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Faceless online art monkey grows a personality pt1
2 years ago
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i can also be found at:
https://www.deviantart.com/bardicdragoon
So been a bit out of sorts the last few months (very busy at day job and summer heat that puts the already stupidly hot summer heat where I live to shame likely contributing). hopefully that’s over with but during that time a few thoughts and outlooks that I ultimately opted not to share (a fairly common occurrence), but I also started pondering whether that was a good idea. I actually spent a bit of time pondering that and figured maybe it wasn’t a good idea; however given the subjects of those thoughts and my penchant for pithy ye catching titles lacking in nuance figured it might be worth starting in the kiddie pool than diving into the deep end so why not talk about games that I’ve beaten recently and see how that goes? So yeah going to do a few journals here talking about games that I’ve beaten recently (read last month or two) and depending on if I enjoy this/whether how people react to it might keep that up or just keep it a short prelude and dive into the aforementioned thoughts at some point. So with that preamble out of the way…
PIKMIN 4
So I was first introduced to the Pikmin series with Pikmin 3 on WiiU and honestly it might be my favorite game for the WiiU (which might sound like damning praise but legit I do love the game) and after beating it went back and played Pikmin (liked even if it was simpler and jankier than 3) and Pikmin 2 (couldn’t stand it and never got past the second overworld area) and even picked up Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch. So you can imagine I was int6erewsted when Pikmin 4 was announced; only to become wary as more prerelease material came out and I looked more and more like a sequel to Pikmin 2 then 1 or 3. I ultimately opted to pick it up day 1 and after ~100% it (just missing platinum ranks on some Dandori challenges and all battles, also haven’t done the fit for a feast missions) I can comfortably say: I was right but that’s not as bad as I feared
So what I loved about Pikmin 3 ( and to a lesser extent 1) was the whole planning and optimizing things to get as much done in a limited time (both within a day and within the overall meta timer of the game), or as the cool kids seem to be calling it now Dandori, and the lack of any outward systems like that in Pikmin 2 (caves the main mechanic and mode of play pause the day timer, there is almost nothing meaningful to do above ground where the day timer is a factor, and there is no meta timer in any capacity) is really what put me off the game. But while Pikmin 4 has some of the same things (caves feature prominently, no meta time limit to push you towards optimizing things) it gives meaty above ground sections that feel like optional playgrounds for that Dandori playstyle (even if it’s not overtly enforced/encouraged), the aptly named Dandori challenges (basically 3/Deluxe’s collect treasure missions which is where I’ve likely spent 80%-90% of my playtime in 3/Deluxe), and in post game Olimar’s shipwreck tale give and outlet for that playstyle that I just never found/felt in Pikmin 2.
Beyond that the night expeditions are fun game mode (Pikmin but it’s a tower defense), Dandori battles are… fine (though a lot of that might just be my deep dislike of the split screen UI it uses), and Oatchi is simultaneously overpowered while not giving you the enjoyment of a proper second captain.
https://www.deviantart.com/bardicdragoon
So been a bit out of sorts the last few months (very busy at day job and summer heat that puts the already stupidly hot summer heat where I live to shame likely contributing). hopefully that’s over with but during that time a few thoughts and outlooks that I ultimately opted not to share (a fairly common occurrence), but I also started pondering whether that was a good idea. I actually spent a bit of time pondering that and figured maybe it wasn’t a good idea; however given the subjects of those thoughts and my penchant for pithy ye catching titles lacking in nuance figured it might be worth starting in the kiddie pool than diving into the deep end so why not talk about games that I’ve beaten recently and see how that goes? So yeah going to do a few journals here talking about games that I’ve beaten recently (read last month or two) and depending on if I enjoy this/whether how people react to it might keep that up or just keep it a short prelude and dive into the aforementioned thoughts at some point. So with that preamble out of the way…
PIKMIN 4
So I was first introduced to the Pikmin series with Pikmin 3 on WiiU and honestly it might be my favorite game for the WiiU (which might sound like damning praise but legit I do love the game) and after beating it went back and played Pikmin (liked even if it was simpler and jankier than 3) and Pikmin 2 (couldn’t stand it and never got past the second overworld area) and even picked up Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch. So you can imagine I was int6erewsted when Pikmin 4 was announced; only to become wary as more prerelease material came out and I looked more and more like a sequel to Pikmin 2 then 1 or 3. I ultimately opted to pick it up day 1 and after ~100% it (just missing platinum ranks on some Dandori challenges and all battles, also haven’t done the fit for a feast missions) I can comfortably say: I was right but that’s not as bad as I feared
So what I loved about Pikmin 3 ( and to a lesser extent 1) was the whole planning and optimizing things to get as much done in a limited time (both within a day and within the overall meta timer of the game), or as the cool kids seem to be calling it now Dandori, and the lack of any outward systems like that in Pikmin 2 (caves the main mechanic and mode of play pause the day timer, there is almost nothing meaningful to do above ground where the day timer is a factor, and there is no meta timer in any capacity) is really what put me off the game. But while Pikmin 4 has some of the same things (caves feature prominently, no meta time limit to push you towards optimizing things) it gives meaty above ground sections that feel like optional playgrounds for that Dandori playstyle (even if it’s not overtly enforced/encouraged), the aptly named Dandori challenges (basically 3/Deluxe’s collect treasure missions which is where I’ve likely spent 80%-90% of my playtime in 3/Deluxe), and in post game Olimar’s shipwreck tale give and outlet for that playstyle that I just never found/felt in Pikmin 2.
Beyond that the night expeditions are fun game mode (Pikmin but it’s a tower defense), Dandori battles are… fine (though a lot of that might just be my deep dislike of the split screen UI it uses), and Oatchi is simultaneously overpowered while not giving you the enjoyment of a proper second captain.
