Roster Suggestions for Sony's Smash Bros. Clone

Another day, another idea that Sony plagiarizes from another game company. This time around it is rumored and likely true that Sony is creating their own Smash Bros. clone for four player fighting brawls. Sigh. For every one idea that is their own, Sony's take four from the competition. Regardless, there are a myriad of characters that I would want to see in Sony's take on the genre, and here are as sampling of them.

Nathan Drake (Uncharted series)


Sometimes funny, sometimes cocky, always manly-- Nathan Drake isn't an everyman by any stretch of the imagination. His upper body strength, endurance, and gunplay are unmatched by anyone. In Sony's take on Smash Bros., Drake could wield several different weapons such as shotguns, rifles, RPGs, and grenade launchers. This is all the while coming up with witty one-liners and keeping that hairdo looking sharp even through the heat of battle.

Kratos (God of War series)


Even though he's entirely unlikeable as a character, Kratos would have an interesting moveset entirely with his Chains of Olympus, ability to freeze opponents for a limited amount of time with the head of Medusa, and unleash the power of Hades. I can just imagine his stage, doing battle atop a colossal Colossus with it shifting its weight and climbing against a sprawling backdrop.

Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet series)


LittleBigPlanet's mascot should take Sony's Smash Bros. solution by storm. I wouldn't have listed him if he didn't have new moves in LittleBigPlanet 2. The ability to slap opponents, shoot water from a cannon, and pull and grab allows Sackboy a unique stable of moves that other enemies would not see coming. Sackboy's stage could be a constantly changing level editor where new parts are added and taken away simultaneously.

Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank series)


Ratchet may or may not come equipped with his best bud Clank in Sony's version of Smash. Nonetheless, his wrench does the talking. Oh, and a plethora of charged weaponry from bombs that bounce until they hit their target, homing rockets, and of course, the R.Y.N.O. as Ratchet's ultimate attack. As for his stage, I'd imagine it taking place on Clank's home planet of Metropolis with tall skyscrapers and flying cars moving from the background to the foreground and vice versa.

Sly Cooper (Sly Cooper series)


Sly Cooper has a game coming out next year, his fourth game but first PS3 installment. I surmise that Sly could call upon the help of Bentley and Murray to assist in taking out assailants. In Sly's stage there could be spotlights that catch players, temporarily freezing them for opponents to take advantage and attack. The stage itself could be set against the backdrop of Paris, France and the Eiffel Tower. Ooh la la!

Jak (Jak & Daxter series)


Jak has been on an extended hiatus as Naughty Dog's focus has been on Nathan Drake's adventures. No matter as soon the Jak & Daxter Collection with come out in glorious HD and put Jak back on the map. His stage could be on his home island from his very first game. Daxter could mess around in the background oozing out witticisms and criticisms of the player alike. For his ultimate move, Jak could turn into Dark Jak for a limited amount of time and raise some serious hell.

PaRappa the Rapper (from series of the same name)


Now here's someone different. It's PaRappa the Rapper making his return appearance. Music and beats could be his means of attacking, unleashing a flurry of music notes at opponents. The colorful world of PaRappa the Rapper would lend quite nicely to his own stage, don't you think? This would be one of those special characters that most players wouldn't see coming (that is if players even remember or know who Mr. Rapper even is!).

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We know that a model of Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal has been making its rounds over the Internet, but what other characters of Sony lore would you like to see in a Sony Smash Bros. clone? What idea do you think Sony will borrow next from the competition? Let me know in the comments section.

SPC Showdown - 8/3/2011

It's the middle of the week, so why not begin our sixth segment of the SPC Showdown? This is where we pit games, companies, and more against each other to see which reigns supreme when all is said and done. Today we'll discover which installment of Super Mario Galaxy is best, whether ModNation Racers can outrun Mario Kart Wii, and which Final Fantasy experience on Wii outshines the other. That's just the beginning, but for now let's get this showdown started!

Round One: Super Mario Galaxy VS. Super Mario Galaxy 2

Two of the best games on the Nintendo Wii-- nay, this generation-- bar-none, but which is king of the 3D platformer?

Super Mario Galaxy

Mario and company enter territory last seen in Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins' Space Land in Super Mario Galaxy. With colorful worlds, rich visuals, an inspired orchestral score, and well-designed galaxies, Super Mario Galaxy is a treat to view as well as play. Reintroducing ideas such as the fire flower and presenting new ones such as the ice flower, Super Mario Galaxy keeps showing that Nintendo knows how to craft one amazing gaming experience.


Super Mario Galaxy 2

Reentering the stratosphere once more for some good old fashioned running and jumping action is Mario with pal, Yoshi, this time around in Super Mario Galaxy 2. The challenge bar has been raised this time with multiple shadow Marios chasing after our hero, endurance runs to tackle where a single hit will make Mario have to begin his mission anew, and big bad bosses to defeat. Those who complete all of these challenges will be entitled to a whole new series of stars to gather, and if all of those are collected, a brand-new galaxy, the Grandmaster Galaxy will be unlocked. It is with this, an improved soundtrack and galaxies, and unforgettable galaxies to explore that I bid Super Mario Galaxy 2 with this victory.


Winner: Super Mario Galaxy 2

Round Two: Super Mario Bros. 3 VS. Super Mario World

This duo of memorable 2D platformers are the champs of their respective systems, but which one outclasses the other?

Super Mario Bros. 3

Introducing a map system where players could completely skip individual levels if desired (but with how great they were all designed, who would want to?), Mario and Luigi plowed through eight themed lands in their latest adventure. From grass to desert, water to sky, Mario and Luigi bashed goombas, koopa troopas, lakitus, spinies, and even creamed Bowser in the end after a long, arduous trek through a tank-infested dark world. This game would be remade and ported to the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance with the latter receiving new levels via the doomed e-Reader peripheral. Does it take down Super Mario World, however?


Super Mario World

For the first time ever, players were introduced to Mario's lovable sidekick, Yoshi, a dinosaur who could gobble up certain enemies and came in several different colors. Expanding upon the map concept severalfold, Super Mario World featured secret paths leading to hidden levels, a challenging Star Road and Special World, and completing these turned koopa troopas into costumed Mario impersonators. Who could forget tackling all eight worlds, defeating the Koopalings, and chucking Mechakoopas into Bowser's cruiser in order to defeat him and save Yoshi's homeland? Plus with the new cape power-up, flying was never easier. It is with this that Super Mario World wins over a fierce opponent.


Winner: Super Mario World

Round Three: Mario Kart Wii VS. ModNation Racers

Two racers revving it up, ready to go. Which will reach the finish line first?

Mario Kart Wii

Doing away with snaking by having the player drift long into a boost around corners and turns, Mario Kart Wii did a lot of things right. Yes, with twelve racers that meant more chaos with items in heated races, but competent players could obtain enough of a lead where a barrage of blue shells wouldn't matter in the long run. With a fine selection of retro tracks including Delfino Plaza and Bowser's Castle (N64) and excellent new tracks from Coconut Mall to DK Summit, Mario Kart Wii also possesses some of the most fun online play to see the Wii. Does it speed past United Front Games' ModNation Racers, however?


ModNation Racers

Sony's foray into the kart-racing genre was not without faults. Regardless, it was a very innovative gem of a title. The ability to craft your own racer, tracks, and stickers was a pretty complicated process, but once mastered, you could build highly-detailed and impressive creations. But if you thought rubberband AI was a problem in Mario Kart, you ain't seen nothing yet in ModNation Racers. Opponents will abuse weaponry to take the lead from you, slam you off the road, and use any means necessary to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Frustrating as this may be, ModNation Racers is still a competent beast. It, though, just doesn't beat out Mario Kart Wii.


Winner: Mario Kart Wii

Round Four: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon VS. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

We have a duo of underrated Final Fantasy games for the Nintendo Wii. Which is the most classic of the two?

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

This simplistic roguelike took players through dungeons based on the memories of the game's main village's townspeople. As Chocobo you equipped talons and other garments and entered their memories, beating down familiar Final Fantasy villains such as bombs, goblins, and iron giants in your quest to figure out the mystery behind the town. With the best arrangements of classic Final Fantasy tunes period and quite engaging gameplay, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon is a charming adventure that many Wii owners shouldn't hesitate to experience.


Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

Finally, a Final Fantasy hero who isn't androgynous! The hero of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers has the power to pick up foes and chuck them into walls, explosive barrels, or other enemies in order to damage them. While the main quest is nothing more than a collection of high-production mini games, The Crystal Bearers possesses a great amount of things to do and enemies to conquer. However, all the running around and tremendous music aside, it has nothing on Final Fantasy Fables.


Winner: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

Round Five: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus VS. Sly 2: Band of Thieves

The Sly Collection recently was released in HD for the PlayStation 3. The top two titles in the compendium go up against each other. Which outwits the other?

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

Sly Cooper debuts in this cool caper that was originally released for the PlayStation 2. The sneaky raccoon would receive two sequels on the same system. In this title Sly goes after the sinister group of criminals involved in stealing his family's coveted treasure, the Thievius Raccoonus, a book featuring all of their family's stealthy moves. Each boss in the game has a page, so Sly leaps on poles, crawls through air ducts, swings from chandeliers, and performs other otherworldly feats of dexterity to get them back. More linear in progression than its sequels, that may be the reason I like the original Sly Cooper game.


Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Progressing more into an open-world-like game, Sly 2: Band of Thieves opened up the gameplay for Bentley and Murray to step in and tackle their own missions. Each world was its own heist. Bentley planned it out to the finest detail, and the trio of thieves would converge on the baddie's hideout, taking out objectives and missions. The goal? To stop a new group of villains from reincarnating Clockwerk, the Cooper family's sworn enemy. While the sequel isn't as enjoyable as the first, Sly 2: Band of Thieves is still worthy of one's money.


Winner: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

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Five rounds are over, and with that, we've completed yet another SPC Showdown. Stay tuned in the coming months for our next showdown where more games, more companies, and much more will duke it out for supremacy. Until next time, see ya'!

Review Round-Up - January

He may be a douchier Indiana Jones, but he gets the job done.

This month was all about thievery. Whether it was Nathan Drake's gang of thieves to Sly Cooper wanting to steal back the Thievius Raccoonus to simply stealing the ball from someone in NBA Jam. FlingSmash and NBA Jam each earned the lowest, still-respectable scores with 7.5 each whereas both Sly Cooper and Uncharted 2 earned the highest with a 9.25 each. There were only four reviews for the new year, but February is looking even better.

FlingSmash (Wii) - 7.5
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS3) - 9.25
NBA Jam (Wii) - 7.5
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)* - 9.25

Alley-oop.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS3) Review

I've decided that instead of just gathering all three Sly Cooper games of the trilogy into one review (The Sly Collection), I will review each title individually. That way you get a better sense of what's up in each of the Sly games. Plus, I don't have a Move (nor do I want one), so I wouldn't be able to review the mini-game part of the Sly Collection anyway! The very first Sly Cooper game was the Thievius Raccoonus, a stealth-platforming game. It's my favorite of the trilogy, and it's up first here on SuperPhillip Central!

It Takes A Thief...

Sucker Punch wasn't a well-known developer until they came out with a clever character known as Sly Cooper. Nowadays, they're busy putting on the finishing touches on inFAMOUS 2. Let's not forget their first trilogy featuring some of the very same platforming used in the inFAMOUS series! It all started with a thieving raccoon named Sly Cooper. In this, his first platforming romp on the PlayStation 2, Sly Cooper aims to get back the missing pages of a book passed down from Cooper to Cooper (save for Mark Curry who played Mr. Cooper on TV's awesome sitcom, Hanging With Mr. Cooper). Is this title worth a look?

I'll answer that immediately instead of waiting till my conclusion. Why, yes, it is. When Sly Cooper was a child, a pack of villains known as the Fiendish Five beat his father up and stole various pages from the Cooper family book, the Thievius Raccoonus. Sent off to a foster home, Sly Cooper met two new friends, a high-tech geek turtle known as Bentley, and a doofus hippo known as Murray. Together, they pledged to find the missing pieces of the Cooper family heirloom, and return it to its former glory. This means trekking across the world, taking down each member of the Fiendish Five, and restoring the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus.

Sly Cooper starts out with players infiltrating a police officer's vault for the locations of each of the Fiendish Five. Enter Carmelita Fox, an officer who intensely pursues Sly like ticks on a dog. Escaping from Detective Fox's clutches, Cooper and the gang head to the first of the Fiendish Five. Each time Sly Cooper nears a hideout, he must platform through a level to reach the hideout itself. From there, Sly enters a hub full of enemies, levels, and a series of locks. This series of locks can only be opened up acquiring keys in the game's levels. Unlock the three locks, and Sly will be able to venture deeper into that member of the Fiendish Five's hideout. Now seven keys are needed.

Some enemies do not have flashlights to track Sly down with.

There's a variety of levels to be had in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Sometimes you'll be playing a straight-up stealth-platforming level as Sly. Others are more like mini-games where you shoot crabs trying to steal treasure chests, or have Sly operating a turret from afar as Murray sneaks up on the key. The goal here is to shoot all enemies going after Murray before he gets hit. Watch your own fire though!

The Sly levels are without a doubt the most fun in the game, thankfully. Sly only has one hit until he's pulverized. By collecting 100 coins, he'll gain a silver horseshoe. This silver horseshoe will give the thieving raccoon an extra hit to work with. Collect 100 more coins, and a gold horseshoe will be acquired allowing Sly three hits to work with before he's finally subdued.

Stealth plays a big role in the Sly Cooper series. Sneaking up on enemies while hearing the bass play as Sly saunters with each footstep is a cool touch. By holding the circle button, Sly can carefully lean against walls, move around ledges, hop on the top of poles, and do a myriad of other cool stealth moves that would make Solid Snake jealous. If an enemy's flashlight crosses paths with Sly Cooper, they will alert their fellow guards or take care of Sly on their own with a machine gun or other projectile weapon.

Crawling on neon lights, just another
day on the job for Sly Cooper!

The levels are expertly designed. One has you escaping Detective Fox who shoots at you from afar. Another has you stealthily entering a ninja compound via cliffs, dodging spotlights, infrared lasers, and much more. The other two Sly Coopers focus more on a sandbox-styled gameplay while Thievius Raccoonus relies more on slightly linear levels with dangerous enemies and obstacles.

The goal of Sly's levels is to leap through the levels, dodging guards through any means necessary, to reach the key at the end of the level. Collecting keys opens up the way to one of the members of the Fiendish Five's lair where Sly will face off against them for a page of the Thievius Raccoonus. Boss battles are typically wait for the boss to finish their attack pattern, and then Sly should run up and smack them with his cane. However, some bosses deviate from this pattern. One has you hitting spotlights to shock a steroid-case bulldog into submission. Another is a game of Simon Says where pressing the right button at the right time will have Sly dodge that creature's attacks.

This boss requires you to input
the correct button press to dodge her attacks.

Beating bosses isn't the only way to acquire pages from the torn-up Thievius Raccoonus. No, no. In each Sly level there are a number of hidden message bottles. Some are in plain sight while others take more ingenuity. Nothing a clever thief can't find, right? Collecting all of the bottles in a given stage will enable Sly to open up the level's safe. Bentley, through hard will and determination, will give Sly the three digit code to open the safe. Inside is a new ability or power from making decoys of Sly to trick guards to unlocking the ability to see every hidden bottle in a given stage via Sly's first-person mode.

Other than Sly's levels, there's a plethora of different mini-games to play through. Murray will accidentally meet up with a racing gang who challenges him to a three-lap race around a track. This happens twice throughout the game. There's another game where Sly boards a hovercraft-type vehicle with turrets, and must run through the linear level without being attacked. These mini-games break up any monotony that players may feel playing through Sly's levels. Some of the games are better than others, but overall they add a decent amount of change to Sly Cooper 1.

There are five worlds in the Thievius Raccoonus as you might expect being the Fiendish Five and all. Each world begins with a detailed description of that Fiendish Five's history and past. The world is bookend by Detective Fox capturing the member of the Fiendish Five, and Sly Cooper and the gang barely escaping from her clutches.

This barrel allows Sly to pass
through this dart-infested area.

Visually, Sly Cooper 1 looks incredible in HD brought by the Sly Collection. The cel-shaded visuals are still impressive to this day though not as impressive as say a Wind Waker or Viewtiful Joe. There's also (for those of you rich sons of guns) the option for 3D if you have the equipment necessary. On the audio front, the music is sorely lacking. Really, the only cool part is when Sly saunters behind a bad guy and a bass line plays for each of his footsteps. The voice acting is quite good in its own cartoony way. Sound effects sound appropriate, and basically what else can you say? It's a tidy package that works well.

Overall, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is an excellent platformer with stealth elements. The level design is extremely tremendous with hidden secrets and pathways scattered all over the place. The music may be largely forgettable and one hit kills may be unfair to some players, but the challenge and fun of the game cannot be argued. It's there, and it's mightily impressive. A great game from a formerly unknown developer, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is an excellent game deserving of your time and money. Just don't steal a copy like Sly Cooper would.

[SuperPhillip Says: 9.25/10]