First of all, sorry for the silly header, since I think that this review isn't passionate enough.
Square has been known on the last years to keep milking their franchises and to make more remakes than anyone. But what happens when they drop their swords and the familiar settings of medieval-esque from their games and go for a present day location? Something completely different? The World Ends With You (or just TWEWY for short), brings more than just a change of settings, it's a RPG completely new, fresh, addicting, with style and unique. This is a game where Square-Enix and Jupiter are betting for all or nothing. Do they deliver another great RPG experience? Just keep reading.
The story is really different than other RPG's, since as I mentioned before, it takes place in a present location, that is the district of Shibuya, Tokyo. It centers on a boy named Neku Sakuraba, a 15 year old whipper-snapper who thinks that people are below him and only cares for himself and doesn't like society. He finds himself in the middle of the scramble of Shibuya, without clue why he's there and suddenly realize that he has a weird pin with him and gives him the ability to read other peoples mind. He gets a mail at his cellphone, saying that he has 60 minutes to reach 104 or he will be deleted by the Reapers . Trying to delete the message, he can't and gets a timer on the palm of his hand of 60 minutes, just to be attacked by monsters in that moment who are called Noise. Trying to escape, Neku encounters with a girl named Shiki Misaki where they make a "pact" so they can fight the Noise together. Without a clue of what is happening, Neku is told that he is a player of The Game, where they have to complete missions in the 7 days limit, where failure means to get erased. Neku has a hard time to get along with Shiki, since he is really antisocial (and kinda emo), but trusting in his partner is the only way to survive this 7 days.
As you can see, it's a really different story. At the first moment you just the basis of what's happening but as you keep playing, the story gets deeper and deeper, with a lot of twists that will have your attention almost all the time. Of course there are some clichés here and there, and that the main character is kinda melodramatic, but he is the kind of character that learns form the experiences and grows as a human being, making Neku a interesting character. I won't spoil anything, but the story is a bang.
The Gameplay is really fun and addicting, since it uses all the DS's features. The battles are in real time, and kinda fast-paced since you use both screens when battling. You control Neku with the touch screen, you make him move with the stylus by first taping him and then drag the styuls to the spot where you want to be, or dash by doing a longer drag. His main attacks are his pins, which each one has different uses and there are a HUGE array of pins to use and collect. You can also evolve them to get stronger pins, depending by the points you get from battle or by just shutting down your DS. Anyway, back to the gameplay. The pins are used differently; some of them you have to drag on a empty space, like to create walls of flame, others you slash enemies, tap and/or hold on that spot, slashing Neku to a direction to fire bullets or shouting or blowing at the microphone (it feels gimmicky, but the good thing is that to use the pins are optional). You control your partner with the D-Pad (or the XYAB buttons if you're a lefty) in a DDR way. You tap the directional buttons where Shiki will attack, or trying to do combos by changing the directions. You have to do all this in the same time. Sounds complicated? It is at the beginning, specially when using the pins, but as most games, you get used to it. Also, it's better to concentrate more on the bottom screen since you have to move Neku. Also, Neku and Shiki must be in Sync to do even more damage. Shiki can also get a special move with Neku if you get the right cards when doing combos. It isn't as random as it sounds, since you can choose which cards to get when doing the combos with Shiki.
The battles are really fun, and one thing I also liked is that the Noise doesn't appear randomly as most RPG's, you just scan the area when you want to fight the Noise. You can even chain battles up to 4, and if you get to higher levels, you can lower it. Why would you want to that you ask? Because you get better pins and more money from the Noise if you do this, you are rewarded for being risky.
The graphics aren't that impressive, but it gives that distinctive style that TWEWY has. All the characters are done in sprites, while the surroundings of Shibuya are done with different backgrounds, giving a surreal 3D effect while walking, that gives more life to the district. Sometimes the game looks like a GBA game, but sprites are really well detailed. The cut scenes has a vibrant look and with really fluid movements, it's really impressive this part because all is done with just the artwork, and not with coded videos. Also, the artwork for the game is also really good, giving the "rad" and hip style for the characters with their silly outfits, but damn it looks good in the game. In battle, the Noise sprites are also really well done, specially for some bosses and the backgrounds works really well, even though they are kinda simple. Overall, the games looks really great on the DS, with a vibrant style.
The music is simply Amazing! It has a great array of different artists and genres of music, from Hip-Hop to Rock, and a bit of J-Pop. Most of the songs are vocalized, it's incredible that so much music has been inserted on just one DS Card, besides that it is already a huge game. Another great thing is that you can buy every tune, and change the song from your menu screen to one that you like more. Also, when you walk around Shibuya, there will be a different song randomly every time you go to different sectors, the same with the songs in battle, it is always a different song in every battle, it changes depending also what kind of enemy are you fighting. Also incredible, is that the songs sounds in a impeccable quality, really impressive for a DS game. The sound effects are also great, although some attacks sounds like if it was from a GBA game, that sounds out of place. There are many voice samples, but most are used on battle, where they say more phrases than in the actual storyline, which is a bummer because it would have been even more epic.
