Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.
Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.
Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?
Digimon World Dawn/Dusk
The plot in one version is slightly different from the other. They are two sides of a similar story. Light Fang (whom you are part of in Dawn) and Night Claw [mistranslated as Night Crow] (likewise, but in Dusk), think the opposite team is the enemy, but the real enemy is not Light Fang/Night Claw. I don't want to spoil it.
The gameplay is like an improved version of the previous Digimon World DS. They added much more in general.
100%.
I love these games!
Yoshi's island DS...It's received a lot of praise over the year it's been out. But is it deserving of it? Um, short answer. No.
See, it's not terrible, it has lovely graphics/animation, sound, ideas etc.
But the gameplay is extremely boring and tedious.
Right from start to finish (although I haven't finished it :| ) I don't have the patience to play for a long period of time. Early on in the game, the levels are just too easy and boring to play with uninspiring puzzles and level designs, boss fights etc. I ended up with 50+ lives because it was so easy and I hardly ever died. Then when you get closer to the end (near the end of world 4) the difficulty level just shoots up. Take the level before last in World four for example. You have to get through an area with slippery tiny platforms that are way too easy to slide off. If you do then recovering would be a miracle. To top that off, you have huge big pink bouncy things flying at you most of the time, moving platforms, bouncy penguins (that can only be killed by eggs, which makes them really awkward) and enemies you can't kill who throw eggs at you. I thought this game was aimed at everyone. It would take a hardcore gamer to get past these later levels! It's not very fun to be biffed and bashed around by these smiley pink bouncy things!
On top of that, some of the puzzles are easy, but really tedious. Like the one where you have to continously throw eggs at a wall of spiky balls to make the way safe for Yoshi and his pals. This takes forever and you could understand my frustration when I accidentally ran too far and died, having to start the whole thing again. It's things like this that made me give up on completing it. It's too hard, tedious and boring!
The game has some good ideas with the babies though. Mario can run fast and when he's on Yoshi's back, special blocks appear. Peach uses her umbrella to fly up updrafts. Donkey kong can climb vines. Wario has a magnet to pull down platforms and attract coins and Bowser can breath fire (stripping Yoshi of his swallow move)
The annoying thing is, that these powers aren't utilised nearly enough to keep things interesting. I actually started to feel entertained when Wario showed up because they were being inventive on the few levels with him. That's another thing. Wario and Bowser stay for about four to five levels and then you never see them again! Lame!
Instead of a health bar (like in Yoshi's story) if you get hit, your baby usually flies away in a bubble screaming their heads off. The annoying thing is, while the screams are cute at first, they get insanely annoying. Trust me, you'll be hearing them a lot. Later in the game, they have levels where you couldn't possibly avoid getting hurt the first time you play through and even when you know, it's still pretty difficult to avoid HUGE BIG-ASS CHAIN CHOMPS RAINING DOWN ON YOU! o_O
As well as the screams, the bubbles seem to move randomly which really sucks when you get hit at the top of some tall vines leaving you able to do NOTHING while you pray your baby flies down to you. But no. It decides to hover out of reach until it gets stolen. Meh, the stupid baby deserves it ¬_¬
I didn't pay much attention to the story however. Something to do with Kamek and Bowser needing something from several specific babies, but then again, Mario games are never really about the story. The only real development I've seen up to half-way through the final world is Baby bowser having an argument with present day bowser...and that's just to give them a reason to throw Baby bowser on us...
As I mentioned earlier, the graphics and sounds are mostly lovely. Especially for sprites. Regardless of how annoying the chain chomps are, they're really well drawn and animated.
There's four control methods to choose from. Two if you're not counting the different egg shooting methods for the two types.
I prefer the second one, because it's easier to control and it feels more like a classic Mario game (A to jump, B to swallow)
R is used to shoot eggs, which Yoshi will aim automatically. This is where the variations come in. You can choose whether to have Yoshi fire the egg as soon as you let go of the button, or to continue aiming up and down until you press it again. It was a nice idea so I give props for that.
But even these aren't enough to save the game. If a game is dull and boring to play, it doesn't matter how nice it looks or how good the controls are.
