Donlevy Remembers Super Mario RPG!

It's the mid 90's. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System has begun to settle after years of quality content, and recent years of quality RPG's like, among others, Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger from Square. But lo, a game was soon to be released that would be unlike anything else at the time. It would be an RPG designed around mechanics usually found in a Final Fantasy game, with some new twists. And rather than a medieval land of magic and fantasy, the game would feature the story and style of...Super Mario? That's right, I am of course talking about the one and only Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars! Who would have guessed that a Mario-style RPG that many wrote off as a gimmick would be one of the coolest games on the console! Released late in the SNES's lifecycle on May 13, 1996 in North America, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was a major hit, and a stellar RPG that lead to some notable spiritual successors, as well as having a profound impact on myself as well as many others.

When I was a wee lad, I went with my folks to a family friend's place, where they had a Super Nintendo with a bunch of games I had neither heard of nor seen before. Many I didn't get to experience at the time, but the two that they did play were...instrumental in my love for the Super Nintendo, and by extension and by no exaggeration, my love of gaming. The first one I'll talk about another time...but the other one was Super Mario RPG. I sat back in awe as they turned on the console and began a new game, and I witnessed the opening cinematic with our lovable plumber in pursuit of Bowser after he kidnaps the Princess. Mario enters the Castle and proceeds to immediately fight Bowser on the tops of two massive chandeliers.

The way the game played was entirely new and unusual to me, as I had never seen nor played an RPG before this. The methodological approach was different and intimidating, where it looked like a thinking-game of sorts. You could take time to think about what to do, and every decision seemed crucial to your survival. Planning out strategies to outbid and outlast your opponent in a chess-like match. You were like a director to a play, ordering "attacks" or "magic" or "items" to different members of a small troupe. It was so cool. I loved it at first sight. That was what an RPG was to me, and what it always has been since I saw Super Mario RPG. That is the impression that game left on me. It was strange...yet engrossing. But it didn't stop there, oh no.

Fighting Bowser was one thing...but then defeating him and then having a GIANT FREAKING SWORD crash into the castle with the title screen appearing, implying that the true game had only just begun, was enough to have my proverbial pants effectively shat. Mario goes flying out of the castle, only to land in his conveniently-placed house with a green pipe as a roof, and then...that was it. They turned off the game...but not before quickly showing me a later part in which, get this, BOWSER JOINS YOU. Yes, as a kid, the knowledge that you could pseudo-play as FREAKING BOWSER was the final touch. It was a tease, to be sure, but somewhere, somehow, I had to play this game again. However, it would be a long wait. For one reason or another, it would be years before I had the chance to play Mario RPG again. The times I tried to rent it from Blockbuster it was already out, and purchasing it wasn't exactly in the cards. These were the Dark Times.

Enter Microplay.

Do you remember this store? If you lived in St. Albert, this place once resided where the bike shop now is Downtown. A place I miss dearly, in retrospect. It was a favourite of mine to visit as a kid, as it specialized in video games new and old. A ton of games I remember seeing, but never playing, were here in some capacity, and I remember a few conversations I had with other kids who frequented it. Anyways, a feature of the store was the sale of used games, and you could put your name on a waiting list for games that were not in stock at the moment. Naturally, when I learned about this, the first game I brought up was Super Mario RPG. I was #5 on the list. And so I waited! But the months wore on...and eventually, all I had on my mind was this game. So I took to alternative means. On the rise was this unusual internet service called...eBay. A quick and easy search lead to what I was seeking! A fascinating service, indeed. Which, sadly, does not have the appeal it once did when concerning retro games. Nowadays, those prices are a bit much, to say the least. In any case, I managed, after years of searching, to finally get a copy of Super Mario RPG! The hunt was absolutely worth it.

So Mario RPG is pretty great. And when I say great I mean awesome. Like really awesome. It's graphics and music are fantastic, with a decidedly more elaborate and colourful Mario-style setting and tone. The character models, and especially the environments, have a hint of this clay-like look, and it translates surprisingly well on the SNES. The music was composed by Yoko Shimomura, who also composed the music for Street Fighter and Kingdom Hearts! The tunes she is responsible for will be stuck in your head for ages, as they still are for me (*cough* Forest Maze Theme *cough*). You'll come across Goombas, Koopas, and plenty of Toads in your quest for the Seven Stars, and you'll meet plenty of new faces and enemies as well. Smithy, Exor, Booster, Mallow, and of course the most beloved of them all, Geno.

