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I've played a bit bit of Blasphemous and I am not looking forward to buying a new controller after my first one walks into a door knob.
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It's definitely tougher than it looks but oh so satisfying when you progress. I hope to beat it in its entirety but I'm moving towards the 2nd boss and have no clue how tough he is yet so we'll see. I'm enjoying it despite getting frustrated. Elden Ring spoiled me so but now i know how to just say "ok 1 more shot" much easier and calmer.
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Introduction - November 64 - Nov. 1st 2022
Welcome to November or in other words...
November 64 That's right, coming right out of doing Video Game Month for October, I've long had the idea to do a theme month revolving solely around Nintendo 64 games and more specifically keeping it to the ones I have played myself. And while I do still have opinions about the ones I haven't played (thanks to lets plays etc), I want to try to keep this contained to the ones I have played, but who knows, I'm known to break a rule or two. The Nintendo 64 is full of many goodies and stories and I'm excited to jump into this. First November 64 update coming soon. This will be structured pretty much the same way as Video Game Month where I'm not holding myself to a pretty strict schedule or standard. Just talking about games I love. |
Super Mario 64 - November 64 - Nov. 1st 2022
Super Mario 64
Because this game gets constantly speedrun, I feel like it's the perfect way to kick off November 64, what with talking about possibly the greatest 3D platformer ever made. And while it was great, even groundbreaking for its time, I would like to say it still holds up and simultaneously still brings joy to whomever plays it. It's one of those games that you like to look back on and be like "yeah, I remember that" and subsequently leads to the enormous amount of nostalgia there is to be had about Super Mario 64. You've got stellar platforming, great enemies, great level design, great bowser fights, just great everything. Mario can move all over the place, he can slide, he can flip, he can swim, he can do it all. Obviously I don't remember exactly how my first experience of this game actually was given that I probably played it for the first time maybe 20+ years ago? I don't know. Feels like it. But anyway, I'm confident that my first experience was great. Seeing a 3D platformer as fleshed out as this one is even at a young age would have certainly been mind blowing. I do remember getting frustrated with it at times, as well as my brothers also getting frustrated at it because not only was the game great, it was also tough. You had some tough platforming that you had to get through to traverse some levels, and sometimes that meant figuring out the timing for a side flip or figuring out when to start doing your triple jump. It's all precise and carefully calculated that no matter what you do in the game, you feel cool doing it because the game responds well to creativity. If you want Mario to flip all the time, have him flip all the time. Want to do a run where you don't flip at all? Sure. Don't know how hard that'd be but I'm sure you could figure it out. And that's not even touching one of the best parts of the game: the powerups. As is a staple in any Super Mario game is that you have to have powerups. And Super Mario 64 is perhaps one of if not the true shining example of putting in great powerups. You've got flight, you've got invisibility, you can run through walls, run through toxic clouds. And it of course all works so well together with the level design as would be a shining example of the care that the developers took when making this game. Granted they are also vague, I do remember this as a great time of gaming for me personally because I didn't grow up with the Playstation or Sega, it was the Nintendo 64 for me. And this was during a time when not only did I experience Super Mario 64, but many other staples in gaming that I will surely talk about in the coming days. But for now, let's continue onwards talking about Super Mario 64. Aside from all the things I have already talked about, I want to focus solely on the final Bowser fight for a little bit because I still to this day think it's one of the best examples of what the level prior to a boss fight should be like then how the boss fight should be once you get to it. And I remember many times getting really frustrated