GAMER LOUNGE 20XX (NO CASUALS!!)

[Iceman404]

I've been waiting for Freedom Planet to come out literally forever.

[Vipershark]

it's out on steam and will likely soon be available on other platforms

I couldn't find mention of these "other platforms".

[Kosheh]

That trailer. Uh, it looks really good, no doubt but that voice acting is seriously grating. It's like College Freshmen In Anime Club Attempt Professional Voice Acting and it just ends up sounding extremely wonky.
"You wanna fight?! Come and get it!"
"Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you!"
"What makes YOU so special?"
"Got any ideas, Miss Hero Pants?"
clichés left and right. I hope there isn't voice acting in the game and if there is it's togglable, because that's pretty much the only thing that's holding this game back.


It also doesn't help that the third character (the girl who runs on all fours, who I guess is the mousey voice in the trailer. that ironically sounds like the most professional voice they have) seems completely shoehorned into the game as if they had some sharp deadline to reach, with an aesthetic that doesn't even match the other two characters - not to mention that her animations are way, waaaaay overexaggerated for the sake of overexaggeration.
You can see what I mean in the trailer when she runs - the run cycle's timings just feels lopsided and does her shooting animation - oh my god that shooting animation, that doesn't even look like they remotely tried to put any effort into it


It looks cool though and the gameplay solid, I'll definitely pick it up at some point!!

[Crappy Blue Luigi]

i know from the game's thread on sonic retro's forums that the developer would like to get the game onto wii u and vita, too. let's hope that works out well!

EDIT:

That trailer. Uh, it looks really good, no doubt but that voice acting is seriously grating. It's like College Freshmen In Anime Club Attempt Professional Voice Acting and it just ends up sounding extremely wonky.
"You wanna fight?! Come and get it!"
"Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you!"
"What makes YOU so special?"
"Got any ideas, Miss Hero Pants?"
clichés left and right. I hope there isn't voice acting in the game and if there is it's togglable, because that's pretty much the only thing that's holding this game back.

the trailer makes mention of a mode where you simply play through all of the levels in sequence with no cutscenes. otherwise, as far as i know, there's no way to view the game's story without voice acting. i agree that a lot of the time it's annoying, but it's tolerable, and some scenes are pretty well-delivered.

It also doesn't help that the third character (that ironically sounds like the most professional voice they have) seems completely shoehorned into the game as if they had some sharp deadline to reach, with an aesthetic that doesn't even match the other two characters - not to mention that her animations are way, waaaaay overexaggerated for the sake of overexaggeration.

they did have a sharp deadline to reach, unfortunately.

also, "sounds like the most professional voice they have"
HAHAHA
HA
HAAA FUCK SHE'S SO OBNOXIOUS

does anybody out there know how to voice child characters without making them super squeaky and bouncing up to high pitches and back all the time because i've never heard a single child who speaks that way

"super cutesy" tends to not actually be that cute

[Iceman404]

The third character being shoehorned in feels like this odd nostalgia for me, sort of like Tails' inclusion in the full lock-on of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sonic and Knuckles get all the paths, story, and attention, while Tails is just this little extra besides Marble Garden being vertically built. :V

[Gwen]

Watching the trailer, I don't see why I'd want to play that. Admittedly I'm not the largest fan of Sonic's earlier games (Heroes was my jam heh) but all it looks like is "PLAY SONIC AS NOT SONIC" I'm surprised Sega hasn't told them to pack it up honestly. It seriously just looks like a Sonic re-skin. Don't let my negativity be a joykill, that's just how I see it.
Edit: After further discussion, it's definitely more than a Sonic re-skin, but I still have my qualms about it, and still think Sega could have a pretty good argument for it.

[Koh]

Watching the trailer, I don't see why I'd want to play that. Admittedly I'm not the largest fan of Sonic's earlier games (Heroes was my jam heh) but all it looks like is "PLAY SONIC AS NOT SONIC" I'm surprised Sega hasn't told them to pack it up honestly. It seriously just looks like a Sonic re-skin. Don't let my negativity be a joykill, that's just how I see it.

They couldn't even if they wanted to though, because none of their copyrights or IPS were stolen. They can't own a video game playstyle. They can own specific IPs and created works though, like Sonic and friends, music and sounds, etc. Otherwise, the creators of Pitfall would be able to tell Nintendo to pack it up, because they did the whole platforming thing before their Mario series (don't know who did it before Pitfall).

[Gwen]

Copyright isn't just "did you use my IPs?", Copyright issues can go to "is there a potential to cause a confusion of brands here?" Which Sega could certainly argue well here. There's no problem with competition, but as far as I can tell, Freedom Planet looks exactly like a Sonic game, plays exactly like a Sonic game(This is from watching the trailer, and some gameplay videos), and has furry characters like Sonic., Sega could make some very good arguments.

