Question of The Day! (QoTD, Thread 2) (6/7/16-1/6/17)

Tropius should get a big dick forme

 

None, tbh. Just make new Pokémon instead of redesigning older Pokémon.

If you have to make new forms for older mons, at least do something like Alola Exeggutor which makes a little bit of sense. Something like changing Butterfree / Beautifly / Vivillon / etc to mimic a butterfly exclusive to Hawaii, or changing Galvantula to a spider native to Hawaii, would make more sense than making Ninetales Ice / Fairy.

 

Incoming flood of nostalgia wankers


OoT was good in its time, but hasn't aged particularly well. Majora's Mask had actually interesting story elements, and gameplay elements. Neither Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess had much going for them, either being ruined by terrible, dull, and unwanted wii controls or literally hours of tutorial no one over 5 needed. Phantom Hourglass and Spirit tracks were both ruined by stupid DS gimmicks (and a huge list of dumb-ass gameplay choices).

There's a lot of above average and great games in the series, but as with Nintendo's other big series, it takes a very simple template and adds slight changes that may or may not actually improve the game, then gets inexplicable ratings because video critics are terrible when it comes to rating Nintendo games. See: Link's Crossbow Training ~ 69% aggregate scores, Phantom Hourglass ~ 90% aggregate scores.

At the very least Zelda hasn't been whored out to sell every stupid gimmick that crosses the nintendo hardware department (except Link's Crossbow Training) like Mario.

 

OMG OOT BEST GAME EVER OoT is just LttP but in 3D.

Anyway, it's a good game series, for the most part. The first game set the standards well. It allows you to explore in various ways, head into dungeons you may not be meant to head to at that point, and generally lets you explore. A Link to the Past expands on this in its Dark World, giving new ways to explore the Light World as well as allowing you to complete dungeons in almost any specific order. I can't comment on Zelda 2, as I've only watched it, not played it, but it is vastly different from the other two. A Link Between Worlds was a fairly decent game too. It was a bit lazy of Nintendo to basically make A Link to the Past 2, but it's not the first time they did that with this series, nevermind overall. Still, it was enjoyable to play, and it played in the same way as LoZ and LttP, mostly due to its "rent/buy the items you need, and then find other important items later" mechanic.

The 3D Zelda games have mostly not faired as well.
Ocarina of Time was, at the time, a very good game. I can't say that I really enjoyed it though - my first time playing OoT was the 3DS version, with updated graphics and bugfixes, and I still thought that it was a bit of a mess. They tried to keep it open so that you could complete it in any order, as they had with the previous games, but they failed and you almost need to complete it in order else you will get stuck in a later portion.

Majora's Mask was built on the same engine as OoT, and I first played MM on the 3DS also. It does away with the "standard Zelda formula", but replaces it with a deeper story, newer gameplay mechanics, more places to explore, and even more things to do, and I genuinely believe that Majora's Mask is the single best Zelda game I have played. That there have been a few other console games since MM shows that there's a decline.

Twilight Princess... I admit, I had the Wii version. The controls were clunky and annoying, and I find it hard to go back and play it now as it causes straining in my wrists. It's a decent enough game, the story is a bit... eh... but the characters are alright. I think if I had the GameCube version, I might rate it slightly higher, but oh well.

Skyward Sword is a game that divides the fans: There's the majority of fans that loathe the game, and then there's me and another small minority that quite like it. I am happy to admit that it is not the perfect game that critics want you to believe it is, partially due to crappy Wii controls (made better thanks to WiiMotionPlus), partially due to Fi being even more annoying than Navi ever was, partially due to it being a set story you were forced into following, for the most part. Despite all of this, I found myself really enjoying the look, feel and story of SS, and I came away from the game with a positive outlook on it.

I'm looking forward to Breath of the Wild. It looks pretty good, and whilst it might just be a Skyrim-esque game in the Zelda universe, it's hard to argue with that kind of formula. It looks pretty good, the mechanics I've seen thus far all look interesting and the game probably will be fun to play with. I expect I'll be bitterly disappointed overall, but I'll still sink my teeth into it.

I've also played a few of the other handheld Zelda games. The short time I've played of Link's Awakening and with Minish Cap give me the impression that they're both decent games, although the latter seems to have a really fucking annoying mechanic involved puzzle pieces that you need to match with 1 specific NPC in the entire game to then unlock a treasure chest somewhere in the world... Phantom Hourglass was... interesting. It was an average game, poor controls letting down an adventure which could have been a lot better if they didn't focus on giving you a crappy sailing part and other crap, but I still beat it 100%.

