Jon told me on twitter that he wanted the game to have analog controls like Mario, but the publishers made him go with tank controls because "that was popular". I remember Michel Ancel had to fight with Ubisoft to let him use analog for Rayman 2, they also wanted him to use tank controls and told him he was crazy for wanting analog. It's a shame how much control publishers can have over these games. Sometimes it really is for the worse.
Just... Whyyyy!? Did any of them seriously think people LIKED tank controls? They've always struck me as being the kind of thing that existed because devs didn't know how to do anything better, not because they actually added anything!
Thinking about it, that sort of interference is also depressingly responsible for the death of more stylized graphics and creative character design in favor of "Realism." Like, I'm pretty sure y'all can think of at least a few games where it was like "We used to have a creative artstyle and interesting character designs, but then they made us focus test it and water it down to appease idiots!" Like, honestly, every marketing executive who demands that sort of "realistic" watering down deserves to be hit in the face with a shovel. Ditto for the people in those focus groups. Doubly so if it's used as a cudgel to reduce diversity because "OH NO, WE GOTTA APPEAL TO THAT ALL IMPORTANT SEXIST/RACIST DEMOGRAPHIC!"
Maybe Jon should have tried to compromise with them and said something like "how about, it has tank controls when using the D-Pad, and full analog controls when using the stick? That way, the player can chose which they prefer to use"? They probably would still shoot that idea down because these idiots had no idea what people wanted, and many of them still don't. Why did anyone think that tank controls were "popular"? Because they were in more games? That doesn't mean anything! Did they actually ASK people in a poll or something? HOW do they get this kind of data? Oh I know, they pulled it from their ASSES!
1:25 I'm glad there's actually an effort made by reviewers to actually play the game first before riffing into it for comedy's sake. A lot of reviewers still do it but it was super prevalent during the early UA-cam days. But yeah the fact that you actually made an effort to see the game all the way through and also see positives where others didn't is a huge reason I appreciate you bud! Keep up the great work.
I don't think NitroRad was throwing shade at anyone, he is too good for that, he just made a solid point. I unsubbed to PBG old time ago because he did the opposite. His "reviews" and ""contents"" was just a rushed, lazy mess with same old jokes over and over, with kindergarten humor based on popular opinions. Caddy recently started to do the same, played a game for a couple of hours at best just for get some footages (I think most of his reviews in the last years are from game that he never beated), throwed in some old overused jokes using popular opinions and... Bam! The ""review"" is done. I remind you that its their job to play games and talk about em, they make nice money for doing it, and they are too lazy for even do such a dream job? If we don't do our job well, we get Fired, if we don't study, we get low scores... Isnt it? So yeah, I unsubbed to him as well, I want to support guys like NitroRad (or ProJared) as much as I can, they are fun and professional, they put effort and real passion in their job, and since good guys like him still exist I don't want to go back to such rushed and lazy stuff, I "cleaned" my subscriptions. Don't want to bring hate, but yeah, this is my honest opinion. Also if someone know great UA-camrs like him, let me know!
From the very beginning of this video, with Rascal running around in a house, I wanted it to be remade with better controls... it has that much potential.
I love the fact that you actually play the games instead of just testing them and yelling and joking about the fact that they are really really bad! Appreciate it!
Honestly the exact reason i love Nitro. I'll allways have a soft spot for Jontron but barely anything he did felt like actuall reviews while Nitro goes through it from the begining to the end! Cheers for our rad man!
Sickid TV, because JonTron isn't a reviewer, really. He is a comedian first and foremost. I feel like he tried to actually review games at the beginning, but dropped it for more comedic take later on.
nitrorad is sort of a inbetween of jontron and the completionist in that way. closer to jirards stuff but its just reviews, not about the completion of the game itself. kind of reminds me of some of Jirards earlier stuff before he changed the format (back when he had the big ole SPOILERS warning near the end of the video)
What about somecallmejohnny? I've not seen a lot of his reviews, but as far as I've seen, he has played through games from beginning to end, while giving his thoughts on the game throughout. Like Sonic '06, Ghosts and Goblins, Megaman X5 and X6, etc. I could be wrong though, it's just something I noticed...
Seeing Jon's prototype I think the game could have been much better. Even from a visual standpoint. I'm curious how he would change it for a director's cut without the pressure of a publisher. Also, kudos for taking your time with the game. Most reviewers just yell at the bit of footage they made and call it a day.
And now Gamehut (That's the programmer/developer's of this game's UA-cam channel) he explains the immediate reasons for the biggest complaints this game have. Its worth a watch. =) The tank controls are publisher forced, the camera awkwardness is also partially because of the tank controls, according to the UA-cam video, due to the limitations of the game engine to make the textures looks really good, polygons behind the player will look wierd due to the software dithering effect they did, that's why the camera always tried their hardest to avoid polygons behing the player which resulted in bad angles that hurt gameplay.
Its amazing how all of their non lego games are mediocre I really like their company (crash twinsanity is my favorite crash game) but there is a reason they dont make non lego game anymore and thats a shame because all of their games have so much potencial... Oh well what can you do...
You know what would be cool games for you to review, the De Blob games. They both got remastered for all modern platforms so I think they'd be a great choice.
"A good game can be better, but a bad game with good ideas can become something wonderful for the very first time." Like Sonic '06! Also, very good review, James! I've heard many things about Rascal but never played it. But I'm glad you went in and gave it a chance, even walking out with good things to say about it. I'm sure that I'll want to throw my copy out the window if I ever get one but I'm glad there's honest reviewers like you that don't join the bandwagon and go, "THIS GAME SUX!" just for views.
Sonic '06 could've been a good or great Sonic Adventure 3 if it didn't have a few months or a year of development and went through a full 2/3 year cycle. Having half a crew with half to a third of the usual time to make a game for a Christmas or anniversary deadline is a habit that Sega has that they still haven't broken! *cough* Sonic Boom *cough* Sonic Forces *cough*
Yeah, I get really annoyed when reviewers spread hate on a game to the point where the general mindset around the game basically becomes "It was bad, therefore it should never come back" despite it having good ideas and potential. (eg. Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly)
You know, since this game has 10 levels and 5 boss levels, not counting the final 6th boss, this level pattern was also used for two more traveller’s tales games after Rascal, which are A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2.
You know what, a remaster of this game for 10-15 bucks, analog controls, fix a few things like the themed bosses being in their stages and get rid of that stupid skull pick up (seriously, there's a reason Mario 2's purple mushroom hasn't made a re-appearance) and this game could be like a hidden gem. The pieces are all there for a fun game.
Traveler's Tales was the probably the most impressive Western Developer before they were bought out by Warner Bros (sadly) and other developers got it eventually right, and Jon Burton stands as one my inspirations to try and push game engines to their limits (both storytelling and features to be optimised), considering he is still around (as you've mentioned, but I also want to point out of Jon's director's cut of Sonic 3D Blast) kicking ass on the internets. The reason why I put (sadly) in the Warner Bros bit was that they are effectively hostages being held within to make Lego games for eternity (for better or worse, looking at Lego City Undercover and virtually all of the Lego games that they've developed respectively) which wastes their potential, but it makes them a heck of a lot money. Jon is still working for them, he should go independent. People would have already know this (considering of how common those games are, much to the point of being Shovelware with one exception), but I wanted to point that out of how sympathetic I am to the guys working at TT.
