Hi. It feels like it's been a while. It probably hasn't. Oh well. It's approaching June, which meanse Winter is kicking in here. It's already gotten down to freezing temps, which ain't cool. It's also been fucking with my depression, which is somewhat seasonal. I've also had the flu pretty bad. That means I haven't been doing a great deal unfortunately.
First things though, I want to share some things. Some beautiful bastard decided to merge the Death Grips with the soundtrack to Hotline Miami and it works really well. Unfortunately he just posted the whole album as opposed to individual songs, but I'd highly recommend listening to Lord of the Dust, as that's the one that made me fall in love with the project:
Secondly, one of my friends has started making video content, and it's quite good. He's analyzing indie game trailers, what makes them work, and what will get the player excited to try them. He also makes indie game trailers, so he kind of knows what he's talking about. Check out his work:
Now. Onto me. Surprising everyone, I've been on a huge Nintendo binge. It started when I marathoned the 2D Metroid games back to back. With the exception of Fusion, they're all amazing, though Super still takes the cake. I actually think AM2R might be second. It would be Zero Mission, but that game is really, really short and I didn't die once until the stealth section.
AM2R is a decent length, and pretty challenging. It's maybe on par with Fusion in terms of difficulty and boss creativity. Seriously, I wish Nintendo would stop being a bunch of fucking assholes and just hire this guy like Capcom or Sega. I guess Sega still do what Nintendon't. Nintendo, I love your games, but fuck you as a business.
After Metroid I found that I adored the Kirby series (particularly Return to Dreamland, Super Star, and Amazing Mirror). It's the perfect series to play in bed on my Wii-U, and it just makes me feel happy whenever I play it. I then moved onto Donkey Kong Country Returns and finding that to be one of the best platformers ever made. I bought the sequel on Wii-U today, and it's amazing. Seriously, Retro Studios are talented motherfuckers.
Finally, I got heavily into Mega Man. X4 is the game that got me into it and good lord that game is gorgeous! Fuck yeah 32bit sprites, we need more of them! idk, that was just the game that the Mega Man formula clicked for me. I haven't defeated that challenge yet, but I have beat Mega Man 2, and I now see why that game is a classic. Though fuck the Bubble Man stage. The waterfall background gives me a migraine everytime I see it.
That's about it really. As for new games I've played: The Surge - apart from having some amazing shortcuts that actually rival Dark Souls - is unfortunately kind of meh. I also couldn't get into Prey, though that might just be me. I've not really been feeling 2D games lately.
Anyway, that's me up to speed. Bye.
Comments
Machocruz
05/28/2017 at 12:22 PM
Metroid is forever. The original is a pretty hardcore game. It's like an old dungeon crawler basically, you have to make your own map. I don't think it's as bad as people say now. It's intentionally designed to be a game of discovery and challenge. Super is still the overall best though. Never cared for Fusion and the internet revisionism surrounding it nowadays is weird. Zero Mission is solid and a top tier remake, but not as open ended or challenging as the original.
I think about the Mega Man games from a graphic design perspective. I think that the limited, color palette and simple shapes of the NES games is a strength. Harmonious and striking from a graphic design standpoint. I think the X games went overboard with the color and detail some times. They do look good, but often garish, like fruit loops lol
Blake Turner
Staff Writer
05/28/2017 at 02:13 PM
I did play 1, but it was modded to have a map and better graphics in the ROM. I didn't realise till halfway through.
Have you played AM2R? It's really, really good.
For the most part I agree. Visually, Mega Man games hold up so much better than the most other NES games. They also feel fairer than a lot of the other ones I've played. Like, they're fucking difficult (especially 3), but unlike the original 2 castlevania's I don't want to kill everyone who made them.
I still like the x games. I don't at all care for the story, but I do think some of the mechanical changes are still really awesome. Visually I don't think they're that busy honestly.
Matt Snee
Staff Writer
05/28/2017 at 05:11 PM
Blake and Nintendo, sitting in a tree
k-i-s-s-i-n-g
KnightDriver
05/28/2017 at 09:10 PM
I'm been having trouble getting into Prey. I played about an hour of it and I can't seem to get back to it. If I don't play it tomorrow, I'm sending it back to Gamefly. Survival horror was never my thing. I liked the first Prey with its classic FPS style.
Cary Woodham
05/29/2017 at 12:03 AM
I'm glad you go to play some Kirby games. That's my favorite Nintendo franchise.
I also really like Mega Man games. I like Kirby and Mega Man more than Mario.
Blake Turner
Staff Writer
05/29/2017 at 02:25 AM
...i do too. Though apart from smb3 and galaxy 2 im not a huge fan.
Super Step
Contributing Writer
05/29/2017 at 01:47 AM
I really want to play AMR2 ... Legally.
Blake Turner
Staff Writer
05/29/2017 at 02:24 AM
It is legal to play and download it. Its just illegal to host it.
Super Step
Contributing Writer
05/29/2017 at 02:06 PM
Oh, awesome! Where can I download it?
Blake Turner
Staff Writer
05/29/2017 at 06:15 PM
I don't know where a safe link is anymore, so here's my copy that I got from the original AM2R site. Just extract and play.
Kirby has always been one of the most consistent games in my mind. The only one I've been lukewarm on was Rainbow Curse, every other game is between good and fantastic. Plus it's always just a nice game to cheer you up, everything is so happy and fun.
asrealasitgets
05/29/2017 at 07:54 PM
Did you play the gameboy kirby dreamland game by any chance? That was the first time I played Kirby and the music is all still stuck in my head. I have mirror on 3ds when nintendo gave away free games through ambasador program. I also remember the gameboy pinball game, which was totally rad!
goaztecs
06/06/2017 at 11:51 AM
I didn't know about AM2R, so thanks to Google I currently have a tab open for the Reddit page and now I'm interested in giving this a spin. Dang, does this mean I too sort of like Nintendo now?
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