Geno is in reality an ethereal God-like entity who is tasked with descending to the world below to help fix the Star Road, from which the Seven Stars have been taken from. Geno inhabits a young Toad's doll, and breathes life into it, becoming a key party member. Geno's nature is not unlike that of Gandalf's from The Lord of the Rings, with both being higher entities inhabiting mortal bodies to aide others. And something else: they're both BADASS. Geno has an attack he learns later on that, when triggered, effectively deals 9999 points of damage to an enemy. Geno Whirl, baby.

When I say "triggered," I mean in how user-input interacts with combat outside of menu decisions. Mario RPG puts a spin on the typical RPG gameplay elements that it incorporates, with chief among these being button presses that add to either a characters attack on an enemy, or defence from an upcoming blow. When timed right, these button presses can greatly effect a battle, adding that little extra oomph to finish off an enemy, or even when timed right, saving a party member. Character's magic also utilizes this timing mechanic in different ways for each attack, like in the aforementioned "Geno Whirl," pressing the attack button at the precise moment is only when it will deal the 9999 damage, otherwise, it's weak as fire balls. It's a minor system, but it offers a far greater amount of player engagement in what would otherwise be pretty systematic battles. Because of this, combat is fun, yet tactical. It's an innovation that has been carried over, and improved upon, by the other Mario role-playing series: the Paper Mario games, and the Mario & Luigi games. Oh, and I'm using this moment to shout-out those games as well, since their freaking amazing. I'll get to those another time. Mario RPG is also unique in that it never received a direct sequel after all these years. Fan petitions have tried for even a remake, but sadly, the ship seems to have sailed. Still, the fans continue, and many including myself wish for Geno or Mallow to appear in the Smash Bros. series at some point. It would be a perfect opportunity! Hear that Square Enix? Don't be a dick about your properties! Ahem.

But in the meantime, that's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It's a game that, too me, never really gets old, and I find myself constantly nostalgic for it whenever it's brought up. It is, if I think about it, probably my favourite game on the Super Nintendo. Fantastic. Just simply fantastic. The memory of the hunt in particular is one that will never leave me. This is a game that defined my love of RPG's, and my love for the pursuit and hunt for the games that have captivated and intrigued me. This is, in my mind, where it all began. Where the nostalgia became apparent. And ha, I wasn't even a teenager yet! I suppose THAT'S the power of this game! But hey in any case, thanks for reading! I appreciate it if you were able to sit through my rambling, and I hope my story had some positive impact!

Donlevy Reviews Ico & Shadow of the Colossus!

Welcome welcome, fellow people! If you're coming from Tumblr, or anywhere else, be sure to check out my introduction earlier in the blog! And as always, thanks for checking this all out! I hope you enjoy the premiere review on this blog! 

As I teased through Tumblr, I do in fact have a double helping of game reviews for you today! Consider it payment for my missing of the previous content days. The two games in question are Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, both of which can be found remastered on one wonderful disc for the PS3, as shown above (which also features the FAR superior European/Japanese Ico boxart. The North American one is just terrible.). The games were originally released on the PS2 in 2001 and 2005, respectively, and both share many similarities, as well as Shadow of the Colossus being a spiritual prequel of sorts to Ico. Both games make wonderful use of simplicity and minimalist design to showcase the world and respective game mechanics, as well as allow the player to piece together and elaborate upon the stories at their own behest. These are wonderful games, and are a testament to the power of the PS2, as well as the magnitude for interactive storytelling. Absolutely two of the most defining puzzle games in video game art, and each hold up remarkably well in the new and awesome HD collection for the PS3. But I know you...oh yes, you want details, do you not? Very well then.
Quick note: I'm only using one Donlevy Spectrum (trademark still pending), and that will be for both games together, since their overall positives and negatives are largely similar. Newcomers: yes indeed, I use a Spectrum for reviewing!

