So literally a few minutes after I published the last Loot Box, I get word that the trailer dropped for Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order. Nothing to get too excited about for now. The trailer looks good, but it's all cinematic, no gameplay shown. All we know for certain is that it's a Respawn game published by Electronic Arts. Supposedly, there will not be multiplayer and EA "promises" there won't be any microtransactions involved.
But what does that say about AAA culture? The fact that one of the things you need to clarify before you even release gameplay footage about a game is that you won't put microtransactions in it? Are we supposed to get on our knees and praise you, EA, for saying you won't put shitty things in your games? The shitty things that caused such a kerfuffle in your last Star Wars game that governments got involved and were investigating you?
So that's why I'm not excited right now because of EA's involvement. Even though it's Respawn making this game, a fantastic developer, EA has a history of corrupting developers and ruining their games. Visceral and Dead Space 3 anyone? Right... So I trust EA's promises about as far as I can throw a controller in a six by six padded room. I mean, very recently, EA came under fire for putting battle passes into Apex: Legends, a game - a Respawn game mind you - that was being praised because it didn't have shitty EA elements in it. I'm going to watch this game, though. Hopefully, I'll get a good vibe from it. I really want a good Star Wars game. It's been a while...
The Hard Games Need Easy Modes Debate... Again
I'm actually tired of this debate at this current moment, so I won't be talking more about. I just put Jim Sterling's video in it in case anyone wanted to see it. He makes a lot of great points, but I'm sure you've probably heard them all. Good video, just rather late.
PlayStation 5 Tech Specs Revealed
PlayStation 5 tech specs have been revealed. Now, I'm not a tech head, so a lot of these numbers don't really make sense to me. From what I've been reading, though, it sounds likes it'll be a sizable upgrade from the PlayStation 4, which any next-gen console should be. What really got my attention was the fact that PS4 backwards compatibility has been confirmed. Now that I think about it, though, I don't think I'll really use it. I have only a few PS4 games in my collection left to beat. If, however, the PS5 makes PS4 games look even nicer, maybe I'll wait to get a PS5 and then finish up my PS4 collection on it. It would be nice if Sony decided to take it a step further and increase the BC all the way back to the first PlayStation. Then Sony could finally tout BC that rivals Microsoft's as they're still working on getting the rest of the older Xbox games running on Xbox One. I'm also happy that PS4 PSVR will work, but I'm sure they'll release an enhanced version of that hardware as well. I'd love to game in PSVR with 4K and 60 FPS.
Another interesting thing to note is that it will use an SSD (solid state drive). This means that games will load even quicker. The article mentioned that they loaded Spider-Man on the PS4, which took about 15 seconds, but when they ran it on a PS5 development kit, it only took 0.8 seconds. That's incredibly quick! I've always felt that loading times were one of the things that never really got improved when consoles evolved to the next generation. Games got prettier, got bigger, but were always stuck with noticeable loading times. Whether or not developers can take advantage of this new speed is yet to be seen, but it would be nice for loading times to disappear entirely.
Last thing I want to point out is the support of ray tracing. Now, I'm not really versed in the technology, but I know that ray tracing helps with a game's lighting and is commonly used in movies and computer games. I read somewhere that in order to use ray tracing, the computer usually costs somewhere around 10,000 dollars, so it needs a lot of processing power to do. If PS5 really can pull this off, hopefully being sold around 500 dollars (but I have a suspicion they may try 600 dollars again), that would be extremely impressive and give Sony a leg up on the competition.
Sony Censoring Games
So it appears that Sony has a new policy regarding sexual content in their games. We've already seen a result of this as the PS4 version of Devil May Cry 5 had a scene edited with lens flare to obscure an exposed butt. The Xbox One version was not censored, but what confuses the situation is that the Japanese PS4 version of the game was not censored, either. Japan usually has a looser policy regarding sexual content than we do in the States, so it's peculiar to see an American version censored and not the Japanese version as well. It sounds like, however, they'll be buckling down on it in across the board.
Personally, I don't really play games that have extreme sexual content. Those titles would be rated AO (Adults Only), and no AO game has ever been published on a console platform. Games that have sexual content are usually rated M, but it sounds like Sony's going to take steps to further reduce the content in rated M games. One such example is a visual novel called Nekopara Vol. 1 which received extra steam effects to cover girls, and the removal of a breast slider. No such changes were made to the Nintendo Switch version. That right there should be cause for concern. Why does such a family focused company like Nintendo allow uncensored M rated games on their consoles, but Sony has to censor them? The whole thing doesn't make sense.
From what I can gather, Sony is beginning to be more concerned about their public image. Kotaku cited that the #MeToo movement has played a part in Sony revising their policy. I get not wanting to have your company sued, but this is an over-correction as far as I'm concerned. We have a ratings system in place just for these purposes. If you're really worried about people being affected by sexual content, then obligatory steam and lens flare filters aren't going to do anything. If you're the only company of the Big 3 censoring games, you're going to get backlash. People have already started boycotting movements. There are other platforms to game on, so people who don't believe in censorship will jump ship.