I've not played Zelda 2 (as previously mentioned), Crossbow Training, Oracle GB games nor Spirit Tracks, and I don't really have the will to play any other than Zelda 2.

It's a decent series. As xdevo said, it has mostly become a copy/paste series like the NSMB series has, but there are moments where it shows why it is one of the best franchises in the world.

pls dnt fuk up zelda nx

 

My first Zelda game was actually a collector's edition that came with the GameCube, and it had Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda (NES), Zelda II, and a Wind Waker demo, so I had a pretty good introduction to the series.

Ocarina of Time is an excellent game that I've played through several times, and I still manage to discover new things each time I play it. I think the 3DS version is better though because it has Master Quest which can be a lot of fun for people familiar with the main game because the dungeons are all renovated.

Majora's Mask is not only my favorite Zelda game, but it is my favorite video game as well. The plot, characters, and music are great, but I think the best thing about the game is the atmosphere that it creates. I've probably played through this more than any other Zelda game, and there's so many hidden details in the game that it has a ton of replay value. I also think the 3DS version is better for this because they improved the saving function and made the side quests easier to keep track of. They did make a few changes that I would have rather done without, but for the most part, it is the better version.

Twilight Princess seemed really good when it first came out, and I remember being impressed by the graphics at the time. I should also note that I had the GameCube version, so I never had to worry about wonky Wii controls. The Twilight plot is interesting, and I really liked the atmosphere of all of the twilight areas in the game. Twilight Princess hasn't aged as well as some of the other games though, and I think it also borrowed a bit too much from OoT at times.

Wind Waker strayed from the Zelda formula a little bit with all of the ocean and sailing. This mechanic makes exploring fun, but all of the sailing does eventually get old. The game has aged pretty well though thanks to its cartoon-like art style. I like Twilight Princess better when they first came out, but I think I like Wind Waker better now.

Phantom Hourglass was probably the first Zelda game that I played that I didn't really like (apart from the other Zelda games from that collectors edition that I disliked so much that I never finished). I disliked the backtracking that required you to redo this one dungeon over and over while progressing further each time. I thought the villain was pretty bland also when compared to Ganondorf or Majora's Mask. One redeeming quality about this game is the comedic relief of Linebeck who is basically the Captain Jack Sparrow of Zelda.

Spirit Tracks was similar to Phantom Hourglass in game play (apart from, you know, the TRAINS) but I felt that the music and characters were much better. I don't have much more to say though because I've only played through this once.

Skyward Sword was fun while I wasn't being harassed by Fi. This was the first main Zelda game since OoT that I didn't ever collect everything though, and I haven't had the desire to replay it. I guess the game felt too long and drawn out in some areas. I thought Girahim was an excellent villain, but Demise was either annoying ("Didn't I just seal you away?") or just disappointing.

A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and Oracle of Seasons are some other ones that I've played, but I'm not as crazy about the 2D games. I'm not sure yet if I'll be getting Breath of the Wild because I'm strongly considering skipping the NX since the Wii U has been such a disappointment. It is good to see the Zelda series go in a different direction, but I'm skeptical of how well the open world aspect is going to pan out. On paper, it seems like it should be good though.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. :v

 

Just based on in game stuff, I would probably say gen 4 just because everything runs too slowly. Competitively, I would say gen 1 because it is almost more hax than strategy. Despite its many flaws, I still find it enjoyable to play through gen 1. I really like gen 2, but most of that is probably from nostalgia. I actually haven't played the original Hoenn games, but FireRed was fun. Gen 5 had a really interesting plot, and it was the first gen where I had the chance to freely battle people online. Gen 6 introduced a lot of nice features, and as of now, I think gen 6 is good for the most part, but I also think it is something that won't age well because I haven't replayed any of the gen 6 games yet and currently have not desire to do that.

 

Jumping on the Gen 4 bandwagon here. Platinum and HGSS helped to fix the issues brought forward by DP, but DP's initial experience was just so damn slow. The slow movement speed on water, the slow battle speed, the slow progression of the story, Fog sucking soooooo much dick, Distortion World being a fairly crappy puzzle made to try and further the story but just being a relatively boring place... Gen 5 is probably 2nd.

Competitively, I've gotta say Gen 5, though this may very much be in part due to the bullshit going on regarding tiering during Gen 5. Fuck weather. Fuck the power creep. My interest in competitive battling dipped further in Gen 5 than in any other... though shoutout to Gen 6 for officially getting me to quit full stop.

 

Question is too broad to answer solidly imo.

