Chrono Trigger DS Review

Chrono Trigger has always been one of those games. You know, the ones that everyone who plays it, adores it and has nothing but praise, yet has a lot more people that have never given it a chance. With this DS re-release, now is everyone's chance that either missed it the first few times around or just wants to go back and revisit the classic for old times sake to get reacquainted with this classic adventure.

Gameplay - 10/10

I was worried when starting Chrono Trigger that my view of the title was going to be tinted heavily with nostalgia. Instead of starting up a dated rpg, after a few short moments with the game, I remembered exactly why it's been such a highly praised game for all these years. What's the point in having another amnesiac or vengeful hero when you could have an adventure that spans the entire history of mankind in an effort to make the future a better place? Of course, story alone is not enough to carry a 30+ hour RPG. Thankfully, CTDS has one of the best combat systems that's ever been done in the genre. The ATB system and constantly moving enemies really help to add a strategic feel to the combat while keeping the player engaged in order to get an edge over their enemies. There's also an incredible feeling of exploration, particularly when you're able to go between different time periods, and when you forget, the games narration does a great job of pushing the story into the right areas, keeping you from ever becoming truly overwhelmed by the number of possible things to do at once.


Graphics - 7/10

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like this game was designed for the DS. Even though the screen may be small, the world feels like it truly comes alive as you're staring down at the screen, admiring the sheer amount of detail that goes into every single animation of the characters. Chrono Trigger does a great job of disguising their dungeons and making each location feel like a truly important place instead of just swapping a color pallate or throwing in a generic layout. More impressive is that each time period has a look that feels entirely appropriate for the story and age you're in. Unfortunately, I feel like some people out there might look pass this classic in favors of more modern games, such as The World Ends With You or Dragon Quest IX, which is a true shame considering that the Pokemon games sell millions with every single release yet don't look anywhere near as beautiful as Chrono Trigger.

Sound - 9/10

How often do you find yourself playing a modern game and wondering why, even though the soundtrack sticks with you, you couldn't hum any of the themes even if your life depended on it? Chrono Trigger does a great job of reminding players of a much more simple time in gaming when people were forced to make these amazing scores with the hardware limitations of whatever console their project was tied to. It's amazing how much passion feels like it went into each song in the game, and especially that all of the music, despite coming from the SNES sound processor, feels entirely fitting to the time period in game as well as occasionally making you wonder how in the world such a beautiful sound is coming out of these tiny speakers. One of the most welcome additions is the new jukebox, which allows you to go back and listen to any of the songs from the game whenever you want to.


Overall - 9/10

Every single aspect of Chrono Trigger makes this one of, if not THE best portable RPGs that more than earns its spot in your collection. For fans of the original that 100% cleared everything, possibly numerous times, the new endings give you something to work towards as well as the perfect opportunity to relive this classic, while newcomers can finally understand exactly why this game has had such a gigantic fanbase since its original release. When you find yourself humming Far Off Promise or thinking about all of the amazing adventures you'll have gone on by the end of the game long after the game has ended, you'll completely understand why this is a definite must-own for every DS owner.

Phoenix Wright: Justice For All Review, by LoC

Phoenix Wright: Justice For All

Nintendo DS

Capcom

2007

Review by LoC

Phoenix Wright is a game series that I have been a fan of ever since the first game was released here in the U.S, but I didn't get to finally buy the games until I purchased my Nintendo DS last summer, and the original Phoenix Wright was one of my very first game purchases, and the first game that I had played through for the system. Shortly afterwards, I also purchased used copies of the second and third games, but I only started to play them within the past month, and I beat Justice For All only about 2 days ago, and am currently playing Trials&Tribulations, but that is a story for another time.

Justice For All is frequently considered the weakest part of the original trilogy, which is a verdict that I don't entirely agree with. While the game may be little more than a rehash of the first game with new cases, the same is also true for Trials&Tribulations, which was recieved considerably warmer. The graphics for all 3 titles are often reused in all of the games, and none of them exactly reinvents the wheel created in the first game, but the fact remains that the entire series is highly enjoyable, filled with memorable characters and plot-lines. Part of the backlash against Justice For All has to do with the fact that the game only had 4 cases, and lacked any DS exclusive cases, like the first one had. To further worsen the problem, only 2 of the cases were actually relevent to the series ongoing storyline, but that doesn't stop the other two cases from being very enjoyable in their own right. 

