- kanedajjj5757
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[welcome to my little corner of the internet]
Hi there! Aside from being a gamer I am the leader of The League of Cartridge Gamers - a Gamespot union where we celebrate the greatest game software medium ever (cartridges). I am also the host of its original show Solid State Weekly - the game info news show where it's all cartridge games all the time. we demonstrate games, consoles, and peripherals, and generally have a fun time during the process...
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16Oct 08
Game Title: Kid Icarus
Release Date: December 1987
Developer: Nintendo (Gunpei Yokoi)
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Genre/Type: 2D Platform Vertical Scrolling AdventureGame Rating: [III/V]
While this game has a some ambitious ideas along with a fantastic soundtrack, Kid Icarus ultimately suffers from various technical problems.
Kid Icarus is an interesting game primarily because of what it tries to achieve. It definitely takes a cue from three iconic games. In the game, an angel by the name of Pit is called upon by Platenia to save Angel Land from the evil Medusa. However, that will not be an easy task as Pit is trapped in the realm of Hades, and must make his way up there, fighting minions of evil on the way.
The game play in Kid Icarus is interesting and almost unique in a sense. It adopts its side scrolling platform game play from Super Mario Bros., its vertical scrolling platform game play and combat (and password system) from Metroid, and its dungeon crawling adventure game play and item collecting from The Legend of Zelda. In theory, this ambitious idea to culminate these vastly different **** of play into one game seems like one of the greatest ideas for this game or even gaming in general. In practice, however, Kid Icarus does not quite come together in a cohesive or functional way.
In terms of character control, Kid Icarus is below mediocre when at its best. The things Pit is physically capable of is fairly limited as a result of design and not of technology. In Kid Icarus Pit can can shoot his bow and even aim upward, but cannot jump while aiming upward. Issues like this have been solved by this time with Metroid. Another issue concerning control is ducking in Kid Icarus. Ducking down to avoid enemies is a very useful feature in the game, but when on a semi-solid platforms ducking while standing on them makes Pit pass through the platform which, more often than not, ends up with Pit falling to his death. Also, Pit has wings on his back and yet he cannot fly without a special and expensive feather powerup which is still not so great as it is only temporary. In the end, the control comes up as being unnecessarily crippled.
The game starts out with some levels designed after Metroid's vertical scrolling platform game play. This level and game play ****is by far the most unplayable part of the game. When Pit jumps to a higher platform, the level environment scrolls downward. However, the level's geometry cannot move back up, so falling or moving back down is not an option and results in death if attempted. There is a problem with this. If the floor beneath Pit is not visible on screen, then it does not exist in the game's logic. An example in which this is an issue is if Pit climbs up just enough where the level scrolls down just enough to make the floor not present on screen. It could be the ground floor that pit started on. If Pit were to drop to that floor (that is not present on screen only by an inch) Pit "falls to hid death". That is pretty lame considering that floor is just a little shy of existing on screen. That is not to say that this is the only technical issue that hurts this game. With how the level's geometry scrolls, the levels play as if what is shown on screen and what is a solid platform are two different entities that have little or no cohesion. This results in Pit's unintended ability to clip through corners of platforms and even through solid entities. This coupled with the fact that level design calls for some precise platforming does not help as certain level sections play as if they were not designed to accommodate for this technical anomaly. An other design flaw has to do with how enemies generate and exist in the level's overall environment. Only a couple of enemy types exist native to a platform within the level. This is fine on its own, but enemies sometimes spawn within solid entities in the level's architecture. On top of that, the other monsters will just fall from the sky. The problem with this is that there could be a ceiling above Pit where the enemies are coming from, but since it is not present on screen, it does not exist. This makes very little sense and makes the game more frustrating because of this illogical feature. The game does not get more difficult when done with these levels.
