Please vote for the future!

Hello guys,

I know this update can seem pretty desperate, but the poll that will decide the future of my blog (and my next few weeks/months of gaming ;) culminates at 10 votes after a good start. Please help me make some noise about it! After all, I'd love to have more opinions onto what would please the readers and how to adapt, in order to attract more people...

Of course the opinion of 10 people is as important as the opinion of a million, but considering how important this choice is for the future of this blog, I'd love to have a little more votes ;)

Thanks again in advance.

Back to Zelda II for now, I'm in the last palace for the last two hours now and still can't find how to kill the last boss. I won't give up!

Game B2 : The Adventure of Link - Stuck in a Zelda game...

Times played : 3h (5h30 total) -- "Return of Ganon" screens : 7 (14 total)

Well, I didn't think this day would come, but I'm stuck in a Zelda game... I think I overlooked something and proceeded to explore every nook and cranny I could find, going back through the towns and talking to everybody hoping that I would find something I missed, but to no avail.

But first of all, let me relate you my last adventures, because I made quite a bit of progress before being stuck. At the end of last post, I had found the second continent of Hyrule. The arrival here can be a bit humiliating, because the first monsters you encounter are totally invincible to your attacks. After having gained quite a bit of confidence in your monster-defeating skillz on the first continent, the second continent tells you straight : "You're going to suffer". So you flee, shameful, and arrive in a new town, Nabooru (Sage of Spirit in... ok you know the drill). There, you encounter the most difficult and terrifying subquest yet : a woman tells you she's thirsty and there is a fountain about four steps from her door. Go press B near the fountain and... hey you got water! Then the woman lets you in to meet the wise man of the town.

Come on, Nintendo, you weren't even trying there...

There, you gain the power of Fire, which allows you to throw fireballs out of your sword and finally kill the monsters you were fleeing from previously. I then proceeded to explore the second continent. South of Nabooru, a huge spider monster blocks a path leading to a mountainous area, and the path eastward just leads to water. I went north through a cave to discover the northern part of the continent. I then got through a treacherous path leading west to another town, the town of Darunia (Sage of Fire... ok ok I stop). You have here another swordman hiding in a house you have to enter by a chimney. It would be pretty difficult to find if Darunia wasn't the only town in the game to feature chimneys, making them scream "secret!" when you see them. The guy teaches you how to stab up, which completes your attack options.

Hundreds of secrets in Super Mario Bros pipes lead to this moment.

The subquest of Darunia is much more interesting than the last one considering it's about a kidnapped child that has been taken in "the eastern islands". As Hyrule's hero, it's always better to go look for a child than just bring water back to the laziest woman ever. So I went eastward, entering a big labyrinthine area holding quite a few random places where battles took place. I managed to find the kid pretty fast and took the time to go back to Darunia before attacking the palace I found there. Darunia's sage taught me Reflect, which is a required skill to complete next palace, so I'm glad I didn't overlook that one.

It was time to go through the fourth palace. I found this one surprisingly easy. The new enemies here are Wizzrobes, who were a nightmare in the first game, and there can be dispatched really easily just by casting Reflect and sending their magic waves back to the sender. My guess is that the guy who designed this enemy really had a hard time with wizzrobes in The Legend of Zelda and wanted to give the player the opportunity to get his revenge. I found the treasure of the place, the boots (which, according to a guy in a town, should give me the ability to walk on water), and proceeded to the Boss of the place. He's called Carock according to Zelda Wiki, but we'll call him Wizzrobe King. He's definitely the easiest boss so far, considering you just have to cast Reflect and turn in the right direction a few times in order to send his magic back to him and kill him.

You'll pay for all the lives your friends have taken from me in the last game!

With Carock dead, that another palace down. Gaining experience levels has been pretty hard recently, because the amount of XP needed are becoming huge, so beating a boss is always a good thing, considering it takes you to the next XP level. With the boots in my hands / on my feet, it's time to explore the area east of Nabooru where the path leads to water in a strange way. The boots allow me to walk on water and get to a really small island with another palace on it. Before going in this one, I explored a bit around and found a heart container really well hidden (to tell you the truth, I'm not even sure I ever found this one before).

