Video Gaming Bits

Little bits about games in my collection.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Xenogears

Publisher: Squaresoft, (NA: Square Electronic Arts) Developer: Square Product Development Division 3 Genre: Japanese Role-playing Game, Sci-Fi Platform: PlayStation, PlayStation Network NA Release Date: October 20, 1998 (PSN: February 22, 2011)

I'm still working on Xenoblade Chronicles X, but otherwise I've played every main entry in the Xeno series. While the original Xenoblade Chronicles is a complete package, both Xenogears and Xenosaga have rushed endings. The back half of Xenogears' is told through a quick summary of events leading to a final showdown. Episode III of the Xenosaga series hastily ties up story threads with minimal explanation.

In my mind, the plots range from average to good between these pre-Xenoblade releases. Yet I've also heard others talk about how incredibly deep they are. They explain how certain characters and events represent something greater than the action on screen, but at that point my brain just shuts down.

I've never gotten into overly complicated stories that aim to have deep meanings. Often they reference external texts, theories or teachings. However, what's most important to me is the core story as well as the situations unfolding.

This probably stems from me not wanting to over analyze tales. I purposefully avoided literature classes in college. No matter what approach I took to them, my thoughts were never accepted by my professors or peers.  My growing frustration over not being able to wrap my mind around “acceptable connections” eventually caused me to shut them out. I pretty much take creative work at face value and nothing more

I don't see quite the same reverence for Xenoblade's plot. I personally enjoy it a lot more. It does share themes with the rest of the Xeno series, but they compliment key plot points versus overtaking them.

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Hill Cliff Horse

Publisher: Stephen Allen Developer: Stephen Allen Genre: Open World Destruction, Horse Simulator Platform: PlayStation Mobile, iOS, Android EU Release Date: July 9, 2014

Hill Cliff Horse is awful. Like Lady Santa, this game is from the depths of the now dead PlayStation Mobile store.

In Hill Cliff Horse you're, indeed, a horse. You can run around and knock over objects. When they hit the ground, it plays the honk of bicycle horn. You can ragdoll on a whim to become a mangled mess of your former self. After a few seconds, your steed pops back out into pristine condition.

The game starts in a village, but you can explore a handful of environments over a surprisingly large map. There's a camp site, a frozen lake, mountains... more mountains... there's a lot of mountains. Other horses are scattered about. Talking to them will change the name and color of your own. They can also equip you with random accessories like butterfly wings, a horse head or a My Little Pony Rainbow Dash figure. That last one is probably illegal.

As far as I can tell, that's Hill Cliff Horse. It's a Goat Simulator rip-off but the world lacks the density and variety of its inspiration.

I'll leave you with the knowledge that the iOS and Android versions are free and feature online multi-player. Do as you please with that information, but don't pay money for Hill Cliff Horse.

[videogamingbits-blog]

PlayStation 2 Online Start-Up Disc 4.0

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment (Probably?) Genre: Utility, Networking Platform: PlayStation 2 NA Release Date: 2006

The older a console is the less its user interface matters. With the last and current generation, their capabilities have expanded far beyond any system before. Between shopping for games, watching movies, browsing achievements, streaming gameplay and a large number of system settings, creating a functional, smooth and appealing user interface is essential.

Sometimes it's the little things that help a system menu go the extra mile. The Nintendo DS makes a different chime on your birthday, the PlayStation 2 builds towers based on how much save data you have and a little cat meows tips at you on certain Wii channels.

I'm not going to say Online Start-Up Disc 4.0 on PlayStation 2 has the most impressive user interface. It's clean and functional. But something did catch my eye: when you confirm or cancel a selection, the square boxes in the background ripple a bit.

At first I thought it reacted to any system sound, but unfortunately that's not true. Either way, it's nice visual feedback when clicking around. Unless you were frequently switching between network connections, it's likely you didn't see this menu too often. I'm a bit surprised at that attention to detail on something very few people would spend more than five minutes with.

The disc also contains CG videos showing how to connect a PlayStation 2 to the internet. Mine is scratched so the voice cuts in and out. It's likely this voice over was used for another video as it often sounds like chunks of dialog have been removed regarding older system models.

