Ratchet & Clank HD (Vita) Review

I think since we're approaching the end of the month it's time to reveal that I'm going to be moving on to a new scoring system on SuperPhillip Central. The change will be highlighted in a future post. Reviews will be written the same (the jury's out if that's a good thing or a bad thing), but the scoring system will be altered, hopefully for the better. In the meantime, let's enjoy the old system while we can with this review from a game in one of my favorite franchises, Ratchet & Clank!

This is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

No, I don't mean just between the pair of Ratchet and Clank, who start off as very different characters at the beginning of the game compared to how they turn up at the end, as good friends. At the start of their partnership, Ratchet couldn't care less about saving the universe while Clank is highly naive and trusts pretty much anyone. I mean Ratchet & Clank for many players might be their first foray into the franchise, what, with this being the first game of the HD collection on the PlayStation Vita.

No doubt many will find the original so much fun that they'll become players and then fans of the sequels. It only gets better from there, but like every good friendship, it has to start somewhere. That somewhere is the original Ratchet & Clank, now available in handheld form as part of the download-only Ratchet & Clank Collection for the PlayStation Vita. While it's still a blast to play, future installments quickly make certain parts of the game feel obsolete and ancient in comparison.

Two against one? Is there no
chivalry in this galaxy!?

Ratchet and Clank traipse around over 15 different planets and areas throughout their inaugural adventure together. Starting out armed with only a wrench for close-range attacks and a blaster for long-range shots (albeit with limited ammo), the two deal damage to Chairman Drek's plan to take pieces of various planets to build his own world.

One of many eye-catching locations in
the first Ratchet & Clank.

From defeating enemies and breaking boxes, you earn bolts that can be used to purchase ammunition and new weapons at various Gadgetron vendors. Whether it's a powerful missile launcher with the Devastator, a glove that throws out bombs (fittingly called the Bomb Glove). a flamethrower called the Pyrocitor, or any other of the over a dozen weapons fit for combat, Ratchet can accumulate a nice stockpile of weapons. Just don't wonder how he holds them all. It's not worth asking the question.

So much for a nice day at the beach.

In addition to weapons, Ratchet acquires gadgets to help him get past various obstacles in the way. He can use the Swingshot on specific targets to hook onto them and swing across gaps and chasms, the Trespasser to open locked doors after playing a short mini-game, the Hydro Displacer to empty and fill pools of water for progression, and many more.

These Trespasser puzzles have you trying to
make these beams shine on every target.

Each world that Ratchet and Clank enters has multiple paths, each leading to one of several objectives the two need to complete. These are as simple as meeting up with an NPC, acquiring a certain gadget, obtaining an Infobot that details the next location the pair should travel to, and things along those lines.

This enemy is about to get lumberjack-ed!

After beating the game initially, Ratchet & Clank still offers a ton of content. For one, there are 40 Gold Bolts hidden throughout the game in some incredibly clever places. After the game is completed, you have the option to play through the game again with all of your weapons you have obtained and double the bolts you can earn. This makes buying the rest of the available weapons much easier (though the one million bolt trophy is still ridiculous). Lastly, skill points can be earned. These are challenges that are completed by performing a certain in-game task, such as destroying a certain amount of flying vehicles in a level, taking out a boss with only Ratchet's wrench, or completing a grinding section without taking damage. These skill points unlock behind-the-scenes content-- for example, a sketchbook.

Nothing like a frosty reception to sour a lombax's mood.

For those returning to or playing Ratchet & Clank for the first time after playing later games in the series is that you quickly miss a lot of the features of those games that you probably took for granted. For one, strafing is not an option, meaning that you have to do a lot of gymnastics as Ratchet to attack enemies while avoiding their own assaults on our heroic lombax. It makes it hard to target specific enemies and get a desired camera angle in the process. Furthermore, the quick select menu in future games pauses the gameplay so you can select a different weapon or gadget without having to worry about being fired upon in the process. This is not the case with Ratchet & Clank.

I found myself trying to strafe despite knowing
I couldn't since this was the original R&C.

