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Do you remember the era of the N64? Where we had but a few third party developers making their titles upon Nintendo's finest machine?
Capcom were making million selling franchises on the Playstation, Square stuck their middle finger up at cartidge based Nintendo, Namco repeatidly slanted Nintendo's home format, Eidos refused to accept the system existed and new company Rockstar would only release a handful of tiny projects. But what all these companies believe would come to pass did not, the fall of Nintendo. Some brilliant innovations, the introduction of Pokemon and a certain game called Goldeneye allowed the mighty N to laugh in the face of the massive menace that was the Playstation. Nintendo may have had themselves to blame for the introduction to the Playstation but it was also because of Nintendo and Nintendo alone that they had managed to stop the money guzzling giant from eating away at Nintendo's fabled fan base.
Nevertheless Nintendo had support, well at least a bit from two major companies... in the east that support came from friends and highly talented publisher/developer Konami and in the east the adult orientated genius that was Acclaim.
Oh how times change.
Now a mere generation later and all of the big Japanese developers are making games exclusivly for Nintendo... Namco have confirmed the release of all their biggest franchises (bar Time Crisis and Tekken) plus 2 exclusive Nintendo money spinners. Capcom have release 5 exclusive games for Nintendo in the last year and a half... since the sale of Rare in fact who, despite being a bigger production studio, have made a mere 1 title for Microsoft. Square had been grovelling for weeks and set up an independant studio to allow the creation of exclusive Gamecube titles. SEGA of course are always doing something for Nintendo. In the east EA show dedicated support for Nintendo, Eidos spot that Nintendo exist and actually published 2 games and Nintendo have picked up 2 new companies Silcion Knights and Retro Studios.
So where have Konami and Acclaim gone?
Acclaim of course still exist and they do still support Nintendo. But a whole lot less. Turok, the previous Nintendo exclusive title, is now multi-format... it is also crap. In fact a lot of Acclaim titles have lost it since they've decided to leave Nintendo in favour of the money grabbing Playstation market. It may be due to the recent shake up by the company but Acclaim have publicaly made Nintendo responsible for their lagging software sales. Shadowman, one of the finest N64 titles, got a sequel that was nothing more than a pathetic 3rd person adventure game for the PS2. Acclaim's biggest titles such as the Extreme G series and in particular Burnout are now all released as a PS2 title with a later conversion. It may not be a massive loss, whereas once they ruled they now do not and so not having this company as dedicated as they once were is not that damaging. But it is still sad.
Konami is a little different. Since the N54 era Konami have become probably the biggest Japanese 3rd party developer in the world. Pro Evolution Soccor and Metal Gear Solid are titles that sell systems in style and get number 1 all over the world. These are titles that have never appeared on a Nintendo home console (outside of Japan). Nintendo could do with such titles, but that is okay because Konami have exclusive games for Nintendo that can potentially do the same. Well at least they did. Castlevania and Mystical Ninja, fantastic underatted games (well I though so) on the N64 no longer exist as Nintendo titles. In fact other than the Gameboy Nintendo barley see anything of their old friend bar the disspointing ISS system. But unlike Acclaim Nintendo need to rescue their fallen relationship. Because Konami sell systems and Nintendo have systems to sell.
Enter Silicon Knights, in my eyes Nintendo's GREATEST developer. Retro are fantastic, Hal are amazing but Silicon Knights make works of art. Eternal Darkness for example, despite lacking flare, is such a beautifully crafted piece of perfection with not a flaw to find. Amazing and the release of their next title had a mixed response from me. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a class looking title that has all the flare missing from past Knight's titles. But it is also a game that has stopped Dennis Dyack's team from making their next classic and concentrating on this upgraded port dicatated by Konami. Now the Metal Gear game is the first exclusive Konami game on the Gamecube... and they're not even making it. This is Nintendo trying desperatly to work so close to Konami that this is the first of a beautiful friendship. SK themselves have claimed this and that they could be working with Konami more in the future.
Could this be Konami's return? Could Retro be making a specific ISS Nintendo exclusive (the were making a football game after all)... Could Silicon Knights be producing the next Castlevania game (imagine how fantastic that would be)... Could Hal be ressurecting Goeman? What do you think?
Here's to the future.
Dringo.
