This game is depressing.

[wpykdg]

I hope this series gets another chance as a 2.5D platformer with a smaller budget at least. The fact that this game failed this quickly, is a testament of how far gaming has gone down the toilet. It's scary!

[Bluetomahawk222]

Its a brilliant premise, especially for a movie given the art, music, and well-written tie in novel... but a combo Yuji Naka directing and Arzest developing are a kiss of death.

It’s starting to occur to me the reason we dont see many 3d platformer collectathons outside of mario these days is because they were the AAA titles of their time

[RPG Gamer Man]

Originally posted by Bluetomahawk222:

Its a brilliant premise, especially for a movie given the art, music, and well-written tie in novel... but a combo Yuji Naka directing and Arzest developing are a kiss of death.

It’s starting to occur to me the reason we dont see many 3d platformer collectathons outside of mario these days is because they were the AAA titles of their time

It is also because mario has set standards for all over platformers to follow. If the game is not like any mario game, it usually gets cut down...even older platformers that followed this premise did too..with a few exceptions, like banjo, hat in time, etc. Most of the other ones people complain about them and stopped buying them. That is why some of the old ones are rare nowaday, and even people making new ones. If it does not stand up to mario game standards, people consider it crap. I have a couple rare console platformers that were never popular due to mario.

Some of these unpopular platformers had their own weird mechanics too..like WURM on nes used movie style cut scenes then switched to platformer levels. Rad gravity had upside down gravity when you went to certain worlds. Kid chameleon used transformation to get around certain levels. Wonder boy series used many mechanics even before they were ever seen in the mario franchise, but none of these games got the popularity like mario games did. Hence, mario games set the standard of all platformers after all it's success.

Some older platformers also made themself different from how they were. Castlevaina is probably the biggest one here. For example, the original castlevania was considered a side scrolling platformer, but this changed with the second game, as it was a platformer with rpg elements. Then they even changed more for third game, and the rest is history. Metroid was also a platformer, but because of the way it played, got it's own following and even some games are coined after it. Even though blaster master original games are similiar to metriod games, they never got the same popularity as the metroid series. Legend of the wizard was also a platformer like metroid, but again, did not have the popularity like metroid. Some platformers just die. Also, do not even get me started on the wizard and warrior series annoying jumping platforming mechanics..it died off too..although i own the games on nes.

[@R+5]

This game failed, because it feels rushed.

Originally posted by RPG Gamer Man:

It is also because mario has set standards for all over platformers to follow.

That was true more than 20 years ago. Many platformers after mario included unique game mechanics to stand alone, and be successful, even if not as popular, like early sonic games, or even donkey kong 1 and 2 from the snes era.

What makes most mario games attractive, and keeps the franchise alive, is that the games usually focus first in offering great gameplay and making movement feel good and fast. Then the visual design comes in second place, which is simple but doesnt feel repetitive. Each object feels "handcrafted". They downside its that sometimes level decoration may feel "too minimalist", and a bit empty, but better less than too much with poor taste.

imo thats one of the main issues of this game: a lot of the objects and decorations in every level of this game feel generic and cloned, which is a consequence of poor directing skills in art department (not the art or the design itself, which is a matter of taste).

Its also obvious that the devs tried to emulate some elements from "a hat in time", but failed.

imo the suits are pretty lame or ridiculous, like kindergarden costumes (even the special suits in mario game are a lot more tasteful, even if they are "silly" to be funny or playful).

Originally posted by RPG Gamer Man:

the original castlevania was considered a side scrolling platformer, but this changed with the second game, as it was a platformer with rpg elements.

The core of the game didnt changed:
devs understood they did something right. castlevania 2 added new elements but didnt changed the basic aspects of gameplay that made it unique and that people liked.

The castlevania that changed in a more significant way the gameplay was castlevania 4, because the whip offered more control. Sadly konami didnt made another game like it.

Originally posted by RPG Gamer Man:

Metroid was also a platformer, but because of the way it played, got it's own following and even some games are coined after it. Even though blaster master original games are similiar to metriod games, they never got the same popularity as the metroid series.

some games are "coined" as "metroidvanias", not because of metroid, but because of castlevania sotn, which mixed very effectively elements of both games: the combat of castlevania, and the exploration elements of metroid.

Before sotn, the future of metroid as a franchise was uncertain. nintendo was focusing more in mario and zelda.

Blaster master is very different to metroid, and has a unique gameplay satyle. Imo it failed to become more popular because it has poor level design and levels become boring and repetitive. I liked a lot the posibility of switching between foot or vehicle, but the levels dont take much advantage of that.

if blaster master was redesigned to incorporate more elements of the metroidvania formula, and then of the almost forgotten "mecha genre" it could be a lot more interesting. one of the best were armored core games, which actually have many elements that feel similar to dark souls games because they were made by the same devs.

[Kimarnic]

Bruh, you cant just make a 1 button game.
People hate Balan Wonderworld because it has bad gameplay.
Jumping should always be there, they should've made less costumes and just make Jumping permanent, that would've helped the game.

And those QTEs are awful

And Balan shouldn't be on the cover, you don't even control him like you do with Nights in Nights into Dreams

Instead of getting this much hate, it would've gotten "meh" reviews

And also the 59.99 price tag, jesus christ it deserves to be 29.99

[wpykdg]

Originally posted by Bluetomahawk222:

Its a brilliant premise, especially for a movie given the art, music, and well-written tie in novel... but a combo Yuji Naka directing and Arzest developing are a kiss of death.

