Pumpkin's Video Game Diary!

[Psychotic]

Did you give her a dress?

[Pumpkin]

I did!

[Pumpkin]

Super Mario Bros 3 (Super Nintendo)

The version of the game I played was in Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo. Being a huge video game fan, I had never actually played much Mario. A level here or there, nothing much. I'm actually not very good at platformers, and while I like the odd one (Ape Escape), it's overall not my genre. Thankfully my boyfriend was there to help me along. And by help me, I mean complete all of the levels while I repeatedly died. Thank goodness for two-player mode!

Super Mario Bros 3 is about Mario and his brother Luigi embarking on a journey to rescue Princess Toadstool back when she was still named Princess Toadstool, and also the kings of the different kingdoms, from Bowser and co.. The Toads are in it as well. That about it for the story.

The gameplay is something everyone knows. You control Mario (or Luigi) and stomp on enemies, dodge other enemies, go down pipes, jump on to moving platforms, get stuff thrown at you, and eat the occasional mushroom to get bigger. You also wonder what the heck is going on with these kingdoms. In this game you will also get a leaf once in a while that will give Mario a racoon tail which will help him kind of fly/hover. Makes jumping much easier.

There are, I believe, seven different worlds to visit. Each world has a number of levels in it which must be completed before advancing to the next. There are also shortcuts sometimes so you won't have to complete every level. On the map you will occasionally run in to the hammer bros who through hammers at you. While playing 2-player, when one player dies, those levels must be completed again (if you need to pass them to get to the next levels). Once you reach certain points, you will head up on a ship, battle a boss, and change the king back to his former self before moving on to the next world.

Overall, as I expected, this game isn't really my type of game. There's nothing wrong with it and I can see why Mario is so popular, but it was infuriatingly and depressingly hard for me. I just was not any good at it. The level designs are usually really great to look at, the world is very colourful, and the challenges can be pretty fun, especially if you're a fan of platformers. The music is also very good. It's much more fun to play 2-player I think, and it's fun to go back to a time when 2-player meant that both players were in the same room. I did not complete the game however, because after getting more than halfway, our save data was just gone. It was very sad and frustrating. I plan to play some of the others in the Super Mario All-Stars collection, but not until I get over the loss of my first game.

Verdict:
IT WAS OKAY

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Mario 3 is a classic and I really enjoy it, but I am not very good at it.

There's also the time that I had just beaten the word 4 or 5 boss that I had been struggling with for about a half hour, when the power in the house blinked off and on.

So that reminded be of the old days too. Back to the beginning of the whole world.

[Colonel Angus]

8 WORLDS, PUMPKIN!

Grass Land
Desert Land
Water Land
Giant Land
Sky Land
Ice Land
Pipe Land
Dark Land

I'd advise you to try Lost Levels last. You don't know hard until you play that.

[Fynn]

You should check out Wario Land 2 and 3, Pumpkin. They're a different kind of platformer and you cannot die in either.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Now I really want to play ape escape. Haven't played any of those in years.

[Pumpkin]

Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)

Story:
Final Fantasy IX is a fantastical adventure of a monkey tailed thief, Zidane, as he kidnaps the willingly kidnapped Princess Garnet. You see, Princess Garnet is concerned about her mother's recent behavior since a very sexy and feminine looking man started coming around, and suddenly the Queen has decided to wage war on the continent. Zidane and Garnet also meet some other colourful characters such as a knight with a stick up his rear, a Black Mage kid, and some weird chef creature who eats a lot.

Before long, the story takes our heroes away from the war torn Mist Continent to other, largely unexplored continents in order to seek solutions. They all learn more about themselves along the way and learn that the events that have been happening are much more involved than they had previously thought.

Gameplay:
This game is a turn based RPG, similar to many of the old school Final Fantasy games. Your characters stand in a row facing the enemies, and they each have bars under their names that slowly fill up as they await their turn. Once the bar is full, an action can be selected depending on the character. Some characters can steal, while others can use magic, for example. Once battles end, you can receive items, experience, money, and points towards skills. In Final Fantasy IX, skills are dependent on equipment. A skill can be used while the equipment is on the character, but if it isn't learned, it won't be available once equipment is switched out. Each skill has a certain number of points it needs in order to be mastered, after which it can be used at any time, even if the piece of equipment is no longer equipped on the character.

Aside from fighting, there are a number of other things characters can do. You can shop, explore towns, see events regarding what your party members are doing while you explore towns, play cards, synthesize items, or get your Chocobo to dig up treasure for you. The game is overall pretty well paced to allow you to take a breather and complete sidequests or go exploring when you need a break from the main storyline.