A disappointment, especially when I loved the supposedly inferior Yoshi's Story
Overall, I give the game 76%
I would only reccommend this game to hardcore Mario fans...and people who love frustration
Doukutsu Monogatari
Otherwise known as Cave Story, this is an indie game, created single-handedly by a man I now revere - Daisuke Amaya a.k.a. Pixel. That's right - he programmed it, made all of the sprites, did all of the designs, and composed all of the music. Everything - he did it. Yes, you can create a game worth playing (actually, I would call it a masterpiece) by YOURSELF if you have the time, the passion, the skill, and the vision to make it happen.
First off...
Gameplay
Cave Story is a platforming shooter adventure game. That is as good as I can describe it, as a mortal man. It is a beautiful concoction with fantastic level design, logical and fun objectives, frightening (and cute!) enemies, challenging bosses, and unique weapons. I must warn you - this game is NOT easy. You most likely WILL die, especially on your first play. The amount of enemies and projectiles can get overwhelming, but this does not detract from the fun. Probably the thing that stuck out at me first was the weapon system. Upon death, enemies would most likely drop golden triangles, which would increase your weapon's upgrade meter. When the meter was filled, your weapon would upgrade to the next level, the max level usually being three. The weapons get progressively stronger, and the animations and functions differ as well (for example, a larger shot, multiple firings at once, more bullets on screen at one time, etc.). However, when you take damage, as well as losing health, your weapon's upgrade meter will deplete as well - resulting in having to regain your energy if you want to fight easily. The enemies are fun to fight for the most part (a few exceptions are the flying Basu and the strange toilet-paper throwing ghost cats later on), and the bosses are creative and can prove a real challenge, especially later on. The only discrepancy I have is this: it really is unforgiving to new players. If you're not good at platforming or - god forbid - platforming AND shooting, you will die often. However, please don't let that deter you from giving it a shot - it's really a work of art. Practice on Mega Man or something. :O
Score: 9.5/10
Artwork
I will probably say a lot less here, because really? For a guy that did this all on his own? These things look amazing. Beautiful pixel artwork that captures character well and the attack animations can be quite showy and entertaining. Animation, overall, is very smooth - everything looks very natural and, basically, I have no problems with the artwork at all. Of course, they are of around SNES quality, or just a tad less. However, they are still beautiful.
Score: 9/10
Music
He's a genius composer. I really don't know what to say other than looking up the soundtrack on YouTube. Each piece perfectly complements the area - Grasstown is happy and upbeat, with refreshing melody and tempo, while Mimiga Village is slightly sad and almost lonely sounding. Some are quirky and fun, while others are urgent, foreboding, and dangerous. They're all fantastic. Go listen to them and enjoy.
Score: 10/10
Story
I'll try to not give away too much, but here we go...
You're a robot that wakes up in a cave with no recollection of anything, and with not a single item to his name. Soon he realizes he is on a floating island called Mimiga Island, which is inhabited by a race of rabbit-like creatures called Mimigas. You are thrown into a conflict between the Mimigas, who are just fighting for their freedom and survival, and the evil Doctor, who possesses the Demon Crown and wishes to enslave the Mimigas to assault humanity down below, on the surface.
Very interesting, with lovable characters (and enemies) with THREE different endings depending on what you do in the game (though I won't spoil that).
Score: 9/10
In conclusion, Cave Story is one game you do NOT want to miss out on - it's beautiful, it's fun, and you can play it over and over again. Not to mention, it's WORTH a full fifty dollars - it's just as lengthy and complex as any 2D Metroid or Castlevania title. Oh, and Amaya is working with a team of developers to come out with a WiiWare port soon, with enhanced graphics and other extra content. =] Show your support for Pixel and shell out the $10~ when it comes out. He'll appreciate it.
Overall Score: 9.5/10
Visit cavestory.org for a download of an installation pack including the game and the English translation. (Not Pixel's official site)
Digimon World Dawn/Dusk
The plot in one version is slightly different from the other. They are two sides of a similar story. Light Fang (whom you are part of in Dawn) and Night Claw [mistranslated as Night Crow] (likewise, but in Dusk), think the opposite team is the enemy, but the real enemy is not Light Fang/Night Claw. I don't want to spoil it.
The gameplay is like an improved version of the previous Digimon World DS. They added much more in general.
100%.
I love these games!