DEV Community: Salmonx's Review Archieve

My personal blog

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 15:53:10 +0000

#REVIEW 4 HADES

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 06:47:46 +0000

*Game Concept
*
Although the name is Hades, in the game "Hades" refers to the underworld, and the protagonist is Hades' son - in the game, the player will play as the character named Zagreus, with the intention of escaping from hell and reuniting with his birth mother, returning to Mount Olympus. To achieve this, he needs to take up arms and conquer hell, ultimately facing his father, Hades the lord of the underworld, to get out of the underworld. In the game, the player-controlled character will collect blessings from various Olympian gods, and through repeated deaths and escapes, accumulate new resources, unlock different weapon forms, and unravel the mysteries of their family.

Highlights:
The Greek mythology theme is very appealing. The various characters in the game are real gods from Greek mythology, and players can learn a bit about their stories in Greek myths through the relationships between the protagonist and other characters, or even by killing monsters to understand the background of certain weapons in Greek myths. Players can also give gifts to characters to gain keepsakes, increasing the gods' favor and learning deeper details, or even going on dates with male and female characters. With the backdrop of Greek mythology, the gods are more like powerful humans, so this setting is a wise choice for exploring ethics, conflicts, and contradictions between the gods.

*Gameplay Mechanics
*
Randomness
This is a roguelike game, so its levels have a high degree of randomness, including enemies, combat maps, buffs obtained, and even random bosses. This random gameplay is a reason why roguelikes are so enjoyable. When you enter a buff room, you never know if you'll face a horde of monsters, a room full of healing fountains, or a room with an NPC. You also can't know what kind of enhancements the god you choose will give you. When you replay levels many times, the bosses you face may even be different from previous ones. This randomness becomes a driving force for players since each run features new elements. Hades' ending requires completing multiple runs, so this random gameplay is especially important.

Combat, Buffs, and Debuffs
The combat experience in this game is very smooth and satisfying. Players can choose from six different weapons with corresponding attack styles to complete levels. The combos are fluid and impactful, with regular attacks, special attacks, throwing attacks, and the ability to summon gods for support. When you enter a room and kill all the monsters, you'll receive a corresponding room buff, such as healing or a god's blessing that enhances certain attack styles. The debuffs come into play when you've completed a run, and subsequent runs increase the difficulty by giving the player debuffs and buffing the enemies for a greater challenge. Some buffs last for a number of encounters, some persist for the entire game, and some may first debuff the player before providing a buff. Overall, there are numerous combat mechanics and variations.

Resource Acquisition
During gameplay, choosing rooms containing resources like keys or gift ambrosia allows you to unlock weapons, gain buffs through keepsakes, and more. Money earned from killing monsters can purchase healing items and god blessings. Choosing rooms with Darkness crystals provides permanent stat upgrades. Rooms with gems offer beneficial effects. You accumulate resources through repeated adventures and battles in the underworld, and after dying, all items except money carry over, so each death makes you stronger.

Art and Music
The game's character designs use a Western art style, accurately depicting the gods' chiseled features and human forms in exquisite detail. While referencing ancient Greek paintings and sculptures, the designs also have an original twist, such as unique skin tones and hairstyles for characters like Megaera and Hypnos. The architecture evokes a sense of grand yet ominous underworld majesty fitting for Greek design. The game's background music and voice acting are also highlights - the music has a tight rhythm, with an impactful battle soundtrack, especially the haunting BGM in the hall of Hades, evoking the solemn atmosphere of the underworld lord judging souls. The voice acting is exceptional, perfectly capturing each character's persona in a pleasing way.