The only real gameplay changes of note are that you can know present character profiles as evidence, and the new Psyche Lock system on certain characters when they are asked questions they don't want to answer. These psyche locks are broken in much the same way that you would advance the game during the court segments, by presenting evidence to the witness in question. 

Anyone who loved the first Phoenix Wright should still find plenty to enjoy about Justice For All, as long as you aren't expecting any major innovations. Any of you who didn't care for the first game won't have their mind changed with this one. 

Ketsui Death Label review

Ketsui Death Label isn't exactly the most recognized title around. For those who are willing to try out import titles, what you'll find in the cart is one of the best shmups on current gen handhelds. With tight, responsive controls, loads of unlockables, multiple difficulties, and even tutorials that are unlocked as you play, not only is KDL a great title to start getting into the genre with, it's also got enough challenge and depth to test even the most hardcore gamers' skills.

Gameplay - 9/10

Most Shmups throw you in, beat the crap out of you a few hundred times, and never let up until you learn how to defend yourself and ultimately come to grips with the mechanics. Instead of being overwhelmingly difficult from the outset, this game gives you a few different modes to mess around with, a few tutorial lessons, and one of the hardest modes already unlocked. Most of the game essentially plays like a boss rush, meaning that you go from level to level just fighting the boss from taht stage before moving on to the next. As you play, the unique thing is that you start to earn more lives based on how many times you die along with different tutorials that appear from time to time, showing you things that you might have otherwise missed. Unfortunately, all of the tutorials are in japanese, but many of them feature video clips or images with certain things highlighted that gives you a good idea of what it is they're trying to teach you. As you finish the modes that are present, you slowly unlock more and more difficult modes, each with different bosses or at least a reorganization of them, which keeps the experience fresh and gives you plenty to come back for. Instead of limiting the unlocks to new modes and extra lives, there's a gallery consists of mostly concept art of the bosses and the only way to unlock them is to break off different puzzle pieces. I can already hear you groaning, but don't worry, this isn't some sort of a puzzle minigame! Instead, each piece has it's own objective, which means that some may be simple as finishing the Hard A course while others will want you to get a certain combo on a specific level, finishing a boss without dying, etc, which gives you more and more to try to accomplish. As far as mechanics, there are two different ships that have their own strengths and weaknesses that become apparent as soon as you start getting to the harder stages along with several weapons and a chaining system for each level. The best part of all is that the last unlockable mode is one incredibly difficult level that tests all of the skills that you've been gaining as you play. Beyond that, the game tracks your stats, from highest score to number of playthroughs and finishes of each level, to how many hours you've clocked in.

Graphics - 10/10

It seems that I've failed to mention this is more of a bullet-hell shooter, which literally means that you're constantly dodging neverending streams of tiny balls of death. For most games, it's easy to get confused and mistake bullet for a power-up, resulting in death. Somehow, the graphics in the game are so well done that once you adjust to what's dangerous and what isn't, it's fairly easy to make out why it is that you died, so you'll never feel like you were cheated out of a life somehow. Beyond that, the enemy and boss designs are well done, giving each boss it's own personality and letting the player get an idea of what kind of attack pattern you're going to be facing. Instead of the bosses just having one pattern, if you don't eliminate them quickly, you'll find yourself going through different stages, most completely different from the previous and each making sense structurally in relation to the boss. The environments themselves are all varied, even though you tend to be flying by so fast that the scenery quickly becomes a blur as you focus on trying to weave between bullets. As you start to get better at the game, you'll almost be able to see the tiny spaces in between all of the fire, meaning that it's not just one lazy beam but each wave of bullets is comprised of indivual pixels. As a bonus, the artwork in the tutorials is done in graphic novel style, with someone that I'm assuming is a developer's face popping up in a business suit with various looks on his face that are all hilarious. The score counter, combo meter, lives, and everything else on the HUD is in the perfect position to keep it from obstructing your field of view, which is always a bonus. Lastly, once you unlock the concept art, you can see how much detail the artists put in to the enemy designs.


