We at SuperPhillip Central would like to honor all of the servicemen and women who fight for our freedom, put others before themselves, and make our country proud. With that lovely sentiment out of the way, we have five new video game themes to add to our ever-expanding list of VGMs. This week we have our usual mix of marvelous VGM goodness. Such games featured this week include Mario Kart 8, Valkyria Chronicles, and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
v631. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) - Dolphin Shoals
Mario Kart 8 releases in multiple territories this week, so why not kick off this edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs with some music from the game? Dolphin Shoals is a land and sea track that appears in the Star Cup of the game. It features one mean saxophone that makes this piece god tier. The music of Mario Kart 8 in general is absolutely amazing, and we can only hope Nintendo releases a soundtrack for the game in the near future... preferably on this side of the Pacific, too.
v632. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - Desperate Fight
Hitoshi Sakimoto has a remarkable resume of excellent compositions and soundtracks under his belt. Valkyria Chronicles is but one of these, in addition to Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XII, Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, among other titles. Desperate Fight is a very dramatic track, perfect for dealing in tactical tank warfare, which Valkyria Chronicles provides in spades.
v633. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS) - The Law of Pajamaja
Yoko Shimomura certainly knows how to dazzle us with her compositions, and The Law of Pajamaja from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is no exception. The areas in Dream Team are quite expansive, so it's great to have music that accompanies adventuring through the various lands that doesn't get grating, and even better, sound fantastic. Then again, what else could one expect from the great Yoko Shimomura?
v634. Custom Robo (GCN) - Are You Ready
We didn't particularly care for Custom Robo on the GameCube. Not even its music was that interesting, but one track that does sound nice is the theme that plays while setting up your robo figurine. It's a supremely casual theme that allows one to lie back and relax with its lovely guitar and soft sounds.
v635. Wario World (GCN) - Greenhorn Ruins
Wario World is a treasure on the Nintendo GameCube, albeit a short adventure. While we would love to go on about how we'd really enjoy seeing a new 3D Wario platformer, now is not the time. Instead, let's talk about this theme for the second level of Wario World. It's a peppy and snazzy jazz number that is perfect to play as Wario punches, kicks, and pummels foes into submission. A remixed version of this theme would later appear in the Wii title Wario Land: Shake It! for the Glitzville level of the game.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Turtle Tale (3DSWare) Review
Turtles-- they've become popular once more in recent years-- what, with the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles CG cartoon out now and the upcoming movie. Now, one can get an alternate turtle experience with Saturnine Games's Turtle Tale, a 2D platformer that just released on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Does it kick shell or does it give us a chance to use a turtle-related pun at the game's expense?
Do you have no experience with the platformer genre? Have you yet to experience the best of what the genre has to offer? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, then Saturnine Games's Turtle Tale may be right for you. All others probably need not apply.
Turtle Tale is a very basic 2D platformer which features 15 rather dull levels full of ho-hum platforming and little variety. Oh, there's occasional levels with platforms that move and a screen that scrolls automatically, but these aren't very interesting in design either. The fact that all levels seem like they were designed haphazardly with random placement of holes, enemies, and obstacles, make Turtle Tale's levels disappointingly poor. Even the end of each level doesn't have much in the way of pomp and circumstance. They just end, showcasing the level design's inability to create a feeling of increased intensity of challenges, depth, variance, or dynamics from the beginning of each level to its conclusion.
Each level features a set amount of fruit to collect. In order to unlock the hard mode, which beefs up the amount of enemies you have to deal with as well as gives less health to work with, you must collect all of the fruit in the game. This is insultingly easy, as they're pretty much all a breeze to collect, being on the path your character must progress on.
The majority of enemies, most of which are simply sprite swaps, move in predictable patterns, with the occasional enemy that chucks objects at your character, a bipedal turtle with a water gun.
The water gun itself is pretty weak as your turtle's offense. It doesn't squirt out in a steady, strong stream, instead it simply spews out with a weak burst in a downward arc, only a few feet away from its our hero. The inability to aim your water gun makes aerial enemies a challenge, and not a fair or welcomed one.