There is so much to do in this game that is unimaginable. The first thing that probably you may notice are the trends. There are 13 different brands that really makes the difference in the gameplay. For example, in each area of Shibuya there is a brand that has more popularity than others. Using clothes and pins with the highest popularity in that area, you gain bonus stats during battle. Also, the opposite can happen, if a brand is really unpopular, the stats lower or the pins attacks would be lower. One thing though, if you start to use a brand that isn't that popular in a area, and fight many battles over there, that brand will start to gain more popularity, in other words, you can change the "hip" of that place if you want to. When buying clothes, you will obviously gain stats, as any RPG game, but, every clothing has a unique ability. To unlock these abilities, you must get to be friends with the right store clerk, by buying a lot of stuff in a shop, the friendship gets higher and you can do quests to get better items and they will unlock some abilities of your clothes. There is also a food system, where you buy food and give one per character to hold at the moment. They digest it while you are in battle, as it is counted by "bites". Each food has different amount of bites, the bigger they are, you have to battle more so the characters can digest it. The food gives you extra stats, and you have a maximum of 24 bites and if those bites are already used, you have to wait to the next day to give them more food, but, next day in real time.
Grinding here is also fun, since you can choose when to fight, you can even find secret bosses for a challenge and to get better pins. Though, if you want the better pins, you have to set the difficulty as you unlock them and can be changed whenever you want to. There is also a option to change your partner to have Auto Play, but it doesn't work that well.
The game has its problems of course. One thing that I really disliked was that the game only has one save file, so if you got everything in the game, and want to start to zero, you have to erase your file, which is a real bummer. Another thing is that the game can be extremely punishing ins some battles, specially in the boss battles, you must be really concentrated in both screens so you can win. Also, sometimes you will have problems to activate some pins, since if you have 2 that activates almost in a similar way, that gives some problem during the battle.
After all said, The World Ends With You is a exceptional game, it's unique approach of gameplay, setting and style gives the game high standards. It really immerse you into the plot, the game is really addictive and it's really long, you will really have a great time with this incredible title by Square-Enix and Jupiter. This will be a cult-classic, just wait and see.
There are many gamers that have physical, audio or visual problems, wherever if they are deaf, colorblind people or even blind, they still enjoy video games, no matter their deficit. But what about dyslexic people? How does the experience of gaming change for them because of their discrepancy?
First of all, I think that everyone knows what does this term mean. Still, Dyslexia is a problem that makes the child have reading problems, it doesn't mean that he/she can't read, they just learn slowly and needs a specialist for this problem. This anomaly is neurological , so there is no sensory or physical problems, so even high gifted intellectual people born with it. There are many hereditary factors of why this problem is caused; although it isn't known if it is genetic, cerebral injury, emotional problems, orientation problems or difficulties on pregnancy or at the moment of birth.
Many think that dyslexia is not a major problem, but I disagree. Dyslexia can affect a lot anyone that has this problem, it can change his/her life and any career that one may choose. There was even speculation that it's more of a myth than a real learning problem, but many studies have proven that this problem is the real deal, and differences from other kids. For that study just look out the name John Everatt.
So how does all this affect for anyone that has dyslexic and enjoy gaming? Just keep reading.
First of all, imagine that you are a dyslexic person who is trying to read something, it would look something like this:
Or like this:
Well, you get the idea. Still, the games that someone with dyslexia would have problem to play, are story driven games, like RPG's and most adventure games. There are other of course, let's check them out.
For a dyslexic person, playing a RPG would probably be a living hell. All of them are story driven and require full attention by reading and knowing the story which would be really difficult for that person. Of course he/she would get frustrated since a RPG the gameplay is not the strong point of most RPG's and they would get bored pretty easily. Many would say that they could play a RPG, but it wouldn't make any sense, and they would get bored by just focusing on the gameplay. Not just that, the gameplay it self requires essential reading, since you have to know which is Attack and which one is for Magic. But since dyslexia just causes the reader to learn more slowly, they can learn the rules of the game, but there is another problem, which is the Menu system. Now, there are a lot of customization done for every character, whatever if it is equipments, magic or other stuff that would help for the quest. Those type of customization would give a hard time for that person, since it requires more than just basic reading.
It's a shame that many people can't play RPG's like Chrono Trigger.