with this final fight because once you've get him 2/3 of the way down, the stage changes before your eyes and it makes getting that final blow that much tougher. But oh so satisfying once you do it and collect your star and see Mario just jump into the air like a badass. It really is a great game and like I said, has held up quite well with it being released when it was. People still play the **** out of it and I've been planning to do a full playthrough of it again once I get the motivation to do so. I also plan to do it on original hardware so I just gotta find a copy and off we go! I'm sure this is no surprise for anybody to see Super Mario 64 get nothing but praise because it's pretty well known and seen as a staple in gaming for a lot of people, myself included. |
My Favorite Levels in Super Mario 64 - November 64 - Nov. 2nd 2022
My Favorite Level(s) in Super Mario 64
As far as I'm concerned, all of the levels in Super Mario 64 are great if not really great, however there are still a couple that tend to standout more than others, at least for me. And I want to talk about them: Bob-omb Battlefield: Of course, how could you start a list like this without mentioning the first world you jump into - Bob-omb Battlefield. It's got everything to a great song, to great moments to learn the basics of what you will be doing throughout the game, and a lot of really fun platforming sections that makes it an absolute blast to go through upon starting the game. I also think it's the perfect way to get a good lift on what the rest of the game will be like. I have always enjoyed this level as being a staple in Mario games altogether and I still think it's one of those levels where you look back and think "yeah, good times." It's certainly one of my favorites because of the boss fight against the king Bob-omb themself. It's not the most difficult fight in the world but it does give you an idea of how to take on bosses later in the game. I can hear the music playing in my head as I type this which should be a good indicator of how powerful the soundtrack is in this game, but that's another topic for another time. Hazy Maze Cave: I have always remembered this level as being the level that finally gives you access to the metal cap which along with the level itself having a great soundtrack, the song for the powerup is absolutely perfect for what the power is, and it just makes you feel like an absolute badass. Level design is top notch despite the red coin star being a total headache at times, but it's still fun to do all the same. Going down into the big cave of water where you find Nessie, a big blue dragon-like creature that when you slam on its head, it will give you access to another star, at least from what I remember anyway. I've always enjoyed this level not just for the theme, but for how it ramps up the difficulty. You start to really see what this game can offer in terms of difficult when you get to this part of the game, along with Lethal Lava Land and Shifting Sand Land. Hell, that entire bottom floor is full of levels that may or may not make you rip your hair out, but fun all the same. Hazy Maze Cave for me is the best of the 3 though I wouldn't be surprised if the others were other peoples favorites for various reasons. Tick Tock Clock Moving on from the basement to the upper floors, you've got levels like Rainbow Ride and Tiny, Huge Island but the level that really takes the cake for me is Tick Tock Clock. There's something fascinating about not only jumping into the world at a certain time to find that it does have an effect on the level itself, but the other fact that it's simply a clock that you're trying to traverse, and god damn I remember falling from the highest point in this level only to find myself getting frustrated, though coming back to it later to then finally get that star at the top. It's certainly not the most difficult level in the game, hell I don't even really know which level that would be. But comparatively, this level is difficult. But once you beat it, you never have to go back in again. At least until you start another file and relive it again and again and again. All those aside though, there is still one level that I consider to be my all time favorite and I mentioned it in the post prior to this - Bowser In The Sky. The combination of the difficulty of this level as well as the final fight with Bowser at the end is, like I said, a really good combination of levels as well as a really good payoff when you finally beat Bowser for the 3rd and