Seeing as whenever the tenacious terrapin is hit by an enemy, he gets knocked back. This means that getting hit by an enemy and then falling into a hole due to the knock-back damage is a common and frustrating occurrence. Sure, you have unlimited lives and there are checkpoints, but as the game gets more challenging (i.e. unfair) in its platform and enemy placement, Turtle Tale grows increasingly more tedious to complete.
Turtle Tale isn't all bad, mind you. Shelldon, the main character, is brimming with personality and controls well. The premise of the game is cute enough, and the visuals, although simplistic, portray a world that is entertaining to look at. The music is serviceable, but it's ultimately something you won't remember as soon as you quit the game.
Turtle Tale isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it is also not a great game either. It doesn't do anything remarkable, and when it tries to do something special, the end result is flawed. Still, it's a solid effort that Saturnine Games made with Turtle Tale,. If you're in the mood for a low cost jump and run and aren't expecting the next Mega Man in the process, Turtle Tale is a suitable 3DS eShop title to try out. It doesn't kick absolute shell, but it won't leave you with a feeling of shell shock either.
[SPC Says: 4.75/10]
Slow and steady doesn't win this race,
but it doesn't make for a really bad game either.
Do you have no experience with the platformer genre? Have you yet to experience the best of what the genre has to offer? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, then Saturnine Games's Turtle Tale may be right for you. All others probably need not apply.
Turtle Tale is a very basic 2D platformer which features 15 rather dull levels full of ho-hum platforming and little variety. Oh, there's occasional levels with platforms that move and a screen that scrolls automatically, but these aren't very interesting in design either. The fact that all levels seem like they were designed haphazardly with random placement of holes, enemies, and obstacles, make Turtle Tale's levels disappointingly poor. Even the end of each level doesn't have much in the way of pomp and circumstance. They just end, showcasing the level design's inability to create a feeling of increased intensity of challenges, depth, variance, or dynamics from the beginning of each level to its conclusion.
Each level features a set amount of fruit to collect. In order to unlock the hard mode, which beefs up the amount of enemies you have to deal with as well as gives less health to work with, you must collect all of the fruit in the game. This is insultingly easy, as they're pretty much all a breeze to collect, being on the path your character must progress on.The majority of enemies, most of which are simply sprite swaps, move in predictable patterns, with the occasional enemy that chucks objects at your character, a bipedal turtle with a water gun.
The water gun itself is pretty weak as your turtle's offense. It doesn't squirt out in a steady, strong stream, instead it simply spews out with a weak burst in a downward arc, only a few feet away from its our hero. The inability to aim your water gun makes aerial enemies a challenge, and not a fair or welcomed one.
Seeing as whenever the tenacious terrapin is hit by an enemy, he gets knocked back. This means that getting hit by an enemy and then falling into a hole due to the knock-back damage is a common and frustrating occurrence. Sure, you have unlimited lives and there are checkpoints, but as the game gets more challenging (i.e. unfair) in its platform and enemy placement, Turtle Tale grows increasingly more tedious to complete.Turtle Tale isn't all bad, mind you. Shelldon, the main character, is brimming with personality and controls well. The premise of the game is cute enough, and the visuals, although simplistic, portray a world that is entertaining to look at. The music is serviceable, but it's ultimately something you won't remember as soon as you quit the game.
Turtle Tale isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it is also not a great game either. It doesn't do anything remarkable, and when it tries to do something special, the end result is flawed. Still, it's a solid effort that Saturnine Games made with Turtle Tale,. If you're in the mood for a low cost jump and run and aren't expecting the next Mega Man in the process, Turtle Tale is a suitable 3DS eShop title to try out. It doesn't kick absolute shell, but it won't leave you with a feeling of shell shock either.
[SPC Says: 4.75/10]
Labels:
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nintendo 3ds,
review,
saturnine games,
turtle tale
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Super Monkey Ball 3D (3DS) Review
Our Thursday brings us to a launch Nintendo 3DS game. The games offered to those who jumped onto the Nintendo 3DS bandwagon at launch weren't great in quantity, and many weren't that great in quality either. One such game is Super Monkey Ball 3D. Having had such great memories of the GameCube entries, and even the Game Boy Advance Super Monkey Ball, seeing the sharp decrease in quality since the series' inception makes us sad pandas... well, sad monkeys, to fit with this review.