Here, actually. Not what I call obvious...

I'm starting to be out of ideas concerning what to say about the palaces (which sadly, doesn't bode well for variety grades), because it's a bit more of the same really. Granted, you occasionally have to jump in a hole or go through a secret passage in a wall, but the majority of the time in these places is done battling hordes of foes. So, I went through the fifth palace, which is a bit confusing but is easily beaten using paper to keep track of the map, grabbed a flute (which, once again according to a hint from one of the town people, should allow me to do something about the spider monster south of Nabooru), and have beaten another boss. This one is kinda difficult (especially compared to that Carock wuss). He has a big flail and you're supposed to hit him in the body instead of in the head! Woo, change of strategy!

This is the only picture I found of the guy. Enough to realize you don't want to mess with him.

I'm sorry if I tend to overlook this palace, but I have the feeling that my previous updates were a bit on the loong side, and I don't want to ramble on for hours on this one. I'm eager to go back to it and find a way out of the situation I'm stuck in. To come back to that, as I've mentioned at the beginning of the post, I'm now stuck in a Zelda game! I've used the flute to destroy the Giant Spider monster, gaining access to a deadly path south of Nabooru. There I found another town, Kasuto (Sage of... what? No Kasuto in Ocarina of Time? Weird... Thankfully, an army of geeks have already elaborated a lot of theories about that, so I'll just consider it not really important). Kasuto is a dead town and is full of invisible monsters, pretty deadly for now. The first house hides an old man, who doesn't give you magic, but rather tells you to look in the forest east of here. I spent quite a lot of time to figure this one out too : I went back and forth, combing the two forests that can be found east of Kasuto, encountering dozens of monsters, but with no luck. I found the answer out of luck because I accidentally pressed the A button while wandering in the forest, discovering you could break trees with the hammer. What? Really? I've used the hammer to destroy rocks because they were pretty obviously blocking paths and that it made sense to use said hammer to destroy them. But a tree? In a forest? What do you mean, that I should go back in the whole world of Hyrule trying to break the hundreds of forest tiles I passed through in order to check if I didn't forget a secret? And surely enough, breaking all the trees in the eastern forest uncovered the Hidden Town of Kasuto... I'm always glad to have to figure out things for myself instead of receiving too much guidance, but I can't help but feel that luck was a prerequisite to progress in this game lately...

Leveling entire forests seem to become a pattern in Zelda games.

And then I was stuck. The town seem to hold quite a few secrets. There is an old lady asking me if I had found the seven magic containers (which I haven't), an old guy telling me to come back when I'm ready (which I guess I'm not), another one telling me that the old man who had stayed in the first town of Kasuto has magic (but when I came back to him, he would just keep on telling me to go look in the eastern forest). I'm guessing I have to find another magic container before being able to do anything in this town, but I certainly hope it's not hidden into another random forest tile... A guy told me something useful though, that I was supposed to "call for help in the middle of the three Eye Rocks". Three rocks arranged in a strange pattern caught my attention earlier near the first town of Kasuto so I went back there and used the flute, which revealed the last of the six palaces! Then again, I wasn't able to make any progress in this one because you almost immediately are stuck by a closed door. Considering the manual tells you about a magic key to be found somewhere in the game, I guess I need it to progress.

And there I am : I'm stuck between a palace with closed doors, a village with obtuse old people telling me to come back when I'm more powerful, and old guy in an abandoned town with an obvious case of Alzheimer forbidding him to give me his magic, and another path to the west full of invisible monsters that are kicking my butt (and, once again according to the manual, I need a cross to see them, which I can only assume is the sixth palace treasure).

Depressed Link is starting to wonder if it really is worth it.

But I won't give up! Oh no! I know I already passed this part of the game a few years back, and that I should easily find the way through (or so I hope). So I'll go back to playing and try to figure out how to continue my quest. If any of you has an idea, though, you're free to leave me hints in ROT13, but I'll try a bit more before looking at any of them... I don't want to live the rest of my gamer days with the knowledge I couldn't beat Zelda II by myself!

Game B2 : The Adventure of Link - Death Mountain is not south!