By far the feature I missed most from more modern Ratchet & Clank games that is sorely MIA in the original is a notification once you've arrived at a checkpoint. This issue is exacerbated by checkpoints in levels being so few and far in-between. Don't be surprised when you have to redo entire portions of levels because you died just short of a checkpoint you didn't even know was there. The only positive here is that the Trespasser puzzles you did on your first pass through the level section will be solved if you have already completed them, making your return to spot you last died a faster one.

Clank assists to provide extra height and hovering
capabilities. A bot has to hold his own, y'know!

The HD incarnation of Ratchet & Clank plays relatively well on the PlayStation Vita. It looks phenomenal with limited jaggies, large draw distance with little in the way objects and geometry magically appearing from out of nowhere, and beautifully realized worlds. The only main issue with how Ratchet & Clank controls on the Vita is during the game's hoverboard races. One of the trophies involves performing a four trick combo in the air, requiring the L2 and R2 buttons. As these are missing from the Vita hardware, you have to use the rear touch pad at such a spot to get the inputs to properly register. It makes an otherwise easy trophy a nightmare to get without a good deal of practice and troubleshooting.

Who do I complain to about this
orbital station's amphibian problem?

Overall, Ratchet & Clank HD is a great 3D platformer with tons of content, but it falters in many ways that future sequels have only made increasingly more obvious. By no means is the game an old fossil that is not worthy of being played. It just lacks the included features of the sequels that many fans and players of the series have probably taken for granted. Still, if you want to see how this fantastic PlayStation platforming series started, there is no better beginning than the original Ratchet & Clank.

[SPC Says: 8.25/10]

Most Overlooked Nintendo 3DS Games - Part Five

It's been over a year since my last entry of the Most Overlooked Nintendo 3DS Games (which scares me to death at how fast time seems to go). However, this popular segment's back with five new games, and for the first time, a digital game appears, the first of no doubt many! All of the games featured on this edition are sequels or spin-offs of a preexisting property, which shows that even established series can have their black sheep sales-wise. After perusing this edition of the Most Overlooked Nintendo 3DS Games, please post what games you think deserve more time in the proverbial sun.

If you missed a past part of my Most Overlooked Nintendo 3DS Games, no worries. Just click on one of the following links!

Nintendo 3DS - Part One
Nintendo 3DS - Part Two 
Nintendo 3DS - Part Three
Nintendo 3DS - Part Four

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call 

While the original Theatrhythm Final Fantasy did well enough in sales in the West to have a sequel localized, Curtain Call, the sequel in question, did not live up to its predecessor's amount of copies sold. This is highly disheartening and disappointing, as Curtain Call is a much more content-packed and upgraded game compared to the original, which wasn't relaxed on content to begin with. Containing over 200 songs, continued DLC support, a myriad of Final Fantasy all-stars to add to a player's party, multiple modes including online battles and an engaging Quest Mode, and altered mechanics to make for a superior experience, it's unfortunate that Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call did not perform as well as it should have. Well, at least in the West! Japan happily had a much different result.

Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate

From Armature Studios, a collection of mostly former Retro Studios employees (the folks who made Metroid Prime, only one of my top ten games of all time), Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate released on both dedicated handheld systems of this generation, the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita. We'll obviously be looking at the former version, but both SKUs failed to light the sales charts on fire, despite being smartly executed games. In Blackgate, Armature successfully created a 2-1/2D Metroid-style world to explore and implemented the combat system of the console Arkham games. Sadly, as stated, both the 3DS and the Vita versions of Blackgate did not do well sales-wise, making WB Games launch digital versions of the game on numerous HD storefronts. It didn't do too well there either, which stinks as Blackgate is a worthy addition to the Batman: Arkham saga.

Fluidity: Spin Cycle

In the past I have dedicated these Most Overlooked segments to retail games exclusively. However, I would be an old fossil if I continued to do so, as digital is widely considered the future of gaming. That, and a game being digital does not discredit it whatsoever. Anyhow, Fluidity: Spin Cycle is the first of many digital-only games that will be featured on my Most Overlooked lists in the future. It had players guiding a collection of water through a series of levels, tilting and rotating the Nintendo 3DS system to influence the direction of the hydro-heavy player character. To be honest, Spin Cycle would have been better served for another platform of Nintendo's, as rotating the Nintendo 3DS in one's hands was rather uncomfortable. In addition to that, the 3D effect was automatically shut off for the entirety of the game because of this. Perhaps those are reasons why many didn't make the jump to Fluidity: Spin Cycle, despite it being a clever, creative, and engaging game.