Sound - 8/10

Pewpewpew! Ketsui doesn't really change the classic sounds, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's always been something satisfying to anyone playing or watching a shmup when you deliver that last shot to a particularly difficult boss and you hear that epic explosion and points counting up. Since the sound effects and music work so well together, they never become grating or distracting to the gameplay experience, but you're not really going to find any memorable songs that you'll be humming after you turn the game off. Stage specific songs are present, meaning you're not going to be forced to endure any one song, and each feels appropriate for the encounter.


Overall - 9/10

If you've ever wanted to play a shmup or you're a hardened vet, there's almost no excuse to not having KDL in your library. Out of everything I've played, it's the best shmup on the handheld, even if most of the game is a boss rush mode. With tons of unlockables, various objectives to complete, a leaderboard, and so much more, there's a lot of content to be found here and it's got a tutorial mode for new players or people looking to brush up on there skills! While there are tons of shmups that have been out before it, this might actually be the best entry point, and the fact that you can play this anywhere as long as you have your ds is always a plus. The one major downside to the game is that if you're reading this review, you're most likely going to have to import it since there's no word of an american release, but it's possibly one of the best investments you can make on the ds.

Skate It (DS) review

Time and time again, a portable system comes out and software developers immediately start to think: “Wow, it’s a handheld with better graphics! Let’s port our console blockbuster titles over to it! No one will notice the difference!” Sorry to burst your bubble, but you guys aren’t slick, and people always notice. While Skate It isn’t necessarily a bad game, it could be a lot better, or maybe it would be best if it didn’t exist so we could just imagine what it would have been like. There's a lot of content here, and you really won't know what you're missing if you've never played the ps3 or 360 original games, but after having invested a lot of time with them, there's a serious lack of quality that you'll notice, and for people that can only play this title on the ds, while the controls, mechanics, and physics are mostly there, the fun part of the gameplay isn't, which may make you wonder why it generated so much buzz and positive reviews on the next gen consoles.

Graphics – 6\10

Remember back when Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 1 was considered the most attractive video game female ever? Without a doubt, she was known for her massive mammaries. My theory has always been that it wasn't a design decision, it's because of the triangular polygons they were working with, meaning she was forced into having pyramids attached to her body. Skate It on DS suffers from this same bug. For unknown reasons, whenever you try to create a skater, they're going to look horrendous and there's nothing you can really do about it. While the game does offer a lot of licensed merchandise from real skateboarding brands, everything is so blurry that you can't really tell what it is that you're looking at. As a result, you could simply be wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a ds on it, but they could call it an Element shirt and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The character models themselves are incredibly stiff, and I understand it's a ds, but...I had no clue corpses could skate. Speaking of corpses, when you do bail, which will happen a lot, gone are the ragdoll animations, which is understandable. In their place is a flying concrete brick that they call your skater, which moves in an incredibly disjointed, jerky manner. The trick animations really aren't that great to look at either, but at least the environments are all fairly decent. There's not too much of an issue with pop-in, which is mainly a result of being in closed areas (the community center level is just the community center. gone are the days of skating in the streets.) The major downside here is just the fact that they're trying to do a lot with the graphics, which I do appreciate, but it didn't pay off as much as you could have hoped for, and the worst part is that it's sometimes hard to tell where the street ends and a ledge begins since there aren't too many shadows or shading effects, meaning that the grey block you just flew into is going to cause your brick to fly through the air, and then grab their knee, even though they flew headfirst into a wall. Maybe next time, EA!


Sound – 4\10

First thing's first: 4 songs as a soundtrack is NOT a soundtrack. While I realize that this is a DS game with fully 3d graphics, it feels like the soundtrack was kind of an afterthought. The few songs that are present eventually become overwhelmingly grating as you hear them over and over and over again in a single sitting, meaning that I eventually just turned off the sound completely and played my own music instead. As far as sound effects are concerned, they're alright, but they just don't feel as satisfying as I'd like. Of course the sound of the wheels rolling is great, but the actual pop of the board when you're doing a flip trick just isn't what you'd want it to be. There aren't really any voices in the game aside from random grunts here and there, so I can't really complain about the voice acting or anything. The sound department as a whole is incredibly disappointing, which is sad since the quality of sound in some of their other handhelds, such as FIFA is incredibly well done, meaning that they know they can do a lot better than this.