Oh, Super Monkey Ball series... I remember a time when this series was one of my favorites and was synonymous with awesome arcade action. Unfortunately, that time simply spanned two games, the first two titles in the series, and they both are over a decade old. With the release of Super Monkey Ball Adventure, a game I'm sure many Monkey Ball fans have subconsciously blocked from their collective memory (sorry for bringing it to the front of your minds now!), the slow, steady, and sad decline of the series began and never really stopped. Does Super Monkey Ball 3D, the Nintendo 3DS launch title, buck that trend? Well, let me save you the suspense-- no, it doesn't.
The main monkey mayhem to Super Monkey Ball 3D takes place in the traditional ball-rolling levels, which simply task you with racing to the goal without falling off the stage or running out of time. Bananas are sprinkled through each level, with the purpose of collecting 30 for an extra life. They also serve as a collectible, as acquiring every banana in a given world, of which there are eight that feature ten levels each, you get a special medal that is placed in the world selection menu.
The stage design is what makes or breaks a game like Super Monkey Ball, and unfortunately for this 3DS incarnation, it ultimately breaks this game. It's clear that Super Monkey Ball 3D was designed for the system's built-in motion sensor/gyroscope controls. This means the resulting levels created to complement this novelty are absurdly simple. With the game's Circle Pad controls (i.e. the way you'll actually want to play the game with), the flawed level design is only further magnified.
The majority of stages in Super Monkey Ball 3D are either insultingly easy or designed so poorly with haphazard and obnoxious obstacle placement that they simply aren't much fun. While there are moments of greatness in the stage design, these moments come way too few and far in-between. The difficulty, however, does pick up a little near the end, namely the last world, but it's overall a heavily lackluster experience.
The Super Monkey Ball series is known for having an abundance of party mini-games for local multiplayer sessions that last all the way into the wee hours of the night into dawn. Unfortunately, gone are actual engaging mini-games such as Monkey Target, for instance, and instead they are replaced by a total of two mini-games.
The first is Monkey Race, which is a fantastic kart racer if you're a fan of bashing your head into a wall until blood starts oozing out of your forehead. Forgive my wordplay trickery there, but with incredibly bewildering control decisions that make absolutely no sense (unless, of course, you have bashed your head into a wall repeatedly like the designers must have done), Monkey Race is a failure of a kart racer that simply takes up room on the game card that an actually entertaining mode like Monkey Target could have been included, then.
Monkey Fight is the other game included, and this is purely a Super Smash Bros. ripoff. The only thing here is that it's not even a good or pleasant one. The controls respond as well as a blind monkey following sign language (had to throw some monkey-related metaphor in there somewhere to fit with this review), and the combat as a whole is clunky at best.
The flaws of Super Monkey Ball 3D don't end with the gameplay and modes either. No, the visuals are severely lackluster, even for a launch Nintendo 3DS game. The 3D effect is hindered by a HUD that doesn't pop out like it should; it actually appears far in the distance while the environments and stages up-close, making a severely jarring visual experience. Usually featuring memorable music, Super Monkey Ball 3D bucks that trend, too, offering highly forgettable but passable all the same music.
Super Monkey Ball 3D is a game you should definitely not monkey around with. Its stage design most likely is insulting to all except the youngest of gamers. The added multiplayer modes do not actually add much of anything, except poor gameplay and even worse controls. Not only all of that, but like Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, there is no way to delete your data from the game card. That means if you buy this game used, you'll have as much content completed and stages available to you as the game's last owner(s).
...Well, at least the main game is quite playable, right?