Samurai Warriors: Chronicles

A launch title in many territories, Samurai Warriors: Chronicles was released in a period where the fatigue of Musou-styled games was very much real. This was despite the new additions implemented to this Nintendo 3DS version of the game, such as the top screen displaying the in-game action while the bottom screen cleverly showed the level map, HUD information, and mission updates. A big addition was on-the-fly switching between multiple characters in any given battle. The Nintendo 3DS launch was indeed weak, at least here in North America, but Samurai Warriors: Chronicles offered an immense amount of content that most Nintendo 3DS owners sadly passed on for various reasons.

Shinobi

In the Nintendo 3DS edition of Shinobi, players controlled the highly capable Jiro Musashi as he hacked, slashed, jumped, climbed, and chucked throwing stars through a myriad of challenging levels. No doubt the steep challenge that Shinobi possessed turned off a lot of potential players, and to be fair, Shinobi was indeed a difficult game to beat much more get 100% in. However, for those players who took the challenge (and there weren't that many, or obviously this game wouldn't be on a Most Overlooked list), Shinobi delivered high thrills, action-packed gameplay, and twitch-based combat. Just don't think that the story will make a lick of coherent sense, and you'll be okay!

Breezeblox (Wii U eShop) Review

I have an early morning review for everyone today. Breezeblox is a game that released on the Nintendo Wii U eShop last Thursday-- at least in North America. It's another fine example of being able to make and release a compelling game with a small team of dedicated people, or sometimes just one person! Here are my detailed thoughts on the game with this review.

There're blocks, but this game is hardly a breeze!

Breezeblox has you moving a team of squares made up of four smaller squares through 150 unique levels of escalating difficulty. The levels feature a goal that on the surface seems relatively easy: simply getting a square object from the green starting spot to the red goal without falling off the level. However, don't think of the game's title as anything close to the actual truth-- this process is anything but a breeze.

For one, if any portion of the square object touches an edge, you automatically fail the level. Further complicating things (and in a good way, as one has to make a puzzle game interesting, after all!) is that the object itself when it is spread out flat takes up four squares. When the object stands upright it only takes up two squares. Each time the square itself is moved it alternates between these two states. This means you must maneuver the square object in just a way through the levels that you keep the square within the boundaries of the level all the while making progress. Oh, and for a final challenge, the square must land on the goal in a specific way. For instance, if the goal is two squares wide, the player object must land on it with the same exact pattern of squares shown.

It starts out simple enough...

Breezeblox consists of three chapters that house fifty levels each. Each chapter has the same amount of progression as the others and nothing visually to distinguish them, curiously enough. In each chapter, you start with the basics of the game, and as you progress, new mechanics are added. Such mechanics included are things like pieces of floor that break when touched by the square object, buttons that make new sections of floor appear, buttons that transport the player object to a different location, and buttons that rearrange pieces of the level in real time. While it is odd to have three chapters so similar in difficulty and especially progression, it's nice to be able to move from one chapter to another, so that if you get stuck on a level in one chapter, you can try your hand at a level in another chapter.

...But then you're dealing with breakable floors...

Even though there are but a handful of unique mechanics thrown in to add to the variety of challenges in Breezeblox, the developer's use of just a small collection of tricks to make 150 levels is very much worthy of applause. It's not just that 150 levels were made, but that the 150 levels created continue to puzzle and amaze from beginning to end.

...Then after that, some different buttons...

Despite the amount of puzzles, however, there is little reason to replay Breezeblox's levels. Sure, the solutions to these levels, especially the much longer ones (which by the way are a pain if you fail them late in the level, as you have to restart from the very beginning), are easy to forget, but there is little motivation to replay them. Something like a running tally of moves taken that was saved for each level or time trials would greatly add to the longevity of Breezeblox. It certainly would make the ten dollar price tag a no-brainer to recommend.

...And after that, you start teleporting places...

Breezeblox possesses simple menus that do their job and do it well enough. Levels themselves feature differently colored backgrounds showcasing an amalgamation of large pixels that alternate from light to dark. The game is presented at an angle, which while aesthetically pleasing, can make movement of the square object a little tricky to handle at first. There were plenty of times I fell off the edge of a level early on because the level was at an diagonal angle and the movement for the square was left, right, up, or down.