Cheesy? Worse than Bubsy 3D? Never heard of the game but if it's somehow worse than Bubsy 3D, I would definitely love to hear about it. Is it about a mouse or something? The name, Cheesy, kind of gives off a sort of 'mouse' vibe for some reason.
That game is not well knowed for a reason, those who know it don't want to talk about it. Bad graphics, It's ugly. Bad Gameplay, tank controls, bad camera, has barely any organic enviroment (stay still and it looks like the game crashed) Shitty unexplained story, awful music (if theres any), and multiples loading times, it's RELLY this bad.
It's actually really interesting to see the difference between the two styles. I feel Caddy tends to focus more on the humour while Nitro Rad is a bit more informative. To be brutally honest I find myself preferring the latter lately.
This game should use Megaman Legends camera. It's excatly same as this game's camera with one minor difference: IT CAN ACTUALLY GO THROUGH WALLS! If you played the game you know what I'm talking about.
Your channel is a real gem i the vastness of gaming channels on UA-cam. It comes of as fresh and original and might actually be my favorite one at the moment.
It’s funny; I find it interesting how much difference a reviewers’ perspective can completely one’s outlook. Caddicarus made the game look utterly irredeemable, and I bought it, thanks to his presentation. But then the same game is covered by someone else, and offers a whole new perspective (okay, it’s still bad, BUT there’s this this and this that shows it had promise) and suddenly, opinions change. I’m not sure if there’s a takeaway or moral to this observation. The powers of persuasion? Opinions are weird like that? How perspectives can be altered just by how a product is analyzed? I’m reading too much into it? I dunno. One thing I know for sure: I liked this review much better than Caddy’s, because it didn’t have forced drunk humor in it like Caddy’s. Seriously, obviously fake drunk humor really doesn’t work.
I think its mostly that most reviewers see games for what they are but not many see them for what they could be. Most see a bad game and call it bad but ut takes a specific kind of person to look in a bad game and find things that work, and appreciate them as individual details rather than part of a game thats bad in total.
I have to agree despite liking Caddy, the review felt very obligatory and forced, there is a reason I never put that one on when putting on some old Caddicarus to watch when preparing dinner.
The game was actually originally supposed to have analog controls, but the lead developer left the project to work on Sonic R. So, they had to get a developer from Psygnosis to lead the game from then on, and they suggested replacing the analog controls with tank controls, a method the engine and camera weren’t built for. There are even early prototypes that have analog controls over on a UA-cam channel known as GameHut, which is ran by the guy that developed a majority of Traveller’s Tales games from the ‘90s. Go check out his content, it’s a lot of amazing lost prototypes and content originally made by TT.
It's interesting that the main character's design was made by The Jim Henson Creature Shop, considering that Traveler's Tales went on to make a Muppets game on the PS1 later on
It's always a good thing to stay optimistic even when in the face of a lackluster game. But I feel at this time and age a Rascal remaster seems unlikely.
They did that for Bubsy though, it COULD be possible, though it's likely very slim. :p But hey, though it might technically be a big company, Kid Icarus also got a 3DS game way after it's original games, and in a way that wasn't just Smash Bros. too, so yeah. :p
@@indigowendigo8165 bubsy is popular even if for the wrong reason Kid icarus was relevant because pit was in smash I dont see a rascal remaster anytime soon but who knows
Heyho my dude. I wanted to let you know that you've taken the spot as my favourite youtuber, which was previously taken by the likes of angry joe, caddicarus and somecallmejohnny. The reason beeing that you are the only one of them imo who manages to be entertaining as hell while also beeing very informative. Take Caddy as an example, he used to properly review games with a lot of jokes thrown in just like you, but somewhere down the road he stoped reviewing games properly. Don't get me wrong he is still funny and very much watchable but he barely plays more than a few hours of the games he reviews anymore and then proceeds to either make fun of it or praise it without listing all the pros and cons. The best example of this is actually your review of the new ps4 bubsy game. Johnny complained in his review that bubsy talks to much, which means he didn't even bother to look at the options menu which is one of the first things you have done in your review and you even joked about the option to change how much bubsy talks. I can still watch both of them for entertainement which is mainly what I want but your opinion means the most to me.
He is the perfect combination of thorough and informative, yet entertaining and genuinely funny. His other channel is really good too. He's basically the only UA-camr I've been seriously watching lately.
I came here from the John Burton video that explained that TT had actually had free run controls that solved a lot of this game's problems in prototyping and that the rendering method they chose was a big reason for why the camera tends to snag on walls, but it was Psygnosis, insisting that Tank Controls were the future because people liked Tomb Raider so much is the reason Rascal's problems came to be.
I had this game as a kid, my father bought it for me with a bunch of other games. I hated it and i wasn't even able to beat a single stage, the only reason i saw the rest of the game was because i had a magazines with a level select code, I can't believe that Travellers Tales made this game, they used to make lots of good games
Anyone else notice that the Chrono guy looks suspiciously like N. Tropy? Great review as always. I love how you're able to give these "bad" games a fair look and appreciate their good ideas :3
It seems like the majority of the game's issues could've been resolved if it had traditional controls and a better camera. Also, ya gotta love those few PS1 games that ran at 60fps, like Einhänder, Raystorm, Klonoa, etc.
The ex-owner of TT just posted a video of the prototype on his GameHut channel. The prototype really did look better. Shame, because this game actually would have been decent without the broken tank controls. What producer said "Hey, do you know what everyone loves about Tomb Raider? The Tank Controls!" Who said that? How did anyone come to that conclusion?My mind boggles. Oh well. Though I also do agree with the randomly generated monsters. The engine looked really good for a PS1 game.
I love that you have so many reviews of lesser-known platformers on your channel, you are a treasure! Oh, and I have a question - could you review Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles? It's apparently a really obscure PS2/PC/Dreamcast platformer.
You're the first person I've seen get it right about this game. EVERYTHING is there except for functional controls, camera, and enemy spawn. I wanted to like this game so much but I hate tank controls with such passion I couldn't even get past the first level and ragequit immediately. I'm not the most knowledgeable about 3D games but I'd say modding in better controls for character and camera plus tweaking enemy spawn would be enough to vastly improve it.
It's actually refreshing to see a review of this game that isn't completely negative. You actually brought up things many other people purposely ignored.great video once again.
To be fair, on the topic of boss rushes, in Konami's Gradius games they have a series staple of having a boss rush level full of bosses that are found nowhere else in the game. The catch is though that they are all bosses from other games in the series so long time fans will still know whats up. They even did this concept in Castlevania Rondo Of Blood on the PC Engine CD with stage 6 being a boss rush of a bunch of old Castlevania bosses summoned by Shaft. In this game's case though, those SHOULD have been the bosses for each world.
My favorite part of this game is when my brother and my disk got scratched a bit and had a horrible glitch where all the textures broke, the game would load things incorrectly and enemies all broke. Was quite fun.
This is what I like about this channel. You don't make videos off of first impressions, and you grit your teeth to play through frustrating games to give a proper review. Leaving to a lot more genuine and detailed descriptions of these games.
