| VERSUS!!! (Round One)
By Philip Wesley 2000 This is a "VS" editorial.. I compare two games to each other and we find out which one wins! It's not a silly "deathmatch" deal. It's a comparison Editorial. It also has... TONS OF SPOILERS. This week... SURVIVAL KIDS
Our competitors are both Game Boy Color games. Both are "Action/RPGS"
We pit them against each other in five categories. SOUND, GRAPHICS, STORY/ENDING,
GAMEPLAY, and QUIRKS. All are self-explanatory, really. Okay.. QUIRKS is
what it is has that is.. unique, unusual. Both also have to do with shipwrecks.
SOUND: Here we see Link's Awakening with classic Legend of Zelda score
and Survival Kids with some fairly pleasent tunes. The most disheartening
sound though is that "tragic" roll in Survival Kids. That tune plays...
with something bad happens. There is also great use of silence in Survival
Kids. The sounds effects are great for both games. Survival Kids has an
annoying beeping sound in menus; and when you get the last gem.. the victory
music gets... tedious. The water sounds pretty much the same; but Survival
Kids has an interesting ace-in-the-hole. It has music AND rain effects
running at the same time. Okay.. when it rains heavy.. you can't hear some
of your weapons; but the music is playing while it rains and that's cool.
Link's Awakening only has rain during the intro. But, the sheer volume
of high quality music in Legend of Zelda 4 helps it out immensely. Some
nostaligic music and the unforgetable "Ballad of the Windfish". It also
has birds. You know.. seagulls and chickens. And they make noises. Overall,
they are both fairly even; but since Link's Awakening uses music in an
active role and has more and longer sounds.. Link walks home with this
one.
GRAPHICS: In Survival Kids, the day gradually changes to night in a
VERY impressive way on the Game Boy Color. Mery and Ken have more animation
than Link does, and while there are no HUGE bosses, the rain effects, lack
of noticeable clipping, the day to night effects, the mode-7-esque Night
time look, and the long intro sequence put Survival Kids up a bit ahead
of Link's Awakening. Link's Awakening has large bosses, and some VERY cool
cinema scenes. The ending of the game and the transparent picture of Marin
in the clouds for all those ace players is gorgeous. But, the game does
have it's near mono-chromatic elements. The stills in Survival Kids are
a bit.. awful. But that opening sequence is a killer app to Legend of Zelda
4's ending. Both are impressive to the core. But Survival Kids deserves
this one; because it has better IN-GAME graphics. And wait until you see
Mery in her Fox Cap or Deer Cap.. that's cool. I can pretend she's a moggle
or something. And the stills of Mery when she's older.. does she not grow
up to be one hot little number or what? Although. the hair is still pretty..
"wild". I dig her hair though.. it's cooler than Link's.
Story/Ending: Survival Kids has eight different endings. A few are nice
and good. Two of them suck. I mean.. seriously bad. Ending #8 is the one
with the most closure and it's one of the better ones. Especially, since
you need to wait until after the credits. Then you hear that music.. you
know.. the Wedding March. Then that joke at the end is funny. By far one
of the best endings on Game Boy; because it has closure to it. Link's Awakening
has the most awesome ending ever though. Graphics wise, it's better than
many things on the bigger systems; but story wise.. it only has closure
if you win with a perfect ending. If you don't.. it's bittersweet and a
little tragic. Although.. it looks like a cartoon. And it's full-screen.
Sweet! The story in Survival Kids.. is that it has no real plot. It has
some story elements; and they only serve to enchance the heavy feeling
the game has. Link's Awakening has some heavy elements in it. When I read
the poem on the wall in the Southern Face Shrine.. I stopped playing Link's
Awakening for a day or two. Why? Because... I was afraid of the ending.
Hey! I had no idea what lay ahead for me in the game.. and I was afraid
that this island.. this living world I had found and these people in it
I grew to love and enjoy being around.. were not real.. and maybe Link
wasn;t real either. This was also the first Legend of Zelda game I had
beaten.. so I didn't know how these things ended. Overall, they both have
fairly shallow stories; and both are dramatic. Link's Awakening had a grand
effect on me. I actually shed a tear for the island when I beat it. That's
the type of response Miyamoto must have been looking for. And he got it
from me. Few games can make me... sad. Final Fantasy 6 is one, Legend of
Zelda 4 is another. Survival Kids.. has some tragic endings.. and those
bad endings.. made me feel.. sick. Not sad. Sick. I don't like feeling
sick. You know that painful feeling, right? Anyways, Link's Awakening wins
for not making me feel... sickened... and for working it's way into a potentially
tragic scenario with tact. Survival Kids has no tact; but it's fun. The
lack of tact makes Survival Kids a more tragic game; but I like the story
of Link's Awakening better.
GAMEPLAY: Let us see...Link's Awakening has 8 main dungeouns, you collect
instruments, and it has a few hidden side-quests, and some brilliant puzzles.
Survival Kids is about watching stats, finding items and getting to the
endings. They both have some good mini-games, but Link's Awakening has
more to it and lasts longer to beat. Especially.. if you don't use those
insidious little walkthroughs. I admit I use them sometimes. But.. I beat
this title without them. It took me a month to beat Link's Awakening the
first time. I can beat it in under 3 hours now. Survival Kids.. you can
beat it in less than an hour if you cop out to get rescued by the Helicopter.
Although Survival Kids has a "harder" second round and those endings to
find.. Link's Awakening has better puzzles, and plays better in my opinion.
QUIRKS: Here is where both games get mean and nasty to each other. Both
have a Monkey. Both have a sassy female. Mery VS Marin? Hmm... Marin has
more attitude; but she can also be annoying. Mery grows up to be a hot
jungle babe. Marin.. turns into a bird. Mery cooks her own food. Marin
sings. Mery can swing a mean axe. Marin follows you and ends up in precarious
situations. Mery IS in a precarious situation and shows grace under pressure.
Marin is a fun-loving girl. Mery.. at times looks like she's going to try
Celes of Final Fantasy 6's big cliff jump scene. Marin is oblivious to
what will happen. Mery knows and responds to her surroundings. "Dig it!
Dig! Dig to the center of the Earth!" "I feel Tropical." Mery wins. Both
have the obligatory dessert level. Both have special suits. Although..
Link's suits just change his color and strength.. the suits in Survival
Kids change your appearence and keep off rain. Survival Kids has more REPLAY
value; but in the gameplay issue, it's short. Survival Kids and Link's
Awakening both have a lot of quoteable lines. "Wild.. there are trees everywhere."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Or the anti-climatic: "I AM THE WINDFISH! LONG HAS BEEN
MY SLUMBER." Both have *fun* fishing in them. Both are pretty cool and
nifty. Survival Kids is more of a treasure here; because it is harder to
find. It is well worth the search. And the sense of humour is very good
as well. Survival Kids is more "adult" really. Because it has a more mature
subject. Not to mention the guilty pleasure of stabbing bunnies and eating
them. Also.. multiple endings.. man. The ability to choose your gender..
and so many different branching factors. It's the most unique. Let's just
say that Survival Kids is the quirkiest... and it has the cooler Monkey.
You can NAME the monkey. And control the monkey in one of the mini-games.
The Verdict.
Tune in next time.. we have Bionic Commando: Elite Forces.. versus the mother of all action games.. Metroid 2: The Return of Samus. |
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