MOONTRIPS
for the first time in years, I played this last March, choosing to get through the whole game with 10 HP. due to not playing the game for so long, even though I've watched other people play over that time, my memory was not the greatest.
in short, I struggled. a LOT. probably shouldn't have done 10 HP but I made it through... grinding near the end to have power rush badges. barely survived the Shadow Queen. great experience tho. while the original Paper Mario game is my favorite game everrrrrrrrr, this is pretty high up there.
in short, I struggled. a LOT. probably shouldn't have done 10 HP but I made it through... grinding near the end to have power rush badges. barely survived the Shadow Queen. great experience tho. while the original Paper Mario game is my favorite game everrrrrrrrr, this is pretty high up there.
2023
This review contains spoilers
it's a fine remake. I wish I felt more strongly, really, but idk. I am satisfied, but I wasn't... wowed. edit to add, before even actually publishing, something did indeed wow me in postgame.
I was largely let down by the new music, but whatever. me not liking it much doesn't mean it's bad. I personally just didn't enjoy most of it all that much. some tracks were pretty good. maybe two or three were really great. a lot of stuff has a grander spin put on it and it just doesn't land all the time. sometimes things were too subdued. sometimes I thought weird instrument choices were made. most baffling of all was the real laugh present in Valen-Valentina. I had to change the soundtrack back to the original for that part of the game because the laugh was so annoying. Why did they do that.
I really wish all of the original sound effects were present. some are, some aren't. it feels off sometimes as a result. I miss the sound effects for clicking through text boxes and wonder why those were removed.
but the game shines in the visual department 100%. looks great. love the enemy and boss models. frog coins having a unique model is nice. they look cute. but something about the Toad models feels off, at least like, their faces. like when they talk. idk, it's just Weird to me. the party's models are okay, though Mario looks a bit off somehow. I know it's accurate to the original, but the squished look is way more apparent on Mario than it is on Peach or Bowser, so he's the only one that looks odd. Valentina's mini model also looks extra weird, her face. idk what they were going for. why'd her mouth look like that. other models here and there look a bit odd, like the chancellor. he looks extra squished.
the UI and menus and font choices, I am not so keen on. doesn't really fit this game. reminds me of the Mario & Luigi series.
the cutscenes are fine... I like them well enough but they also felt kind of weird for some reason. there were a few that used a certain font, and due to it being so infrequent, especially never felt right.
I'm used to how snappy battles are in the original, and even up to the end, never fully adjusted to the general timing in this remake. this game has a lot of qol for battles, I appreciate the new visual meters for special attacks. made me feel inclined to use them more. I used them way more in this remake than I ever would in playthroughs of the original game. the triple moves are... eh. I guess they were a given, an echo of future Mario RPGs brought back to this one. they fit in fine, though I purposely didn't use them all too often.
I knew this remake was going to handle inventory differently... but I wasn't sure how. I both like and dislike how it works. the item limits feel so arbitrary. why only 6 pick me ups? like, why not 10? what's the deal with that? I know there's the "breezy" mode which ups your amounts to 30 for most, if not all items... normal could have just had it be 10 for everything. the limits truly are arbitrary.
I really like and appreciate the fast travel. this makes it tolerable if, say, you get near the very end of the game but you wanna go back and do something, like fight Culex. don't have to go back the hard way, which is actually doubly appreciated because the platforming in this remake feels more off than it did in the original game. ugh, imagine going back through the whole gate area. yeah, no thanks. lol
the autosave happens too frequently for save blocks to be of any real use. it's silly. I'd find myself saving, and then the autosave would trigger if I moved to the next room. like, what's the point?
I love how everything with Smithy was handled. seeing Smithy in this remake's style was literally the thing I was most excited for. they didn't let me down. the cutscene, the way they made the true form battle background even creepier than it was in the original, everything. it was great and I was freaking out. the music was... an 8/10, though. ngl. sorry. the true form battle music didn't need the electric guitar parts. other battle theme was too subdued. but still pretty good, so... eh.
the postgame battles are a great idea on paper, but they chose to make them all gimmicky in some manner or another, and I'm not a fan of that. I changed the difficulty because I was getting my ass kicked, but after accidentally spoiling myself on 3D Culex's existence(by reading the track list of a game rip, smh), I was like "ok, I have to see this NOW" and then, had to put in more time because of this sequential bullshit to get to it. bleargh. for added context, I was level 25 when I chose to take on that content. I was level 21 when I fought and beat Smithy, so I only managed to grind 4 levels before getting sick of the grind. if you can handle the intensive repeated battling of machine made Yaridovich, be my guest. get level 30, it'll help.
here's my thoughts on them in the shortest manner I can manage.