Kid Icarus contains boss battles, but require you to do lots of dungeon crawling to get to those fights. This is where the game The Legend of Zelda comes in as another one of the three core competencies of this game. Like The Legend of Zelda, Pit has to traverse a series of rooms on a dungeon map. One of these rooms contains the boss of a particular world. It plays like a 2D platform game, but it is fairly standard. Another adopted feature is the currency and item portion of Kid Icarus. In the game, the currency is hearts. every level has a store in which Pit can bring his purse of hearts and purchase goods. This all seems well and good. However, there is no real proper balance between how much life Pit loses versus the cost of store items (which is unnecessarily high). This just turns the dungeon crawling levels into a long and tedious grind to get enough hearts to buy the bare bone items required just to survive and get by in the dungeon, let alone hammers to free the petrified soldiers of Platenia. The difficulty from one room to another is also something that seems vastly unbalanced. some rooms are a breeze to traverse as where the next room could contain enemies that are among the toughest to defeat. The previously mentioned sprite collision issue as well as the environment clipping are also substantial issues in this segment of Kid Icarus. Expect to spend anywhere from forty minutes to an entire hour when attempting to beat one of these dungeon crawling levels.
The third and last significant game play ****is exhibited in the side scrolling levels that pay homage to Super Mario Bros. in a big way. The level designs of these particular stages are fine, but the way they all play out is standard of any generic game that features any platforming. However there is something good to be said about this particular level ****as the only serious technical problem that seems to be present is the shoddy sprite collision with items.
Now, all this does not mean that Kid Icarus is a terrible game. One of the things that may keep someone going back to this game is the role playing game like persistence in Kid Icarus. While clearing levels and killing monsters, Pit will come across some upgrades that add to his overall attack power and life capacity. This will something that is bound to attract some people because it's a part of Kid Icarus that is not broken nor is it unbalanced.
Another fantastic aspect of Kid Icarus is its Soundtrack, which seems to capture the essence of the ancient greek mythological trappings in which the game takes place. There may not a terrible amount of songs in the game's entire musical score, but the quality of the compositions overrides the physical size of it. This is clearly the high note of the experience this game has to offer.
Lastly, the general art direction of of Kid Icarus is one thing that makes the game so inviting initially. The depictions of the Greek landscapes, Hades, and Angel Land. The visuals stick in the mind long after playing it. The sprites are nicely designed, but the animations could have complemented that.
It is abundantly clear that Kid Icarus has issues. That does not mean the game is horrible. It does have its high points with some of the graphics and all the quality music. However, every time game brings itself up, it just puts itself down all the time with its game play and balancing problems. With that, Kid Icarus is okay, but its questionable quality makes it impossible to recommend to just anyone.
- Posted Oct 16, 2008 11:53 am PT
- Category: N/A
- 0 Comments
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4Oct 08
In this showing of this podcast, I'm joined by game lover and overall wild man Dan Garret. We discuss my weird obsession with nights, Dan's obsession for that obscure Yugioh game, the ethics of trading games in, Mega Man 9, Bionic Commando, and most importantly the coverage on Kid Icarus. Be sure to drop your feedback off at kanedajjj5757@yahoo.com. Enjoy!- Posted Oct 4, 2008 11:53 am PT
- Category: Games
- 0 Comments
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29Sep 08
I'm just curious. I mean, the layout and design looks practically the same.
- Posted Sep 29, 2008 3:30 pm PT
- Category: N/A
- 2 Comments
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5Sep 08
To GiantBomb.com's submissions screening department:
Let me start with a piece I called the Starfox 2 review:
Following the advent of the Super FX chip, new and amazing were stirring within the confines of the Nintendo Company. At a time where the 16-Bit era was seeing the end of its life and newer technologies were on the verge of exposition, there was one last effort made by those of the Super FX Team. Its last project would be a game that would never see the light of day as a finished release title. It would use technology that would soon be phased out by modern machines. That project was Starfox 2.
Starfox 2 is an extension of the original Starfox story, making it a true sequel. In it, Andorf (the Japanese name for Andross) survives the destruction of the core brain on Venom and secludes himself for enough time to rebuild his armies, and a new fortress that stands alone in the Lylat System's void. It is up to the now official Starfox Team to vanquish Andorf once and for all, and bring peace to the Lylat System once again. Two new members have been added to your team to help fight Anorf: Miya and Fey. With them and two new types of planes, it is up to you to liberate known space.