Speaking of Menus, let's take another look where it's essential. Most of metroidvania style of games are great for dyslexic persons to play, because you are most worried about your surroundings and what to do next than anything else, like in Super Metroid. There is a series where it's kinda different, and it's not because of story telling, but because as said before, of the Menu system where it is used constantly, and that series is Castlevania. In most of the metroidvania style of games from this vampire killing series is that you will use the menu constantly, whatever if it is to change relics, equipments, or simply to change the options. Of course they can just guess what every item or spell do, but still it would be kinda difficult to know which item is which. But then again, with practice and reading it again and again, they will get use to it.
This would be kinda frustrating if it's difficult to read it.
There are other types of games that could get really difficult for a dyslexic person to enjoy, like brainteasers, for example Big Brain or Brain Age. OK, first of all, the games such as Brian Age not only requires reading, but also writing, which is kinda related with dyslexia, in fact, many times the problem of having writing issues has been linked with dyslexia. Now it is known as Dysgraphia. Although, dyslexia and dysgraphia are closely related. With that said, games like Brain Age would be another big frustration for a dyslexic reader. But here is something interesting, although it can be hard for them these type of games, they could help them practicing the reading since you can taker your time to decipher the teasers. But then again, if someone also has dysgraphia this would be really hard, since most of the questions are written down on the DS, and since writing down is already frustrating, it's not such a good idea to give this type of game for them.
If it wasn't already frustrating to write down on the DS, imagine someone with dyslexia/dysgraphia.
With that said, most of other games are enjoyable for them, specially ones that doesn't need for a storytelling or need to read that much..still, one question must be answered:
Is there someway that a dyslexic person can enjoy a good storytelling from a game?
While yes, there is actually. You see, this idea on writing about dyslexic persons trying to enjoy gaming and how different it could be for them was inspired from a Thai gamer/otaku that I met the other day who suffers dyslexia, and we talked a bit how this reading problem has affected him in his passions. He happens to be a big Metal Gear Solid fan, and it's one of the perfect examples that I will use for great storytelling that most can enjoy.
Let's take a look at this series how it works, OK? Besides it's fun to play mechanism about sneaking, it also has one of the most exciting and at the same time twisted storyline that this series offer. So how can they enjoy the story? Simply, thanks to the exceptional voice acting that the series is also well known for, and it's used to every line of the script, even on tiny ones. The other good thing is that the games have voice acting and subtitles, which helps a lot to practice reading, at the same time being interested in something that may one like. When he mentioned about this series, he also talked about Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, since he couldn't enjoy it as he hoped to. The main problem is that the game has a different approach than the others entires of the series. It has more customization like choosing soldiers, weapons and trying to read the missions and the codec conversations, since it didn't offer voice acting, just because of space capacity of the UMD.
I also talked if he had played other games that could have great storyline, good acting and fun gameplay, and he didn't know anything else. I had to tell him about the Half Life series, specially Half Life 2. I explained him that besides creating a great physics and a friendly approach gameplay, it has one of the most memorable stories/endings and characters. Not only that, but it also has a great voice acting that demonstrates many emotions from the gamer, specially because of Alyx. Dyslexic gamers would enjoy this game
As you can see, thanks to the rapid evolution of gaming, voice acting can help a lot besides creating the ambiance for the story, it helps to people with reading problems to stay focused and entertained in the story, besides the actual gameplay. Even RPG's are getting voice acting, as in Final Fantasy XII, but the customization problem is still there. Other great examples are Bioshock and Portal, which immerses anyone with their storytelling.
In the future, I would love to see more voice acting in games that has a great story, it would help more dyslexic to enjoy games besides than just getting to control and having fun. That's why gaming is here, they are here to entertain, to makes us dive in this ocean full of great stories or just to have a blast playing, and I hope that everyone can do that, no matter what kind of illness one can have.
Video games and music has always formed a great union, classic melodies and incredible compositions has been one of my favorite things on gaming. On Musical Attack Monday I will present people who do covers and remixes from video game music and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any suggestion or any idea to improve this series, just let me know.
In the past week I have found a lot of great remixers, but I just discovered that our good editor Dale North is one as well! I don't know the man himself or what he does or bla bla bla, but I've been pretty impressed by his work, that I can tell. As reading his myspace, he has been doing music since he was a preteen, and have many other projects.
Ok, let's get into what he does. Mr. North doesn't have a pre-determined style when doing gaming remixes, but, if I had to define a style, that would be experimental. One of my favorites is the song "Needles", a collab between many other remixers, which is a remix of the Stage Theme of Needleman from Megaman 3. It has a latino groove with a touch of salsa that is simply genius.
