juliette_necro
Accurate depiction of having family from the South
1994
Perfect game and also my gender
2018
This review contains spoilers
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE STORY TO FOLLOW
I cannot overstate how special this game is.
Annoying game-talkers like me use words like "ludo-narrative dissonance" a lot, but ZeroRanger instead has some of the best ludo-narrative consonance I've ever seen.
Everything about the aesthetics in ZeroRanger is video games with a capital VG, from the fantastic art direction (I'm a huge sucker for limited palettes in pixel art) to the fantastic MIDI score to the melodrama of the narrative as it's initially presented.
But there's a lot going on here beyond just that surface narrative. You'll see this as soon as you get your first Game Over. The game informs you that you've entered a cycle of suffering and death, and that the only way out is to "attain enlightenment." The phrase "may you attain enlightenment" appears frequently throughout this game, and the idea of escaping a cycle of suffering through enlightenment contributes a lot to the Buddhist flavor present in the visuals and narrative.
Sacrifice is a theme that appears again and again throughout the story. On your first loop, the Grapefruit Fighter sacrifices herself to save you from Big Zan. On the second loop, the Grapefruit Fighter sacrifices herself again, this time revealing her face, to help the player character escape from her dreams. You're primed by this point to know that victory will come at a cost. This is when ZeroRanger pulls its greatest trick.
After defeating the final boss, the Primeval Fighter, GreenOrange explodes and destroys the player's fighter. ErasureOS, your computer companion, informs you that in your absence, the aliens have finished conquering your world. The only way to stop them is to go back in time to the dawn of creation and stop the original form of the Primeval Fighter.
In order to go back in time, the player must sacrifice all of the continues that they've built up over their runs, which become your lives for this final challenge. This is a not-insignificant sacrifice, because if you fail, it's back to square one, stage 1-1, with no continues.
This is such a magnificent narrative-mechanical trick. In order to succeed, you yourself must give up something you have an attachment to. If you succeed in this final challenge, ErasureOS reveals that it was secretly the sister of the Primeval Fighter. She tells you that the universe is now being reborn, but without her this time. Therefore, even your victory is a bit bittersweet. If you restart the game after succeeding, the final challenge and ErasureOS are gone. However, you CAN actually restore her and the original narrative. In doing so, you actually lose the achievement for finishing the story, which I didn't even know was possible. That achievement exists as a reminder of the sacrifice that you and ErasureOS made to save the world.
The last thing the Primeval Fighter says upon defeat in the ancient past is still "may you attain enlightenment." I love the note that the character goes out on. Maybe you did get something meaningful out of the experience, or maybe you didn't. Even then, you probably got a good time out of it.
This game...is just so beautiful. I don't know, I just love it.
I cannot overstate how special this game is.
Annoying game-talkers like me use words like "ludo-narrative dissonance" a lot, but ZeroRanger instead has some of the best ludo-narrative consonance I've ever seen.
Everything about the aesthetics in ZeroRanger is video games with a capital VG, from the fantastic art direction (I'm a huge sucker for limited palettes in pixel art) to the fantastic MIDI score to the melodrama of the narrative as it's initially presented.
But there's a lot going on here beyond just that surface narrative. You'll see this as soon as you get your first Game Over. The game informs you that you've entered a cycle of suffering and death, and that the only way out is to "attain enlightenment." The phrase "may you attain enlightenment" appears frequently throughout this game, and the idea of escaping a cycle of suffering through enlightenment contributes a lot to the Buddhist flavor present in the visuals and narrative.
Sacrifice is a theme that appears again and again throughout the story. On your first loop, the Grapefruit Fighter sacrifices herself to save you from Big Zan. On the second loop, the Grapefruit Fighter sacrifices herself again, this time revealing her face, to help the player character escape from her dreams. You're primed by this point to know that victory will come at a cost. This is when ZeroRanger pulls its greatest trick.
After defeating the final boss, the Primeval Fighter, GreenOrange explodes and destroys the player's fighter. ErasureOS, your computer companion, informs you that in your absence, the aliens have finished conquering your world. The only way to stop them is to go back in time to the dawn of creation and stop the original form of the Primeval Fighter.
In order to go back in time, the player must sacrifice all of the continues that they've built up over their runs, which become your lives for this final challenge. This is a not-insignificant sacrifice, because if you fail, it's back to square one, stage 1-1, with no continues.
This is such a magnificent narrative-mechanical trick. In order to succeed, you yourself must give up something you have an attachment to. If you succeed in this final challenge, ErasureOS reveals that it was secretly the sister of the Primeval Fighter. She tells you that the universe is now being reborn, but without her this time. Therefore, even your victory is a bit bittersweet. If you restart the game after succeeding, the final challenge and ErasureOS are gone. However, you CAN actually restore her and the original narrative. In doing so, you actually lose the achievement for finishing the story, which I didn't even know was possible. That achievement exists as a reminder of the sacrifice that you and ErasureOS made to save the world.
The last thing the Primeval Fighter says upon defeat in the ancient past is still "may you attain enlightenment." I love the note that the character goes out on. Maybe you did get something meaningful out of the experience, or maybe you didn't. Even then, you probably got a good time out of it.
This game...is just so beautiful. I don't know, I just love it.
2023
Movement and platforming so delicious that it could turn anyone into a furry.
1986
I've beaten Metroid 1 once before, out of a sense of obligation more than anything else. For a long time I held the not-uncommon opinion that there was no reason to play this game in a post-Zero Mission world, but after revisiting it I disagree with that assessment.
