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bahamutgames · 15 days ago

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AFTERTHOUGHTS - ROUNDUP ROUND 15

September - October 2024

We're fast approaching the end of October, and I don't really think I'm gonna be beating anything else before Halloween that I want to include in my round up. So I figured I'll just go right ahead and get to talking about what I've got lined up here!

You know the drill: these aren't reviews, just me throwing up my thoughts. Please play anything I talk about that interests you!

Final Fantasy IV (December 20, 2007) - DS

Alright, to get us started, it's the next game in the Final Fantasy series! And the first in the SNES trilogy, it's time for Final Fantasy 4!! I played 3 at the start of the year and was REALLY itching to finally dive into the next entry. So how did it fare in my mind? Well, I'm a little conflicted on my thoughts about this game. And I think most of my issues come from the version I played.

Final Fantasy 4 is, in of itself, a very cool game. I remember feeling like 3 was odd because it felt like a sequel to 1, rather than being a sequel to 2. It went back to a lot of things 1 did and improved on them, while not taking much from 2. But 4 feels like an actual proper sequel building off concepts introduced in 2. Such as meaningful additions to your party who don't all die like in 2, and having non-silent protagonists, a bigger story, ect ect. 4 is the first one that I think genuinely has protagonists and villains that are really cool and iconic. I love the WoL and Garland, but they're not fleshed out in the same way, yknow? 4 also is starting to really feel like Final Fantasy as I know it. Lots of iconic monsters, the ATB system, lots of staple spells and what not. It's got great music (SUPER iconic battle and boss themes, and Zeromus' theme was cool too). I liked the story, it went a lot of places I didn't expect at all and stuff like the moon and the lunar whale were REALLY cool. And everyone who joins the party was fun and cool, even non-permanent teammates. I liked Cecil, and Rydia, and Palom and Porom a lot. And I got SO much mileage out of Tellah and Yang.

And the DS port also does a lot of cool stuff! I think the models look nice, I actually really liked seeing them fully animate certain cutscenes. The Wyte summon, even though I never touched it, was very cool! I liked being rewarded for exploring the whole map of an area, even if I didn't go for all of them. It was a fun incentive to explore dungeons and I'm kinda surprised I've never seen it outside of this. And I think there's some scenes that potentially even hit harder because of the redone cutscenes, such as Golbez leaving and turning back into the little boy as he goes. Genuinely gut wrenching, I loved it.

However, I think playing the DS port is why this game was just not that fun to me. This is, without question, the most brutal and unfair FF game I've played so far. 1+3 had some tough moments. 2 was tedious. But FF4DS is BRUTAL as brutal gets. Every single boss battle in this game was a tremendous roadblock, which is fine, but no amount of grinding ever helped. It felt like grinding basically did nothing to help with those troubles. In fact, I'm not 100% convinced Zeromus is possible in this version. Even with Excalibur, tons of great items and tools at everyone's disposal, and even having Bahamut by my side. I just don't know how you were supposed to do this boss. So ultimately I had to cheat and give myself max levels on an emulator. Right at the end too, it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. But maybe one day I'll try it again on my actual save file. But for now... I kind of wish I had just played the SNES version, I think I would've liked this game more.

And yeah, I have some issues with FF4. Like I think too many deaths happen, even if all but 1 (the only one I think was justified tbf) are fake outs. And this game has the classic case of giving a teammate too late for me to truly care about them with Edge. But even with any core problems I had, I do think this is the step forward for FF I was hoping to see with 3. Building off of what 2 did and making it actually fun to play through. Even though DS was too brutal of a port for its own good, I can't deny that the game itself is filled with good ideas and genuinely where the series should keep going from here. THAT'S WHY! My new FF ranking is:

Ultimately, while I think it was considerably stronger than 2+3 by a landslide, I still feel like I enjoyed 1 more. Even if it is way more basic with way less FF series staples included in it. However, I do believe that if I had played the considerably easier SNES original or Pixel Remaster, there's a good chance I would've walked out preferring 4 over 1. But, unfortunately, this is the world we live in, and I'm still oddly fond of FF1 lol.

