Guest T®ITEC Report post Posted September 16, 2005 Getting that many kills was easy, too. It was at Chang Ban, as Liu Bei (prob. my favourite guy to play). I only quit because I was running out of time. But 2500 with Lu Meng, though, man. That's impressive. Well, he doesn't suck hugely or something, but he just seemed bland. And/plus I hated the Nanman stages because I always ended up getting stuck between a couple of elephants and a wall. Good show. My kills were fairly cheap. Yuan actually sounds pretty cool, when you put it like that. I'm remotely close to unlocking him, since I'm haklfway through Dun's story mode. I need to play more new characters. Lu Bu, ah... Lu Bu. I encountered him at Hu Lao Gate for the first time tonight, doing Guan Yu's story mode. It was a prtty pathetic effort on my part, I have to admit. I spent the whole stage running ahead of Liu Bei and killing everyone. Then, when the three of us are working on Lu Bu, I notice that Liu's health is low, so I try to hurry and finish off Lu Bu. So of course he killed me in one hit (!), and Zhang Fei marched over my corpse. Geez. I guess they actually mean it this time when they tell you to forget about Lu Bu. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 16, 2005 Most officers (on Hard) are much more difficult than they were in DW4. I think that's the only real leap in difficulty. For example, at the Battle of Fan Castle, try taking on both Zhang Fei and Guan Yu at the very end. Make sure you pick up your severed head when you're done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest T®ITEC Report post Posted September 16, 2005 Eek. Hell no. I'm either severely out of practice or Samurai Warriors is too easy or something, because I get my ass kicked a lot in this game. Well, I've only actually been killed twice, but the point remains. Fan Castle sound exceedingly impossible. I, for one, happen to be delighted by that fact. I'll have to be sure to never ever play Lu Meng or anyone else that has that stage. So far, I still think my favourite thing in this game is one of the event cutscenes. That doesn't stop me from constantly doing story modes or anything, but yeah. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 16, 2005 Lu Meng (if you're playing the Wu side) actually has it the easiest at Fan Castle. Whereas for Shu & Wei it is a four star battle, it is only a two star one for the Wu crew. Actually, I think Wu got the short end of the stick in terms of the availability of tougher levels. I know that Koei is full of Shuists who like to use Wei as the evil opposing faction, but I'd of liked to see a few more bigger (and tougher) stages added for all sides. You'll probably be disappointed to hear that Sun Shang Xiang is pretty much worthless when you unlock her final weapon. Most of the girls have been screwed over by heavy weapons, which completely obliterates their stats on the battlefield. Sun Ce has been down-graded a lot too, which is a shame. Oh well, the addition of Ling Tong, who fights like he is on fucking crack or something, more than makes up for it. He is probably my most loved of the new guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest T®ITEC Report post Posted September 16, 2005 Hm, that doesn't sound too bad then. Oh, wait, hah hah. I've played that stage in 4. It took about three seconds to kill Guan Yu. The poor bastard... Yeah, Koei really sucks like that. Shu's full of the most bland generic good guys ever. In 4, I only played about three of their guys. Wei is the same, in reserve: generic evil blah blah blah. But it's like that in the novel, too, as I think we discussed. It's horribly biased toward Liu Bei and portrays Cao Cao as some cold-hearted bastard. And then Wu's just kind of there. Well, they got the coolest characters, but still. They really didn't get any of the epic big battles, like Wu Zhang Plains. Yes I know they weren't involved in that. Koei could have at least made their final stages harder. I will agree that Ling Tong is apparently strung out on countless drugs because he is insane to use. I love playing him. Hell, so far he's been my favourite character. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaParkaMarka 0 Report post Posted September 16, 2005 It's not really a Koei thing. If you read ROTK, the guy who wrote it was a huge Shu mark. Koei is just kind of sticking to the story, like tritec said. If they went the historical route, the game would be a lot different. Sun Jian would be a total loser, Liu Bei would be about as ambitious as Cao Cao, etc. I thought Wu was fun in DW4...Lu Meng was actually quite solid, Taishi Ci was fun, etc. Who was that little strategist kid with the two swords? He was all kinds of terrible. Maybe the worst character in that game, zero range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 16, 2005 Lu Xun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest T®ITEC Report post Posted September 17, 2005 Geez, and here I actually liked Lu Xun. He was hyper fast and hit hard. Zero defense, though. Koei followed the novel, but they didn't follow it properly. I've seen two event cutscenes that bugged me. One was Lu Bu's execution. What was with not having Zhang Liao tell Lu Bu to die and be done with it? It was like the whole point. Then they had Cao Cao and Liu Bei rating the heroes of the realm, ah, so to speak. AND A CUP FELL OVER OMG~, why. Ah, enough nitpicking, it's time for some more Xiahou Dun story mode. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 Lu Bu's execution is messed for several reasons. For example, Lu Bu was begging for his life like a bitch by that point and seemed terrified of being killed. Cao Cao almost showed pity before being reassured by Liu Bei that killing Lu Bu was the best decision that he could make here. There's nothing wrong with Lu Xun. I love him. You just need to watch yourself when you're out in really crowded areas. His speed is the best tool he can use to always ensure he is on the outside of large crowds for his attacks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 For some unexplained reason, I'm frikken mad for MK:Deception right now. I really love it. I hated this bloody thing when it was released, now I cannot get enough. ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheDon Report post Posted September 17, 2005 It has been 8 long years since Final Fantasy 7 came out for the Playstation in the U.S. I have the sudden urge of nostalgia to play the game again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 18, 2005 On my way home I stopped at my EB and saw Urban Reign was in. Was hesitant to pick it up yet, but reviews seem to be extremely positive. Still, 40 bucks is a bit much for a blind buy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Askewniverse Report post Posted September 18, 2005 Tecmo Super Bowl still rocks. I'd take it over most of the games released in the last decade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 18, 2005 Seriously, Andrew? I've heard *really bad* things about Urban Reign. I was also amped for a Streets Of Rage-ish beat 'em up, but apparently the controls are horrendous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thoth 0 Report post Posted September 18, 2005 Nintendo DS just got their killer app: SNK vs Capcom Cardfighters' Clash. Dear sweet god thank you. I am buying a DS JUST for this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest T®ITEC Report post Posted September 19, 2005 So I just finished my, like, 50000th story mode in DW5. Lu Bu's. Yeah. That was the worst one so far. That was stupid stupid stupid. Only four stages. Come on, he was around a little longer than that. They could have at least padded it with the infinitely fun "Lu Bu's Revolt" stage from 4. Fuck historical accuracy. If you want to get that accurate, I'm pretty sure there was no Diao Chan. And she certainly wasn't so in love with him in the novel. They could have been a hint at her true motives tossed in here or there. So, yeah. Shitty voiceacting and way too short of a story mode. The only good thing was Lu Bu's ability to kill slice smash whee~, which is the only point of the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2005 The ending movies are basically all identical. A total cop-out on just about every character. Very few of them actually go the extra mile and do something interesting or original. Zhuge Liang's is a fitting end and Huang Gai's isn't too bad either. Most of them end with 'I SHALL END THE CHAOS' followed by Character A charging or raising his/her weapon into the air. I actually prefered Musou Mode from DW4 over this. I became so sick and tired of that bloody He Fei stage. Have you managed to get any of the saddles yet, TRITEC? All of them are dead easy, with the exception of maybe Shadow Harness. However, A beefed up Ma Chao can make attaining that one a breeze. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest T®ITEC Report post Posted September 19, 2005 Yeah, so far the ending movies have all been lame. Well, Ling Tong's was... cute/funny/strange. Guan Yu's made me laugh because it was so randomly stupid. Guan's just standing there, very calm and serene, then Zhang Fei comes up and they both start yelling wildly at each other. I am very very sick of He Fei and Fan Castle, which keep popping up for everyone under the damn sun. Look guys. The whole point of He Fei was that it was three Wei generals against like 500000 Wu people. There's no reason for, oh, Xiahou Dun to have that stage, other than laziness. I haven't tried for any of the saddles or the orbs, but I think I'll do that today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2005 Seriously, Andrew? I've heard *really bad* things about Urban Reign. I was also amped for a Streets Of Rage-ish beat 'em up, but apparently the controls are horrendous. The weird thing is, there are reviews which vary wildly, so I'm going to try to rent it first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2005 Urban Reign, just like the Ninja Turtles games, show that reviewers have completely forgotten what old school games were like. The games were knocked for being repetitive and pretty much the same fight over and over, fight a boss, same fight over and over, fight a boss which is why they called them bad games, while championing the games they were made to emulate despite the fact that the Streets of Rage games and Ninja Turtle games were nothing more than same fight over and over, fight a boss, same fight over and over games. ... That was a long sentence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Lushus 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2005 true, while I prefer the TMNT arcade games, I didn't mind the newer releases and they all follow the same damn formula, as you mentioned... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rendclaw 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2005 True but at least in some of them you had to use strategy. The original Final Fight was good at this, because just beating the hell out of enemies would only get you as far as the end of the second stage. You actually had to have some strategy going, though Guy's quickness could get you out of a lot of situations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devo 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2005 I'm slowly but surely becoming obsessed with Initial D Arcade Stage. Version 3 to be exact. It came to the local Gameworks a couple weeks ago and I've been playing it at every possible opportunity since. It's really addictive, if only because I want to constantly push myself to get better and see if I can put up some good times on the official website eventually. Only problem is, I don't think anyone else in the city plays yet. Everyone else I've seen sit down at the machine is either terrible or has no idea what they're doing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anya 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2005 Streets of Rage had memorable level and enemy design and excellent music. Also in most of the old beat em ups you were constantly scrolling through different environments which did a good job of hiding how repetitive the whole thing is. In a lot of these new 3D beat em ups you're stuck in a big square room fighting for what seems like a decade only to move to another big square room. The best 3D beat em up is Buffy. Because...it's Buffy. Although whoever did the voice acting for Anya in Chaos Bleeds sounds NOTHING like Emma Caulfield and that is a real crime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smues Report post Posted September 20, 2005 No Suikoden 1 & 2 for PSP in America MOTHER FUCKER!! Oh well at least now I don't have to buy a PSP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2005 Thanks a lot, Konami. They should make like Atlus and do some reprints. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2005 The Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection came out brand new as a Greatest Hit on PS2, even though it is a significantly different game from all of the previous Namco Museums. It seems like there are loose restrictions on defining a GH these days (see also VF4 Evolution). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
{''({o..o})''} 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2005 That Suikoden thing makes no sense. Sony still against porting old games? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2005 Sony isn't against porting old games, they're just usually against old games (or games that look old) being sold full price standing alone. Full price or less for a compilation they usually have no problem with. See, for example, Final Fantasy Chronicles/Anthology. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2005 Shadow Hearts 3 moves out of Japan! September 20, 2005 - Brand new videogame publisher XSEED Games (headed up by former Square Enix president Jun Iwasaki) has announced that it will be bringing Wild ARMs 4 and Shadow Hearts: From the New World to North American retailers in the first quarter of 2006. They're the first two titles for the fledgling publisher, whose overarching goal is to properly translate and release Japanese-based titles that should appeal to a hungry U.S. market. "We are extremely excited to launch XSEED Games with these two quality role-playing games," said Jun Iwasaki, president, XSEED Games. "Our extensive past experience working with some of the highest quality titles in the industry has really honed our ability to spot the best in interactive entertainment. These two titles are the first of what the XSEED Games label will come to represent in bringing great entertainment to the U.S. audience. We expect both Wild ARMs 4 and Shadow Hearts to not only appeal to the existing fans of the series but also attract newcomers." For the unfamiliar, Shadow Hearts: From the New World is the third game in the Shadow Hearts series and is the direct follow-up to IGN's PlayStation 2 RPG of the year from 2004. Released in Japan this past June, From the New World follows new hero Johnny Garland as he joins an investigation to track down a dangerous criminal during the U.S.' Great Depression. Players can expect new adjustments to the Judgment Ring combat system (like option to execute a combo command with a second character or performing two different actions in one turn), and an all-new cast of supporting NPCs and environments previously unseen in the series before. So I'll be really shitted off if it makes it this far and doesn't go PAL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites