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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 5, 2014 1:18:52 GMT -5
Surprised no one here has mentioned Shovel Knight yet! It was released a little over a week ago for PC/Steam, 3DS eShop and Wii U eShop, and has been garnering a TON of praise from the gaming media -- lots of perfect 10/10 scores and such. And after playing through it myself, I can honestly say that every last bit of praise it's been receiving is absolutely warranted: the game is virtually flawless.
What it is, basically, is a retro-styled platformer that draws heavy inspiration from Mega Man, Duck Tales, Zelda 2, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Castlevania, but still manages to be entirely its own thing, never feeling like a ripoff of any of its muses. A lot of reviews have said that it plays almost like a rose-tinted memory of an NES classic -- all the best parts, with none of the crap we've forgotten about over the years that horribly frustrated us as kids. With just a touch of modernism, too -- instead of lives, there are checkpoints. If you die, you drop three bags of money and return to the last checkpoint you touched, but if you can manage to make it to those bags of money without dying again, you'll get them back and thus have received no penalty for dying. And if you're feeling super-hardcore, you can actually destroy the checkpoints, collecting a ton of money for doing so but rendering them useless in the process.
The game's also got a ton of charm, with two towns you can explore full of unique villagers with surprisingly well-written dialogue to read, cool dances and animations and secrets, neat stuff to buy, etc., as well as an overarching story told through minimal dialogue with the bosses you face along the way, leading to one of the most satisfying final bosses and endings I've encountered in a really long time.
Here's the launch trailer for the game, which I think does a great job of showing off how awesome it is:
And the soundtrack -- man, the soundtrack! The song used in that trailer isn't actually present in the game proper, as the game proper uses only legit NES-compatible 8-bit songs composed by Jake Kaufman (with two tracks composed by Manami Matsumae, the original composer for Mega Man)... and they are GLORIOUS. Here are some of my personal favorites:
And the two Manami Matsumae tracks, which I don't actually like nearly as much as Jake Kaufman's (really goes to show you how far Kaufman has come as a composer over the years!), but they're still really good:
I can't say enough good things about this game, and I think most of you on ALoY would also really love it. It's cheap and readily available (though digital only, I'm sorry to say!), and I strongly urge you all to give it a shot. It's absolutely a strong contender for my Game of the Year 2014.
-Tom
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Post by SkyeWelse on Jul 9, 2014 11:15:09 GMT -5
Well, I haven't mentioned it because I've been playing the hell out of it since it came out! : )
Edit: Btw, Shantae Risky's Revenge: Director's Cut is coming out on Steam next week Wyrd. Shantae is pretty kickass series.
-Thomas
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 9, 2014 12:07:49 GMT -5
Oh, I know. I've played both Shantae games to completion -- though I didn't realize Risky's Revenge was getting a Steam release. I might have to pick it up and play through it again! (Though in all honesty, I actually prefer the original Shantae to Risky's Revenge...)
-Tom
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Post by SkyeWelse on Jul 9, 2014 15:43:25 GMT -5
I agree, I think I enjoy the original Shantae the most and it's much longer of a game too. But this next one coming up for Wii U and 3DS, Pirate's Curse is going to be the longest adventure yet. Can't wait for that. : )
Just finished my first playthrough of Shovel Knight getting most of the Feats that I could muster in my first run. Still need to defeat a Knight of No Quarter without getting damaged, but that mostly leaves the Finish the game in an 1.5 hours, No Death, Destroy Checkpoint and No Item Purchase Achievements as well as Finish New Game +. It really was a fantastic game. Took me way back to how I felt when I used to play the great NES games when I was a child. It definitely has that nostalgic feeling to it, a lot more than other new generation retro games. Perhaps I'll write up an article sometime at my blog at Retro-type.com sometime about it.
I also REALLY liked what they did with the Kickstarter references and extra stage. : )
-Thomas
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 9, 2014 16:25:57 GMT -5
Yeah, I thought that was a really cool way to handle it. In general, it seems like Yacht Club Games is a really clever, really well-run company of dedicated gamers, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for the future. -Tom
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Post by SkyeWelse on Jul 9, 2014 20:07:27 GMT -5
Well, I'm sure we can expect to see a "Super Shovel Knight" at some point. If I'm not mistaken a believe some of the members of Yacht Club Games were ex-WayForward developers, which explains why Jake Kaufman was on board (the Yacht) since he is main Sound Designer of WayForward.