Time played : 1h (2h30 total) -- "Return of Ganon" screens : 1 (7 total)


At the end of my last post, I was heading towards Death Mountain, which is south of Hyrule, but first I had to cross the water town of Saria. This town holds two subquests-lookalikes (both mandatory to complete the game, however, so I'm not sure they should be called that way). The first is a woman asking you to retrieve her stolen mirror. You're supposed to get into one of the houses and search under the table. To do that, you need to crouch near the table and press the B button. It's the only place in the whole game where you're supposed to do that, and I'm not sure any hint point to that area. I went there because I remembered the thing, but I'd like to know if there is any way to figure out alone. Granted there are not many houses in the game and this may be the only one that is empty, letting you figure you have to do something there, but I find it kinda harsh, and I think a whole lot of people have been stuck on this one for a long time. It gives you access to the Life spell, which is maybe the most useful one, considering there are not a lot of other ways to regain health back (except for a few fairies here and there and gaining a level in the Life category). I guess the game is winnable without the Life spell, but I can't imagine how hard it may be.

By the way, isn't it the only moment in 25 years of gaming where Link talks?

The other subquest is much more obvious. The town is separated in two parts and to cross the river, you need a note from Bagu, a guy living in the forest north of the town. To be honest, I just happened to find him out of sheer luck before arriving into town, and I think it happened to a lot of players before me. In this game, it's heavily recommended to wander around in forests and deserts because a few tiles in the overworld lead you to hidden items (or sometimes, mandatory places like bagu's place). So I got the note from Bagu and can finally cross the bridge to Death Mountain.

Death Mountain is a huge labyrinth of caves, where finding one's way can be difficult (to be honest, just writing a map down on paper can avoid much of the confusion). I say Death Mountain because it's how it's called in the manual (and because it's one of the recurring places of early Zelda games), but it doesn't look like a mountain at all. Thinking about why I felt that way, I realized that 2D adventure games (or any 2D games for that matter) made you accustomed to the fact that north is up. Hence, in The Legend of Zelda, when you arrive to the northern area of the map, you know it's Death Mountain. Here, the mountain is due south and your 8bit player's mind doesn't think of it as a mountain. 

Ok, ok, there are mountains tiles everywhere, but it's south! It doesn't work!

After vanquishing the labyrinth, you have access to a cave where you find the highly-anticipated hammer, which allows you to break the huge rocks on the cave, and you now have access to a lot of places on the overworld map (including a really useful shortcut between the north and south of Hyrule, avoiding you to cross the "jump" cave and the marsh every time you die). I so went back to every place in Hyrule where I couldn't go before and netted a few hundreds experience points and one or two heart/magic containers. Now I'm ready for the next Palace!

The hammer let me access the last town in Hyrule (or so it seems, big twist coming!), which is the Harbor Town of Mido (not a sage, but still a Ocarina of Time character). There, you'll meet with your first swordmaster. The guy teaches you how to down stab when you jump, which is pretty sweet because it makes dispatching small enemies much easier. Once again, it's highly unusual for games of the era to gain new attacks during the course of the game. It adds greatly to the depth of the combat system, which is highly needed considering the ordeals coming.

And the guy built his entrance door on the second floor.

An old woman asking for medicine (which I already found before the quest, once again) grants me entrance to the wise man of the town, who in turn teaches me Fairy! This spell is kinda odd, considering it turns you into a fairy, allowing you to fly for a bit and be much nimbler to avoid enemy attacks. It's mandatory to gain access to the next palace and can greatly help in difficult areas to avoid getting your ass kicked when fire is coming from everywhere.

Not that manly though...

The entrance to the tunnel leading to the Palace is well hidden into the huge cemetery south of Mido. You have one guy in the town telling you that you need to "Ask Error of Ruto about the palace". Wait this guy is useful after all! What is great about this is that it really gives the impression you're wandering a living world, where inhabitants know each others. So I came back to Ruto, where Error told me to go "South of King's Tomb", which I assume is the biggest tomb in the cemetery. So I went to King's Tomb and then south. I fell into a hole leading me to the Third Palace.

By the way, that's what happens when Link falls down. I think he's on meth or something.

