Aug Together Retro: Animal Main Characters

[BoneSnapDeez]

Most of my experience is with Ecco Jr.

[Exhuminator]

Most of my experience is with Ecco Jr.

That's another one I never read folks talk about either.

I've personally only put a fair amount of time into the first Ecco on Genesis. I really do appreciate its intrinsic concept, and the graphics/audio are very strong. That said, I did not enjoy its game design whatsoever, nor its wildly fluctuating difficulty. Everyone around here seems to love Ecco though so I guess this is just a me thing.

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I'll mention this TR has prompted me to re-purchase Okami. I previously played Okami on PS2 back in 2007. At that time I put about twenty hours into it, before becoming bored and quitting. (It's a forty hour long game btw.) However, I've considered giving it another try, because perhaps in my older age I may appreciate the languid pace more than I did at age 28. So I ordered a copy of the Japanese PS3 version. Apparently the Japanese physical release will play entirely in English on a console set to an English region. I won't be playing it for this TR, but at least I'll give it another try someday.

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For my third and final entry in this TR, I'm attempting to take down 2008's Sonic Unleashed on Wii. It's not exactly a lauded series' entry, but the first hour I spent with it last night, was fun enough that I'm cautiously optimistic. I like the idea of beating a Sonic game on Wii, because doing so in addition to Klonoa and NiGHTS forms a meme in and of itself. That being Wii games starring animal/creature mascots from pre-Wii consoles. (Special thanks to Dunpeal2064 for pointing that out.)

[Sarge]

I decided to take on the last of the Magical Quest series. This time, you can play as Mickey or Donald, and I went with the latter. The game plays similarly to the previous games, although I'm not completely wild about it. I don't know why it felt a little more off than the previous games, but it still managed to be a fun time. I'd probably give it a 7/10. Worth a go if you like Disney stuff and have enjoyed the other two.

There actually is a bit of challenge, though, in that last area. I did end up having to run it twice. It even gives you three extra lives right at the start, so you know you're going to be in for it right off.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I've personally only put a fair amount of time into the first Ecco on Genesis. I really do appreciate its intrinsic concept, and the graphics/audio are very strong. That said, I did not enjoy its game design whatsoever, nor its wildly fluctuating difficulty. Everyone around here seems to love Ecco though so I guess this is just a me thing.

Nope. These are my thoughts exactly. I want to like the game so much, but...

I'll mention this TR has prompted me to re-purchase Okami. I previously played Okami on PS2 back in 2007. At that time I put about twenty hours into it, before becoming bored and quitting. (It's a forty hour long game btw.) However, I've considered giving it another try, because perhaps in my older age I may appreciate the languid pace more than I did at age 28. So I ordered a copy of the Japanese PS3 version. Apparently the Japanese physical release will play entirely in English on a console set to an English region. I won't be playing it for this TR, but at least I'll give it another try someday.

Once Okami clicked with me, I had to do everything...and ended up sinking 80+ hour’s into it. I later devoured the Nintendo DS sequel because I loved it so much. I hope you end up enjoying it, but like Ecco, it has some wild swings in difficulty and tone (and isn’t for everyone). The game really could end after the third boss, and it feels aimless for a long while after that. (I suspect that this is where you stopped playing.) I’m glad it keeps going, and the second section ended up being my favorite part of the game. (The sinister force at its end is awesome.) The game’s final chapter feels more like the first, and the game has a stellar finale. I am not sure I would recommend doing everything - getting 100% involves a lot if busywork - but I do recommend seeing it through (and reading some of the articles I posted about it earlier in the thread).

[Sarge]

Yeah, I remember putting a ton of time into Okami. Ironically, even though my brother was the one who took a substantial lead in playing it, I'm not sure he ever finished it, and I picked it up several months later and blasted through the entire thing. I didn't 100% the game, but I did a ton of stuff. I think my playtime was in the 45-50 hour range.

[laurenhiya21]

I've played quite a bit of Okami on the Wii, but never finished it. I really liked it straight away, but I probably couldn't finish it because of a move or something (I moved a ton growing up). I'll need to get back to it again at some point (whether it's this month or sometime later).

Anyway I've decided to drop The Dog Island. It's a shame because I was really looking forward to it (mostly because of how adorable it is really). I liked the beginning section, where the story was advancing pretty frequently, but now it has just slowed down to a crawl. The problem is that in order to save your doggy sibling, you have to get a magical flower which only a Sniff Master can find. To become a Sniff Master, you must find ALL of the smells on Dog Island, which involves doing ALL of the side quests. I'm fine with doing a few side quests here and there, but none of them are interesting enough to hold up the game by themselves. I need the story! I was enjoying that!

After moving on from that, I decided to start up 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue (PS1). I went for this game since I played the PC version when I was a kid and I really enjoyed it, so I was curious on how it would hold up. Turns out, while it's pretty short, I thought it was actually pretty decent! It's a pretty simple 3D platformer with some minor collecting (100 bones and 6ish puppies to rescue each level), but I enjoyed all of the levels. It's definitely very easy, as I'm sure it was made for kids, but it was good for a quick play.

I'm not super sure what I want to play next. Maybe Klonoa 2? I'll have to think about that for a bit.

[alienjesus]

I played some more Conker's Bad Fur Day today.

I picked up from the escape from the Haybot boss battle, then I explored a tunnel full of poo, gave some cows the shits, rolled some balls of poo around a mountain made of poo, and fought a giant pile of poo.

There was a lot of poo, is what I'm saying.

Anyhow, I hit a dead-end where I needed $1000 to continue, so I figured I'd missed something. Sure enough, I found another area I could enter (which needed more poo to unlock...) and that's where I stopped for the day. Looks like I need to help some catfish out next time I play. Hopefully without needing any poo.

[Ack]

Well, I went ahead and beat Inherit the Earth today. I'll write more about it later for the Games Beaten thread, but I mostly enjoyed the experience. Mostly. The mazes were annoying, and there was a bit more backtracking than I would have liked. It's not a bad point and click adventure though by any means. All in all, it was a fun experience.

[Nemoide]

I beat Donkey Kong Country today.
It's... okay. But it didn't really do it for me. The difficulty felt all-over-the-place, I never got a good sense about how the game wanted me to play. The save screen says I only got around 50% through the game, but I DO NOT CARE IN THE SLIGHTEST about finding hidden rooms and letters (I assume that's what contributes to the percentage). I'm also assuming there's no real bonus beyond that percentage number going up.

I'll be skipping the sequels!

[prfsnl_gmr]

That’s kind of the way I’ve always felt about it. DKC just didn’t do much for me, but I should give it another shot sometime (Bone loves it, and that counts for a lot). I have t seen King K. Rool since the ‘90s, and I might appreciate it more now. (I loved DKCR, for what’s it worth.) Since King K. Rool will be making an appearance in Smash Bros. soon, now might be a good time to give it another shot. (It’s good to see a classic Nintendo villain return, but sadly, Wart remains MIA...)

EDIT: The further I get into Ecco, the more I respect it, and the more I want to like it. Then I spend the better part of an hour trying to get Ecco to jump over a building, and I am reminded of the developer’s baffling design decisions. (If only I could pass through walls like everything else under the sea!) Oh well.. I just traveled back in time. Hopefully, I am getting closer to the end.