Post by Shrikeswind on Feb 10, 2011 5:49:51 GMT -5
I've always found SM64 was an odd step from SMW. The 2D games were fairly linear affairs, obvious for dimensionality, which operated on a level-to-level principle where collectibles weren't the focus at all. SM64? You repeat the level a zillion times to obtain enough collectibles to open a door to the next level. This shift was, in my opinion, a poorly done change to collectibles for Mario. Meanwhile, Rare-developed Jet Force Gemini followed the 2D Mario format quite well. Run around Goldwood a while, you can neatly avoid picking up anything shy of ammo for the two completion necessary guns and both of the keys, and in fact, you can make it through the game on 5 guns alone, your pistol to clear up to your machine gun, your machine gun to open rapid-fire doors, your homing missles for bosses, your tri-rockets for the same, and your sniper rifle for the few parts where you can't get to a distant foe. If you're bad-ass enough, you can clear the game without a health upgrade. Though a 3PS, the game follows the 2D Mario format of "Clear levels, fight boss, repeat."
So what's this to do with collectibles? Well, while the SM64 format gives us a fun game, it also gives you little in the way of collectible freedom and forces redundant scenes. You get one level, and throughout are a series of objects. You go around earning them, but you don't progress until you have earned enough. You HAVE to keep going back and grabbing the next Star, or you get nowhere. The JFG format says "Here's your world. Here's what you need to get off. Here's what you have. Now have fun." Then you complete the world objective. You can simplify matters for future convenience by doing what you can for objects like Tribals, but at kick-off it's just a matter of primary objectives, i.e., you CAN grab those first 7 Tribals on the first run so when on the Tribal-hunt you don't have to worry, but they'll be there again when collecting them's required. Of course, the Tribal Rescue Inventory Benefit And Liberation From Unwanted Chitinous Killers Executing Repression[/quote] quest was easily the most irritating part of the game, but still, that was the only required item-grab that required galactic-scale logistics as opposed to simply figuring out how to fly a robot through a labyrinth or what-have-you.
To summarize, I find it most irritating when progress is stimied by obtaining collectibles, like in SM64.
So what's this to do with collectibles? Well, while the SM64 format gives us a fun game, it also gives you little in the way of collectible freedom and forces redundant scenes. You get one level, and throughout are a series of objects. You go around earning them, but you don't progress until you have earned enough. You HAVE to keep going back and grabbing the next Star, or you get nowhere. The JFG format says "Here's your world. Here's what you need to get off. Here's what you have. Now have fun." Then you complete the world objective. You can simplify matters for future convenience by doing what you can for objects like Tribals, but at kick-off it's just a matter of primary objectives, i.e., you CAN grab those first 7 Tribals on the first run so when on the Tribal-hunt you don't have to worry, but they'll be there again when collecting them's required. Of course, the Tribal Rescue Inventory Benefit And Liberation From Unwanted Chitinous Killers Executing Repression[/quote] quest was easily the most irritating part of the game, but still, that was the only required item-grab that required galactic-scale logistics as opposed to simply figuring out how to fly a robot through a labyrinth or what-have-you.
To summarize, I find it most irritating when progress is stimied by obtaining collectibles, like in SM64.