I really dislike censorship. I feel that we should be mature enough to decide for ourselves what is and what isn't acceptable. Working in a library has only reinforced what I believe in. Sony censoring their games belittles us. As much as I dislike censorship, however, I'm also against boycotting due to personal politics. I'm not going to deny myself quality games from Sony. If I end up playing a game that happens to be censored by Sony, I'm just going to grin and bear it and move on with the rest of the game. If it's a multiplatform game, then I'll easily get it for another system. Definitely getting Devil May Cry 5 on Xbox One, though. Sony, please reconsider.
Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons Drifting
So for a while now, I've been having an issue with my left red Joy-Con controller drifting upward. If you don't know what drifting is, it's when you leave your analog stick in a neutral position and it keeps moving in a certain direction. For me, my controller tends to drift upward. It's been happening ever since Octopath Traveler. I put up with for as long as I could but when Smash Ultimate came out, it was really affecting my game. After looking for a fix, I found that if you blow air under the apron of the stick, it tends to fix it. After a while, though, the issue came back. I'd have to blow it more and more and the fix would last less and less. After seeing what was involved in the video, though, I don't think this is something I'd be able to permanently fix myself. It baffles me that Nintendo would actually use graphite-like contacts that easily wear instead of actual metal contacts.
Sega Genesis Mini Update
- Earthworm Jim
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
- World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
- Contra: Hard Corps
- Streets of Rage 2
- Thunder Force 3
- Super Fantasy Zone
- Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master
- Landstalker
As you can see, it's a pretty competent list. I think I've played them all except for Contra: Hard Corps, Thunder Force 3, Super Fantasy Zone and Landstalker. I actually can't wait to try Contra, because I've played a lot of other Contra games, just never on the Genesis. I also played Earthworm Jim on the SNES, so it'll be nice to revisit it on the Genesis this time.
A few of these are nice to see as they're no brainers. I was sure we'd see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Streets of Rage 2, but what really made me smile was seeing Shinobi 3. Shinobi 3 is one of my all-time favorite games. I used to play it every day after school while listening to music, and I played it so much that I would enter a trance. I had the game mastered, beating it on hard without getting hit. I got to relive it years ago with the Sega Genesis Collection on the Xbox 360, but it would be amazing to go back to the game with an old-fashioned Genesis controller. I'm also really excited to see Castle and World of Illusion games on there, too, as Disney games were one of Sega's strengths over the SNES. I'm hoping to see a few more Disney games in the final library.
Gaming Update
Have you ever heard of Kid Niki? Probably not.
Kid Niki was an arcade game that came out around 1986. I first remember playing it when I went to an amusement park in California. I used to really love this game, but it was also hard as nails. Basically, it was the Sekiro of the 1980s arcade era. I don't think I ever made it past the second level as a kid. When I got my Switch, the company who handles Arcade Archives ported Kid Niki to the Switch. I was so excited, I bought it immediately. And yes, it was as hard as I remembered. I kept at it, though, and eventually got up to level four where I hit a wall and just stopped playing. I think that was about a year and a half ago. Well this week, I decided to finally return to it and it has been hell.
I'd like to mention that one of the main reasons why I was able to beat it in the first place was because the game allowed you to use infinite continues. Because of this, I was able to make it to the final boss, but it wasn't enough to allow me to actually beat it. I still needed the skill and luck to beat him. The first time I got to the boss, I unfortunately let the continue counter lapse and I had to start the game all over again. I almost wanted to give up at that moment, but I got on the horse and continued again.
So the final boss fight was very unfair. It was a multiple stage fight that had you chase him across a series of rooftops. He would belch out columns of fire, which soon I was able to get past 99 percent of the time, but the second phase was far too random to learn. He perched atop a cloud and you had to jump on a moving cloud to get up to him, slash him, retrieve your sword (which flew out of your hand every time you hit a boss) and get back up to his cloud to hit him again. The problem was there were balls of energy that flew up from the bottom of the screen so quickly and so randomly, it was nearly impossible to get past. You'd be stuck trying to hit the boss, get hit. Jump down, get hit. Pick up the sword, get hit. Try to jump back up, get it.
Every so often, I got lucky enough to get past him and make it to the final phase, but then he started spewing more fire and would change positions to the other side of the screen when you got close enough to hit him. You had to hit him right before he started to shoot the fire at you, and then you had to pray that you weren't stuck in a recovering frame when one of the columns of fire came down your way. I started to get so frustrated, I almost threw my switch but then it finally occurred to me that I could just use a save state right when I got up to that phase of the fight. Funnily enough, when I had that realization, it took me roughly an hour to get to that point of the game again...
