HLV | Hugh J. O'Donnell

Hugh Likes Video Games: Final Fantasy Adventure

September 18, 2015

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Game Boy

Square/Sun Soft

Today we’re traveling back in time for a classic edition of Hugh Likes Video Games. Final Fantasy Adventure is a action RPG originally released for the Game Boy by Square. Released in Japan as Seiken Densetsu, western fans may be more familiar with its blockbuster sequel, Super Nintendo’s “Secret of Mana.” The game follows a escaped gladiatorial slave as he fights against the forces of the evil Glaive empire to protect a mysterious girl who may be the key to an ancient power.

A top-down action role playing game, Final Fantasy Adventure feels more like the Legend of Zelda than its command-based namesake. In fact, the name was changed for the U.S. market to tie-in to the popular NES and SNES titles. Over the course of the game, the hero, who the player names themselves, equips a variety of weapons, armor and magic, travels through a world that is surprisingly vast for the little handheld, and befriends a number of allies to help in his adventure.

Having recently replayed Final Fantasy Adventure, I can say that it holds up in some ways and not others. The combat is solid fun, and the story is spare but enjoyable. The repetitive dungeons and occasionally frustrating puzzles, which occasionally rely on luck rather than skill, are not. Also aggravating are the town NPCs, who have completely idiotic pathfinding, and give long speeches whenever you touch them. Getting out of town can occasionally be more of a hassle than the dungeon you just left.

Despite the antiquated elements of the game, Final Fantasy Adventure remains a hidden gem from the dawn of handheld gaming. It is not yet available in the Nintendo Virtual Console store, but there was a rather bland remake for the game boy color called “Sword of Mana.” Unfortunately, it didn’t hold up to the original. If you have an old Game Boy or GBA laying around, pick up this one if you get the chance.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Steamworld Dig

September 11, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Video Games HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, Platformer, Puzzle, Steampunk, Video game, Western Leave a comment

SteamWorld Dig
Image and Form Games
Played on PS Vita

SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt is a quirky indie platformer. You play as Rusty, a young steam-powered robot called to a tiny frontier town by his miner uncle. The first thing he has to do, however, is solve his mysterious death. He left Rusty his mine, so the plan is to dig it out, look for clues, and get upgrades from helpful towns-bots on the surface.
SWD is a fun and colorful game with controls that are very easy to pick up. As you mine valuables and delve deeper, you come across tougher materials and enemies, but gain access to upgrades and better tools. The balance is nicely tuned to provide a gently sloping difficulty curve. There are also plenty of hidden areas and secrets to reach once you upgrade your abilities.
The designs are appealing and fun as well. The post-human wild west setting is delightful and slightly off-putting at the same time, especially when you start running into irradiated survivors in the underground caves.The only major downside to the game is that it is rather short, even for a puzzle-platformer, and the physics puzzles themselves aren’t too taxing. With only three main sections, The game can be fully cleared in only a few hours. There have been further games teased in the “Steamworld” line, so hopefully this will only be a teaser of greater things to come. As it is, “SteamWorld Dig: A fistful of Dirt” is a fantastic platformer for younger gamers, or a worthwhile afternoon distraction for veterans.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved

September 4, 2015

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Hugh Likes Video Games
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
Played on PS Vita

The Geometry Wars series has a simple concept. A little ship flies through a 2D grid and shoots enemies for points. It also has an elegant, pseudo-vector graphics visual style. So how do you improve on a classic formula whose visual flair is so immediately iconic? Any change to the gameplay or graphics would be too drastic with so simple a concept. Rather than just retreading the same formula or completely retooling it, “Geometry Wars 3” does something both unexpected and completely unique.
Geometry Wars 3 Dimensions Evolved is not a 3D shooter. It is a 2D shooter mapped to a 3D object. A tradition 3D shooter lets you maneuver thought a vast environment of empty space filled with enemies and objects. Geometry Wars 3’s environment is a 2D grid, but presented as a variety of 3D solids, like globes, hemispheres, cylinders and cubes. Projectiles, enemies, and obstacles are likewise set on these objects, making movement surprising, innovative, and just as addictive as previous incarnations. For example, your projectiles move very differently on a capsule-shaped surface than they do on a disc. These shaped playing fields put interesting spin on gameplay.
There are plenty of other additions as well. A variety of level types and gameplay modes keep the experience fresh, and a lengthy first player Adventure mode does a good job of introducing them to the player. Players also get a variety of computer controlled drones that assist in a number of ways, from collecting shards to increase your score modifier, to ramming opponents or firing highly accurate, sniper rounds. Drones also have customizable special attacks that further increase their novelty.
The only major flaw of the game is that the soundtrack is rather forgettable techno-pop that soon grates. Overall, Geometry Wars 3 is a winner. Its addictive but varied gameplay will keep shooter aficionados trying for one more high score for a long time.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Rogue Legacy

