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Post by Mambo's Here! Look Busy! on Aug 31, 2011 21:02:54 GMT
I too have only played Chaotix by nefarious means... I found it quite dull, actually. The novelty of playing as Knuckles or a Chaotix member soon wore off. I also agree with an above comment over a lack of baddies to smash, then suddently POW! BOSS TIME!
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Post by Baron Canier on Aug 31, 2011 21:13:49 GMT
Chaotix is a mess. A surprisingly barren game despite its bright, vibrant visuals and how many characters are featured. The level design also makes no sense. Rubbish game.
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Post by Arch on Sept 1, 2011 17:40:32 GMT
Tails' Skypatrol, 1995 - Game Gear It was as if Sega weren't really trying at this point. It was already a year since the Sonic & Knuckles giant was completed and all that had come since were two subpar racing games and a Knuckles-led platformer that nobody could play. The decline hadn't yet happened for Game Gear owners, but that was all about to change. The doom and gloom of that last sentence might be a bit much, as Skypatrol has definitely grown on me as a game. Starring Tails as the only playable character, the idea is to pilot an ever-flying Tails through some fiendish levels, the greedy fox guzzling on "mint candies" to keep his stamina up. It really is a challenge to survive on some of these levels, with every obstacle vying to kill you in mundane ways. For some reason, Tails is always holding a Ring, which can help you speed along minecart tracks and preserve your health, but is usually responsible for you latching on to a passing bolt and sending you backwards into a wall. Or something. Bosses are unoriginal, basically just requiring you to whack them with your Ring. Despite this, I've never gotten as far as the final boss as the last level is untolerably cruel. It's still a fun challenge in places and I'm sure I'll go back to try it again in about 3 years. Or something. Next Time: A worse Tails game!
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Post by Nam on Sept 2, 2011 9:01:04 GMT
I never even beat the training level of that game. Not sure if it's because I lacked patience to keep trying, or because it was that horrid to control, but I never saw past that opening level. Never really felt compelled to play too much of it, as it was kinda boring to be honest.
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Post by madhair60 on Sept 2, 2011 9:04:12 GMT
Hidden gem Tails' Adventure, worse than Sky Patrol? Unless you meant Tails and the Music Maker. YOU BETTER HAVE MEANT TAILS AND THE MUSIC MAKER
IF THE NEXT GAME ISN'T TAILS AND THE MUSIC MAKER SO HELP ME
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Post by Samface on Sept 2, 2011 10:32:52 GMT
I don't think I've ever got past the second level on this, but I kind of like it even though objectively I know it's a bit rubbish. Bit like Sonic 3D, really.
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Post by Juliett. Bravo. Alfa. on Sept 2, 2011 18:54:03 GMT
Hidden gem Tails' Adventure, worse than Sky Patrol? Unless you meant Tails and the Music Maker. YOU BETTER HAVE MEANT TAILS AND THE MUSIC MAKER IF THE NEXT GAME ISN'T TAILS AND THE MUSIC MAKER SO HELP ME Actually this. Very, very [censored]ing this.
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Post by Arch on Sept 2, 2011 20:28:21 GMT
HAHA IVE NEVER PLAYED THAT So yes, it's time for Tails Adventure, 1995 - Game Gear I actually used to really like Tails Adventure. It was my favourite Game Gear exclusive (as in, not on Master System as well) for a while, but only for a short while. I enjoyed the freedom the game gives, the wide variety of items you can utilise to get you into new routes. The graphics are alright too, sticking with the Triple Trouble kind of mold which can't be bad, although most of the backgrounds are kind of rubbish. Unfortunately, I find more flaws with it every time I go back to it. The biggest flaw is the exploration. Don't get me wrong, I love the faux-exploration of early Sonic games, discovering new routes to blast through. But there's the problem, you can't blast through anything in this game (except for the walls that look almost exactly like other ones and there's never a clue whether the wall will break later or whatever). Everything's so slow! It's obviously a game where thought is preferred over brute force speed, but I'm playing as Tails. I know he can go faster than this. The speed issue is blindingly obvious when you have to repeatedly backtrack to try new routes. It's even worse when you discover when there really is nothing you can do in this place and have to return to the entrance or persevere to the exit. Again. I've never gotten far in this game. I often reach a spot that makes no sense and isn't one of those spots that makes blinding sense once you've read a guide. As with many of these types of games, once you've read a guide, you'll probably read it again later and that's when you realise this game isn't for you. Some people will happily take all these "flaws" and enjoy every minute of this game (as already declared), so I admire you, because this really isn't my thing. I enjoy the simplistic slop that is Skypatrol, damn it.