[SPC Says: 3.0/10]
No Monkeyin' Around Here--This Game is a Disappointment
Oh, Super Monkey Ball series... I remember a time when this series was one of my favorites and was synonymous with awesome arcade action. Unfortunately, that time simply spanned two games, the first two titles in the series, and they both are over a decade old. With the release of Super Monkey Ball Adventure, a game I'm sure many Monkey Ball fans have subconsciously blocked from their collective memory (sorry for bringing it to the front of your minds now!), the slow, steady, and sad decline of the series began and never really stopped. Does Super Monkey Ball 3D, the Nintendo 3DS launch title, buck that trend? Well, let me save you the suspense-- no, it doesn't.
The main monkey mayhem to Super Monkey Ball 3D takes place in the traditional ball-rolling levels, which simply task you with racing to the goal without falling off the stage or running out of time. Bananas are sprinkled through each level, with the purpose of collecting 30 for an extra life. They also serve as a collectible, as acquiring every banana in a given world, of which there are eight that feature ten levels each, you get a special medal that is placed in the world selection menu.
![]() |
| All those bananas won't lead you to a better game, Aiai. |
The majority of stages in Super Monkey Ball 3D are either insultingly easy or designed so poorly with haphazard and obnoxious obstacle placement that they simply aren't much fun. While there are moments of greatness in the stage design, these moments come way too few and far in-between. The difficulty, however, does pick up a little near the end, namely the last world, but it's overall a heavily lackluster experience.
![]() |
| The eight themed worlds have their own senses of personality. |
The first is Monkey Race, which is a fantastic kart racer if you're a fan of bashing your head into a wall until blood starts oozing out of your forehead. Forgive my wordplay trickery there, but with incredibly bewildering control decisions that make absolutely no sense (unless, of course, you have bashed your head into a wall repeatedly like the designers must have done), Monkey Race is a failure of a kart racer that simply takes up room on the game card that an actually entertaining mode like Monkey Target could have been included, then.
![]() |
| Just put me out of my misery and breathe scalding hot fire on my monkey, Mr. Dragon. |
The flaws of Super Monkey Ball 3D don't end with the gameplay and modes either. No, the visuals are severely lackluster, even for a launch Nintendo 3DS game. The 3D effect is hindered by a HUD that doesn't pop out like it should; it actually appears far in the distance while the environments and stages up-close, making a severely jarring visual experience. Usually featuring memorable music, Super Monkey Ball 3D bucks that trend, too, offering highly forgettable but passable all the same music.
![]() |
| This is child endangerment here. He's just a baby for crying out loud! |
...Well, at least the main game is quite playable, right?
[SPC Says: 3.0/10]
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Top Ten Nintendo 3DS Soundtracks
How about a top ten list to keep your week going smoothly? Sure thing! For this fine Wednesday SuperPhillip Central has put together a list of our favorite Nintendo 3DS soundtracks. Dare we go so far to call these the best soundtracks that the system has to offer? There's an immense number of Nintendo 3DS soundtracks to choose from, and it was so very difficult to select which ones to include and which ones to leave out, so we're sure you'll have your own opinions on our picks. Each game listed has a trio of links to click on so you can listen to some soundtrack samples. Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get to the countdown!
10) Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure
Although it's an imperfect rhythm game (thank you, gyro controls), Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure gives us a warm, familiar feeling. It's as if the SEGA of old, pre-third-party company, was back in the saddle, albeit for a very limited amount of time. The various themes that play during the numerous rhythm-based mini-games of Rhythm Thief are accompanied by some very catchy tunes, whether they be of the jazz, rock, or even hip-hop genres of music.
9) Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Paper Mario: Sticker Star was a great departure from the standard structure and formula fans of the long-running RPG series were expecting. This, deservedly so, brought about a lot of ire from fans towards the game. However, one facet of this flawed game that cannot really be argued by us as poor, is the fabulous soundtrack. Full of jazzy, jaunty, and peppy tunes, Paper Mario: Sticker Star's soundtrack had our toes tapping from the beginning of Mario's adventure to its conclusion.
8) Kirby: Triple Deluxe
Kirby series soundtracks seldom ever disappoint, and the recently released Kirby: Triple Deluxe continues that tradition of great music. Longtime series composers Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando deliver a multitude of catchy and appropriately cheerful music to this new installment of the Kirby series. While there are multiple tracks picked directly from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, the majority of music is wholly original and wholly wonderful.
7) Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Surprisingly, Mario only makes two appearances on our countdown of best 3DS soundtracks. This is his second appearance, another RPG, but this time Luigi tags along. Yoko Shimomura, whose musical magnificence shines in every theme she has ever composed, brings a suitably cheery, sometimes foreboding soundtrack to players' ears with Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
6) Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy
While many gamers focused on the console iteration of Ace Combat when it hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the 3DS entry, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, was sadly overlooked. Not only is the game a joy to play, making all those dogfights so beautiful in glorious 3D, but the soundtrack is especially excellent. That should be no surprise since Go Shiira composed the majority of the tracks.
5) Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
She's baaaaaack~! Yoko Shimomura is most likely best known for her work on Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts franchise. The Nintendo 3DS entry, Dream Drop Distance, consists of many proficiently composed themes full of fantastic instrumentation and strong melodies. It's just the type of marvelous soundtrack that one would expect from a composer of the magnitude and skill level of Yoko Shimomura!
4) Fire Emblem: Awakening
When a soundtrack has a five disc set release in Japan, one might come to the conclusion that there's a lot to sift through to find the good stuff. However, with Fire Emblem: Awakening's soundtrack, composed by Hiroki Morishita, Rei Kondoh, and series veteran Yuka Tsujiyoko, this is a case of quantity and quality. With stirring symphonic tracks, heartfelt ballads, and plenty of tracks that span a range of emotions, Fire Emblem: Awakening's music is top-notch, to say the very, very least.
3) The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
A soundtrack that sensationally combines new with the familiar, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds' music delivers songs that fans of A Link to the Past will no doubt recognize, but they'll hear them in totally new arrangements. Ryo Nagamatsu, the composer and arranger of this fantastic soundtrack, nails both the fresh arrangements of the game as well as the brand-new, wholly original musical content. It's a soundtrack that stands along the best of The Legend of Zelda franchise's various scores.
2) Bravely Default
The leader of Sound Horizon, a Japanese progressive rock, neoclassical metal group, is Revo, and his expertise of creating music came into glorious use for the Bravely Default soundtrack. Before Bravely Default's release, none of us knew anything about Revo, and most of us had never heard of his name before. After hearing the pieces composed and performed by Revo and Sound Horizon, we couldn't help ourselves to research as much as possible about this musical genius and his band.
1) Kid Icarus: Uprising
Our choice for best Nintendo 3DS soundtrack was an easy pick. It's a soundtrack that features some of the best musical minds in Japan, such as Yasunori Mitsuda, Motoi Sakuraba, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, and more. The fully orchestrated soundtrack delivers tension, drama, cheerfulness, chills, liveliness, and a whole range of emotions. There's hardly a track that isn't captivating to the listener. Whether you're into traditional classical music or atypical sounds, Kid Icarus: Uprising possesses without a doubt the greatest soundtrack of any Nintendo 3DS game.
Which Nintendo 3DS soundtracks are your favorites? Start up a discussion below in our comments section!
10) Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure
Although it's an imperfect rhythm game (thank you, gyro controls), Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure gives us a warm, familiar feeling. It's as if the SEGA of old, pre-third-party company, was back in the saddle, albeit for a very limited amount of time. The various themes that play during the numerous rhythm-based mini-games of Rhythm Thief are accompanied by some very catchy tunes, whether they be of the jazz, rock, or even hip-hop genres of music.
9) Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Paper Mario: Sticker Star was a great departure from the standard structure and formula fans of the long-running RPG series were expecting. This, deservedly so, brought about a lot of ire from fans towards the game. However, one facet of this flawed game that cannot really be argued by us as poor, is the fabulous soundtrack. Full of jazzy, jaunty, and peppy tunes, Paper Mario: Sticker Star's soundtrack had our toes tapping from the beginning of Mario's adventure to its conclusion.