World:
The world of Final Fantasy IX is vast and will open up and expand across the four game discs. There are four continents in total to explore, although the later continents are sparsely populated. Previous towns will sometimes grow and adapt with the changing storyline though, and there are a good number of hidden locations for you to find. You'll even get to explore some very interesting areas later in the game. You'll also receive a number of vehicles to help your exploration as time goes on. There are towns, dungeons, and a world map to explore.

Characters:
(ordered from favourite to least favourite)
Vivi: A young black mage, still naive to the world. He recently lost his grandfather and gets swept up in the adventure when he sneaks in to see a play. He is still fraid of his magic, but he means well and wants to help. Uses offensive magic
Quina: From the odd Qu Clan, Quina is still naive to the ways of the world as well, and is sent with the party to try cuisines from all of the world. S/he likes to eat and cares about his/her friends in his/her own special way. Can eat enemies to learn their abilities
Steiner: A knight with a stick up his butt sent to retrieve the Princess from the dastardly thieves, he's stuck learning that things aren't as black and white as he thought. Uses a sword and can sometimes use sword magic
Zidane: Our protagonist, a master thief who isn't afraid to speak his mind or hit on the ladies. Under his flirtatious exterior, Zidane cares about his friends and always keeps a smile on his face in order to encourage them and keep them going. Can steal from enemies
Freya: A dragon knight who left her home in search of her lost lover. She is dedicated and strong and not afraid to do what she needs to. She can use a special jump command to escape damage as well as deal damage when she descends
Garnet: A naive young Princess who wants to stop her mother from her warmongering actions. She needs to learn to tone down her royal town and blend in with the common folk as she travels around. She can cast healing magic and summon creatures to help her
Eiko: A young summoner who thought she was the last of her kind. She has a crush on Zidane and isn't afraid to make it really obvious. A headstrong young girl with great respect for her ancestry. Like Garnet, she can use healing magic and summon creatures to help her
Amarant: A surely and mysterious man who has a grudge against Zidane for making him a wanted man. He is very selfish and doesn't much care for teamwork. He can use many monk techniques in battle

Overall:
As I am sure some of you know, Final Fantasy IX is my favourite game of all time. Everytime I play it, I get swept up in to the magical adventure, still just as excited to see what happens next, to learn more about our heroes. The world is vast and fun to explore, the music is beautiful, the story is enthralling and entertaining, and the characters make me care about them and their journey more than most games can. This game is always there to comfort me during the rough times, to sweep me up in to the fantasy, and to make me excited and happy. With all of that being said, the game has its faults. The gameplay is extremely slow and the trance system, which allows your characters to become stronger and access new commands, is very poorly set up and usually ends up wasted. The graphics can also look very rough sometimes. But for me, no other game has matched the beauty and magic of this game, and I wouldn't be nearly as in to RPG's, or video games in general, if not for Final Fantasy IX.

Verdict:
LOVED IT

[Colonel Angus]

IX was great. Going to have to play it again when I have time. Quina was my favorite character.

[Pumpkin]

Tales of Zestiria (PlayStation 3)

Story:
In this game, you play a young man named Sorey who is very enthusiastic about exploring ruins and studying history. He and his close companion, Mikleo, live in a protected place called Elysia. Elysia is inhabited by Seraphim, kind of spirit people, who cannot be seen by the average human. On day though, their peaceful life is interrupted when they find a human girl in the nearby ruins. Shortly after, a hellion (someone or something corrupted by malevolence) arrives and kills one of the villagers. Sorey, upset by what happened and curious to see the human world since he himself is a human, leaves the village with Mikleo for the world below.

Before long, Sorey finds himself in a position to purify malevolence and to help save the continent which is currently infested with hellions and about to go to war. He will also have to face the Lord of Calamity and his minions.

Gameplay:
This game play much like a lot of other Tales games. Four characters will be in battle at a time, and you will take control of one of them. You attack by pressing O and can use arts (skills and magic) by pressing X along with different directions on your analogue stick. Actions use TP, which is replenished during and after battle. You can replenish it by guarding or doing other such, non-offensive actions. Without TP, your character cannot attack. You can also issue basic commands like "go all out" or "focus attack" by using the right analogue stick. A menu can be pulled up using triangle and square will block. You can also "armatize" by pressing L1, which will merge two of your characters to make one, much stronger character of a certain element. By pressing R2 and O during a combo, if you have enough BG points, you can perform special moves.