Your integrity is the reason I love watching your stuff. You give each game a fair shake and an honest observation. No matter what it is. You're one of my UA-cam heroes bro.
Huh. I legitimately forgot this was actually developed by Traveler's Tales. Whoops! Speaking of which, good on you for mentioning GameHut! Jon Burton's UA-cam channel is incredibly rad, and watching him explain how he programmed some of the mindblowing effects from some of my favorite videogames is a treat.
I always enjoy these videos cause there's actual effort put into examining the games and not just going with popular perception OR going the opposite just to be a contrarian
I think the bosses from the boss rush were originally supposed to be the bosses for each world, but most likely because of time constraint, were only used for the boss rush and Chronon was shoehorned into the regular boss positions.
It's real neat being able to see what I couldn't play as a kid because my video rental stores just didn't have them. This game does *look* real good for a mid-life PS1 game, that's for sure. But speaking of video rental stores and games some people couldn't play, could I suggest a review of Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles? It was apparently an EU/AU only release on the PS2, PC, and Dreamcast. It's a platformer with a cool aesthetic that I just didn't really get at the time.
this is a good review! I used to play this game a lot as a kid and my brothers especially loved it. I found it hard but at the time so many games had tank controls we were just used to them I guess. We certainly had a lot of fun with it regardless :) Have you ever played Psybadek? It was around at a similar time to Rascal, slightly earlier I think, so I tend to link the two together in my mind. It's another game that's often known as one of the Bad psx games. Anyway, thanks for the fair review of Rascal. A little gem covered in a lot of dust, but if it had just had time to be polished properly, it could have been great.
Thank you for reviewing this. I love how you always stay calm in your videos, while still being informative. And, you still give games like this the chance even if they're pretty much hated by everyone--
I really do appreciate that there's people out there like you who actually put in the effort to play through these games thoroughly and provide fair looks at them rather than jumping into the pit of mob mentality that most reviewers are like these days.
I wonder if NitroRad will review Toy Story 2? It is like Rascal, only it has better controls. If it’s one thing I understand about his show so far: it’s that he hasn’t looked at a movie tie-in game yet. I’d like to hear his opinion of the game. Not in terms of how it follows the source material, but how it actually plays.
Dude you must have the patience of a saint to review this in such a rational mindset and as calmly as you did. Man props! Love your vids keep it up dude!!
Speaking about incredible games for PS1, you may want to check out the two Oddworld games (plus the PS4 remake of the first one) More people simply need to know the level of work put into those, many people downtrod Oddworld as some 'baby product' and that simply isn't the case
Those people are just ignorant, just because they want games to be this escapist fantasy, I really do not pity them, nor their thinking (even now, Oddworld is cast aside like some sort of nothingness) I finally have realized why after all these years: back in 1997/1998, the world didn't simply care about real-world-projected issues in entertainment products, and as a result of this attitude, never paid the messages any heed, nowadays, however, I think that the reboot of Abe's Exoddus would at least be paid attention. One other reason is sabotage, a GT Interactive employee tried to get the Oddysee canceled because he "didn't think it seemed very good" and that Lorne Lanning claimed Microsoft did it to Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath (I told Guru Larry all about this 'OddGate') The final reason is the one which did the most damage, Sony themselves did not have hope for the Oddysee, and when it was a success, the damage permeated throughout the franchise as a whole.
Certain games, yes, but some just think even now that games are just there as entertainment without giving any thought to where they can, with meaningful stories, affect individuals, there's also characters whom the player can relate to in times when the player needs to. On that footnote of that current case: that's actually what I did towards the Soulstorm (Abe's Exoddus) reveal conference UA-cam video, I did have issues with the the re-imagined cast, mainly that everything looked too human-esc, that the organizations and clothing looked American, as opposed to the 1 to 1 base of New 'N' Tasty (Abe's Oddysee) where everything was recognizable, yes, but had its own flair to it. The salt to this gaping wound was that none of the audience was tempted to ask about any of the changes, neither did Caddicarus in a later interview with Lorne Lanning, where he really should have. I understand that all that was very early development, but, what a way to alienate the Old Guard which are left.
1:24 Sick burn. And to be honest that is why I love you, you dig on in and try to give experiences of specific levels and not just swear at the main flaws
Which game is worse? A game that is visually impressive but with bad camera like rascal or a game that is visually unimpressive but with better camera like bubsy 3D?
The reason why i personally love Nitrorad, is becauce he dont tap into one of the worst traps a reviewer can fell. He dont just judge a book by its cover and rip into it without given it a chance. Or (and thats my even bigger pet peeve and problem in gaming in general) He dont tap into toxic positivity. He stays unbiased points out the good but ALSO the bad. Keep the good work up ^-^
I know it’s seen as one of the worst games on the PS1 but I actually loved this game when I was a kid. I rented it from Blockbuster multiple times in a row before I finally beat it. It has a ton of problems, but it’s got a surprising amount of personality for an early 3D game. The aesthetic of most games from back then was basically just blocks of varying colors or with very simple designs and they normally weren’t a lot of fun to explore. This game felt way ahead of it’s time in some ways, it’s just a shame the negatives outweigh the positives. I totally agree with your sentiment about games like this needing a remaster. The great games from back then are already great. All remastering them does is introduce them to a new audience. The “bad” games from that time would be so much more interesting to have remastered. A lot of them had great ideas, they were just executed poorly. This game in particular would benefit heavily from all the things we’ve learned about 3D game design and camera control in the last 25 years. Same with things like Blasto and Croc. Both games are so charming, they just suck to play. Fear Effect, despite being one of my favorite games of all-time, is a little rough around the edges in some aspects but if it was given a few tweaks I feel like it could finally get the respect it deserves.
It will not work Diferent games are good for diferent things while some of the things he say can work in every game some can work only in specific cases And the ones that can work in every game is already present in new games
I still remember the commercial for this game, which is now on UA-cam. It made me want the game and made me sad that it was on the PS1 since I had an N64 during that generation. It wasn't until much later on when I was trying to remember the name of that game that had that commercial attached to it that I found out about its terrible reputation. (Also the commercial has a hot nurse in it, when I certainly didn't remember when I was a kid) I don't think I could ever play this game, since tank controls and me just don't get along. Only when they're behind the shoulder, like Resident Evil 4, can I tolerate them. That said, I don't think a remake of this game could be all that good. The core gameplay design doesn't seem like it could ever be more than just 'standard', despite the cool, Blazing Saddles-like movie set breakthrough.
Probably the worst controls I've ever played in a game. I tried making a "Let's Play..." series of this, but I gave up after one episode, because I was way too pissed off at it. Great graphics for the time though.
I only ever heard of this game once, from an advertisement in a magazine. Back then I thought it was called "Pascal" because I didn't know the word 'rascal' yet. That's a shame about the catastrophal controls and game design, because the level design itself looks creative enough.