Overall Review:

True Helltaker
In this game, players can experience the genuine thrill of conquering hell. The combat effects are intense and visually stunning. Each of the six weapons (bow, sword, fists, gun, shield, spear) has different unlockable forms, and the developers created numerous combos combining regular and special attacks. I preferred using fists and guns, especially the ranged gun attacks for satisfying bombardment—take that, modern technology! The sound effects for killing enemies are also immensely satisfying, especially the impactful feel of punches and spears piercing through flesh and objects, really getting you pumped up. While dying frequently is inevitable in this type of game, your belongings (except money) carry over after death to upgrade your character's talents, making you stronger with each attempt to conquer hell and ultimately defeat its ruler in a truly gratifying experience.
Enriching the Story Through Multiple Challenges
The developers employed a clever trick to motivate players to keep challenging the game—essentially, roguelikes have relatively short level sequences, so randomness is a major factor in sustaining gameplay. However, beyond that, the story and setting also compel players to keep playing. On my first completed run, I didn't get the full story—the prince of the underworld meets his mother, then dies again, suggesting I needed to continue playing to truly reunite with my family. Learning the background of weapons, enemies, and each Olympian god also requires killing certain enemy types or exchanging keepsakes for lore, providing impetus to progress further.
Wondrous Gameplay Beyond the Roguelike
While primarily a roguelike, this game hides many delightful features beyond the main path, like construction, pet raising, fishing, and even dating. Outside of the main story, the game is remarkably rich in optional content. I particularly enjoyed searching for fish in the lava lakes of the Asphodel Meadows over combat, and petting the adorable three-headed Cerberus pup in the hall of Hades is its own joy. Many achievements are tied to these whimsical activities, like unlocking new construction areas.

Overall Rate
Game Setting: 9
Art & Music: 9 (Art 5, Music 4)
Gameplay: 9
Overall: 9/10

REVIEW#3 Helltaker

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 05:31:18 +0000

*Game Concept
*
Background Story: As a pancake chef, the player wakes up one day to find they've assembled a harem of demon girls. To realize this crazy dream, you summon Beelzebub and open the gates of hell. Despite the certain dangers of hell, the thought of countless girls there makes it worthwhile. With infinite respawns, you're willing to pay any price, including your life, to obtain these girls, build a harem, talk to them, and win them over!

Highlights: While the plot sounds unreasonable or even absurd, who can resist a harem of personified demon characters?! The in-game characters are personifications of the seven deadly sins, mostly with white hair and red eyes - irresistible to every otaku. The dialogue options with each demon girl are heart-racing. Will you choose to win them over, or receive their "punishments" that are actually rewards?

Gameplay

Flirting
To win over these cute girls with diverse personalities, dialogue is essential. When talking to them, you'll have two options. You need to choose the correct option based on your impression of them. If you choose wrong, you might face "punishment" from these girls. When you successfully win over these demons, they'll provide help and hints for conquering the next demon. Your dialogue options are rich - you can flirt with characters or act like a tough guy saying you're off to win over other girls. The resulting endings may vary. How would you approach winning over this tired, bespectacled demon girl?

Box-pushing Puzzles
Before meeting these demon girls, players need to realize they have their own rooms (either locked up or their personal rooms). Players need to solve puzzles to reach these rooms. To build your harem, you need to defeat guards within a set number of moves, avoid floor spikes on the map, push boxes blocking the path, obtain the key to open the room, and win the beauty. This mechanism isn't complex, mainly testing the player's speed and route planning ability. It's a relatively easy puzzle.

Rhythm-based Boss Avoidance
During the conquest process, a judge appears as a boss trying to judge you, putting you in a machine with chains and spikes. Avoiding chains requires following the music's rhythm. Players also need to destroy the chains serving as the boss's health bar. They appear and disappear, so players need to master the rhythm of the music and the timing of these chains to know when to attack. However, in my perspective, it's relatively easy.

Art and Music
The game's art style is very memorable and well-crafted, especially in depicting characters' faces and figures. It's a mix of Western and anime styles, with impressive facial features, especially the eyes. The character designs in terms of clothing and appearance are very appealing. The background music is also catchy, especially the BGM 'Vitality' during box-pushing, which is very dynamic as its name suggests. The game's background music is mainly electronic. Although not very melodic, each track is addictive with dense, energetic beats.