[The whole review is broken up into three parts; one part devoted to one of the three known betas of the game]
[Beta 1] Multiplayer Beta:
This is the first official beta to Starfox 2. It introduces new and fresh ideas that differed a great deal from the first game. Though the menus aren't all that intuitive and it is by no means a finished looking game, it has a nice selection of levels, and characters/event situations. The main premise of the beta is to push two new game play concepts: 360-degree flight with nonlinear play and head to head multiplayer combat. It features three different aircraft including the Arwing. There's a light fighter plane, as well as a heavy bomber. The light fighter has lower shield power, but is faster and is the least maneuverable because of its speed. The heavy bomber is slower but handles better than the light fighter. The Arwing happens to have the best of both worlds. Rather than using Nova Bombs, your ship fires homing missiles that hit on target if you give the aiming reticle enough time lock on to the target. All three types of ships can transform into robotic mech walkers with the same attack capabilities of the ships. However, the controls for the mech walker mode are completely broken and the mechs move too slowly. The beta features two training modes: one that in text tells you how to play, and another where you can just fly and practice moving around. The flight mode features new sub screens that weren't present in the first Starfox game. A compass to complement the 360-degree flight mode makes navigation much easier, and the new shield read out features a series of green spheres that make it easier to discern your ship's condition better than a bar like readout that only shows that you are either alive or dead. There is also a mapped out green grid that shows your position within the mission area. Though the single player levels are meant for one to play, there is still another Arwing next to you when you start a level. You can even control it with the second controller, but there is only on view screen that is intended for player 1. In multiplayer mode you can choose your character with his/her ship including Andorf himself. The multiplayer is fun and easy to get used to, as all the characters, ship types, and level environments are well balanced. The previously stated sub screen features are in the multiplayer mode for both players and the screen layout is much better made than the screens in Stunt Race FX. The only low point of the beta is that there is a constant flicker on screen due to the extensive graphics and features push the SNES hardware to the utmost maximum. Also, if certain circumstances commit, the game will either freeze or reset by itself. Aside from that the beta is a very enjoyable experience and an interesting peek into the beginnings of Starfox 64.
[Beta 2] Campaign Beta:
For the second beta of the game, all the focus was put on making a revolutionary single player experience. This was done by fundamentally changing how levels would be taken on. Rather than choosing a preset path and going from one level to the next, the map of the Lylat System was made with no linear preset paths. Also, a strategic game mechanic was added to the game further radically changing it. On the "strategic" screen, you have to direct your party (of to fighters you choose earlier) around the map in search of enemy to attack and planets to liberate. Whether you are fighting in a "level"/mission area or directing your team on the strategy map, the clock is ticking and every action you take happens in real time. A feature that heightens the experience and makes the situation direr, the planet Corneria (your home planet, and the Lylat equivalent of Earth) has a damage percentage meter. It starts out at zero, and as it takes hits from missiles or Andorf's forces, it grows higher. If it reaches 100%, Corneria has been either destroyed or conquered by Adorf and the game is over for you. In this beta, you cannot use missiles; they go back to using the Nova Bombs. Also, the lack of control and speed of the mach walker mode is fixed so that it is actually worthwhile and fun to play in that mode. The constant flicker has been fixed as well, but the random glitches that freeze the game and/or reset the game have not and the bug kicks in too frequently to truly enjoy the game. The fact that it isn't import friendly and is completely in Japanese does not help whatsoever.
[Beta 3] Final Build:
This is the last beta to Starfox 2. This is the fully polished product and is import friendly; it is fully and properly translated in American English. The last few critical bugs are completely fixed, and the best features and mechanics from both the first and second betas are assimilated in this fully playable game. Additions in this beta include a defense satellite in on the strategic screen to help defend Cornerian space, the General Pepper coins that full heal health, the Starwolf team, and the cut scenes to fill the gaps for the various events that can occur in game. I dare say the game is more enjoyable and fun to play than Starfox 64 and the later Starfox games. It is that fun and functional, and it is a technological milestone in console gaming history. Absolutely no one should go without playing this game and its three betas if they are able...I am kanedajjj5757 of Gamespot, also known as Jon_Rivera of GiantBomb.com. I uploaded my review on Starfox 2 as an overview for the page of the same name on your site. I promise you it is my own work. Trust me, I am one of only a few people in the world who own the actual beta carts for the three Starfox 2 test betas. All the video coverage on this game (with the exception of Konxumer's fantastic video review) was of my doing. I gave Starfox 2 a 10/10 saying that absolutely no one should go without playing it. Since it is my own work, I am not at fault for plagerism and therefor, my piece should go on your site. If I can, I'll delete my gamespot version of the review/piece in order to serve the higher purpose. If I cannot then oh well.