I'll randomly say the 2 guys in Home Alone because reasons???

 

Casually, DP for mainly reasons listed above. Gameplay was slow and I don't remember much of it, which isn't a good thing. Gym leader designs didn't hold up over time, starters are probably overall lowest tier among all generations (sorry Piplup the other two bring down the curve too much) and contests weren't as good as they were in RSE. It was probably good for its time in terms of novelty but it doesn't hold up.

Competitively, BW. E a s i l y. They brought a bunch of overpowered stuff into the game without any checks or balances to them. I quite like the ORAS meta, so I say props to XY for salvaging the damage. BW was the first generation that gamefreak clearly designed with consideration of competitive battling in mind. But they didn't know what they were doing, so they mainly butchered it by adding too many overwhelming aspects.

XY they did much better. Mega Evo limit of 1 encouraged well-balanced team design. Nerfing some high damage moves like Hydro Pump and Fire Blast while buffing some previously gimmicky moves like Knock Off equalized quite a few mons that were previously too strong or unviable. Minor stat buffs to old forgotten mons like Vileplume didn't do much but the thought was nice. Of course making weather non-permanent was the best change they made. Rain Offense/Sand Offense are still viable and strong but they aren't the only things on the playing field now. Fairy equalized types, making Dragon less spammable, and giving people reasons to run Poison and Steel moves, while also making Fire a better defensive type. XY also introduced interesting items competitively like Assault Vest and Weakness Policy.

Let's also not forget our good friend Scald that BW introduced :)

BW's hidden abilities were the best thing they added, but I think XY improved upon them more. In fact XY's new abilities are much more compelling gameplay-wise. Gale Wings and Pixelate in particular help to make inferior mons suddenly very viable. Infiltrator (and also that sound moves pierce sub) is also a cool addition that makes formerly obscure mons/moves usable.

DP gets a close second after BW as a metagame ruiner just because of Stealth Rock quickly making half the mons nearly unviable. But phys/special split was cool. I do like ADV meta slightly more than DP meta, comparing them is apples and oranges. It's just that BW is a Papaya.

Blasphemy.

 

My first exposure to the series, outside of Smash Bros, was Metroid Prime Hunters on the DS. The controls for that game were GOD AWFUL, but it was a game that I enjoyed playing anyway. I even played it online, playing the sniper character, and I was pretty good at it. I'll never go back to it though, my hands are bad enough as it is. The 2nd, and as of this moment final, game of the series I played was Metroid Prime 3. I got 98% on my first playthrough. I was so mad.

Anyway, I really enjoy scanning your surroundings to get lore from the series, and scanning enemies to get more information on them, such as their HP total or potential weak points of the enemies. My current forays into the Metroid Prime series have been really positive ones, so I immediately jumped on the opportunity to get the Metroid Prime Trilogy for cheap on the Wii U eShop - especially considering that game can go for upwards of £80 nowadays.

As for the main Metroid series, I've only played Metroid Fusion for the GBA, and I played it to completion. It was also a really solid game, and I enjoyed playing it. Need to explore further into the main series tbh.

I'm annoyed about Federation Force, though. Haven't played it, don't intend to. Dunno why they put the Metroid Prime tag on it - it better be a damn good game.

Haven't seen the film, but the widespread criticism of it kinda makes me want to watch it to see if it is as bad as people say. It's like not knowing how bad something truly is until you've experienced it. For a similar example, until someone actually made me sit down and watch bits of The Room, I had no idea how bad it truly was.
I have no exposure to comics in general, for the most part, so I can't comment there either.

 

Metroid is one of the few only Nintendo series that actually has a half decent story and plots that are actually generally compelling. So, I don't see it needing to make some faint attempt at innovation if they can make an actually coherent set of characters with arcs and development. Nintendo's greatest issue currently is the gutting of games to fit the stupid gimmick of the current systems. Metroid already has a completely competent controls (both in 2- and 3-D) and gameplay is fine. Some things can be updated with smoother controls (assuming Nintendo uses an actually decent controller for the 1st time in a decade) and graphically, but it's going to be the plot and characters that makes or breaks Metroid.


Suicide Squad is why we need to have critics rotate in and out of critique writing every 10 years or so.

 

I'm a big fan of the Metroid Prime series and wouldn't mind playing more games like that. The other Metroid games really haven't appealed to me though.

 

Gonna nip Joey's predictable question in the bud: New Pokemon trailer was released, check out the Sun and Moon discussion thread for my opinions, spoiler warning if you look up that thread, also use spoilers in this topic when the obvious question arrives. kthx