Another favorite is Super Mario Sleigh's Ride, which is another collab, with a X-mas theme. This remix is a great Christmas Jazzy style, but with many Mario songs, specially Super Mario World. He can also create sweet melodies like the song "Dale of the Wind", that is, a remix of Valley of the Wind from Xenogears, where the strings and piano will touch your heart with this pro work. Mr.North can get a little bit to experimental at times, as in the the song "SwinginPornoMix", from Super Mario Bros.3, delivering the comedy in music, adding some moans and..other stuff, just listen to it.
If you want to check his work, go to his page at Ocremix that can be found here. He is also the co-founder of The Oneups, another gaming music band, which also have an approach to different styles and many of their works are incredible (just check Castlevania 3 Clockwork rendition, just do it). Their homepage can be found here. He is also a singer, with a contemporary pop (at least that's what he says on his MySpace). His latest album was "Right Out of the Blue". If you want to hear a bit of his project go to his Myspace that is here.
Mr. North has a prominent future, even though it seems he's more focused on his singer career now, I would love to see more remixes (after all that's what this article is about). Still, I hope he get to his goal, whatever it is...
Video games and music has always formed a great union, classic melodies and incredible compositions has been one of my favorite things on gaming. On Musical Attack Monday I will present people who do covers and remixes from video game music and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any suggestion or any idea to improve this series, just let me know.
First of all, I'm really sorry to use Youtube videos and not Mp3 widgets as the last time, because eSnips is being really lame lately and can't upload without getting a denial, so if anyone knows a good mp3 widget for dummies, let me know please.
Now, for my second entry of MAM it will be about the Zelda Reorchestrated team, or Z.R.E.O. As the name implies, this team arranges many songs from most of the Zelda games and make them fully orchestrated, giving this songs a more realistic sound than the games counterparts. It's a big project, but they don't seek any profit for it.
The project started on 2004 by FireGS, and as time passed, more people joined the Staff such as Enzuru and FruityFire. Even though the orchestra sounds real, it isn't. All the songs are first created on MIDIS and then the sounds are re-created on various sequencer synthesizers to make the sounds realistic. Some of the songs have been redone and called "Redux". This was done because of the re-open of the website after a dark time that it had in 2005.
I've started to listen to ZREO since last week, and I have been really impressed. Even though it's not a real orchestra, they still have done a incredible job to recreate this songs and started to be one of my favorite music remixers. They have won some awards (not real awards per se). Many of their songs have been noticed to have too much reverb (reverberation), but it has been really well explained on their web page, and it's also one of the reasons why many songs have been "redux".
The web page of this project is here, and their MySpace here. Even though you can download their songs, they have a special page to listen them immediately thanks to their flash player, which is over here.
Hope you enjoyed this one, it's not that much, bur I hope for the next time I have a proper mp3 widget.
After more than 15 years since the last debut of the Super Ninja on a Nintendo system, Team Ninja has delivered some love to the fans and creating Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS. The control scheme has caught the attention to many, since the gameplay is solely based on the touch screen of the NDS like in Phantom Hourglass. Not only that, but you also must hold the portable like a book, like in Brain Academy or Hotel Dusk. Will the new control scheme succeed? Does Itagaki & Co. deliver the same frantic hack 'n slash as in the X-Box games? Let's find out.
The game centers 6 months after the events of the first Ninja Gaiden for the X-Box, and starts telling how the Dragon Sword was created and that how it's passed from generation to generation. It also tells the tale how the Dragon Sword destroyed the Evil Dragon. After that, the story continues when Ryu and Momiji, a kunoichi, are training on the rivers, near their village. For a action game, the story is OK, but not as great as the past games, but it works well for a portable game and after all, it's a action game. The way the story is presented is in form like in a Manga book, giving it a different style but fitting, for this game.
Now here comes the important aspect of the game, that is, the gameplay itself. Somehow Team Ninja managed to fit most of the things that makes the past Ninja Gaiden games great, it's fast paced and really brutal. All your actions is solely driven via the touch screen, you drag your stylus to make Ryu run, point at a enemy various times to throw his shurikens or arrows and you literally slice the DS to attack the enemy. The control scheme works almost perfectly on the DS, since doing this actions are forgiving, specially trying to do specials like Izuna Drop or the Flying Swallow techniques. The buttons or the d-pad is used only to block, and START to open up the menu to see your stats and abilities. There are some flaws of course, specially trying to jump it's a bit hard, it feels kinda stiff and hard to pull it at the first time, but nothing that practice can do. Another thing is throwing the shurikens, sometimes you feel it doesn't go where you want to throw them, making it a bit hard to hit the enemies. Also added is to use Ninpo magic, where you use Ninja Spells to kill enemies more efficiently or to simply resolve a puzzle. All this, the gameplay is really fun, and it's one of the strongest aspects of the game.