A weird thing to post about, but it's in my collection.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia

Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Genre: MMORPG, Fantasy Platform: PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox 360 NA Release Date: September 21, 2004 (Xbox 360: April 18, 2006)

Leading up to the Chains of Promathia expansion, I'd say Final Fantasy XI's story is decent at best. The original plot per starting nation focuses on politics. Yet the ultimate goal centers around a simple tale of good vs. evil. The Shadow Lord is bad. You should probably go kill him. The first expansion, Rise of the Zilart, opens up some ancient history for the game to explore. Also, there's this kid who wants destroy the world. You should probably go kill him, too.

Chains of Promathia feels like Final Fantasy XI's first complete story. It has roots that extend to each nation, but the core plot stands on its own. Part of the reason I think it's so well received is its shift away from the broad perspective of politics. Instead, it develops its characters and creates relationships between them and the player. You spend more time coming the aid of individuals rather than supporting your nation's cause.

One character in specific saw a significant investment from the development team. Prishe, a small elvaan (elf) girl, essentially is the protagonist of the expansion. She's energetic and brash, but also tough and spunky. Up until this point in Final Fantasy XI, most non-playable characters – if not all – used stock animations. However, Prishe has her own custom set. It's easy to see why they gave her special treatment. Without the unique exaggerated movements, her personality wouldn't stand out as much.

Each expansion since featured a young girl as the central figure of the plot.  It's likely they were  attempting to capture the essence of what made Prishe special. As someone who hasn't spent a ton of time with the game's story beyond Chains of Promathia, it's hard for me to say how successful they were. Nonetheless, Prishe continues to be a fan favorite. She's featured in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as well as Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

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Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Publisher: Natsume Developer: Victor Interactive Software, (PS2: Marucome) Genre: Farming, Life Simulation Platform: GameCube, PlayStation 2 NA Release Date: March 16, 2004 (PS2: October 28, 2005)

I have fond and terrible memories of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Every night for what felt like a month, I dedicated hours at a time to push through it.

In this game, you live year after year through the changing seasons while performing largely the same chores over and over. You wake up, feed your animals, water your plants, go mining, fish a bit and go to bed. I had no idea when the game would end, but it was clear it had to eventually. This is not Animal Crossing, where your town and character exist forever mostly unchanged. Annually, the village evolves slightly and characters age.

Most of the dialog and routines of the townspeople are identical day-to-day. Even the seasonal shifts become like clockwork. Occasionally an event or character will come into town, but it's a rare treat.

As time passes, the community changes bit by bit. The usual ramblings of townspeople alter slightly, couples are formed and individuals move away. More importantly, new character are born while the old die. In the moment, it doesn't feel like much is happening. But when I was at the end of the journey, I realized it all adds up.

In terms of making life into a video game, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is a surprisingly successful representation of what of most of us go through. We see everything slightly shift around us as we perform the same tasks each week, month and year. Then, we die; leaving many of life's stories incomplete.

It's impressive, but it doesn't make for a very fun video game.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Rupupu Cube: Lup Salad

This is a digital copy of the PlayStation version of Rupupu Cube: Lup Salad.

Publisher: Datam Polystar Developer: Fupac Genre: Puzzle Platform: PlayStation, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Network JP Release Date: August 30, 1996 (DS: January 31, 2008, PSP: September 22, 2010, PSN: December 4, 2012 )

Some games don't need complicated graphics. The basic idea of Lup Salad's puzzles could be achieved on something slightly more powerful than a Atari 2600. The player simply clears a board by pushing similar colored blocks into sets of three. Colored rectangles would get the job done. But without its presentation, it loses most of what makes it charming.

Lup Salad has a commitment to its style. Every bit of the game – its backgrounds, cutscene, sound effects, and music – is crafted around a cute little anime girl.

Each set of puzzles start with her harassing her family in an ordinary scenario. She then imagines being a ghost, lumberjack, princess, nurse or a variety of other roles related to the conversation. The mechanics are unrelated to a chapter's theme, with the exception of bubble blocks introduced in the underwater levels.