Overall Review

-Does anyone really dislike animation characters with white hair and red eyes?
The game's high rating on Steam is largely due to its art style. The characters look good, so even if the gameplay is simple and monotonous, it's still psychologically pleasing. You basically don't need to think to conquer girls and become a winner in life - who wouldn't give it a good review? Even hardcore gamers might succumb to the charm of white-haired, red-eyed demon beauties. It might not be a great game, but the author certainly captured players' psychology, and it's free.

-Somewhat Disappointing Gameplay
However, the gameplay is a bit disappointing compared to the art style and background music. The game isn't very engaging, and I finished it in about an hour. Although the box-pushing puzzles and chain-avoiding boss battles did take some time to solve, you can choose to skip the box-pushing and directly approach the demon girls, making the whole game process rather monotonous and thin. However, for a harem game, the focus isn't on gameplay but on character design, which we all understand. So the mildly stimulating puzzles and boss battles, while mediocre for ordinary games, are passable for this type of game, similar to visual novels. After all, some visual novels are purely CG.

-Seven Deadly Sin Demons, but CUTE
The character design in the game is interesting. The demons are titled after the seven deadly sins, like Lust Demon, Pride Demon, etc., but their personalities show difference- the Pride Demon joins your harem for a pancake, being tsundere. The Lust Demon actually gets shy when flirted with, seemingly naive about certain things. The acerbic Envy Demon actually loves playing games, maybe choosing to follow you because of games. Dialoguing with these characters and experiencing their gap moe personalities is a very interesting part. Perhaps this is why the game has many memes and fan comics despite its short length.

Ratings
Concept:8
Art&Music:9(Art 5 Music 5)
Gameplay:7
Overall:8/10

REVIEW#2 Undertale

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 05:05:48 +0000

*Game Concept
*
Background:
Long ago, a conflict arose between humans and monsters. The monsters were defeated by humans who possessed the powerful ability of Determination (i.e., save and load). The monsters were forced to be sealed in an underground world. Seven wizards set up a barrier on Mt. Ebott. As monsters' souls lack the strength of human souls, they cannot pass through the barrier. Only humans can cross the barrier on Mt. Ebott and enter the underground world, while monsters cannot leave. Only by gathering seven human souls can the monsters escape from the barrier. Years later, a human named Frisk falls into Mt. Ebott. As the player controlling Frisk, you will embark on an adventure in the underground world following Frisk's fall. The monsters in the underground world are not all enemies; you can control Frisk to choose to spare them, make friends with them, or play in the traditional RPG style by defeating these "monsters".

Key Features:
Unlike other games, this game has an innovative "Mercy" and "Fight" system, offering a new style of gameplay. Besides fighting, players can also befriend the monsters, even "date" and "flirt" with them, and peacefully exit the underground world, achieving a peaceful ending in this fairy tale-like background story. If you choose to pursue the "Genocide Route" leading to the "Massacre Ending", you must kill all characters and ultimately face what might be one of the most difficult bosses in RPG games. Everything is based on the decisions you make as a player. You control this character named Frisk using the "save/load" "Determination" from behind the scenes, choosing to either save these "monsters" or become a "monster" yourself.

Gameplay Mechanics

Combat
As a turn-based RPG, this game includes encounters with monsters. However, the monsters' attack style may be inspired by the "Touhou Project" games created by Shanghai Alice Ensemble, featuring bullet hell gameplay. Players need to control a heart-shaped object within the battle box to dodge the monsters' bullet patterns to avoid losing HP. If HP reaches zero, players return to their previous save point. The game's level system, LV, corresponds to your "Level of Violence". Killing monsters increases your LV and extends your health bar, not because you're getting stronger, but because the character you control is bearing more sins. This mechanic prompts deep reflection. When your LV reaches a certain height, it triggers a judgment - a boss battle. In this scenario, you must kill all monsters and continuously move up and down to refresh monster encounters.