Graphically the game is just beautiful for a NDS game. Sure, the background is pre-rendered, but it does a good job to barely notice it since the game runs in a incredible 60 fps, making it as fast as the other games. Also, this pre-rendered backgrounds helps the game in another way, that it would be that the graphics wouldn't be so choppy. Even though the backgrounds are pre-rendered most of the time, in boss battles it will be full 3D with constant changing the camera angle to look always at the back of Ryu, and works really great. Again, there are some faults though, one is that sometimes you can't see Ryu and what's attacking him when they are out of focus in parts when Ryu is trying to get to the next area, but this is just sometimes so don't worry. It doesn't have videos, but as I said before, the Manga style fits really well to the game, since you are holding the DS as a book.
One of the things I noticed from reviews from other pages, is that they don't or barely mention the music and sound effects, since personally, I think it is also one of the strongest points of the game. I simply just loved the music, it's great as most of the other Ninja Gaiden games, it has a arrange from orchestral, bit of techno, rock and of course, some Japanese folklore, it wouldn't be a ninja game without the folklore style. Most of the tunes are really catchy, and every boss have their own song, which makes the soundtrack even wider. The quality of the music can be expected as games as Elite Beat Agents or Taiko no Tatsujin, which is using almost at full power the sound chip. Most of the sound effects are recycled from the Xbox games, like Ryu's cry attacks, grunts and the slashing and blocking. Also, there is no full voice overs, just some words and names that are said, and it could have been even more epic.
For a Ninja Gaiden game, must of the "purists" will feel the game easier than the NES or the Xbox versions. It is indeed a bit easy, specially the boss battles, and maybe you will have some rough time with them and even more because there are many save points to refill your life bar. But what is a Ninja Gaiden without selectable difficulties? After Normal mode, you can get more settings that is beyond hard, so for you gamers that is seeking for a challenge, this is it. There are many other things unlock, but I won't spoil it. The game also has a leaderboard via Wi-Fi connection, a leaderboard for each difficulty settings, and don't get surprised if the leaderboard is hacked, since nobody can get over trillion of Karma in just 2 hours. The games is a bit short, from 5 to 6 hours, but then again, the difficulty settings and the stuff to unlock makes for it, and maybe you will play this game more than short sessions.
Other than that, the game is great, it is also a great achievement made by Team Ninja, they did something that many developers don't, making the game from scratch to create a new and exciting form to play Ninja Gaiden. Please, buy the game so we can get more Ninja goodness for the DS once more.
Score: 9.0
BUY IT
I hope you have enjoyed mi first review on Dtoid, haven't done one in a while so I hope this is good.
Or at least that's what Fuji TV says. Following the trend as the Americans, Fuji TV tries to link the murder with the last game of Team Ninja, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. The suspect, Masahiro Kanagawa, has murdered 2 people.
There is one problem though, the game was released the 20th of March, and his first crime was on the 19th, killing one civilian. On the 23th, he stabbed 8 people, killing one in the process.
Hmmm, this guy is surely a wacko, but since Jacko can barely work on the US now, He should move to Japan, maybe he can trash talk on Fuji TV!
Video games and music has always formed a great union, classic melodies and incredible compositions has been one of my favorite things on gaming. On Musical Attack Monday I will present people who do covers and remixes from video game music and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any suggestion or any idea to improve this series, let me know.
Welcome, to the first episode of Musical Attack Monday, a take similar to Art Attack Friday, only about video game music (duh). For this episode I will talk about Goat, one of my favorites remixer out there.
Goat is known at VG Music and at OC Remix for his metal renditions of Castlevania songs, particularly the NES ones. His style ranges from Progressive Rock to Heavy Metal, since his influences are from Metallica, Megadeath, Pantera and Sepultura. Not much is known from him more than he's from Texas and that he's "A guitar playing Goat".
Although he can make great Rock remixes, he can also make beautiful sounds like in this remix of the Prelude theme from Final Fantasy IV, where most of the song is accompanied by a harp and then the orchestra kicks in, with of course, a little bit of guitar which it's his favorite instrument. He has also collaborated with Stemage and Dan Taylor to the metal rendition of The Tunnel from Metroid 2, you can here it here.
One of his first projects was "Unchosen Paths", were it was the Rock and Metal renditions to the NES Castlevanias games, specially Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. One of my favorite songs of this project was "Creeping Dusk", which was a medley from all the songs of Castlevania 2, most of the song of Castlevania 3 and some songs from Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness with a little easter egg from Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. To view his full project, you can go here.
If you want to listen to more of his songs, like songs from Metroid, Kid Icarus, Contra, or even Ninja Gaiden, you can go to his Home Page or just go to OC Remix and listen to the tracks at his page.