Capcom were making million selling franchises on the Playstation, Square stuck their middle finger up at cartidge based Nintendo, Namco repeatidly slanted Nintendo's home format, Eidos refused to accept the system existed and new company Rockstar would only release a handful of tiny projects. But what all these companies believe would come to pass did not, the fall of Nintendo. Some brilliant innovations, the introduction of Pokemon and a certain game called Goldeneye allowed the mighty N to laugh in the face of the massive menace that was the Playstation. Nintendo may have had themselves to blame for the introduction to the Playstation but it was also because of Nintendo and Nintendo alone that they had managed to stop the money guzzling giant from eating away at Nintendo's fabled fan base.
Nevertheless Nintendo had support, well at least a bit from two major companies... in the east that support came from friends and highly talented publisher/developer Konami and in the east the adult orientated genius that was Acclaim.
Oh how times change.
Now a mere generation later and all of the big Japanese developers are making games exclusivly for Nintendo... Namco have confirmed the release of all their biggest franchises (bar Time Crisis and Tekken) plus 2 exclusive Nintendo money spinners. Capcom have release 5 exclusive games for Nintendo in the last year and a half... since the sale of Rare in fact who, despite being a bigger production studio, have made a mere 1 title for Microsoft. Square had been grovelling for weeks and set up an independant studio to allow the creation of exclusive Gamecube titles. SEGA of course are always doing something for Nintendo. In the east EA show dedicated support for Nintendo, Eidos spot that Nintendo exist and actually published 2 games and Nintendo have picked up 2 new companies Silcion Knights and Retro Studios.
So where have Konami and Acclaim gone?
Acclaim of course still exist and they do still support Nintendo. But a whole lot less. Turok, the previous Nintendo exclusive title, is now multi-format... it is also crap. In fact a lot of Acclaim titles have lost it since they've decided to leave Nintendo in favour of the money grabbing Playstation market. It may be due to the recent shake up by the company but Acclaim have publicaly made Nintendo responsible for their lagging software sales. Shadowman, one of the finest N64 titles, got a sequel that was nothing more than a pathetic 3rd person adventure game for the PS2. Acclaim's biggest titles such as the Extreme G series and in particular Burnout are now all released as a PS2 title with a later conversion. It may not be a massive loss, whereas once they ruled they now do not and so not having this company as dedicated as they once were is not that damaging. But it is still sad.
Konami is a little different. Since the N54 era Konami have become probably the biggest Japanese 3rd party developer in the world. Pro Evolution Soccor and Metal Gear Solid are titles that sell systems in style and get number 1 all over the world. These are titles that have never appeared on a Nintendo home console (outside of Japan). Nintendo could do with such titles, but that is okay because Konami have exclusive games for Nintendo that can potentially do the same. Well at least they did. Castlevania and Mystical Ninja, fantastic underatted games (well I though so) on the N64 no longer exist as Nintendo titles. In fact other than the Gameboy Nintendo barley see anything of their old friend bar the disspointing ISS system. But unlike Acclaim Nintendo need to rescue their fallen relationship. Because Konami sell systems and Nintendo have systems to sell.
Enter Silicon Knights, in my eyes Nintendo's GREATEST developer. Retro are fantastic, Hal are amazing but Silicon Knights make works of art. Eternal Darkness for example, despite lacking flare, is such a beautifully crafted piece of perfection with not a flaw to find. Amazing and the release of their next title had a mixed response from me. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a class looking title that has all the flare missing from past Knight's titles. But it is also a game that has stopped Dennis Dyack's team from making their next classic and concentrating on this upgraded port dicatated by Konami. Now the Metal Gear game is the first exclusive Konami game on the Gamecube... and they're not even making it. This is Nintendo trying desperatly to work so close to Konami that this is the first of a beautiful friendship. SK themselves have claimed this and that they could be working with Konami more in the future.
Could this be Konami's return? Could Retro be making a specific ISS Nintendo exclusive (the were making a football game after all)... Could Silicon Knights be producing the next Castlevania game (imagine how fantastic that would be)... Could Hal be ressurecting Goeman? What do you think?
Here's to the future.
Dringo.
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*2002
What he's claiming is that the gameplay mechanics of ED is only good because of the atmosphere and story. Although it is true the latter 2 do indeed aid that but I found the game fun in perfection. The shooting was as satisfying as some of the best shooter, the puzzles were fantastically put together, compelling, clever and enjoyable.
Sure we didn't get a fat plumber jumping eighty feet in the end but that really doesn't make a game fun.. it makes THAT game fun. To call ED dull is bordering on the damn right false, I loved it... the addictive boss fights... the cool enemies... the hack and slash affairs... the magick system... the story... the varying locations... the sanity effects...
