3ds — Page 20

Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D: completed!

Posted on 18/08/2015 Written by Xexyz

It's a while since I wrote about this, but I have continued to play it regularly. Back in June I had finished three of the four temples, and had one more to go. But before I did that, I wanted to try and do some of the sidequests, since my Bombers' Notebook was full of rumours and half-complete quests. That's what I've been doing for the past two months.

I've reformed frog choirs. I've cleansed souls. I've freed postmen from their duties. I've found bits of fairies and forged swords. I've cleared out dungeons and helped facilitate arranged marriages. And I've tried, as best I can, to make everyone happy. I had to use an online guide for a few bits and pieces - particularly the long marriage back-and-forth - but I wanted to clear as much as I could because I'm unlikely to replay the game.

It's difficult to be happy when you have a huge moon over your head, threatening to kill you in three days. In the end, I had completed most of the sidequests and moved to the last dungeon. It wasn't nice.

This bit, in particular, was annoying. You had to charge up a mirror, then run into its beam of light and charge up another mirror using the shield, and then run into that new beam of light and shine it into the door. Not easy on a moving train, where motion control makes the beam wiggle everywhere.

The end boss was difficult but fun. Putting on the giant's mask, it was just a case of jumping out of the way of a flying centipede and thumping it over and over. Last dungeon done, all giants freed, and off to confront the Skull Kid.

He went up to the moon.

I wasn't expecting the moon to be so lush and verdant. This seemed to be a bit of a dream, meeting children dressed in boss masks, who played hide and seek sending me into little dungeons and puzzles. They took all my masks from me. In the end I found a child wearing Majora's mask sitting under the tree, who gave me the Fierce Deity mask and started the boss battle.

And that was really, really easy. I can see how it could be difficult normally, but wearing the Fierce Deity mask made me effectively invulnerable and able to hit the mask's various forms without having the sneak around everywhere.

Mask defeated, evil vanquished, moon then disintegrates and I worry that I have chaos on the world with no tides and unbalanced gravity. Evidently not; the part starts and I leave, galloping through the forest.

Luigi wasn't happy.

Not just completed, but 100% completed with everything seen and everything done. A superb game.

3D Streets of Rage 2 (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 09/08/2015 Written by deKay

Streets of Rage 2 was always so much better than Streets of Rage 1 in so many ways. Better graphics, more moves, none of those stupid Blaze clones who are impossible to beat, and so on. It was also easier, but sadly the music isn’t quite as good. Ah well, you can’t have everything.

I played through it today on the 3DS (in lovely 3D), as Blaze (because Blaze is best and not because you can see her knickers oh who am I kidding of course it’s because you can see her knickers) and completed it faster than I was expecting to. I was certain it was at least two stages longer, but perhaps I was misremembering some levels from the other Streets of Rage games. It has been a while, I suppose.

Once completed, the game unlocked “Fists of Death” mode, which I’ve started a playthrough of, as Skate (because Skate is worst). In this mode every enemy takes a single hit. Even bosses. It’s hilarious. I managed to do the first three stages without getting hit myself (I suspected I’d die in a single hit too, but luckily that wasn’t the case).

StreetPass Zombies (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 12/07/2015 Written by deKay

There’s not a great deal to say about this, aside from that a couple of the final levels were pretty tricky, and even though the end boss appeared both indestructible and virtually impossible to dodge I still managed to off him on my first attempt.

The Wii remote is the best weapon by far, incidentally, except on the final boss where I found the pillow invaluable with it’s rapid fire.

Fun, and I’ll probably play it a bit longer, but time needs to be spent on StreetPass Fishing now!

Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D: getting used to the time sickness

Posted on 14/06/2015 Written by Xexyz

Hello again!

I have been playing things, you know. I've been playing a bit of Heavy Rain, and some Cities Skylines. I've completed Peggle Blast again, and played a few levels of Two Dots. I've made a little progress in a second story of 80 Days, and caught a few big ones in Sega Bass Fishing.

But most of all I've been playing Majora's Mask.

I said I'd write more when I'd worked out how the game works. I sort of have, although there are still things that I don't know how to do. On the first day, a little boy or girl wearing a fox mask runs to the postbox, and I haven't worked out how to talk to them. Postboxes are a mystery too. Is there a reasons for the workmen in the town square?

But outside Clock Town it's a little more straightforward. The game seems to be neatly divided into a core story (make it through the dungeons and gather the giants to stop the moon) and side quests (make others happy and gather information). There are some of the latter which change into the former - such as finding Epona which allows you to access the ocean - but otherwise it's clear what is optional.

Not that it really matters. I've been trying to do everything, following the hints in the notebook to find where I can get all the optional masks and heart pieces. I've fished, I've thrown bombs at targets, I've taken photographs, and I've jumped around islands.

The game is magnificent, and the amount of detail crammed into the cartridge is astounding. Look at the Gamecube in the background!

I've just completed the temple in the sea, and the giants have told me there is one more. Before I go off there, though, I've got a frog choir to find.

Shantae (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 02/05/2015 Written by deKay

It’s been a long time. The “time played” in the 3DS stats shows I’ve spent just under twelve hours on this, but that’s spread over several months, since I started back in February.

It isn’t because it’s a bad game, far from it, it’s just that every so often I’d realise I’d travelled all the way to the wrong end of the map (it loops round, but only when you’ve almost finished the game!), and couldn’t face travelling all the way back again, so gave it a break. Then, each time I picked it up again I’d forgotten where I was or what I was doing, so going back always seemed a chore.

Soon I’d get back into it though, and each dungeon was well worth the slightly annoying overworld traversal, being less backtracky and more puzzley. Strangely, the bosses all got increasingly easier, with the final two being complete walkovers and the first one was almost impossible. That’s just as well, I suppose, as I never sought out the extra heart containers hidden around the map. I stumbled across one, but exploring every nook and cranny of the world is so dangerous that I avoided doing so, taking the quickest, easiest route at all times.

Similarly, the warp squid you collect in dungeons would have reduced the backtracking, but they were too hard to find. I did manage to get enough to unlock the warps in two towns, so at least I reduce it a bit.

Having said all that, it is still a great game. It’s fun, it’s quite clever and it looks amazing. I’m hoping that the few niggles I have with it are ironed out in the later games in the series, because I want to make a start on them soon!