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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW // 23rd September – 29th September // Vacant Returns

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Author: EmP (Mod)
Posted: September 30, 2019 (10:31 AM)
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NO THIRD, SLACKERS

SECOND Arcade Archives: Donkey Kong [SWH] Jason

Wherein Jason discovers that console ports are usually easier versions than their quarter-sucking arcade counterparts.

I make fun, somewhat unfairly, because the 8bit days didn’t really do this a great deal because artificial length bloating via difficulty was where the industry was at. Jason does well to make this a talking point, but his highlight is perhaps the mid-review level rundown. He starts to lose a bit of steam when he's talking about the various game modes, but I appreciate the little insights like the save scumming score hack and the way the game then gets around it.


WIN Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (PS4) Overdrive

Check Rob out -- winning all the shit no one else cares about. First the race to 27 S reviews we all forgot existed, and now this week no one else has turned up for. That should destroy any lingering sense of accomplishment he might have been feeling upon seeing this result. My work here is done. See you next month,

I mean, if I were to talk about the review, I’d probably point out that we should all be past the point of telling stories of how we purchased games, like they were sea shanties. That particular part of Rob’s obligatory ramble fell very flat with me. What worked a lot better was the why. I guess because I’m in the same boat; I was a JRPG main back in the day and now I rarely touch the genre at all (someone’s gotta poke fun at all the arthouse stuff!) Rob using that as a hook to how DQ: Roman Numerals is both committed enough and well constructed enough to alleviate decades of genre burnout was, dare I admit, pretty clever.


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: September 30, 2019 (02:31 PM)
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Ah, silly EmP, thinking that getting first out of only two would take any of the wind out of my sails (or that being the only one who remembered the "S" competition would have any effect on my emotions on winning it).

I could get first out of ONE and celebrate like I beat everyone who ever wrote for this site on their best days. All I see is the victory; nothing else is of consequence.

But, yeah, thanks for the kind words. It was a bit tricky to get into this review, mainly because of trying to negotiate the tripwire of how I generally feel about JRPGs without overly bloating that aspect, while also getting to how I felt about this particular game and how it brought back the old magic, at least for a while. I understand what you're saying about the personal "how I bought this game" part, but it was tough for me to not use that in the review, just because this series is a bit more personal to me than most, so it at least felt pertinent to me. So I struggled a bit writing it, so for it to beat anyone and wind up looking like more than a personal vanity project or something is good!


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

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: September 30, 2019 (04:14 PM)
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The RotW rules for a very long time now have required a minimum of three reviews by authors other than the person compiling the topic. That's why I swapped out with Marc a few months back, when I was in charge of the topic and there were only three reviews counting my own. I didn't want us to have to hold reviews over for another week, which is never ideal because it makes people wait and increases the likelihood that someone will get lost in the shuffle. So I was surprised to see this topic go up, but I guess with current review output levels being what they are (reviews tend to come in bursts, and not necessarily with an eye toward meeting a weekly quota), we might as well nix that old rule and post a topic on any week where there is a contribution from someone besides the topic's judge.

Thanks for your comments on my review, EmP. I wrote the review in a hurry before I had to dash out the door for work, because I wanted to make sure that if we missed having reviews from three unique contributors for the week, the blame wouldn't be entirely mine. I'm of course aware that coin-up versions of games are typically more difficult, but it really did strike me as a good angle in this case. Donkey Kong Jr. is actually a worse offender, I discovered a few months back. I didn't even get through its levels one time before hitting a "Game Over" screen. Even just clearing the first level in that one feels like an accomplishment!

I hope and suspect we will see more reviews from various folks in the weeks to come. I know of several reviews in the works from various writers here that I'm looking forward to seeing. It's just that none of the ones I know about happened to arrive this week. In the meantime, thanks again to EmP for a timely topic and to overdrive for contributing another great review, even though it happened to beat my own!


"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

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Author: jerec
Posted: September 30, 2019 (07:28 PM)
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Hmm, next time I write a review I'll hold it until Sunday to see how the week is looking...


I can avoid death by not having a life.

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