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Game: Star Wars The Original Trilogy Touch
Manufacturer: Jakks Pacific
Release Date: 2012
Genre: Fighting/Shooter
One of the major points I gave the Star Wars: The Original Trilogy game was that it had the closest to arcade-perfect controls I've seen yet on this blog. It was digital, but the free range of movement they gave the joystick still felt very much analog, like you could move the joystick anywhere and it would register as movement as opposed to relying on repetitive digital switches. It had problems with detecting direction sometimes, especially when trying to jump up and over in Lightsaber Duels, but it was fluid, natural, and really felt like they really wanted to create an authentic arcade experience.
And then in 2012, Jakks Pacific decided that good controls were overrated and rereleased it in a crappy touchpad console!
For some reason, Jakks Pacific decided to take a handful of what I assume were their most popular games and repackage them in new consoles with new controls in their new "Touch" line of Plug n Play games. Besides the Star Wars game, Spongebob and Spider-Man also joined the line, each getting a much flatter body and removing the standard joystick and button layout they recently had in favor of a new "touch" format.
And no, I don't know why they went this route. Maybe they were trying to cash in on the smartphone/tablet game craze where people now prefer to use their index fingers to control the characters on screen instead of a thumbstick or directional pad. Maybe it was an attempt to reintroduce people to their line of games since most of them were out of print and they wanted to rerelease what they felt was their top work. ...Or maybe it was just a gimmick to produce cheap consoles for a quick buck. Maybe all three, maybe none, I don't know and I don't think we'll be getting an answer...
But here it is: Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Touch. The result of taking a game dumbed down for Plug n Play and... dumbing it down even more. I was going to go over it quickly in the last review, but seeing how long that one ended up becoming, I'll just give it its own spot here.
You can tell just from looking at the design of this console that this is the Plug n Play equivalent of rereleasing something as a "budget title." Gone is the detailed Millenium Falcon body, replaced by a flat touchpad and some stickers.
Just change the color of the plastic, stick on some different stickers, and BOOM! It's a whole new console! Generic!
And it commits the cardinal sin of Plug n Play games(as well as game accessories in general): It requires 4 TRIPLE A BATTERIES! I went over this in my Elmo's World review, but I'll say it again here: NOBODY HAS FOUR "AAA" BATTERIES! If you're lucky, you have TWO for the TV remote! ...Provided you don't have one of those TVs that are smartphone-compatible or one of those apps on your phone that works as a remote. Nobody is going to go out and buy AAA batteries just to play a cheap game console like this! Use AA batteries, be rechargeable, power with a cord, or don't bother...
Since Amaze Entertainment was defunct by this point, the Jakks Pacific team-up this time is with Code Mystics.
Code Mystics is a Canadian company founded in 2009 by Jeff Vavasour, ex-vice-president at Foundation 9 Entertainment, which I briefly mentioned as the company that acquired Amaze Entertainment in 2006. Before that, he also helmed the Canadian branch of Digital Eclipse, which later became Backbone Entertainment, that specialized in ports of games to portable systems. ...Doesn't that sound familiar...? And after founding a company known for their ports and emulation of older games to newer platforms, he founded Code Mystics, which specializes in ports and emulation of older games to newer platforms. ...Well, at least he's consistent.
And this is one of the few companies to have worked on a Plug n Play game that's still around and developing games today, as you can see by the work they proudly display on their website.
Most of their work is in developing arcade and Atari emulation software for consoles like the Xbox One and PS4, as well as iOS and Android, but they're also behind a lot of Dragon's Lair, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct ports, as well as helping to develop Rare Replay for the Xbox One.
And like Amaze Entertainment, they have ties to Lego, contributing to the Lego Dimensions Pack "Midway Arcade." ...A game that I unfortunately don't own yet...
And like HotGen, they're not ashamed to display their Plug n Play work on their site, as they're not only behind a Retro Arcade 10-in-1 they also created with Jakks Pacific, but all three Jakks Pacific Touch games.
So with all that experience, does that mean we've gotten a fantastic port of The Original Trilogy that expands on the original and updates the controls to meet the expectations of a new generation of gamers? ...You've clearly skipped over my dripping disappointment from earlier...
When the console starts up, it starts calibrating the touch pad, meaning that nothing can touch it at this point. ...And I mean NOTHING!