8) Kirby: Triple Deluxe
Kirby series soundtracks seldom ever disappoint, and the recently released Kirby: Triple Deluxe continues that tradition of great music. Longtime series composers Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando deliver a multitude of catchy and appropriately cheerful music to this new installment of the Kirby series. While there are multiple tracks picked directly from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, the majority of music is wholly original and wholly wonderful.
7) Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Surprisingly, Mario only makes two appearances on our countdown of best 3DS soundtracks. This is his second appearance, another RPG, but this time Luigi tags along. Yoko Shimomura, whose musical magnificence shines in every theme she has ever composed, brings a suitably cheery, sometimes foreboding soundtrack to players' ears with Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
6) Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy
While many gamers focused on the console iteration of Ace Combat when it hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the 3DS entry, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, was sadly overlooked. Not only is the game a joy to play, making all those dogfights so beautiful in glorious 3D, but the soundtrack is especially excellent. That should be no surprise since Go Shiira composed the majority of the tracks.
5) Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
She's baaaaaack~! Yoko Shimomura is most likely best known for her work on Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts franchise. The Nintendo 3DS entry, Dream Drop Distance, consists of many proficiently composed themes full of fantastic instrumentation and strong melodies. It's just the type of marvelous soundtrack that one would expect from a composer of the magnitude and skill level of Yoko Shimomura!
4) Fire Emblem: Awakening
When a soundtrack has a five disc set release in Japan, one might come to the conclusion that there's a lot to sift through to find the good stuff. However, with Fire Emblem: Awakening's soundtrack, composed by Hiroki Morishita, Rei Kondoh, and series veteran Yuka Tsujiyoko, this is a case of quantity and quality. With stirring symphonic tracks, heartfelt ballads, and plenty of tracks that span a range of emotions, Fire Emblem: Awakening's music is top-notch, to say the very, very least.
3) The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
A soundtrack that sensationally combines new with the familiar, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds' music delivers songs that fans of A Link to the Past will no doubt recognize, but they'll hear them in totally new arrangements. Ryo Nagamatsu, the composer and arranger of this fantastic soundtrack, nails both the fresh arrangements of the game as well as the brand-new, wholly original musical content. It's a soundtrack that stands along the best of The Legend of Zelda franchise's various scores.
2) Bravely Default
The leader of Sound Horizon, a Japanese progressive rock, neoclassical metal group, is Revo, and his expertise of creating music came into glorious use for the Bravely Default soundtrack. Before Bravely Default's release, none of us knew anything about Revo, and most of us had never heard of his name before. After hearing the pieces composed and performed by Revo and Sound Horizon, we couldn't help ourselves to research as much as possible about this musical genius and his band.
1) Kid Icarus: Uprising
Our choice for best Nintendo 3DS soundtrack was an easy pick. It's a soundtrack that features some of the best musical minds in Japan, such as Yasunori Mitsuda, Motoi Sakuraba, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, and more. The fully orchestrated soundtrack delivers tension, drama, cheerfulness, chills, liveliness, and a whole range of emotions. There's hardly a track that isn't captivating to the listener. Whether you're into traditional classical music or atypical sounds, Kid Icarus: Uprising possesses without a doubt the greatest soundtrack of any Nintendo 3DS game.
===
Which Nintendo 3DS soundtracks are your favorites? Start up a discussion below in our comments section!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Toughest Tasks in Gaming History - Volume Two
Do you consider yourself to be a hardcore gamer? Just how hard of a hardcore gamer do you think you are? Do you think you could perform some of the most difficult feats in gaming? Even if you don't think you could, Toughest Tasks in Gaming History is here to show you some of the most challenging feats in gaming. No, we don't mean things like becoming a credible gaming journalist. No, no! We're talking feats that will amaze friends within your gaming circle. This second volume contains tasks from games like Gears of War 3, Dead Rising, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl!
If you missed the inaugural edition of Toughest Tasks in Gaming History, have no fear! We have the first volume's link right here!
Seriously 3.0 - Gears of War 3 (360)
Some tasks in gaming are tough because of the challenge involved, while others are tough due to the time investment required. Gears of War 3's Seriously 3.0 achievement focuses on the latter. In the original Gears of War, there was the original Seriously achievement, earned through obtaining 10,000 kills. The sequel required the player to up their killcount exponentially with 100,000 enemies killed. This time one could earn these kills in and out of multiplayer (through grinding the last level over and over again in a sensationally stupid, tedious, and so-not-worth-it way).
Seriously 3.0 requires you to reach level 100 as well as acquire all 65 Onyx medals. What does that actually mean for the player? Well, one has you being forced to play over 15,000 multiplayer matches at the very minimum and score over 70,000 kills. Unless you absolutely can't live without Gears of War 3, this tough task is only reserved for the biggest fans of the game.
7 Day Survivor - Dead Rising (360)
Through completing the main campaign of Capcom's Dead Rising for the Xbox 360, Infinite mode unlocks. This mode requires Frank "covered wars, y'know" West to survive for seven in-game days. Each day in Dead Rising lasts two hours, so simple math has a 7 Day Survivor achievement-acquirer spending 14 hours total on this task.
You must constantly babysit Frank, as his health bar is always declining. He must eat over 40 meals at the very least to stay alive (a full health bar will empty in 20 minutes), he must survive against a zombie horde that wants him as a nighttime snack, and there are no checkpoints or save points to help the player with. That means you must have your Xbox 360 on for at least 14 hours. Huh. No wonder our damn Xbox 360 overheated on us when we got this achievement!
Collecting all of the trophies - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
With the Super Smash Bros. series' fourth and fifth installments releasing later this year, it seems like as good a time as any to look back at the latest game in the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. One cool feature of Brawl, which was also in Melee, is that of trophies. These trophies are modeled after various characters, objects, items, and more from numerous Nintendo properties. It's a veritable virtual museum for Nintendo fans.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced a challenge wall, much like what was seen in Kirby Air Ride, another Masahiro Sakurai directed title. As in-game tasks are completed, individual panes on the challenge wall shatter, revealing a prize.
In order to get every trophy in the game, a player needs to not only acquire all the trophies found in the challenge wall (this means beating the game's modes on the hardest difficulty), but he or she must turn every enemy and boss in the Subspace Emissary mode into a trophy with a trophy stand item, and beat the Classic and All-Star modes as every character. Not just immensely challenging as a task, but time-consuming, those who have collected every trophy Super Smash Bros. Brawl has to offer are without a doubt the best and brightest the franchise has to offer.
Super Monkey Master - Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (Vita)
The PlayStation Vita's edition of the Super Monkey Ball series is a title that will grab you by the monkey balls and not let go. It's a very difficult game, featuring a steep leap in difficulty going from the intermediate to the advanced stages of the game. It's a feat all on its own to simply beat the fifty stages of the advanced mode, and that's because you don't have the luxury of unlimited continues until after you beat the mode.
What does Super Monkey Master entail, then? Well, it's the simple task of beating every stage in the game without ever using a continue. Be sure to grab as many bananas as you can to rack up those lives, master those challenging stages as many times as you can in Practice mode, and keep those palms steady! If you can somehow obtain this incredibly rare trophy, then pat yourself on the back, as you are indeed a Super Monkey Master!
Beating the game - Contra (NES)
...How about without the famous Konami code? Heck, even with the code activated, the original Contra on the Nintendo Entertainment System was no walk in the park... Well, maybe a walk in the park if your park has a hail of gunfire, explosions, and one-hit kills every step of the way.
Without the Konami code activated, which would give players thirty lives to work with, Contra only gave players three lives to work with. Yes. Three. Lives. Throw in the little caveat that every hit you took was a one-hit kill, and those lives just fly away like scraps of paper in the wind.
Players had eight levels to complete in order to beat Contra, and if you could beat the game with just those three lives, you were the coolest kid in elementary school. Nowadays, many gamers are soft-- using save states, tool-assisted runs, and other girly-men handicaps. We should know...
If you missed the inaugural edition of Toughest Tasks in Gaming History, have no fear! We have the first volume's link right here!
Seriously 3.0 - Gears of War 3 (360)
Some tasks in gaming are tough because of the challenge involved, while others are tough due to the time investment required. Gears of War 3's Seriously 3.0 achievement focuses on the latter. In the original Gears of War, there was the original Seriously achievement, earned through obtaining 10,000 kills. The sequel required the player to up their killcount exponentially with 100,000 enemies killed. This time one could earn these kills in and out of multiplayer (through grinding the last level over and over again in a sensationally stupid, tedious, and so-not-worth-it way).
Seriously 3.0 requires you to reach level 100 as well as acquire all 65 Onyx medals. What does that actually mean for the player? Well, one has you being forced to play over 15,000 multiplayer matches at the very minimum and score over 70,000 kills. Unless you absolutely can't live without Gears of War 3, this tough task is only reserved for the biggest fans of the game.
7 Day Survivor - Dead Rising (360)
Through completing the main campaign of Capcom's Dead Rising for the Xbox 360, Infinite mode unlocks. This mode requires Frank "covered wars, y'know" West to survive for seven in-game days. Each day in Dead Rising lasts two hours, so simple math has a 7 Day Survivor achievement-acquirer spending 14 hours total on this task.
You must constantly babysit Frank, as his health bar is always declining. He must eat over 40 meals at the very least to stay alive (a full health bar will empty in 20 minutes), he must survive against a zombie horde that wants him as a nighttime snack, and there are no checkpoints or save points to help the player with. That means you must have your Xbox 360 on for at least 14 hours. Huh. No wonder our damn Xbox 360 overheated on us when we got this achievement!
Collecting all of the trophies - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
With the Super Smash Bros. series' fourth and fifth installments releasing later this year, it seems like as good a time as any to look back at the latest game in the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. One cool feature of Brawl, which was also in Melee, is that of trophies. These trophies are modeled after various characters, objects, items, and more from numerous Nintendo properties. It's a veritable virtual museum for Nintendo fans.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced a challenge wall, much like what was seen in Kirby Air Ride, another Masahiro Sakurai directed title. As in-game tasks are completed, individual panes on the challenge wall shatter, revealing a prize.
In order to get every trophy in the game, a player needs to not only acquire all the trophies found in the challenge wall (this means beating the game's modes on the hardest difficulty), but he or she must turn every enemy and boss in the Subspace Emissary mode into a trophy with a trophy stand item, and beat the Classic and All-Star modes as every character. Not just immensely challenging as a task, but time-consuming, those who have collected every trophy Super Smash Bros. Brawl has to offer are without a doubt the best and brightest the franchise has to offer.
Super Monkey Master - Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (Vita)
The PlayStation Vita's edition of the Super Monkey Ball series is a title that will grab you by the monkey balls and not let go. It's a very difficult game, featuring a steep leap in difficulty going from the intermediate to the advanced stages of the game. It's a feat all on its own to simply beat the fifty stages of the advanced mode, and that's because you don't have the luxury of unlimited continues until after you beat the mode.
What does Super Monkey Master entail, then? Well, it's the simple task of beating every stage in the game without ever using a continue. Be sure to grab as many bananas as you can to rack up those lives, master those challenging stages as many times as you can in Practice mode, and keep those palms steady! If you can somehow obtain this incredibly rare trophy, then pat yourself on the back, as you are indeed a Super Monkey Master!
Beating the game - Contra (NES)
...How about without the famous Konami code? Heck, even with the code activated, the original Contra on the Nintendo Entertainment System was no walk in the park... Well, maybe a walk in the park if your park has a hail of gunfire, explosions, and one-hit kills every step of the way.
Without the Konami code activated, which would give players thirty lives to work with, Contra only gave players three lives to work with. Yes. Three. Lives. Throw in the little caveat that every hit you took was a one-hit kill, and those lives just fly away like scraps of paper in the wind.
Players had eight levels to complete in order to beat Contra, and if you could beat the game with just those three lives, you were the coolest kid in elementary school. Nowadays, many gamers are soft-- using save states, tool-assisted runs, and other girly-men handicaps. We should know...
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