What does change are her outfits as well as the accompanying vocal themes, which sound like they've been sang by an 8-year-old girl. High pitched grunts add a bit of personality to her movement. You even get a little “bye-bye” if you quit mid-puzzle. Once you've completed a set of 10, you're awarded a cutscene along with artwork. The game can be quite challenging and reminds me how the Umihara Kawase franchise pairs brutal platforming with relaxing music. Lup Salad's presentation goes beyond just being adorable. It quells built-up frustration when you've spent over an hour banging your head against one puzzle.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Final Fantasy XIII-2

This article features some spoilers.

Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix, Tri-Ace Genre: Japanese Role-Playing Game Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC NA Release Date: January 31, 2012 (PC: December 11, 2014)

Most people like to hate Final Fantasy XIII, but it's an alright game. It's nothing amazing, just an average entry in the franchise. I would say one of the weaker aspects is its story and characters. So when going into Final Fantasy XIII-2, I didn't expect much from the plot. In some ways, I was right not to. Most of what relates back to the original feels like excess baggage.  Yet there's another side to XIII-2: an original story centered around a man named Noel, who is from the future.

The world he comes from is a desolate wasteland. He's one of the three remaining humans alongside his former mentor, Caius, and Yeul, who is somewhat immortal and can see the future. While Noel wants to repair the timeline and fix humanity's fate, Caius wishes to destroy it.

The story surrounding these characters is surprisingly well-done. They're each pulling in their own direction and attempting to form the timeline in their own vision. Noel and Yeul play their roles, but Caius is a standout figure. His villainous behavior is driven by, arguably, one of the best motivations of the entire Final Fantasy franchise.

Destroying time itself sounds like a typical “evil guy doing evil things to be evil so you fight evil” set up. However, there's reasoning behind this mad plan.

Yeul suffers from extremely short periods of life. Only able to survive for a little over a decade at a time, she's reborn over and over again. Each Yeul is the same though also different. They develop various hobbies and personalities based on their experiences. Nevertheless, every single time her life is cut short. With humanity on the edge of extinction, Caius wishes to end her suffering by destroying time and thus the cycle. Compared to the typical villains of the genre who aim to dominate the world, cleanse the planet or simply gain more power,  it's a surprisingly selfless goal.

Unfortunately, to enjoy this you also have to put up with the remnants of Final Fantasy XIII's story. As someone who didn't particularly care about the original's plot, almost every bit involving Serah, Lightning and the original XIII's crew feels unnecessary. Oddly enough, Hope – one of the weaker characters in the original – sees a complete transformation. He was young, frail and irrationally vengeful. Now an adult, he has gained a positive can-do attitude and plays a major supporting role.

Final Fantasy XIII-2, in general, is just a better game. The combat is opened up from the start, there's a lot more to explore and it tries new story elements the series hasn't touched on before, like chapters featuring multiple paths and endings. If you can get over the connections with, and stigma, of Final Fantasy XIII, I highly recommend checking it out.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Super Smash Bros.

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Laboratory Genre: Fighting Game, Cross Over Platform: Nintendo 64, Wii NA Release Date: April 26, 1999 (Wii: December 21, 2009)

I have a lot of respect for HAL Laboratory. They basically reworked the rules of the fighting game genre in Super Smash Bros. The fundamentals haven't changed much since the formula was popularized with Street Fighter II. In most cases, you have two fighters going head-to-head on a single screen with the goal of depleting each others' life bar.

Obviously there are so many more layers on top of that basic concept that change from game to game. At a base level, BlazBlue, Street Fighter, Soulcalibur and Dead or Alive look the same from an outsider's perspective. Even if they watched a whole match, they might not be able to pick out any nuisances between them.

Super Smash Bros. is immediately different. Life gauges are exchanged for a rising percentages that influence how far the players will be knocked back. Ring outs existed as an option to win in other games like Virtua Fighter, but Super Smash Bros. is built entirely around it.