I somehow like this game because of how poor it is, but I had some fun playing the levels, it's super hard though imo, I definitely should try finishing it once I have free time
"I mean, I could just get 2 hours of b-roll and then yell about how bad this game is and reaffirm the popular opinion.... but that's not how I roll because it's just way too easy." -- That's why we love ya, man. That's why people turn to UA-camrs instead of game journalists these days, and that's why you should have 10x the subscribers you do, _at least_ . Your videos - the research, the actually playing all the way through them, the digesting all those thoughts from your time spent with 'em - consistently make for stuff that's a massive cut above the vast majority of crap out there. Never change, Nitro. You should do a Top 10 sometime of games like this that you feel would be kick-ass if remastered and given a proper second chance. You've played so many games like that by now, though you still have to get through stuff like Evil Twin and Malice and Blasto, and I'm sure _plenty_ of other weird 3D Platformers from the 5th and 6th gen consoles that might make that list, so it's definitely an idea for the future. It would make for a fascinating watch.
@Nitro Rad You've used TTYD music from the Pit of 100 Trials? Man, you really put the RAD in Nitro Rad!~ Caddicarus's review was not so favourable, I fricken love your mellow, dude! Not to mention your resemblance to Rayman, just like my resemblance to Wario in RL with a mustache (and a combination of fat and muscles lol). As for the tank controls thing - it was a fad, and "fad" is one letter away from "fade", which is what happened with that trend.
I like how you review it and look at what is good about the game whether minor or major and how it could have been improved instead of just ranting. Keep up the good work dude ^^
I remember buying this game as a kid, played it for a little while and then promptly returned it the same day. I think I got Symphony Of The Night instead. Best damn decision in my entire life!
I used to get ps1 demo discs in the mail (I sent a post card that came with my playstation) Rascal was one of them, it came on its own disc with a sticker pack (Medieval was another one like this). Sony was really pushing this one.
Rascal was a supposed to have directional controls (like SM64) but the publisher insisted to make tank controls. More info! ua-cam.com/video/aHCFMQIzzwo/v-deo.html
Despite being such a terrible game, this is quite the technical marvel for the time it was released in. And I definitely feel the same way about games getting remade. People always talk about what GOOD games they want remade which is fine and all. I have my fair share of favorites that I'd like to see get remade one day. But what about the terrible games that had some good ideas? What I want is to see some absolutely vile games with squandered potential get remade into something wonderful. Shortly before that new Bubsy game came out, I had gone on about how I'd love to see a bad game like Bubsy get remade or get a sequel that was actually good. Unfortunately, the new Bubsy game does not fit that criteria... but that doesn't mean that it's impossible. If the company behind the remake actually gives two shits about the property they're working with and not just making it for the lols and money, like the assholes behind the new Bubsy game, then I think they could make something really great. One game I'd love to see get remade due to the potential it had before actually getting released and showing us how much of a train wreck it was is Sonic '06. A group of fans are coming together to make a remake of it for PC and are making it... better, I guess... but it still looks a little too faithful to the original to really be 'good.' I just wanna see it completely fixed up because it DID have a lot of potential before it got squandered due to deadlines and shit like that. Remakes of good games are fine and always welcome but I just wanna see complete train wrecks and dumpster fires get remade into something good. While watching this video, I did think how great it would be to see this remade and fixed up a bit since it does have a ton of potential, having that exact thought just moments before you said it. They could fix the controls, make it possible to re-enter stages you've already completed just to avoid getting stuck with a single life, fix up the camera, replace the bosses from each stage with the ones that actually fit with their themes, and there you have it... a pretty decent platformer that wouldn't be as forgotten or as reviled as it is now to the point that people say that it's even worse than Bubsy 3D.
That thing you said about bad games with good ideas being remastered really reminds me of Pathologic. I love the original and everything it tries to be to bits but enjoying it really is an uphill battle. Luckily the remake should be out soon...
Jon told me on twitter that he wanted the game to have analog controls like Mario, but the publishers made him go with tank controls because "that was popular". I remember Michel Ancel had to fight with Ubisoft to let him use analog for Rayman 2, they also wanted him to use tank controls and told him he was crazy for wanting analog. It's a shame how much control publishers can have over these games. Sometimes it really is for the worse.
Aw man that’s a big shame.
Would you happen to be a transformers fan?
Just... Whyyyy!? Did any of them seriously think people LIKED tank controls? They've always struck me as being the kind of thing that existed because devs didn't know how to do anything better, not because they actually added anything!
Thinking about it, that sort of interference is also depressingly responsible for the death of more stylized graphics and creative character design in favor of "Realism." Like, I'm pretty sure y'all can think of at least a few games where it was like "We used to have a creative artstyle and interesting character designs, but then they made us focus test it and water it down to appease idiots!"
Like, honestly, every marketing executive who demands that sort of "realistic" watering down deserves to be hit in the face with a shovel. Ditto for the people in those focus groups. Doubly so if it's used as a cudgel to reduce diversity because "OH NO, WE GOTTA APPEAL TO THAT ALL IMPORTANT SEXIST/RACIST DEMOGRAPHIC!"
Maybe Jon should have tried to compromise with them and said something like "how about, it has tank controls when using the D-Pad, and full analog controls when using the stick? That way, the player can chose which they prefer to use"? They probably would still shoot that idea down because these idiots had no idea what people wanted, and many of them still don't. Why did anyone think that tank controls were "popular"? Because they were in more games? That doesn't mean anything! Did they actually ASK people in a poll or something? HOW do they get this kind of data? Oh I know, they pulled it from their ASSES!
My little Shesez
Yes
Rascal is your son now
And Kamina from Gurren Lagann is your big Brother.
And that's what SHESEZ
commander shesez
Okay, but is nobody gonna mention how smooth James' "turning animation" at 12:36 is? Damn, it's like he really is the tank controls.
1:25 I'm glad there's actually an effort made by reviewers to actually play the game first before riffing into it for comedy's sake. A lot of reviewers still do it but it was super prevalent during the early UA-cam days. But yeah the fact that you actually made an effort to see the game all the way through and also see positives where others didn't is a huge reason I appreciate you bud! Keep up the great work.
Yeah Caddicarus didn't even finish Croc 2. What a scrub.
I don't think NitroRad was throwing shade at anyone, he is too good for that, he just made a solid point.
I unsubbed to PBG old time ago because he did the opposite. His "reviews" and ""contents"" was just a rushed, lazy mess with same old jokes over and over, with kindergarten humor based on popular opinions. Caddy recently started to do the same, played a game for a couple of hours at best just for get some footages (I think most of his reviews in the last years are from game that he never beated), throwed in some old overused jokes using popular opinions and... Bam! The ""review"" is done.
I remind you that its their job to play games and talk about em, they make nice money for doing it, and they are too lazy for even do such a dream job? If we don't do our job well, we get Fired, if we don't study, we get low scores... Isnt it?
So yeah, I unsubbed to him as well, I want to support guys like NitroRad (or ProJared) as much as I can, they are fun and professional, they put effort and real passion in their job, and since good guys like him still exist I don't want to go back to such rushed and lazy stuff, I "cleaned" my subscriptions. Don't want to bring hate, but yeah, this is my honest opinion.
Also if someone know great UA-camrs like him, let me know!
PastoKage
Check out Square Eyed Jak
I disagree Psycho Magalor, but if you like em, good for you!
@@Headspr0uter Thankfully, his schedule seems to have decreased a bit, allowing for more focus.