First of all, the vibes are just different the Zero Mission. While I love Super Metroid, I would say that Zero Mission "Super Metroid-ified" this game. As it stands, this game has a more lonely environment, between the black backdrops and more sparse score.
The gameplay is also unlike its successors. Here, your positioning is much more important since tanking hits is much less viable, between the greater knockback and the smaller available energy pool. Not being able to crouch and shoot also gives bombs more power in the design: you actually find yourself using them to destroy the monsters that crawl on the ground. In addition, the Screw Attack is a more valuable upgrade in this game than almost any other Metroid game, due to the lack of aiming options. Here, the screw attack makes the game like night and day.
There's also a lot more freedom to choose your route through the game. I actually wound up fighting Ridley before Kraid, since I wanted all the upgrades from Norfair before tackling Kraid's Lair. Other upgrades, like the Varia Suit, are completely optional (but definitely help). There are even more energy tanks than you can carry in this game, and you can use the extras as health refills.
Zero Mission is a more comfortable game, and tells the story better, obviously, but I think this game deserves a look in its own right. Super Metroid launched a genre, but this game is neat too. Give it a shot with an open mind!
First of all, the vibes are just different the Zero Mission. While I love Super Metroid, I would say that Zero Mission "Super Metroid-ified" this game. As it stands, this game has a more lonely environment, between the black backdrops and more sparse score.
The gameplay is also unlike its successors. Here, your positioning is much more important since tanking hits is much less viable, between the greater knockback and the smaller available energy pool. Not being able to crouch and shoot also gives bombs more power in the design: you actually find yourself using them to destroy the monsters that crawl on the ground. In addition, the Screw Attack is a more valuable upgrade in this game than almost any other Metroid game, due to the lack of aiming options. Here, the screw attack makes the game like night and day.
There's also a lot more freedom to choose your route through the game. I actually wound up fighting Ridley before Kraid, since I wanted all the upgrades from Norfair before tackling Kraid's Lair. Other upgrades, like the Varia Suit, are completely optional (but definitely help). There are even more energy tanks than you can carry in this game, and you can use the extras as health refills.
Zero Mission is a more comfortable game, and tells the story better, obviously, but I think this game deserves a look in its own right. Super Metroid launched a genre, but this game is neat too. Give it a shot with an open mind!
2020
I love this game. It's quicker-paced than RE2 Remake and has a tone that I appreciate. It's my favorite kind of horror.
1986
This game is great, I wish Ferraris were real
2020
Relaxing and yet tense, like a good novel. It gets a lot of points in my book for being a cyberpunk story that doesn't fall back on 1980s retrofuturism. A very bittersweet story. My one critique is that the voice direction for some characters could use some work.
2023
This is the real video games. please play without delay.
1996
Any game that lets you fill a bunch of Nazi-coded motherfuckers with hot lead is at least pretty good.
2001
I see why this game was popular in its day and why it got sequels, but this game is just frustrating as hell. It controls abysmally, and the directional control scheme does not mesh at all with fixed camera angles. Fixed camera angles are very cool for some genres, but a hack & slash is not one of them. I got most of the way through the game before I had to give up because I was getting too frustrated.
A lot of fun and gorgeous to look at. I found myself more drawn to the story than I expected to be.
next time I play a Dragon Quest game I think I should go slower. I had a lot of fun with this one (it's the second DQ I've finished after I), but I think it would be even more fun to play one for half an hour before bed each night. But that's for next time. Thank you for the impetus to finally finish this game!
next time I play a Dragon Quest game I think I should go slower. I had a lot of fun with this one (it's the second DQ I've finished after I), but I think it would be even more fun to play one for half an hour before bed each night. But that's for next time. Thank you for the impetus to finally finish this game!
2019
Aesthetically, this game is an absolute masterclass. It has some of the best pixel art and gore I've ever seen, and the cutscenes and voice acting are gorgeous.
This is one of the most prominent attempts to blend Metroidvania and Souls-like elements, and it can be a bit frustrating. The critical path is revealed more through defeating bosses, like a Souls-like, and it has a similar level of obfuscation. I tend to prefer Metroidvanias that are a bit more clear on the path forward. In this game I had to look up how to access an area to finish the game, because I'd accidentally and unknowingly been bashing my head against a DLC area instead of the intended path. In addition, the puzzles are a bit too obtuse for my tastes. This is one of the few games that I've played where I decided not to do a sidequest after looking up its solution, simply out of a desire to say "fuck it, I'm not doing all of that."
I finished this game because I loved the art and the rhythm of the gameplay a lot. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time futilely searching for what I was supposed to do.
This is one of the most prominent attempts to blend Metroidvania and Souls-like elements, and it can be a bit frustrating. The critical path is revealed more through defeating bosses, like a Souls-like, and it has a similar level of obfuscation. I tend to prefer Metroidvanias that are a bit more clear on the path forward. In this game I had to look up how to access an area to finish the game, because I'd accidentally and unknowingly been bashing my head against a DLC area instead of the intended path. In addition, the puzzles are a bit too obtuse for my tastes. This is one of the few games that I've played where I decided not to do a sidequest after looking up its solution, simply out of a desire to say "fuck it, I'm not doing all of that."
I finished this game because I loved the art and the rhythm of the gameplay a lot. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time futilely searching for what I was supposed to do.
2015
You may not like it, but Goro Majima is my boyfriend and we're in love.
2020
Short and a bit frustrating but with great vibes. Beautiful boss spritework.