Lee's gaming challenge

[Lee]

I mentioned this to Phoenix a few weeks ago and he took up the challenge, so I think I'm going to open it up to all you guys.

The challenge is this:

I want you to complete a game in a franchise that you have never played. Of course there's a few things I'll do...to class as playing a game in the franchise I actually mean complete. So for example say you've played Resident Evil at a mates but have never finished one of the games in the franchise you could play a resident evil game. What I then want is you to post what you think of it here.

I'm particularly interested to see what people have as first impression of the major franchises such as Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy, MGS, GTA etc.

I will be taking up the mantle of Donkey Kong COuntry (representing Donkey Kong platformers) and Rayman 3 (representing Rayman). When complete post your review.

 

[Phoenix]

I took a game franchise that I never really gave a full chance since the only game I played was the second game on the NES which annoyed the hell out of me, that franchise was Zelda. Since playing Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, I truly never went near Zelda, it never appealed to me, I walked passed OoT like "So what?" in 2007 when I got my Wii, Zelda: Twilight Princess came with it, after about 30 minutes, it gave me the same effect. After some recent playing of Super Smash Bros. Brawl (a game I think I underrate at times) it really got me thinking about Zelda, so I spoke to Lee and decided to pick up where I left off at Twilight Princess.

I picked up right where it started to get interesting, out of the tutorial sort of period in the Ordon Town where Twilight takes over and I got really hooked. What I loved was the beauty of the visuals mixed with the ease of the control use, outside of Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime, this is possibly one of the best games designed on the Wii for control use, it really was pretty comfortable and easy to use. I just completed the Main Story (not 100%) with about 85% of it being me purely playing it without assistance, I admit I had to look up some areas where I had to complete it but then it's a mix on difficulty.

The first area I liked was literally how much there is to do, I spent about 40 hours doing this, so it isn't a slumberfest or too easy, there's enough to keep you going and that's just the main story alone. Much like Mario, this works in layers, you complete certain assignments which develop the story, essentially it happens in parts, like areas of the map become unlocked or the ease of getting around is made more simpler but until you complete what is 3-parts of each section, the story won't progress. It can be somewhat frustrating if you felt like you just done enough hard work and you're back at square one to do a similiar task in a different location to fight a different boss to get a certain item, but then that's how Zelda works, as well as Mario or Metroid, which also has the bonus of being able to return anywhere you like without worrying you overlooked something important.

In terms of Boss Battles, they were a little bit too easy for my taste, where back in the day of playing Mario 64 (I was 10 by then), I was always finding it hard to beat Bowser on the Second Round, yet with Zelda, the bosses just felt too easy and I think I only died once in a Boss Battle throughout the whole game, yet a volcano takes me out three times in a row! While it is challenging, it is abit of a slight let down about the bosses, but at least it assists with using a new ability you learn to complete the battle, so it really is taking off those training wheels on your new weapon or item you obtained.

I think Lee was right in telling me that Twilight Princess was the best game to get me into Zelda because it has done, while I got the extra part of doing it 100% to do, it does make me what to try out OoT so it can prove to me why it gets named the best game of all time. For those with the Wii or GameCube, I seriously recommend playing Zelda: Twilight Princess if you haven't played Zelda before, it gives a good insight on what the franchise is like. While I don't think I'll go as far as the NES/SNES games, I'll definitely try out OoT now as a result of playing it.

Marks out of 5: 4.5

Visually stunning, Beautiful Music to add, lots of play time on hand and gives a great challenge but the Boss Battles make a slight let down, but definitely a game to play

 

[Mr. TM]

One fine day I was talking to some cunt named Marky Mark. Sometimes I discuss NES games with him, and he brought up MegaMan. 6 NEW games I never played, or had the intention to play were the MegaMan games for NES.

In support of this thread, I decided to give it a try. I plugged in Mega Man 1 to my NES. Fucking sucked. Hated everything about it. Perhaps it got better as the series went on, but as for now, everything sucked about it. Graphics were shit for NES, game play was lame, the maps sucked, it just was not that good. I compare it to Journey To Silious, and there is no comparison.

TM rates it 1/10

 

[Phoenix]

Thought I'd revive this as this was a semi-challenge from Lee and Blade to me, the game on this occasion, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. After the success and enjoyment of Twilight Princess, I knew I would have to play the classic one day and eventually I decided to download it on my Wii, I still have my N64, but getting in on the Wii turned out cheaper than getting it for the other console.

After getting use to a different style of play having been use to Zelda with the Wii controller and not using the GC Controller much, I got underway. The graphics didn't bother me as I'm an N64 Mark and you have to appreciate the classics on any given day. I simply loved it and understand why so many people name it a classic; the controls were great, the story just brilliant, the whole concept is one that truly follows a design of genius with the Ocarina element itself. To no surprise, I did find this more challenging than Twilight Princess and I did have to get some assistance to work a few things out but I still loved it. Blade told me right that the build to fighting Ganondorf is just so exciting and you just can't wait for the battle to start, it really is a game that builds your excitement even more than normal.

The element that I felt made the game so great is there emotional connectivity you get to a game, the best games always connects the players to the game itself and this one was no different. The main element of how Link's friends and loved ones virtually scarifice themselves just so he can complete his task and defeat Ganondorf really adds to the atmosphere, this isn't just a victory for you, it's a victory for everyone at stake.

The only complaint I have is my own personal one is that I took a month hiatus from when I last played to completing it so it did detract from my enjoyment, again that's a fault against me not the game itself. I can definitely see myself playing this again in the near future and trying to go 100% on it. Would I agree that it's a classic? Definitely. Would I rank it in my Top 10? Yes. Would I name it my Number One? No, not for now, I think I need to still play it again to appreciate it more.

Marks out of 5: 5

Simply put, if I enjoyed Twilight Princess so much, how could I not enjoy Ocarina of Time. Just a brilliant game, nothing I could fault with it and will replay it for sure. A true classic.

The next game on my list, Majora's Mask. I downloaded it with Ocarina of Time, but waited to complete OoT before playing this one. But from what I've seen, I think I will be enjoying it.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

The next game on my list, Majora's Mask. I downloaded it with Ocarina of Time, but waited to complete OoT before playing this one. But from what I've seen, I think I will be enjoying it.

I hope Phoenix that you enjoy Majora's Mask as much as you did OoT, but i'll warn you now that I loved OoT as much as you apparently do, but i hated Majora's Mask to the point that i never bothered completing it.

The controls are the same, the gameplay overall is very much the same, but they added one element that impacted every little thing that you do, and it leads to a ridiculous amount of repetition.

Hopefully you'll be able to see past it, i'm just letting you know, that for a game that was so similar to it's classic predeccessor, this game caused a big split between the people who loved it and the people who detested it.