Ico

Ico involves very little backstory: you play as the young boy Ico, after he is lead into a prison-like castle by members of his village, for the sole reason of possessing horns upon his head. As you begin to explore after breaking free, you come across a mysterious young girl named Yorda, whom Ico is unable to understand when she tries to speak. Regardless, you control Ico as you quite literally guide Yorda through the castle, attempting to find a means for the both of you to escape the vast castle grounds. Along the way however, eerie shadow-like figures emerge to try and recapture Yorda, and you must defend her with Ico's weapon, either a plank of wood or, eventually, a sword. Failure to do so results in a Game Over, and a transport back to one of your last saves, which take the form of strange stone benches found in various locations throughout the castle. To help Yorda move and advance through the castle, your duty is to solve the various puzzles that make up the areas, usually involving climbing and jumping, or the moving of certain objects.

Ico offers practically no "hand-holding" to the player (rather ironic given that that's the main mechanic of the game) and despite a sometimes linear path, leaves it up to you to explore the castle and discover what to do. This is largely one of the best aspects of the game, in that it makes success all the more satisfying when you complete a task. However, it can lead to unruly frustration at times, and particularly at the beginning, it can drain the desire out of any new player. See, with a game like Ico where so little is directly revealed to you, both in story and in gameplay, it can feel like there is lack of incentive at the beginning to continue past the immediately tricky or obtuse puzzles. In this, it does require a lot of the player, and it makes Ico somewhat demanding, but it absolutely is worth seeing to the end, despite the reticent structure. Lack of direction or directive can eat up your time playing this game, and while it's admirable, it can be a real pain when the solution or path is hindered by either the camera or misdirection. Indeed, there are more than a few environmental "red herrings" of sorts that can throw you off your course. Boxes that can be moved, and some that can't. A long corridor that leads to nowhere in particular. It's all part of the fun of exploring, but Ico is not impervious to annoyance. And it doesn't help that the controls and camera are far from perfect. The controls are very sensitive, with Ico sometimes jittering and falling over an edge with no intent, or jumping off a (very high) ledge by mistake. And with the camera, the placement and tricky depth of field can mask your task, or just make a jump a little too difficult. Still, the rest of the puzzles are very well designed, and never require too much from the player, as you have an intentionally limited number of actions to take at any given time, and you'll understand what you need to do. If progress is ever hindered, you will get through it eventually.

And as you solve the puzzles and progress through the castle, you'll begin to form a unique story of it all, almost entirely implicitly. The castle and the land is mysterious and haunting, with an isolated yet disturbed feeling that echoes throughout the chambers and courtyards. Ico specializes in a minimalist philosophy for it's setting, and everything from the fog from beneath or the broken statues and benches contributes to a really unique and fascinating atmosphere. As a game from 2001, the game still holds up well graphically, and the HD update goes a long way to pushing the lighting and emphasizing colour. There isn't a lot of music to speak of, apart from the AWESOME credits song, as much of the sound design comes in the form of ambience and sound effects, but it goes a long way towards the setting and tone.

So apart from some frustrating controls and camera, and some annoying misdirection, Ico is a special game with a wonderfully unique narrative and setting, and some intensely satisfying moments that last even past the end. It was something of a hidden gem during the PS2 days, but now with this HD Collection, Ico truly gets to shine as an early and stellar example of art direction within a game. Very cool indeed.


Shadow of the Colossus

Similar to Ico, the backstory to Shadow of the Colossus is short and simple, but a bit more elaborate. You play as Wander, a young man who has fled his village with his horse Agro, and the body of his beloved, Mono, after she was sacrificed in a village ritual. Wander ventures to a mysterious and forbidden land far beyond his home in a bid to resurrect Mono with the help of the deity Dormin, no matter the cost. To do so requires the death of sixteen Colossi that inhabit the vast land, and with Agro, Wander sets out to find and eliminate the various Colossi.

Embarking from a central shrine, the entire landscape opens up for Wander and Agro to travel to. The area is vast in both scale and scope, and while much of this game will indeed be spent travelling around, it is never dull. The areas are varied and serene, but yet very isolated, and it adds to a haunting and scenic journey wherever you go. Crossing a narrow path alongside a mountain only to peek down at the enormous lake below is a marvellous sight, and it is at times like these where the game feels majestic and wondrous, and a bond is formed with Agro, your only companion along the way. Controlling Agro across the land is very tricky at first, as you have to adjust to different speeds for different occasions, and it can be frustrating to control Agro by an edge, but eventually the controls will be learned enough to perform a few useful tricks as you gallop across the land. There are different, but subtle, secrets to uncover as you go around, such as different save shrines, or collecting food and shining lizard tails that improve your health and Grip gauge (which will be mentioned shortly). These secrets are easy to miss, but along with a time trial mode and several other unlockables, these add to the gameplay and replayability by a good margin.

