E3 2010

[Armando]

Re: E3 2010

I saw the trailer for Sonic Colors last night and I don't know why all the hate. It looks like Sonic Unleashed without the Werehog stages, which is kind of what people wanted. Plus the Wii is getting the game properly and not as a fucking PS2 port.

Yes, there's still a high chance it'll suck, but it doesn't look like garbage yet.

[Feba]

Re: E3 2010

358 Days Over Two doesn't make any more sense then 358/2 unless you've played the game, at which point you don't need a title to tell you what the game is about. I haven't played any KH game, 358 Days Over Two and 358/2 tell me exactly the same amount of information about the game.

I never said titles should tell you what the game is about; I said they should be relevant and elegant. When I said "makes sense", I was talking about the ability to read what the name of the product is. And yes, Three Five Eight (Or 3-5-8; not 358) Days Over Two would be a better title because at least then the reading is unambiguous. Writing the product's name as "358/2 Days" and pronouncing it as "Three Five Eight Days over Two" is hardly any better than simply writing the name in Chinese. Both of them can just be "Kingdom Hearts: The one with the fucking annoying title", only instead of being "that one with the number" it would be "That one with the scribbly moon language". And at least people that speak Chinese would know what it says unambiguously, instead of nobody who isn't relying on some other source of information.

[Malacite]

Re: E3 2010

CQC also works like a dream in this game, which was my one issue with MGS3.

Oh good God don't even get me started...



But man, the end of that trailer with Raiden cutting the Watermelon was just priceless.

[Mhurron]

Re: E3 2010

The point is that they came up with a bullshit title that only makes sense to Japanese consumers.

Which is still irrelevant as a title, or subtitle in the case of series, is really only useful in differentiating a game/movie/song from other games/movies/songs. There isn't another KH game called 358/2 so it works, exactly what it is called is sort of unimportant.

358 Days Over Two doesn't make any more sense then 358/2 unless you've played the game, at which point you don't need a title to tell you what the game is about. I haven't played any KH game, 358 Days Over Two and 358/2 tell me exactly the same amount of information about the game.

[Feba]

Re: E3 2010

Also, 358/2 was most likely mostly referred to as 'the new Kingdom Hearts game.'

The point is that they came up with a bullshit title that only makes sense to Japanese consumers. They completely ignored the fact that English (and for that matter, pretty much every other language) doesn't have pronunciation guides.

[Mhurron]

Re: E3 2010

but then what would they call FF14?

Final Fantasy Online: Electric Boogaloo.

Also, 358/2 was most likely mostly referred to as 'the new Kingdom Hearts game.'

/Die Hard with a Vengeance. Complaining about titles is somehow even more pointless then most arguments.

[Feba]

Re: E3 2010

I'm not saying PO and PW are inferior; it's just that they are spinoffs. Spinoffs can be every bit as good as the games they're derived from; look at all the games flying under the SMT banner. Or the beloved FFT(A) series. Or FF7:CC. Or the Mario RPG series.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: E3 2010

I'm more interested in Rising than Peace Walker to be perfectly honest. I've played, beaten, and own (well except PO) all the major MGS entries and I've had my fill.

At least this new game with Raiden looks damn cool. Precision Slicing virtually anything? Kick f'ing ass.

They're both very, very different Metal Gear games compared to what's come before them.

As i said, Peace Walker flows a lot more like Monster Hunter in how the game flows. Don't get me wrong, its still Metal Gear in how it plays, but there's clear inspiration beyond the inclusion of Monster Island.

This is right down to looting mechs to build your own mechs (and killing monsters to build new weapons since that's there too). You have an R&D team building weapons and items, improving them along the way. You're building up the staff of your base, not just recruiting them for combat units. Mess Hall, Medical team, R&D, Combat. There's even a hospital and a brig because people can get hurt or cranky.

The more prestige you get, the more often volunteers start to show up, so you can stop kidnapping so many people to join you.

There's Outer Ops, which are kinda like clan missions in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. You'll send out a squad to do a mission while you cover other Ops. This can lead to new weapons, ammo, resources and troops gained. And yes, they level up.