The third palace is a hard one as well, even if I had much less trouble beating it than I did with the second one. The treasure is a raft and the boss is a little different this time. He runs towards you on a horse. You have to avoid his attack, jumping and downstabbing him (yeah, you'd better not overlook the swordmaster in Mido), then, after a few hits, he gets down his horse and fights you as a blue armored knight which you encountered a few times already as common enemies (and who are frighteningly strong and good contenders for this game's MAMA).

Floating horse that is.

After felling the beast, I got another experience level and another palace down! It's time to use the raft on the port near Mido and... Gasp! Another whole continent! Hyrule is huge! I couldn't have seen that one coming!!! I'm joking, but when you consider the game in its release year, and seeing that the map in the manual only shows the Western continent (calling it Hyrule), I guess a few people were astonished at this point in the game to discover they only seen half of it. When you remember, Nintendo used the same kind of trick in A Link to the Past telling you only of the first quest (getting back three jewels) before sending on another, much bigger, quest. That's a great way to surprise the player and much rarer nowadays. I think games are becoming too expensive to just hide 50% of the game in the publicities and advertisements...

I feel like a green-dressed Christopher Columbus!

And that's it for today, folks. It's time to explore the new continent (which is a huge jump in difficulty) and get to the next palaces. I'll keep you posted!

Game B2 : The Adventure of Link - Harsh Beginnings

First of all, I'd like to start this post by two things :

-I wanted to give credit to an excellent website, the Let's Play Archive, because as for now I'm unable to take my own screenshots, I'm currently using theirs, because they have a few games that are played through and commented in screenshots form (and it's often really funny). This site is a blast, and I owe them the illustrations in my blog, so let's give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. (I'm not sure this expression works in english, but it does in french, so I use it anyway...)

-Secondly, I wanted to tell that, even if Zenic already did a playthrough of Zelda II (which I read in february when he wrote it) not so long ago, I chose not to read it again before going on my exploration of said game. The advantage for me is to keep away from any thing that I could have forgotten and go through my own path instead of following his steps. The problem is that, for people who already read his blog, it could mean a few repetitions during this game playthrough. I apologize in advance. It's a good read, though, and comes as heavily recommended (but read mine too ;)

So, back to Zelda II :

Here, kids, learn a valuable life lesson.

Time played : 1h30 -- "Return of Ganon" screens : 6 (yep, that's a lot)

I wasn't wrong when I told this game was hard! I died about four times trying to beat the second dungeon... Once again, I think I must be getting old. So far, I've done 2 dungeons and I still have a long way to go. You start in Hyrule's castle, near unconscious princess Zelda (I'm not sure it's the one I saved during my first quest, which is where the "Zelda timeline mess" starts) and have access to two towns (Rauru and Ruto, namely sages of Light and Water in Ocarina of Time)

We're far from old creepy sword dealers in caves...

The first impression is exhilarating. You have access to a huge overworld, you see in the first ten minutes more people than in the whole first game, and even are given your first subquest, which is to get a trophy in a cave north of Ruto. The first problem is that you can't see a darn thing in these caves and have to go get the first palace's treasure (namely a candle) in order to progress. So to the first palace we go. Thanks to one of the villagers (and the map in the manual), you know the first palace is in Parapa Desert, which is northeast of the castle. But first, you gain your first magic in the town of Rauru, which is Shield (and it... shields you... when you cast it... yup). Then, to go to the first palace, you have to cross one of these dark caves, where you're guaranteed to get hit by a sneaky beetle hiding in the darkness.

When I was a kid, I thought it was a glitch of some kind...

Then you go through the first palace, which is really simple (there even is a map of it in the manual, which is a nice touch) and serves as an introduction. For now, Link is a wimp. He has to hit each enemy numerous times and gets his arse kicked every now and then. The experience system is quite clever. You have three categories to upgrade : Attack, Magic and Life. Each category has 8 levels and each level is more expensive than the one before. As for now, nothing exceptional. What is clever is that each category has different prices. When you attain the required level of XP (let's say 100 for a life uprgrade, for example), the game prompts you with the choice to level up or not. If you don't, you can wait for the next required level (e.g. 200 for an attack upgrade) and change the way your Link evolves. In the end, you'll always have the same character, but the experience system adapts to the moment. Let's say you need a boost of life to kill a boss, you can skip the magic one and wait to have enough experience to buy the life upgrade. And if you lose your three lives (yes, Link has lives now...), you lose all the XP you haven't spend, so sometimes it's a question of taking a risk or playing it safe... It's a really clever system, especially for a 1988 game (this feature was notably absent from the Famicom Disk System version, which was the first one to get released in Japan, where all the levels have the same XP price. It was tweaked when the game was released in other territories).

