#my good scene wins over nintendo 1998

[rawliverandgoronspice]

every time I rewatch OoT cutscenes I am hit with the realization that Ganondorf OoT is so... unrefined compared to any of his other apparitions. Like he has, for the most part, zero idea about what's going on at any given time, he's just kind of jumping from temper tantrum to temper tantrum and going ????? every time anyone does anything, and just having kind of a lot of good luck that things align the way he hoped, but that's in very little part thanks to proper planning and more due to everybody being huge idiots concurrently to him also being a huge idiot, but like, slightly less? so he wins congrats ganon you made it because you flared two compatible braincells twice in the whole game, aka 1) following link to the temple of time and 2) waiting for zelda to appear on her own once link is running around, that's it that's the only big brain things you really did, and calling them big brain things is doing a lot of legwork here

(this take is brought to you by: me who had forgotten that he apparently??? discovers that Zelda and Link are the two chosen bearers of the Triforce ONLY when Link goes to face him in the final battle, which, I don't want to idiot shame him but come on)

[theultimateegghead-blog]

Modest Media Game Reviews       A Bug’s Life

Game – A Bug’s Life Publisher – Disney Interactive Year of Release – 1998 Console – Ps1, PC, Gameboy color, Nintendo 64, ps3 For all sake and purposes this review covers the Ps1 version.

This game along with The emperor’s new groove were two of the games I played the most as a child. I loved and cherished this game back then, but I have grown and became more experienced over what qualifies as a good game. This game is often considered one of the worst Disney games out there, with reviews that were below average for a Disney title. Does this game live up to my nostalgia, or is it as bad as people say it is? Let’s find out.

Gameplay – You play as the main protagonist of the film, Flick. In this game you run around 15 different levels and try to reach the end goal. Your means of defense come in the form of jumping on enemies and throwing berries at them. When it comes to the berries, you will always start with the red berry which is weak, and some enemies are immune to them. Berry upgrades are scattered through the level and can be acquired to defeat tougher enemies, however, unless you have the golden berry, enemies will respawn. Another aspect is seeds, you can use seeds to create various plants to help you navigate the levels, some seeds can be moved as well. Flick controls somewhat poorly, he will continue to move after you stop moving almost as if the ground is ice. This can be problematic when platforming or running across an edge as he can easily slide off. The camera in the game will often wrestle with you and can put you in some bad spots, especially during bosses. This can lead to some very frustrating gameplay, top this with some confusing level layouts later on and you have a recipe for disaster. Overall, I would say the first 3 levels are good, but it falls downhill from there. Score – 5/10

Graphics – The game is colorful to say the least, it doesn’t compare to some other games released at the same time though. Character models are all right but can seem a bit stiff and rigid. Animations seem laggy at points, sometimes characters don’t even have moving animations at certain moments as well. Draw distance is low but most of the levels make up for this with walls and maze-like designs. Textures are a mixed bag with some being ok, and some clipping at every turn. This games overall graphical presentation is less than stellar, but it isn’t terrible. Score – 6/10

Story – The game loosely follows the plot of the movie, visiting various set pieces and taking liberties often. Most enemy bugs did appear one way or another in the film, though there is no explanation as to why they are hostile to Flik. Most of the levels encompass scenes that were only a few seconds long in the movie. The story is, like most other Disney games, told through movie clips. Overall there isn’t much to be said, the movie clips do their job, but there is a slight lack of consistency from clip to actual level. Score – 6/10

Replay Ability – Like most of the late 90s Disney titles, this game has collectables. In this game each level has a set amount of grains to collect, grains act as the common collectable and collecting them all will give you a token on that level. The second collectable is letters spelling out FLIK, which are also scattered about, finally the third is actually enemies! In each level if you have the golden berries you can permanently destroy any enemy, each enemy counts and destroying them all earns you the enemy token. 100% a level wins a movie clip, which is basically the reward for most Disney games, so it works. However, there is no clue to where the enemies are, and you can explore a level for a while missing one enemy or letter and that can be frustrating. Due to some poor level design this gets a lower score, but it’s a so-so reward system that ask for a little more to win the movie clip. Score – 6/10