I hope you've enjoyed my first entry of Musical Attack Monday, and there will be even more for the next week, so check it out.
Thanks to The^Loner for the mini banner, you rock.
I was reading Phoenix Gamma's and Nessie's blogs, it got me the inspiration to write about how was my life as a gamer and how much has it changed thanks to it. I hope you enjoy this.
As same as Phoenix, when I got to study over here in Norway, many asked how did I decided to be a English teacher. I boldly respond "Because of Video Games". The same people look at me weird, but then again, most people would do that but I really don't care. Why because of gaming you say? Well, let's start from the beginning.
It was a summer of 1990, my first time I hold a NES controller and I was just 3 years old. Me and my mother where exiled from Chile because of the political problems over there, and we got to live in Norway. I was invited to one of the neighbors house, and in there there was a girl 2 years older than me, and she wanted me to play with her. The first game was Megaman 2, then with Castlevania 3 and to finish, a bit of Super Mario Bros. That day we became the best friends for a long time and she was like a "Master" for me in gaming. Not only that, little did she know that she would change my life thanks to that.
As I got 5 years old, I learned to read almost by myself, since my mother was never at home. A day when I want to her house to just play as always, I tried to figure out what I was reading in The Flinstones game. It wasn't Norwegian so I was completely lost and then she told me that language is English. It was pretty weird for me, but as I got older, I got more into it and started to say the same things as in video games and some movies. Dunno why, but I was really attracted to that language that wasn't Spanish nor Norwegian so I decided to read more in English.
A faithful day, and I got my NES, but at the same time she got the SNES with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It was the first game where I tried to use as much I knew in English but it was still not enough, I was just 7 years old by that time. Still, we played it and decided not to use the Official Guide, since it would ruin us the surprises. Sometimes when we played Street Fighter II (she handed my ass a la oránge in a silver plate), many of the kids thought that "KO" was just "OK" backwards. It was kinda hard to try to explain that it really means "Knock Out", but for them it was just "OK".
Back to my Homeland.
I was 10 years old, and my mother decided that we would live at Oslo, the capital of Norway. My grandmother thought it was a really bad idea that I should go with my mother so both decided that I should live in Chile again with my grandma. Both of the options was bad for me, because I wouldn't see my best friend again. What happened to her you ask? Let's just say that she is happy in a better place. Anyway, as I got to the land where I was born, the first thing I did was to plug my NES because thankfully, someone really nice decided to change my PAL NES for a NTSC one. At the same time I decided to save money to get a SNES, since they were cheap because of the new generation of consoles. It was 1996 when all this happened.
I got my SNES as I desired, plus a Sega Genesis with some great games, and was really hooked, not just playing, but try to read even the instruction manuals that came in the package. I got into school already and I was a bit surprised that they didn't have English classes until the last two years of school. I was a bit disappointed, but I got to knew other persons and got to love science somehow.
The last years in school was coming, and I was 14 years old. At that time I still had a Genesis and my SNES, plus all the Game Boy's until Advance and a PC that I used a lot. Many had Play Station One at that time, and the next-gen was coming and I was always going to gaming places, just to look at the games or to play any console paying 400 pesos for hour. Since I had good grades in school, my grandmother gave me money so I can buy anything. My PC had a PS1 emulator (I know, sad), but I saw a game that I really wanted and wanted it original. That was Castlevania Symphony of the Night. I played that games for HOURS, never getting bored of it and I still have it as my most cherished game.
At the ceremony, I was surprised, I won a medal for the best English grades in the school in years. The funny thing is that I never studied for English.
As came high-school, still gaming and I was confused, since the last two years you have to choose if you want to be in the section of Spanish and History, or in Science, with different sections, that is, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. I choose Biology, since I was starting to like it a lot, and at the same time I had English, so I wasn't going to lose.
Many has problems in English in this country, and in many other Latin American countries. So I decided to perfect it in a British Institute that the city had, and it had a direct connection with the Cambridge University. On the three years I've been studying in that institute, the three exams, KET, PET, and FCE were all pass with merit. I was really surprised that I was achieving so much just because what I have been learning from Video Games since my childhood.
I have seen many people with English problems, and as English is integral to get a good job position, I decided to be a English teacher. Also, in all that time, I have been working in many Latin American web pages as the Gaming guy, but all of those communities weren't that much fun.
Now, I'm back here at Norway, studying what I want to do and trying as much as I can to get a scholarship so I can study in England, hopefully in Cambridge.
Thanks to video games, I have learned the language that I love, meted many great people, formed clubs, to meet my fiancé, and to do many other things, as to get over here at Destructoid.