Crash Bandicoot (September 9, 1996) - PS1

Now for something that's basically the opposite end of the gamer spectrum: Crash Bandicoot! So I don't really have much history with this series. I played 2 once or twice as a kid, and the only game I've beaten was the Nitro Kart remake when it had a free NSO trial. But I figured I'd go ahead and give the game a go since I'm so overdue on this guy. Plus, I played the big PS2 platformer mascots, I need to get onto the PS1 guys, right?

Crash Bandicoot... Is good! It's a simple platformer for sure. But it's fun! The perspective, more linear levels honestly gets the job done and works well. In fact, maybe not being too ambitious with big open levels is why it felt so fun and easy. Which is not a bad thing at all. I think the game was really pretty, had fun music, was fun to control, Tawna was hot. I like the concept. There's not much to say, but all of it is good :)

My only main critical things to say is that there's some gameplay elements that I thought were weird. Like, guys with shields who knock you back in the first world. What on EARTH was I supposed to do about them? I feel like I got past all of them on accident. And similarly, while I thought all the bosses were really good, I do NOT understand Pinstrip. I also felt like beating him was an accident lol. But my biggest gripe, and maybe it's not my place to say, is that we need to have a serious discussion about beloved 90's platformers and their insane need to be FILLED with indigenous racism. Cause. Oh man. Again, not my place to say. So I'll leave it at that. But MAN!!

Also for the longest time, I really thought this was going to be a BRUTAL video game. I don't know why, but that's actually why I emulated it. Cause I thought I would need save states to make it through. But, no? This game is actually REALLY easy. And I totally could've gotten through it without cheating lol. So maybe I'll actually play 2 and 3 physically? If I can find copies of them of course. Regardless, this was a fun time and I'm excited to see what the rest of the trilogy has in store for me :)

Splatoon 3: Side Order (February 22, 2024) - Switch

Let me just open up by saying: I HATE ROGUELIKES!! OH MY GOD I'M SO DONE WITH ROGUELIKES NO MORE PLEASE NO MORE I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!

*cough*

uh, anyway. Yeah my sister bought herself Side Order and so I finally got the chance to give it a go! And it was very neat! It's certainly no Octo Expansion, not by a long shot. But I still had fun with it! I think the story was cool, I liked Order as a villain and it was cool to meet Acht. I also LOVE the visuals, though that's not a surprise with this series. The strange cyber visuals was really cool, and I'm always a sucker for climbing evil fucked up towers. And everyone's outfits in this mode RULE!! The Pearl drone was cute, Marina and Acht's outfits rock, and 8's outfit is also cool! Not as cool as her outfit in OE. But it's still neat. I love Agent 8 btw. And the Jellotons have GREAT designs, I'm a huge sucker for skeletons. I think most of the challenges they present were fun and creative even if they can sometimes feel a little repetitive. The bosses were all the highlights probably, all 4 are SUPER creative and cool. Even Parallel Canon, which is a basic boss for the series sure, but they were visually awesome and Parallel Canon is such a cool and haunting name for them. And I love seeing myself slowly get upgraded with random buffs over time as I play (my personal favorite part of this genre) and having 8's colors change based on what you pick is SUCH a nice detail! The final phase of the final boss also RULED, I love little power trips like that. It's a fun game!

But, as I so gently said at the start. I am not a fan of roguelikes. While I love getting random upgrades and making what I'm given work as I go. I cannot lie that I HATE having to start a game over from scratch over and over, and especially hate when story content is locked behind progression. I just can't get into it. And yes, Octo Expansion will do some NASTY shit to fuck you over and make you start over. Don't even get me started on Dual Splatties, fuck those guns. Agent 4's gun is the obvious GOAT. But yeah, the game does have some stuff to make it easier. Permanent upgrades are always nice, vending machine floors were a much needed break, and the fact you only had to do it once (unlike NASB2 for example) made it a little easier to deal with.

