This week I’ve started playing Prinny: Can I really be the hero? for PSP. It’s every bit what I’d expected it to be: Old school side-scrolling action with the fun artistic style of the Disgaea games.
Aside from Nippon Ichi’s popular visual style, the one feature in the game that I found a relief was the quality its voice acting. Video game voice acting is always hit or miss, with the vast majority coming from the latter. In Prinny, the voice characterizations are not only appropriate, but well-emoted. The scarved prinny’s voice reminds me of Dr. Tran, which is hilariously fitting given the emotional state that comes with the prinny lifestyle.
I’d love to do a full-scale review for Prinny, but I really don’t know how far I’ll be able to get into it. The word I’ve been hearing is true; this game is hard. In every aspect of the game, I’ve often thought to myself, “This would be perfect if they would just change one thing!”
Most of my complaints come from the stiff controls. They play very similarly to classic arcade-style platformers, like Ghosts ‘n Goblins. So unless you’re a master of that game, prepare yourself for some yelling. You can only jump straight up or diagonally, with no ability to alter your direction once in the air. You’re only hope is through the double-jump, but with many areas requiring precise movement, don’t count on it as a safety net.
As the game progresses, more situations arise where there’s only one solution to advance through an area. It becomes a puzzle to solve, then a matter of memorizing the pattern of moves to maneuver through a level. This type of gameplay is similar to how shoot-em-ups are designed; a trial & error repetition until the player figures out the correct pattern. Then it becomes less of a challenge and more of an exercised routine.
While I find that suits the “shmup” genre, I prefer a little more room for creativity in platform games. The challenge I find fun in approaching a puzzle comes from engineering as many solutions as possible. Inspiring creativity, I find, brings more personal satisfaction when beating a game than simply memorizing a pre-determined pattern.
That is, for level design. Boss battles, on the other hand, I tend to lean toward the opposite. Levels are puzzles of navigation; collectively one massive puzzle while actually a composite of mini-puzzles. Boss battles are more like one large, self-contained puzzle of exploitation. Once you figure out the boss’s attack pattern and weakness, you take advantage of them to win the battle.
All this is not to say that Prinny is a poorly designed game. In fact, I maintain that it’s thoroughly enjoyable, despite the bouts of frustration. It just presents the type of challenge that is greater than those with limited play time or fleeting attention span can afford. I was never very good at Ghosts ‘n Goblins, even in the (*sigh*) heyday of my youth. Though I can at least see the characters of the Disgaea universe doing a better job at keeping my attention.
According to this video, you can easily get through the hardest mode of Street Fighter IV by repeatedly using Zangief’s clothsline.
Ever since SFIV came out in Japan, I’ve heard experts continuously place Zangief as the highest tier of character to use. Is this video proof?
Naaaah… Zangief is tough, but try using those cheap tactics against a real fighter. Especially a tournament-level Street Fighter player that doesn’t mess around with that scrub garbage. All this video proves is that the developers need to do a better job at programming the opponent AI in the single-player mode.
Quick Disclaimer: This article is very NSFW. There’s talk of sex, politics, video game porn and other stuff your boss or parents don’t want you looking at.
Wow! It’s not unusual for cosplay fanatics to work hard at making their costume as authentic as possible, but this is incredible! I can only assume that on the inside of the costume is a laptop running a Game Boy emulator with input connections hooked up to the control buttons. I applaud this guy, not only for his craftsmanship, but also the patience to deal with every geek who walks by asking to play.
Cameo appearance by my homeboy Godot! If you blinked, you missed him.
A buddy of mine who works in video game development took part in Global Game Jam this past weekend. In this event, teams have 48 hours to produce a playable game within certain perameters. Kinda like 24 Hour Comic Day in that it tests the creativity of a person (or group) under the pressure of time.
The perameters of this event:
A complete play session of your game should take less than five minutes.
The theme should be “as long as we’re together, there will always be trouble.”
Incorporate one of the following adjectives: illusionary, pointed, persistent.
The game that my friend’s team came up with is called Robot Love. The premise is that two players assume the roles of two robots escaping from a factory, armed with ray guns. The only way to replenish their ammo or health is to come together for a recharge.
The game looks incredible! Especially for something that was put together in 48 hours. The premise is quite cute and I think it’s great for inspiring teamwork between the two players.
Below is footage of the game and it’s impressive hand-drawn graphics. You can download and play it yourself here.
I almost forgot to mention that my new column over at GotGame.com is up! It’s called Robot Punch! and will update every Friday afternoon.This column will cover console gaming, kung fu lasers, and just about any other kind of geeky otaku topics not covered on the main site.
There are already a couple articles in there, with an exciting interview scheduled to publish next week.