April 10, 2015

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Hugh Likes Video Games: Rogue Legacy
Cellar Door Games
Available for Steam and the Playstation Network

“Rogue Legacy” is one of those indie games that feels both nostalgically familiar and refreshingly novel at the same time. A platform game set in a randomly generated castle, “Rogue Legacy” put me equally in the mind of the old school turn-based dungeon explorers and punishingly difficult 8-bit platformers like “Castlevania” and “Ninja Gaiden.”
The player controls not just one character, but a family of adventurers. You navigate the castle in one of eight classes, fighting monsters and collecting treasure. When you lose a life, you choose an heir, who inherits your gear and spoils. You can use them to improve your stats, buy new gear, or equip magical runes. These give the player special abilities such as air dashes, double jumps, or steal health from monsters. Each heir has their own class and physical characteristics which subtly change gameplay. Barbarians have better health but weaker attacks while Shinobi are fast but can’t land critical hits. Individual characteristics such as an Eidetic Memory or Dwarfism affect gameplay while baldness or colorblindness change the graphics. There are a variety of different effects that change up the game without being too distracting.
Each castle is randomly generated, but the gameplay and layout will seem very familiar to players of games like “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.” The player explores rooms in 2-D, fighting a vast horde of enemies and leaping over traps.
While you can improve your abilities, players will still die quite often, because the game is quite difficult. Enemies fill the screen with projectiles and attacks, which can be extremely difficult to avoid. I’ve had enough generations go through this castle that they should have jetpacks and phasers instead of swords and armor by the end.
In spite of the extreme difficulty of some of the layouts, the game rarely feels frustrating, and the generation mechanic ensures that each run-through feels different. It’s an easy game to pick up intending to play for only a few minutes, and find that hours have passed, saying ‘I’ll just do one more run.’
“Rogue Legacy” is a charming game for old-school platforming fans looking for a modern twist, with gameplay that can be picked up on the go. It is available for Mac, PC, and Playstation consoles.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Velocity 2X

January 26, 2015

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Hugh Likes Video Games
Velocity 2X
Published by FuturLab
Playstation 4/Playstation Vita

“Velocity 2X” is a neat little indie game that defies classification. The sequel to “Velocity Ultra,” it follows the adventures of ace pilot Kai Tana and her prototype teleporting space fighter the Qwarp jet as she fights an evil alien empire and searches for a way home.
Mashing up a traditional shooter with tricky teleportation puzzles, “Velocity Ultra” was a blast to play. The sequel expands on it just about everywhere, with touched-up graphics, a delightful story, more bonus content, and platforming sections. I expected the latter additions to break the flow of gameplay, but they are just as fun and challenging as the flying. The controls and abilities used on foot cleverly echo what you do in the cockpit, and feel very organic. Thanks to excellent level design, these sections feel like an enhancement rather than a disruption.
The other main enhancement in the sequel is a much beefed-up story. Kai’s one-woman assault on a stock empire of war-like aliens feels like both a trope and an inversion. She is hardly the first lone fighter pilot to go up against a fleet of aliens, but having her invade them, backed up by a slowly forming revolt of enslaved pacifist scientists, feels perfect. Kai is an outstanding character of the mold we see too rarely in games. She’s equal parts sass-mouthed and kind-hearted, and she’s a big enough bad-ass to back it up. She’s got Samus Aran and Lara Croft in her DNA, and she is a one-woman army, not a sex object.
The gameplay remains strong overall, and the challenge ramps up at a nice curve for new players. By the end of the game, you’ll be straining both your reflexes and your puzzle-solving skills to complete the labyrinthine mazes of each level.
Velocity 2X is a fun, challenging indie shooter that defies both genre and convention. It is available for PS4 and Vita as a download from the Playstation store.
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Hugh Likes Video Games: Bravely Default

December 19, 2014

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Hugh Likes Video Games: Bravely Default
Published by Square Enix
Nintendo 3DS