And as the funds and people come,you can build a bigger base. There's lots of sim and RPG elements, and the game does strongly encourage you to capture rather than cap enemy soldiers. Though during the boss fights that can be hard since they can fall in the boss' line of fire as well.

These aren't the bosses that come out and talk you to death. They just want to kill you.

CQC also works like a dream in this game, which was my one issue with MGS3.

[Malacite]

Re: E3 2010

I'm more interested in Rising than Peace Walker to be perfectly honest. I've played, beaten, and own (well except PO) all the major MGS entries and I've had my fill.

At least this new game with Raiden looks damn cool. Precision Slicing virtually anything? Kick f'ing ass.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: E3 2010

Also, MGS PO and PW most definitely are spin-offs, they just happen to be canonical. They're not part of the main series, they differ in platform and gameplay, and I don't know about PW but I know for a fact that PO isn't crucial to understanding the plot, and in fact didn't really add a whole lot at all to the story. If you go straight from MGS3 to 4, you're not going to be missing out on some huge moment. If you go straight from 2 to 4, you sure as hell will.

Peacewalker only vaguely talks about Portable Ops. And by that I mean, "Oh something happened, I created FOXHOUND and left America again"

Peace Walker is a direct sequel to MGS3, though. It deals with the aftermath of MGS3 and often discusses aspects of that story, even running flashbacks of crucial scenes and dialog from MGS3. The supporting cast is wholly new, but if you were to play this without having played MGS3 and MGS, you'd be lost on what its referencing and what its setting the stage for.

Without saying much, the events of MGS3 are haunting Naked Snake and he's investigating the movements of the CIA in Costa Rica. And all the Kojima flair is there - the zany easter eggs, crossover material, detailed codec-style briefings and historical background. Expect to learn a lot about the political climate of Cuba and South America.

Kojima treated this with every bit of detail he'd treat the console releases, though I'd say there's a lot of inspiration drawn from Monster Hunter in terms of structure. The change of direction is welcome to the series, however, and feels like it could have been a console release.

In fact, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if this got remade as a console release at some point. Or even 3DS, for that matter.

[Feba]

Re: E3 2010

You know, it think there's just a point where we all need to let go of numbers defining sequels and just go with subtitles, no matter how strange.

I'm not opposed to strange subtitles. MGS's rerelease subtitles didn't make much sense (integral, substance, subsistence? wut?), that's fine. Even Castlevania titles don't bug me, the series bleeds camp anyway. But KH's titles are just fucking annoying.

Anyway, I sort of agree and sort of disagree. I hate losing numbering in games; it's an easy way to keep track of which one goes where. First examples that jump to mind are the Prince of Persia and Hitman series. Sequels getting subtitles with no number means I have no idea what the continuity is. But that's more of a continuity thing. If series aren't related, then I think it's fine to lose that.

However, there are things like FF. I think the series would be worse off for having subtitles instead of numbers. Even though there's basically zero canonical relationship between the numbered FF games (lol FF7/10, you can go fuck yourself), I think that works. Subtitles would be shit; what would we call FF7? FF10? The only easy one would be "Final Fantasy Online", but then what would they call FF14? Zelda is a deceptive example; it doesn't have the elegance of other long running series, and it doesn't need it. It's much more lighthearted than that. Zelda plots also tend to revolve around one or two key figures or items, with everything else being much the same. The subtitles are the difference and the key gameplay mechanic quirk. OOT referred to the Ocarina, which was used to solve various puzzles by playing at certain moments, plus the plot significance of the item itself (in link's drawing the Master Sword and subsequent time freeze). Likewise for MM, referring to Masks, as well as the plot central mask seeking to bring the moon down on the planet. Wind Waker had the item itself and the wind used to solve puzzles and navigate the seas. So on and so forth.

Also, MGS PO and PW most definitely are spin-offs, they just happen to be canonical. They're not part of the main series, they differ in platform and gameplay, and I don't know about PW but I know for a fact that PO isn't crucial to understanding the plot, and in fact didn't really add a whole lot at all to the story. If you go straight from MGS3 to 4, you're not going to be missing out on some huge moment. If you go straight from 2 to 4, you sure as hell will.

