Tiny, insignificant details in games that really bother you

[BrawlMan]

No More Heroes - It's not about the crappy open-world, that's been done enough. My problem is with the pointless take that towards Dante. You see Suda51/Grasshopper have this hatred for edgy/pretty boy anime protagonists. This take that does not work, because:

1. Dante is not that edgy and has always been a goofy dork. DMC2 does not count, and the reboot did not exist yet.
2. This comes off as hypocritical because Travis Touchdown himself is a Dante clone. A much more subtle one and a unique different appearance, but still a copy.
3. I don't have problem with, but the assassin, Helter Skelter, you don't even get to fight. He dies in the first trailer for the game.
4. Dante never smokes! He hates smoking! He does not consider it cool!
5. Travis more or less insults him recounting the battle in the actual intro to the game to confirm it.

Spoiler: Helter Skelter

Funny enough, his younger is the first boss in the sequel. Skelter Helter looks like Cloud.

Spoiler: Skelter Helter

I honestly don't know what their deal was at the time. If they hated that character type, they should have picked someone else. They come off as fan haters of the character and not the arch type. Which Dante is mostly not. I still love NMH, but that is something that always bugged me.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

In Genshin Impact (again), you can skip most of the fully-animated cutscenes in the game. I say 'most' because in the most recent MSQ chapter, there's a cutscene right before a boss fight that you can't skip for some reason. It's not hiding a loading screen, since there's one right after the cutscene ends. And it's not like the cutscene has any striking visuals or raw dialogue that'd make it fun to watch more than once. Ultimately, it just adds an extra unavoidable two minutes onto every runback - and the boss is hard enough that you will probably die and have to watch that cutscene several times.

"It is I, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness" has a new challenger: "Exceptions, the enemy of Eternity."

 

[Specter Von Baren]

No More Heroes - It's not about the crappy open-world, that's been done enough. My problem is with the pointless take that towards Dante. You see Suda51/Grasshopper have this hatred for edgy/pretty boy anime protagonists. This take that does not work, because:

1. Dante is not that edgy and has always been a goofy dork. DMC2 does not count, and the reboot did not exist yet.
2. This comes off as hypocritical because Travis Touchdown himself is a Dante clone. I much more subtle one and a unique different appearance, but still a copy.
3. I don't have problem with, but the assassin, Helter Skelter, you don't even get to fight. He dies in the first trailer for the game.
4. Dante never smokes! He hates smoking! He does not consider it cool!
5. Travis more or less insults him recounting the battle in the actual intro to the game to confirm it.

Spoiler: Helter Skelter

Funny enough, his younger is the first boss in the sequel. Skelter Helter looks like Cloud.

Spoiler: Skelter Helter

I honestly don't know what their deal was at the time. If they hated that character type, they should have picked someone else. They come off as fan haters of the character and not the arch type. Which Dante is mostly not. I still love NMH, but that is something that always bugged me.

I think both brothers were just supposed to be playing on the super cool looking but edgy anime character but with Skelter Helter specifically looking like Cloud. Unless there's an interview where they specifically say Helter Skelter is a Dante parody, I don't think that was the intent.

 

[BrawlMan]

I think both brothers were just supposed to be playing on the super cool looking but edgy anime character but with Skelter Helter specifically looking like Cloud. Unless there's an interview where they specifically say Helter Skelter is a Dante parody, I don't think that was the intent.

Helter Skelter clearly looks like Dante. Just with longer hair and red eyes. Yes, they look like super edgy characters, but the fact that he looks like Dante wrote me the wrong way. It's no coincidence. The fact that Travis himself is an expy of Dante, means something and they clearly knew what they were doing.

I have it time stamped.
​

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Helter Skelter clearly looks like Dante. Just with longer hair and red eyes. Yes, they look like super edgy characters, but the fact that he looks like Dante wrote me the wrong way. It's no coincidence. The fact that Travis himself is an expy of Dante, means something and they clearly knew what they were doing.

I have it time stamped.
​

I... Really don't see it myself? I think he's actually supposed to look like Squall from Final Fantasy 8.



Which makes a lot more sense with his guns that also have swords in them and his outfit that looks a bit like a cowboy as well as keeping him in theme with his brother. I really do think this is a case of you getting the wrong idea.

 

[BrawlMan]

. Really don't see it myself? I think he's actually supposed to look like Squall from Final Fantasy 8.

It's clearly Dante. Look at Helter Skelter's facial and hair structure. I don't doubt that there are some other elements from other protagonists, but it's clearly Dante. The dual wielding pistols is a dead giveaway. The only difference is he uses revolvers instead of M1911s. Find any picture of Dante DMC1 or DMC2. Whether it be CG artwork or concept art. The resemblance is clearly there. I don't know how you're not seeing this.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

It's clearly Dante. Look at Helter Skelter's facial and hair structure. I don't doubt that there are some other elements from other protagonists, but it's clearly Dante. The dual wielding pistols is a dead giveaway. The only difference is he uses revolvers instead of Berettas. Find any picture of Dante DMC1 or DMC2. Whether it be CG artwork or concept art. The resemblance is clearly there. I don't know how you're not seeing this.