Jinx: tolerable, but not great. I like the idea, but the punishment for failure felt too annoyingly harsh. given that I have such a hard time with timing in this remake... bleh.
Belome: the worst. I did this one on normal. it was so bad. took forever. not fun. not sorry for saying it's not fun because it's not.
Punchinello: pretty bad, really annoying gimmick
Booster: interesting but unfun until you figure out how to make it easier on yourself
Bundt: the easiest, though I wonder if it's harder on normal somehow. more candles being lit per turn would make this actually difficult.
Johnny: Fine. also too easy tho. it felt like his HP was just massively nerfed. if this were a normal battle with item usage and he was beefed up more significantly, this woulda been cooler.
Culex: the effort to get to this was worth it. this is the other thing I wanted to see. fucking. Culex in 3D. and the music is GREAT. on easy, I feel the challenge is reasonable enough. I think it's hard to make... hard boss battles like this without them being an endurance match on some level. as with all the other postgame bosses, this one has a gimmick of sorts, but it's one that's pretty easily combatted. I'm pleased. it's a shame the other battles are... not that great tho.
I was largely let down by the new music, but whatever. me not liking it much doesn't mean it's bad. I personally just didn't enjoy most of it all that much. some tracks were pretty good. maybe two or three were really great. a lot of stuff has a grander spin put on it and it just doesn't land all the time. sometimes things were too subdued. sometimes I thought weird instrument choices were made. most baffling of all was the real laugh present in Valen-Valentina. I had to change the soundtrack back to the original for that part of the game because the laugh was so annoying. Why did they do that.
I really wish all of the original sound effects were present. some are, some aren't. it feels off sometimes as a result. I miss the sound effects for clicking through text boxes and wonder why those were removed.
but the game shines in the visual department 100%. looks great. love the enemy and boss models. frog coins having a unique model is nice. they look cute. but something about the Toad models feels off, at least like, their faces. like when they talk. idk, it's just Weird to me. the party's models are okay, though Mario looks a bit off somehow. I know it's accurate to the original, but the squished look is way more apparent on Mario than it is on Peach or Bowser, so he's the only one that looks odd. Valentina's mini model also looks extra weird, her face. idk what they were going for. why'd her mouth look like that. other models here and there look a bit odd, like the chancellor. he looks extra squished.
the UI and menus and font choices, I am not so keen on. doesn't really fit this game. reminds me of the Mario & Luigi series.
the cutscenes are fine... I like them well enough but they also felt kind of weird for some reason. there were a few that used a certain font, and due to it being so infrequent, especially never felt right.
I'm used to how snappy battles are in the original, and even up to the end, never fully adjusted to the general timing in this remake. this game has a lot of qol for battles, I appreciate the new visual meters for special attacks. made me feel inclined to use them more. I used them way more in this remake than I ever would in playthroughs of the original game. the triple moves are... eh. I guess they were a given, an echo of future Mario RPGs brought back to this one. they fit in fine, though I purposely didn't use them all too often.
I knew this remake was going to handle inventory differently... but I wasn't sure how. I both like and dislike how it works. the item limits feel so arbitrary. why only 6 pick me ups? like, why not 10? what's the deal with that? I know there's the "breezy" mode which ups your amounts to 30 for most, if not all items... normal could have just had it be 10 for everything. the limits truly are arbitrary.
I really like and appreciate the fast travel. this makes it tolerable if, say, you get near the very end of the game but you wanna go back and do something, like fight Culex. don't have to go back the hard way, which is actually doubly appreciated because the platforming in this remake feels more off than it did in the original game. ugh, imagine going back through the whole gate area. yeah, no thanks. lol
the autosave happens too frequently for save blocks to be of any real use. it's silly. I'd find myself saving, and then the autosave would trigger if I moved to the next room. like, what's the point?
I love how everything with Smithy was handled. seeing Smithy in this remake's style was literally the thing I was most excited for. they didn't let me down. the cutscene, the way they made the true form battle background even creepier than it was in the original, everything. it was great and I was freaking out. the music was... an 8/10, though. ngl. sorry. the true form battle music didn't need the electric guitar parts. other battle theme was too subdued. but still pretty good, so... eh.
the postgame battles are a great idea on paper, but they chose to make them all gimmicky in some manner or another, and I'm not a fan of that. I changed the difficulty because I was getting my ass kicked, but after accidentally spoiling myself on 3D Culex's existence(by reading the track list of a game rip, smh), I was like "ok, I have to see this NOW" and then, had to put in more time because of this sequential bullshit to get to it. bleargh. for added context, I was level 25 when I chose to take on that content. I was level 21 when I fought and beat Smithy, so I only managed to grind 4 levels before getting sick of the grind. if you can handle the intensive repeated battling of machine made Yaridovich, be my guest. get level 30, it'll help.
here's my thoughts on them in the shortest manner I can manage.