...And then you start getting stuck on levels,
thinking about all of your failings as a player.

For sound, Breezeblox contains just a couple of tracks, one for the menu and one for levels. The menu theme is a piano theme that would serve well for a music student's winter recital, while the level theme will make a lover of the sexy combination of guitar and pizzicato strings squeal with delight. I show sarcasm, but the music isn't out of place and it's hardly anything bad. If anything, the music loops more quickly than I'd like.

As a value proposition, the lack of any real replay value may scare off some potential buyers, but considering Breezeblox holds some truly tricky levels of puzzling perplexity that can take some time to solve, it's a game I recommend. It's perfect for playing on the GamePad while you have music, TV, or whatever else going on in the background, whether you play one level or several.

[SPC Says: 7.0/10]

Review copy provided by Pugsley LLC.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) Review

After an issue with my laptop, I am back with more SuperPhillip Central goodness for you guys and gals out there in the land of the Internets! I return with this all-new review for Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. I reviewed the Wii U game last month, but this Nintendo 3DS game is a different beast completely. I hope this review is a fun one to read-- hopefully like all the others before it!

The crystal may have been shattered, 

but my expectations were not.

Sonic Boom released for the Wii U last November, and it was an obvious product of being rushed out to release to coincide with the debut of the TV show of the same name. While that game had the problem of being too ambitious for what little time the team at Big Red Button was given, Sanzaru Games' Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is a much smaller-scale project, being on a handheld and all. While Shattered Crystal is as far from a problematic game as Rise of Lyric was, the game suffers from various issues that prevent it from being a must-have game.

Blue streak speeds by... Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal sports a simple plot that one would expect from post-Sonic Unleashed Sonic games. A robotic snake-like creature named Lyric has abducted Amy Rose and seeks to use her mind to reveal the location of the fragments of an all-powerful crystal. Sonic and Tails are off for adventure through multiple levels to rescue Amy and stop Lyric's plans. It's nothing special of a plot, but it serves as an excuse for 2D platforming action. At least the dialogue itself can be seen as humorous at times. It's just unfortunate than you cannot speed it up, or better yet, simply skip it altogether. This makes repeated plays, if for some reason you wish to play through the game again, a serious pain.

Sonic don't mean a thing if he ain't got that swing.

There are three types of levels in Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. The main type of level is the one that appears most in the game. It has you moving through an obstacle-laden, labyrinthine level, defeating enemies, gathering coins, and exploring the level for hidden trinkets such as pieces of the titular shattered crystal and blueprints to be used at Tails's personal workshop. Completing blueprints can reward the player with benefits like less rings lost when damaged, the locations of hidden items shown on the bottom screen's touch interface map, and much more. Levels span two relatively distinct locations, and you use a device called an Enerbeam to propel Sonic and friends from each.

Sonic can air dash through these blue blocks
(pending he goes in the direction the arrow points).

These levels definitely encourage as much exploration as possible. However, some characters can only reach certain areas with their special abilities. For example, Sonic can perform an air dash to plow through large blue blocks, whereas Tails is the only one who can ride jet streams to higher and/or further away locations. Meanwhile, Knuckles is able to dig underground at specific spots, and newcomer Sticks has the ability to chuck a controllable boomerang to hit out-of-the-way switches and buttons. You can handily switch between characters on the fly with the d-pad. It is required to return to some levels when the missing characters to Sonic's team, Knuckles and Sticks, have been acquired in order to fully explore earlier levels.

Use the remote controlled boomerang to hit
 buttons that the team otherwise could not.

Even one of the game's menu messages suggests returning to levels once all four characters have been reunited in order to reach previously inaccessible locations. However, since all four characters team up so early in the game, the need to return to all but two or three levels is totally unnecessary. It would be like a Metroid game giving you every ability and move you need to reach every location within the first half hour. It's a misstep. Perhaps if the characters joined Sonic and Tails's team in a more staggered fashion this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Oops, Knuckles! Looks like you made
that enemy a little angry!