Numbering can also be useful to imply an order to playing the games. Again, in MGS' case, 3 comes earliest chronologically. But I doubt you'd want to play it first. The central focus of MGS3's plot is explaining the backstory of the thread left dangling at the end of MGS2. Without MGS3, MGS4 wouldn't make sense; without MGS2, MGS3 wouldn't matter.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: E3 2010

I can only imagine the myriad ways the average video game store employee has heard this game referred to.

"Can I have a copy of One-Hundred Seventy-Nine Days for Nintendo DS please?"

Me too, actually. I kinda stopped the first one towards the end because of school, and consequently never played the second

While I beat the first one, I never got to link to the second one, and thus decided that it might not be worth playing at all, since I'm not getting the "full" experience (I spent a whole freakin' game's worth of effort just to get to that point in the plot!). And considering that I currently have a video game backlog . . . methinks I'm not going to be getting that any time soon.

[DakAttack]

Re: E3 2010

Harmony of despair makes sense to me. It's multiplayer, so the different people are harmonizing with their despair.

DEMON'S SOULS 2 WHERE ARE YOU???

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: E3 2010

You know, it think there's just a point where we all need to let go of numbers defining sequels and just go with subtitles, no matter how strange.

Because really get fucking tired of hearing people call very blatant, direct sequels/prequels on handhelds "spin-offs"

I'm sorry but when games get as story heavy as Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days or Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, they're canon. They're part of the series. SE could have gotten themselves out of this mess by never issuing a number to KH II in the first place.

I mean, really, seems like a whole lot of shit happened between the PS2 KH games.

And if Kingdom Hearts subtitles are stumpers for you, look at all the pretentious ones Castlevania has had. I mean, really "Harmony of Despair?" Its like they're not even trying anymore. Not that there's a serious story to follow with them, but I don't see anyone making a fuss over the lack of numbering.

Plus it really just get sort of ridiculous we keep going on with the numbers and roman numerals. Can't Final Fantasy, Mega Man and Dragon Quest just drop that, because once you get over the number three it starts loo look like you're desparate.

I mean, they're not calling new Zelda "The Legend of Zelda XIV." And this is the fourteenth one (unless you want to get technical and consider the Oracle games a set). There was Zelda, Zelda II and then, oh, fuck it - let's just do subtitles.

I know there are nerds that want to take the Zelda continuity seriously, but the fact Miyamoto even came up with one was just to fuck with people. I have no idea where I'd put Twilight Princess. All I know is Wind Waker > Phantom Hourglass > Spirit Tracks was the only really attempt at continuity the series ever had since OOT > MM > Oracle of Ages/Seasons.

That's all the continuity I know and hope they don't ever bother again. In fact, fuck Ganondorf, I'm tired of seeing his ass, all the games without him are more interesting. I know the second Ganondorf is there the story is going to be some boring shit anyway

[Feba]

Re: E3 2010

While the name "Kingdom Hearts 3D" isn't a final name, it does have something to do with the final name. The "3D" in this placeholder title does not stand for "3 Dimension," said Nomura, but is an abbreviation for the game's subtitle.

Oh for fucks sake, developers, stop this shit. No, making your subtitle an acronym doesn't make you better than the assholes who named every other game on SNES "Super Game!" and N64 "Game 64!". And KH's names have become bullshitier and bullshitier every freaking year. Chain of Memories and II? Alright. Coded? Well, I suppose that's acceptable. Re:CoM? Pushing it, even for a remake. Birth by Sleep? What the fuck? Also considering that's supposed to be linked to KH3. And then of course there's 358/2 Days, which is simply the worst title I have ever seen for a video game, ever. Fun fact: It's pronounced Three Five Eight Days Over Two. Do you know how the fuck they expect you to figure that out? Find the Japanese box. And read katakana. I shit thee not. I can only imagine the myriad ways the average video game store employee has heard this game referred to.