And there are still heart containers hidden around (and magic containers as well)

The combat system is absolutely top notch too. It revolves around the idea of parrying the attacks of your foe, and attack when their guard is down. It too is pretty cutting edge for the time. The controls are really precise as well so even if it gets a while to get used to, you'll be killing huge guys in armor in no time. Which is a good thing, because nearly every enemy in this game is a deadly threat. Flail throwing monsters, knights in armor, jumping skeletons... even your basic everyday slime is a danger when it's dwelling near a lava pit, sending you to your death if you touch it (and it can happen a lot). Add to this a few monsters (usually the nimbler ones) that steal experience when they hit you, and you'll understand how a few places can turn into nightmares.

These infinitely respawing jumping rats are getting on my nerves...

But all of this comes to one of my major issues with the game so far, it's that aside from the battles, there is not much to do in the dungeons. You just wander around, occasionally getting lost (graph paper required, even if the first game had an automap, this one doesn't want to take you by the hand) and killing a whole lot of baddies. You won't see a lot of riddles or puzzles around these parts. The game is pleasant, but it's far from the usual Zelda experience... (Granted, when it came out, we didn't know yet what an "usual Zelda experience" was) The same complaint goes for the bosses, that you can usually beat by jumping and hitting them in the head a few times. We'll see if this changes later in the game, but I don't remember a lot of variety in this category...

The first dungeon was a cakewalk, and allowed me to get the candle. The boss, a horse head guy, fell down quite easily and now every cave is lit! Before going back to the towns, I explored a bit and found a heart container south of the first Palace. The otherworld is worth exploring, because you can find a lot of places with hidden secrets : fairies, XP bags, heart or magic containers, extra lives... which is always a good thing in my book.

North : Hyrule castle. South : the swamp of Youllgetkilledalot.

So back to the subquest. I mentioned earlier the fact that, in the village of Ruto, one of the villagers asked me to retrieve a stolen trophy. I got the thing back (easier to do when the cave is lit...) and gained another magic, Jump, which allows to... err... jump higher. It allows me to cross the cavern south of town and gain access to a whole new area, including the swamp (where movement is sloooooow) and Death Mountain (labyrinthine nightmare we'll explore next post). In this town, you'll also find a living legend among geeks of this era : a guy just tells you "I am Error". There are numerous theories about how this name came to be (typo from Errol or mistranslation that works in japanese?) but my favorite is this one.

This guy is the definition of an Internet meme.

It's time to explore the swamp. The second palace lies here and is a much more difficult place than the first one. Here, the graph paper starts to become mandatory and difficult battles are numerous. Like I said, I died a lot in this place. Each screen holds one or two harsh monsters, you have crumbling bridges, crumbling ceilings, and the boss is really much more difficult than the first one. Thanks to the experience system, though, every attempt of beating this place resulted in one level gained and my Link has become increasingly tougher, allowing me to finally beat it. Another huge difference with the other Zelda games is that, when you beat a boss, you don't gain a heart container, but a whole level of experience. It's another strategic point : you don't want to go kill the boss if you're close to getting a new level, because it would be wasting a lot of XP. I realize now that this game doesn't have a economic system, and it's the only game where rupees don't exist. I guess XP act as a replacement currency.

Swamp Palace Boss : two flying helmets throw fire at you while you desperately try to hit him in the head.

The Second Palace treasure is the Glove, which allows you to destroy blocks every now and then, once again gaining access to new areas (only in dungeons). So I'm two dungeons down now, and it's time to explore the southern area of Hyrule, which holds the ominous Death Mountain. But enough rambling around (it's been a long post already) and I'll tell you all about it in my next post.

