Okay, so you've got Super Popular Game for Cool Kids Red version, Green version, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Pearl, Diamond, and Crystal. What's next?
They only released the first version of that, stateside.
It had a simple combo that allowed you to completely unbalance your deck. Took five non-unique cards in a specific sequence, so it was sort of like Exodia Lite.
Anyway, I think they should name the next versions after philosophies, just to shake things up. Probably start off with Nihilism and Existentialism.
There are still plenty of valuable gems left we could use (Topaz/Amethyst/Peridot for one trio). Beyond that, let's get into the substances that have actually value, rather than just value due to scarcity:
Well, there's always the Adamantium and Neutronium Editions, and then there's the complete Collector's Edition Boxed Set. Then you re-release the original, but in slightly different packaging, call it Classic Edition, and go round the whole lot again...
Yell at Nintendo for doing this whole "version" nonsense when they could have just let people aquire all of any generation's critters in one version and simply have the option to trade. Oh, and stop putting "ungettable" monsters in those games that you have to stop by Toys R Us on some random day to pickup from some one time event.
And another thing, the idea of forcing people to pick up another game just to unlock content in a game they already have is pretty exploitative, mainly because you know for a fact that the other game isn't adding anything to the game that wasn't already on the cart/disk.
Heck today you generally don't worry about that too much but they do even worse, what with "downloadable content" that does absolutely nothing but "unlock" stuff already on the disk you just paid for, but you have to pay for it again!
Sometimes it may not actually be on the disk, but hey you know it could have been when that stuff was available for purchase on day one of the game's release. Really? You JUST whipped that together? It's not something you already had completed and just were saving for some extra cash? Don't get me wrong, I love bonus content you can download, and I don't mind paying for it if it's something they genuinely are adding to the game either do to not being able to finish it in time for the game's release or not even thinking of it until a few months later. I love the majority of Bethesda's content packs for their games for example (even the horse armor is at least something genuinely added to the game) and buying extra map packs as they are made for Halo games.
Oh and let's explore the path of modern "preorder bonuses" for a moment! I didn't mind them when the bonuses were a free shirt or posters or a coin or a statue or something. Now though, there's exclusive "in game content". Fable II in particular has items and a whole dungeon no one gets to see but those who preorder. It's on the disk. The game disks are identical, but since you didn't pony up for that preorder, it'll be forever out of your reach, as if to say smugly "well preorder next time and this won't happen". Others are doing this stuff too, with the Gears of War 2 exlusive preorder of a massive handful of all the levels from the first game for multiplayer. I might not even be upset if they just kept that content exclusive for a month and then let everyone have it. Heck, making us "normals" pay the difference between the normal and preorder to unlock it would be better than just nothing. What burns me more than all that are the excuses tossed up by some people in defense of it. That is, that if "everyone" could get it it would lose value, as though the only reason they appreciate it is because they can say "na na you don't have this", that is, not acutally appreciating what you've got but delighting in that others DON'T.
Sorry about that rant there. I don't often share the opinions of the "old schoolers" saying games today don't measure up, but when it comes to stuff like what I mention above, I suddenly pine for the old days of just being able to play all of the game you just bought.
On new games measuring up to old ones: A lot of old games, in general, suck. But there's a few gems that stand out, and they're even better than most modern games. But, such games are still being released today; some games will still be very good in the future, even when the Xbox 360 and the Wii and the PS3 are old school. So, old gamers, stop saying that old games were better than new ones: You just have had the time for your old gems to outlast all the other old ones.
On the other hand, the kind of people who made La-Mulana scare me.
(I think perhaps that rant should be cross-posted or linked for easy access on the GDL?)
Actually, speaking of La-Mulana and the games it's a tribute to... Games should be sensible enough that they can be completed in a 'fun' fashion, yes? Those who consider writing out exhaustive guides based on trial and error are wrong to consider most games inferior... Most games are simply targeted toward normal people...
La-Mulana is a tribute to all really insane games that can only be played through via a judicious combination of walkthroughs, insane logic, mind-reading, and being the creator.
I won't say for a minute that old-school games were better than new-school ones. La-Mulana, from its Wikipedia page, sounds like that kind of dumbass old school "hard" game. The original Metroid, for example, is a complete piece of trash in that same vein. It is not a classic.
Neither is Zelda 2. Neither is the original Metal Gear, or Final Fantasy 1, or Dragon Warrior.
I think a few do stand the test of time. Super Mario Brothers 3, for example, is a game that I would put up against any highly-rated game of today. I think that, unlike many other NES sidescrollers, it retains its fun factor and high quality even almost 20 years after it was released.
I do see a couple of patterns in modern games that bother me, though. I think that the modern fad (at least I hope it's a fad) of making games "mature" by just putting as much blood, gore, cursing, and self-serious bullshit in there as possible needs to go away. I also don't think every genre or game needs an in-depth narrative (Metroid Prime 3, while quite good, bugged me on that note; Fusion bugged me even more). If your game is awesome, you really shouldn't need much more than "rescue the princess," in my opinion.
