The Legend of Korra: The Game

The Legend of Korra, for those that are unaware, is a western animation produced by Nickelodeon, and is the follow up series to the massively popular Avatar: The Last Airbender (or The Legend of Aang depending on where you live). It follows a young woman named Korra, the Avatar, who is able to wield all four elements within the world this series is set in (Fire, Water, Earth, and Air). Earlier this year, it was announced that Platinum Games, the same people behind such games as Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengance, and Wonderful 101, would be making a tie in game for The Legend of Korra. Said game came out earlier this month, and I was able to finally get my hands on a copy.

Presentation

This game, at least on PC which I played, looks amazing. The style is reminiscent of the show, with brand new animated sections made specifically for this game in between chapters. The music is mostly what you would hear on the show, and really helped to drive the fact that this is a Korra game home for me. The effects on the different bending styles look visually stunning and the impact of the hits feel right. While it isn’t nearly as impressive looking as previous Platinum games, it still has that Platinum feel to the design that any fan of their games would be sure to enjoy.

Gameplay

The Legend of Korra is an action beat-em-up, of the style that many are used to from Platinum by now. You play as Korra, fighting through waves of bad guys by utilizing the four elements, each style with their own strengths and weaknesses, and fighting a typically challenging boss at the end of each level. This game does kind of fall into the same problem that I generally always have with beat-em-ups, which is that the gameplay does get repetitive after awhile. Being able to switch between bending styles is neat at first, but I found that I would only use one or two of the elements through a majority of the game, only switching when it was necessary. Bosses were typically dispatched by avoiding their attack pattern until you get the one opening to damage them via quick-time event, which has always been something of a pet peeve of mine with this genre of games over the last decade or so. Even so, the game is fun for the time it takes to beat it.

This game is extremely short, with my personal run of the game clocking out at about 4 hours. It does encourage multiple playthroughs, with unlockable costumes, items, and various difficulty settings. Much like any Platinum game, there are a number of medals per level that grade your performance, with an overall medal awarded at the end of the level. Going back and improving these medal scores is always a fun challenge. There is also a small bit of exploration in the game, though I would have preferred a bit more. This usually takes form of a small diverging path where you can get a special trinket for bonus points at the end of the level, though this usually also means an extra-hard encounter to earn your points.

If there was one thing I absolutely despised about this game, it’s the Naga run sections. Naga is the giant polar bear dog (all the animals in Avatar are combinations of two animals) that is the animal companion to Korra, which she can ride. While these sections aren’t difficult, all it takes is a single slip up to have to start over again, and I feel like the game would have been better with their exclusion.

Finally, after beating the game once, you unlock Pro-Bending mode, a fictional sport within the Avatar universe. Once again you play as Korra, teaming up with two AI allies, in the form of her companions Mako and Bolin, to take on other teams of three and attempt to knock them off the stage. This is a fun little mode and a nice bonus at the end of the game, though it would have been nice to have played as someone else.

Story

Since this is a new game I won’t go into too much detail about the story here, but I will warn you right now that if you haven’t seen any of The Legend of Korra the show, then you would do best to steer clear of this game until you have.

This game has it’s own storyline, set after the end of Season Two and before Season Three. After making a miraculous comeback in a Pro-Bending match right at the beginning, Korra is lead into a trap by a group of Chi-Blockers, remnants of the Equalists, an anti-bender group from the first season. Korra gets stripped of her bending through unknown means, and spends the first level completely without any bending. As the game and story progresses, she discovers that a malevolent spirit known as Hun-Dun, who had conflict with the Avatar in a past life thousands of years ago. As the game goes on, Korra will re-awaken her bending with the help of Jinora, a young Air Bending prodigy who is able to project her spirit and assist Korra. While the story isn’t anything particularly special, it was a breath of fresh air to see a licensed game that doesn’t just re-tread the same plot-lines as it’s source material, and instead served to give us an entirely new story and experience.