You have at your disposal a bow with unlimited arrows, as well as an invaluable sword which directs you to the next Colossus via the reflecting of sunlight. Before leaving the shrine to find them, Dormin will leave you with a hint and slight description (in the form of an idol) about the next Colossus to defeat, and the cryptic and cool nature leaves you guessing in anticipation. Reaching each respective Colossus can range from simply finding the closest path, or past a series of complex platforms and jumps (a la Ico). Finding the correct path can sometimes be a hassle, as the sunlight sometimes directs you to an area in which a path is not immediately observable. Finding the Colossi is a puzzle unto itself, and I certainly found it enjoyable thanks to the aforementioned fun of travel, even if it was sometimes quite befuddling. But the bulk of this games awesome nature comes in the form of taking on each respective, and quite varied, Colossi. Each Colossus require a different strategy to take down, each themselves a puzzle, but the one common element found throughout the massive battles is climbing. I mean, you'd be pretty useless if the only thing you could do in the game was shoot petty arrows at these behemoths. As I mentioned before, you have a Grip gauge, or rather a Stamina gauge, and you are at it's mercy as you climb a Colossus in search of their weak points, where you must then use your sword to bring them down. Holding on to fur or ledges slowly decreases the gauge, as does minor things like firing the bow and swimming (yes, there is a terrifying water-based Colossus), and if your gauge runs out, well: *pheuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu splat*. Climbing and figuring out how to take down each respective Colossi is fantastic fun, and every single fight feels like a tremendous boss battle on an epic scale, and solving the puzzle of the Colossus and taking them down is a wonderfully satisfying feeling. These are truly memorable fights, and each of the Colossi exhibits different habits and dispositions; some are indifferent to Wander, while others are fiercely aggressive, and it makes the Colossi feel more unique and mysterious than simple enemies.

Compared to Ico, the soundtrack to Shadow of the Colossus is much more bombastic and epic to fit with the battles and triumphs. Nary but the sound of wind can be heard when exploring the world, but in a fight, the music changes dynamically to what's happening in the battle. As Wander approaches the Colossi, or maintains his distance, the music is tense and daunting, but when Wander begins to climb the Colossus, the music changes to a sweeping and hugely awesome triumphant score. Because I can, hear one of the tracks in question here: BOOM LINK. Also with Ico, Shadow of the Colossus holds up great as part of the HD Collection. The lighting and spectacular shadows that can also be found in Ico continue to add and enhance the atmosphere and design, and the aesthetic of the Colossi is still fantastic, as it really comes through in High Def. There's a slight film grain effect which kind of shows it's age, but for the rest of the game, I have no complaints.

So yeah, Shadow of the Colossus kicks all leagues of butt. It's a memorable and intensely satisfying adventure with a vast and haunting world to explore, a minimalist aesthetic that enhances everything, and a simple story that, like Ico, leaves much to the player while still including many various details. The gameplay in the Colossus fights is stellar and engaging, and while it shares Ico's problem of having a trying camera and some finicky and unreliable controls, it was never unplayable or repulsive. An amazing experience.

And as a summary, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are simply glorious. Actions speak louder than words, and both games present fantastic stories and adventures whilst speaking on only a handful of occasions in each case. The use of minimalism enhances the two in ways that were quite groundbreaking at the time, and now it makes them some of the best games that combine artistic expression and excellent gameplay, as they leave lasting impacts on those who play them. Having both Ico & Shadow of the Colossus together in HD for a new generation is a wonderful thing, and I highly encourage you to give them a look.

Ico & Shadow of the Colossus 

 

YAY

• Fantastic, haunting, and immersive atmosphere and aesthetic for both games. 
• Able to tell so much with so little.
• Challenging, varied, and wonderfully fun puzzles.
• Each game is incredibly satisfying all the way to completion.

NAY

• Limited camera angles frequently work against the player.
• In Ico's case, lack of any instruction can lead to early frustration.
• Imprecise controls can result in avoidable mistakes.