Game B2 : The Adventure of Link - Introduction

Trying to figure out what to do in sequels was difficult for Nintendo during NES lifetime. They eventually understood that taking the basic same template and make the more polished game (with occasional jumps in technology) was more than enough for their major franchises. I think a umpteenth New Super Mario Bros will be boring one of those days, but it usually works.

However, in these early years, they were wondering how to make sequels for their hugely successful games. The most well-known example is "the case of the two Super Mario Bros 2" : The sequel to SMB in Japan was exactly the same game with (much) harder levels and sadistic traps to surprise the veteran players (including the particularly twisted idea of a reversed shortcut that took you back three worlds behind). Nintendo then realized (maybe rightfully) that their game was "too difficult" for America (and Japan, in my opinion) and took another game, did a palette swap, and released what we western players know as Super Mario Bros 2 (later rereleased in Japan as Super Mario Bros USA). Konami had the same problem with Castlevania, releasing the horrible Castlevania 2 and trying to turn a perfect formula into a RPG/Action hybrid (with an emphasis on cryptic puzzles and the most frustrating day/night cycle ever). Both companies came back to their senses with SMB3 and Castlevania 3, both going back to their roots, and both excellent games.

But I digress. The subject as hand is as well known as the others, and it concerns the sequel to The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo took a bold risk with this one, turning the whole concept on its head. The overhead view was now only for map exploration while all battles took place on a side-view perspective (similar to Metroid or Castlevania). Experience points were also implemented, probably because of the huge success enjoyed by Dragon Quest (in Japan) a year before. There was many more NPCs to talk with, a magic system and whole towns to explore. Like we'll see later, all these changes weren't for the better and Nintendo would eventually come back to the first game template for their third (and all subsequent) Zelda outing.

But they kept the golden cartridge. Coolest thing ever.

All these changes didn't hinder The Adventure of Link to become a huge commercial success, but nowadays, it's considered the black sheep of the series (of course we don't talk about the CD-I games, but we'll get there eventually). In my memory, the game is still cool, but it's widely different from your classic (and loved) Zelda experience. And it's the hardest game in the series, making a few parts a nightmare to go through. I'm not even sure I already finished this one... Well we'll see about that, won't we? It's interesting too to note that it's the last Zelda entry to receive a number in its name. All the later games will only have titles, adding to the overall feeling that The Legend of Zelda is one huge story being written, instead of a following of numbered games. 

And the flashing lights of the death screen causes seizures. Probably a way to teach kids about the value of life.

So I'll play the game on my 3DS, where I got the game for free (I was one of the dudes who paid 100$ more for buying their console before everybody else, and was rewarded with a few games... yeepee). I won't be playing on my NES, sorry about that, but I have painful memories of losing my saves on this particular game. I managed to find a manual online, which was written in an english so bad it could make mine look like Shakespeare's.

So the backstory of the game is that Link defeated Ganon in the precedent game and is now 16. However, princess Zelda was touched by a curse that put her in a neverending sleep. The only way to wake her up is to secure the Triforce of Courage (nicely named No3 Triforce in the introduction screen). However, the Triforce has been sealed in a palace and you have to defeat 6 guardians in 6 palaces in order to open the last one. It's interesting to note that all the difficulties in the two first Zelda games have come from the securities installed by the Royal Family to protect the Triforce, and have almost nothing to do with Ganon, but whatever. Ganon's minions are at stake too because they need Link's blood to resurrect their master. Would I be Link, the sensible approach to this problem would be to lock myself in a secret bunker someplace in order to prevent that, but, hey, it's not his style, better to take risk to doom millions of people for saving the princess...

Another thing to note from the manual is that it already introduces the idea that all the princesses of the Royal Family are called Zelda, paving the way for the demented storyline Nintendo released not so long ago. I really thought this whole idea came much later, so it's really interesting to discover tidbits like this in a series I thought I knew like the back of my hand.

I hope this time I'll be able to beat this game, and settle a 25-years old grudge against the last boss. To Hyrule we go!

Game A2 : Resident Evil 2 - Final Rating

Here goes the first tryout of the brand new PICASO system (ok, granted, it's nearly the exact same system than before with new names, but you can't blame me for trying to make it sound exciting). It's been nearly a month since I started the game (and more than one month since I last applied a rating), so I'll try to be as accurate as possible...