Keep the touchpad clean, because if there's a single speck of dust on it while it's calibrating, expect erratic controls that are either barely responsive or TOO responsive. ...And you might just get those anyway...
Since these are the same games from the previous console, there's no need to go into detail with each one again. Instead, I'm just going to quickly explain as best as I can what it feels like to control each with these new controls.
And let's start with the worst of the games to use this control scheme: Lightsaber Duels. ...How do I even put this? ...Imagine playing Tekken. On a laptop. Without using ANY of the keyboard or any other peripherals, all actions being performed with the touchpad! And it's non-multitouch. And it's a cheap laptop with a grainy texture that, for some reason, they also plastered onto the mouse, so running your finger over it is like rubbing against sandpaper. And there's only one mouse button, yet the game requires another action, so they ask you to touch the center of the touchpad to perform it WHILE you're still moving and dodging! AND it barely recognizes your finger touching it to the point that you'd gladly go buy a dollar store external mouse in a desperate hope that it's not as jerky as trying to move the pointer with the touchpad!* That should give you the IDEA of how hard it is to use these controls in a FIGHTING GAME!
*In other words, my first laptop...
I can't begin to explain just how out of place this touch pad feels trying to control a fighting game! The instructions TRY to make it simple, just touch the right spots on the controller to move and fight, but since this is all one touchscreen and your focus is going to be more on the fighting than the controls, it's easy to touch it in the wrong place and either have the game not recognize it or perform a completely different action! You're CONSTANTLY taking your eyes off the match to look down at the console to reorient yourself! And if you've made a console where more focus has to be put on the controls than what's happening in the game itself, you have joined such illustrious other consoles like the Atari Jaguar, Intellivision, Colecovision, and Atari 5200 in failing Console Design 101...
Oh, but it gets even better! The console only has one button, which this game assigns to heavier attacks. So how do you perform a regular attack? Touching the CENTER! While you're moving around, trying to block the enemy's attacks or pull off a special move, you have to stop and find the center of the touchpad just to ATTACK! ...THAT is a new level of incompetent control design.
Imagine playing Contra, and in order to attack, you had to take your hands off all the buttons and push both Start and Select at the same time! Even with the Konami Code, you'd never make it past the first stage!
Though I guess the controls DO make it easier to jump over the opponent. Just touch the left or right corners. ...Small victory at best though...
The controls are actually so bad, that I can't make it past the second stage! Darth Vader just messes Luke up without breaking a sweat! I CRINGE to think what it would be like to get through Obi-Wan's campaign with this layout! I've played worse fighting games, but this is the first one where a game that had good control mechanics is rendered unplayable by the console itself! So no! I don't like this one! Stay away at all costs! Moving on!
With the next game, Red Leader, the controls, surprisingly, actually work! ...In fact, I'd even say they're better than the joystick! ...To an extent, anyway.
In this game, instead of tapping the controls, you move your finger around on the touchpad to control the ship. This allows for rather fluid movement as the ship follows the distance and direction of your finger, making it much easier to position the ship and avoid oncoming lasers and other projectiles! I'm actually impressed by how responsive it is and how easily I can maneuver around this way! ...As long as the touchpad doesn't lose track of where my finger is... Which it does... Often...
This is another game that required two buttons, but instead of stupidly assigning one to the middle of the touchpad(seriously, what the heck?), they compensate by assigning the bombs to the button and just having the lasers automatically fire. While that MOSTLY works, it can cause a problem since no more than 4 of the player's lasers can be on the screen at once, meaning that once 4 shots have been fired, you need to wait until they leave the screen or impact an enemy before firing again. Therefore, it introduces some unneeded strategy into the game, where you need to position yourself in the right place so the lasers will hit the enemy as opposed to fly off and leave you open to attack. ...And, as you can see, it's not that easy...
Still, compared to Lightaber Duels and given that this type of game is easier to control with a mouse than a joystick, this might be the best game on this console! In fact, it might even be better than its original counterpart! It needs a better controller, but I wouldn't mind playing this version if I ever want to play the Original Trilogy games again!
But if I do ever end up with a world's record high score, I won't be able to claim bragging rights, since the High Score screen is impossible to enter a name on! I swipe in every direction, tap the button a few times, and the best I can come up with is ZAA. So my initials will be listed besides anyone who didn't want to enter their name on a high score screen but wanted to see something more than just AAA...