All of these made the game far from dull, and next to sunshine one of the greatest games of 2003. A complex, developing masterpiece. A game that did so much and did it so well.
As good as Prime is and we could say Sunshine too... these are games that try some new things but not nearly as much or as in as much depth as Eternal DArkness did...
Sure we didn't get a fat plumber jumping eighty feet in the end but that really doesn't make a game fun.. it makes THAT game fun. To call ED dull is bordering on the damn right false, I loved it... the addictive boss fights... the cool enemies... the hack and slash affairs... the magick system... the story... the varying locations... the sanity effects...
All of these made the game far from dull, and next to sunshine one of the greatest games of 2003. A complex, developing masterpiece. A game that did so much and did it so well.
As good as Prime is and we could say Sunshine too... these are games that try some new things but not nearly as much or as in as much depth as Eternal DArkness did...
But Eternal Darkness doesn't want to be like Mario Sunshine. If you were put the controls of Mario Sunshine in Eternal Darkness would it be good? No. It's easy to say that one set of controls wouldn't work in another game, it doesn't mean in any way that the game is bad.
I coudl say Pro Evo's controls on Mario Kart would be rubbish, does that make either bad?
Muh.
Anyway, the combat system in ED is great and as a gam,e it's brilliant; the puzzles are far better than anything Resident Evil can offer the level design is genius (really, it is) and little things liek having to avoid Trapper's make it that little different. Along with the amazing atmosphere of course.
I'd say it's easily the game of 2002. It has everything you want from a game; good combat, a great atmosphere, engrossing puzzles and a plot that's bordering on the sublime. The fact is, playing through it is enjoyable, it's an experience and it's a story. It's alm,ost as if you're claimign it's a bad game just because it has a superb storyline and atmosphere.
I coudl say Pro Evo's controls on Mario Kart would be rubbish, does that make either bad?
Muh.
Anyway, the combat system in ED is great and as a gam,e it's brilliant; the puzzles are far better than anything Resident Evil can offer the level design is genius (really, it is) and little things liek having to avoid Trapper's make it that little different. Along with the amazing atmosphere of course.
I'd say it's easily the game of 2002. It has everything you want from a game; good combat, a great atmosphere, engrossing puzzles and a plot that's bordering on the sublime. The fact is, playing through it is enjoyable, it's an experience and it's a story. It's alm,ost as if you're claimign it's a bad game just because it has a superb storyline and atmosphere.
Dringo wrote:
> Have you played Eternal Darkness????????????????????????????
Stop believing your own hype. The general consensus is that ED is a slightly dull game made good by an atmospheric setting and engrossing storyline. Let me put it this way: if you transposed the gameplay mechanics from ED into Mario Sunshine, would the game be any good? Eternal Darkness does not innovate past the atmosphere it creates and the story it tells - the spells and the ability to hack limbs off are not major gameplay devices. You are just a character roaming a series of really quite bland levels, and you have nothing more than a few repetitive sword moves, objects to collect, a handful of spells, a few uninspiring monsters and Indianna Jones-esque traps to interact with. Eternal Darkness is not "complicated", by any stretch of the imagination.
Eternal Darkness does succeed in telling a story in a unique and compelling way when sat next to other games, and is a viable platform from which to build a truly stellar sequel. In this respect it's like Pikmin - a promising but not fully formed game franchise.
> Have you played Eternal Darkness????????????????????????????
Stop believing your own hype. The general consensus is that ED is a slightly dull game made good by an atmospheric setting and engrossing storyline. Let me put it this way: if you transposed the gameplay mechanics from ED into Mario Sunshine, would the game be any good? Eternal Darkness does not innovate past the atmosphere it creates and the story it tells - the spells and the ability to hack limbs off are not major gameplay devices. You are just a character roaming a series of really quite bland levels, and you have nothing more than a few repetitive sword moves, objects to collect, a handful of spells, a few uninspiring monsters and Indianna Jones-esque traps to interact with. Eternal Darkness is not "complicated", by any stretch of the imagination.
Eternal Darkness does succeed in telling a story in a unique and compelling way when sat next to other games, and is a viable platform from which to build a truly stellar sequel. In this respect it's like Pikmin - a promising but not fully formed game franchise.