It’s starting to occur to me the reason we dont see many 3d platformer collectathons outside of mario these days is because they were the AAA titles of their time

I'm gonna read the book and watch all the cutscenes, just to see what really went wrong development/planning wise.

[TemmieNeko]

Originally posted by Hatsune Miku:

Bruh, you cant just make a 1 button game.
People hate Balan Wonderworld because it has bad gameplay.
Jumping should always be there, they should've made less costumes and just make Jumping permanent, that would've helped the game.

And those QTEs are awful

And Balan shouldn't be on the cover, you don't even control him like you do with Nights in Nights into Dreams

Instead of getting this much hate, it would've gotten "meh" reviews

And also the 59.99 price tag, jesus christ it deserves to be 29.99

you DO control Balan lmao.
just that one tiny thing there kinda puts you in the bandwagon camp of : idk a thing :
and I don't mean the Balan Bouts.
Balan is an obtainable outfit in the game.
suck an egg, lol.
you haters reaach so hard, and for what? to prove your ignorance?

[Bluetomahawk222]

Originally posted by unknownsoul:

Originally posted by Bluetomahawk222:

Its a brilliant premise, especially for a movie given the art, music, and well-written tie in novel... but a combo Yuji Naka directing and Arzest developing are a kiss of death.

It’s starting to occur to me the reason we dont see many 3d platformer collectathons outside of mario these days is because they were the AAA titles of their time

I'm gonna read the book and watch all the cutscenes, just to see what really went wrong development/planning wise.

Have fun!

[TemmieNeko]

Originally posted by unknownsoul:

Originally posted by Bluetomahawk222:

Its a brilliant premise, especially for a movie given the art, music, and well-written tie in novel... but a combo Yuji Naka directing and Arzest developing are a kiss of death.

It’s starting to occur to me the reason we dont see many 3d platformer collectathons outside of mario these days is because they were the AAA titles of their time

I'm gonna read the book and watch all the cutscenes, just to see what really went wrong development/planning wise.

my guess, is Billy Hatcher is the reason. think of all the things that did, ( and how it failed badly ) and then see this, Yuji's newest IP attempt.
It's everything Hatcher wasn't, but that also means the bad stuff, too.

Yuji needs to focus test ideas, bc he gets out of hand lol.
a little more complexity and control in the game, and this would've been a decent romp for most people

[RPG Gamer Man]

Originally posted by @R+5:

This game failed, because it feels rushed.

Originally posted by RPG Gamer Man:

It is also because mario has set standards for all over platformers to follow.

That was true more than 20 years ago. Many platformers after mario included unique game mechanics to stand alone, and be successful, even if not as popular, like early sonic games, or even donkey kong 1 and 2 from the snes era.

What makes most mario games attractive, and keeps the franchise alive, is that the games usually focus first in offering great gameplay and making movement feel good and fast. Then the visual design comes in second place, which is simple but doesnt feel repetitive. Each object feels "handcrafted". They downside its that sometimes level decoration may feel "too minimalist", and a bit empty, but better less than too much with poor taste.

imo thats one of the main issues of this game: a lot of the objects and decorations in every level of this game feel generic and cloned, which is a consequence of poor directing skills in art department (not the art or the design itself, which is a matter of taste).

Its also obvious that the devs tried to emulate some elements from "a hat in time", but failed.

imo the suits are pretty lame or ridiculous, like kindergarden costumes (even the special suits in mario game are a lot more tasteful, even if they are "silly" to be funny or playful).

Originally posted by RPG Gamer Man:

the original castlevania was considered a side scrolling platformer, but this changed with the second game, as it was a platformer with rpg elements.

The core of the game didnt changed:
devs understood they did something right. castlevania 2 added new elements but didnt changed the basic aspects of gameplay that made it unique and that people liked.

The castlevania that changed in a more significant way the gameplay was castlevania 4, because the whip offered more control. Sadly konami didnt made another game like it.

Originally posted by RPG Gamer Man:

Metroid was also a platformer, but because of the way it played, got it's own following and even some games are coined after it. Even though blaster master original games are similiar to metriod games, they never got the same popularity as the metroid series.

some games are "coined" as "metroidvanias", not because of metroid, but because of castlevania sotn, which mixed very effectively elements of both games: the combat of castlevania, and the exploration elements of metroid.

Before sotn, the future of metroid as a franchise was uncertain. nintendo was focusing more in mario and zelda.

Blaster master is very different to metroid, and has a unique gameplay satyle. Imo it failed to become more popular because it has poor level design and levels become boring and repetitive. I liked a lot the posibility of switching between foot or vehicle, but the levels dont take much advantage of that.

if blaster master was redesigned to incorporate more elements of the metroidvania formula, and then of the almost forgotten "mecha genre" it could be a lot more interesting. one of the best were armored core games, which actually have many elements that feel similar to dark souls games because they were made by the same devs.

Thanks for pointing those out. Forgot to add i love Klonia as a platformer, but it very underated when it came out. It had 2 games in the series and sometime i wish they would be put on steam sometime. The games are beautiful and wonderful 3d platformers with great stories on them.