Movement is key in this genre, but HAL lets the players loose from being locked in combat with another foe. They can freely navigate the environment, albeit still in a 2D plane. This is essential given the ability for up to four players to take part in each round. As with Mario Kart, items help even the odds for new and less skillful players.

It’s different enough that many consider it not to be a fighting game. I can see that perspective. It subverts many of the basics of what makes one. However, it shares enough in terms of movement, spacing, combos and other concepts that I believe it's closely related.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Space Harrier

This copy is part of the Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection on PlayStation 3.

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega AM2, Backbone Entertainment (Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection) Genre: On-Rails Shooter, Sci-fi Platform: PlayStation 3, Arcade, Everything Else in Existence NA Release Date: February 10, 2009 (Arcade: December 1985)

I'm not a stickler for emulation. Scaling, filtering, pixel counts or whatever doesn't mean much to me. As long as it runs reasonably well, I'm good.  So if I'm disappointed in the emulation of a title, it must be pretty bad.

The arcade version of Space Harrier in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection is mechanically sound. If you want to see the whole game without worrying about lives, it's one of the better versions since you can load save states at any point. It's a fine representation of the original... as long as you mute the audio.

All the music and voice samples are sped up and off-key. What was one of my favorite video game tracks is completely destroyed in a butchered mess sound. In some ways, it doesn't even seem like the original song.

“Welcome to the Fantasy Zone, Get Ready!” is a line that matches the excitement and pace of the gameplay. From the second you press start, you're running and flying forward non-stop. But in this version, the voice sample is comically high pitched.  

Admittedly, I've never played on the original arcade hardware. I learned about Space Harrier through the in-game cabinet found in the Shenmue series. That version seems perfectly fine, but maybe someone out there can point out one problem or another.

If you don't mind playing on a portable, the 3DS version of Space Harrier is fantastic.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment

The North American release of Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is digital only.

Publisher: Bandai Namco Games Developer: Aquria Genre: Japanese Role-Playing Game, MMORPG Simulation Platform: PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 NA Release Date: August 19, 2014 (PlayStation 4: July 18, 2015)

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is basically a single player game set in a fake MMORPG and it does a pretty convincing job of building the world. There's surprising attention to detail with characters who walk around the city. They rummage through stores, sit at tables and teleport in and out of town. It's quite simple compared to many other games, but the sheer number of characters on screen at once makes it a pretty convincing effect.

At first they seem like a faceless mass of NPCs, but they have names, join clans, and battle in the world on their own. You can even recruit a good chunk of them into your party and build relationships with them. If you get intimate with a main character, they'll give you a steamy bed scene. I highly doubt there's anything this elaborate for the faceless NPCs, but it's nice that they give you the option.

On a side note, it's kind of weird that you can date multiple people despite there being a cannon relationship. The main character, Kirito, is married to a girl in-game and even has an artificial intelligence child. Yet, you can date the other characters and get into bed with them too. Of course, it's not sex. It's simply completely platonic semi-naked cuddling.

This is a weird and long game that I can't recommend to anyone. It has its moments, but they're hardly worth the 70 hours it takes to complete. I've written two articles about it: one on the gameplay and the other about the tone.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Level-5 Genre: Puzzle Platform: Nintendo DS NA Release Date: February 10, 2008

I was at the height of my Nintendo fandom between 2004 and 2008. I believed in and supported the blue ocean strategy, which entailed making new types of software for untapped audiences. Nintendogs, Brain Age, Electroplankton... All these were new experimental games designed for a customer that would eventually leave Nintendo behind.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village was my first experience of seeing this philosophy working in person. I took the game on a family camping trip. Even if only one of us could play at a time, it was a collaborative experience. We ended up taking turns at each puzzle and passing the system around.

(Image Source: Nintendo)

Each of us contributed bits and pieces to solve all the villagers' puzzles. While we weren't able to finish the game by the end of the trip, we did end up working through the majority of it. Playing it by myself afterwords just didn't feel the same. I ended up leaving Professor Layton on my shelf for years.

I don't like sequels that retread the same ground. But even if I continued to pursue the series, I doubt my experience would be as satisfying as passing the game around the camp fire.

