 era, (and frankly I won't be surprised if that happens more and more with everything happening in games/tech right now) I just wish it did a little more to give itself its own identity.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

Hey, I’m also playing and enjoying Alone in the Dark! There’s at least two of us!

Jokes aside, this game has an ambiance that’s hitting just right at the moment. There is more jank here than I care to handle, with level geometry, creatures and sometimes important items coming perilously close to popping out of existence. I sure have learned a lot about New Orleans, though.

 

[Second Duke Revier]

Phew, I'm glad to hear some praise of the remake. I sorely want to pick it up, but haven't due to IRL stuff.

 

[Baudshaw]

Finished Coffee Talk Episode 2. It's basically more of the first one, with a more centralized story.

 

[ShakeWell]

I'm gonna record a thing about it for the new podcast, but I was pleasantly pleased with Alone in the Dark 2024. It's not amazing certainly, as it plays like a less polished RE2 Remake right down to (somewhat ironically) ripping off the inventory and puzzle UI of the recent Resident Evil games with worse combat and a nasty habit of getting your character stuck on the geometry and forcing you to reload the last autosave point. But it does have unique strengths such as an intriguing remix of the 1992 AitD story that, much like that game, gives you a serviceable, easy to follow in-game plot with plenty of good background and lore to dive into if you want to obsessively read all of the in-game literature, two playable characters the differ just enough to warrant a quick, easy mode second run and multiple endings for each character (a surprising rarity in games these days!).

Frustrations aside, we need more mid-budget games like this that are more reminiscent of the PS2 era, (and frankly I won't be surprised if that happens more and more with everything happening in games/tech right now) I just wish it did a little more to give itself its own identity.

I had pretty much written the entire series off and thought "oh, yeah... 'this time for sure, Rocky!'" on this one, but I've pretty universally heard basically what you're saying here, so I'll probably check it out.

 

[Issun]

I actually played OG Alone in the Dark for the first time three years ago and, while it's clunkier than a '77 Civic, it was still a really neat experience. I can't even fully put my finger on why. I do think the incredibly low-res polygons did give it its own weird atmosphere, for one, but also the mansion is actually really well planned out, even if moving around in it is like running through mud.

 

[SpoonyBard]

Just finished Rebel Transmute on Switch. (full disclosure I backed it on Kickstarter)

It's a fun and challenging Troid-em-up that has some rough edges still. You need to put yourself into a Hollow Knight-like frame of mind more than anything, the combat can be rough and despite the fact that your character is a space lady with a blaster your main attack is effectively melee. I think the balance needed a second look, the very beginning and very end of the game feel right but the middle section gave me a lot of trouble. It felt like enemies increased in difficulty faster than my ability to deal with them and I wound up relying on accessibility options to move forward.

However if you're in the mood for an exploration platformer that doesn't hold your hand then give it a look. You do get some direction at the start but once you're given your three primary objectives you're left to your own devices and, from what I can tell, there are multiple plausible routes through the game. It's possible the way I ultimately went was one of the trickier ways.

There's also a lot of interesting movement tech in the game and most of it the game doesn't tell you directly. There's really only one place where I feel this is an issue: in the room with your main objective in the Sunken Basin you have to figure out how drop height and momentum affect your speed in and when exiting water. The game doesn't explicitly teach your this beforehand and I foresee this being a room where a lot of people get stuck. But a lot of the other fun movement tech either isn't strictly necessary to beat the game or is otherwise easy to suss out naturally. I'm expecting speedruns of this game to be very interesting.

If I were to offer any other suggestions to the creator it would be to increase the base damage of your attack by a point or two and either reduce some of the enemies in a few rooms or make certain enemies less aggro. Some enemies love to get all up in your hitbox and take a few too many hits to handle.

Biggest tip I can offer: In the Overgrowth area you can find an augment called the Wave Blaster, slap that on as soon as you find it and never take it off. It makes combat so much better it's ridiculous. Most other augments either don't affect your damage output or have a tradeoff, this one is a net positive.

 

[q 3]

I'm nearing the end of Harvestella and for the first time in a while find myself unconsciously slow-walking the plot just because I'll be sad to have to say goodbye. What a charming game. As someone who's tried but failed to click with farming sims before, this one is just complex enough to be engaging but with enough conveniences and simplifications that it doesn't stress me out. Meanwhile the writing (especially the character stories and the second half of the main plot) is a satisfying blend of thoughtful and thought-provoking. Some of the dungeon concepts (most notably the highway and the space elevator) were extremely cool.

There is a bit of disconnect between the farming and JRPG sides, mainly with scenarios where you need to quickly stop the big bad from pushing the big red button but it's totally fine if you would rather spend the next month growing potatoes, but it usually errs on the side of player ease which isn't the worst place to be. I really like the daily rhythm it encourages (but doesn't force) of farming, socializing, exploring, and then using whatever spare nighttime hours you have to cook/craft for the next day. It also makes me think of how Etrian Odyssey could have better implemented its own cooking systems to be a key part of exploration instead of an afterthought.

 

[Patrick]

I'm playing Super Mario World.

I think this is probably my favorite Mario game, which puts it high in the running for my favorite game period. For a few years I remember having kind of a low opinion of SMW. I think part of it is that it came out at the start of the 16-bit generation. Yoshi's Island is much more colorful and inventive, the DKC games looked amazing, and Super Mario 64 wasn't that far off and it really reinvented platforming. Also, I just played SMW so much when I first got a SNES that I was kind of burned out on it. It felt a bit bland.

But, revisiting it with fresh eyes, it's wonderful. Giving levels multiple exits adds so much to the world, making the map something that really needs to be explored. There are fewer powerups, but the cape and Yoshi give you so many options and reward gameplay mastery. And the somewhat sparse, early 90's backgrounds now feel charming. Most importantly though, it's the style of Mario gameplay that feels right to me. It's like coming back home.

I'm like 3/4 of the way through the SNES game, but I started reading about the GBA remake and decided to start that as well. So I'm playing as Luigi there, and I think I'm going to finish my SNES file as Mario as well, for the true Mario Bros. experience. Luigi has SMB2 style slippery controls, which gives the game a fresh feeling (especially since I just played all of these stages as Mario). It also keeps track of which stages you've collected all of the dragon coins in. I've never gone out of my way to get them, so that's adding something extra as well.

It's so nice to sneak in a few levels while here and there I'm on the train or during my lunch break. This game is a delight.