I may be new on the community, but I have met awesome people over here and on the IRC Cartel, this is the first time that I really like a community and that is thanks to Video Games and English, I'm here right now and want to be for a long time.
I hope you enjoyed this piece, a bit to personal maybe, but I really wanted to share this with you guys. Cheers for this awesome community, because it's helping me a lot to write better things and to practice even more my English.
I know it's not that much, but something is something. Sorry for not being a full high definition blue-ray vhs video, and it was all improvised (you just can see how many times I said "thank you" or "ahmm").
One thing that I wanted to say but didn't want to sound so emo, is that since I have been here in Norway, I always come to this place to have a good time and to make friends when I can't communicate with my girlfriend.
I thank you very much to Niero and of course the staff of D-toid.
Thank you!
(Again, sorry if it isn't so much).
Edit: Here's a link to download it for those who can't play it (sorry because it's Rapidshare @@)
Wow, I didn't expect that the first part would have a good feedback and I never intended to make a second part, but some people liked the idea showing another games from Neo Geo. Anyway, if you haven't read the first part and would like to, just click here.
Now, with that done, let's continue with some other franchises and games from the greatness that was Neo Geo.
Franchises
Fatal Fury
The first series of fighting games for the Neo Geo, the Fatal Fury series is noteworthy because of it's legacy for other games by SNK, it's also called Real Bout in future games. The first one was released in the arcades in 1991 and you could just take control of 3 characters, which were the Bogard brothers, Terry and Andy, and the muay-thai specialist Joe Higashi. As the series continues to spawn more games, you got to choose more characters. Many were attracted to the game because of a unique two-lane system, which gives the gameplay more of strategy depending which of the two lanes the character is standing. To be the first Neo Geo fighting game, it was pretty well done and graphically was really rich for it's time. So far the series has 9 games, ending in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. And of course, it ate a lot of quarters.
Did you know?: Two producers from Street Fighter 2, Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto, went to work in the series since Fatal Fury 3.
Art of Fighting
The second series of fighting games for Neo Geo, this franchise was not as unique as other ones. There are some things that makes it stand out though, for example the control scheme, where one is punch, another one for kick, the third for changing between punch, kick and throws and the fourth one was taunting. Also first, is the "zooming", where if the characters were standing far from each other, the camera starts to focus from far. The first game appeared in 1992, and graphically was a bit superior to the first Fatal Fury, but in terms of sound, it really did a better job.
Did you know?: The same Hiroshi Matsumoto created Art of Fighting. Also something weird, the character Dan Hibiki from the Street Fighter Alpha series, is a parody of Robert García, and it's even more clear since Dan have some of the moves of Robert in SVC Chaos.
King of the Monsters
Now this is a interesting series. Even though there is only two games from this one, both of them have different gameplay. The first King of Monsters, released in 1991, it's a fighting game with some wrestling rules, were you use monsters to fight against other monsters while you are destroying the city. The second one titled The King of Monsters: The Next Thing, was released in 1992, with a twist. This time 3 monsters from the original act as heroes in a beat em' up game, while doing the same, destroying anything around you. It was simple and fun, but the second one was hard as hell. Graphically, both have great graphics and the soundtracks pay tribute to old Japanese monster movies.
Did you know?: I have nothing for this one?
Magical Drop
Developed by Data East, Magical Drop was a fast paced puzzle game which is pretty similar to Bust-a-Move. Something interesting is that you can choose a character, kinda like Super Puzzle Fighter by Capcom. The rules a simple, you shoot a bubble with the same color to another bubble, and if it ads 3 or more colors, you do a chain, and making even more, you can counter-attack your opponent. Also, depending the character you are using, the columns descend differently in your pile and in the opponents, making it something good or bad for both of the players, adding a bit of timing and strategy. Even though only two games were for the Neo Geo, it's well worth any penny, or even rom (oh snap!).
Did you know?: Most of the characters are based on Tarot Cards?
Unique Gems
Waku Waku 7
Personally one of my favorites, Waku Waku 7 wasn't that fast paced compared to other fighters in the Neo Geo, but it had a charm that made this game really fun. Developed by Sunsoft, WW7 had 7 characters to choose, hence the name of the game. Each characters has a orb that gives them special powers and to get the others is to beat the crap of each other so one can make a wish (Dragon Ball anyone?). As in Garou, each characters are fun to use, since they are so unique. The gameplay is like any other normal fighting game, but, it had a lot of set of specials and extras for normal moves. Graphically it was OK for 1996, but it had a really beat up soundtrack. And of course, it has Bonus-Kun!
