Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Shall We Do It? (Attack of the Friday Monsters, Bravely Default demo, Hometown Story and more)

So, here we are, the very first installment of "Shall We Do It?" Like I said just under a week ago, this and subsequent installments will focus on short, but hopefully also sweet, impressions of some of the games named in the "Now Playing" list located on the right side of this blog. This time around, that means blurbs devoted to the following five 3DS titles: Attack of the Friday Monsters!, the Bravely Default demo, Gunman Story (aka Gunman Clive), Hometown Story and A Link Between Worlds.


Attack of the Friday Monsters!--Although I bought this eShop game right before Christmas, I didn't actually get around to booting it up until a week or so ago. Sadly, I'm already done with it--after just three hours of play time. They were a surprisingly enjoyable three hours, though; full of pseudo-nostalgia and nerve-racking card battles. If you're looking for a short game with a heart-warming (if a bit heavy-handed at times) story, I'd highly recommend picking up this one should you have the dough.


Bravely Default demo--I'm done with this one, too, although I played it about five hours longer than I played the title above. Anyway, considering I spent just over eight hours on this demo (and loved every second of it, I have to say) I'm fully expecting to love the full game, which hits our shores on Feb. 7, even more--especially if the word on the street is accurate and the retail release is far less focused on fetch quests.


Gunman Story (aka Gunman Clive)--I picked up this digital title early in the week while randomly perusing the Japanese 3DS eShop. I've only played a few stages (five, if memory serves) so far, but I liked them well enough that I'll definitely be coming back for more as soon as I'm able. I especially like the art style, by the way, which reminds me of the overlooked Wii gem, Ivy the Kiwi, of all things.


Hometown Story--This is another game that I bought long ago but ignored until now for all sorts of silly and stupid reasons. Anyway, I've now played this shop-owning sim for a little over an hour ... and I'm not entirely sure what I think of it. I really like its aesthetics--which surprised me, as I deemed it "cheap-looking" before I got my hands on it--but the gameplay seems kind of thin (as in, mobile-game thin) at the moment. Hopefully a bit of depth will be revealed when I put some more time into it later this week or this weekend.


The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds--Those of you who follow me on Twitter likely have heard me express my reservations not only about this title but about the series in general in recent months. (I haven't been excited about a Zelda game since Wind Waker's original release.) All that said, I'm really enjoying A Link Between Worlds so far. Not only does it look surprisingly lush in motion, but it feels like a classic Nintendo game--which is always a huge plus in my book. Here's hoping I stick with it longer than I stuck with Wind Waker.

28 comments:

michaelstearns said...

All the praise on Link Between Worlds (here and elsewhere) has got me thinking I'll pick it up too. I'm definitely not a Zelda regular, but I'm feelin' the pull!

Besides Friday Monsters (Hah, man, you finished that one quicker than I did! (I must have spent a lot more time going the wrong way..)) I really liked Gunman Clive, too. I'm looking forward to further impressions when you've got further or cleared the game. :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Hello, Michael! Did you like A Link to the Past? If so, you'll like A Link Between Worlds, too, I think. They "feel" very similar, or at least they do to me. Thankfully, there's enough that's unique about ALBW that it feels fresh and not like a rehash.


As for Gunman Clive: yeah, I'll definitely share more involved impressions next time around. Same with Hometown Story. I literally played about an hour of each before writing this post, and that really wasn't enough for me to get much of a feel for either.


The game I'm spending most of my time with at the moment, though, is A Link Between Worlds, so expect that to dominate the next "Shall We Do It?" post--unless something else pops up to grab my attention, of course :)

michaelstearns said...

I did like Link to the Past (and Link's Awakening!), so this had that going for it from the beginning. I didn't want to pin all my enthusiasm for it on that, though, since I'm already all like "new games should be more like old games" all the time. ;D

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, then, I think you'll really enjoy A Link Between Worlds, Michael. It feels both old and new, if that makes sense, or at least it feels that way to me. I'm really surprised by how much it's grabbed me so far, especially considering how ambivalent I am about the Zelda franchise these days.

Zach said...

Ahh, did Wind Waker burn you out? That's my fave. Triforce Charts?

thegaygamer.com said...

I honestly don't know what happened RE: me and Zelda, Zach. I think it's OOT's fault, to be honest. I loved that game and played it for ages, and for some reason my interest in the series as a whole dropped off after I beat it. Although I eventually bought Wind Waker and loved various aspects of it, it just didn't keep my attention like OOT or A Link to the Past did, and I've yet to finish it -- or any other Zelda I've played since. So, hopefully I'll be able to stick with this one long enough to finish it :)

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Gunman Clive is the best Mega Man game Capcom never released. I'm not enamored with the sepia-toned graphics- everything looks like it was printed on a wanted poster- but the gameplay is quite satisfying, with tight control and challenging level designs. I can definitely think of worse ways to spend two dollars.


Bravely Default I've already discussed on my own web site, but I think it's safe to say that it's the best (and most generous!) video game demo since Christmas NiGHTS. Pity you can only play it thirty times.

thegaygamer.com said...

I like the way you put that (your description of Gunman Clive), GB! I like the sepia-toned graphics myself, although they definitely limit things visually. I wonder if it would've been wise for the devs to have applied a bit more color to the sepia-toned backdrops, a la the NA version of Ivy the Kiwi?


As for Bravely Default's demo: although in general I dislike it when demos limit the number of times you can play them, in this case it doesn't matter much to me. I've played the demo for about 9 hours now, experienced basically everything there is to experience and yet I still have something like 17 "plays" left.

Obscure Video Games said...

Sounds like you've been busy. I'm STILL trying to finish that Bravely Default demo. I think I'm near to the end. I'm on the oasis quest, and there's a dragon boss who only takes 1 HP of damage from my magic, while simultaneously killing my characters in one turn. And everybody in my party is a maxed-out black mage now, because that was the only job that was remotely effective in the rest of the demo. It's really frustrating, and kind of ridiculous that this is happening on "Easy" difficulty. But for some reason I keep coming back for more.

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Right now the Dryads have left me, uh, stumped. I'm also not fond of the Deathwalker scorpions, which constantly spray pheromones and summon reinforcements. How annoying is it to fight a scorpion for ten minutes, only to have to do it all over again? (Hint: EXTREMELY.)


Has anyone spent time leveling up the "Performer" job skill? I'm curious about it, especially since it turns one of your party members into Elvis.

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Well, it's true that most demos will never see thirty plays. Once was plenty for that crap Castlevania spin-off... now I just want that awful thing purged from my system!

Obscure Video Games said...

OMG, I totally agree, that was the worst 3DS demo ever. I wish they would just forget about Castlevania instead of letting those people continue to rape its corpse.

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, I'm glad I skipped over that demo! That series has long been dead to me, to be honest--just like many series from my teenhood :(

TheGameroomBlitz said...

I don't remember how... :( I'll have to look it up on Google or somethin'.

thegaygamer.com said...

Really? You just go into your System Settings, then "Data Management," then "Nintendo 3DS," then "Software." Touch/click on the demo and you'll be given the option to delete it.

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Yeah, I... am not too proud of that. I just got the information from a FAQ by Nadia Oxford, but I do appreciate the assistance regardless!


(dumps Castlevania in the trash)

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha! No worries :)

TheGameroomBlitz said...

I'm willing to give future Castlevania games a fair shake, but Konami needs to stop pushing that square peg into round holes. Castlevania isn't about mindlessly thrashing enemies that take entirely too much damage... that's God of War's territory. I gave Mirror of Fate a chance because I thought it was a return to the classic Metrovania gameplay with modernized graphics. The problem is that it fails quite miserably as a Symphony of the Night clone, putting more emphasis on button mashing... and that is DEFINITELY not what I want out of my Castlevania experience. There have been worse Castlevania games- the arcade title Haunted Castle was stiff and ugly- but I honestly can't think of a worse one with SOTN-style exploration. Even the badly dated Circle of the Moon and the well-intentioned but largely crummy Simon's Quest were better.


(Sorry, that was a rather lengthy rant, wasn't it?)

thegaygamer.com said...

Hey, I don't mind lengthy rants, GB. Well, unless they're about something I like. Just kidding ;)


Anyway, I can't add much to your argument as, like I said, I gave up on this series long ago. It's just no long my thing, I guess.

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

There's one more boss after the dragon. The demo suggests that your done with the demo after you beat the dragon but if you start the file afterwards you can start a quest to fight a robot. I also managed to beat the dragon on hard with just one black mage. The only thing I can suggest to beat it is to try experimenting with the job system some more .

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, yes, in the Oasis, right? I fought and beat that one, too. IN fact, I found him (??) easier than the dragon. Of course, I think the first time I fought the dragon (and lost), I used the wrong combo of jobs. Anyway, I agree with you, Sam, that beating these later bosses is all about choosing the right jobs and skills.

TheGameroomBlitz said...

By the way, feel free to call me Jess if you're more comfortable with that. I think we're on friendly enough terms that we don't have to refer to each other by our blog titles. :D

thegaygamer.com said...

Jess it is! And call me Bryan, if you haven't been already :)

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

Maybe try making one of your characters a ninja while giving them bushido as their ability. Have them wield 2 weapons(weapon power doesn't go down when a ninja duel wields). Learn the the dragon's attack patterns and when it does mow down (attacks all party members) have them use the bushido skill Nothing Ventured, this will halve damage from a physical attack and make them do a counter attack that causes a reasonable amount of damage. When the boss can't move for a turn have the ninja default for that turn until they have 3 BP. When they have 3 BP make the ninja brave and use the ninjustsu skill Ikkiasei (costs 1BP) and then follow it with 3 attack commands this will leave the ninja with 1- BP on the next turn so they'll be vulnerable for the next turn. Usually the dragon braves every time it attacks so default the next turn but if you want to make sure that it can't attack on a turn press the circle pad left and if it has -1 then it can't move. Also try making your healer a red mage with white magic as their ability. The red mage specialty is revenge which has a chance of them getting 1 BP when they take damage and BP can come in handy for your healer. Also have the healer default when the other 3 are OK. Give your healer the support ability Damage Dispersion that you get from the black mage job. Also giving someone Valkyrie as their job or giving them Valkyrie's ability agility (or whatever it's called, It's symbol is a feather) wouldn't hurt. If you do have said character equip a spear and nothing else in the other hand and make them use the skill jump.

Also if you want better gear use this exploit http://tinycartridge.com/post/72442608338/get-20-bravely-default-villagers-without and build the armor and weapon shops. You don't need the equipment they sell but they will help quite a bit. Stock up on phoenix downs and potions. And if you need to grind go to the temple south of the town and use thundara on the enemies there.

Obscure Video Games said...

Wow, that's a lot ideas you're giving me! I'll keep trying and hopefully something will work for me. Thanks for the help!

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, I don't think I'd want it to be any longer that it is/was either, Matt. I only said that it was sad that I finished it in three hours because I enjoyed it so much!

Matt S said...

I really hope the director has more games of this kind planned! I really, really hope so.


Really hope so. Attack was my 3DS game of 2013... except that Bravely Default which released right before Christmas.

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, yes, I want more games of this kind, too. And maybe the director could make another Boku no Natsuyasumi while he's at it? Although of course it won't be localized :(