Accéder au contenu principal

Sélection

Fire Emblem’s Remarkable Comeback

Fire Emblem’s Remarkable Comeback https://ift.tt/7qwgX1M Though it may not be a sales juggernaut on the scale of Mario or The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo's preeminent franchises. Like so many of its vaunted stablemates, the series is almost as old as Nintendo's gaming ambitions, debuting on the Famicom and appearing on nearly every home and handheld console since. Given this prominence, it's almost difficult to believe that Fire Emblem's future was ever in jeopardy, but such was indeed once the case; there was a point in time when the series was very much on the verge of cancellation, and it took a dramatic shakeup to reverse its fortunes. To fully contextualize this rocky period in Fire Emblem's history, we need to look back at its trajectory in the wake of its belated international debut. Unlike Nintendo's other marquee properties, Fire Emblem took a circuitous route to Western markets. Though the series began in 1990, its first severa...

Sonic Superstars Review - Reaching for Stars

Sonic Superstars Review - Reaching for Stars https://ift.tt/n2jzqf8

Sonic as a franchise is notoriously inconsistent, offering up some amazing highs, some truly dire lows, and a fair few games that are forgettably mediocre. But then there's that one weird category several Sonics fall into: games that are obviously, undeniably flawed in some way, but still have that something that makes a Sonic game feel special. Maybe not everyone can feel what makes them great, but for others, those qualities will overshine all of the negatives. Sonic Superstars is one such game, one with glaring flaws that I happen to like a lot.

We all know how it goes by now: Sonic's arch-nemesis Dr. Eggman is up to no good, and he's got his eye on a new locale whose resources he can exploit for evil schemes. It's up to Sonic and his BFFs, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, to stop the Doctor, recover the Chaos Emeralds, battle the returning but obscure fan-favorite villain Fang the Sniper, and meet a brand-new buddy to save the day. Accomplishing this task involves zipping through 11 themed side-scrolling zones while collecting rings, bonking Badniks, and dealing with each area's distinct gimmicks and threats. No melodramatic story scenes, RPG or sim elements, or awkward romances here: It's pure, classic Sonic platforming.

That doesn't mean it's entirely devoid of new ideas, however. All of the zones are brand-new: Familiar elements from previous games like gimmicks and enemies might return, but every stage is an original. Collecting a Chaos Emerald now grants a special Emerald Power players can put to use at almost any time, provided they have the energy for it. And--perhaps the biggest new twist of all is that Sonic Superstars now supports four-person couch co-op multiplayer. Sure, somebody could pick up the player 2 pad and flail around as Tails in Sonic 2 and 3, but that was extremely limited; what we have here in Superstars is a unique kind of controlled chaos (pun intended).

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Commentaires