Blazing Star
What a terrific shmup, Blazing Star is really fast paced but it's a bit hard. BS (no pun intended), was one of the first Neo Geo games to use 3D like graphics but totally made with just sprites. Also, it's the spiritual sequel to Pulstar. In terms of gameplay it's pretty simple, with the A button you can shoot and charge up, how much you can charge up depends how many power ups you've got. While charging if you press B, instead of the gigantic laser, you will shoot a spread all around the screen. There are also many characters to use. Graphically, is really good as I mentioned before, with some anime cut-scenes and a good techno soundtrack.
Magician Lord
At last a Platformer! Magician Lord was one of the early games for the Neo Geo, released in 1990 and developed by Alpha Denshi. As the title implies, you take control of Elta, a Magician who is in the quest to destroy the God of Destruction (oh the irony). The gameplay is standard as most of the arcade platformers, you jump and attack and have to stay alive. What made this game unique is the many transformations that Elta had, from a Shinobi to a Samurai, or even a Dragon Warrior. It would be really dumb to talk about the graphics, since it was one of the first games to be released, but it was still impressive for the standards, and it had some good music. You can find id now on Virtual Console, so what are you waiting for?
Super Dodge Ball
Oh yeah, another favorite, made by the late Technos Japan, and based from the characters of the all time classic River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball for the Neo Geo is one of the many incarnations that has had since the days of the NES. The gameplay is really fun, you can jump, shoot, evade and, why not, taunt. You choose a team with 3 characters and one of them is the leader. Each leader has 2 special attacks and 1 Ultra attack where you use your teammates for this one. A neat addition is that when you defeat one of the teams, you can choose if you want to take the leader with you or not. It was a really fun game and it's worth checking out by any means, because, it did eat a lot of quarters from me.
SVC Chaos: SNK vs Capcom
OK, I said in the last entry that I didn't like so much this game, but I have to say that I hate specifically the 1 player mode. Anyway, SVC Chaos is a good game still, and it's really fun to play when it is with somebody else, the only problem is that to get the ending is to be really fast and it did feel a bit of to much for me. With that said, the gameplay has a bit of both from SNK and Capcom, you don't run, but you do little dashes, and you can do a grab with A+B or C+D. Compared to other crossover fighting games, here you only choose one character, including classic ones as Ryu, Ken, Ryo, Kyo, Terry, Chun Li and other ones, plus newcomers as Zero from the Megaman Zero series and Mars People from Metal Slug. This game with Garou and KOF 2003, pushed the board to the limit, some of the SNK sprites are the same from other games, but most of the characters are very well polished, and the soundtrack wasn't so bad. Again, this game is really enjoyable with a 2nd player, but if you like a time attack already on story mode, give it a go.
Special Mention
Dreamcast
Why is the box of dreams doing in this list you say? Have you aver played any SNK game in PS1? Long loading time eh? And the gameplay was really choppy. Well, besides that the AES System obviously, the Dreamcast had a huge array of Neo Geo titles, ports from the arcade and really good ones, and short loading times and the gameplay that you really expected. Not only that, but it also has better music and a lot of special features. That's why the Dreamcast has a little spot in this list, because we could play great Neo Geo ports without buying the AES.
Well, that's it, I hope you enjoyed this final one. I would have wrote more but I'm really tired now and thanks for the feedback from the previous post.
And remember, "The Future is Now!"
Well hello there! My name is Orlando Barreaux and I'm a Chilean who studies and work in Norway, I'm 21 years old and have been a gamer since..well..since I was a kid. I'm studying to become a English Teacher and I can tell ya, I love English.
Franchises that I love:
Castlevania, Metal Gear, Contra, most Hack 'n Slash games (Dynasty Warriors, Devil May Cry, Onimusha, God of War, you name it.), Mega Man, Metroid, The Ace Attorney Series, Sam & Max, The Legend of Zelda, Soul Calibur, Ninja Gaiden and many, many more.
Favorite game of all time: Castlevania Symphony of the Night.
Consoles that I own or had own before: NES, SNES, Game Boy, GB Color, GB Advance, NDS, Sega Genesis, PS2, PSP and in the works to get a Dreamcast and X-Box 360.
Now Playing: Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, The World Ends With You, Ouendan 1 & 2 and Burnout Legends.
Movies that I always enjoy: Monty Python's Life of Brian and The Holy Grail, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, most of Jim Carrey's movies, Shaun of the Dead, Army of Darkness, Kung Fu Hustle and any other comedy films that is good.
Music that I always listen: L'Arc~en~Ciel, Siam Shade, X-Japan, Janne da Arc, Sons of all Pussys (gotta love that name), The Yellow Monkey, Penicillin, Dead End and Saber Tiger (I know..J-Rock, most of you maybe don't like it). Also, Michael Jackson, Queen and Bee Gees (What?).