Dante was neither the first nor last duel wielding video-game character. I disagree but I also don't think either of us are going to convince the other to change their minds on this.

 

[BrawlMan]

Dante was neither the first nor last duel wielding video-game character.

No duh on that, but it's pretty clear who he's supposed to look like. I don't know where you're getting Squall from other than a semi-similar weapon type. Yes there are many dual wielding gun video game protagonists, but about 99.9% of them don't have white hair. The only other one I know with white hair and dual wield pistols is Jeanne from Bayonetta. And she technically didn't even exist yet. At the time all there was was an announcement in a teaser trailer. I just know that most of the other No More Heroes fans see Helter Skelter as clearly a Dante expy.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The only difference is he uses revolvers instead of Berettas.

I thought Ebony and Ivory were M1911s, not Berettas.

Firearms pedant out!

 

[BrawlMan]

I thought Ebony and Ivory were M1911s, not Berettas.

Firearms pedant out!

You are correct. I was thinking and typing two different things. I didn't go back and double-check.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Things that are bad, or, well, mildly bothering in Control:
- The redaction process in the documents follow zero logic...literal random words and phrases are redacted, while major details often go free. Is there a reason for this?

- Audio logs make you hang about where you picked them up, instead of letting you carry on doing as you please while it plays in your slightly broken head. This makes them audio chains. To the spot. You found them in. Fascist audio chains.

- The best stuff is squirreled away in all those documents, it really loses a lot if you don't read as much of them as you can. So I can easily imagine many players will not be getting themselves as invested in the interesting premise at all if they naturally avoid reading in videogames.

- Main plot is not as interesting as side plots and dramas. But hey, it's a premise that thrives in the offshoot possiblities it teases.

4 positives and 4 negatives... perfectly balanced. 5/10 score. love it, GOTY!

 

[happyninja42]

Things that are bad, or, well, mildly bothering in Control:
- The redaction process in the documents follow zero logic...literal random words and phrases are redacted, while major details often go free. Is there a reason for this?

I always assumed it was a cross-department thing. Like, the department in charge of Project X, would redact information related to Project X, since it's an inter-office memo. But wouldn't be under requirements to redact information about Project Z from that other department. So it makes it where, given how often the different phenomena are cross-referenced, you have a puzzle, for the player to figure out what's going on, by inferring the missing information. I don't know how real-to-life it is, but it did actually motivate me, a player who really hates feeling obligated to find the various collectibles, to actually want to go find them. It was actually engaging for me, as I was busy trying to suss out what they were omitting. I distinctly recall when it hit me what the reactor was, and what the abbreviations for it stood for, and saying to my wife "....oh shit....that's....oh shit." and then having my theory confirmed later when I encountered some other information. And it just put the whole situation of that department into a different framework in my head.

Yeah it probably isn't accurate IRL, but it's a game, the reality is I wouldn't be bothering to stop and read random files in the middle of an inter-dimensional invasion at all.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

- The redaction process in the documents follow zero logic...literal random words and phrases are redacted, while major details often go free. Is there a reason for this?

They went a little overboard in aping the SCP "what you don't know is the scariest thing of all!" bit with the redactions.

- Audio logs make you hang about where you picked them up, instead of letting you carry on doing as you please while it plays in your slightly broken head. This makes them audio chains. To the spot. You found them in. Fascist audio chains.

It's been a while since I played, but I think that once you find and start an audio recording, you can replay it from your "records" screen.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Things that are bad, or, well, mildly bothering in Control:
- The redaction process in the documents follow zero logic...literal random words and phrases are redacted, while major details often go free. Is there a reason for this?

- Audio logs make you hang about where you picked them up, instead of letting you carry on doing as you please while it plays in your slightly broken head. This makes them audio chains. To the spot. You found them in. Fascist audio chains.

- The best stuff is squirreled away in all those documents, it really loses a lot if you don't read as much of them as you can. So I can easily imagine many players will not be getting themselves as invested in the interesting premise at all if they naturally avoid reading in videogames.

- Main plot is not as interesting as side plots and dramas. But hey, it's a premise that thrives in the offshoot possiblities it teases.

4 positives and 4 negatives... perfectly balanced. 5/10 score. love it, GOTY!

Don’t ask me why but this seemed appropriate-

 

[happyninja42]

It's been a while since I played, but I think that once you find and start an audio recording, you can replay it from your "records" screen.