Arts can be learned via titles, so make sure to check your titles often for when they're maxed out. Equipment in this game will come with certain auto skills that range from improving stats to preventing ailments. There are 50 in total. You can combine this for different effects like stacking, or lining them up Bingo style, for added bonuses. Equipment that is the same can also be fused to make new support skills and strengthen the weapon or equipment.

There are a number of sidequests in this game to complete, and you can speak to your partner outside of battle to get some ideas or get their thoughts on happenings. You can rest at the Inns for skits, and you'll gain a lot of accessories to decorate your character appearances. Characters also have support skills outside of battle that have them doing things like cooking or finding money. You can search for creatures called Normin to give you skills on your equipment. Once you have Lord of the Land, you can have them grant you supports as well.

World:
The world of Tales of Zestiria is the most open I have seen in a Tales game so far and is rather massive. Luckily they allow you quick travel to other areas you've visited. It does come at a fee though, but especially later on it won't matter too much. There are a lot of really interesting and pretty areas and a large variance. There's a lot to explore. Dungeons, however, often look very similar and are quite linear.

Characters:
(Ordered from favourite to least favourite)
Lailah: Known as thelady of the lake, Lailah becomes Sorey's 'Prime Lord' and helps him to purify hellions. She is a fire seraph who jokes around a lot and makes a lot of bad puns, but she is also very sweet and caring. Having been around for a long time, she is also very wise, but prefers for Sorey and the others to find their own answers rather than just giving it to them.
Rose: A young woman who travels with a merchant group called the 'Sparrowfeathers'. She has a very laid back and playful disposition, but she isn't afraid to do what she needs to and can always make the hard decisions.
Sorey: The protagonist of our adventure, Sorey loves old ruins and history, but is a bit naive aside from that. He has a very pure heart and believes in helping others. He has a great respect for people in general and wants to make the world a better place.
Edna: An earth seraph, Edna has a strong distaste for humans and a very snarky attitude. She loves to troll people and make fun at their expense. She is a very intelligent woman and she hopes to one day be able to save her brother, who has been very strongly corrupted by malevolence.
Mikleo: A water seraph who grew up with Sorey. He's a bit more serious although still naive, which sometimes can make him a bit of a butt monkey to Edna. He's usually a critical thinker and does everything he can to support Sorey in his journey.
Zaveid: A wind seraph who likes to hit on the ladies and is an old acquaintance to Edna's brother. He kills hellions instead of purifying them and causes the group some trouble. He does have some deeper feelings though and can set aside his pride when he needs to.
Alisha: A young knight who wants to do everything she can to help her country in a peaceful manner. She does her best to resolve conflicts peacefully and is trying desperately to prevent a war. Kind-hearted and always open to learning.
Dezel: A wind seraph, Dezel is more of a lone wolf who will only work with others if it helps him further his own goals. He knows a ridiculous amount of trivia and facts about the world around him and seems to have a soft spot for dogs.

Overall:
Overall I quite enjoyed Tales of Zestiria. I loved the characters and there isn't one I didn't like and the story was very interesting. The gameplay was fun and not too complicated and I liked the armatization and the discovery points and being able to talk to my traveling companion. The world was beautiful and the characetrs were endearing to me. There were a few issues though. The writing could get cheesy at time, but my biggest gripe is that they aren't very clear on what's happening all of the time. I'm not sure why this is, but I'll often be lost in the conversations and won't have realized a critical piece of information until a good while later. The dungeons could also be really repetitive and boring. Overall though it was a very good game, I will definitely play it again, but there have certainly been better Tales games. Still, would recommend to a Tales fan and has a lot of great qualities.

Verdict:
LIKED IT A LOT

[Fynn]

I heard this is also on Steam. Is this a good starting point?

[Pumpkin]

P. sure it is on Steam. It could be a good starting point, yeah. It's not the best the series has to offer, I'd say low middle of the road, but it's still a good game. Gameplay wise it's probably a really good starting point because, to me anyway, it's easier to get the hang of than, say, Xillia or Vesperia. I'd say if you start with this one, go in with the mentality of a starter Tales game as most of the others have stronger writing. I think the cast of characters is very strong in this one though, but that's pretty subjective and I know a lot of people disagree~

[Pumpkin]

Eternal Sonata (PlayStation 3)

I had previously played the Xbox 360 version of this game, and this was my first time playing the PlayStation 3 version. There are a number of differences. The PS3 version is notably more difficult, there are palette swap outfits for a few characters, two additional playable characters, certain things are moved around, certain bonus features are added. There are also altered scenes, including the ending.

