Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW -- July 28 to Aug. 3, 2013

Looks like only three people this time, so we talk about you all, I guess. And be "we", I mean me and my extremely large ego, which I constantly have to prevent from taking over and levying insult after insult at the lot of you!


ThoughtFool1: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS) by…uh…ThoughtFool1

Of your two reviews, I liked this one more. It was more comprehensive (although if Shinobi World is just a 15-20 minute game, it's understandable why you might have less to say) and really gave some good in-depth explanation as to how this game works in comparison to other well-known platforming series. Around here, the sectioned review isn't commonly used unless someone wants to "gimmick up" their review, but when there's so much well-written information about a game placed in those sections, that's nothing to complain about. If I were to give any advice/criticism, it might be to better organize the "design" area. You gave it a 9/10 on that front, but then immediately go into a lengthy paragraph criticizing the rock-paper-scissors game and how some key items are really tough to find. At least in my mind, it might be better to accentuate the positive before bringing up the negatives, as it's kind of jarring to see a high score following by a long discussion of flaws. Still, an enjoyable review that taught me a lot about a game I knew of by reputation, but had never experienced myself.

aschultz:

I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

Thanks! I'm glad I was able to get through despite the barrier. I wasn't sure what to try--I have to say, I recommend trying this sort of thing at least once to anyone who plays JRPGs or thinks about it. It's interesting to see how you figure things out--how you rely on stuff like the first letter in a name and begin to piece things together. You get an idea of what it must be like to be illiterate, but without as much pain and frustration.

I have to admit, I didn't have as full a handle on the game as I do now--I will want to tweak things. Getting a writeup like this is nice encouragement.

Congrats to the other two mentioned here.

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

Congrats to everyone who participated this week. We don't have quite the volume going through that we once did, but there are still a lot of great games that need covering and we still have some of the best writers on the Internet gathering to do precisely that. I'm trying to do a better job promoting your reviews around the Internet, too, so hopefully your audience will continue to grow and you'll also have some extra competition in topics such as this one in the future! *fingers crossed*

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world2

Yeah, wish I had the time and ideas to write more reviews. But I don't want to just rehash what I said. Plus, writing my own text adventures takes a huge chunk out of this...nevertheless, I have some ideas and I want to try and share them.

My other big time sink has been watching episodes of shows I always meant to. Even at double speed with subtitles, this takes a lot of time. So much I've missed and want to see.

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

This might have been another small week, but it was still solid and full of surprises. A new reviewer, ThoughtFool! Aschultz returning! And my RotW! Appreciate the pick, and I'm glad you enjoyed and understood what I was attempting to convey. Thanks.

I have Record of Agarest War, too, but I don't remember the manual being detailed. It's been years since I've played it, though. It was very time consuming, and I couldn't commit to that the time.

I head spaceshit noises.

Hey, I just read this, thank you for your input. I'll look at potentially breaking down the design section a little bit more or re-ordering the pros / cons paragraphs in future reviews. Perhaps I'll revisit the review to highlight a little bit more on the positives and how much I feel they outweigh some of the design flaws I felt the game had. I use the structured format probably because it was what I grew up reading (and what I wrote in my younger years).

Anyways, I really appreciate the feedback thank you! :)

Not sure how to make a sig? While logged into your account, you can edit it and your other public and private information from the Settings page.