I mean, Super Metroid had almost no story. The story was "Go get the metroid larva." Then you get dropped on Zebes and play one of the best games ever made for a few hours with no intrusive, unnecessary narrative.
I also hate the self-conscious artful pretentions that fill so much of the industry these days. I think video games can be art just like films and books, but the second someone makes a game with the primary purpose of being appreciated and not enjoyed, they're really missing the mark. If you get too obsessed with being an auteur and not making an awesome, fun game, then perhaps you should switch to being one of those lame art-house filmmakers.
I think the necessary simplicity that came from old school programming restrictions in many cases made developers work creatively to put together something cool that was also, by necessity, simple. Of course, it also made some of them them work lazily to create "Nintendo Hard" by throwing more and more bad guys at you instead of just making the game better, and we're still working that trend off. But the new era of game dev has brought with it new trends that I'd just as soon see fall by the wayside.
The old school has plenty of virtues, but mostly because we remember virtuous games.
I like Metroid for the minimalism of the narrative. You don't need dialogue except maybe to set up where you're exploring. The rest is told by the environment and event triggers. Sometimes more overt plot is nice, but it's an accomplishment to satisfy the need without dialogue.
On new school sins:
If you want to be artsy-fartsy with your game, make it indie or just sell it for $2 on PSN.
I also hate the trend for "Mature" games to be cookie-cutters with more blood and profanity. Some of that falls into my aversion to gorn and my love for the Twilight Zone. TZ made things creepy without spilling a drop of blood. A game for adults should be engaging without the need for gorn. It's gotten to the point that I almost see M-ratings as a guarantee of being immature.
Why do I get the feeling that I'm the only one in the world who loves Zelda 2? ;-)
Super Metroid was awesome though. I was pretty bummed when my SNES finally bit the dust a year or two ago because that meant that I had to play it on an emulator. It's just not the same. Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI are great too (though I'm a bit biased towards VI, since it's the first FF I ever played).
Back on topic though...
Jet, Obsidian, and [black] Onyx. Good luck telling them apart just from the cartridge colors...
You should update it to include HeartGold and SoulSilver. My contributions: Ebony, Ivory and Mohagany Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Metal, Wood (the Japanese elements) Sun, Moon and Star North, South, East and West
Okay, so you've got Super Popular Game for Cool Kids Red version, Green version, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Pearl, Diamond, and Crystal. What's next?
17 comments:
The Collectible Customizable Card Competition Craze, of course!
They only released the first version of that, stateside.
It had a simple combo that allowed you to completely unbalance your deck. Took five non-unique cards in a specific sequence, so it was sort of like Exodia Lite.
Anyway, I think they should name the next versions after philosophies, just to shake things up. Probably start off with Nihilism and Existentialism.
Ninja and Pirate.
There are still plenty of valuable gems left we could use (Topaz/Amethyst/Peridot for one trio). Beyond that, let's get into the substances that have actually value, rather than just value due to scarcity:
Air: Nitrogen/Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide
Building materials: Steel/Plastic/Titanium
Renewable Energy: Wind/Water/Sun
Nonrenewable Energy: Coal/Natural Gas/Uranium
Futuristic energy: Deuterium/Dilithium/Quintessence
Computing: Phosphorus/Arsenic/Silicon
Ketchup and Mustard, followed a year later by Special Horseradish Edition.
Well, there's always the Adamantium and Neutronium Editions, and then there's the complete Collector's Edition Boxed Set. Then you re-release the original, but in slightly different packaging, call it Classic Edition, and go round the whole lot again...
Yell at Nintendo for doing this whole "version" nonsense when they could have just let people aquire all of any generation's critters in one version and simply have the option to trade. Oh, and stop putting "ungettable" monsters in those games that you have to stop by Toys R Us on some random day to pickup from some one time event.
And another thing, the idea of forcing people to pick up another game just to unlock content in a game they already have is pretty exploitative, mainly because you know for a fact that the other game isn't adding anything to the game that wasn't already on the cart/disk.
Heck today you generally don't worry about that too much but they do even worse, what with "downloadable content" that does absolutely nothing but "unlock" stuff already on the disk you just paid for, but you have to pay for it again!
Sometimes it may not actually be on the disk, but hey you know it could have been when that stuff was available for purchase on day one of the game's release. Really? You JUST whipped that together? It's not something you already had completed and just were saving for some extra cash? Don't get me wrong, I love bonus content you can download, and I don't mind paying for it if it's something they genuinely are adding to the game either do to not being able to finish it in time for the game's release or not even thinking of it until a few months later. I love the majority of Bethesda's content packs for their games for example (even the horse armor is at least something genuinely added to the game) and buying extra map packs as they are made for Halo games.
Oh and let's explore the path of modern "preorder bonuses" for a moment! I didn't mind them when the bonuses were a free shirt or posters or a coin or a statue or something. Now though, there's exclusive "in game content". Fable II in particular has items and a whole dungeon no one gets to see but those who preorder. It's on the disk. The game disks are identical, but since you didn't pony up for that preorder, it'll be forever out of your reach, as if to say smugly "well preorder next time and this won't happen". Others are doing this stuff too, with the Gears of War 2 exlusive preorder of a massive handful of all the levels from the first game for multiplayer. I might not even be upset if they just kept that content exclusive for a month and then let everyone have it. Heck, making us "normals" pay the difference between the normal and preorder to unlock it would be better than just nothing. What burns me more than all that are the excuses tossed up by some people in defense of it. That is, that if "everyone" could get it it would lose value, as though the only reason they appreciate it is because they can say "na na you don't have this", that is, not acutally appreciating what you've got but delighting in that others DON'T.
