Snickerd00dle's Summer Game Challenge 2011

[sevin0seven]

I will say this, SNES MMX3 > Saturn/PC version.

[Gamerforlife]

from my blog:

Well, it's official. I beat my fourth Summer Gaming pick. Appropriately enough, it was Mega Man X4. And wow. Let me start by saying that the first X game was, and is one of my all time favorite Mega Man games. In fact, it would rival Mega Man 2 and 3 for the top spot as my definitive favorite. Truth be told, I've probably spent the most time with X above all others. And yet I can say with all honesty that I enjoyed this game just as much. It really brought back memories of how exciting it was playing through the first game. You see strangely, I haven't really played most of the other entries in the X series. I suppose because of all the talk of the series having gone down-hill over the years. But X4 is a true masterpiece to me.

Oh, before I forgot I want to plug this excellent article by Alex Reo about X4. It was published in GameSpite Quarterly #8, and I had just read it around the time I was picking my Summer Gaming list. My friend Flake had urged me to add the game to my list, and upon reading this how could I argue? So here: http://www.gamespite.net/...ex.php/Games/G8-MegaManX4

Now the thing about X4 is it does having stretch marks from the growing pains of 16-bit moving onto 32-bit. But your own perception will decide what to make of the hilarious voice acting, the need to included anime cutscenes, and so on. I however loved every moment of this game. The silly voices were endearing. The fact that the double agent robot was named Double made me smirk. The music was great, the sprite work to die for and the detail incredible. There were levels where I'd just stop and look at all the little things -- like water trickling -- that just totally showed off the PlayStation's graphical abilities. Remember, we were supposed to believe that it didn't handle 2D games well.

Admittedly, I blew through most of the game pretty quickly. Then went back to look for E-Tanks and other upgrades. But really the bulk of my time was spent on the last stage. I can't tell you how many times I went through that boss-rush. I can only tell you that I can beat all eight robot masters in under ten minutes. Usually without taking a lick of damage. But the last Sigma battle is intense. He takes three (or technically four) forms that get progressively harder. It's not something you can luckily blast your way through. And as frustrated as I got trying and re-trying, it really made me realize how much I loved the game. I never wanted to stop playing in disgust. I just wanted to get good enough to see the end credits. Like so:

I'm not sure which game I'll focus on next. Probably Chrono Trigger, Metal Gear Solid, or Duke Nukem as those are the three I've spent time with already this Summer.

The beauty of the final battle with Sigma for me is that if you're playing as Zero, the anime cut scene that plays prior to the battle does such an excellent job of getting you pumped and ready for Zero versus Sigma round 2. I can't think of any other game that has used an anime cutscene so effectively for the purpose of making a player more excited for a final boss battle

[Flake]

Way to go, Noise! It's probably no secret around here that Megaman X4 is my favorite game of all time. I'm proud of you, son. You saw a problem and you solved it. You climbed the mountain. You came through the fire. You survived the snow. You said to yourself "NOW THERE IS A GAME WITH BAD VOICE ACTING" and you, sir, did not turn down the volume. You are more of a man than you were before yesterday.

And the truth, Noise? That wasn't a magical Megaman X4 disc. The magic was inside you, all along.

But in all seriousness, I'm glad you stuck with that one. Just do yourself a favor and don't go any further with the series. It only goes downhill from X4.

[Xeogred]

Eh, gameplay wise there's nothing really wrong with X5-X6, just pretend the story stopped with X4.

[Flake]

Eh, gameplay wise there's nothing really wrong with X5-X6, just pretend the story stopped with X4.

No, even gameplay wise there is plenty wrong with X5 and X6. But you're right - the story is even worse.

[o.pwuaioc]

Way to go, Noise! It's probably no secret around here that Megaman X4 is my favorite game of all time. I'm proud of you, son. You saw a problem and you solved it. You climbed the mountain. You came through the fire. You survived the snow. You said to yourself "NOW THERE IS A GAME WITH BAD VOICE ACTING" and you, sir, did not turn down the volume. You are more of a man than you were before yesterday.

And the truth, Noise? That wasn't a magical Megaman X4 disc. The magic was inside you, all along.

I laughed so hard I almost spit out my food.

[Crabmaster2000]

EVERYBODY DRINK!

Thats great news!! I've put off playing anything in the X series after 3, but you've peaked my interest and I plan to pick up 4 now.