Yes, all logs, both text and audio are available for replay in the menu. It's actually the way to get more information in some cases. Those times when you visually see someone start talking, backlit by ominous lighting (usually when you are first entering a new area), there is actually WAY more information to that clip than what they show you in the "real world". You'll see the director come up and all you will hear is "The Department.....*static*.....had no choice....*static*.....my only option......*static*.....regret." And it makes you think it's just one sentence, but the reality is each of those is likely part of it's own sentence, and you've really got an entire paragraph's worth of information, waiting for you in the audio logs section of the codex.

It's also helpful, because, IIRC, they collect the case files by name, so you can sit down and actually read all the various entries for a single event at once, even if it took you 4 hours of gameplay to find them, and likely lose your train of thought on what was going on.

Plus, since they gate some of them in areas that only unlock as you progress the story, it helps fill in the blanks, by you encountering some of the events that get referenced, and you learn what is being redacted by actually going in there and seeing the thing. So you can bypass the redaction in some cases, as a result.

I really enjoyed the system personally.

 

[BrawlMan]

The true ending to Comix Zone has the protagonist literally date his fictional waifu that he personally created. While I'm sure it was unintentional on Sega Tech Institute's part, it's still creepy when you stop and think about it.

 

[happyninja42]

Been playing Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island, and noticed this, but it's not the only game that does it.

When a game has things like hanging bodies from trees, because it's a warzone, and you're supposed to see how horrible the invaders are behaving, and even take time to have you or the npc you are with comment about the corpses....but then they don't let you cut them down.

I get it, they didn't actually account for those models in the ragdoll physics, and I can't pick up the bodies and move them around anyway, they're just set dressing. But, I'm supposed to be helping these people! And when you make it where I'm walking past hanging corpses over and over, it just makes me feel like I'm playing someone that DOESN'T actually care about their plight, instead of the opposite! And it's not like the game doesn't apparently think about tiny details like your character responding to the various dead ragdolls, because it lets me bow to them, and if I do happen to bow to a corpse, my character will actually say a few words for the dead! So, you know....they actually THOUGHT about it! That I might want to interact with the corpses of these villagers, and trya nd show them respect! So, let me cut them down damnit!

 

[BrawlMan]

As much as I'm loving No More Heroes 3, it does have issues. You can't quit designated fights, aside from reloading a previous save. This is weird, because you can quit optional challenge fights in side job super easily by going to the menu. This is really a problem if you have not saved in a while, otherwise if you keep failing the designated fight, it just sends you back to Travis's apartment with whatever you have before the fight.

Also, Mr. Suda, your Call Of Battle world is a parody that's about nearly a decade out of date. We've gone past making fun of Call of Duty for its next-gen Brown filter and other shooters like it. You doing the same and making it as a joke by making it blurry, brown filtered, and not fun to navigate doesn't make it any fun or better. It's just a tired parody at that point and was unnecessary. The fact that you have to come back here at least twice is annoying. I know when I get home, I have it saved so I can go to the boss fight and I have to go back to that world again just to fight the boss. That lease is just a straight shot and not having to navigate through combat barricades where you can barely jump over anything.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Been playing Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island, and noticed this, but it's not the only game that does it.

When a game has things like hanging bodies from trees, because it's a warzone, and you're supposed to see how horrible the invaders are behaving, and even take time to have you or the npc you are with comment about the corpses....but then they don't let you cut them down.

I get it, they didn't actually account for those models in the ragdoll physics, and I can't pick up the bodies and move them around anyway, they're just set dressing. But, I'm supposed to be helping these people! And when you make it where I'm walking past hanging corpses over and over, it just makes me feel like I'm playing someone that DOESN'T actually care about their plight, instead of the opposite! And it's not like the game doesn't apparently think about tiny details like your character responding to the various dead ragdolls, because it lets me bow to them, and if I do happen to bow to a corpse, my character will actually say a few words for the dead! So, you know....they actually THOUGHT about it! That I might want to interact with the corpses of these villagers, and trya nd show them respect! So, let me cut them down damnit!

Interesting sentiment. Question now is: how many people would actually spend the time memorializing random corpses to make it worth the devs' effort to make those corpses substantially interactable when they really just want to to appreciate the narrative gravitas and continue the game? I mean, once you cut them down... what would you do with them? Leave them to bake in the sun? Bury them? Drag them into a pile and cremate them? Drag them into a fashion as to spell the word "penis" like 99% of immature gamers would do? Then what does any of that add to the core gameplay outside of perhaps a "Sentimental" achievement/trophy?

 

[Dalisclock]

They went a little overboard in aping the SCP "what you don't know is the scariest thing of all!" bit with the redactions.

Honestly, there's SCP articles where I'm surprised it's not just one big redaction, considering how much some authors enjoy abusing the trope. And apparently there are real life "declassified" documents that are heavily, heavily redacted.

SCP: [Redacted[

Class: Apollyon.

Containment Procedure: [Redacted]

Description: [Redacted]

Actually I'm pretty sure someone has done that or something close to that.