-Thomas
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 9, 2014 20:23:49 GMT -5
Well, I'm sure we can expect to see a "Super Shovel Knight" at some point. If I'm not mistaken a believe some of the members of Yacht Club Games were ex-WayForward developers, which explains why Jake Kaufman was on board (the Yacht) since he is main Sound Designer of WayForward. I think they're all ex-WayForward members, actually. They split off to form Yacht Club Games with WayForward's blessing, and WayForward's president Matt Bozon is even listed in the game's credits as "director for a day." -Tom
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Post by SkyeWelse on Jul 9, 2014 23:30:44 GMT -5
Hmm interesting that they were all at WayForward at one point. Though I think I read it was Mark Bozon in the credits who is Matt's brother. I could be mistaken though.
-Thomas
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Post by ParanoiaDragon on Jul 10, 2014 23:14:45 GMT -5
Wait, is Virt no longer part of Wayforward?
In anycase, I really do hope this game makes it to Sony platforms. I don't like playing games on PC, I prefer sitting on a couch. And who knows when I'll actually plunk down some money for a Wii U or 2DS. I will eventually, but, it could still be years. If anything, I'd probably get a cheap 2DS so I can play Cave Story, which I already got just incase it got rare. Plus I'd get the various Mario & Zelda games. Though, if they did a 2D Metroid, that'd send me over the top & force me to buy a 2DS.
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 11, 2014 2:15:08 GMT -5
Virt was never actually on staff at WayForward, to my knowledge -- he's an independent contractor for hire. WayForward has hired him more than anyone else, but he's composed for other indie developers as well.
-Tom
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Post by SkyeWelse on Jul 11, 2014 18:19:08 GMT -5
So maybe he is still a freelancer in some regard but also the "Lead Audio Guy" at WayForward? He has managed to be in two places at once!? Amazing. : )
PD, I'd highly recommend a 3DS/2DS. The 3DS XL is what I use as my main handheld gaming device and it goes pretty much everywhere I go since I enjoy collecting streetpasses and playing games with the spotpass/streetpass content. It's definitely got some fantastic games on there and the Cave Story 3D is certainly not to be missed. Just out of curiosity though, are you not interested in the 3DS because of no need for 3D mode? I wasn't a huge fan of it at first, but after my eyes became accustomed to the 3D, I usually always play my games in 3D now. It's also nice because many retro-games, such as Kid Icarus and the original version of Cave Story and Ikachan for example have been made into 3D as downloadable games and they look amazing in 3D. VVVVVVV also looks amazing in 3D, as well as Mutant Mudds. I'd say go for the 3DS so you at least have that option for 3D to try if you wanted it. : )
-Thomas
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 11, 2014 18:34:41 GMT -5
Huh. My knowledge of WayForward things seems to be a bit off. Apologies there. Clearly, though, he is still freelancing to some extent if he composed Shovel Knight. I know he's also composed for a few other indie titles as well -- his Bandcamp page lists him as the composer for some recent indie title called "Ultionus: A Tale of Petty Revenge," for example. And I think I read that he's working on the music for one of Zeboyd's games -- Cosmic Star Heroine, maybe? Could be wrong on that, but I could swear he was involved... -Tom
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Post by ParanoiaDragon on Jul 12, 2014 1:49:07 GMT -5
Yeah, the 3D puts me off. Originally I was waiting to see if there'd be a dual analog stick model, but I don't see that happening this late in the game. There are games I want for it, like I said, mainly the Mario's, & I think there's a Kirby or 2 on there. I'll just pick up a cheap 2DS eventually, but currently enjoying my Vita(with what little time I have that is, getting old sucks!). As it is, (like with every system I have), I still have a backlog of DS, GBA, & GB games I want to beat. Somehow or another I eventually give in & buy whatever the current generation is of the Nintendo or Sony stuff. So that means I'll eventually pick up a PS4 & a Wii U someday.
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 12, 2014 1:54:29 GMT -5
I'm kind of in the same boat. I actually splurged on a Retron-5 recently, and while it's a little disappointing in some respects (there are some games I was really looking forward to playing which aren't currently compatible with it, including Popful Mail SFC!), I definitely feel like I'm getting my money's worth out of it since older games are so QUICK to play and enjoy! And I have so little time for games these days that quickie platformers are pretty much exactly what I need. So Shovel Knight aside, I've been enjoying Little Nemo in Dream Land, QuackShot Starring Donald Duck, World of Illusion and Violinist of Hamelin SFC. And I've got Goemon 2 and 3 SFC on the docket. -Tom
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Post by Zeithri on Jul 15, 2014 20:54:50 GMT -5
Anything that is overly popular I view with a sort of suspicious scorn on until I have taken a thorough look at.