Overall, for a budget title being sold for a mere $15, this is a great game that could have only been better if it had been given the triple-A treatment, especially from such a reputable company like Platinum. If you are a fan of the series, then I think this is worth your time, and if you’re a fan of beat-em-ups or the work that Platinum does and don’t mind some spoilers, the game is a nice fun romp. I would definitely recommend this game, especially to those who are a fan of the series, and if you haven’t seen the series itself, then I would also recommend that as well.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS Review

Super Smash Brothers has been a long standing favourite for many of us. The idea of gathering all of Nintendo’s mascots (and some guest fighters) was a novel idea back in the N64 days, and it has only grown in popularity since. With a new generation of Nintendo consoles comes a new Smash game, and for the first time since it’s conception, the series goes handheld for the 3DS. With a WiiU version coming in the next month, is it worth your time to buy Super Smash Brothers for your 3DS or 2DS?

Characters

The most important thing for any fighting game is of course it’s character roster. Boasting the largest roster of the series to this point with an astounding 51 characters, there is no shortage of variety. There are 14 brand new characters in this iteration of the series, including of course Megaman, which came as a surprise to many back when the games were first announced. While there are some notable names missing from the roster, particularly fan-favourite Ice Climbers, the new additions to the roster more than makes up for these exclusions. Much like it’s older counterparts it has a number of “clone” characters, characters that play exactly the same as more conventional counterparts, but this game has the fewest since their introduction, which allows for an extremely diverse cast.

Another notable thing about this iteration is the inclusion of the Mii Fighters, which acts as this game’s create-a-character mode. Using Miis that you have created, you can choose between one of three fighting styles; Brawler, Swordfighter, or Gunner. Each one comes with a number of customizable moves so that you can change your character to your own liking. In addition to this, the remainder of the cast possess customizable move sets, allowing you to make them to your liking, which I feel is a great addition to the series.

Gameplay/Story

I’m including these in the same category for one simple reason. There is no story. Outside of the usual Classic mode, which serves as a sort of arcade mode, you will not be finding much in the way of plot in this version of the game. Whether or not the WiiU version will have an adventure mode or something like Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, only time will tell. However, there is still quite a bit the 3DS version of the game can offer.

In terms of mechanics, there is a little getting used to when it comes to the control scheme. I personally own a 2DS, and find that the size of that particular console is comfortable on the hands, however I know there have been some complaints of the game being uncomfortable to play on the regular sized 3DS consoles, so do be sure to keep that in mind if you are planning on picking this game up.

Beginning with Classic mode, this mode has gotten a massive overhaul. Before starting your run, you get to set your difficulty from 1 to 9. Higher difficulties require you to use coins, the in-game currency you gain for playing the game, to buy in, but the rewards often out-weigh price of admission. Once you set your difficulty, you begin the game. You are set on a path that branches into 2-3 different options, which is great as it gives you some sense of freedom, at least as far as an arcade mode can be concerned. These paths are of varying difficulty, and have you doing all sorts of challenges. From fighting another combatant in single combat, fighting a giant version with 1-2 AI allies to assist you, or fighting against a horde of Mii Fighters (which will randomly generate based on your own personal pool of Miis), you are on a quest to fight the final boss, which of course is the always present Master Hand. At higher difficulties he can also be joined by his counterpart, Crazy Hand, and you have to fight them in tandem. However, since they can’t just leave it at that, there is a secret boss for you to fight if you fulfill certain conditions within the Master/Crazy Hand battle, but I’ll let you find that out for yourself.