Music – The soundtrack is somewhat good! The level themes match the mood well. Its not a stellar soundtrack, but its not bad, id give it a listen. However, this game has a flaw with its sound design, the main character never shuts up, he will babble about so many things and will often repeat himself several times over the course of the level, sure what he says is unique per level, but it can get annoying. Score – 7/10

Overall – This game isn’t great, nor would I even say its that good. It has bad physics, somewhat sub-par graphics and a protagonist that doesn’t shut up. However, I would not say this game is terrible, a certain degree of fun can be found in this title. Would I recommend it? No, not really, but it is cheap and available on psn, so if your curious then give it a try. Final Score – 6/10

One thing this game did well – The notion of using a special golden berry to defeat all enemies permanently is pretty cool.

[postgamecontent]

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

Original Release Date: December 3, 1998

Original Hardware: Windows PC

Regardless of whether a person liked Shadows of the Empire or found it wanting, most agreed that the level based on the Battle of Hoth was one of its biggest highlights. Many reviews at the time expressed a desire for a whole game made up of such stages, and LucasArts decided to oblige. Working together with German developer Factor 5, the company produced yet another game based around piloting the various ships of the Rebel Alliance. In contrast to X-Wing's more technical approach to the genre, however, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was geared for easily-accessible action. While it was no sim, the game offered a satisfying amount of depth to go with the blasting, and the sheer variety of objectives, areas, and ships made for a winning combo. While the game launched first on Windows PC, it came only a few days later for the Nintendo 64, and along with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, helped propel the system to one of its strongest holiday seasons ever. In the end, Rogue Squadron sold well over a million copies and established a series that would see one spiritual successor on the Nintendo 64 and two official follow-ups on the Nintendo 64's successor, the Nintendo Gamecube.

At least in my case, Rogue Squadron hit just about all the right buttons. Like many other Star Wars fans, I was anxiously awaiting the upcoming movie, so I was ready to eat up anything Star Wars-related at that point. While the game generally avoided recreating scenes directly from the movies (LucasArts wasn't keen on the idea, but ended up allowing a few bonus levels), the fact that it involved characters from the movies like Luke, Wedge, Han, and Chewie helped make the events feel important. The game also made brilliant use of a rewards system. Upon clearing a level, you could earn medals based on your performance. Earn all the bronze medals on the regular levels and you'll unlock the Beggar's Canyon race hinted at in A New Hope. Get all the silver medals, and you're off to the Death Star for the iconic Trench Run. Nab all the gold medals, and you'll unlock a mission based on the Battle of Hoth. Earn all the medals on those bonus levels, and you'll open up the ability to fly the Millennium Falcon and a TIE Interceptor. These were all great incentives to replay the levels until you had them down pat.

The game also held one more secret, however, and it held on to it for a surprisingly long amount of time. The developers put a very special vehicle in the game that could only be unlocked via a password. A Naboo Royal Fighter from the upcoming Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace awaited anyone who knew the correct codes. Somehow that secret was kept until several months later, after the theatrical release of the film in May of 1999. Sure, the movie ended up being pretty disappointing in a lot of ways, but there's something inherently cool about a game hiding a secret so long in an age where that seemed nearly impossible. About the only thing the game was missing was a multiplayer mode, something that would have likely been a technical impossibility on the Nintendo 64.

The first follow-up to the game was Battle for Naboo, an Episode One-flavored title that released on the Nintendo 64 in its twilight period, well after Episode One was deemed a dog by many fans. The game itself was fine, but in spite of its improvements, it couldn't catch on in quite the same way as the previous game. Just a year later, Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader arrived in time for the Nintendo Gamecube's launch. The visuals were outstanding and the gameplay was just as good as it had been in previous games, making for one of the best games of the system's early life. While it didn't sell quite as well as Rogue Squadron had, it did solid numbers considering the platform. Two years later, in 2003, one last Rogue Squadron game was released. Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike made a couple of additions to the formula that met with mixed results. While most appreciated the ability to play some of Rogue Leader's levels in a new multiplayer form, the new on-foot missions in the main game simply didn't play well at all. That proved to be the end of Rogue Squadron's mission, but it was great while it lasted.

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