So I did enjoy myself for the most part. But, also... Seriously it's enough we don't need more roguelike modes. STOP IT!!! THAT'S ENOUGH WE CAN STOP!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Robotnik's Ring Racers (April 24, 2024) - PC

Hey another fan game!! I really am so far behind in the world of fan games. Somehow I hadn't played this or SRB2 yet. But recently at the GA Mini FurryConvention I met someone who let me try all sorts of fun stuff on their steam deck! And Ring Racers was one of them! And I was pretty much immediately hooked!

For starters, I LOVE how this game looks. I'm a sucker for the billboard sprites and 3D models and how it really does try to look like a Saturn game. It's really cute! Everything is teeming with personality but even though it's a classic styled game they don't shy away from modern stuff with a lot of Adventure things and even characters from way after SA1. Which as a huge 3D Sonic fangirl, I appreciate a lot lol. I love how much customization there is, being able to play as Green Metal Sonic fucking owns. And I really like the little buddies you can have flying around you! I also really love a lot of the track aesthetics and I appreciate that so many of them are original and they're not ALL pulled directly from Sonic games. I love seeing their original stage concepts. Also, the music is great! A lot of it is pulled from other sources but I think they managed to pick songs that REALLY fit the vibe. I'm shocked by how well Rivals of Aether Music fits in this game lol. My favorite may be Tower Of Heaven - Full Moon Remix (Luna Ascension) from what I've heard so far.

But NO, my favorite part of this game? Is the actual gameplay itself! So, I'll confess, I'm not really that smart about physics in Sonic games. I don't really understand what the hubbub about it all is most of the time. But I think this momentum based racing stuff REALLY works! In particular I LOVE the ring mechanic! In Mario Kart usually coins are just passive. But having to actually spend rings to speed up feels AWESOME! I love cashing out in the middle of a pile of rings and just getting them all back. Or going risky and cashing them all out and weaving through everything with 0 rings. It's exciting! And really reminds me of how F-ZERO ties Boost and Health to one meter. I love it, and honestly I like this system more than the coins in Mario Kart! Having hills actually slow you down when going up them can be annoying, sure. But having a built in spin dash helps and I had very few instances where it TRULY got in the way. Drifting feels good, items all mostly feel good. It feels good!

But it's not perfect. Yeah. Some items are a little weird, I think the shrinking things are totally inconsequential? I don't get them personally. And sometimes you can get really fucked over by the momentum. Like it can be nearly impossible to get going again quick enough if you get stopped. But I think my biggest gripe with this game is that some of the tracks... Just kind of suck! Not all of them, not even most of them. But some tracks will just have stuff that feels wrong? Or sometimes you'll get a track like Collision Chaos, which may seriously be one of the worst racing tracks I've EVER played on. It was so bad the CPUs couldn't even beat it. I think over reliance on springs and 180 turns (and sometimes unclear road/offroad particularly in city levels) are really odd and can slow a race down or make tracks too confusing.

BUT, that didn't stop me from enjoying it! It seems like the game actually has a story and a boss. And I will ABSOLUTELY keep playing to find it and see more of this game! Normally I wouldn't write my afterthoughts after doing the bare minimum like this. But there's over 100 stages, I am not doing all that right now lmao. Maybe I can do a part 2 once I've unlocked everything (I WANT TO PLAY AS GREEN SHADOW AAAAA)

Rivals of Aether 2 (October 23, 2024) - PC

Oh hey, speaking of Rivals of Aether! THE SEQUEL IS FINALLY HERE! I wanna open this section by giving an INCREDIBLY huge shout out to my friend who surprised me with a copy of this game! I've been having a blast with it and I seriously cannot thank you enough for grabbing it for me!