But first of all, the MAMA goes to... (drum rolls)...

MAMA #4 : SHERRY BIRKIN

Yeah, I know, you probably saw this one coming, but she deserves it. She is annoying, she is slow, she is the personification of what is wrong in protect missions. Get away from her and she curls in a shivering ball of fear on the ground, waiting for the zombies to bite her head off, and she spends the majority of the game running away from Claire (or falling into holes), making her scenario revolve around the idea of "get Sherry back". To add insult to injury, I consider her responsible for the lack of multiple endings in this game because, eh, you can't let children die in video games so you have to save her (no choice here). And I don't even want to google her name, because I can't imagine how many sick fan porn pictures she starred in. She'll be back in Resident Evil 6, so let's hope the fact she has grown up makes her less irritating...

But now for the grades :

P for Pleasure/Enjoyment
Resident Evil 2 is a great game. It's known as one of the best games of the series, and has been ported to a high number of platforms (including the Tiger Game.com version that I'd love to play if it wasn't so expensive or so badly emulated). Like I've said before, the game is a great blend between action, cinematic moments and puzzles. However, everything is not perfect. The game alternates between excellent sequences and a few boring ones, for example. The endgame is pretty excellent in both stories, but there is a long part of the game which is kinda slow. Add to this a few frustrating points, mainly thanks to the really problematic inventory (for chrissakes, why does a lighter take as much space as a shotgun?) and some "run into corridors shooting zombies" sequences. The puzzle sequences are somewhat bland too, especially if you compare them to the Silent Hill or even Dino Crisis ones. Overall it's still a great game, so I'll go for a 7, which is my highest grade in this category so far.
Rating : 7

And the modified shotgun adds one full point to the "Pleasure" factor

I for Intelligence

Is this game a clever one? Tough question. On one side, there are a few nice ideas concerning the Zapping System and the "scared shitless" moments. This game really knows how to keep you on edge, and knows when a player feels safe in a RE game. After all, the huge Mr X is the first RE enemy to follow you in another room, and after going through Resident Evil 1, you tend to think just changing room is enough to keep you safe. Added to that, the fact that you can cross the same corridor two or three times before seeing something leap out of the window to eviscerate you is a enough to avoid making you fall asleep during the long back and forth moments. On the other side, the Zapping System is a bit faulty, with some moments where you feel plain silly to do the same things twice, while two seconds ago, the presence of the other character was reminded to you... Well I guess it has built up on the first game template, but not enough to grant another point. The fact that it's a more straightforward game than the first one doesn't help either in this category. 5 it was, 5 it stays.

Rating : 5

And pushing blocks got old in 1972.

C for Controls / inventory

The controls are on par with the first game, even if it's less bothersome this time around. I think the enemies are bigger or slower, like if the developers' answer to the control complaints of the first game had been, not to tweak them, but to make the game easier to manage despite them. I actually managed to kill a crow this time! The fact that there is no "quick-turn" option (I actually remembered otherwise... I guess it started in the 3rd game) is difficult to overcome too, even if the characters turn around a bit quicker. One last issue is that if your health is really low, your character starts moving at a snail's pace. It's a nice idea, but if you're short on healing items and have to cross ten corridors at this speed, it can make you want to hit your head against the nearest wall. Concerning the inventory problems, not much to say (I already said enough). It's bothersome but it's part of the experience. The adding of a "permanent" item slot (the lighter for Leon and the pass for Claire) is great, but the fact that some special weapons now take two spaces is hard to bear. There seem to be more "magic boxes" this time around, but it doesn't avoid the necessity to really manage your inventory at all times if you don't want to stumble upon an item you can't take if you have too many healing herbs in your pockets. I'll add one point to the RE1 grade, but it's still far from ideal.

Rating : 3

Come on Claire. Turn around. Turn arouuuund!!! Arrrrrrrgh!!!