From the very beginning of this video, with Rascal running around in a house, I wanted it to be remade with better controls... it has that much potential.
Agreed!
For about 20 dollars, I'd easily buy that.
@@TheChefBoo 40€ with updated grafics. Totally. Atleast a little bit smoother with texture filtering. Would work wonder.
@@SONGOKU02 and better controls
I love the fact that you actually play the games instead of just testing them and yelling and joking about the fact that they are really really bad! Appreciate it!
Honestly the exact reason i love Nitro. I'll allways have a soft spot for Jontron but barely anything he did felt like actuall reviews while Nitro goes through it from the begining to the end! Cheers for our rad man!
Sickid TV, because JonTron isn't a reviewer, really. He is a comedian first and foremost. I feel like he tried to actually review games at the beginning, but dropped it for more comedic take later on.
nitrorad is sort of a inbetween of jontron and the completionist in that way. closer to jirards stuff but its just reviews, not about the completion of the game itself. kind of reminds me of some of Jirards earlier stuff before he changed the format (back when he had the big ole SPOILERS warning near the end of the video)
What about somecallmejohnny? I've not seen a lot of his reviews, but as far as I've seen, he has played through games from beginning to end, while giving his thoughts on the game throughout. Like Sonic '06, Ghosts and Goblins, Megaman X5 and X6, etc.
I could be wrong though, it's just something I noticed...
@@JumperIncorp James has said before that somecallmejohnny is an inspiration for him.
Oh
My
God
James didn't leave the disc in the console when recording the intro... our little boy is all grown up now.
He's finally learned to put his things away, bless his heart
Seeing Jon's prototype I think the game could have been much better. Even from a visual standpoint. I'm curious how he would change it for a director's cut without the pressure of a publisher.
Also, kudos for taking your time with the game. Most reviewers just yell at the bit of footage they made and call it a day.
And now Gamehut (That's the programmer/developer's of this game's UA-cam channel) he explains the immediate reasons for the biggest complaints this game have. Its worth a watch. =)
The tank controls are publisher forced, the camera awkwardness is also partially because of the tank controls, according to the UA-cam video, due to the limitations of the game engine to make the textures looks really good, polygons behind the player will look wierd due to the software dithering effect they did, that's why the camera always tried their hardest to avoid polygons behing the player which resulted in bad angles that hurt gameplay.
Its amazing how all of their non lego games are mediocre
I really like their company (crash twinsanity is my favorite crash game) but there is a reason they dont make non lego game anymore and thats a shame because all of their games have so much potencial...
Oh well what can you do...
You know what would be cool games for you to review, the De Blob games. They both got remastered for all modern platforms so I think they'd be a great choice.
That would be pretty cool. I hope it happens at some point.
PLEASE
That's actually a great idea!
Great game id love to see him play it!
Yet again another totally insecure and forgotten platformer, I love you
? ...You mean "obscure"?
It's just a little unsure of itself. It's fine.
I had it growing up, and what a suprise i'm 31 and i'm bad at platformers.
I'm gonna blame Rascal.
D:
If I were Rascal, I'd be insecure too tbh
"A good game can be better, but a bad game with good ideas can become something wonderful for the very first time."
Like Sonic '06!
Also, very good review, James! I've heard many things about Rascal but never played it. But I'm glad you went in and gave it a chance, even walking out with good things to say about it. I'm sure that I'll want to throw my copy out the window if I ever get one but I'm glad there's honest reviewers like you that don't join the bandwagon and go, "THIS GAME SUX!" just for views.
Sonic '06 could've been a good or great Sonic Adventure 3 if it didn't have a few months or a year of development and went through a full 2/3 year cycle. Having half a crew with half to a third of the usual time to make a game for a Christmas or anniversary deadline is a habit that Sega has that they still haven't broken! *cough* Sonic Boom *cough* Sonic Forces *cough*
Yeah, I get really annoyed when reviewers spread hate on a game to the point where the general mindset around the game basically becomes "It was bad, therefore it should never come back" despite it having good ideas and potential. (eg. Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly)
@@mykaruest6257Sonic 06 and Sonic Forces are both good
I agree with you on Sonic Boom tho
You know, since this game has 10 levels and 5 boss levels, not counting the final 6th boss, this level pattern was also used for two more traveller’s tales games after Rascal, which are A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2.
You know what, a remaster of this game for 10-15 bucks, analog controls, fix a few things like the themed bosses being in their stages and get rid of that stupid skull pick up (seriously, there's a reason Mario 2's purple mushroom hasn't made a re-appearance) and this game could be like a hidden gem. The pieces are all there for a fun game.
It's in 3D Land, for some reason.
@@y2commenter246 if i remember correctly it's only in the special worlds though
@@orbeezslurper That's correct.
1:24 ♥
Thats why I luv this guy!
Most of "famous" youtubers nowdays are just too lazy to even beat a game before make a ""review"" of it!
12:33 That was the best and funniest example of tank controls I've ever seen!
You should review conkers bad fur day
Nitro’s more into the most obscure platformers, the only triple AAA games he’s covered was the mainline 3d Mario series
Eventually, he'll review them all, even though he had passed em as everyone here who love platformers :D
It's not like there are a lack of reviews on UA-cam already for CBFD or BK/BT. If he wanted to do an N64 one I'd suggest 'Tonic Trouble'
He will in due time.....
Oh?
Traveler's Tales was the probably the most impressive Western Developer before they were bought out by Warner Bros (sadly) and other developers got it eventually right, and Jon Burton stands as one my inspirations to try and push game engines to their limits (both storytelling and features to be optimised), considering he is still around (as you've mentioned, but I also want to point out of Jon's director's cut of Sonic 3D Blast) kicking ass on the internets.
The reason why I put (sadly) in the Warner Bros bit was that they are effectively hostages being held within to make Lego games for eternity (for better or worse, looking at Lego City Undercover and virtually all of the Lego games that they've developed respectively) which wastes their potential, but it makes them a heck of a lot money. Jon is still working for them, he should go independent. People would have already know this (considering of how common those games are, much to the point of being Shovelware with one exception), but I wanted to point that out of how sympathetic I am to the guys working at TT.
If you want a really crappy PSX platformer, then try Cheesy. Some say it's worse than Bubsy 3D.
Specter227 oh my god cheesy was terrible.
Cheesy? Worse than Bubsy 3D? Never heard of the game but if it's somehow worse than Bubsy 3D, I would definitely love to hear about it. Is it about a mouse or something? The name, Cheesy, kind of gives off a sort of 'mouse' vibe for some reason.
There are no video games worse than Bubsy 3D. It is impossible. I refuse to believe that.
Now I guess I'll have to figure this out myself....
That game is not well knowed for a reason, those who know it don't want to talk about it.
Bad graphics, It's ugly. Bad Gameplay, tank controls, bad camera, has barely any organic enviroment (stay still and it looks like the game crashed) Shitty unexplained story, awful music (if theres any), and multiples loading times, it's RELLY this bad.
Nitro Rad what about E.T on the Atari?
I remember when Caddy reviewed this game years ago. Oh boy, this is going to be a ride.
Guys, I found him with just 6 likes after 30 minutes. Stop the "like bot" stuff.
