Odds & Ends
1. Lumines - Arise a Contrarian
I like Lumines.
Electronic Symphony is my favourite, and it lived in my Vita for years on end, and I put countless hours into the PSP originals, as well as the recent-ish remaster. However, I've struggled to click with Lumines Arise.
In that respect, I seem to be in the distinct minority. My social media feeds have been full of gushing praise, from Lumines-heads and via Tetris Effect-converts alike.
By no means did I dislike Arise, it's just that it never got its claws into me, not how I hoped it would. I wasn't seeing falling blocks when I closed my eyes nor fighting off the urge to have one more go at silly hours. I was essentially done with it within a week or so, and that bugged me. So I decided to think really hard - really, really hard - and get to the bottom of why we didn't gel. And I think I got it.
In Arise, the total marriage between the core gameplay and music is a hindrance to my enjoyment of Lumines. When defining that enjoyment, I can't help but go back to Electronic Symphony. There was of course symmetry between visual and audio, but the music and gameplay were separate entities. There was room for interpretation, for the player to play to the music and define their style of block-dropping, not have the music dictate their experience. The music complimented, but never overwrote.
The stages I liked the most were those that featured straight-up tunes, bangers that I could enjoy playing Lumines alongside, rather than feeling like I had to play to them. Adjacent to this, and probably something I should have mentioned earlier, is that I don't love the Tetris Effect aesthetic. Although it can impress, I find the visual and audio effects to be overwhelming and overly-intrusive, and they even obscure gameplay from time to time, especially when it comes to the use of shadow and light.
At times, it felt like actually playing Lumines was a secondary concern in Arise.
Anyway, I've accepted that Arise isn't quite for me. However, I'm happy to see that others are enjoying it, and it's good to be talking about Lumines again.
2. Sale!
I picked up just two games in the Black Friday sales: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Despelote. A strange pairing to say the least! I'd had my eye on Space Marine 2 for a little while, and pounced when it dipped under thirty quid on the PS Store. I know nothing about Warhammer, but I just fancied a third person shooter with 360-era vibes, massive lads, and a distinct universe. I'm a couple hours into it and have not been disappointed.
I've already finished Despelote, and would highly recommend it. It's pretty rough around the edges, but that doesn't get in the way of its considerable charm. Despelote is concerned with Ecuador's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but more importantly, it's about nostalgia and how we choose to remember the past, in particular our childhood. That and kicking a football.
As for potential purchases in the end-of-year sales, I have my eye on a few things. I almost pulled the trigger on Hell is Us on Black Friday, and may do so if it reappears in any further sales. I'm also considering the Pixel Remaster of Final Fantasy VI, and might grab a copy of Death Stranding 2 and chuck it under the Christmas tree. One of those three, I reckon, and then that'll be it for 2025. Check back at the end of the month for my annual Best and Worst of the year.
3. Played That
I've gotten through a decent number of games since finishing Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles at the end of October. Ball x Pit appealed in many of the same ways that Vampire Survivors did, but I moved off it far quicker and far easier than I did Poncle's roguelike. The village-constructing and resource-gathering element didn't grab me - if it had, I think I'd still be playing it now. I was very pleasantly surprised by Ninja Gaiden 4, and somehow managed to hit credits. Turns out I'm an exceptionally talented gamer!
Once Upon a Katamari was short but delightful; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was less whimsical but I had fun with that too. I had intended to play the new Black Ops, but the campaign sounds atrocious in single-player, so I went back and played an older entry that I'd missed. I can still have fun with CoD campaigns when they're done right, and I like the familiarity of a CoD in early winter.
Finally, I've been in and out of Sektori the last couple of weeks. I've been running hot and cold toward it: I don't particularly enjoy the campaign, largely due to the randomised elements, particularly the bosses, but I do love the challenge modes. Gates is my favourite of the bunch, where all weapons and abilities are taken away, and the only way you can destroy enemies is to pass through explosive gates. Great fun when you get into a good rhythm.
4. A Sofa and a Pocket
There's something about cold weather that makes me want to play my Analogue Pocket. I want to curl up at one end of our sofa, preferably the end closest to the Christmas tree, zip up my fleece all the way to my chin, and play something good; something old. Back in January, I made my way through the Bit Generation games, shortly followed by Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, and enjoyed them all. I fancy something like Lodis that I can sink my teeth into, as well as something more appropriate for short-burst sessions. If they're GBA games, all the better.
Maybe it's time to play Golden Sun, which I know fuck all about besides its genre and that people seemed to like it? Either of the Breath of Fire remakes could be an option, as could a replay of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which I haven't touched for over twenty years. Perhaps one of those GBA Castlevanias or Metroids that you all seem to like? As for quick-fixes, Metal Slug Advance and Racing Gears Advance have both caught my eye. All good options, though I'll probably just do what I always do: play a Mega Drive, pre-'98 NBA Live for ten minutes and get all nostalgic about peak-Penny Hardaway.
I'll charge my Pocket.
5. The Return of NBA Street?
Is this going to be good? The trailer for NBA The Run does everything short of actually name-checking NBA Street Vol. 2, arguably the best basketball game ever made, and that has me very excited indeed. Bobbito Garcia is back as the excitable announcer but there's no indication as to whether Pete Rock and CL Smooth will play over the title screen! It certainly captures the NBA Street vibe, but the more I watch the trailer, the less confident I am that this will be a worthy successor. I'm assuming this is a design choice, and not just the result of an early and/or rushed trailer, but the stiff and choppy player animation is a real concern, and I can't imagine enjoying any sport game that looks and moves like that. But whatever, for now I'm happy to see that the spirit of NBA Street lives on.
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