Mercy
Besides fighting, you can choose more interesting ways to handle encounters, such as sparing monsters or talking to them. For instance, some minor enemies might only attack because they're scared, in which case you can choose to "comfort" them to end the battle, or even flee. This breaks from traditional RPG approaches, offering a second choice. When you encounter a mini-boss named Papyrus, sparing him and becoming friends allows you to go on a date and visit his room. When facing another mini-boss named Mettaton, you might need to help boost his ratings by striking poses in the interaction options. This innovative gameplay allows for character interaction during battles, reflecting the author's character development.

Money and Item System
In-game currency can be obtained by sparing or killing monsters, or by picking up items in certain areas and selling them in shops. Money can be used to purchase items and food that restore health. These items can be crucial in certain situations. For example, when facing the mini-boss Muffet, your purchase history of certain foods might help you avoid a boss battle. Items you buy with money might increase your invincibility time or defense. Players can choose to sell items at shops in each area, but the selling prices might vary, so players need to choose where to sell strategically.

Art and Music

In terms of pure graphical quality, Undertale's art style is not the most outstanding, and might even be considered somewhat rudimentary. Its highest quality character graphics are arguably for a boss that's ugly to the point of being abstract. The scene designs also appear simplistic. Personally, I believe this might be the only aspect of the game that could be criticized. However, the character designs are quite memorable, which is a redeeming factor.

The music, in contrast to the art, is exceptional. I almost feel like the author created a game to promote the music. The developer's choice of music fits the plot perfectly. When "Reunited" plays, you realize the game has truly ended. When "Hopes and Dreams" sounds, you can feel the determination of the player controlling the protagonist in the final peaceful route boss battle, striving relentlessly to save the boss.

Although many of the game's tracks have similar tones, with several pieces essentially being variations of others with different styles and instruments, they are perfectly applied to different plot points. For example, when the player kills all the monsters in an area, the background music slows down, becoming incredibly eerie and oppressive.

**
Comprehensive Review **
-"This is a terrible game because you can't see the screen through your tears"
That underground world was once a past I couldn't escape. As a player, I could feel the soul of every monster during each conversation. I can't forget the torturous feeling of spending an entire afternoon unable to defeat Sans, watching friends from the previous route become victims. While monster souls may be fragile, at this moment, their qualities indeed affected the player behind the screen. It's like Sans breaking the fourth wall to question the player's determined soul. Thus, I ultimately chose to reset the entire game after defeating Sans, restarting the pacifist route. After completing the pacifist ending and hearing the "Reunited" BGM, I nearly cried. I walked the in-game paths I had traversed many times, returning to where I first fell. Seeing that initial companion, I chose to no longer interfere with the game world. For three years after, I never opened it again—but it remains on my computer—believing that the characters in the game are living their post-pacifist lives in the saved file. This fills me with determination.

-Game design that breaks RPG traditions
It's hard to imagine this game was released in 2015. Its gameplay allowing choices between fighting and mercy can be considered extremely ahead of its time. The concept of LV = LEVEL OF VIOLENCE is a soul-searching question for players used to traditional RPG approaches—is violent killing really the only way to complete a game? Can we finish the game without killing any character? Undertale indeed shows us another way to complete a game. If you insist on fighting as a player, you'll find the bullet pattern designs for each character are unique—Sans uses bones to fight, while Undyne's battle requires you to block her spears. The battle process also reflects characters' personalities—like Sans falling asleep mid-battle, just as he's a "lazybones" in daily life.

-Undoubtedly the Ninth Art
This is a game that perfectly integrates many elements. As a player, you can glimpse the plot through the combat and level-clearing game mechanics, and also infer the purpose of battles from the story. The background music, as game aesthetics, serves as a perfect complement. These interlocking designs fulfill the game designer's purpose. Just as art is defined as a medium that conveys emotions and values, and creates atmosphere in some way, in Undertale it even moves from the level of "appreciation" to "participation" in art. It's a masterpiece of game design.