It's actually really interesting to see the difference between the two styles. I feel Caddy tends to focus more on the humour while Nitro Rad is a bit more informative. To be brutally honest I find myself preferring the latter lately.
You compare Caddy to current Jontron, but I feel like their styles have always been similar which is using a bad product to drive the comedy.
I still feel caddy does more reviewing than jontron though.
Speedwagoooooooooon~
This game should use Megaman Legends camera. It's excatly same as this game's camera with one minor difference: IT CAN ACTUALLY GO THROUGH WALLS! If you played the game you know what I'm talking about.
Give it the same lock on as Mega man Legends while you're at it
You should go watch the GameHut video on Rascal, sadly the camera couldn’t go through walls, it would’ve broken everything.
All games should have cameras like that
I dont understand why they cant have it
@@valletas The way the game engine was programmed the camera wouldn't be able to do that without messing up the textures.
Your channel is a real gem i the vastness of gaming channels on UA-cam. It comes of as fresh and original and might actually be my favorite one at the moment.
Thanks for the early link on Patreon James!
This is a strange one I've not heard much of. Kinda reminds me of 40 Winks, but with way worse controls.
40 Winks would be interesting to cover on this channel :)
Aye, Pete!!
I was just thinking that it would be cool if he covered 40 winks at some point.
Ahh, 40 Winks. I have some seriously strong memories of that game. It's not the greatest, but it really captured my imagination when I was a tyke.
40 Winks is now on Steam.
Ive just noticed that the audio glitch has been removed in the opening intro so it doesn't sound like Nitro Fred anymore lol.
Jon is a god-tier programmer, and the stuff he and his team worked on all had something that was borderline magic baked in.
Everyday we wake up, we must thank God for the fact that tank controls aren't the norm anymore. **Shivers**
BTW thanks for the video. Great as always.
Tank controls is what made me hate the first two (massively overrated) Onimusha games.
@My Life With Lucario
Hah, thanks, I guess I'll check it out...
It’s funny; I find it interesting how much difference a reviewers’ perspective can completely one’s outlook. Caddicarus made the game look utterly irredeemable, and I bought it, thanks to his presentation. But then the same game is covered by someone else, and offers a whole new perspective (okay, it’s still bad, BUT there’s this this and this that shows it had promise) and suddenly, opinions change.
I’m not sure if there’s a takeaway or moral to this observation. The powers of persuasion? Opinions are weird like that? How perspectives can be altered just by how a product is analyzed? I’m reading too much into it? I dunno.
One thing I know for sure: I liked this review much better than Caddy’s, because it didn’t have forced drunk humor in it like Caddy’s. Seriously, obviously fake drunk humor really doesn’t work.
I think its mostly that most reviewers see games for what they are but not many see them for what they could be. Most see a bad game and call it bad but ut takes a specific kind of person to look in a bad game and find things that work, and appreciate them as individual details rather than part of a game thats bad in total.
I have to agree despite liking Caddy, the review felt very obligatory and forced, there is a reason I never put that one on when putting on some old Caddicarus to watch when preparing dinner.
The game was actually originally supposed to have analog controls, but the lead developer left the project to work on Sonic R. So, they had to get a developer from Psygnosis to lead the game from then on, and they suggested replacing the analog controls with tank controls, a method the engine and camera weren’t built for. There are even early prototypes that have analog controls over on a UA-cam channel known as GameHut, which is ran by the guy that developed a majority of Traveller’s Tales games from the ‘90s. Go check out his content, it’s a lot of amazing lost prototypes and content originally made by TT.
It's interesting that the main character's design was made by The Jim Henson Creature Shop, considering that Traveler's Tales went on to make a Muppets game on the PS1 later on
It's always a good thing to stay optimistic even when in the face of a lackluster game.
But I feel at this time and age a Rascal remaster seems unlikely.
They did that for Bubsy though, it COULD be possible, though it's likely very slim. :p
But hey, though it might technically be a big company, Kid Icarus also got a 3DS game way after it's original games, and in a way that wasn't just Smash Bros. too, so yeah. :p
same here, although i doubt it's going to happen any time soon.
@@indigowendigo8165 bubsy is popular even if for the wrong reason
Kid icarus was relevant because pit was in smash
I dont see a rascal remaster anytime soon but who knows
Rascal for Smash Ultimate
*NO.*
But only with tank controls
should've been in Playstation All Stars
@@dicapriodelorean2888 dont think sony would care if nintendo took this character though lol
Heyho my dude. I wanted to let you know that you've taken the spot as my favourite youtuber, which was previously taken by the likes of angry joe, caddicarus and somecallmejohnny. The reason beeing that you are the only one of them imo who manages to be entertaining as hell while also beeing very informative. Take Caddy as an example, he used to properly review games with a lot of jokes thrown in just like you, but somewhere down the road he stoped reviewing games properly. Don't get me wrong he is still funny and very much watchable but he barely plays more than a few hours of the games he reviews anymore and then proceeds to either make fun of it or praise it without listing all the pros and cons.
The best example of this is actually your review of the new ps4 bubsy game. Johnny complained in his review that bubsy talks to much, which means he didn't even bother to look at the options menu which is one of the first things you have done in your review and you even joked about the option to change how much bubsy talks. I can still watch both of them for entertainement which is mainly what I want but your opinion means the most to me.
This guy gets it. Nitro Rad truly is one of a kind, certainly for his age. I wish more (gaming) UA-camrs were like him, but alas.
He is the perfect combination of thorough and informative, yet entertaining and genuinely funny. His other channel is really good too. He's basically the only UA-camr I've been seriously watching lately.
Tijmen den Ouden how old is he?
This game maybe uncontrollable, but there's something charming about the graphics.
I came here from the John Burton video that explained that TT had actually had free run controls that solved a lot of this game's problems in prototyping and that the rendering method they chose was a big reason for why the camera tends to snag on walls, but it was Psygnosis, insisting that Tank Controls were the future because people liked Tomb Raider so much is the reason Rascal's problems came to be.
I had this game as a kid, my father bought it for me with a bunch of other games.
I hated it and i wasn't even able to beat a single stage, the only reason i saw the rest of the game was because i had a magazines with a level select code, I can't believe that Travellers Tales made this game, they used to make lots of good games
What annoys me is that with every review, I never hear any input about the soundtrack. It makes this game standout in that category
Anyone else notice that the Chrono guy looks suspiciously like N. Tropy?
Great review as always. I love how you're able to give these "bad" games a fair look and appreciate their good ideas :3
I remember watching Cadicarus "review" this game and felt really meh about it. This review however was much clearer and interesting.
It seems like the majority of the game's issues could've been resolved if it had traditional controls and a better camera.
Also, ya gotta love those few PS1 games that ran at 60fps, like Einhänder, Raystorm, Klonoa, etc.
The ex-owner of TT just posted a video of the prototype on his GameHut channel. The prototype really did look better. Shame, because this game actually would have been decent without the broken tank controls.
What producer said "Hey, do you know what everyone loves about Tomb Raider? The Tank Controls!" Who said that? How did anyone come to that conclusion?My mind boggles. Oh well. Though I also do agree with the randomly generated monsters.
The engine looked really good for a PS1 game.