Bravely Default is a Playstation One or Super Nintendo era RPG that didn’t exist before. It’s old school in all the right ways, with suprisingly deft use of 3DS features.
Why this wasn’t released as “Final Fantasy” is a mystery to me, because it is a beautiful love letter to the series.
“Bravely Default” is a fantasy role playing game following the journey of a sheltered, yet self-composed priestess and her friends. Their goal is to reignite the power of four elemental crystals, saving them from the machinations of an evil empire bent on using they crystals to its own ends. Along the way, they’ll fight enemies by changing classes, transforming from anything to black mages to spear-wielding fighters capable of jumping high into the air. Let me know when it starts feeling familiar.
With absolutely gorgeous designs by Akihiko Yoshida and an engine clearly updated from the DS ports of Final Fantasy III and IV, It certainly belongs in that venerable pantheon of titles. But as closely as it resembles Final Fantasy, there are also touches of Enix’s beloved franchise, “Dragon Warrior.” Much like the Super Nintendo classic “Chrono Trigger,” it is a triumph greater than the sum of its parts, if they’re the sort of thing you’re into, of course.
As old-school as “Bravely Default” is, it incorporates a lot of neat touches that take advantage of the 3DS’s standby and Streetpass functions. At the beginning of the game, one of the main characters’ village is destroyed. By passing other players when your 3DS is in standby, and spending money on work orders, you can rebuild the town, which serves as an investment that really pays off as the game progresses. The shops in the town will create special items that you can buy from traders throughout the game, and will send you free samples based when you rest the game. There are even hidden bosses that can be exchanged and fought via Streetpass. Players can also register friends to assist in battle or give characters bonuses.
The classic style of the game isn’t all great news, though. The game is old-school tough, with lots of grinding and collecting to be done, even with the help of friends and townsfolk. It’s also a very long game, so be prepared to invest some serious hours if you’re hoping to see the end credits.
“Bravely Default” is a master class in classic JRPG design and construction. If you’re a long-time fan of the genre, or you were afraid that Square Enix had lost their touch, this is the game for you. “Bravely Default” is available for the 3DS.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Castlevania, Circle of the Moon

October 31, 2014

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Published by Konami for Game Boy Advance (2001) and Wii U Virtual Console (2014)

Happy Halloween!
In honor of this dark and terrible holiday, I’m writing a bit about one of my favorite games, recently re-released. “Castlevania: Circle of the Moon” was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance. Although well received, it quickly came and went into relative obscurity as later installments in the series came out for the GBA and later Nintendo DS. But it’s still a classic in my book.
Considered a side-story at best, the game’s protagonist is Nathan Graves, an earnest young man in possession of Vampire Killer, the famous Dracula-slaying weapon of the Belmont clan, whose noticeable absence is never actually addressed. He’s out to stop the Vampire Carmilla from resurrecting Dracula and killing his mentor.
Like most of the franchise, the actual story is mostly just an excuse to show you the castle, and this is a good one. Like Symphony of the Night, this is a sprawling open castle which grants you access to new areas as you gain abilities. While it is a bit smaller than the Playstation’s sprawling ruin, there is a nice variety and scope to the castle, which is perfect for a portable adventure.
The gameplay is fun and feels nicely balanced. Nathan has a neat ability to twirl the whip like a shield and block some projectiles. He also has the DSS Cards. These cards, which you collect throughout the castle from certain enemies, act as the game’s magic system. Each effect and element card grants a different ability, giving you one hundred different ones, if you collect them all. These range from shooting fire balls to summoning angels to directly increasing your stats. These abilities are my favorite aspect of the game.
Not everything about the game has aged gracefully, however. The sound in particular has a low-res, monophonic quality that doesn’t do justice to the classic Castlevania music. As a launch title for the GBA, the color palate for the game is a bit dark and muddy. While this is thematically appropriate for the ruin of a European castle, it made the game difficult to see, particularly on the original screen, which was not backlit. More modern devices such as the DS and Wii U tablet handle the display better, but it was a clear step backwards from Symphony of the Night’s beautiful sprites and backgrounds.
If you’re looking for some classic vampire-slaying action without the punishing difficulty of the original Castlevania, I recommend picking up “Circle of the Moon.”
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is available as a GBA Cartridge (amazon,) or digitally from the Wii U store.

Hugh J. O'Donnell