deKay's Gaming Diary

Roundup time!

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (3DS)

Actually, the GBA version I got as part of the 3DS Ambassador thing. I thought I’d played it before, but I don’t actually remember any of it. It’s very confusing, as there’s no linear progression from level to level (like in Kirby’s Dream Land) or a map where you can replay previous levels (like in Kirby’s Adventure). Instead, there’s a complicated map system where you have to find different exits to access other levels, with occasional mirrors that are found which then leave a permanent link from the main “room” of the game to parts of the map. I suppose it’s a little bit how games like Metroid work, but the map is useless at telling you where you need to go, and it’s too easy to get stuck in a one-way route and have to redo miles of the game before you can try to find another route. I’m sort of enjoying it, but it doesn’t work well with quick bursts of play.

Skyrim (360)

Not progressed much since last time I posted about this, but I have agreed to do some Thieves Guild work (which involves roughing up some locals for money) so started that. I also slaughtered loads of people in the Ratway. I didn’t want to, but they attacked me and things just spiralled into badness. Also: my Flame Atronach is awesome.

VVVVVV (3DS)

Having completed the main game, I was going to go back and collect some more trinkets. However, I got a bit sidetracked with the plethora of other game modes and alternative maps, and so went off and did some of those instead. I also stumbled across some of the “accessibility modes” in the options, so have set the game speed to 60% which makes some of the really hard sections a lot easier. I suppose it’s cheating, but meh – whatdahyahgonnado?

Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

There was a patch for this in the week, so I decided to give it another try online. Had some great games with randoms, and I didn’t even come last most of the time. Unsurprisingly, not a single person chose to play the now-fixed (thanks to the patch) Wuhu Loop track, which certainly made it more varied. I think I was suffering from nasty lag though, as some of the other racers appeared to be invincible to my shells, or seemed to get blown up randomly even though nothing seemed to hit them. That’s my connection though, not the game.

Skylanders (360)

I’ll post more about this another time, but it arrived today and my daughter thinks it’s amazing. I enjoyed the half and hour or so I played it for too, so could be a hit. Glad I got it for about £19 though, not the £60 or whatever it was when it came out last year.

Rayman Origins (Demo) (3DS)

Oh! It looks so lovely!

Fable III (360)

It seems the best way to make money is to buy all the houses and shops, then just leave the Xbox on all day. So I did that. Now I have over 8 million gold, can pay off all my debts, and progress with the story. In doing so, I’ve revisited Aurora, pilfered a diamond from a cave, bought more shops and houses, and am now on the trail of a white Balverine in Silverpines.

I also changed my gun for a different one, because I realised that being able to do 79 damage was certainly better than just managing 33. Makes a bit of a difference.

Kirby’s Block Ball (3DS)

I’ve not bought a 3DS Virtual Console game in a while, but since I had to add some more money to my account to buy Mighty Switch Force (see later) I thought I’d pick up some. One was this, a Kirby Breakout game where some levels have paddles at the top and sides of the screen, and have baddies wandering round. After reaching World 4, I also realised you could activate Kirby’s powers by pressing B. That would have made earlier levels somewhat easier, non?

Trip World (3DS)

This was another 3DS VC game purchase. The video on the eShop made it look like fun, but I’ve no idea what I’m doing. You control (well, you try to control) a little cute catbunnyblobthing. Thing is, he doesn’t jump very far and there are spikes. I did, through random button mashing, did manage to turn him into a fish (useless) and a thing with big ears (which can sort of fly but then drops to the ground for no discernible reason), neither of which I can reproduce nor were they of any help.

Mighty Switch Force (3DS)

ACEBEST. So good, in fact, I rattled through the first 14 levels in half an hour. Then I found there are only actually 16 levels. This was a bit disappointing. However, I’ve spent over an hour since then and haven’t finished it yet as Level 16 is nuts.