Overall Review:
Concept: 10
Art & Music: 8
(Music 5, Art 3)
Gameplay: 10
Overall: 9.3/10

REVIEW#1 Do not feed the monkeys

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 04:38:06 +0000

Background Story:
Players will take on the role of a member of a primate observation club. They will use surveillance cameras to observe the actions of "monkeys," or various NPC passersby in the game, without their knowledge. Players will deduce events through the NPCs' dialogues. "Feeding the monkeys" refers to interacting with the observed NPCs.

In real life, the player is a part-time worker. While observing these primates, they must also earn money to maintain their livelihood and purchase cages to prevent being kicked out of the club. If players interact with the monkeys, they may face unfortunate endings, but this is also a way to earn money.

**Key features

When playing games in the past, we might have encountered unsatisfying endings due to our lack of understanding of certain things. However, in this game, the developers directly provide players with a god-like perspective that allows them to peek into everyone's lives. How will players choose this time? If players have an omniscient view, do they have the right to control their own ending, or can they only be bystanders peeking at everything happening around them to satisfy their own pleasure?
Here's the translation of the gameplay mechanics you described:

Gameplay Mechanics

Surveillance Simulation The core gameplay primarily simulates the process of surveillance and voyeurism. Players will find words highlighted in yellow within the monitored conversations. Clicking on these words records them in a notebook, allowing players to deduce and solve various events through reasoning. The initial surveillance system comes with only 4 cages, so players need to work part-time jobs to purchase more cages and upgrade their surveillance system level. Otherwise, they'll be expelled from the club (game over).

Money System Money is a crucial resource in the game. Players need money both to maintain their livelihood and to purchase cages. Each cage costs 50 units of currency. Without money, players will either starve to death or be kicked out of the game, both resulting in game over. There are two main ways to earn money: a) Working part-time jobs, which can be boring and deviates from the main gameplay. b) Using the surveillance cameras. For example, players can record videos of the monkeys (although this also costs money) and upload them online to earn money. This method satisfies the voyeuristic thrill more. Players can even interact with the monkeys and the club, answering questions for rewards, which involves some puzzle-solving elements.

Decision Making and Time Management As a simulation management game, players need to manage their time effectively. The game's time is calculated in days, and the NPC monkeys appear at specific times. Players need to allocate their time wisely for part-time work and earning money when the monkeys aren't present. The game also includes satiety and energy levels. Working consumes satiety, so players need to devise the most suitable time allocation strategy based on their various stats.

*Art and Music
*
This is a pixel art game with a retro aesthetic. The room where the player resides has a dark and oppressive atmosphere, while the images from the surveillance cameras give players a distorted and eerie feeling. The pixel art style is likely chosen to soften the uncomfortable sensation of peeping into others' lives in reality.

The game's background music interweaves noise with playful, mocking tunes. This combination captures both the ironically twisted pleasure of secretly watching others in a confined space and conveys emotions of unease and suppression through the noise elements. The main melody of the in-game music doesn't vary significantly, but it's worth noting the subtle BGM changes that occur when observing different events.

This artistic and musical approach enhances the game's themes of voyeurism, moral ambiguity, and psychological tension. The pixel art style creates a visual distance that allows players to engage with the potentially uncomfortable subject matter, while the music reinforces the conflicting emotions of fascination and unease that the gameplay is likely to evoke.