Pitfall would have a very challenging time arguing for Copyright Issues against Mario as the two games are extremely easy to tell apart, don't really have much in common other than the very generic "2d platformer" tag, and as such don't have the problem of causing confusion amongst the brands.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not hoping Sega sues these guys, especially if they made an enjoyable game, I'm just saying I'm surprised Sega hasn't taken any action.

[Koh]

Even that isn't enough though. Think about the original Legend of Zelda on NES versus Golden Axe Warrior on the Sega Master System.



It's super obvious the game plays like a reskin of Zelda. But Nintendo can't sue the peeps who made it, or send a cease and desist. Not to mention, there were plenty of Sonic clones out back in the day, during the mascot wars. A really shitty example being Awesome Possum on Sega Genesis.

[Gwen]

A reason that game probably wasn't pursued by Nintendo was that it was received so terribly when it came out, they didn't have to worry about it being a reskin of the Zelda build. Also while it is an obvious reskin, the story while flimsy and stupid as fuck is different enough, and nobody's going to confuse it for Zelda. It was and has been noted as a Rip off since it was released, and is also one of the rarest games to even find on the system. Nintendo didn't, and doesn't have to worry about losing sales to it.
It was torn to shreds by reviewers, and people who enjoyed the original Golden Axe series, which it was an adaptation of.

[Koh]

I do have to be honest...since I played the original Golden Axe first and many times, when I played Golden Axe Warrior for the first time, I was totally shocked by the total change in gameplay style. Since I was a fan of Zelda though, I did enjoy poking at it. It kinda looked like a graphical enhancement of the original Zelda, and so I often imagined what it would be like if Link were hacked into the game, and the maps updated to remake the original. Both have that grid-based movement though, and I hate it. It feels super stiff and clunky that way, for realtime action/adventure/RPG games. I hated it on the original Seiken Densetsu too, and I hated it on the original Startropics.

[Crappy Blue Luigi]

Watching the trailer, I don't see why I'd want to play that. Admittedly I'm not the largest fan of Sonic's earlier games (Heroes was my jam heh) but all it looks like is "PLAY SONIC AS NOT SONIC" I'm surprised Sega hasn't told them to pack it up honestly. It seriously just looks like a Sonic re-skin. Don't let my negativity be a joykill, that's just how I see it.

i don't have time to reply to this fully right now, but i'll try anyway unless you think all it takes to be a sonic game is bigheadded furry characters running around colorful scenery, this game is not a sonic game. none of the characters curl up into balls when they jump, and the gameplay has a significant lack of momentum based physics. you basically have enoigh speed to run up a wall if you walk for a second. freedom planet is way more combat oriented than any sonic 2d sonic game, as all of the playable characters have a variety of damaging moves.

also, carol has a motorcycle.

play the demo on the site and tell me if it still feels like a sonic game. it certainly takes a lot of inspiration from sonic, but it also takes heavy inspiration from other games of the era, like mega man x, rocket knight adventures, gunstar heroes, etc.

[Gwen]

In the first 40 seconds I saw a character spin into a ball and do a spin dash.
I also saw that while that main? character is running, it's pretty similar in the way Sonic runs, and then there's the little bounce platform thingies just like in Sonic which propels your character on different paths.
Carol may have a motor cycle, but it spins(like a ball) on most of the jumps I saw her take.

Look, I'm saying this based on gameplay videos I've watched, and the trailer. If it's a fun game, that's cool, and even if it is more combat oriented, it just looks like, and looks like it plays exactly like Sonic, it just seems like you get more options as far as attacking.

Which,
1. Isn't something I'm really interested in, and I'm just explaining why I'm not
2. I'm just saying why I'm surprised Sega hasn't taken issue with this game, not that they should and that I hope they do.
3. I'm just explaining why 2. is something that came to mind.

[Kriven]

1. Isn't something I'm really interested in, and I'm just explaining why and

The threshold for whether game mechanics are distinguishing are not if they personally appeal to you.

Having been a rabid fan of Sonic games since I was two, I can tell the difference between Freedom Planet and any Sonic title at a glance. The environments don't look at all the same, the Freedom Planet characters appear to be generic furry aliens as opposed to anthropomorphised animals, the story seems to be more standard anime-fare, the combat has more in common with Drill Dozer or some kind of platforming Street Fighter.

I haven't even played it yet. Just looking at the trailer I can tell the difference.

[[robo9]]

I'm surprised too. You'd think they'd sue them out of spite, considering Freedom Planet is doing something they can't. (Being a good Sonic game)