final time. I also really like the music in the boss fight though the music in the level itself is one we've heard before, which doesn't make it any less amazing. But the actual boss fight music is some of the best Mario music out there, for sure. I can still visualize this fight in my head from the second you get into the fight to the final scene at the end of it all. I reiterate that it really is one of those levels that is memorable for so many different reasons. And to have pulled it off on the Nintendo 64 is truly remarkable. There have been some really great boss fights in Mario games after this one, but I still don't think any of them have topped this one in particular. It truly feels like everything is on the line when you fight Bowser in this one, and the feeling of potentially losing it all (not really losing it all) if you lose is honestly terrifying. But it fuels your want to beat him more and more to finally get to that end credits scene when everything goes back to normal. At least until Peach gets captured again, which she inevitably will. |
Some Of My Favorite Musical Moments In Super Mario 64 - November 64 - Nov. 2nd 2022
Some Of My Favorite Musical Moments in Super Mario 64
I'm continuing on my discussion of Super Mario 64 by not only diving deep into the levels, but into the music as well. I've mentioned in previous posts already how certain levels really wouldn't be the levels they are if it weren't for the soundtrack, and that is true. And just like my discussion with the levels, I'd like to talk about a few tracks that really standout to me. Metal Cap Mario I wanted to talk about this one first because I mentioned it when I talked about Hazy Maze Cave, and man, even thinking about playing the game again makes me excited to hear this song amongst many other greats for what will feel like the first time again. Not only are you virtually impenetrable when using this powerup, the music just makes you feel so cool and godlike that you can't help but run into as many enemies as you can. You can walk underwater with it, you look cool, it's just a great powerup. Mix that with a great song that honestly doesn't last long enough, and you've got a recipe for a great Mario powerup. They should just make this track like...10 minutes longer. Castle Theme Probably the first song you'll hear when you jump into Super Mario 64, and it does its job well. It sets you up for an adventure by not just being a welcoming addition to the game, but also making you feel like you're about to take on the adventure of a lifetime. Despite the castle being overthrown by Bowser and despite Princess Peach being kidnapped....again. The music in the castle is so nice and inviting that it's hard to just not stand in the middle of the room and just let the music play for a little bit. After a tough boss fight, after a tough star in any given level, the castle theme really adds a nice comfort to the game that you can go back to at any point in your journey. Dire, Dire Docks While not being one of my favorite levels in Super Mario 64, it'd be a lie if I said that this level didn't have my and I'm sure others top 3 songs in Mario games altogether. The calmness and ease of the music makes traversing a water level that much easier as water levels in Mario games are notoriously difficult. And Dire, Dire Docks is no exception. Jolly Roger Bay while having a lot of the same themes as Dire, Dire Docks, is not nearly as difficult as this one probably more due to the fact that Jolly Roger Bay comes up in a playthrough much earlier than Dire, Dire Docks, so it's expected that the level will be much less difficult in that regard. But, doesn't stop the music from being great. |
Hi Key, it's super to read up about soundtracks in games, thanks. I always liked the Super Mario tracks and the driving melodies. Am I right that they were written by Mahito Yokota, Koji Kondo, Shiho Fujii & Naoto Kubo?
The Metal Cap theme sounded very fun. A sort of Copa Cobana cha cha fused with some sort of strong (garage house) beat. My kids sometimes play Super Mario Odyssey on Switch. I try to encourage them to go to “New Donk City Daytime” or “To the Next World” just so that I can listen in. |
Koji Kondo a yes for Super Mario 64. The soundtrack is fantastic and I agree, Super Mario Odyssey has some great ones as well. I'll be excited to see what they do with the next Mario game if there is one. That's great to hear that you enjoyed what you heard though. Metal cap mario is such a cool track and it's very easy to hear why.