I love that you have so many reviews of lesser-known platformers on your channel, you are a treasure! Oh, and I have a question - could you review Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles? It's apparently a really obscure PS2/PC/Dreamcast platformer.
A Goomba with a 1/5 chance of hurting you when you jump on it? Sounds like a truly dastardly romhack.
You're the first person I've seen get it right about this game. EVERYTHING is there except for functional controls, camera, and enemy spawn. I wanted to like this game so much but I hate tank controls with such passion I couldn't even get past the first level and ragequit immediately. I'm not the most knowledgeable about 3D games but I'd say modding in better controls for character and camera plus tweaking enemy spawn would be enough to vastly improve it.
It's actually refreshing to see a review of this game that isn't completely negative. You actually brought up things many other people purposely ignored.great video once again.
Did you notice that the in-game graphics look better than the cutscenes? I sure as heck did.
To be fair, on the topic of boss rushes, in Konami's Gradius games they have a series staple of having a boss rush level full of bosses that are found nowhere else in the game. The catch is though that they are all bosses from other games in the series so long time fans will still know whats up. They even did this concept in Castlevania Rondo Of Blood on the PC Engine CD with stage 6 being a boss rush of a bunch of old Castlevania bosses summoned by Shaft. In this game's case though, those SHOULD have been the bosses for each world.
My favorite part of this game is when my brother and my disk got scratched a bit and had a horrible glitch where all the textures broke, the game would load things incorrectly and enemies all broke. Was quite fun.
40 Winks would be a good game to follow on with.
This is what I like about this channel. You don't make videos off of first impressions, and you grit your teeth to play through frustrating games to give a proper review. Leaving to a lot more genuine and detailed descriptions of these games.
NitroRad is basically a war veteran of games with bad camera controls at this point. He’s seen it all.
Your integrity is the reason I love watching your stuff.
You give each game a fair shake and an honest observation. No matter what it is.
You're one of my UA-cam heroes bro.
I remember seeing a commercial for this game, but never recalled its title. All I knew that Psygnosis was the publisher.
I have a question:
Could you list the music you use in your videos in the description? I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd appreciate that a lot :)
Huh. I legitimately forgot this was actually developed by Traveler's Tales. Whoops!
Speaking of which, good on you for mentioning GameHut! Jon Burton's UA-cam channel is incredibly rad, and watching him explain how he programmed some of the mindblowing effects from some of my favorite videogames is a treat.
I always enjoy these videos cause there's actual effort put into examining the games and not just going with popular perception OR going the opposite just to be a contrarian
"Rascal - It's No Masterpiece"
"If I can get through that one, I can TANK through anything". You sly beast.
I think the bosses from the boss rush were originally supposed to be the bosses for each world, but most likely because of time constraint, were only used for the boss rush and Chronon was shoehorned into the regular boss positions.
It's real neat being able to see what I couldn't play as a kid because my video rental stores just didn't have them. This game does *look* real good for a mid-life PS1 game, that's for sure.
But speaking of video rental stores and games some people couldn't play, could I suggest a review of Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles? It was apparently an EU/AU only release on the PS2, PC, and Dreamcast. It's a platformer with a cool aesthetic that I just didn't really get at the time.
"Boomerang gyro thingies?" I think those things the villain was throwing were sundials.
this is a good review! I used to play this game a lot as a kid and my brothers especially loved it. I found it hard but at the time so many games had tank controls we were just used to them I guess. We certainly had a lot of fun with it regardless :)
Have you ever played Psybadek? It was around at a similar time to Rascal, slightly earlier I think, so I tend to link the two together in my mind. It's another game that's often known as one of the Bad psx games.
Anyway, thanks for the fair review of Rascal. A little gem covered in a lot of dust, but if it had just had time to be polished properly, it could have been great.
Thank you for reviewing this. I love how you always stay calm in your videos, while still being informative. And, you still give games like this the chance even if they're pretty much hated by everyone--
I really do appreciate that there's people out there like you who actually put in the effort to play through these games thoroughly and provide fair looks at them rather than jumping into the pit of mob mentality that most reviewers are like these days.
I wonder if NitroRad will review Toy Story 2? It is like Rascal, only it has better controls. If it’s one thing I understand about his show so far: it’s that he hasn’t looked at a movie tie-in game yet. I’d like to hear his opinion of the game. Not in terms of how it follows the source material, but how it actually plays.
Dude you must have the patience of a saint to review this in such a rational mindset and as calmly as you did. Man props! Love your vids keep it up dude!!
Bubsy 3D made me hard boiled man...
12:36 I thought Brady would actully shoot you for payback on the Pac man 3 review for a moment xD.
Good god this game really would’ve been a perfectly fine game if not for the flat out moronic choice for Tank controls by the publishers.
Speaking about incredible games for PS1, you may want to check out the two Oddworld games (plus the PS4 remake of the first one)
More people simply need to know the level of work put into those, many people downtrod Oddworld as some 'baby product' and that simply isn't the case
Those people are just ignorant, just because they want games to be this escapist fantasy, I really do not pity them, nor their thinking (even now, Oddworld is cast aside like some sort of nothingness) I finally have realized why after all these years: back in 1997/1998, the world didn't simply care about real-world-projected issues in entertainment products, and as a result of this attitude, never paid the messages any heed, nowadays, however, I think that the reboot of Abe's Exoddus would at least be paid attention.
One other reason is sabotage, a GT Interactive employee tried to get the Oddysee canceled because he "didn't think it seemed very good" and that Lorne Lanning claimed Microsoft did it to Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath (I told Guru Larry all about this 'OddGate')
The final reason is the one which did the most damage, Sony themselves did not have hope for the Oddysee, and when it was a success, the damage permeated throughout the franchise as a whole.
Certain games, yes, but some just think even now that games are just there as entertainment without giving any thought to where they can, with meaningful stories, affect individuals, there's also characters whom the player can relate to in times when the player needs to.
On that footnote of that current case: that's actually what I did towards the Soulstorm (Abe's Exoddus) reveal conference UA-cam video, I did have issues with the the re-imagined cast, mainly that everything looked too human-esc, that the organizations and clothing looked American, as opposed to the 1 to 1 base of New 'N' Tasty (Abe's Oddysee) where everything was recognizable, yes, but had its own flair to it. The salt to this gaping wound was that none of the audience was tempted to ask about any of the changes, neither did Caddicarus in a later interview with Lorne Lanning, where he really should have.
I understand that all that was very early development, but, what a way to alienate the Old Guard which are left.
1:24
Sick burn. And to be honest that is why I love you, you dig on in and try to give experiences of specific levels and not just swear at the main flaws
Which game is worse? A game that is visually impressive but with bad camera like rascal or a game that is visually unimpressive but with better camera like bubsy 3D?
This game really does look pretty good graphically for PS1 and the fact that it runs at 60 FPS is impressive
The reason why i personally love Nitrorad, is becauce he dont tap into one of the worst traps a reviewer can fell.