Story:
Eternal Sonata is the story of Frederic Chopin on his deathbed. He finds himself in a whole new, fantastical world. In this world, an evil Count Waltz is selling a dangerous powder to his subjects. A powder shown to have some very serious and very bad side effects. On top of that, it's offered much cheaper than the alternatives, forcing a lot of people in to a bad position. Frederic accompanies some new found allies as they try to figure out what's going on and how to stop it. During the journey, he will also need to determine if this is just a dying dream, or if this world is real.

Gameplay:
Eternal Sonata is a role-playing game. You will have 3 characters in a battle party at a time, and they will each get a turn (as will the enemies). On their turn, there are numerous actions that can be performed, such as attacking, using special attacks, or items. In this game, each turn has a time limit and the turn ends once the time limit is over. The battle system will also very slightly change as the story progresses. In the beginning, the time does not begin to count down until the character moves or takes action, but as the game progresses, time will begin to count down immediately as the turn begins. Certain other features also become available, such as echoes, which increase with each successful strike.

This game has a light/dark system in battle. The special attack being executed will depend on if the character is in a light area or a dark area. Light areas can include the field during the daytime, or under lights on a dark ship, for example. Dark areas can include places like shaded areas, or just in the field during night time. Certain enemies will also have areas surrounding them which will affect the light/dark system. Some monsters will even transform depending on if they're in the light or the dark. This makes positioning crucial if you want to use certain skills, like a healing skill, for example. As the game progresses, you will also be able to change which special attack is used by holding down the special attack button and releasing it when the desired skill is shown.

World:
The world is fairly linear to explore, but is actually quite beautiful. You'll have a wide range of areas, such as rolling fields, snowy mountains, caverns, lava-filled caverns, cemeteries, and many others. There's a lot to explore and see, and there are a decent amount of towns in between to shop and socialize. You can even perform musical scores with people you meet throughout your travels. Overall it is very impressive and one of my favourite video game worlds.

Characters:
(Ordered from favourite to least favourite)
Viola: A goat farmer and archer who always travels with her squirrel-like buddy, Arco. She's a very strong-willed woman and she likes to tease her friends.
March: Twin sister of Salsa and one of the protectors of Agogo Forest. She's very soft spoken and kind.
Polka: A terminally ill young girl who can use magic, she's treated as an outcast by most people, although she only wants to help and spread joy.
Claves: Working with the resistance group, Andantino, she is the right-hand man of the group's leader.
Falsetto: Also working with Andantino, she isn't afraid to speak her mind and she takes her job very seriously.
Jazz: Leader of Andantino, he wants to do what's best for the people.
Serenade: Princess of Forte and fiancee to Prince Crescendo.
Frederic: Frederic Chopin, the composer, who finds himself in this other world and can't determine if it's real or just a dying dream.
Allegretto: A street boy with some spunk who takes care of some of the other street urchins.
Beat: A young street boy and friend of Allegretto, he has a passion for photography.
Crescendo:Prince of Baroque who must make some difficult decisions for his country.
Salsa: March's sister, very spunky and loud and not afraid to make her opinion known. She also likes hats.

Overall:
I really enjoy Eternal Sonata. It's charming, it has a lovable cast (to me), it has fun, interesting, and engaging gameplay. The world is beautiful, and so is the music. The game has a certain charm to it that I really respond to and it never fails to put a smile on my face. With that being said, don't expect award winning writing; the plot has more holes than swiss cheese, although it's part of it's goofy, lighthearted charm in my opinion. The PS3 version did clear up a few things and improve on this, although it's hard for me to tell exactly how much it was an improvement and how much I was just used to the story from previous playthroughs. There are also some nice periods where the game takes a small break to teach you about Chopin while some nice music plays through the background. I would recommend it for RPG fans who likes some cheesy charm, and I'll definitely continue to play it in the future.

Verdict:
LIKED IT A LOT

[fat_moogle]

Eternal Sonata was fun I enjoyed the battle elements of the light & dark. I can't remember much about the games story as a whole, though xD what I do remember though is that Polka could pack a punch with an umbrella xD

[Ayen]

lol, we played the All Star version of Mario 3 around the same time xD Great minds <3 And I feel for you on the save situation. Had the same thing happen to me with Chrono Trigger.

What did you think of the sun stage?