A for Appeal

The same mash-up of techniques than in the first game is used, with real-time 3D characters and rendered backgrounds. Of course the game is much prettier than the first one, with actual nice-looking character-models, but considering the two years separating the two titles, it's the least Capcom could do (and 2 years of 3D video games evolution in the 90s is worth 5 nowadays). The voice acting is on the level of a good B-movie, and while it's nothing worth an Academy Award, it's far from the "80s porn movie" feeling of the first game. When Capcom released the Resident Evil Rebirth remake on the Gamecube, everybody was wondering if all the other games would be given the same treatment. Capcom then chose to release RE2, RE3 and Code:Veronica with no modifications. It seemed revolting by the time, but when you compare the first two games, you have to admit this one is still highly playable nowadays while the first one kinda smells like old clothes. Add to this the excellent cinematic cutscenes (of course, they're ugly by today's standards, but it was kind of a big thing in 1998), and this game gains two points in this category compared to its older brother.

Rating : 6

And the Hunk cutscene is great. What? Did I already tell that?

S for Storytelling

Here again, it's sort of a mixed bag. The Birkin's story is really nice, especially when you compare it to video game writing of the time. Even if Annette is a weird character, alternatively a poor widow or a psycho with a gun, and even if Sherry should be killed or eaten alive (yeah, I love kids), the drama is pretty well done for a game of this era. Of course, the game has some moments where you can't help to laugh (the "death" of Ada is the scriptwriting equivalent of a few Steven Seagal movies), and the plot has a few holes larger than Texas, but it's nice to follow anyway. The documents sharing the lives of the former workers and civilians (and now probably zombies) are still there and it all adds to the overall ambiance.

Rating : 5

Ooookaaay... We met two hours ago, but I appreciate the feeling.

O for Optional Stuff

Sure, there is a lot of stuff to find if you like searching around. The special weapons and weapon modifications are all optional, and I guess it's perfectly possible to finish the game without them (of course, probably more difficult). The problem here is that you spend a lot of time running into various walls and mashing the A button to be sure you don't forget a magnum round or a first aid spray somewhere, because nothing shows an item is to be found here. A little light glint like in the first game would sometimes have been nice, but it's overall not a big deal. Concerning the post-game content, ok, the Zapping System is overrated and playing through the game twice is not really an "all-fresh, all-new" experience... However, the ability to tackle the game in two different orders is excellent for replay value. Once you've beaten the game once, you have the mandatory new costumes to unlock, but you can add the inclusion of a mini-scenario involving Hunk, one of Umbrella's soldiers, and his mission to deliver the G-Virus. It's an ancestor to the future installments "mercenary mode" where you're given grades depending on how well you perform. There is another character to unlock, Tofu, who is, as his name implies, a big tofu block... and you have to play the game several times while under different handicaps to unlock it (no first aid sprays, no special weapons, etc...). So, we have to admit Resident Evil 2 is packed full with content and, should you consider playing the game again (and again, and again) without getting bored to death, you have plenty of value for your money. As far as I'm concerned, though, I never unlocked the Tofu guy mainly because I didn't find enough incentive to play through the story six times in a row...

Rating : 7

Here comes the Tofu hero : Healthy and a good example for your kids. Don't eat it after it went in the sewers, though.

FINAL PICASO RATING : 55

Strange, I would have thought this one could beat even The Legend of Zelda. Well, we'll see if it's a good news for the PICASO system (meaning the games have plenty of room to improve) or bad news (meaning no game will ever go over 70). Well I really enjoyed going through this one again (twice!) and it's time to move on. On Zelda II we go! And please let me know your thoughts about the new rating system.

Series D : Last proposition and poll starting

Hi guys!

After having read your comments on the post about series D, and seeing each of you has a different favorite in the franchises I offered to play, I'll set on the poll about what series D should be.

One last proposition before that :

Proposition 8 : MARIO RPGs

7 games -- First : Super Mario RPG (SNES - 1996) -- Last : Bowser's Inside Story (DS - 2009)

Not a real "series" to be considered, but one masterpiece that spawned two different spin-offs series. While the Paper Mario series is more about cuteness bordering on the insane, the Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga series is about insanity bordering on craziness. I love both series and I'd like to see how they evolved over time. Added to that, revisiting Squaresoft and Nintendo's incredible Mario RPG outing would be really worth it.

That's it folks! The poll starts today and will go on for one month. Please vote on your favorite and vote a lot! It will be great to play the games of your choice!