I've got a much less heroic announcement. I'm quitting FFVIII now. After beating Seifer I got to fight another boss. Took about 10 attempts, but I was able to beat her too. Got to a new (and presumably last) dungeon to find that all of my commands are unusable until I wander through the dungeon and defeat 8 (I think?) different bosses to regain full control of my characters. I beat the first one fairly easily and then saved my game. Not that there was ever a time when I was having a ton of fun with the game, but its just becoming less and less enjoyable. I have no drive to put up with this kind of dungeon only to be faced by (assuming from past FF experience) 2-3 end bosses in a row which I'll likely have to fight several (dozen!?!) times each in order to finish it. I'm really not that invested in the story or characters, especially since Squall still seems like a great big douche. I'm pretty confident that if I spent more time early in the game learning how to junction and use my GF more effectively it would have made things a lot easier so its definitely my fault that my characters are so useless at this point in the game.

Anyway I'm tossing FFVIII into my trade/sell box and I'll replace it on my summer gaming list with Chrono Cross now. Hopefully I'll have time to start it up soon as I just got a huge pile of work added to my shift for the next little while.

[Ack]

EVERYBODY DRINK!

Thats great news!! I've put off playing anything in the X series after 3, but you've peaked my interest and I plan to pick up 4 now.

I've got a much less heroic announcement. I'm quitting FFVIII now. After beating Seifer I got to fight another boss. Took about 10 attempts, but I was able to beat her too. Got to a new (and presumably last) dungeon to find that all of my commands are unusable until I wander through the dungeon and defeat 8 (I think?) different bosses to regain full control of my characters. I beat the first one fairly easily and then saved my game. Not that there was ever a time when I was having a ton of fun with the game, but its just becoming less and less enjoyable. I have no drive to put up with this kind of dungeon only to be faced by (assuming from past FF experience) 2-3 end bosses in a row which I'll likely have to fight several (dozen!?!) times each in order to finish it. I'm really not that invested in the story or characters, especially since Squall still seems like a great big douche. I'm pretty confident that if I spent more time early in the game learning how to junction and use my GF more effectively it would have made things a lot easier so its definitely my fault that my characters are so useless at this point in the game.

Anyway I'm tossing FFVIII into my trade/sell box and I'll replace it on my summer gaming list with Chrono Cross now. Hopefully I'll have time to start it up soon as I just got a huge pile of work added to my shift for the next little while.

No, don't quit! Put up with it long enough to see Zell choke on that hotdog.

[Crabmaster2000]

EVERYBODY DRINK!

Thats great news!! I've put off playing anything in the X series after 3, but you've peaked my interest and I plan to pick up 4 now.

I've got a much less heroic announcement. I'm quitting FFVIII now. After beating Seifer I got to fight another boss. Took about 10 attempts, but I was able to beat her too. Got to a new (and presumably last) dungeon to find that all of my commands are unusable until I wander through the dungeon and defeat 8 (I think?) different bosses to regain full control of my characters. I beat the first one fairly easily and then saved my game. Not that there was ever a time when I was having a ton of fun with the game, but its just becoming less and less enjoyable. I have no drive to put up with this kind of dungeon only to be faced by (assuming from past FF experience) 2-3 end bosses in a row which I'll likely have to fight several (dozen!?!) times each in order to finish it. I'm really not that invested in the story or characters, especially since Squall still seems like a great big douche. I'm pretty confident that if I spent more time early in the game learning how to junction and use my GF more effectively it would have made things a lot easier so its definitely my fault that my characters are so useless at this point in the game.

Anyway I'm tossing FFVIII into my trade/sell box and I'll replace it on my summer gaming list with Chrono Cross now. Hopefully I'll have time to start it up soon as I just got a huge pile of work added to my shift for the next little while.

No, don't quit! Put up with it long enough to see Zell choke on that hotdog.

Lol, that soooo doesnt sound worth the many many hours of frustration I'd have to put up with in order to get there.

[noiseredux]

And the truth, Noise? That wasn't a magical Megaman X4 disc. The magic was inside you, all along.

thanks man. Mega Man X-wise, I'm gonna add the PS1 version to my tradelist since I have the PS2 X Collection. I'm thinking I'll probably replay 4 on there as Zero this time. Like I said, X1 is one of my favorite MM games of all time. But I barely remember 2 and 3, so I should play those too. That leaves me a while before any curiosity gets the best of me and I pop in 5 or 6. Though strangely, Ack's recent play through of 7 made me want to see how bad it is. And I do own it.