Game Collecting Thread

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I could argue for Ultimate Muscle on the Gamecube in that regard, but I might be alone in that one.

Never played that one and never really watched the show either. I do hear it has a surprisingly good reputation though.

I remember when the UFC game came out for Dreamcast, Next Generation magazine gushed all over it, but I've just never been able to get into that one. It's so realistic that it seems most fights are over in seconds.

Originally Posted by Peanut

Also, because it's the only generation I abandoned completely after it ended/ I get a lot more of those "Oh, I remember this," moments while playing those games, but I still can't go back to it easily.

I never sold off any of my stuff after a generation ended. My tendency has always been to focus on the library of a recently deceased system while ignoring the new stuff for years and years. Dreamcast and Wii U were the only two systems I really got excited about wanting to play them in their hey day. I was also a fairly late adopter of both the NES and Sega Genesis (my first two video game systems), but just never stopped playing them even as everything turned 3D.

[Mayhem]

I played Ultimate Muscle on the Cube quite a bit, definitely a fun game, especially in multiplayer.

Originally Posted by Dawnatello Turtle Chick

I definitely agree that the PS had waaaaay more really great games than the N64 overall, but there are a handful of N64 titles that are still just great to play.

Considering the PS1 had about 10 times the releases in the US compared to the N64 alone, then you'd expect that. But there's still an awful lot of junk on the PS1, and that isn't quite so the case on the N64. The Cube mostly escaped it as well, wasn't until the Wii that the shovelware returned heh.

[oldmanwinters]

Visited one of my local Book & Music Exchange stores and nabbed a copy of Yoshi's Story. I've never played it, but have always been interested in it, even though I think it has somewhat of a mixed fan reputation. But, com'on, that cover is just too cute!


The BME store had a much better N64 backlog than normal, so I was excited to keep looking around... until some middle-aged thug started to get worked up about being cheated out of some no-cash refundable Blu-Ray player or something. Once I heard him threaten to "come back later and bust through the window to get my $80 back," I figured it was time for me to check out and leave.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I would argue that they're actually pretty close to being at the top of the list on the N64, which is a feat that has yet to be repeated by any wrestling game made before or since. I could argue for Ultimate Muscle on the Gamecube in that regard, but I might be alone in that one.

Dude that Ultimate Muscle game (and its PS2 sequel, Galactic Wrestling) were the absolute s**t. I want another one on modern systems.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

Dude that Ultimate Muscle game (and its PS2 sequel, Galactic Wrestling) were the absolute s**t. I want another one on modern systems.

I'm so glad me and Peanut have finally found the third person that enjoys those games.

[Leo656]

They're high on my To Buy list. I forget why but I totally missed them the first time around. They look interesting.

[Ecto Jedi]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Visited one of my local Book & Music Exchange stores and nabbed a copy of Yoshi's Story. I've never played it, but have always been interested in it, even though I think it has somewhat of a mixed fan reputation.

It's the sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, is it not? Sure, it looks cutesy, which I guess is why it got a lot of flack. But it's gotta be good, right?

[Leo656]

I haven't played it but the scuttlebutt is that it's like 4 hours long and baby-hands easy, so that could be part of why. I never got around to picking it up, but I will eventually just for laughs.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

It's the sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, is it not? Sure, it looks cutesy, which I guess is why it got a lot of flack. But it's gotta be good, right?

Originally Posted by Leo656

I haven't played it but the scuttlebutt is that it's like 4 hours long and baby-hands easy, so that could be part of why. I never got around to picking it up, but I will eventually just for laughs.

Heh, I think I just beat the main story mode in about 1 hr, 30 minutes. Compared to SMW2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story N64 game's length is comparable to only about 1 land in its predecessor. Very surprising! Each level is fairly spacious, but you don't really have to play through the entire level and instead of traditional end-level goals, you simply have to collect a sufficient number of fruits (30) to pass on to the next zone ("page" in the context of this game).

The gameplay itself is quite fun and adorable, even if the N64 control stick doesn't give me a ton of precision. Yoshi will either walk at a snail's pace or dash like a mad man depending on how accurately I'm pushing the stick. He carries a ton of momentum with his jumps too, so it's easy to miss platforms.

Having beaten it at the most basic level, I am a little surprised this was ever released as a full price retail game in 1997-98. It certainly reminds me a lot of the old NES titles that could be completed in a leisurely afternoon like Capcom's DuckTales.

I like it for its charms, but I can see why it's left so many Nintendo die-hards disappointed over the years. It certainly feels like the first experimental entry in a "Baby's 1st Nintendo Game!" line that never materialized. The main menu even features a "Practice" mode!

EDIT:
I am finding out there is a bit more depth to the game I didn't see the first time through. There are actually multiple level options in each "page" zone so that you can choose a slightly different path to the game's end each time you play. That's pretty neat.

[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

I'm so glad me and Peanut have finally found the third person that enjoys those games.

Did you miss my post above then?

[oldmanwinters]

*Yoshi's Story Followup*

Okay, the unlockable alternate levels are considerably more challenging than the first playthrough!

One thing that adds to the challenge is that you only have as many lives as you do have Yoshis (6 in each color). Once a Yoshi is "captured" there are a few ways to free them after beating a level. However, when you run out of available Yoshis, then your playthrough is over. There are no continues when you get a Game Over. Very old school!

[Ecto Jedi]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

*Yoshi's Story Followup*

Okay, the unlockable alternate levels are considerably more challenging than the first playthrough!

