Kizyr wrote:(I would actually put it on par with New Super Mario Brothers though -- I played that once and promptly forgot everything about it, it was that bland... I would rather just replay SMB3 or SMW for the 100th time)
Exactly! I've found another bro. See? Lunar DS may have commited a crime... but it wasn't the only one. It's like something was in the air XD
Kizyr wrote:...ok I just can't get your rating system
LOL Oh man. My rating system is simple. I judge 5 things: 1- Looks. 2- Audio. 3- Gameplay mechanics (and story if it's important to the game). 4- Overall fun, and 5- Overall addictiveness / replay value. Reason my post is long is because i basically review 2 games >.< But I kept each branch short.
In Metroid Prime...
Looks: Compare Metroid Prime (dark and confusing) to Half Life (brimming with interesting detail) or Metroid Fusion (brimming with art). I'll give Prime 1/2 cause it still works and isn't necessarily bad.
Audio: Compare Metroid Prime (backgroundy, forgettable and often just garbage) to any other Metroid from NES to GBA (full of melody and mood). 0/2. Humanity wouldn't be proud of this OST if it was the only thing left on earth, like it would be if it was the NES or SNES game.
Gameplay: Is scanning a million things and reading raw data a genius gameplay mechanic?
You know how FPS games let you move with 1 stick, and look with the 2nd stick? Metroid Prime only has 1 stick to move and look (holding another button to look, while you're stopped). But shooting things is good and satisfying. 1/2
Fun: Well, shooting things is fun, but for how long? It always feels the same. Reading is often the same too, not everything has unique data. There are no jokes or interesting things to read. The story is barely there. Getting stuck looking for an item to scan so a door can open isn't fun. The sense of exploration, discovering new places, acquiring items, using your brain... none of that is here, these remain in the classic Metroids. 0/2
Addictiveness / replayability: I could only finish the DS Metroid, cause it had better control (stylus to look) but there's no reason to come back to any of the games once you've played 1 hour of each at MOST. I've had a blast in 30 minute games while Prime never gave me anything in over 40 hours across all games. 0/2
Total: 2/10. IGN gives the whole Prime series 9 to 9.7/10
Wind Waker suffers from almost all of these same problems, just not as bad.
How does Lunar DS win? Better graphics and Much better music. This already gives it a 4. The only thing wrong with Lunar DS is that the gameplay area is flawed, which hurts the fun of the game too. But I always wanted to see, listen, and read what would come next. Compare it with Phantasy Star 1 on SMS. Great RPG, but has crappy battle music + HORRENDOUS encounter rate (what a mix : D) and as if that wasn't enough, dungeons force you to use strategy maps or draw your own. Compare the dungeons and grinding of Dragon Quest 1 to Lunar DS. Lunar DS wins! And DQ 1 is a legendary game, the JRPG that made the genre?... FF8 has very crappy embarrassing characters and dialogue, Lunar DS wins. Compare the villain of Lunar DS to the lame FF9's Villain and final boss / ending overall...
Lunar DS totals 6 to 8 /10. Your 7/10 doesn't contradict this, and online reviews go around that too. Even IGN agrees. Any lower rating is much more picky about things. Some might complain about how bland the graphics are, while I think it's true, no one would have complained if we had been given a mind blowing story with ultra fun gameplay.
And just so it doesn't seem unfair that I'm comparing Lunar DS with older games, there's Dragon Quest 3 : )
That one wins in every category and more for me.