Outside of Classic Mode, there is the ever-popular All-Star mode, a challenge mode where you fight have to fight every character in the game on a single life. In this version you fight them in chronological order of their debut, from the classics like Game & Watch and Pacman, all through the decades until you reach the current era of Nintendo games. After every few characters, you are given a brief rest, before being thrown right back into the mix. Also returning this version is the Stadium, which hosts a number of mini games for quick and fun challenges. There is the Homerun Contest, a fun mode where you get to beat up a punching bag before sending it flying with a baseball bat, with the goal of seeing how far you can make it fly. The Multi-Man Smash mode returns as well, a mode where you have to fight wave after wave of opponents, in this case Mii Fighters, under set conditions. These conditions include 10 or 100 Man Smash, where you have to defeat however many opponents the conditions state, with every 10 or so Miis you kill spawning another character from the game. There is also 3-Minute Smash, which is the same as above except that you have a time limit to kill as many as you possibly can. A new version they introduced is called Rival Smash, where you play against an AI opponent to see which of you can defeat more enemies. And of course, there is Cruel Smash, where you fight against a horde of other characters, all of which are extremely difficult and will probably mess you up something fierce.

Brand new and exclusive (as far as I’m aware) to the 3DS version of this game is a mode called Smash Run. In this mode you and 3 other people, whether friends or AI, are put into a rather large dungeon, and given 5 minutes to explore. There are a number of enemies for you to defeat, which drop upgrades to your various stats, which also slowly rise as you use various abilities. For example, every time you jump, you’ll gain points in your jump stat, whenever you attack you’ll gain points in attack, and so on. There are also challenge areas and random chests that will drop power ups and loot for you, so you are really encouraged to explore as much as you can in the time given to you. Once the time is up, all your stats will be tallied up and compared to your opponents, after which you will be pitted in one final battle. This battle can be something as simple as a free-for-all against the other enemies, or you could be paired up into teams, or even have to complete some sort of challenge faster than the others. This is a good game mode for unlocking customizable moves for your fighters as well as getting coins, however there is one glaring issue with it, which is the fact that it doesn’t have any sort of online capability. If you want to play with friends, then you better hope you know some other people locally that have the game.

Speaking of online, this game has online functionality. There are two modes, called For Fun and For Glory. For Fun mode allows you to play against anyone else online, with all the stages save for Final Destination, and all items turned on. For Glory mode puts you on Final Destination only, with no items, and the option to fight one on one. Both modes are fairly fun, though I personally find myself playing more in For Glory. You can also spectate random matches happening online, which has a feature that allows you to bet your coins on who you think is going to win the match, a neat little thing if you’re feeling bold and need some coins. Matchmaking is fairly quick, however since you can’t choose regions or anything, it’s not uncommon for you to face off against people from great distances. Functionally the game isn’t too bad online, at the very least being a massive improvement from Brawl. So long as both member’s internet connection is good, the game runs mostly smooth, however since you are forced to play wirelessly that will cause the usual issues that come with that. Overall I’ve enjoyed playing the game online, whenever I can find a stable connection to play on.

Presentation

This game looks downright gorgeous. The characters are all very well defined and detailed, and the backgrounds on the stages look amazing and really add to the atmosphere of the fights. I was quite impressed by the level of detail on many of the stages, particularly the stages with dynamic backgrounds such as the Prism Tower stage and the Living Room. Every stage comes with an Omega mode as well, which turns them into a stylized version of Final Destination based on that stage, all of which look great as well.

Musically, this game is everything you’ve come to expect from Smash Bros. at this point. Most of the music are either remixes or just straight ports of original classic tunes, with each stage usually having a small selection of songs that it cycles through, once you unlock them. Particularly I enjoyed the number of medleys throughout the game, notably on Dr. Wily’s Castle, the stage for Megaman. Whether you’re an old fan or new, you will surely enjoy the large variety of music this game has to offer as you fight against other people.

Overall Super Smash Brothers for the 3DS is a fun little title with a ton to offer despite it’s lack of story mode. Though the controls can be a bit cramped at first, once you get used to them there shouldn’t be very much issue at all. At a modest price of $40, if you want a fun game to play while on the go, the this game is for you. However with the WiiU version only a month away, with all new stages and undoubtedly more game modes, if you’re not interested in the portability that the 3DS version offers you, then it might be in your best interest to hold off until that version comes out.