Sorry about that rant there. I don't often share the opinions of the "old schoolers" saying games today don't measure up, but when it comes to stuff like what I mention above, I suddenly pine for the old days of just being able to play all of the game you just bought.
Yeah, that sort of stuff is completely idiotic.
On new games measuring up to old ones: A lot of old games, in general, suck. But there's a few gems that stand out, and they're even better than most modern games. But, such games are still being released today; some games will still be very good in the future, even when the Xbox 360 and the Wii and the PS3 are old school. So, old gamers, stop saying that old games were better than new ones: You just have had the time for your old gems to outlast all the other old ones.
On the other hand, the kind of people who made La-Mulana scare me.
(I think perhaps that rant should be cross-posted or linked for easy access on the GDL?)
Actually, speaking of La-Mulana and the games it's a tribute to... Games should be sensible enough that they can be completed in a 'fun' fashion, yes? Those who consider writing out exhaustive guides based on trial and error are wrong to consider most games inferior... Most games are simply targeted toward normal people...
What's La-Mulana?
La-Mulana is a tribute to all really insane games that can only be played through via a judicious combination of walkthroughs, insane logic, mind-reading, and being the creator.
People liked that sort of thing.
I'm not one of them.
I won't say for a minute that old-school games were better than new-school ones. La-Mulana, from its Wikipedia page, sounds like that kind of dumbass old school "hard" game. The original Metroid, for example, is a complete piece of trash in that same vein. It is not a classic.
Neither is Zelda 2. Neither is the original Metal Gear, or Final Fantasy 1, or Dragon Warrior.
I think a few do stand the test of time. Super Mario Brothers 3, for example, is a game that I would put up against any highly-rated game of today. I think that, unlike many other NES sidescrollers, it retains its fun factor and high quality even almost 20 years after it was released.
I do see a couple of patterns in modern games that bother me, though. I think that the modern fad (at least I hope it's a fad) of making games "mature" by just putting as much blood, gore, cursing, and self-serious bullshit in there as possible needs to go away. I also don't think every genre or game needs an in-depth narrative (Metroid Prime 3, while quite good, bugged me on that note; Fusion bugged me even more). If your game is awesome, you really shouldn't need much more than "rescue the princess," in my opinion.
I mean, Super Metroid had almost no story. The story was "Go get the metroid larva." Then you get dropped on Zebes and play one of the best games ever made for a few hours with no intrusive, unnecessary narrative.
I also hate the self-conscious artful pretentions that fill so much of the industry these days. I think video games can be art just like films and books, but the second someone makes a game with the primary purpose of being appreciated and not enjoyed, they're really missing the mark. If you get too obsessed with being an auteur and not making an awesome, fun game, then perhaps you should switch to being one of those lame art-house filmmakers.
I think the necessary simplicity that came from old school programming restrictions in many cases made developers work creatively to put together something cool that was also, by necessity, simple. Of course, it also made some of them them work lazily to create "Nintendo Hard" by throwing more and more bad guys at you instead of just making the game better, and we're still working that trend off. But the new era of game dev has brought with it new trends that I'd just as soon see fall by the wayside.
Didn't expect an old school/new school rant.
The old school has plenty of virtues, but mostly because we remember virtuous games.
I like Metroid for the minimalism of the narrative. You don't need dialogue except maybe to set up where you're exploring. The rest is told by the environment and event triggers. Sometimes more overt plot is nice, but it's an accomplishment to satisfy the need without dialogue.
On new school sins:
If you want to be artsy-fartsy with your game, make it indie or just sell it for $2 on PSN.
I also hate the trend for "Mature" games to be cookie-cutters with more blood and profanity. Some of that falls into my aversion to gorn and my love for the Twilight Zone. TZ made things creepy without spilling a drop of blood. A game for adults should be engaging without the need for gorn. It's gotten to the point that I almost see M-ratings as a guarantee of being immature.
Why do I get the feeling that I'm the only one in the world who loves Zelda 2? ;-)
Super Metroid was awesome though. I was pretty bummed when my SNES finally bit the dust a year or two ago because that meant that I had to play it on an emulator. It's just not the same. Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI are great too (though I'm a bit biased towards VI, since it's the first FF I ever played).
Back on topic though...
Jet, Obsidian, and [black] Onyx. Good luck telling them apart just from the cartridge colors...
I've got a spare SNES, if you're interested, Nes.
You know, I just realized that this complaint doesn't just apply to the games...
You should update it to include HeartGold and SoulSilver.
My contributions:
Ebony, Ivory and Mohagany
Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Metal, Wood (the Japanese elements)
Sun, Moon and Star
North, South, East and West
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