On Wednesday, Joker was finally released for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but I didn't download him that day; I was busy with Kid Niki. It was for the best anyway as I heard that Nintendo's servers were being clogged by everyone trying to download him at the same time. That begs the question, what exactly are we paying Nintendo for if their servers can't handle downloading an update? Anyway, I downloaded him the day after and gave him a quick spin. I didn't take him into online battle, just his Classic mode. From what little I've played, I can say that I do enjoy him. He has an interesting mechanic of actually purposefully taking damage so he can build up his Rebellion Gauge to summon his persona and become stronger. I can see how really great players would use this to their advantage. I also like how his stages change appearances depending on the music.
Lastly, I finally got around to playing King of the Monsters, another Arcade Classic. This was a Neo Geo game that I remembered loving as a kid, but whatever fond memories I've had of the game are long gone. It's a wrestling type game that uses kaiju as fighters and Japanese cities as rings. I forgot why I disliked wrestling games. A lot of times when I tried to grapple, I'd be reversed and even though I had much higher health than the enemy, it just felt like skill was being taken from. I had to remember that this was an arcade game, and most arcade games from that era were designed to be cheap to steal more quarters from you. I decided during my first playthrough that I wasn't going to bother with playing the other fighters, as the game doesn't have individual endings and the fighters feel pretty much the same. Anyway, with that game beaten, my entire Switch catalog is now beaten!
Gaming Update
Have you ever heard of Kid Niki? Probably not.
Kid Niki was an arcade game that came out around 1986. I first remember playing it when I went to an amusement park in California. I used to really love this game, but it was also hard as nails. Basically, it was the Sekiro of the 1980s arcade era. I don't think I ever made it past the second level as a kid. When I got my Switch, the company who handles Arcade Archives ported Kid Niki to the Switch. I was so excited, I bought it immediately. And yes, it was as hard as I remembered. I kept at it, though, and eventually got up to level four where I hit a wall and just stopped playing. I think that was about a year and a half ago. Well this week, I decided to finally return to it and it has been hell.
I'd like to mention that one of the main reasons why I was able to beat it in the first place was because the game allowed you to use infinite continues. Because of this, I was able to make it to the final boss, but it wasn't enough to allow me to actually beat it. I still needed the skill and luck to beat him. The first time I got to the boss, I unfortunately let the continue counter lapse and I had to start the game all over again. I almost wanted to give up at that moment, but I got on the horse and continued again.
So the final boss fight was very unfair. It was a multiple stage fight that had you chase him across a series of rooftops. He would belch out columns of fire, which soon I was able to get past 99 percent of the time, but the second phase was far too random to learn. He perched atop a cloud and you had to jump on a moving cloud to get up to him, slash him, retrieve your sword (which flew out of your hand every time you hit a boss) and get back up to his cloud to hit him again. The problem was there were balls of energy that flew up from the bottom of the screen so quickly and so randomly, it was nearly impossible to get past. You'd be stuck trying to hit the boss, get hit. Jump down, get hit. Pick up the sword, get hit. Try to jump back up, get it.
Every so often, I got lucky enough to get past him and make it to the final phase, but then he started spewing more fire and would change positions to the other side of the screen when you got close enough to hit him. You had to hit him right before he started to shoot the fire at you, and then you had to pray that you weren't stuck in a recovering frame when one of the columns of fire came down your way. I started to get so frustrated, I almost threw my switch but then it finally occurred to me that I could just use a save state right when I got up to that phase of the fight. Funnily enough, when I had that realization, it took me roughly an hour to get to that point of the game again...
On Wednesday, Joker was finally released for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but I didn't download him that day; I was busy with Kid Niki. It was for the best anyway as I heard that Nintendo's servers were being clogged by everyone trying to download him at the same time. That begs the question, what exactly are we paying Nintendo for if their servers can't handle downloading an update? Anyway, I downloaded him the day after and gave him a quick spin. I didn't take him into online battle, just his Classic mode. From what little I've played, I can say that I do enjoy him. He has an interesting mechanic of actually purposefully taking damage so he can build up his Rebellion Gauge to summon his persona and become stronger. I can see how really great players would use this to their advantage. I also like how his stages change appearances depending on the music.
Lastly, I finally got around to playing King of the Monsters, another Arcade Classic. This was a Neo Geo game that I remembered loving as a kid, but whatever fond memories I've had of the game are long gone. It's a wrestling type game that uses kaiju as fighters and Japanese cities as rings. I forgot why I disliked wrestling games. A lot of times when I tried to grapple, I'd be reversed and even though I had much higher health than the enemy, it just felt like skill was being taken from. I had to remember that this was an arcade game, and most arcade games from that era were designed to be cheap to steal more quarters from you. I decided during my first playthrough that I wasn't going to bother with playing the other fighters, as the game doesn't have individual endings and the fighters feel pretty much the same. Anyway, with that game beaten, my entire Switch catalog is now beaten!
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