Jinx: tolerable, but not great. I like the idea, but the punishment for failure felt too annoyingly harsh. given that I have such a hard time with timing in this remake... bleh.
Belome: the worst. I did this one on normal. it was so bad. took forever. not fun. not sorry for saying it's not fun because it's not.
Punchinello: pretty bad, really annoying gimmick
Booster: interesting but unfun until you figure out how to make it easier on yourself
Bundt: the easiest, though I wonder if it's harder on normal somehow. more candles being lit per turn would make this actually difficult.
Johnny: Fine. also too easy tho. it felt like his HP was just massively nerfed. if this were a normal battle with item usage and he was beefed up more significantly, this woulda been cooler.
Culex: the effort to get to this was worth it. this is the other thing I wanted to see. fucking. Culex in 3D. and the music is GREAT. on easy, I feel the challenge is reasonable enough. I think it's hard to make... hard boss battles like this without them being an endurance match on some level. as with all the other postgame bosses, this one has a gimmick of sorts, but it's one that's pretty easily combatted. I'm pleased. it's a shame the other battles are... not that great tho.
2003
this game is so cute and comfy. but I guess I'm insane for liking it, considering all the angry hater reviews. oh well! I can accept and admit that! I like it! it's cute!
I also like Hey You, Pikachu! but that's another matter entirely, I think. still, since I like that, of course I like this. liked it way more when I was younger... not young enough to be part of the demographic for this game, but hey. I'm autistic. stuff like this was bound to be of interest to me for longer than it would be for most neurotypical people.
anyway, I gave this a revisit around this time last year, and while it's cute and cozy, the novelty of watching Pokemon TV has definitely worn off. but when I was younger, I definitely loved this a lot. got stuck on it, I remember.
I'd love another game that does things like this one does. a lot of people only mention the watching TV part of it, but you can go outside and even go to other places. there's not much to do, which is more than a little unfortunate, but it's a refresher for when you're good on watching TV. I wish this game was a bit bigger than it is... your experience won't last all too long. this game used the GameCube clock, and had the parts of the Pichu Bros. anime time-gated. I never tried to change the time and make it faster, but I'm sure you could do that. I was playing emulated this time, and even if there were a way to manipulate the time in that case, I wouldn't have bothered. still, at most, you'd get... in terms of hours, I dunno. but you'd be good after a week. unless you really like the game. it's a cute little world to get lost in when you need some comfort!
there is a small amount of room customization you can do, more would have been fun. there's a small amount of plushes you can buy, but they go in set places, and they cannot be changed in any way. lots of TVs, but most of them change the way the screen looks and I'm not very fond of that. lemme have a funny gimmicky TV without changing the screen color or whatever, smh.
I also like Hey You, Pikachu! but that's another matter entirely, I think. still, since I like that, of course I like this. liked it way more when I was younger... not young enough to be part of the demographic for this game, but hey. I'm autistic. stuff like this was bound to be of interest to me for longer than it would be for most neurotypical people.
anyway, I gave this a revisit around this time last year, and while it's cute and cozy, the novelty of watching Pokemon TV has definitely worn off. but when I was younger, I definitely loved this a lot. got stuck on it, I remember.
I'd love another game that does things like this one does. a lot of people only mention the watching TV part of it, but you can go outside and even go to other places. there's not much to do, which is more than a little unfortunate, but it's a refresher for when you're good on watching TV. I wish this game was a bit bigger than it is... your experience won't last all too long. this game used the GameCube clock, and had the parts of the Pichu Bros. anime time-gated. I never tried to change the time and make it faster, but I'm sure you could do that. I was playing emulated this time, and even if there were a way to manipulate the time in that case, I wouldn't have bothered. still, at most, you'd get... in terms of hours, I dunno. but you'd be good after a week. unless you really like the game. it's a cute little world to get lost in when you need some comfort!
there is a small amount of room customization you can do, more would have been fun. there's a small amount of plushes you can buy, but they go in set places, and they cannot be changed in any way. lots of TVs, but most of them change the way the screen looks and I'm not very fond of that. lemme have a funny gimmicky TV without changing the screen color or whatever, smh.