Comprehensive Review
**
Experience the Thrill of Voyeurism**
This game's novel approach of extending the theme of voyeurism into a simulation management game is quite innovative. Although it transforms the act of peeping from a furtive behavior into a "justified" task—failing which could end the game—it's an intriguing gameplay mechanic. As a player recommended by a classmate, my first impression was, "How can there be such an abstract theme!" However, upon reflection, this theme does satisfy our daily desire to "visually intrude" on others' lives. While the art may not be the most outstanding feature, it effectively conveys a sense of oppression within the surveillance room, successfully communicating the game's intent.
**
Puzzle-solving, but with Fragmented Information
**Although the game includes puzzle-solving elements, the overly fragmented information isn't particularly player-friendly. When I first played, I spent a long time haphazardly noting down the yellow words in the notebook before I could deduce specific events, sometimes needing to consult walkthroughs. The essence of puzzle games is to arrive at answers through reasoning, but here, the connections between clues are weak. Even logical deduction takes a considerable amount of time to reach answers. It could be described as brain-burning, or perhaps as a deduction game that doesn't really resemble logical reasoning.

Big Brother = Player?
The game has a profound satirical intent. Since the developer has previously created dystopian games, I personally suspect there are elements inspired by George Orwell's 1984. In the game, players can satisfy their voyeuristic urges, controlling many unknown factors as "Big Brother"—but what about in reality? Are we also just unintelligent monkeys in the eyes of some existing entities? Even with a god's-eye view, it doesn't necessarily lead to a happy ending. We might starve to death by neglecting basic needs like satiety while constantly prying into others' privacy. Perhaps this is also a satire on those who constantly invade others' privacy while neglecting their own well-being.
Review
Concept: 9
Art & Music: 8 (Art 4, Music 4)
Gameplay: 9
Overall: 8.6/10

Nintendo’s Secret of its Success on Games:Creating a Collective Memory

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 02:14:51 +0000

a.Context
In 2023, Nintendo released had sold 100 million switches around the globe. Holding one of the biggest IP-Pokemon, Nintendo had became one of the most successful gaming company in the world(McDonald, 2023). This Japanese technological giant created another miracle in gaming field. While, it is interesting to find that Nintendo designed made a difference even among thousands of released video games in present. Factors which make Nintendo’s games such successful are creating a collective memory through series, having innovative game mechanics, and having the core design theme of bringing fun.

b.Main Research Question(s):
A)Nintendo’s games evolve in series. How do Nintendo’s games evolve in series and creating a collective central theme at the same time?
B)Nintendo’s games created unique gameplays. Where do these game’s mechanics inspired from?
C)Nintendo has its own philosophy in designing video games. How does the elements of its game serve for the central theme of ‘fun’ and ‘evoking happiness’?
C.Tentative Answer:
A) Nintendo will establish a core theme while creating its first game in one series, then establish gameplay and several stories according to the central theme. Its game mechanics will evolve through generations of play, keeping its original core of gameplay found in the first generation. This created a collective memory for the players, especially for those fans of one specific series of games. For example, Nintendo’s most famous game, Pokemon, has nine generations: Red&Green, Gold&Silver, Emerald&Ruby, Black&White, Pearl&Diamond, X&Y, Sun&Moon, Shield&Sword, and Red& purple. From the very beginning of the series, it had already formed a core theme of human interaction with nature, and when it came to the gameplay, it became the training system of Pokemon, which illustrated the relationship between these fantastic creatures and the avatar players controlled-the trainer(Laato, 2021). The game itself did refine and expand the mechanics through twenty-eight years since it added a new battle system like Mega Evolution in its X&Y series, allowing specific Pokemon to evolve into a more potent form, and the Z-Moves, which created stronger attacks(IGN.com). However, the core gameplay of training Pokemon and making these pals stronger remains the same, and the players can still see familiar Pokemon like Pikachu or Charmander even in the new series. This will let their fans remember their past of battling with more robust trainers and leveling up their virtual partners, thus forming a collective memory between players and the game.
B) Nintendo's games often evoke a sense of nostalgia in players' minds, which establishes links to the players' life experiences in their early ages(MacDonald, 2023). The childhood experiences of the game designers inspire the game's mechanics. Legend of Zelda was one of the most famous and most significant series in gaming history, having one game, Breath of the Wild, as the Annual Game in the 2017 TGA award and another game, Tears of the Kingdom as the 2023 Annual Game in IGN(world's most prominent media for reviewing video games), while its creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, created these masterpieces from his memories in childhood times(www.NPR.org). 'I grew up in the countryside of Japan. And that meant I spent much of my time playing in the rice paddies, exploring the hillsides, and having fun outdoors. When I got into the upper elementary school ages, I got into hiking and mountain climbing. I drew on that inspiration when we were working on the Legend of Zelda game, and we were creating this grand outdoor adventure where you go through these narrowed confined spaces and come upon this great lake.' said Miyamoto in his interview with NPR(www.NPR.org). Zooming into the specific game mechanics of the Zelda series, it could be seen that the Ultrahand is when players fuse a branch and a stone like they had played with Lego bricks; the exploration in the vast open world of Hyrule was like exploring the natural world since youthful times, and the whole storytelling of Hero-saving-Princess was one of the most familiar fairy tales in the world(zelda.nintendo.org). Childhood created sparks in the game designers' hearts, triggering them to finish these excellent mechanics; then, through these impressive gameplays, Nintendo seemed to reverse time and transport players back into their childhood's carefree and joyous days.
C)Nintendo’s game design philosophy is to evoke happiness and create joy for players. To achieve this, Nintendo first created colorful, adorable characters in terms of game aesthetics. The image on the left was a character called Bulbasaur(pokemon.com). The animal frog inspired this Pokemon. However, the pale green color, the big eyes, and the smiling expression made it much cuter than its original form. As the player captures Bulbasaur as their Pokemon, a sense of happiness might be evoked as they watch these lovely creatures enter a battle or level up successfully. Mario from Super Mario is another example(mario.nintendo.com); its exaggerated huge nose, beards, and the combination of red, white, and blue expressed a comical image that was funny, ridiculous, and clownish, which was another way to evoke the player’s laughter. These colorful characters spark playfulness and imagination, no matter how old the players are(Macdonald,2023).