In case you know nothing of the game, it’s a platform shooter puzzle game where the main “gimmick” is you press a button to make blocks move between the foreground and background. You can’t pass them when they’re in the foreground, but you can stand on them, and you don’t want to be moving them to the foreground when you’re standing in front of them. Unless they’re a special type of block. It’s all excellent though, and different to anything that looks vaguely similar.

Shinobi (3DS)

Picked this up cheap from The Game Collection the other day. It’s very much a 2.5D spiritual sequel to the Megadrive “Revenge of Shinobi” game. The graphics are sort of stark and plain, but it’s fun. For some reason it reminds me of the DS launch title Spiderman 2, though. Maybe it’s the graphic style and all the fire.

I’m stuck though. Went on a raft into a cave, then wall-jumped up to a higher level. Now there’s a huge gap to the left too big to jump, and I can’t latch onto the cave roof to get across that way because there are spikes. Hmm.

Samurai Warriors: Chronicles (3DS)

Very much a Mash Y And Sometimes X game, but it’s fun. There’s a hook to get me back in with the RPG elements (leveling up your character, merging weapons to make better ones, and so on) though, and you do have to have a bit of strategy in the game to ensure your allies aren’t overwhelmed by foes and die because you’ve wandered off to cause carnage elsewhere or because you didn’t run to their side when they asked you to. Well worth the £7 Morrisons (yes, them again) wanted for it anyway.

To look at this game one way, it’s just the NES game “Kirby’s Adventure” on the 3DS.

To look at this another way, it’s OH YES! “KIRBY’S ADVENTURE”! NEEEED!

Yes, I have played it many times. And yes, I have completed it almost as many times. And yes, this is just that game again. But! It’s in 3D!

Of course, it’s not in proper 3D. It’s just the fore- and background layers have been peeled in and out, so the levels have depth. And that’s it – it’s just the same otherwise. Only somehow, it feels better. Maybe it’s the super-sharp graphics, which now appear like those fancy HD remakes with redrawn hi-res graphics you get on the Xbox 360. Or maybe it’s the smoothness, with no janky NES-o-vision scrolling and busy-screen slowdown. Maybe. Whatever it is, it looks and plays fantastically, and I loved it from start to two-and-a-half-hours-later finished. Every bit of it. As always.

I still maintain Kirby’s Adventure is one of the best platformers ever made. FACT.

Well yeah y’see I actually completed this a while ago, and not today. Because today I played it to complete what I thought was the final game mode I’d unlocked, only to find that I’d not just played that mode already, but completed it as well.

So it was a somewhat short play session consisting of a quick load of each mode just to make sure I’d done them all, and I had. So, er, hurrah!

Then I played Kirby 64 for a bit instead. It’s not that good.

I’ve not posted in a while, aside from to mention Yakuza 3 and Old World Blues, but I have still been playing games. Here’s a round-up of what’s been going down over the last few weeks:

Professor Layton and the Lost Future (DS)

I actually completed this at the start of the year, but as I did with the previous two games once the story was done I left the remaining puzzles until near the release of the following game. So, with that due in November, I went back to Lost Future. I’ve already mopped up all the story puzzles, the sticker book, the parrot delivery puzzles, and the toy car, and have done most of the bonus extra puzzles too.

As usual, the puzzles I struggle with are the slide-a-block-through-other-blocks ones, one of which (having checked online afterwards to see how poorly I did) can be completed in just 9 moves. Took me almost 3500. Yes.

Urban Champion 3D (3DS)

It’s a weak title, sure. It’s certainly not a “NES classic”, but somehow, it’s addictive. I’ve made it up to (I think) Area Champion, but then died. You don’t seem to lose your rank when you die though – you just have to start from the first round again.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (3DS)

The only 2D Zelda game I’ve not completed. In fact, I’ve barely played it. But I put some time in and once you forget it’s a Zelda game and look at it as a Metroidvania game with an overworld and semi-random, realtime battles, it makes a lot more sense. It’s brutally hard though!