2023
this game is much better enjoyed when you run through it fast, rather than taking your time. some bumbles made my faster playthrough more of a pain in the ass, but I had a good time. final boss still sucks. and I still wish this game had more original content. why does part of me feel like the reboot was just a excuse to have so much reuse... :(
This review contains spoilers
a follow-up to octo expand was going to have a tough time regardless... but this could have used more... everything. I don't mind it being a roguelike, I think a roguelike under the Splatoon lens is very cool. but it falls short with a lack of variety. could use more enemies, bosses, layouts. more story, even. story-wise it is very "octo expand sequel" and a way to shove in the order concept and that's... all, really. I was hoping it'd be a deeper experience, honestly. in terms of gameplay, it becomes very, very familiar... very quickly. and at that point, you're just doing the thing for the sake of... well, doing the thing. I don't really feel this is undercooked, though. lacking? yes, absolutely. but I wouldn't call it undercooked. idk. at the least, the foundation is very solid. but I do feel it could have used more time... to be... More. I remember that first teaser trailer with the concept art and had hoped the tone of the final product would reflect that. that trailer had a desolate, eerie vibe. but Side Order really doesn't, which is kind of a bummer for me personally. Acht, Pearl, and Marina are so chatty and always there with you. regardless, I do think it's a solid experience, even if it's left me wanting more.
edit to add: the music is fantastic. I looooooove it. I know some don't and won't dig the ambient vibes present, but I adore it. it works for what they've done here. if there's anything I can count on, I can count on Splatoon to always nail the vibes. the music that plays on the elevator between floors 20 and 30 is SO creepy. great track, but has a big impact on my mood if I take an extended break while hearing it.
the final boss... ehhhhhhhhh. was hard for me the first time I made it to floor 30, but after defeating it once, there's no real tension in future runs. the game goes even further with reducing said tension, having the room look different and bright. though I'm unsure how I feel about it being so... Silly past first completion. I both like and hate Smollusk as a result.
edit to add: the music is fantastic. I looooooove it. I know some don't and won't dig the ambient vibes present, but I adore it. it works for what they've done here. if there's anything I can count on, I can count on Splatoon to always nail the vibes. the music that plays on the elevator between floors 20 and 30 is SO creepy. great track, but has a big impact on my mood if I take an extended break while hearing it.
the final boss... ehhhhhhhhh. was hard for me the first time I made it to floor 30, but after defeating it once, there's no real tension in future runs. the game goes even further with reducing said tension, having the room look different and bright. though I'm unsure how I feel about it being so... Silly past first completion. I both like and hate Smollusk as a result.
oh fuck I should have initially checked to see if this was accounted for separately lol
copy pasting my review thing, with some additions:
I brought the noise. I did it.
a lot of fun. comparable to Plague Knight's campaign in Shovel Knight. a slight spinoff with all the things you remember and a bit of new thrown in. I wish there was a bit more new stuff, but I know that's just me feeling greedy haha
Distasteful Anchovi is fucking FIRE, I always looked forward to the escape just because that meant I got to hear it again.
I love how The Noise manages to at least FEEL like he goes even ridiculously faster. I like how, 3 different times, I managed to save myself from falling with some weird jump chain bullshit. I do genuinely enjoy Tiny Noise, so fun to have a Tiny Wario analogue in Pizza Tower. That's What I'm Talkin Bout Babeyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!
I don't like The Noise, he's fucked up. and evil. and rude. but I won't deny that it's fun to play as him. like, super fun. a lil tricky, but real fun. so I guess I like him in one sense. eww.
copy pasting my review thing, with some additions:
I brought the noise. I did it.
a lot of fun. comparable to Plague Knight's campaign in Shovel Knight. a slight spinoff with all the things you remember and a bit of new thrown in. I wish there was a bit more new stuff, but I know that's just me feeling greedy haha
Distasteful Anchovi is fucking FIRE, I always looked forward to the escape just because that meant I got to hear it again.
I love how The Noise manages to at least FEEL like he goes even ridiculously faster. I like how, 3 different times, I managed to save myself from falling with some weird jump chain bullshit. I do genuinely enjoy Tiny Noise, so fun to have a Tiny Wario analogue in Pizza Tower. That's What I'm Talkin Bout Babeyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!
I don't like The Noise, he's fucked up. and evil. and rude. but I won't deny that it's fun to play as him. like, super fun. a lil tricky, but real fun. so I guess I like him in one sense. eww.
I played through and got all 100 notes, something I've wanted to do for years. the idea is appealing, completing the task is a grind. not really recommended, unless you love the game as much as I do. I've played it a number of times. it's my personal favorite Harvest Moon game. biggest flaw imo is a lack of item stacking.
