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@“2501”#p95707 how to properly tuck this away behind a tab
use >! at the beginning of the line
`>! > - If Tokita's attempt at exploding the Japanese...`
`- Positing a witty twist on...`
`- etc etc`
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Got two games fresh off the grill
Bayonetta (PS4)
Played this a ton back when it came out on 360, but I hadn't sat down for a proper replay in many years. As with DMC4 a few years ago I wanted to approach Bayo with an adult perspective and a more thorough understanding of the mechanics [size=8](though I had enough of one back in the day to beat secret boss ||[Father Rodin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mvgu2PNOs)||)[/size]. Part of my interest was to compare it to Bayonetta 2, which I had played more recently but which I didn't love for a [variety of reasons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jIQkohrSvQ).
The first seven chapters of Bayonetta are awesome, especially on replay when you have all your moves and weapons unlocked. Chapter 8, the motorcycle chapter, is ugly and a point of friction, especially frustrating in the context of a game which grades your every move. The later Space Harrier levels are frustrating for the same reason, although they at least give you a camera angle which lets you see a few more of the things you're supposed to avoid hitting (though one of these is infuriatingly placed immediately before a tough boss fight: getting all platinums will be a pain here). The Jeanne fights are OK although I think the PS4 version may actually run too smoothly some of the time(?), or that the 360 version may have depended on slowdown to work correctly, because for example I cannot mash P fast enough during [this manoeuver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FipbC2Eztq8&t=9m22s) to successfully counter Jeanne's punches. Some of the other big bosses, namely Iusticia, Sapientia, and Jublieus, can be pretty obnoxious. Some tedious and repetitive gimmick sections in there. Which, I guess that's one thing I didn't quite remember about this game writ large: there are a lot of one-time mechanics/gimmicks that I don't think are very fun to play with. [Instant death quick-time events](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzEh9iH0AGw&t=1107s)!
That said the combat against standard enemies is very fun, and that is most of the game. I will certainly continue to revisit it and will likely never uninstall it from the PS4. It's very pretty too, and was a real breath of fresh air when I played it first. I love the cutscenes, I love the attitude. I love the game. But it's [not perfect](https://forums.insertcredit.com/d/297-theme-sale/173).
Sonic Adventure 2 (GameCube) (Visions of OLD NEWS ahead)
I had never before played this whole game. It was the first Sega game in our house, although back then I wouldn't have known what that meant if you told me. All I knew/thought at the time was that San Francisco must be cool.
Over the years we (me & my sibling) put 300 hours into the game, mainly replaying the Sonic and Shadow levels and raising chao, though sometimes we would play hide and seek in the multiplayer levels. Which is all to say, I had messed around with the treasure hunt and mech levels, but never knew how annoying they were to actually finish! Not all of them are terrible, but the ones that are take up the most time, so I spent probably 75% of this recent playthrough thinking, _boy, throw this level in the toilet._ On starting this playthrough I had the silly idea that I might finally unlock the extra costumes or Green Hill Zone, but nah not gonna happen. The fun parts are fun and the parts that aren't are annoying and, with the exception of the car levels, difficult. Still, I'm compelled to look past its flaws because beneath them is what still feels like the best 3D Sonic gameplay. Jumping, the homing attack/air boost, spin dash, ball bounce, and rail grinding all feel better in this than in any other 3D game they are featured in (possible exception of Lost World, haven't played it). The Sonic and Shadow levels are fun to explore thoroughly and replay. I like that character upgrades/tools are sometimes optional and hidden—the last level with Knuckles for example plays much differently when you have the optional item that lets you swim forever, and Mysitc Melody unlocks completely new paths in certain levels. I look forward to comparing with Spark 3...
To conclude: the soap opera story is so good. If Sonic characters aren't going to act like this when they open their mouths then I don't want them to talk at all, and I'm sure many of the world's 7-year-olds would agree with me if only they knew what they were missing. Gosh the audio is badly edited and mixed but the voices themselves are OK. It's as though VO in later games was specifically directed to be more annoying/condescending to kids. The supposedly-made-for-5-year-olds-but-actually-made-for-grown-men effect. Bring back the love and tragedy
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Also I can‘t for the life of me find the earlier discussion on the matter but I saw Big in one of the cutscenes, which I think someone might have thought wasn’t in the GameCube version