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Darwock wrote:
> Yes, Konami are probably the greates**t developer in Japan! They make
> all my favourite game series: Drummania, Guitar Freaks, DDR, Metal
> Gear, Pro Evo Soccer, Cas**tlevania... not to mention all the arcade
> innovation they are responsible for (Fighting Mania, Silent Scope
> and
> so on)
>
> That's some warped logic if you think Konami skipping on Nintendo =
> Konami being s**t.
>
> So that basically confirms to me that other than MGS and Pro Evo,
> Konami make very niche titles that are only gonna appeal to a select
> few. Oh and I'd love for you to point out where I said Konami
> skipping on Nintendo makes them sh*t. I jus**t said they're not a
> massive loss.
>
> Oh and there hasn't been a decent Cas**tlevania game since the SNES
> days.
Obviously you haven't played Symphony of the Night then?
> Darwock wrote:
> Yes, Konami are probably the greates**t developer in Japan! They make
> all my favourite game series: Drummania, Guitar Freaks, DDR, Metal
> Gear, Pro Evo Soccer, Cas**tlevania... not to mention all the arcade
> innovation they are responsible for (Fighting Mania, Silent Scope
> and
> so on)
>
> That's some warped logic if you think Konami skipping on Nintendo =
> Konami being s**t.
>
> So that basically confirms to me that other than MGS and Pro Evo,
> Konami make very niche titles that are only gonna appeal to a select
> few. Oh and I'd love for you to point out where I said Konami
> skipping on Nintendo makes them sh*t. I jus**t said they're not a
> massive loss.
>
> Oh and there hasn't been a decent Cas**tlevania game since the SNES
> days.
Obviously you haven't played Symphony of the Night then?
Ah but with SK at the helm their damn well could be.
Oh haven't you played the GBA incarnations then?
Oh haven't you played the GBA incarnations then?
Darwock wrote:
> Yes, Konami are probably the greates**t developer in Japan! They make
> all my favourite game series: Drummania, Guitar Freaks, DDR, Metal
> Gear, Pro Evo Soccer, Cas**tlevania... not to mention all the arcade
> innovation they are responsible for (Fighting Mania, Silent Scope and
> so on)
>
> That's some warped logic if you think Konami skipping on Nintendo =
> Konami being s**t.
So that basically confirms to me that other than MGS and Pro Evo, Konami make very niche titles that are only gonna appeal to a select few. Oh and I'd love for you to point out where I said Konami skipping on Nintendo makes them sh*t. I jus**t said they're not a massive loss.
Oh and there hasn't been a decent Cas**tlevania game since the SNES days.
> Yes, Konami are probably the greates**t developer in Japan! They make
> all my favourite game series: Drummania, Guitar Freaks, DDR, Metal
> Gear, Pro Evo Soccer, Cas**tlevania... not to mention all the arcade
> innovation they are responsible for (Fighting Mania, Silent Scope and
> so on)
>
> That's some warped logic if you think Konami skipping on Nintendo =
> Konami being s**t.
So that basically confirms to me that other than MGS and Pro Evo, Konami make very niche titles that are only gonna appeal to a select few. Oh and I'd love for you to point out where I said Konami skipping on Nintendo makes them sh*t. I jus**t said they're not a massive loss.
Oh and there hasn't been a decent Cas**tlevania game since the SNES days.
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Flinging some money at Rockstar would also help
> their cause, but Rockstar are too 'grown up' for them apparently.
> Because extreme and over the top violence that mainly appeals to 12
> year olds and over sexed teens, is really 'mature'.
Ah, my thoughts exactly.
And stop comparing MP and ED.
ED = genius
MP = Perfection
> Flinging some money at Rockstar would also help
> their cause, but Rockstar are too 'grown up' for them apparently.
> Because extreme and over the top violence that mainly appeals to 12
> year olds and over sexed teens, is really 'mature'.
Ah, my thoughts exactly.
And stop comparing MP and ED.
ED = genius
MP = Perfection
And I forgot Boktai! Incredible innovation for a NINTENDO system....
Yes, Konami are probably the greatest developer in Japan! They make all my favourite game series: Drummania, Guitar Freaks, DDR, Metal Gear, Pro Evo Soccer, Castlevania... not to mention all the arcade innovation they are responsible for (Fighting Mania, Silent Scope and so on)
That's some warped logic if you think Konami skipping on Nintendo = Konami being s**t.
That's some warped logic if you think Konami skipping on Nintendo = Konami being s**t.
Page: