Most Overlooked PlayStation 3 Games - Part Six

With a new year comes a new segment of Most Overlooked and five new games that were under-appreciated. The console this time? The PlayStation 3. Instead of asking what five titles will be mentioned on this fine Wednesday, why not just take a look for yourself with the following article?

Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten


The Disgaea series returns, and as tradition it is on a PlayStation platform. This time around it has an entirely all-new graphic engine that pushes the anime aesthetic straight up to the front of players' attentions. In the fully 3D battles, character unit movement as well as attack range depends upon their level as well as what weapons that have equipped. If you are a PlayStation 3 owner looking for a strategy RPG that will fulfill your niche requirement, you cannot go wrong with Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, a title destined to be rare with a limited production run.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron


Sawaki Takeyasu (Devil May Cry) and Masato Kimura (Okami, Viewtiful Joe) team up to bring PlayStation 3 owners El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron where players assume the role of Enoch, mastering his combat and taking hold of out of worldly weapons and abilities. The storyline itself is inspired by the Old Testament "Book of Enoch", and it chronicles the hero's pursuit to save the world from a flood ordered by Heaven itself. If the premise isn't weird enough for you (there's no doubt that it turned more than a few potential buyers off), then there is something to like about this celestial game.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded


The excellent Wii shooter stealth-releases its way onto the PlayStation 3 with Move support or traditional Dualshock controls and upgraded high definition visuals. Reloaded has all of the missions of the well-selling Wii game plus its multiplayer component, terrific for four player split-screen action or hopping online and shooting it out with up to fifteen other players in one of many maps such as the Jungle and Facility. Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench lend their voice talents to this excellent re-imagining of Rare's original GoldenEye.

Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest


Battle against the undead in Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest. The game has you switching between throwing items, shooting arrows, and slashing with your sword to take out enemies both big and small, and the three multiplayer modes offer split-screen action for two players to sit on a couch or stand next to one another and unleash heck on either each other or their opponents. Created by the same team that made one of the better selling Move titles, Sports Champions, Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest oozes charm from every orifice.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit


While not as jam-packed with content as last generation's offerings, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is an admirable start to the DBZ mythos on a current generation console. Offering destructible environments, a robust lineup of everyone's favorite Dragon Ball Z all-stars, numerous modes, and powerful, earth-shattering moves at players' disposal, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit takes the series to new heights. The declining popularity of not only the series but anime as a whole in the states might have had something to do with this title not selling to its full potential. Add in low marketing and you have a game that didn't meet its desired sales.

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Part Six of Most Overlooked PS3 Games-- six, can you believe it?-- has ended here on SuperPhillip Central. Tomorrow we will be examining Kirby's portable entries in Rank Up! See you then, friends!

Rank Up! - Kirby (Consoles)

Last week I reviewed Kirby's Return to Dreamland on Wii, so it seems like a perfect time to take a look at Kirby's mainline console efforts. It is also the twentieth anniversary of the pink puffball. But first, what is Rank Up!? Rank Up! is where I take a handful of games and rank them from least great to greatest in one nice, concise blog entry. Before we begin, it is tradition to take a glance at what games I'll be ranking:

Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Kirby Super Star (SNES)
Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)


Kirby celebrates his 20th birthday later this year, and boy, what a life it has been for the cute and cuddly character from the mind of Mr. Sakurai and HAL Laboratories. His ability to suck up enemies and copy their powers was unheard of and is a terrific gameplay mechanic to this day. Kirby is generally Nintendo's go-to character for unique gameplay styles such as a racing game that only uses one button to accelerate, brake, and handle, a game where you draw lines to guide Kirby around, and a game where you tilt the Game Boy Color to move the pink blob around labyrinthine-like levels. Happy 20th, Kirby, you're nearly old enough to drink legally!

6) Kirby's Adventure (NES)


The first Kirby game where it was revealed that that everyone's favorite powder puff was actually pink, Kirby's Adventure brought Nintendo's blob mascot to consoles. For a Kirby game that difficulty was pretty high as the player only had a handful of hits to work with before they lost a life. Bosses like Kracko and Whispy Woods proved challenging while familiar to this day landscapes and levels like Butter Building and Ice Cream Island made for an edible vacation unlike any other.

5) Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)


Kirby's Dream Land 3 came out a year after Super Star and unlike KSS was a full-fledged adventure as opposed to multiple bite-sized ones. Players could team up together in Kirby's first cooperative journey, playing together to help one another out. Several animal friends assisted players along the way such as a fish, a bird, and a gopher, for starters. Each level had its own optional side challenge to accomplish such as rescuing Metroids for Samus Aran or not stomping on any flowers in a given level. Plus, the soft painted look of the game is highly pleasing to the eye.

4) Kirby Super Star (SNES)


Kirby Super Star was a collection of games both mini and mega that varied in greatness. The eight games had Kirby exploring a series of levels in search of treasure in the Great Cave Offensive, had Kirby swift-stepping it with King Dedede in Gourmet Race, playing through a remake of Kirby's Dream Land in Spring Breeze, battling a winged warrior in Dyna Blade, and carousing through Revenge of Meta Knight as well as Milky Way Wishes. If you can't get enough Kirby, then Kirby Super Star is an admirable effort to expand the pink puffball's horizons.

3) Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)


One of the more overlooked of Kirby's adventures, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards introduced our round hero to three-dimensions... well, technically 2-1/2D, but everything was 3D visually. The main draw to the game was combining two abilities to form a new one. This made for a lot of experimentation as some portions of levels couldn't be accessed unless you had the correct combination of abilities. Three crystal shards were hidden in each level, and you had to gather them all in order to reach the true final boss of the game. One of my favorite Kirbys, The Crystal Shards is definitely worth a look.

2) Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)


Originally planned to be a new IP entirely, Kirby was shoe-horned in and thus Kirby's Epic Yarn was born. Two players could delve into co-op mode together, collecting beads, lassoing foes, and transforming into multiple different forms like fire engines, cars, and UFOs. While the game itself is one the easy side, the presentation alone makes this game worth playing. Everything in Epic Yarn is-- unsurprisingly-- made out of yarn from bad guys to environments. And that music... So phenomenal. Kirby's Epic Yarn is indeed one special little package.

1) Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)


The latest and in my mind greatest Kirby adventure yet, Kirby's Return to Dreamland (or Kirby's Adventure Wii for PAL people) pits players through countless vibrant and lush worlds such as Cookie Country and Onion Ocean in search of Megalor's missing spaceship parts and Energy Spheres used to unlock bonus content such as Challenge Rooms, Copy Ability Rooms, and sub-games. The addition of four-player co-op creates a zany dynamic with all players working together and sharing a life counter with player one. Multiplayer alone makes this game the best console Kirby yet, but all the unlockable modes post-game makes for a game that definitely does not suck, even if Kirby literally does.

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This edition of Rank Up! is over, but stay tuned later in the week as we'll be examining Kirby's mainline hand-held escapades in a bite-sized version of Rank Up! See you tomorrow, all.

Top Ten Hand-held Games of 2011

The year 2011 is all but a memory now as we look forward to the great games coming down the pipeline for 2012. However, before we completely turn out back to the year that was, let us take a quick look at the best portable titles for such platforms as the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo DS, and darn it, if it isn't trying, the Sony PlayStation Portable. These are the ultimate retail games when it comes to portable platform gaming in the year that was 2011.

10) Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy (PSP)


Duke it out with the heroes and villains of the Final Fantasy series such as Cloud (FFVII), Squall (FFVIII), Terra (FFVI), Cecil (FFIV), Tidus (FFX), Kefka (FFVI), Sephiroth (FFVII), Ultamecia (FFVIII), Kuja (FFIX), Jecht (FFX), Golbez (FFIV), and newcomers like Lightning (FFXIII), Tifa (FFVII), Kain (FFIV), and Laguna (FFVIII). Battle in fully three-dimensional arenas, participate in the many characters' chapters in story mode, customize your equipment, level up your strengths and abilities, and listen to one of many remixed and remastered tracks from Final Fantasy past in Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy.

9) Dead or Alive: Dimensions (3DS)


Celebrating fifteen years, the Dead or Alive franchise appears on a Nintendo system for the first time with this compilation of the greatest in Dead of Alive history. With a huge cast of characters, battle arenas, downloadable costumes (they're free, by the way), and many modes to plow through, Dead or Alive: Dimensions is the ultimate fighting game on the 3DS. The online play showcases the hardware's strengths with trifle amounts of lag or slow-down, the photo mode allows you to take 3D shots of your favorite fighters, and collecting and trading figurines via StreetPass seldom gets old.

8) Star Fox 64 3D (3DS)


Take flight with Fox McCloud and the gang in Star Fox 64 3D, a remake of the 1997 Nintendo 64 original. The game sports updated graphics that look incredible on the 3DS screen, optional gyro controls, three difficulties (Easy, N64, and Expert), remastered voice acting that sounds better than ever before, and an all-new multiplayer mode that can be played with or without bots across four maps. Gearing for high scores, earning medals, and taking down Andross' many enemy fighters is all in a day's work for Team Star Fox.

7) Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)


This start to a new trilogy in the Professor Layton franchise is actually a prequel to Curious Village. It shows the beginnings of the relationship between Layton and Luke and how the two became teacher and apprentice. There are more puzzles to solve than ever before ranging from block sliding quandaries to arithmetic problems. The story contains some truly touching moments, insane production values with stellar voice acting to boot, and characters that you can't help but love. After you've solved the mystery of the Last Specter, download new and free puzzles as well as take a journey to Little London in the cute, quaint, and charming London Life bonus mode-- exclusive to North American copies.

6) Kirby Mass Attack (DS)


What's better than one Kirby? How about an army of ten Kirbys? That is exactly what you get in Kirby Mass Attack. The game is controlled solely with the stylus, tapping the screen to command your Kirbys, flicking them at switches and enemies, battling bosses, finding gold medals, and furiously touching the screen to lift huge objects. The bonus content in the form of mini-games like a Whack-a-mole mini-game, a shmup, an RPG, and a pinball game all add to the value of this amazing adventure. Suck up a copy today-- you won't regret it.

5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)


Mario Kart roars onto the Nintendo 3DS with sixteen all-new tracks, sixteen retro tracks like Luigi's Mansion, Coconut Mall, Dino Dino Jungle, and Koopa Beach from past Mario Kart games, the usual ragtag team of racers plus new ones such as Metal Mario (in his second spin-off game), Lakitu, Honey Queen, and Wiggler, and a robust online mode that is decidedly quite unlike Nintendo. The addition of Communities means those with the same play styles can race one another without the need to exchange friend codes. It just goes to show that Nintendo might not be entirely clueless when it comes to online after all. This might not be the ultimate Mario Kart experience, but it is certainly pretty close.

4) Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)


A remake of the 1998 cult classic, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together brings forth a story of power, war, and attrition in this excellent tactical RPG. Put your brain through the wringer with dozens upon dozens of unique maps and battles that demand your total and unequivocal concentration. The new Wheel of Fortune option adds even more to consider when entering battle as if the battles weren't already exciting enough! With a story from the great mind of Mr. Matsuno (Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story), there is no shortage of tremendous plot twists and epic moments in this modern take on a classic.

3) Pokemon Black and White


A new generation of Pokemon has been unleashed onto the masses, and it introduces over 150 individual Pokemon, new evolutions, a new region to explore, new towns, new rivals, new triple battles, and so much more. Moreover, trading and battling Pokemon online has never been simpler. There is a lot to like about the newest pair of Pokemon games, and it wouldn't be surprising to me if young and old trainers were still playing these games long after they've caught them all.

2) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)


The legend returns with a vengeance with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. More of a remake than a port, Ocarina of Time 3D showcases the brilliance of the 3DS hardware with impressive stereoscopic 3D visuals that have been enhanced from the Nintendo 64 original, a much more difficult Master Quest that unlocks after the main game has been completed, and a Boss Rush mode to pit Link against his toughest foes. Indeed, one of the greatest games of all time just got a little bit better.

1) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)


If only because it is an original title unlike Ocarina of Time 3D, everyone's favorite overall-ed hero returns to a hand-held and earns top honors. Mario hops and skips his way onto the Nintendo 3DS with a brand-new platforming adventure. Run and jump through eight worlds with levels that take the portly plumber through grasslands, deserts, frozen fjords, sunset skies, airships, and Bowser's many castles. The 3D effect is the best the 3DS has seen yet with either the choice for pop-out or pop-in 3D. Even after the first eight worlds have been beaten, you aren't finished yet. There's a whole lot more to trek though if you want to get those highly lusted for five golden stars next to your profile! Giving Mario to the masses has always been Nintendo's mantra, and they definitely succeeded with Super Mario 3D Land!

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Those were but a sampling of the terrific titles that first and third-parties dished out for portables this past year. We saw the arrival of the 3DS in all territories which started out slow at the gate but ended strong while in Japan the PlayStation Vita launched with huge fanfare and one of best launch lineups in recent memory. Meanwhile, the DS had its last full year of support from its parent developer and third-parties as they all move onto its successor, the 3DS. All-in-all, it was a bang up year for dedicated portables in 2011.

Review Round-Up - December

The familiar hero clad in green won best
honors at the SPC Best of 2011 Awards.

The last month of 2011 was full of terrific titles and great games. We started off with Pokemon Rumble Blast, the 3DS sequel to the WiiWare original, which earned a solid 7.0. Then we looked at the 3DS hardware itself and ranked it above average (this was before cool features like Swap Note, the updated eShop, and more). My older brother performed his take on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and gave it a 7.25. Mario Kart 7 revved its way into an 8.5 while the Best Puzzler of 2011 Pushmo received a tremendous 9.0. Not bad for a downloadable game. We went to Kawawii Island in Go Vacation which got a 7.25, played the Game of the Year 2011 in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, took a shuttle to London for Mario and Sonic's third Olympic Games which did well enough to receive a 7.5, and lastly, Kirby returned to consoles with Kirby's Return to Dreamland. That game inhaled an 8.75. Nine games were reviewed in all, ending the year in style.

All scores are out of 10.
5 = Average
* = Guest Review

Pokemon Rumble Blast (3DS) - 7.0
Nintendo 3DS Hardware - 7.5
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)* - 7.25
Mario Kart 7 (3DS) - 8.5
Pushmo (3DSWare) - 9.0
Go Vacation (Wii) - 7.25
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) - 9.5
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii) - 7.5
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii) - 8.75

Kirby and friends rampaged on Wii
with an excellent return to form.

Central City Census - January

Happy new year, everybody! It's a new year not only in the world, but also a new month at SuperPhillip. That means it's time for a new Central City Census to pick at your brain. Before we step foot into uncharted waters, let us take a look at the last poll of 2011.

Do you plan on receiving or buying a console for the holiday season?

I plan on receiving one.	7 (21%)
I plan on buying one for someone.	4 (12%)
It's up in the air, really.	2 (6%)
No, not this year.	19 (59%)

Votes so far: 32

For December I asked a holiday themed question, and you guys gave me the gift of your responses merrily. Being so deep into the generation, most of you were not planning on getting or gifting a console over the holidays. Meanwhile, 21% of the vote were thinking they were receiving one while 12% said that were going to buy one for someone. I'm interested to know how many of these people went through with their intentions. Finally, 6% or two people stated that they didn't really know either way. That was fun, and thanks to all who voted last month. Now let's see what is in store for the first census of the year.

The holidays are over, and that might mean that you got a plethora of new games on top of the ones you still haven't completed or even played. January 2012's CCC asks how many games are in your backlog. Voting ends at midnight CST on February 1st.