Its surprises in the gameplay are another key to evoking joy. Besides the traditional jumping mechanics, Super Mario added props like mushrooms to enhance the character’s skills or Tanooki suits, which could make the avatar, Mario, disguise itself as a statue for five seconds. In the Pokemon series, there were ‘Shiny Pokemon’ and “Mythical Pokemon” hidden inside the game, awaiting the players to find them surprisingly in a cave; in Zelda, the exploration of the open world itself is already a process of finding countless surprises in every corner of the world. Players could gain universal joy from these little surprises, which fit Nintendo’s design philosophy.
D)Connected Research Question(s):
A)How does Nintendo create its universe through comics, games and movies, which lead to the popularity of its IPs?
B)Why does most games in the present apply the key position settings that was originally established on Nintendo Switches and Gameboys in the past ?
C) Nintendo has a strong sense of copyrights, and its ministry of law has an interesting nickname called ‘the strongest ministry of law in Eastern Hemisphere”, how does this help Nintendo on its path of ‘ruling the world’?

E.Value of Research:
This research aimed to analyze why Nintendo became successful in the gaming field from the aspect of game design, aesthetics, and theme-establishing. The author who conducted the research is an ardent gamer and a student who would major in game design and wanted to discover the core of game design-evoking joy. Thus, this research also provides a broader perspective from a gamer to find the critical secret of being successful in creating video games. It will represent the view of Nintendo’s fans and introduce the game mechanics to other players who read this research, recommending the advantages of Nintendo’s games and unique design philosophy. This research not only benefits readers of this article, allowing them to download the games of Nintendo and find the happiness of gaming, but also offers Nintendo potential consumers who would like to play Pokemon, Zelda, and Mario series and buy a switch, creating possible profits for this corporation, according to the YouTuber AVGN, to make a closer step of ‘ruling the world.’ Overall, this research had commercial value for the company itself and was also beneficial for players, creating emotional value for the fans of Nintendos and academic value for other game designers. Therefore, it is a research that is mutually beneficial for everyone.