Eventually I set out to beat it... only to find out I had stopped on the last puzzle of the game. It's a shame I don't care more about the series, since I do really enjoy the franchise's style and characters.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS)

This is a digital only copy for Nintendo 3DS, exclusive to the Ambassador Program.

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Intelligent Systems Genre: Kart Racing, Arcade Racer Platform: Nintendo 3DS, Game Boy Advance, Wii U NA Release Date: December 16, 2011 (GBA: August 27, 2001, Wii U: November 13, 2014)

Mario Kart DS started the tradition of including retro courses in each new release, but it wasn't the first in the series to do so. Super Circuit has all of the original Super Mario Kart's tracks as unlockables. It made sense, given the hardware limitations of the Game Boy Advance and the similar playstyle to the Super Nintendo entry.

These tracks were exact copies of their original design. Mario Kart DS' recreations were also near identical. However, some courses in Mario Kart Wii were slightly altered to fit the game's new trick system.

I never played Mario Kart 7, but 8 makes some tracks almost unrecognizable. The addition of low gravity sections, along with new underwater paths and jumps, made retro courses more like re-imaginings.

I'm split on which direction is better suited for the series. In some ways, it feels lazy to just slap old courses in. New elements aren't being used to their full potential on these older tracks. But I can't say I've ever played a redesigned course that felt like an improvement over a past version.

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Super Mario 64

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo EAD Genre: 3D Platformer Platform: Nintendo 64, iQue, Wii, Wii U NA Release Date: September 26, 1996 (iQue: November 21, 2003, Wii: November 19, 2006, Wii U: April 1, 2015)

Super Mario 64 is most notable for essentially laying the groundwork of modern 3D video games. The team behind the title started development by focusing almost entirely on how Mario moves. In doing so, they created one of his most flexible and comprehensive movesets.

Of course, there's the usual running and jumping of any platformer. You can also punch, jump kick, long jump, back flip, ground pound, wall jump and dive forward. Or you can get into some of the lesser used moves, like a sweeping drop kick or sliding kick.

I'd even argue that tip-toeing is a unique element to this entry. You can do it in other Mario games, but rarely is it a gameplay element. Admittedly, aside from sneaking past sleeping foes, it's hardly used in Super Mario 64. It was likely included to show off the new analog stick on the Nintendo 64 controller.

With each new 3D entry, Mario loses more and more of his original move set from Super Mario 64. It's for the sake of simplicity. Normal players won't use most of it in a regular playthrough.

If you want to see Mario used to his full potential, speedrunners embrace his entire arsenal of skills. It can be even more entertaining to them see beat the game without jumping at all.

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Jet Set Radio Future

Publisher: Sega Developer: Smilebit Genre: Skating, Platformer Platform: Xbox NA Release Date: February 25, 2002

I've talked about my love for terrible Sonic music, or really Sega music in general. But if there's one soundtrack from them that I can call great, it's the music from the Jet Set Radio series.  

As someone who doesn't know much about music, it's hard to describe. A good chunk of it is an electric techno thing that uses a variety of voice samples. But there's also other genres shoved inside as well. “Oldies But Happies” is one of my personal favorite tracks and I have no idea what genre it even falls in. For over a decade tracks like “Let Mom Sleep,” “Birthday Cake” and “Sweet Soul Brother” have remained burned into my head.

Occasionally it can seems like a mess of instruments and sounds, but somehow comes together in a way that's charming. It also perfectly fits the game's rebellious, playful and wacky vibe. Hideki Naganuma is the composer and his unique style can be found in his other games, like Sonic Rush. But the Jet Set Radio series feels like the whole package.

Splatoon is the only other game I can think of that pulls off a bizarre musical track just as well. It's similar in concept, but goes even further with its oddly chosen mishmash of instruments, sounds and samples. I don't like Splatoon's music as much, but I'm not a huge fan of the game's style in general. However, it's certainly well-made.

Quick shout out to S4 League, a free to play third person shooter. It has a bit of the spirit of Jet Set Radio in it.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Skate or Die!