2001
this game really makes you FEEL like a Bionicle
ok but for real, I loved this. it took me longer than it should have because I kept getting lost and confused... the first person perspective isn't the greatest for a point and click game, imo. but this game kicks ass. stylistically very nice looking, and literally every character won me over. I love them all. real. well, except for the evil asshole selling the poisoned footballs. that guy sucks
ok but for real, I loved this. it took me longer than it should have because I kept getting lost and confused... the first person perspective isn't the greatest for a point and click game, imo. but this game kicks ass. stylistically very nice looking, and literally every character won me over. I love them all. real. well, except for the evil asshole selling the poisoned footballs. that guy sucks
2023
This review contains spoilers
Pikmin 4 not goty, but it's Good Enough.
in short: game good. really good. pretty easy, and I have a lot of nitpicks, but still good and fun.
the big things I don't like
- night expeditions. I wanted to like these, but I really don't. I was hoping they'd be a mere extension of daytime exploration. instead it's more like dealing with the aliens in Majora's Mask.(shhhh this is my single frame of reference) except even more annoying than that. the later ones suck ass, and I sucked it up and used the "help" for the last one because I couldn't be bothered. 2 smoky proggs, at least one emperor bulblax, and other stuff... and BOTH TIMES it all went to the lumiknoll Oatchi was defending. fuck off!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- the story, and where it places this game in the timeline of the series. it just feels... conflicting and weird. this did not fix itself by the end, as much as I'd hoped it might. and honestly I wish the series could let go of Olimar and Louie at this point. I like Olimar just fine, but come on. he doesn't really add much of anything to this game. I get that this is related to where the story takes place, but given that it's Pikmin 4... I had really hoped it was going to be even more disconnected from the other games.
- the bosses... mostly. and it has nothing to do with their difficulty or lack thereof... they're just mostly very boring. groovy long legs is amazing, of course... and the snowfake fluttertail is interesting. I also really liked Foolix, though it didn't really feel like boss material. I could have done without multiple Giant Versions of Regular Enemies. though the gildemander at least felt kind of tricky. it was also a good deviant from the little one. but ultimately it still counts as a Giant Version of a Regular Enemy. the arctic cannon beetle is at least sort of "new" and different, but ultimately it's just an extra large armored cannon beetle, frost gimmick aside. I don't mind old bosses returning. would prefer new, but I don't mind.
- despite having all these Pikmin types, beyond the standard three, it throws a lot of rock and ice Pikmin at you... but very little winged, white, and purple. I understand in the case of purples... kind of, but idk, I expected to encounter all the types relatively quickly, and have more even amounts of them. edit to note: this does improve for winged Pikmin, at least. far too late, imo, but it happens.
- the final cave. final cave fuckin suuuuuuuucks! I honestly hated it so much, it didn't need to be so long. length could have been halved. too many sublevels with like, 1 or 2 things. sucked ass. pseudo boss rush really doesn't suit Pikmin. I really do not understand why this game had such a thing. you don't even get to refight either of the really interesting bosses!(Foolix and Groovy Long Legs)
list of small(?) annoyances
- the lock-on
- how much the rescue corps talks
- how long the loading screens are, but maybe they're valid, idk
- how you cannot instantly skip those repeated cutscenes and have to wait several seconds, in which sometimes it's almost half the cutscene time
- how big the areas are for having far too little in them. they're really way too big this time.
- the camera
- auto selecting Pikmin for you, and especially how it's a prompt every time you're going into a cave and coming out
- the lack of options. no sound options. no alternate camera options. no nothing. what the hell.
- how Nice everything in the game looks. given the Lore, it doesn't make any god damn sense. don't even get me started on hero's hideaway
- the fact that the purple and white onions are locked behind doing Olimar's shipwreck tale and NOTHING in the game conveys this to you
the things I love
- dandori challenges. honestly so much fun. tricky in the right way. this game seems to have put most of its difficulty into the puzzley stuff. I'm not the fondest of that fact, but I loved the dandori challenges.
- Olimar's shipwreck tale and the trials of the sage leaf. the latter is more dandori challenges, but these are a mix, rather than the ones where you're just timed and tasked with gathering stuff up before time runs out. Very Good. intensely challenging.
- Oatchi. I Love This Little Dog Creature. I love him so much. I know he makes the game even easier than it is. I don't care. I love him so much. Moss too. I LOVE her. anyone that wants to talk badly about them is gonna have to fucking fight me. they're so CUTE.
- this game was a lot of FUN. easy, not easy, boring bosses or not... doesn't matter, 'cause I had SO much FUN. it did taper off post-credits... and more so in the last area, honestly... but I still had fun the whole way through.