That being said, Shovel Knight looks okay.
But if I wanted to play a game like that, why not just play Megaman? What makes this game worth my time? For starters, it's a Knight with a SHOVEL! I'd rather play Wonder Boy or hell, Sword Master. This is my issue with many of the Indie games. They take something and then they put it with something new - Like a Knight using a Shovel. And then they go "GAME'D!". No effort other than programming and sprite crafting.
If I had money, I'd spend it on something more interesting. Not that much is interesting these days except Alien Isolation. I will give it that it's at least not one of those self-pretentious indie games as it actually looks quite clever and rewarding.
To me, it looks like a game I would consider trying out. But it's doubtful if I'd actually buy the game.
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Post by Wyrdwad on Jul 15, 2014 23:47:27 GMT -5
But if I wanted to play a game like that, why not just play Megaman? Because this game is honestly better than any Mega Man title I've ever played. And I'm not exaggerating. Basically, quality design. The shovel gimmick is just that: a gimmick. It would mean nothing if there weren't a great game underneath it. But there is: the level design is among the best I've ever seen in a stage-based 2D platformer. The control is smooth and fluid. The character sprites all have personality. The music is utterly exceptional. In short, this is retro design done right. This is a developer who clearly loved the games of the '80s and early '90s, but also recognized the flaws inherent in those games, and decided basically to create the "ideal" game of that era -- a game that embodies every positive quality that makes that era so fondly remembered by so many gamers, but excludes every negative quality. It's the rose-colored glasses version of nostalgia, and it is expertly crafted from beginning to end. Many, yes. All, definitely not. A lot of indie games manage to break the mold: the key is to find which ones. This, La-Mulana, Knytt Stories, Saira and Treasure Adventure Game are basically my top tier, as indie platformers go. -Tom
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2014 21:55:58 GMT -5
I wouldn't say its better than every Mega Man game, but honestly its because I personally don't think they are comparable, besides taking inspirations from it. This game has a unique identity, that I can't even compare it to another game I've played. I still haven't beat it yet, but I'm enjoying the hell outta it. And damn, the OST is phenomenal. The King Knight battle theme is my favorite so far
I only wish that the Steam version would support my controller though (Snakebyte FFXIV). Until then I guess I'll be stuck playing with the keyboard.
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Post by SkyeWelse on Jul 16, 2014 22:39:55 GMT -5
I have to agree with Wyrd and Xakdrek in that it does have some phenomenal music. I guess you might look at it as a game that is made to be a retro-game that would have been every bit as good, if not better (say in Wyrdwad's case) than the Mega Man series. It really is "retro-done-right" and it does feel like a game that could have been released when I was younger sitting in front of the TV playing the next installment of Mega Man, although it has much more to offer nostalgic-wise than just the Mega Man series. It feels like it gives an honest tribute to the great NES classics.
And to answer Zeithri's statement / question about: "But if I wanted to play a game like that, why not just play Megaman?"
Because I've already played Mega Man, many, many times. It's the same reason I've played through all 10+ Mega Man games. Because I want more and I want to continue the experience and play the next chapter. Shovel Knight is something worthy of being the next chapter.
-Thomas
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2014 2:20:53 GMT -5
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Post by Zeithri on Jul 21, 2014 11:55:29 GMT -5
Fair enough but the game doesn't interest me and this is mainly because of the title and the premise. I can't take the game seriously because it is a Knight with a Shovel.
Others like it so that is fine, that is great.
Now that's just some grade A BS right there. No insult intended but that is just really poorly worded. "Rose-colored glasses" only apply to people who reminisce about nostalgic days - They do not apply to us who still play those games every years and possibly several during a year as well. I still replay Megaman, Metroid, Shadowrun every year, not to mention all the other games I do play or even games I haven't played that I discover later.
In this case, it's not at all rose-colored glasses. That is by far, one of the worst excuses ever. Is it simply just not so that YOU are the one who isn't playing those old games anymore if you are willing to throw out a term like that?
I'd call it more the vocal minority in that case but it's probably in truth more the vocal majority. While the good and interesting ones are the true minority of it all.
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