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Post by Samface on Sept 3, 2011 11:12:55 GMT
I've played this a bit and I suspect there's a good game in there somewhere but it's so slow and fiddly that I just can't be bothered.
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Post by Nam on Sept 4, 2011 7:35:56 GMT
I've played this a bit and I suspect there's a good game in there somewhere but it's so slow and fiddly that I just can't be bothered. This pretty much, combined with Arch's point about getting stuck in some really obscure places. It's a game that really wants to be a Metroidvania, but just doesn't quite get it right. I'm sure playing it with a walkthrough it would be fun, but it gets annoying after a while.
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Post by Arch on Sept 4, 2011 9:41:20 GMT
Sonic Labyrinth, 1995 - Game Gear
Again with the Game Gear games! Not much to say about this one. You control Sonic but you can't run or jump, merely walk and roll. Doesn't sound like fun and it isn't, really. The only sense of enjoyment is finally figuring out the correct path and finding all the keys, which obviously doesn't have much replayability if you remember it next time. You have to wonder if Sega really hated their franchise by this time, as they'd tried three games in a row experimenting with three completely different play styles which, in my opinion, are all wide of the mark. The next game, the final Game Gear offering, returns to traditional platform fun, but not in a good way.
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Post by Samface on Sept 4, 2011 10:24:14 GMT
The only sense of enjoyment is removing the cart from your machine, feeding it into a shredder, setting it on fire, then throwing it out of the window. Fix'd. Seriously one of the worst games I've ever played.
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Post by madhair60 on Sept 4, 2011 10:25:13 GMT
Really a great little diversion. Quite easy but worthwhile, and the controls are interesting.
Edit: Just read Samface's post. Good lord, you're a lucky man if the harmless Sonic Labyrinth ranks up there with the worst you've played.
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Post by Samface on Sept 4, 2011 10:26:46 GMT
what is wrong with your brain
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Post by madhair60 on Sept 4, 2011 11:41:01 GMT
What's wrong with yours? What's your issue with the game? It's a harmless, functional maze game. Looks and plays fine. Is your problem that it is not Sonic 3?
Edit: I realise this is very unpleasant. I am riled this afternoon, and I apologise.
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Post by Beeth on Sept 4, 2011 12:03:53 GMT
Tails Skypatrol, decent little game, even if it requires more willing suspension of disbelief than the usual.
I'll be honest and say I've not played much of Tails Adventure. Reasons already given include it's confusing "Guide Dang It" nature, it's rather slow pacing and habit of making you backtrack. A lot. Like Samface said, I feel there's something of a good game in there, but it's very clouded over if there is.
Labyrinth's alright, but It's hardly Independence Day. It's a decent little game on its own though. Has a clever iso layout like Sonic 3D that I enjoy exploring, which may or may not have been the inspiration for the latter title (or vice-versa, depending on when development of 3D was started). I think the main reason why people complain about it is because it features Sonic, who is usually renowned for being fast. I believe if it featured an independent set of characters folk may not have been quite so scathing of it.
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Post by Alex on Sept 4, 2011 13:33:31 GMT
It's a game with Sonic and it makes you move as slowly as possible. How does anyone not see that as a huge glaring flaw?
You don't buy Sonic games for a "harmless, functional maze game". It's like putting out a Transformers movie and barely including the giant transforming robots in it, instead splitting your time between focusing on the love life of some human and being a propaganda film for the US military. It's ridiculous and an affront to the money you pay based on the expectations of a franchise you enjoy.
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Post by Beeth on Sept 4, 2011 14:44:15 GMT
To be fair, a villain who comes up with a way to subdue the hero's primary super-ability and succeeds in putting it into practice is quite the genius. And then that Sonic is able to defeat him in spite of this drastic limitation of his abilities is a remarkable feat in itself, and provides a somewhat unique challenge for Sonic.