He dont just judge a book by its cover and rip into it without given it a chance. Or (and thats my even bigger pet peeve and problem in gaming in general)
He dont tap into toxic positivity. He stays unbiased points out the good but ALSO the bad. Keep the good work up ^-^
I know it’s seen as one of the worst games on the PS1 but I actually loved this game when I was a kid. I rented it from Blockbuster multiple times in a row before I finally beat it. It has a ton of problems, but it’s got a surprising amount of personality for an early 3D game. The aesthetic of most games from back then was basically just blocks of varying colors or with very simple designs and they normally weren’t a lot of fun to explore. This game felt way ahead of it’s time in some ways, it’s just a shame the negatives outweigh the positives.
I totally agree with your sentiment about games like this needing a remaster. The great games from back then are already great. All remastering them does is introduce them to a new audience. The “bad” games from that time would be so much more interesting to have remastered. A lot of them had great ideas, they were just executed poorly. This game in particular would benefit heavily from all the things we’ve learned about 3D game design and camera control in the last 25 years. Same with things like Blasto and Croc. Both games are so charming, they just suck to play. Fear Effect, despite being one of my favorite games of all-time, is a little rough around the edges in some aspects but if it was given a few tweaks I feel like it could finally get the respect it deserves.
Imagine if someone looked at these videos and tried to implement the unique and good aspects of these games into an actually good game.
It will not work
Diferent games are good for diferent things while some of the things he say can work in every game some can work only in specific cases
And the ones that can work in every game is already present in new games
The heart meter is the same as the ones in the LEGO games. Which makes sense, since TT also developed those.
I still remember the commercial for this game, which is now on UA-cam. It made me want the game and made me sad that it was on the PS1 since I had an N64 during that generation. It wasn't until much later on when I was trying to remember the name of that game that had that commercial attached to it that I found out about its terrible reputation. (Also the commercial has a hot nurse in it, when I certainly didn't remember when I was a kid)
I don't think I could ever play this game, since tank controls and me just don't get along. Only when they're behind the shoulder, like Resident Evil 4, can I tolerate them. That said, I don't think a remake of this game could be all that good. The core gameplay design doesn't seem like it could ever be more than just 'standard', despite the cool, Blazing Saddles-like movie set breakthrough.
Probably the worst controls I've ever played in a game. I tried making a "Let's Play..." series of this, but I gave up after one episode, because I was way too pissed off at it. Great graphics for the time though.
Last time I was this early, the off fandom was still alive.
whats the game at 0:20 and especially what is the 2D one at 14:10??
The dragon also appeared as a little mini boss in the castle level
Your words about which games should be remade at the end made me smile.
I'm dying to know but where did you find that Paper Mario shirt?
Huh. Never heard about this before, but interesting nonetheless.
I only ever heard of this game once, from an advertisement in a magazine. Back then I thought it was called "Pascal" because I didn't know the word 'rascal' yet.
That's a shame about the catastrophal controls and game design, because the level design itself looks creative enough.
Love your videos man, but your videos are so bright and white for my eyes at 3 AM
I somehow like this game because of how poor it is, but I had some fun playing the levels, it's super hard though imo, I definitely should try finishing it once I have free time
"I mean, I could just get 2 hours of b-roll and then yell about how bad this game is and reaffirm the popular opinion.... but that's not how I roll because it's just way too easy." -- That's why we love ya, man. That's why people turn to UA-camrs instead of game journalists these days, and that's why you should have 10x the subscribers you do, _at least_ . Your videos - the research, the actually playing all the way through them, the digesting all those thoughts from your time spent with 'em - consistently make for stuff that's a massive cut above the vast majority of crap out there. Never change, Nitro.
You should do a Top 10 sometime of games like this that you feel would be kick-ass if remastered and given a proper second chance. You've played so many games like that by now, though you still have to get through stuff like Evil Twin and Malice and Blasto, and I'm sure _plenty_ of other weird 3D Platformers from the 5th and 6th gen consoles that might make that list, so it's definitely an idea for the future. It would make for a fascinating watch.
I notice that you're making a few videos lately covering Traveller's Tales games. Are you and Jon collaborating indirectly or something?
I'm glad you were pointing out all the positive details too. It may not be a good game but you can tell they put a lot of love into the details.
@Nitro Rad You've used TTYD music from the Pit of 100 Trials? Man, you really put the RAD in Nitro Rad!~ Caddicarus's review was not so favourable, I fricken love your mellow, dude! Not to mention your resemblance to Rayman, just like my resemblance to Wario in RL with a mustache (and a combination of fat and muscles lol). As for the tank controls thing - it was a fad, and "fad" is one letter away from "fade", which is what happened with that trend.
I like how you review it and look at what is good about the game whether minor or major and how it could have been improved instead of just ranting. Keep up the good work dude ^^
Rascal is my dog’s name. But I like him so I don’t think he is related to this game.
I remember buying this game as a kid, played it for a little while and then promptly returned it the same day. I think I got Symphony Of The Night instead. Best damn decision in my entire life!
Rascal for playstation all stars battle Royale 2. It makes as much sense as the obese princess.
I used to get ps1 demo discs in the mail (I sent a post card that came with my playstation) Rascal was one of them, it came on its own disc with a sticker pack (Medieval was another one like this). Sony was really pushing this one.
I remember when a retro game store was showing this off with their demo PS1s.
They closed down a few weeks later.
Rascal was a supposed to have directional controls (like SM64) but the publisher insisted to make tank controls. More info!
ua-cam.com/video/aHCFMQIzzwo/v-deo.html
Despite being such a terrible game, this is quite the technical marvel for the time it was released in. And I definitely feel the same way about games getting remade. People always talk about what GOOD games they want remade which is fine and all. I have my fair share of favorites that I'd like to see get remade one day. But what about the terrible games that had some good ideas? What I want is to see some absolutely vile games with squandered potential get remade into something wonderful. Shortly before that new Bubsy game came out, I had gone on about how I'd love to see a bad game like Bubsy get remade or get a sequel that was actually good. Unfortunately, the new Bubsy game does not fit that criteria... but that doesn't mean that it's impossible. If the company behind the remake actually gives two shits about the property they're working with and not just making it for the lols and money, like the assholes behind the new Bubsy game, then I think they could make something really great. One game I'd love to see get remade due to the potential it had before actually getting released and showing us how much of a train wreck it was is Sonic '06. A group of fans are coming together to make a remake of it for PC and are making it... better, I guess... but it still looks a little too faithful to the original to really be 'good.' I just wanna see it completely fixed up because it DID have a lot of potential before it got squandered due to deadlines and shit like that. Remakes of good games are fine and always welcome but I just wanna see complete train wrecks and dumpster fires get remade into something good. While watching this video, I did think how great it would be to see this remade and fixed up a bit since it does have a ton of potential, having that exact thought just moments before you said it. They could fix the controls, make it possible to re-enter stages you've already completed just to avoid getting stuck with a single life, fix up the camera, replace the bosses from each stage with the ones that actually fit with their themes, and there you have it... a pretty decent platformer that wouldn't be as forgotten or as reviled as it is now to the point that people say that it's even worse than Bubsy 3D.
I really want Nitro Rad and Caddicarus to make a video together, it would be GLORIOUS!
That thing you said about bad games with good ideas being remastered really reminds me of Pathologic. I love the original and everything it tries to be to bits but enjoying it really is an uphill battle. Luckily the remake should be out soon...
i hope someone makes a rascal 2 kind of like that yo noid 2 game, that would be pretty cool.