Metroid (3DS)

Another one of the NES games us 3DS “ambassadors” got for free. It’s hard. Like, really hard. And there’s no map. I sort of like it, but the difficulty is really putting me off.

Balloon Fight / Mario & Yoshi / NES Open / Wrecking Crew (3DS)

Other NES games that I’ve played for an hour or so each, but not really invested too much time in yet. Wrecking Crew is ace, and NES Open is still a pretty competent golf game.

Let’s Golf 3D (3DS)

Enjoying this. The 3D is pointless (as in, it barely has any effect at all), but it doesn’t really matter. I’m about 35% through Career Mode now, and am starting to get used to the courses. The arctic and aztec ones are particularly difficult! I like the different game modes too, like Closest To The Pin and such.

10 Second Run (3DS)

It’s actually DSiWare, but I don’t have a DSi so it falls under 3DS. So there. Loved it at first, with its super-quick runny-jumpiness, but sadly – just like other games of its ilk (N+, Super Meat Boy) – it became far too hard to be enjoyable. I’ve completed about 38 of the 50 levels, and although I know there are 5 or 6 more I could probably manage with perseverance, some just seem completely beyond me. Boo!

Bomberman Live! (360)

I was online this evening at the same time as some ugvm/BETEO people who were playing this, and I thought I’d join in hoping my useless “broadband” connection could take the pace. It held up for the first few rounds, but by the end of the first tournament the lag was causing me to blow myself up far too frequently, and by the end of the second tournament I was been told over the headset that I’d died before I actually noticed on-screen. Rubbish.

And I’d have beaten all-comers if it wasn’t for Sky! *shakes fist*

Kirby’s Fun Pak (Wii)

The SNES game on the Wii, to be more accurate. Mainly played because my daughter sometimes tells me to play Kirby games, and so this appeases her, but it is good anyway. Only one game mode left to complete, I think, though.

Is that everything I’ve played recently? Probably. Except for stuff I’ve played briefly. Like, but not limited to: Outrun Online Arcade (360), Sonic the Hedgehog (360), Super Mario All-Stars (Wii), Muscle March (Wii), and various iPad “room escape” games. And the usual Words With Friends, Hanging With Friends and Carcassonne matches too, of course.

This was pretty much forced upon me. I mean, I like Kirby. Especially Kirby’s Adventure for the NES. But playing it wasn’t really my choice. I was made to by my two year old daughter. “Daddy, play Kirby” she said. She likes it when I play Kirby because she likes to point out all the doors you have to go through, and find the ‘martoes for me.

I played some last weekend, and the rest this weekend, completing it today. Again.

I then had to buy more Kirby games from the Wii shop (I got Kirby 64 and Kirby’s Fun Pak, of which I’ve played the latter a bit already) to play next time she asks.

Another short Game Boy game! From buying to completing, took me 32 minutes. Yes, it was short and easy. But oh so lovely!

Many people forget that the Kirby’s trademark ability-copying “power” wasn’t actually in this, his first game. In fact, he has very few moves – he can’t run, slide or squirt water when swimming. In a way, it feels like a cut-down port of the NES game, which of course it isn’t.

Anyway, I enjoyed it, and I’ve unlocked “hard mode” now, which I’ll probably give a go at some point.

The is the game I’ve been playing most since completing InFamous, and today I completed it.

It wasn’t especially short, but it was very easy. I don’t think it’s even possible to die – I certainly didn’t, and even falling off the bottom of the screen or losing all your beads doesn’t kill you, so I doubt you can.

That doesn’t mean it was bad though. I loved it! The art style is amazing, the levels bright and varied with more great ideas per level than most games have in total. There’s also still a lot to do – more levels to unlock, levels to 100%, hidden things to find, but for now, it’s complete.

Hey – no-one told me this was on the Wii’s VC. Why not? Stuff that Paper Mario (because I can’t bring myself to start it when I still have other, unfinished, ongoing games), Kirby Golf FTW!