Gameplay – 7/10

Skate It actually manages to use the same basic control scheme as the console versions, and for many of the tricks, it translates fine. Manualing is done by placing your finger/stylus in the bottom of the skateboard shown on the touch screen and pulling down slightly until you find it. Ollies and Nollies are done by starting from the top or bottom of the board and sliding up or down, respectively. Kickflips and heelflips are done by starting at the bottom and flicking off towards the edge of the board. All of the basic tricks are well done, even extending to the grinds. On the downside, the grabs never really clicked with me, since you had to use the trigger and moving the board on the bottom screen in various directions, and while you can tell they put thought into it, it just doesn't work all that well. Worst of all is the advanced flip tricks, which you have to witness firsthand to see how butchered they are. For unknown reasons, when you want to do a 360 flip, you drag your stylus from the right of the screen towards the middle of the board, then you draw a semicircle, which no matter how hard I try, I just don't see any correlation to how you actually perform the trick in real life or in the console versions. At least they gave it a try and did something unique though, and the gameplay isn't that bad as a result, just don't expect this to be the same as the original console titles. You should also know that instead of being a free roam experience, you have different levels that you can visit, each representing major locations from the first game and a few extra real cities thrown in, which makes up for the lack of being able to cruise all over San Van.


Overall – 6/10

It's a shame that at it's base, it's not a bad game if you just consider the gameplay, but the graphics and sound really do drag it down significantly. Sometimes they grey textures aren't shaded that well, making it hard for you to see that thing you're about to roll into. The lack of a free roam is probably the most jarring thing of all the first time you play the game, since the original had that heavily integrated into the game, but thanks to the number of areas that you actually can unlock and visit, along with the real life locations, it's not that bad for a portable game. The best part about the sounds is that you can turn them off, meaning that you don't have to listen to that horrid soundtrack or "OOMPH!" a billion times if you wish. There's also a character creation system in place, which isn't exactly expansive, but I'm sure some people out there will be able to sink their teeth into that until they realize that you can't actually make a skater that looks like you because of the graphics engine, but it's always nice to have in game. For people that are more into just completing objectives instead of freeskating, there's plenty in each area, which means that you'll end up traveling between them to complete some, then finding a new area with even more challenges until you exhaust them all. Skate It really isn't that terrible when you look at the game itself along with the decent skate park editor and creation aspects. Anyone out there that really wants something different might actually enjoy it, but if you weren't impressed by the console games or were completely into them, the changes are incredibly jarring without altering the realistic gameplay and you might do yourself a favor by saving up for Skate 2 or another game instead.

Meccha! Taiko No Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken Review

The second entry for DS in the long-running Taiko No Tatsujin franchise has arrived and I can say that the wait was definitely worth it. While it's not going to be breaking any boundaries on what you can expect from rhythm gaming, it still makes a solid standing on the handheld and deserves a spot in every rhythm gamers collection.