One thing that adds to the challenge is that you only have as many lives as you do have Yoshis (6 in each color). Once a Yoshi is "captured" there are a few ways to free them after beating a level. However, when you run out of available Yoshis, then your playthrough is over. There are no continues when you get a Game Over. Very old school!

Slick! I knew there must be more than meets the eye.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

Slick! I knew there must be more than meets the eye.

Definitely.

I think the "Video Game Critic" echos my thoughts on the game pretty well, even though I actually think the cutesy music is an essential part of the game's charm. The entire plot resolves around spreading happiness to overcome evil:
http://videogamecritic.com/n64sz.htm?e=38901#rev2034

This is a game that also lends itself to score and time attack runs so that you can continue challenging yourself to reach more efficient playthroughs. Being a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog and NiGHTS into Dreams, I can really dig that feature.

[Peanut]

I think most of the hate for Yoshi's Story comes from the fact that it's actually way different than Yoshi's Island. I always thought it was decent. Not great, but fun enough.

Originally Posted by The Stryker

I'm so glad me and Peanut have finally found the third person that enjoys those games.

For real. Secret best wrestling game ever made.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I think most of the hate for Yoshi's Story comes from the fact that it's actually way different than Yoshi's Island. I always thought it was decent. Not great, but fun enough.

Heh, I don't think the level design of Yoshi's Story is near as good as Yoshi's Island, but I did appreciate not having to babysit that whiny Baby Mario.

[Netkeeper]

Yoshi's Story was the first N64 game I ever played for more than a few minutes [before I got my own N64, I only got to play occasional Mario Kart and Starfox]. My brother had it, and I used to sneak into his room and play it while he was out. When he found out he was pissed, but when he was done being pissed off he gave it to me because I liked it a lot more than he did. :V

Then yeeeears later I got the rest of his N64 games. Starfox, Ocarina of Time, and a handful of others... all of which disappeared a few years ago and now OoT is the only one of his games I still have. :I

[sdp]

Here is my 'Yoshi's Story' story:

I never owned Yoshi's Island on the SNES but it was a game I wanted badly, I was a huge Yoshi fan since I love dinosaurs. Eventually the N64 came out and I got it and I wanted more games for it, my sister was a teenager at this time and wanted money for who knows what. The SNES was technically co-owned and we decided to sell it and all the games we had which was around 20 games including a Mario Paint(complete), Super Mario RPG (complete) and of course a bunch of most haves. Of course this was 1997 and no one wanted a SNES anymore so I was too little to know how much money we got but with my half of the money my parents told me I could get one N64 game and I chose Yoshi's Story, but who knows maybe it wasn't even enough money for a N64 game and my parents "helped me" so I could buy it, they used to do that a lot when I "sold" things and didn't get the money I expected. So yeah I basically traded in a SNES with a bunch of must have games for this one. There was nothing I wanted more than a new N64 game but I did feel a little ripped off and I never sold any console after that until I moved 6 years ago. Looking back the decision might've been influenced by my sister as a way for me to have a new game for my new console by selling the old stuff since she wanted money but who knows.

So what did I think of the game? I was disappointed it was in 2D as it felt like it wasn't using the power of my 64 flippin' bits system, you have to remember back then if it wasn't 3D it wasn't cool. But I did love the art style. I think I was also disappointed at the length of the game since it's pretty short even if you count unlocking everything. And it didn't compare to the other N64 games that I had content wise including launch title Mario 64. I still loved it though, I'm sure part of it was my 'need to love it' since I had just spent all my money and my one chance at a game when it wasn't Christmas/birthday on it. But looking at it now and how stupid it was to have sold my SNES and all games, specially since I love retro gaming I still have to say I like the game and I'm glad I got to play it as a kid. Maybe another game would've given me more play time and 3D environments which is what I wanted at the time but this game is pure Nintendo magic and even as a kid I was happy with it. I guess a great way to describe it is like Kirby games, which they are very easy and short (well some of them) but you still feel good about playing it. Many small things here and there from the music to the level themes make this a very memorable game. This was the first game I ever completed to 100% finding all the secrets. I got this game as a VC reward a while ago for the Wii and I'll definitely re-play it once it hits the Wii U VC soon.

[oldmanwinters]

I appreciate reading y'all's stories about early experiences and impressions of Yoshi's Story. For me, it was a game I never really saw a lot of publicity about in the 90s. I don't think I even knew it was the first sequel/spin-off to Yoshi's Island until a few years ago. The early 2.5D era of games really interest me as being the bridges between eras of video game history.

It's cool to see for some of you it was among the primary reasons you wanted an N64, even if it proved to be somewhat different from your expectations.

[CyberCubed]

The problem with Yoshi's Story is the levels end when you eat 30 pieces of fruit. Its not a "get to the end of the stage" game like every other Mario platformer. Once you get to the end if you don't eat 30 pieces of fruit it just loops you back to the start of the stage.

I really like Yoshi's Story if only because I was a kid when it came out and I have nostalgia for it. Also believe it or not I didn't get to play Yoshi's Island until the GBA port in 2003, so I never had any other Yoshi game to compare it to at the time it came out. I never had Yoshi's Island on SNES so Yoshi's Story was my first Yoshi game. After playing Yoshi's Island on GBA I can understand why people were so disappointed with Yoshi's Story when it first came out.

Kinda funny we're talking about this too, as Yoshi's Wooly World comes out this year for Wii-U. I really want to play a great Yoshi game again, hopefully Wooly World is good.

[oldmanwinters]

I haven't played enough Yoshi games to say this with full confidence, but I think the free DLC "Yoshi's Island" zone for Sonic: Lost World on the Wii U is directly inspired by Yoshi's Story art direction.