+this almost certainly is the crowning game design success of sega's turn-of-the-millennium arcade output, both in how addicting the concept is and how strong the execution is
+because this is the first in the series, this one gets to horde all of the most pure ball-rolling puzzles that reward player control, where the later ones had to lean into gimmicks more
+the physics are so tight and the controls are equally precise, giving the game a steep yet rewarding difficulty curve
+amusement vision was a master of sega's cutting-edge proprietary arcade hardware, and that knowledge transitioned to their three gcn games. the fact that this is a launch game for the gcn and somehow one of its best looking titles is astounding
+the minigames are equally as engrossing, especially for parties. some of these (bowling and billiards specifically) were continuing to be the model for the equivalent yakuza minigames up through the mid 2010s
+if anything this indicates how well sega understood the mechanics of their own arcade games, and how well they could design challenges that require mastery of many different skills to overcome. so much nuance to rolling a ball around with a single joystick
-the beginner extra stages repeat through advanced and expert extra as well... minor nitpick, but they feel out of place in terms of difficulty
-the vast majority of players will never get to see much of expert mode (which contains over half of the stages in the game) due to the brutal difficulty. there's certainly plenty of more casual content, but it demands a lot in order to experience the game as intended
-a specific qualm I have related to the above is the difficulty curve of expert: I think the biggest hurdle for players are the levels from 15-25, with the rest of the 50 levels being more reasonable in what they expect. perhaps the level order should've been changed... again, a nitpick
toshihiro nagoshi has had so many successes as a director, and this one of his best. finally getting through master mode in this game was such a huge personal accomplishment after playing this game on and off since I was a child, and I would recommend taking a whirl of it whether you just want to try it out or really dig into it
+because this is the first in the series, this one gets to horde all of the most pure ball-rolling puzzles that reward player control, where the later ones had to lean into gimmicks more
+the physics are so tight and the controls are equally precise, giving the game a steep yet rewarding difficulty curve
+amusement vision was a master of sega's cutting-edge proprietary arcade hardware, and that knowledge transitioned to their three gcn games. the fact that this is a launch game for the gcn and somehow one of its best looking titles is astounding
+the minigames are equally as engrossing, especially for parties. some of these (bowling and billiards specifically) were continuing to be the model for the equivalent yakuza minigames up through the mid 2010s
+if anything this indicates how well sega understood the mechanics of their own arcade games, and how well they could design challenges that require mastery of many different skills to overcome. so much nuance to rolling a ball around with a single joystick
-the beginner extra stages repeat through advanced and expert extra as well... minor nitpick, but they feel out of place in terms of difficulty
-the vast majority of players will never get to see much of expert mode (which contains over half of the stages in the game) due to the brutal difficulty. there's certainly plenty of more casual content, but it demands a lot in order to experience the game as intended
-a specific qualm I have related to the above is the difficulty curve of expert: I think the biggest hurdle for players are the levels from 15-25, with the rest of the 50 levels being more reasonable in what they expect. perhaps the level order should've been changed... again, a nitpick
toshihiro nagoshi has had so many successes as a director, and this one of his best. finally getting through master mode in this game was such a huge personal accomplishment after playing this game on and off since I was a child, and I would recommend taking a whirl of it whether you just want to try it out or really dig into it
4 Comments
lmao back when I was working through y0 my friends and I pulled out the gamecube and this game so we could play multiplayer, and they were wondering how I was clearing house in the bowling minigame. little did they know just how much time I spent with the exact same bowling engine in yakuza...
Lolll please tell me the Golf is the same too?? (I don't have enough play points.....)
Also thank you for mentioning Master difficulty in this review because I didn't know it existed, and uh there is no way I will ever see it and now I can look it up on YouTube haha.
Also thank you for mentioning Master difficulty in this review because I didn't know it existed, and uh there is no way I will ever see it and now I can look it up on YouTube haha.
golf in smb1 is more like extreme putt-putt iirc, with smb2 golf being a more traditional experience (larger courses and a power+aim double-tap system). y3 is def closer to smb2 with the addition of applying spin I think. also yea youtube is probably the best way to view master mode, considering it took me 17 years to successfully 1cc expert in order to get to the master levels LOL. it's much easier to get to master in smb2 at least...
DJSCheddar
2 years ago