I know a lot of people are saying this game is too easy... I... both agree and disagree. I think it's got difficulty, just not in all the correct places. I don't mind the caves being forgiving. but then the insistence that I rewind or whatever after losing some Pikmin at sunset while also having a massive stockpile... that's very annoying. like, no. let me keep going with my losses, don't insist that I redo things. bosses are definitely way too easy for the most part, and that's a bummer. Pikmin 4 is like an echo of 3, rather than the first two, especially in terms of looks and difficulty. it is still good and fun, but I honestly really miss the struggle that was present in the first 2 games. I miss feeling like most things are a threat to you and the Pikmin. a few still do, the Sovereign Bulblax especially. Smoky Progg would too... if you ever encountered it during the day, or in more caves.
edit tiiiiiiiime:
very sad! bosses did not really get interesting! the smoky progg's inclusion is... okay, but idk it also felt weird to have one be a forced boss. I did all the night expeditions before taking on the final cave, so I knew it was in the game... wish it'd been an above ground threat during the day tbh. more interesting than the... grubchucker, I think it's called. also more threatening... lol
final boss is... well. I mean, I suppose it was the logical conclusion. it was fine. I suppose I only wish it looked less like a Real Dog. sure it's built like Oatchi and Moss but the hair and eyes made it look so much more like a real dog.
I had hoped for something super weird, possibly related to the leaflings and dandori... idk. kind of a shame the leafling thing is a mystery even in the end. I understand, kind of, that it's because they're put through that onion, but idk. it's sort of just left at that, and I was hoping that was building up to something more. I'm unsure how I feel about the boss' music and the fact that it has phases. I do not mind it being so forgiving, because my dumb ass got FUCKED UP by its electricity phase. the last phase felt weird and out of place, though. what the fuck even was that? dark energy??? Pikmin wiki says it's the same stuff the smoky progg uses... okay. I GUESS. still weird. meh.
changing rating to a 4, but that's it. I had a ton of fun, it's been ages since I got pulled into a game like I did with Pikmin 4. I have now done... basically everything. everything really worth doing. forget helping Louie. he can help himself.
in short: game good. really good. pretty easy, and I have a lot of nitpicks, but still good and fun.
the big things I don't like
- night expeditions. I wanted to like these, but I really don't. I was hoping they'd be a mere extension of daytime exploration. instead it's more like dealing with the aliens in Majora's Mask.(shhhh this is my single frame of reference) except even more annoying than that. the later ones suck ass, and I sucked it up and used the "help" for the last one because I couldn't be bothered. 2 smoky proggs, at least one emperor bulblax, and other stuff... and BOTH TIMES it all went to the lumiknoll Oatchi was defending. fuck off!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- the story, and where it places this game in the timeline of the series. it just feels... conflicting and weird. this did not fix itself by the end, as much as I'd hoped it might. and honestly I wish the series could let go of Olimar and Louie at this point. I like Olimar just fine, but come on. he doesn't really add much of anything to this game. I get that this is related to where the story takes place, but given that it's Pikmin 4... I had really hoped it was going to be even more disconnected from the other games.
- the bosses... mostly. and it has nothing to do with their difficulty or lack thereof... they're just mostly very boring. groovy long legs is amazing, of course... and the snowfake fluttertail is interesting. I also really liked Foolix, though it didn't really feel like boss material. I could have done without multiple Giant Versions of Regular Enemies. though the gildemander at least felt kind of tricky. it was also a good deviant from the little one. but ultimately it still counts as a Giant Version of a Regular Enemy. the arctic cannon beetle is at least sort of "new" and different, but ultimately it's just an extra large armored cannon beetle, frost gimmick aside. I don't mind old bosses returning. would prefer new, but I don't mind.
- despite having all these Pikmin types, beyond the standard three, it throws a lot of rock and ice Pikmin at you... but very little winged, white, and purple. I understand in the case of purples... kind of, but idk, I expected to encounter all the types relatively quickly, and have more even amounts of them. edit to note: this does improve for winged Pikmin, at least. far too late, imo, but it happens.
- the final cave. final cave fuckin suuuuuuuucks! I honestly hated it so much, it didn't need to be so long. length could have been halved. too many sublevels with like, 1 or 2 things. sucked ass. pseudo boss rush really doesn't suit Pikmin. I really do not understand why this game had such a thing. you don't even get to refight either of the really interesting bosses!(Foolix and Groovy Long Legs)
list of small(?) annoyances
- the lock-on
- how much the rescue corps talks
- how long the loading screens are, but maybe they're valid, idk
- how you cannot instantly skip those repeated cutscenes and have to wait several seconds, in which sometimes it's almost half the cutscene time
- how big the areas are for having far too little in them. they're really way too big this time.
- the camera
- auto selecting Pikmin for you, and especially how it's a prompt every time you're going into a cave and coming out
- the lack of options. no sound options. no alternate camera options. no nothing. what the hell.