Gameplay - 9/10

Meccha Taiko No Tatsujin doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but what it does do exceptionally well is present the same addictive gameplay from the arcade and console versions and delivers that same style in a portable format, meaning that if you're waiting in a line and just feeling like throwing in a quick session with the Soul Calibur theme, within seconds you're in the song on your selected difficulty and tapping away. The bottom screen functions as the drum, with the middle of the screen (which shows the drum itself) being used for the red buttons that fly across the top and the outer edges (the empty space around the drum) functions as outside hits. Similar to the arcade, there are times where there are larger circles which on the arcade version indicated that you needed to hit the drum with both sticks but because the ds can't detect two simultaneous presses, hitting the center of the drum is the large red buttons and the extreme edges of the screen are the larger blue buttons. While the game does come with two cute taiko styluses (stylii?) if you can find the bundle, you'll quickly find that it's much more effecient to just tap the screen with your finger. Initially there are three difficulties open, with a 4th difficulty being awarded for gaining a certain number of medals from getting higher scores on the first 3. While the songs that you unlock on the hardest difficulty aren't on par with DDR's Max 300, Free Bird in GH2, or any of the other higher tier songs in other console/arcade music games, they do present a challenge because you're just using the touch screen and much more limited with your movements than you would be on an actual arcade style taiko drum. On the other hand, the difficulty of the more challenging songs are just as difficult as many of the songs in other portable rhythm games, from DJMax to Daigasso Band Bros, so don't expect the Oni difficulty to be a cakewalk. There are unlockable costume pieces to customize your taiko and make him your own, with the clothing being unlocked as you play the game more and more while accomplishing different objectives. The touch screen holds up pretty well during the frantic sections, meaning that if you miss something in a song, it's typically because of your own error and not a touch screen malfunction. Lastly, there are plenty of different songs from the same genres that are present in the other taiko games ranging from catchy j-pop and Namco originals extending to classical tunes, with plenty of other genres represented in the game. If you're not a fan of japanese music however, you may be a bit turned off by the song selection. Just in case anyone was wondering, if you don't want to tap your screen that often for fear of damaging it, you can select a few button layouts if that's more of your thing, but it makes certain songs a bit more difficult to do.


Sound - 10/10

What would a music game be without an awesome soundtrack? Britney's Dance Beat, of course. Luckily, this game strongly delivers in that department, with all of the music holding up well with or without headphones. Just as in other versions, every hit of the drum is heard in game, meaning that you literally are playing the music instead of just pressing some button that opens a track in the song, so it's really neat when you're sitting there and listening to the sound of your fingers/stylus tapping out the beat of the music, almost adding another layer to it. The cute yells of "100 COMBO!!!!" are all still intact, as well, giving the game an even cuter feel that the graphics do alone. Again, while there is a pretty large library of songs for a portable game (around 40), if you aren't a fan of japanese music, you're probably going to find this to be quickly grating, then again, if that turns you off, you probably shouldn't be looking at this review in the first place.

Graphics - 8/10

Fans of the series are probably going to find a lot to love here, fans of cute things are going to find a lot to love here. Unfortunately, especially because this is a portable game, there's a pretty big chance that someone is going to look over your shoulder and instantly dismiss this for another "crazy japanese game" or a childs game which is terrible due to the quality gameplay and complex songs present later in the game. The visuals are extremely easy on the eyes while capturing a cute, cartoonish, and almost heartwarming art style that has been present in the previous games. While it might not be the most creative thing in the world for the series, it is really nice to see that they were able to represent the games so well on the handheld. Nearly nothing was lost in the transition, and the game only gets more adorable as you start to customize your taiko, changing everything from the clothes to the color scheme. If you don't think your little taiko drum dressed up in a panda suit and giving you the biggest smile ever isn't the cutest thing, then your heart must be completely lost. The gameplay consists of the standard "press the button when it passes under the bigger transparent one" so there's nothing super creative there, but it is cute to see that, as you get larger combos, the entire cast of the game pops up on the top screen and encourages you as all of these vivid colors flash in the background. While the visuals aren't really risking anything and staying true to the franchise, it is a really endearing art style that we rarely get to see in games these days and is a bit of change from the normal realistic palates so many games depend on.


Overall - 9/10

Meccha Taiko No Tatsujin DS is one of those games you really wish that everyone would have the opportunity to play, but because it's almost impossible to find an american import gaming store and the fact that not everyone is willing to order from import gaming sites, many are going to miss. In my personal opinion, this is the best ds rhythm game that you can buy import or otherwise. The song selection is incredibly charming, the graphics are cute, yet don't distract you while you're playing the songs, and the game itself plays just like it should, especially on DS. While part of me wishes that they would release this game in the US, or anywhere outside of Japan, I did purchase the US PS2 version and because the songs were mostly american classic pop hits, the entire feel of the game felt lost. That said, if you're a fan of import gaming or rhythm games, this game is definitely worth a purchase and easily holds it own against most other music games that have come out in the last few years anywhere.