Further, the content and nature of the gameplay is described on the back of the box, or on the preceeding blurb or wherever the game is described before you get hold of and play it. Once you've read that you can't really expect it to be a fast, rip-roaring game. And if it doesn't sound fun to you you needn't play it. So I'd say it fully meets expectations.
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Post by madhair60 on Sept 4, 2011 15:20:19 GMT
It's a game with Sonic and it makes you move as slowly as possible. How does anyone not see that as a huge glaring flaw? You know you can press the buttons to spin dash at ludicrous speed, right? The entire basis of the gameplay is learning to control the richochets and mechanics of said move. It's very fast paced when you learn it. Edit: I see what you did there with Transformers btw. Remember Pokémon? I think that had a few spin offs too. Pokémon Dash as I recall was particularly grievous.
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Post by Nam on Sept 4, 2011 20:14:21 GMT
I quite enjoyed Labyrinth. It was fun while it lasted, and I bothered to put the effort in to finish it IIRC. not that I remember too much about it, it was short, relatively easy, but ultimately unrewarding and had no real replay value. Fun while it lasted, but doesn't last too long.
Labyrinth sets up with the same thing as Sonic 3D, in showing that massive isometric levels are possible, but they're almost always big flat plains with little in the way of actual jumping and very few enemies. It might be why later 3D Sonic games opted for narrow pathways suspended continuously above bottomless pits.
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Post by Arch on Sept 5, 2011 15:26:05 GMT
Sonic Blast, 1996 - Game Gear The final GG game, and boy is it a stinker. It promises so much after two odd Tails games, two racing games and Labyrinth, finally bringing good platform games back to the handheld. Unfortunately, this is far from a good platform game. All the basics are there which should make this perfectly playable - Sonic, Knuckles, Badniks, levels, Robotnik, etc, etc. The main problems with this are the clunky controls/characters and the goddamn graphics. In a supposed attempt to emulate Donkey Kong Country, everything's 3D-esque and blocky, the background pre-rendered and the foreground displaying a false sense of depth. The characters take up much of the screen, making it almost impossible to judge the appearance of raised platforms until you've already gone past them. Level design is boring and linear, save for the odd few deviations that return you straight to the usual path. Special Stages are even more dull, somehow. It's a shame I dislike this game so much, as it's a Sonic platform game which should be good, just like the other 4 on the system. Unfortunately, an attempt to push graphics to the forefront pushes out the gameplay. It'd take another 10+ years until Sega were able to meld these facets well again. Note: Haven't actually played this recently. Don't have Mega Collection anymore and can't get all SA:DX emblems. This is from what I remember of the game and Youtube! Still, a quick playthrough re-ignited sour memories.
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Post by madhair60 on Sept 5, 2011 20:10:31 GMT
It's not very good at all.
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Post by Beeth on Sept 6, 2011 8:54:51 GMT
If I didn't know otherwise, I'd've assumed this to be a pirate game. That's how horribly out-of-place this looks. Hardly played it because I never bothered to unlock it on DX, and hardly ever used Mega Collection Plus. It's hardly something I want to play again a hurry, however.
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Post by Nam on Sept 6, 2011 14:54:34 GMT
It suffers from an oversized sprite, physics that while not slippy like every Sonic game since after Adventure, don't really work, and the mix just produces a sloppy bad game, that tries to look like a much better one. The only reason I can think that everything is so close is because they want to show off the fancy render sprites, yet even they look awful. The screen shot doesn't really do it justice, it looks awful in motion.
It was also very weird about bosses. Because of the huge size of the sprites, and trying to keep scale, Robotnik takes up about a quarter of the screen, and therefor, to avoid all bosses being over in seconds, the only weakpoint was it's window. It also had a weird system of damage, being hit cost you ten rings.
Generally a bland, boring, awful game, which has nothing going for it.
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Post by ShayMay on Sept 6, 2011 14:58:37 GMT
Cannot see a single thing to praise, really. While nothing works, the level design is probably the worst offender, with no imagination to its name.
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