- Posted Sep 5, 2008 12:48 pm PT
- Category: N/A
- 2 Comments
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9Jul 08
Our latest review is up! It's the Sega Master System's concersion of the arcade c|assic Hang On. Check it out!:
- Posted Jul 9, 2008 3:50 am PT
- Category: N/A
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15Jun 08
![[The Solid State ROMcast]](http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj196/kanedajjj5757/Romcast.jpg)
In this first showing of this podcast, I talk about what has been happening on the site as of late. I also go into how the site is structure and ask the folks out for feedback.Check it out:
[Solid State ROMcast: 6/15/08 Show]- Posted Jun 15, 2008 8:24 pm PT
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10Jun 08
The lastest coverage from The Solid State Gamer:
-We finally get our hands on the classic arcade style action game Balloon Fight for the Nintendo Entertainment System and it is glorious.
-You can now check out screenshots and box art for the vintage games we are covering on the site.
-The review for Super Mario Land (Game Boy) is finally ready for all to read. See what we think about Mario's first adventure on Gunpei Yokoi's magic machine (or the Game Boy, for those who do not know who created it):
[Super Mario Land (NGB) Review]
[Solid State Gamer] [Check it out]
- Posted Jun 10, 2008 8:40 pm PT
- Category: Games
- 2 Comments
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28Apr 08
Hello. I'm sure no one is curious about what's goin on with me, but if there is anyone who's curious... well, I'm back for a little while. I left for a while. Mostly because I am done with forums and people who want to have petty internet arguments. I've been doing some... stuff.
If you are into retrogaming, check it out:
[THE SOLID STATE GAMER]- Posted Apr 28, 2008 10:45 am PT
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13Nov 07Im done talking on forums and speaking my opinions as well as the facts that support them. Every time I do so, they all respond with the same old line of complete krap. And afterwards they insult me, as if Im starting something. Thats not kool at all. The internet is apparently no place for people to converse in a respecful, intellegent, and amiable conversation. I guess I have just been wasting my time with forum people...
- Posted Nov 13, 2007 7:54 pm PT
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- 17 Comments
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10Nov 07So, after Guitar Hero III, I tried the drums on Rock Band. Im stupid, so obviousy I started on hard. My friend and I tried that song by the Hive. I got way too into it, but I had no trouble with the drums, and I loved it! When my friend died on the guitar, I brought him back playing drums! I ended up getting 95%. Not bad I guess, but I need to improve if Im going to compete or join one of those fake bands (Im having enough trouble with my friend's band cus we dont have time to practice). But hey, at least I know can at least handle the drums to an extant...
- Posted Nov 10, 2007 10:53 am PT
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- 7 Comments
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10Nov 07So, I went to the local Best Buy with a couple of me best buds to try out Guitar Hero Three and Rock Band (Ill talk about that later). The was a line in the aisle to play this game, as well as Rock Band. When I got my chance, I got in the game and decided jump right in and play Rock You LikeA Hurricane on Hard. I was thinking I would fail early and show my lack of skill to everyone in line. Well, I was so much better than I thought I would that I started singing the song while playing. I got into the zone, which is something that rarely happens for me. But then again, I am a big fan of the Scorpions so I guess I makes sense. When I punched my name in it was the highest score on the song/difficulty. After that people were like "whoa!" which I thought was at the Rock Band demo, so I looked over to the demo and was saying "yeah I know! This Rock Band Demo looks sick, even running in 30 frames!". I was completely oblivious. I was asked if I had the game or even played it before, and I just told them, "I just like this song, but beyond that I havent played this game before. You wanna try?". everyone just backed away. I felt bad about it, so I just set down the controller and proceeded to -silently- watch the Rock Band Demo...
- Posted Nov 10, 2007 10:47 am PT
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10Nov 07
Im playing on the hard difficulty to start, and Im having a rad time playing it. But, Im having trouble with some of the note sequences. like:
----O
---O-
--O--
-O---
O----
and
---O-
----O
---O-
when they are all smoshed together in sequence.
Im thinking my issue is with the hammer ons and pull offs - I just cant figure those two out. Also I find that I am over strumming When it seems that Im only strumming once for each note.