As I'm sure you all can guess. I love Rivals 1. I'm a furry. I'm a smash fan. I like big lore. Rivals has it all for me! So I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this game! I played the demo a little while ago and had a total blast with it, but now the actual product is here and I can tell you my initial thoughts after the opening week!

It rules!! Rivals is back! It still feels just as good to play, maybe even better in some ways? I appreciate new mechanics like proper blocking (I suck at parries), ledge grabs (I suck at recovery mixup), and grabs (I suck). But I think some of the most exciting new moves are actually new uses of the special button. Special get up, ledge, and pummel attacks are a VERY welcome addition! I honestly wouldn't mind seeing this concept pushed even further if possible. Potentially special throws? Special shields/dodges? Special jumps? Idk. Just some thoughts. Each character is fantastic and feels wonderful to play as for the most part. Kragg is still my GOAT, I LOVE playing as him. I think Fleet is the only character so far that I don't fully understand but I haven't tried her much. But without a doubt the shining new addition to the roster is Loxodont! HE IS SO MUCH FUN! When I played him during the demo I actually got excited and giddy while figuring out his moveset. He is so burly and explosive and the gimmick of building up your magma power is SO cool! Rivals excels so much particularly because every character is SO interesting with a gimmick that really feels like you could build a whole platform fighter just around that one character and have a good game. And I'm SO excited to see what else they introduce with more newcomers (PLEASE ADD AN ALLIGATOR/CROCODILE GUY!!) I think the models look GREAT, in particular Forsburn and Orcane look SO clean in this one. And I think these models really help bring Rival's art style out way more than the little sprites could. Claren, Maypul, they all look SO much cuter now. And Zetterburn, who is a little odd looking in the first game (face-wise) looks very handsome now! Music is great. It feels great. Those costumes are AWESOME I really want the Zebra Loxodont and the Caveman Kragg whenever it comes out.

BUT, of course, as with all games. It's not perfect. While what's here is good, I think it leaves a bit to be desired. Mainly I'm bummed by single player content. It's not great here at launch. Outside of training and CPU battles, your only 1P mode is Arcade. And that's fine, Arcade is good! I like that they have overlapping battles, so when you fight someone in one arcade, you'll do the reverse in the enemy's arcade. The Abyss versions of characters are NASTY I love them! But this arcade mode feels unpolished? Target test has NO music, and there's some visual bugs and general lack of... sauce in the victory screens and between matches for a quick example. And you're encouraged to play through all these arcade modes on hard for achievements (basically the only other 1P thing I could do) and honestly it just was not fun. I think hard mode is relentlessly hard, particularly those final bosses. Which, are just characters who are made massively OP. I think even a proper boss battle would've made the arcade mode feel better and more fulfilling. Idk. As it stands I am happy with my time online, but I am not super thrilled with my time ALONE. Which is goofy! Sure, but I play fighting games for the plot!

Now, I am FULLY aware that I am complaining about what is effectively a free to play game on launch week. I know we'll be seeing a MASSIVE boost in content as we go. So I don't fault them for not having much at launch. Would I like there to be more to play with already? Sure. But I know there's only so much an indie team can do. Rivals 1 just had so much content (idk how much was at launch) and I just can't wait to see that come into Rivals 2. In particular I am SO stoked for the new story mode as that was my favorite part of the first game. I hope we see custom colors, I hope we see more casual stuff like items and final smashes, I'm SO excited to hear they're gonna try to bring back the workshop. So yes I am personally a little bummed about the lack of single player stuff at launch, but I have full faith that this team will deliver on amazing content as we go. And yes, when I get more money, you will absolutely see me supporting the studio by buying a few costumes from them :)

ANYWAY GUYS PLEASE LET ME DESIGN SOME COSTUMES GUYS PLEAAAAAASE PRETTY PLEASE I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND!!

#thoughts #roundup #2024

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