So I downloaded it, and spent almost two hours playing it with my wife, across two courses. And it’s ace.

I’ve now done all the secret levels (I think!) and have all the treasure on 4 of the 8 worlds. I’ve completed one of the jigsaws, and something odd happened when I completed the Ghost Medal in the collection – loads of ghost came out and one went into each world. What do I do now? Find them? Kill them? Collect them? Do nothing? QUESTIONS!

Didn’t play this for very long today, just to get some more treasure chests and to try and find the three secret levels I’m missing. Managed to find one secret level, and a few chests, taking my total to about 86/120.

What? Already? Yes indeed. I thought there was at least another world after 8, but no. And World 8 was somewhat shorter than previous ones too. The final boss battle was quite hard, until – yes – I got a Tornado power-up, and then after that there was another boss. I sort of expected it, as it seems to be the norm with Kirby games. You even get a weapon not unlike the Star Rod from Kirby’s Adventure.

I seem to have only 76 levels complete out of 120, however. I know I’ve missed three secret levels, but what about the rest, eh?

I’m well en-route to finishing this quite soon now. I ripped through levels 4 to 7 in double-quick time, although I did miss out on finding one secret level (and I haven’t got all the chests in every level yet either).

I’ve died maybe 5 times now, mostly on bosses. The trick (as always with Kirby) for bosses is having the right power-up when you get to them.

So I’m on Level 8 now, which I thought was going to be the final one (when you look at the map), but things took a detour and opened up somewhere else, so I think there’s at least one more after this. I’m about 70 levels through the 120 too, so it appears that I’m missing something…

Only a short session on this today, but I did play for long enough to complete all of the rest of World 3 (including a secret level). I died for the first time too – on the end of world boss. En-route to him, you get two power-ups: fire and tornado. Based on my death, I would suggest you use the latter rather than the former.

Cleared two levels of Jam Jungle then too, which is World 4. Looks like there are 120 levels to do, and I’ve done about 35 of them so far.

Sssh! Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve started a new game even though I haven’t finished Excite Truck, Contact or Military Madness yet! It’s a secret to everybody!

It’s a proper Kirby game this time around. Not that Canvas Curse thing, which was good but not “right”. This, however, is right in everything.

It differs from other Kirby games in two main ways: firstly, you can store up to five power-ups for later use (although the treasure you need to collect takes up some of these slots too), and secondly, you have a section in each level where you have to retrieve a treasure chest from one of the Squeak Squad thieves. These bits are sort of mid-boss fights, but often with some chasing involved.

Is it any good? YES.

I’ve done all of the first two worlds, found a secret level on each, and have done two levels in the third world. And I haven’t died yet!

Well, it was actually several sessions play today, rather than just one long go, but I reached the end, defeated Dedede, and then beat Nightmare. Hurrah!

I noticed that the last level (the one in black and white) was actually some sort of medley of the levels from the original Game Boy Kirby game. I’d never realised that before. I just thought it was black and white for some sort of arty reason. It explains why you don’t get any power-ups from sucking in baddies, anyway.

So I’m 81% done. Most of the secrets I know how to get (I failed to reach them, or went past the entrance to them before realising what I’d done), so I should be able to get 100% if I want.

Oh, and a Bad Thing: Rainbow Resort (world 7) has a level with a SuckySuck(TM) bit in it. They’re not a load of end-of-world bosses, but there is a run of about 8 mid-level bosses one after another. Rubbish.

Ran through all of Ice Cream Island and Butter Building, and I’m now onto the third level of Grape Garden. There’s been nothing too taxing so far, and I’ve found all of the hidden areas (all two of them) so far as well. I’m 35% complete, according to my save game file.

Friday, as always, is New Wii Virtual Console day. But the games actually appear at 11pm on Thursday. One of this weeks games, was Kirby’s Adventure, originally for the NES. And, it is of course, Most Ace.

Played through all of the first world (which was only actually 4 levels and a boss), but then it was getting late.