Thanks for reading, friend :) |
Banjo-Kazooie - November 64 - Nov. 3 2022
Banjo-Kazooie
I freaking love this game. As far as games that I would replay over and over that are from this era of gaming, Banjo-Kazooie is up there if not the first on the list to get another playthrough from me. I actually think this game amongst all the others I've played is the one I have replayed the most. It's got everything you need to have an unbelievably great experience in a game that is simply titled "Banjo-Kazooie". Even from the opening cutscene of the game, it's just you and other characters playing music together in a forest having a good time. There's no hint as to what happens next and why you end up traversing an enormous castle filled with secrets at every corner. It's the subtlety and the creative writing that makes this game shine more than a lot of other platformers. And granted, there's still a lot of great platformers on the Nintendo 64, and I will certainly be talking about them this month, but Banjo-Kazooie is special in the sense that it's not just a platformer, it's got so much more. Much like Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie comes packed with cool moves that you know from the start as well as new moves that you learn about throughout your playthrough. You got your simple rolls and melee attacks etc, but once you start to traverse the castle and enter various on top of various levels, you start to see that the game has so much more to offer than it lets on. And that's not a bad thing by any stretch. Even after playing this game maybe 10 times over the years, it still brings me joy when I 100% a level and I can move onto the next level to experience it again and again and again. The levels themselves never get old because they also come jam packed with all kinds of things you can do. And as Banjo-Kazooie is a collectathon, there are a lot of things to collect. Notes, jinjos, puzzle pieces. They're all there. You just have to learn to overcome the obstacles that hold these valuable collectibles that you need in order to take on more levels. And even while you're going from level to level, Banjo-Kazooie offers an amazing hub world of sorts in Gruntilda's Lair. The music, the creepy laugh coming from Gruntilda every time you walk in and out of a room, and just the amount of things that are scattered all over the castle making it worthwile to check every nook and cranny that you can. Some things will lead you to secret rooms that holds interesting secrets and other things will lead you to the puzzle to open the final level, only to realize that you need a ton of jigsaw pieces to complete it. So you come back to that later. But you found it just by exploring which is what makes Banjo-Kazooie not just a great platformer, not just a great collectathon, but a great game overall to just experience time and time again. And even with all of that, once you get through all the levels and experience everything they've had to offer, you then move onto the last few parts of the game which lies in Gruntilda's Furnace Fun and then subsequently fighting Gruntilda on top of her castle. And I still hold the belief that the final mega jinjo encounter that eventually takes Gruntilda down is still one of the very coolest ends to a boss fight. It's certainly been surpassed over the years, but it is still oh so satisfying to finally get those few eggs that you need in order to unlock the mighty jinjo to let it wreak havoc. And then of course once that's all done, you enjoy the fact that you just beat one of the coolest and most fun games on the Nintendo 64. And hell yes to the fact that these are available on Game Pass because once I have some time to kill, I really want to revisit it again because it really it just an unbelievably great game. And it shows even to today's standards. I guarantee you can go back and play this today and you'd still have as much of a blast if not more than you had when you played it originally. I still have good memories (and some bad) of finally getting the final collectibles needed in the final level - Click Clock Wood and just realizing that although this adventure is over, there is another one soon ahead. Speaking of which, while we're on the topic of levels. Click Clock Wood always stood out to me as I'm sure it did with others because while the other levels are super creative and really great in their own rights and really do work with the themes that they are going for, nothing beats Click Clock Wood. Basically due to the fact that it's literally 4 levels in one. And they all flow together so well as you'd expect given that the 4 levels are based on the 4 seasons. It'd be weird if it didn't flow well. The music is also great, but that also goes for all the levels in the game if i'm gonna be honest. The soundtrack is absolutely awesome. I honestly don't think I really have a standout track that I would say is my favorite because they all have their own strengths that make them unique to the levels that they are mixed in with. And as many times as I have played this game, I still think the soundtrack works so perfectly with every levels theme and it really shows that the composers did everything they could do to make sure you were as immersed into the levels as possible. And it works. You've got creepy music for the darker levels, you've got cool robotic music for Clanker's Cavern which is literally based around a large metal fish. It's little things like that that add to the uniqueness of the game while also managing to add to its greatness overall. Banjo-Kazooie to me should certainly be seen as a staple in gaming in general and I still hold the belief and i'm sure others do as well that it was, is, and will continue to live on as one of the best 3D platformers of all time. And that's crazy when you think about the other games in the system that all perform excellently for what they are. This is why I feel like the Nintendo 64 had a leg up when it came out because man, so many great games were born because of it. There just aren't that many games that I hold to as much of a high regard as I do with Banjo-Kazooie, except maybe Breath of the Wild or Fallout 3. It just has that special something that has lasted with me all the way into my 30's. It's crazy to think that I played this game for the first time that long ago, and like I said, have played it many times since. And each time I playthrough it, I can easily see myself playing through it again in months or years time. |
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