Random Thoughts #9: Last day of 2013! Top 5 3DS games of all time!

Hello everyone. Its been roughly over two weeks since I last posted anything on this blog and just to keep this blog alive, as dead as it might already be, I am posting on guess what, my all time 3DS top 5 favourite games! Before I get into that, just a little update about my life, been very busy these past few weeks with Christmas, family and friends. With the year drawing to a close, what better way to end off than with a blogpost here?

Now onto the main bulk of the blogpost, and be warned it may contain some spoilers, although I will try to keep it short and simple, as well as minimize plot spoilage (if that even is a word).

#5: Pokemon X
Now this entry by GameFreak came in at number five mainly because of the memories and fond times I had with earlier Pokemon games, and this was in some sense an adequate reimagining of the Pokemon world with improved graphics and stylistics, although I do miss the ability of the first Pokemon to follow behind you in the HeartGold and SoulSilver games, which I felt was a grear feature they did not carry over to Black and White as well as X and Y. Overall, I would say that the game does not disappoint, and does deliver well in the graphics department, although more functions and a bettet tweaked storyline could be added in the reimagining of X and Y,  which I imagine would be called Z. But if judged as a standalone game unsupported by previous versions and without the ability to use PokeTransporter to be reverse compatible at this time, I feel that the game is lacking in this department and until it gets the app I think it will continue to lack.

#4: Kid Icarus-Uprising
Now this game title was released in 2012, but back then it was a great hit and I thought it brought a novel playing experience akin to playing at the arcade, albeit better since you could bring it anywhere. The storyline was also quite linear and although it was quite predictable, the gameplay more than made up for it, with the excellent usage of the touch screen. Although much could be said about the 3D function which was more of a gimmicky look rather than affecting the gameplay by much, and it made it seem more like a ordinary DS game than a 3DS one. But all in all, an excellent game with well polished gameplay and a easy to grasp and follow game mechanic.

#3:
Moving on to my third most favourite game from the 3DS, I think the recent Legend of Zelda: Link between
Worlds takes the spot at #3. Why? Because it just is awesome in terms of graphics, I have done a more complete review of it in an earlier post, do check that out, so I won't be elaborating much on why it is such a great game and if you own a 3DS and don't have it then you are missing out on the Zelda experience.

Sidenote: Now some of you might be wondering-when is he gonna unveil a Mario game? Sadly, from my perspective, I don't rank Mario games very highly mainly because I just don't like Mario games much (weird huh). So I cant judge Mario games like Luigi's Mansion and Mario Kart and stuff like that. But I urge you to continue readig because up next is my top 2 picks (and you may disagree) of 3DS games which I love.

#2: At the runner-up spot we have the 3D remake of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, which came out in 2012 and which I thought was the best game of 2012. Bearing in mind that I did not play the one on Playstation when it came out years back, I dove into this game with a fresh mind, although this was not the first Metal Gear Solid game that I have played. I loved the plot, which arguably was very emotional and deep, drawing from concepts like being human, sacrifice and love. The aspect of stealth always appealed to me, and was one of the reasons why I bought a 3DS in early 2012- JUST for games like these. Alas, I know that the 3DS is a gaming console targeted at children, and thus we won't get many titles like these, but the immerse storyline and fact that you could influence some part of the storyline made it less linear and less boring than other 3DS games. The graphics and environment was particularly stunning, and by far it is one of the best looking games on the 3DS. I highly recommend this game even in 2013 if you have not gotten it already, you will not be disappointed by it.

#1: Coming in slightly above MGS 3D is none other than Fire Emblem: Awakening released early 2013 and I think is the best game of 2013. I love games which hinge on strategy and tactics, where one wrong move could mean the PERMANENT DEATH of your beloved characters, and a misstep could be costly especially in situations when your opponents may outgun and outmatch you 3-1. The storyline is immersive and they get you to warm up to your characters where you come to the point that you have some attachment to them. The maps are also challenging if you play on harder difficulties and offers unlimited replay value. One thing that may deter people would be grinding to gain levels and unlocking certain skills, but I find it a necessary part of the game as you see your characters grow as the story progresses. The 'marraige' function also creates some flexiblilty ingame and allows customisation of children, like genetic manipulation. But overall it beat MGS largely due to the replayability factor of the game and potential DLC content if you so choose to purchase the DLC packs. As such I highly recommend buying this game if you get a 3DS or you are sure to regret it

With that, I wish you all a Happy New Year and until next time,

EndBlade

Posting hiatus + Some updates on Cardfight Vanguard!!! And my thoughts

Hello everyone. Trust you guys are doing well, preparing for Christmas (if you celebrate it) because it is less than 20 days away! Some news about posting though, as you all already know I am about to enter the military and as such for this month of December I will not be posting anything, when things begin to settle down in January I may return to this blog and start posting again. Although it might be longe or shorter than what I stated here, which i about a month.

Also, with the reveal of recent Bt14 cards like those from Gold Paladin with the anti-Lock mechanic ot berings a huge change to the metagame. Not because Lock becomes less useful, to some extent it loses its edge and decks which focus onass locking may not dominate the top spots of tournaments as frequently. But I see a change in the meta to another more powerful alternative and it might just skew such that people may not play Link Joker, since in the first place Link Joker suffers under the Limit Break Syndrome. Well what does that mean you may ask? Simply put, it means that without Limit Break or >=4 damage you are effectively useless. Because most Lock skills are Limit Break centric, and with the exception of the breakride there is no easy way to hit high power levels like 26k or even 21k without Locking. And besides, Lock comes at a cost, with people being able to counter Lock with Vanguards that get insane power and/or can restand at virtually no cost (except for in some cases), and with the unlocking skill which I think was just given so that the anime can progress with Aichi becoming victorous at the end. I think that card games tied too closely to the anime may suffer from ingame imbalances, more so in Vanguard which is clan-based, which reinforces the power gap between the main clans and the clans with less screen time. Which I think is a pity because it just does not do justice to a game which has so much potential to shine if it is balanced properly.

Now it just suffers from the catching up of less-used, less popular clans where they get their power boosts very late or their skills are underwhelming compared to the main characters clans. Take for example Neo Nectar's reverse unit. It simply has a recycled version of Lequier 'R', with some slight differences. And more importantly, Bushiroad just seems to just churn these units out to 'get it over with' especially for certain clans ahem* Nubatama ahem* and taking a reactionary approach when it comes to the meta, like a 'lets try this idea and see how it impacts the metagame, then we'll work to fix it' attitude which arguably serves to subject the game to volatility and power gaps.

Well with that food for thought, this is for the last time this month where I say until next time,

EndBlade