- how Nice everything in the game looks. given the Lore, it doesn't make any god damn sense. don't even get me started on hero's hideaway
- the fact that the purple and white onions are locked behind doing Olimar's shipwreck tale and NOTHING in the game conveys this to you
the things I love
- dandori challenges. honestly so much fun. tricky in the right way. this game seems to have put most of its difficulty into the puzzley stuff. I'm not the fondest of that fact, but I loved the dandori challenges.
- Olimar's shipwreck tale and the trials of the sage leaf. the latter is more dandori challenges, but these are a mix, rather than the ones where you're just timed and tasked with gathering stuff up before time runs out. Very Good. intensely challenging.
- Oatchi. I Love This Little Dog Creature. I love him so much. I know he makes the game even easier than it is. I don't care. I love him so much. Moss too. I LOVE her. anyone that wants to talk badly about them is gonna have to fucking fight me. they're so CUTE.
- this game was a lot of FUN. easy, not easy, boring bosses or not... doesn't matter, 'cause I had SO much FUN. it did taper off post-credits... and more so in the last area, honestly... but I still had fun the whole way through.
I know a lot of people are saying this game is too easy... I... both agree and disagree. I think it's got difficulty, just not in all the correct places. I don't mind the caves being forgiving. but then the insistence that I rewind or whatever after losing some Pikmin at sunset while also having a massive stockpile... that's very annoying. like, no. let me keep going with my losses, don't insist that I redo things. bosses are definitely way too easy for the most part, and that's a bummer. Pikmin 4 is like an echo of 3, rather than the first two, especially in terms of looks and difficulty. it is still good and fun, but I honestly really miss the struggle that was present in the first 2 games. I miss feeling like most things are a threat to you and the Pikmin. a few still do, the Sovereign Bulblax especially. Smoky Progg would too... if you ever encountered it during the day, or in more caves.
edit tiiiiiiiime:
very sad! bosses did not really get interesting! the smoky progg's inclusion is... okay, but idk it also felt weird to have one be a forced boss. I did all the night expeditions before taking on the final cave, so I knew it was in the game... wish it'd been an above ground threat during the day tbh. more interesting than the... grubchucker, I think it's called. also more threatening... lol
final boss is... well. I mean, I suppose it was the logical conclusion. it was fine. I suppose I only wish it looked less like a Real Dog. sure it's built like Oatchi and Moss but the hair and eyes made it look so much more like a real dog.
I had hoped for something super weird, possibly related to the leaflings and dandori... idk. kind of a shame the leafling thing is a mystery even in the end. I understand, kind of, that it's because they're put through that onion, but idk. it's sort of just left at that, and I was hoping that was building up to something more. I'm unsure how I feel about the boss' music and the fact that it has phases. I do not mind it being so forgiving, because my dumb ass got FUCKED UP by its electricity phase. the last phase felt weird and out of place, though. what the fuck even was that? dark energy??? Pikmin wiki says it's the same stuff the smoky progg uses... okay. I GUESS. still weird. meh.
changing rating to a 4, but that's it. I had a ton of fun, it's been ages since I got pulled into a game like I did with Pikmin 4. I have now done... basically everything. everything really worth doing. forget helping Louie. he can help himself.
another messy and scattered review from my ADHD brain here we gooooooooooo
it's a fine game. not amazing, though I'm happy to say I thought it was good, personally. I'm very lost on why so many people are so angry about this game. I'm not like, a superfan, but I was quite excited about this one, because I loved the first game so much.
not really worth $50, but when you really wanna play a game and you don't wanna be risking being spoilered before you can get it on a sale... Well. this is what happens. but I'm someone who hasn't paid up for a Pokemon game in long enough that I didn't mind doing so this time. still, can't confidently say it's worth full price. u_u
my memory of the first game isn't 100%, so I'm not about to say this game is way better or worse, but it's Fine. I do wonder exactly what happened with this game, some sort of development hell I guess, but I still think it's fine. I mean, I personally really enjoyed it and have not hesitated to say I think it's good, but I'm trying? to be more objective. maybe I shouldn't. oh well. I'll try anyway.
I won't deny that it doesn't have issues, because it does. for me, it wore thin a bit more than halfway through, and revealing the plot twist we all been knew already... should have happened considerably sooner. and the amount of steps taken to get there was too many. like, we got it, and then we had to make Tim get it. but also, he was getting it.
the timeline of events is a bit odd, and Tim looks more than 2 years older in this game.
idk what this game's audience is really supposed to be. the fact that it's a Pokemon game, and that it's very handholdy makes it feel like a bab game, but then there's certain content in the game that I'm not detailing due to it being spoilery, which doesn't feel right for a bab game to have.
the back and forth felt like a bit much, but the gameplay isn't drastically different from the first game.