Publisher: Ultra Games, Electronic Arts Developers: Konami, Electronic Arts Genre: Sports, Mini-Game Collection Platform: NES (Developed by Konami, Published by Ultra), Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Atari ST, Armstrad CPC NA Release Year: 1988

I remembered Skate or Die! as one of the first video games I ever played. I had fond memories of it, specifically the half-pipe where you could do the most damage to your skater. When I saw Skate or Die in a local retro game show, I was ecstatic.

I took it home and plopped it in my NES, but it was quite different from what I remembered. It wasn't that the game hadn't aged well or that my tastes had changed. No, the problem was that I misremembered something very important.

The game I played as a kid was the sequel, Skate or Die 2.

I was disappointed and shelved it for about a decade. Last year, played through the original. It was okay. It's got a neat 80s skater-bro style to it, but overall there's not much to do in it. It's just a handful skating related minigames and lacks the sequel's amazing title screen song.

I still haven't played Skate or Die 2 since creating those original memories. Not that I'm saying it holds up any better.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Xenoblade Chronicles

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Monolith Soft Genre: Japanese Role-Playing Game, Fantasy Platform: Nintendo Wii, New Nintendo 3DS EU Release Date: August 19, 2011 (New Nintendo 3DS NA: April 10, 2015)

I've never been in doubt that Xenoblade Chronicles is the best game Monolith Soft has ever produced. Between Xenogears and Xenosaga (although the former not technically developed by Monolith Soft), the franchise has had a rough ride. While I love their Baten Kaitos series on GameCube, it has its own hiccups that keep it from excelling.

I didn't realize just how well Xenoblade Chronicles came together until a friend of mine played it last year. After he beat the game, he pointed out that the weapon the protagonist wields, the Monado, bleeds its way into every element of the experience.

The Monado gives the main character, Shulk, the ability to see into the future. It's not a new idea, but almost every bit of the story and lore are wrapped around this blade. What takes this device a step further is that it also connects into major elements of gameplay.  In combat, the player can foresee devastating attacks. They have time to react by either preventing the attack or buffing the character up to reduce damage.

The sword's power reaches into some quality of life features as well, giving the player insight on potentially useful materials. If you pick up a new object that's intended for a quest, Shulk will have a vision that highlights it as a key item.

Considering the sword's importance, it's fitting that the original name of the game was Monado: Beginning of the World.  It was later rebranded as part of the Xeno franchise.

I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to talk about this again, so I'll do it here. When the game was revealed, the character models had a much different look to them. In the case of Shulk, he seemed slightly older and more in line with the character designs of the previous Xeno games.

From a technical perspective, the final models look worse. However, the more subdued color palette and rounded features gives them a unique look. I prefer the final models, but I think the reasoning behind the change probably had more to do with the aging Wii hardware rather than an artistic choice.

[videogamingbits-blog]

Blast Corps

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Rare Genre: Destruction, Time Trial Platform: Nintendo 64, Xbox One (Rare Replay) NA Release Date: March 24, 1997 (Xbox One: August 4, 2015)

Blast Corps was one of the first Nintendo 64 games that I owned. For some reason, I really hated it. I can't even remember why. I tried so hard to return it or trade it off. My sister really loved the game, so it never ended up leaving my collection. Last year, I went out of my way to finally beat it and was surprised just how easy it was to pick up and play again.

The basic idea of ramming cars into buildings isn't particularly deep, but Blast Corps goes beyond that simple concept by offering a number of vehicles that cause carnage in their own unique ways. The Backlash requires players to drift into buildings, Skyfall has to ramp off hills to fall onto objects, Sideswipe has extendable sides that pummel structures, Thunderfist is a giant mech that crushes things with its lone fist, and the Ballista lobs rockets but has limited ammunition.

For such an old game, it seems surprisingly fitting for mobile platforms. Well... if you could get it to work without any buttons. Almost every mission is complete-able in less than five minutes and you literally have a ticking time bomb keeping you from taking much longer. Time trials and side objectives encourages replaying levels to master them.

It seems like the perfect game to play between doing something else. But for now, you'll just have to lug your Nintendo 64 or Xbox One around with you.