If anyone could give me some pointers on how to tackle these problems, I would greatly appreciate it...
- Posted Nov 10, 2007 10:17 am PT
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- 1 Comment
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29Oct 07
I love this game. after hours of conditioning, i finally got myself back into real gaming. this is an example of a game worth playing and taking on the challenges of:
- Posted Oct 29, 2007 6:44 pm PT
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- 3 Comments
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29Oct 07
Well, it isnt exactly new, but whatever. I bought a Sega Master System. I also got some games. among them is the legendary game TransBot!...
- Posted Oct 29, 2007 5:35 pm PT
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- 6 Comments
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24Oct 07
... and it was good. I totally forgot how fun and challenging this game is. I dare say I found this game more immediately entertaining than Metroid. It took some time for me to get reacquanted with the grapple mechanic, but I picked it up relatively quickly. With Hitler's head exploding, I beat the game. Now, all I need to do is get a FamiClone and a copy of Top secret: Hitler's Revival (the Japanese version of Bionic commando)...
- Posted Oct 24, 2007 11:35 pm PT
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- 2 Comments
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24Oct 07
I got the console (plus all the cords/adapters and a controller) and some games:
Wave Race
Duke Nukem 64
007 The World is Not Enough
Pokemon Stadium
BattleTanx
Rainbow Six
and
Mission Impossible
Im still looking for some better games, but they're really hard to find. harder to find than NES games, I dare say...
- Posted Oct 24, 2007 9:59 am PT
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- 6 Comments
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24Oct 07I went to the localCash Convertersshop to see if they had any NES games. To my suprise I saw that they not only had some NES games, but there was also a Nintendo 64 model 1 console sitting on a shelf above some gamecartridges. I that mess of games I found the legendary N64 game 007 Goldeneye. I was so excited. However, It was $40.00 for both the game and the console and I did have that much on after going to the bank to deposit most of what I had on me. Also, the bank was closed so I couldnt go back. So I decided to wait it out till tomorrow. When I went back to buy it the console and the game were already gone. GONE!...
- Posted Oct 24, 2007 8:01 am PT
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- 2 Comments
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21Oct 07
Im really psyched about the remake of Bionic Commando. Coming from a guy who is against recreations/retellings andemulation, I think this is the first time in my life that ive ever been excited about thisrecreation. I grew up with the original game and was always fascinated with the key game play mechanic that was so rare in the world of video games at the time period. and even though the story comes off as rediculous, it still is a good story. now, an example of a bad story is Advent Rising's. though there are some element in the newer version of Bionic Commando that im not enthuesed about (the dreadlocks and the name being Nathan rather than Rad) the game looks relatively faithful so far. and despite the criticism from some saying that the grappling physics look like spiderman's - i like it. i mean, how else should swinging by use of a grapple look?? thats like complaining about a red delicious apple being the same shape as a macintosh apple. theres no other realistic way or style in which to swing from a rope-like grappling tool. thats it. done. and the reason Bionic Commando cant be compared to Spiderman 3 is because firstly, Bionic Commando isnt near finished and secondly, Spiderman 3 is one of the most krappy games ever and its a "finished game" though its quality doesnt suggest that. think of it as you will, but as for me, i honestly think this game could be a really rad release...
- Posted Oct 21, 2007 7:57 pm PT
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16Oct 07It took one whole day, but I designed a basic raycasting 3dtexture mapping engine andreprogrammed the DXN fabrication console to suppliment the engine. I tested the two pieces of software by making a small game. It is a first person puzzle maze game called The Electronic Labyrinth. It uses winding passage ways and optical illusions to throw off the player and test his or her memory and perception. If you want to try the game out you can find it on the Gamespot Games Union...
- Posted Oct 16, 2007 11:49 pm PT
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- 8 Comments
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13Oct 07I want to remake the DXN fabrication console to do this and Im thinking it willbe a follow up to my older game Sigmatropolis. and, like the first game, its going to be a mesh of modern technology and retro country scapes (I know it sounds weird, but it worked for the first game).Youtake on massivemobs of zombiesand they throw their "parts"at you kinda like the ones in Quake (that game was awsome and scary all at once if i remeber correctly). This might get in the way of the DXN project though...
- Posted Oct 13, 2007 11:34 pm PT
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- 7 Comments
