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3D Sonic the Hedgehog (3DS): COMPLETED!

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You may be aware that I have completed the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game a number of times in the past, but the 3D version, on the Sega 3D Classics Collection? Nope.

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OK, I lie. I have. Sort of. You see, I already own 3D Sonic the Hedgehog – buying it when it appeared on the 3DS eShop as a single title. That was about three years ago though, despite me thinking it was actually earlier this year. I completed it back then, and today I completed it again via the 3D collection.

There’s little more to say. It is still an excellent game. It’s still very easy, and I obtained all the Chaos Emeralds. I did choose the “bulbous CRT” 3D effect to play through with which was pretty cool, if pretty pointless. Um, that’s it.

Click to view slideshow.

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3D Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (3DS): COMPLETED!

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To the untrained eye, it would appear that I’ve already completed this game already, just a week or so ago. But you would be wrong, as this 3D Fantasy Zone II is actually the Master System version, whereas the other one was the (later) arcade version. They are both on the Sega 3D Classics Collection though.

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I actually tried to completed this before the other one, but I made a terrible mistake buying a load of smart bombs with all my money going into the final boss fight, and when I died lost all my power-ups and didn’t have any money to buy anything else. Not even Big Wings, which made one of the end bosses (there’s a SuckySuck Bit(TM)) impossible. Rather than start all over again at that point, I went on to the other version of the game, returning to this now.

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Although the game is effectively the same, there are some differences. Each level is seemingly larger, with up to 5 areas joined by warps (rather than two versions of each level, swapped between via warps). The bosses are mostly similar with a few variations, and you have an energy bar (which can be refilled and extended with power-ups) rather than a single hit kill.

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It’s obviously on less powerful hardware, but some slowdown and less impressive (but still excellent) graphics aside, it’s at least as much fun. It’s odd, that back in the day the Fantasy Zone series never appealed much, whereas now I love them. I feel I’m going to have to dig out the Mega Drive version soon now…

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3D Maze Walker (3DS): COMPLETED!

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I’m still ticking off the games on the Sega 3D Classics Collection. Only three to go now, I think. With 3D Maze Walker, I’ve been plugging away a couple of levels at a time, and finally completed it today.

Why did it take so long? It wasn’t exactly hard, nor were there many levels. No, the main reason for taking so long was that it’s utter crap and I simply could not bear to play more than two or three tedious, boring levels in one go.

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You know how I wasn’t exactly complementary about 3D Altered Beast? This is worse. Far worse. The idea is to find a key in a maze, then reach the exit. You can smack roaming baddies with a stick. You move like you’re wading through treacle. Going the wrong way is a trial because you have to play the game for longer by backtracking. It has just one redeeming feature: Excellent 3D. That’s it.

I hated every minute of Maze Walker and I’m glad it’s finished. I will never, ever, ever, play this fetid pile of dung ever again. And neither should you.

Click to view slideshow.

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Virginia (PS4): COMPLETED!

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The odd thing about Virginia is that it was recommended to me the day before it was in a sale on PSN. And it has toilets in it. It must have been fate.

As a narrative discovery game, it’s hard to tell you much without spoiling the plot, but I’ll try. You play as a newly qualified FBI agent, who is assigned the task of investigating a long serving FBI agent because, well, they have unusual ideas and methods. As your “cover”, you’re assigned as her partner, and so together have to investigate the disappearance of a Virginian teen son of a vicar.

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Interaction in Virginia, as is the norm for games of this genre, is minimal. You can activate objects like door handles and so on, and walk around limited areas, but it’s about furthering the story, not solving puzzles.

And what a story. A confusing one, where it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s a dream, what happened and what is hallucination, and sometimes even what order everything occurs. You find out more about your partner’s past, your own past and possible futures, but even after completing it I had questions and remain somewhat confused.

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Imagine something like Firewatch, mixed with the setting of The X-Files, and you’re mostly there. The art style is close to the former, but the FBI partnership and events are right out of the latter. There are also parts that feel a lot like The Stanley Parable, although without the humour. Or the narration. In fact, there’s no dialogue in the game at all, which you’d think would hamper its efforts to put across a story over everything, but no: It’s expertly “acted” and directed, and even without conversation (and not a great deal of explanatory text) everything comes across. It’s still hard to piece together some, but I don’t think talking characters would help there. It feels like a film or TV show too, with hard cuts from location to location, which was jarring at first but felt natural when you experience it like a film rather than a game.

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I can certainly recommend it, and will probably pore over my recorded playthrough (which I did in a single sitting – it’s not very long) a bit to see if I missed anything. I obviously did as I have a fair few achievements missing! If you want to see my run through Virginia, you can below but be warned: It is full of spoilers.

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PaRappa the Rapper 2 (PS4): COMPLETED!

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I had two issues with the original PaRappa the Rapper game. The first being I didn’t own it (until much later, and that was on the PSP), and the second being that I couldn’t play it because of the issue I have being PlayStation Controller Blind 1.

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VR was a thing in 2001, it seems.

When I saw the PS4 port of PS2 game PaRappa the Rapper 2 for just £2.99, I thought I’d try. And try. And try. Oh my did I try. Thankfully, the game is pretty easy and very forgiving, but some button combinations (mainly those that use the circle and square buttons) I simply can’t cope with. Getting through a few stages was little more than luck as I hoped I’d pressed the ones in order, trying not to actually think about it and run on autopilot.

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Like the first game, the sequel is a pile of glorious nonsense. PaRappa wants to be a real man for his girlfriend, and luckily the impending conversion of everything into noodles gives him the opportunity to step up and become one. Which mainly involves a lot of rapping, as you’d probably expect.

Control issues aside, it’s great, although a lot shorter than I was expecting. Only eight stages? I thought the first game was a lot longer. Or am I mixing it up with Gitaroo Man? Hmm.

Click to view slideshow.

Notes:

  1. I mention this a lot, but it’s basically that because the PlayStation controller doesn’t have a standard or memorable button layout, games that rely on quickly knowing their location – like rhythm games and games with QTEs – are a struggle ↩

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