I've seen a good chunk of really particular nitpicking that just feels like excuses for people to be mad about the game. like, okay, I guess. there also might be some people that didn't play the first game and expected more... well, I feel bad for those people. not saying they can't be disappointed or whatever, but I do feel bad for those that expected more from this. I knew what to expect, and I got exactly what I expected.
it's a fine game. not amazing, though I'm happy to say I thought it was good, personally. I'm very lost on why so many people are so angry about this game. I'm not like, a superfan, but I was quite excited about this one, because I loved the first game so much.
not really worth $50, but when you really wanna play a game and you don't wanna be risking being spoilered before you can get it on a sale... Well. this is what happens. but I'm someone who hasn't paid up for a Pokemon game in long enough that I didn't mind doing so this time. still, can't confidently say it's worth full price. u_u
my memory of the first game isn't 100%, so I'm not about to say this game is way better or worse, but it's Fine. I do wonder exactly what happened with this game, some sort of development hell I guess, but I still think it's fine. I mean, I personally really enjoyed it and have not hesitated to say I think it's good, but I'm trying? to be more objective. maybe I shouldn't. oh well. I'll try anyway.
I won't deny that it doesn't have issues, because it does. for me, it wore thin a bit more than halfway through, and revealing the plot twist we all been knew already... should have happened considerably sooner. and the amount of steps taken to get there was too many. like, we got it, and then we had to make Tim get it. but also, he was getting it.
the timeline of events is a bit odd, and Tim looks more than 2 years older in this game.
idk what this game's audience is really supposed to be. the fact that it's a Pokemon game, and that it's very handholdy makes it feel like a bab game, but then there's certain content in the game that I'm not detailing due to it being spoilery, which doesn't feel right for a bab game to have.
the back and forth felt like a bit much, but the gameplay isn't drastically different from the first game.
I've seen a good chunk of really particular nitpicking that just feels like excuses for people to be mad about the game. like, okay, I guess. there also might be some people that didn't play the first game and expected more... well, I feel bad for those people. not saying they can't be disappointed or whatever, but I do feel bad for those that expected more from this. I knew what to expect, and I got exactly what I expected.
this game is cute, but requires some ridiculous grinding and gathering of materials. I may consider coming back to this... someday, but I'm doubtful on that. a shame, I do very much like it otherwise. the fact that I'm dropping it without even making it out of Ga-Koro is depressing tbh ngl
as someone who doesn't have a good way to play RH DS and wasn't sure they had interest in playing the original(I do maybe kinda but didn't when I played this last summer), I loved this. I do think it's a shame the real sequel games of Fillbots and Shoot-'em-Up 2 are absent. also I wish it had more DS content(wish Munchy Monk 2 was in!!!!!!!) and extra games being locked behind getting perfects is annoying to me because of the limit of tries and then the subsequent effort of getting another chance at perfect... thankfully most of them are just from Fever, which I've also played, but stilllllll. but I really really enjoyed my time with this and had a ton of fun. the polish in graphics for all of the older games is really nice too, imo. that said, there's not enough new for series enthusiasts that played all 3 other games. otherwise, this is 100% worth your time. so much fun. also for all the fuss about Lockstep's difficulty, I didn't find it that bad. no way I'll ever get Superb on it tho lol
this shit was too fucking long!!! genuinely!!! I... mostly enjoyed my time. I personally found this duology to be really dark in all ways... sure it gets goofy sometimes, but I found myself feeling anxious quite often, especially through most of Resolve. I get that due to the theming, the music has a certain tone, and that really affected things for me. there is happy music, but there's not really any.. goofy tunes like the original trilogy and Apollo Justice have. I'm glad to finally have this finished after so long. overall there's a good immersive story, but I do feel it goes quite long, especially the final case of Resolve. the last trial bit took me about 2 hours, and I was so tired at the end.
2017
as much as I like this game, it felt like a chore to play more after saving Peach. the big issue is that there's a bit too much to do, and not much reason to do it all. sure there's literally hundreds of moons but who cares when you don't need most of them? idk. I always thought that was a weird thing. I also never got into doing the wacky tricks you can do in this game... I know that's a major source of enjoyment for other players, and that's awesome, but it's not for me.
2019
probably won't ever finish this one. not that it ever actually ends anyway. it's cute, and chill, and hard to hate... but it's also not that great. you are honestly better off playing Stardew Valley or any Animal Crossing title. there's a fair amount of rng involved with most in-game items, and a lot of grinds that end up leading to very little.