Gaming Diary — Page 310

StreetPass Garden (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 08/08/2014 Written by deKay

Another one of the Streetpass games completed! In that I became a Master Gardener (by growing 20 different breeds of plant), which enabled the end of game sequence and credits.

After which I was given a new, larger, gardening journal with space for another 60 breeds. And a bigger seed box. And some other stuff.

It seems like there’s still plenty to do. Unfortunately, I don’t think that my garden(s) will house that many plants, even if I buy the extra gardens to make some more storage space. I’m not sure I can cope with having to sell any – I already hate giving them away as part of the job requests!

StreetPass Garden (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 08/08/2014 Written by deKay

Another one of the Streetpass games completed! In that I became a Master Gardener (by growing 20 different breeds of plant), which enabled the end of game sequence and credits.

After which I was given a new, larger, gardening journal with space for another 60 breeds. And a bigger seed box. And some other stuff.

Gaming moments: F

Posted on 05/08/2014 Written by Xexyz

Floigan Brothers: Episode One (Dreamcast)

I recall being stumped for ages that I needed to get to somewhere distant, but couldn't jump that far. By accident I managed to annoy the big fat brother, who picked me up and chucked me over to the platform.

Feel the Magic XX-XY (DS)

I had the US version. One of the first games in the game (if not the very first) sees you trying to get goldfish out of a man's stomach. The first time I played this I was mashing the d-pad trying to control the goldfish, completely forgetting about the touch screen. to be fair, it was a new control scheme at the time ...

Forza Horizon (Xbox 360)

Driving around in the early evening, I was worried that my console was dying, with odd spots appearing in the sky. It turns out they were Chinese lanterns, floating upwards.

Field Commander (PSP)

I tried to play this multiplayer, not realising it would mean staying on the console until we finished the game. You'd think that a turn-based game would work using a send-turns mechanic, but no - it worked through a continuous connection. What's worse is that me and my opponent were closely matched, so I eventually got to bed at around 2am.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (Gamecube)

We played through this at regular games evenings and days. Kieron played a short bloke with a bucket on his head. At the end of every day, we watched them all dance around the campfire and made sexist remarks about the woman with big boobs.

Super Mario Galaxy: completed!

Posted on 04/08/2014 Written by Xexyz

Mario landed harder than normal. Was it arthritis setting in? Or had gravity been tampered with, maybe in an effort to get him to stay? The toadstool blinked as if he was trying to remember something, then with a large sign shuffled towards me. As he had done previously, he handed over a letter - maybe the same one, as the wording was identical. There were five more lives enclosed, though some were starting to decay.

It had only been a year and a half, but the space station seemed to be creaking. I looked at the map, wiping the layers of dust off, and realised that I had no idea how to find any more stars.

I saw that in the engine room there was a question mark over a grey star, but on arriving at this room I couldn't work out how to collect this rather than the previous star. I assumed it was hidden on the same level, but I had no idea how to go about finding it.

There was a boss level sitting unplayed - a lava world. But no, what was I doing? I had 74 stars, was I going to try to get all 120 before facing my foe? I didn't know if you even could get all 120 beforehand, and even if you could then I would never reach that point.

The time had come. Peach had been languishing for seven years, Bowser waiting patiently for his plans to be finalised. I ran down the path towards Rosalina, my burdens suddenly relieved. I was going to finish this, and everything else was optional. It did not need to happen!

The space station turned into a spaceship, and I was on my way to the castle. It seemed to be well preserved, maybe due to a slowing of time at the centre of the galaxy. My seven years may have been mere minutes.

Bowser implied not.

The final battle was long and hard. It took me ages to work out how to hit Bowser during the first part of the fight - having to work out where to stand to hit his head as he rolling towards me was tricky. I managed it after losing two lives, and the last part of the battle seemed easy by comparison.

And that was it. The star gleamed over the pole of Bowser's miniature planet, slightly corroded by time.

I ran to it, desperate to escape before the world disintegrated to dust. Escape I did - though the end credits sequence was a bit odd, with Mario, Peach and Bowser waking up outside the castle in its grounds. Everything seems to be connected.

Except, of course, that's not the end, and there are still many stars to collect. New galaxies opened up, purple comets appeared, and Rosalina welcomed me back with a knowing wink. 45 more stars are needed to unlock something, it seems, and many of those will be up in the top of the space station, as well as following comets around.

Not right now. I went back to the lava boss world, so I could be sure there wasn't an empty existing galaxy, and completed that.

Then I found myself at the gate world, where I was introduced to red stars and purple coins. The flying controls are pretty awful - in fact, I've found the controls overall hard to adjust to, after my lengthy break. A number of deaths falling off the side of the world or running into enemies that I should have been able to avoid.

It's completed, in that I've rescued Peach and her long-term incarceration is over. I've seen the end credits. I've not completed every star - I've not even played on every level - but I'm happy with that. For now.

Mega Man X (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Posted on 03/08/2014 Written by deKay

After I’d completed Earthbound, which was some time ago now, I realise, I asked about for suggestions for other great SNES games I may have missed. Mega Man X was recommended several times.

I was never a big fan of the series. In fact, I’d only properly played Mega Man 2 and one other (I don’t recall which) NES game, until the new-old Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 came out for the Wii a few years back. I enjoyed them quite a bit.

So this weekend, despite having a million other games to play already, I found myself wanting to download Mega Man X on the Wii U. I was going to play something on my 3DS instead, but my SD card has died (which is a story for another time), so that was out of action and… well. I’ve no excuse really. The deed was done and I set about playing it. Oh my is it hard.

Not as hard as Mega Man 9, though, I found. And, although the graphics have clearly improved over the NES games, and Mega Man is now X, so actually a different robot, it’s the same game as it ever was. 8 bosses to fight, in any order you choose, with each giving you a new weapon which will take down another boss with ease. Of course, you’ve no real way of knowing which weapon will bump off which boss quickly, so it’s down to luck over which order you try them.

This actually meant the game mostly got easier as I played. The first few bosses I tried were very difficult, but most of the later ones I had a suitable weapon for. Not that having the best weapon was a guarantee for a quick kill, though – they were still pretty nails. The trick is to learn their patterns and strike only when you know it’s safe. Take your time – watch and listen. Most fights involved staying somewhere safe most of the time, with the odd safe attack to slowly (very, very slowly in some cases) whittle down their energy.

Before reaching any bosses, a level must be traversed but with very few exceptions these were pretty easy. Especially when compared to the boss robots at the end, anyway.

With all of the minions dispatched, it was on to Not Dr Wily (Sigma, I think he was called), bumping off all the previous bosses once more, as well as a few extra ones for good measure. Joy! It’s a SuckySuck(TM) Bit! No, not joy – the other thing. Despair! That’s the one.

Fortunately, the second time round these robots are a bit easier, mainly because you know how to defeat them, but also because you have the necessary sidearm to deal with them. Eventually, after doing all this, you reach Sigma. Having already thrown Irritating and Unnecessary Gaming Cliché #1 (the SuckySuck(TM) Bit) at you, Mega Man X then moves onto Irritating and Unnecessary Gaming Cliché #2 – where the boss is defeated but then somehow is resurrected immediately in a new form and has to be defeated again. Sigh.

Which I did. In fact, Sigma was somewhat easier than most of the previous bosses, which was a surprise. And, regardless of Irritating and Unnecessary Gaming Clichés, the game was fun and rewarding. And hard. Very hard.

I will almost certainly be moving onto Mega Man X2 in the near future, but I’d best clear some other games out of my Pile of Shame first before adding any more to it.