Another type of level in Shattered Crystal presents a behind-the-back view of Sonic as he speeds through a tunnel created by a gigantic robotic worm. These levels are an honest to goodness rush, and in any other Sonic game they would be a great inclusion as bonus stages to collect Chaos Emeralds. These worm tunnels have you moving from lane to lane, avoiding electric-filled currents, traveling on zip lines, and collecting rings.

This isn't any worm you put at the end of a fishing hook.

Finally, there are race stages that bring the boost-to-win "fun" of more recent Sonic games to Shattered Crystal. These pit you against one of Sonic's rivals in a short race through a multi-path course. These are the more annoying levels in the game, as to beat your rival you'll need to pretty much memorize the placement of valuable second-shaving shortcuts.

Really, Shattered Crystal is a structurally sound game. The mechanics and controls feel pleasant, and there is really nothing to scoff at gameplay-wise. The problem here is that the game is way too short. I'll do the math for you. Of the exploration-heavy levels, there are eight total. The worm levels have six in them, and there are three races total. Throw in the final boss confrontation, and you have 18 individual levels that can be fully completed with everything collected in 6-8 hours. Sure, there are time trials in levels, the goal of holding onto 100 rings by the conclusion of a level, and challenges to earn Sonic badges, but that is factored into the aforementioned 6-8 hours of play time. For a game begging you to buy it for a $40 MSRP asking price, it's begging that can easily fall on deaf ears.

Careful, Tails. You don't want to be tripping on acid!

If you have two fully functioning eyeballs, you can at least take in the visuals of Shattered Crystal. While they aren't overly amazing in looks, the game is serviceable enough to not be offensive. Characters outside of story sequences are modeled well, levels are diverse in architecture and detailed in backgrounds, and the effect seen with the 3D slider up on the Nintendo 3DS is pleasing. On the music side, if you're a fan of highly forgettable tunes outside of the main theme, then boy, do I have a game soundtrack for you!

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is a fun game for the extremely brief time it offers players. It's because of this short time it takes to 100% the game that it is impossible to recommend for full price. Shattered Crystal is very much a title you can wait to get until it hits the bargain bin, even with the obvious care the folks at Sanzaru put into the game, the well responding controls, and interesting level design.

[SPC Says: 6.0/10]

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Symphonic Sweetness Edition

We kick off this new batch of a hundred VGMs with a special all dealing with the orchestra. From somber songs to action-packed battle themes, this week's edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs should delight those who love grand ensembles of instruments. Maybe if you close your eyes you'll be able to picture yourself seated in front of a massive orchestra as it plays! This week's selection of games has songs from Grandia, Shenmue, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadows, to name just a few! Sit back, relax, and let the music take you to new heights!

v801. Grandia (PS1) - Theme of Grandia

We kick off this ode to the orchestra with the main theme of the Grandia series. This one in particular comes from the original game that only released on the original PlayStation. Noriyuki Iwadare is the composer behind this wondrous theme for the series.

v802. Shenmue (DC) - Main Theme (Orchestrated)

What's worse than a cliffhanger to a cancelled TV series? How about a cliffhanger to a series that probably won't see a new installment any time soon? It's been over a decade since the cliffhanger kept players wanting more at the end of Shenmue II. Not even listening to this outstanding orchestral version of Shenmue's main theme can soothe the sadness players awaiting a conclusion to the Shenmue saga feel.

v803. Xenosaga Episode II (PS2) - The Image Theme of Xenosaga II

Xenosaga Episode II's compositions were split up by whether they were cutscenes or played during gameplay. Yuki Kajira composed the former, and also so happened to compose this image theme for the game as well. Meanwhile, Shinji Hosoe wrote the in-game pieces. While that bit of trivia is unimportant to this particular song, I have to give credit where credit is due!

v804. Panzer Dragoon Saga (SAT) - Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu

A heavenly, celestial theme for the ending credits of Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Sega Saturn, Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu is a delight for the ears, delivering peaceful tranquility and satisfying harmonies. The last appearance of the Panzer Dragoon series was in track form in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

v805. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3, 360) - Mechanical Monstrosity

Castlevania went full blown with its Western approach with a drastic Hollywood-style departure for the series. While the soundtrack for Lords of Shadow holds no candles to the much more melodic and memorable themes made in-house at Konami, there are several themes that are quite bombastic, such as this one, Mechanical Monstrosity.