LEGEND OF ZELDA:TEARS OF THE KINGDOM REVIEW

Salmonx's Review Archieve — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 05:07:34 +0000

Separated from Princess Zelda in the dark crypt, you, the brave hero of Hyrule, wake up again in a dim cavern. A light beam attracted your attention, so you walked along the path. Suddenly, a vast scene unveils: sky islands, clouds, and distant shrines all come into your view. Six years ago, you had woken up as the savior of the princess; once more, destiny beckons your return. As the title The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom appears, and the music reaches its climax, the land of Hyrule welcomes your return: dear player, welcome back to the world!

As with Breath of Wild before it, the developers at Nintendo welcome the players on the journey. But how could they further innovate when the previous entry achieved such acclaim? The land of Hyrule, consisting of eight regions, six countries, and 130 shrines, is spacious enough for any player to explore. Link, the character that the player controls, already has myriad types of weapons to start his battle. Players play games for fun and to achieve a sense of novelty. As a player who has played Breath of Wild for 100 hours, how can Tears of the Kingdom create more joy for me? What has Nintendo done to enhance players' experience with this new installment?

As the developer of Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo offers a simple and complex answer to these questions: to provide players with joy. Simple since the basic rubric of game design is to evoke pure delight. However, it's also challenging, as many developers hardly fuse this core into their works. Tears of the Kingdom brilliantly answered the question with a common language deeply engraved in everyone's memory: childhood.

Staying in touch with the childhood experience, inside the game, you fuse a branch and a stone like you had thought when you explored outdoors as a child; you use the Ultrahand to build and combine objects like you had done with those Lego bricks a long time ago, you glide in the sky and become the savior of the princess just as you had imagined hundreds of times when you are young-every visionary dream comes true. Through its impressive gameplay, Nintendo has seemed to reverse time and transport us back into our childhood's carefree and joyous days. In the gaming experience, you will be curious like a child. You will be interested in the process of creating new weapons and objects. You will be impressed by the scenery, even as you realize you have a primary mission. It is like finding scattered pieces of your childhood memory back through Nintendo’s guidance, like opening a gift package. When you eventually open this gift, you will find a note from the developer- 'Open it, and find your childhood inside.'

It has taken Nintendo six years to develop Tears of the Kingdom—the same length of time it takes for a kid to grow up to become a teenager or a teenager to become an adult. Your ego in childhood has faded away with time, imprisoned at the very beginning of your memory, awaiting rescue in the present. You grow up, go to work, or learn according to the routine day by day immutably until an old friend called Nintendo opens the door of your insipid life and sends a package to you on the 12th of May, 2023. He invited you to rescue the childish self that trapped at the beginning of time back with the guide of the gift inside the package. "Let's play again as a brave hero, dear player."He said.

The story of Tears of the Kingdom is romantic: Princess Zelda had time-traveled to a thousand years before to save the land of Hyrule. She had lost contact with the hero, Link, and the Purah Pad was Link's only clue about Zelda from King Rauru. Building on that plot device, Tears of the Kingdom is the Purah Pad that Nintendo delivers to players. Childhood memories have been trapped in your early consciousness, and it's your time to be a hero. Just like Link, the players overcome tasks within the Guidance of this Purah Pad, eventually saving their princess—in other words, their childhood selves.

Thousands of video games have been released on hundreds of platforms nowadays. Among them, *Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom i*s still a masterpiece. It has revolutionary gameplay methods that have "Greatness in Simplicity": combining, fusing, and discovering everything, and this method evokes players' happiness. Maybe AVGN's quote is the most appropriate one to describe this game: "Nintendo rules the world!" When the player finishes the game, seeing Link and Zelda reunited, crossing the barrier of time and space led by the Purah Pad, they recover their imprisoned childhood selves through this ‘Purah Pad' developed by Nintendo. Once again, thanks to Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has woven a happy ending for this fantasy: The hero saves the princess, and they live happily ever after.