Then it's back to frustration with Assault on Hoth... Since the only directions are Left and Right, you'd think this would be a game where tapping the sides of the touchpad would be the controls of choice. ...Instead, they keep the "drag" mechanic from Red Leader, but make it a LOT harder for the game to detect.
To move the guy, you have to swipe starting from the EXACT center of the console and go in a straight line. If you're one degree off, the game doesn't recognize it. This becomes EXTREMELY frustrating when hordes of enemies storm you all at once, since you're struggling with the controls in a desperate attempt to get the guy to respond and move left or right!
You will lose more turrets this way...
As with Red Leader, they compensated for the lack of a button by assigning the big button the shield and having the turrets autofire. But in this case, the turrets let out an infinite stream of lasers as opposed to 4 at a time, so that really helps simplify things and you don't have to worry about missing the enemy, especially when the AT-STs and AT-ATs come at you.
But it makes little difference when you can't move into position fast enough to block projectiles! I couldn't get as far in this game as I could in the last console's version because I was constantly fighting with the touchpad, trying to get my guy to move over even one space! If you play this game, expect to be seeing this screen a lot... Once again, we have a game ruined by poor controls that didn't need to exist. Not Lightsaber Duels bad, but frustrating nonetheless.
And finally, we have the loosely ported arcade game: Battle of Endor. It's back to using the free range of movement Red Leader offered. ...But it's not AS well executed.
In all honesty, it still controls arguably better than the joystick version. ...But here, it might actually be TOO fluid. The first and third level are based around avoiding objects that you can crash into if even a pixel touches them. And since the depth perception is so bad on the first level, you're never quite sure where an object begins or ends! So even the slightest adjustment on the touchpad can send you careening into the side of a tree without even knowing it!
This can lead to a LOT of cheap deaths...
Once you finally get the hang of that level, or at least have a lucky run, it's back to Chewbacca and the AT-ST. And seeing how this is a section that requires precision and careful movements, then controls that slide the crosshair all over the place are the best for this type of game, right?! Seriously, it takes about 5 lasers to hit ONE target. It's a good thing this is the shortest and easiest level to get through...
Finally, the Death Star Run. ...Same problems as the first level, but not AS difficult. In fact, the sensitive control actually helps steer the Falcon out of the way faster than a joystick AND drive TIE Fighters into the beams! You can actually get further without losing a life using this control method!
...Unfortunately, on the rush out of there, the controls have a habit of slowly drawing you TOWARDS the explosion, meaning you'll unavoidably get hurt and eventually die. So close, and yet so far...
And there you have the outcome of when games obviously meant for an arcade control scheme are given the smartphone puzzle-game treatment. You get three(arguably four) games that don't control right, have the strangest rules applied to HOW they control, and are frustratingly slippery at best, virtually unplayable at worst. Replace "games" with "stories", "control" with "plot", and "unplayable" with "unwatchable", and that sentence can also apply to Attack of the Clones...
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Design: The console is boring, cheap, and generic. Gone is the detailed body of the Millenium Falcon, replaced by what looks like one of those newer "high-tech" Etch-a-Sketches with the lights and buttons. The only thing that makes it recognizable as a Star Wars game are the cheap stickers on the sides. In fact, if I was walking by and saw this on a store shelf, I probably wouldn't even know it WAS a collection of games. I'd just think it was a cheap Plug n Play coloring book or something. ...Of course, having an obsession to own every Plug n Play game, I'd pick it up, but I don't think the average consumer would have any motive to. There's nothing about it that makes it stand out among the countless other Star Wars toys and games out there, so if I didn't know beforehand what this was, I would have never thought it was a port of an arcade game collection.
Controls: ...Haven't I said enough about the controls yet? It's an attempt to try to give older games a more modern touch pad scheme, but failing to map controls that actually work with the game they're assigned to. With games that give you a free range of movement, such as Red Leader, they work perfectly(with the exception of the automatic lasers.) With games that require a lot of obstacle dodging, such as Battle of Endor, they're mixed depending on what you're dodging and how much time you have to react. And for games like Lightsaber Duels and Assault on Hoth, which require extremely accurate controls and fast movement in a tight area, they're basically unplayable. So across the board, the controls do much more harm than good.
Music & Sound: Same as the previous game. No changes.
Graphics: Same as the previous game. No changes
Gameplay: Mostly the same as the last console, but since the controls are so bad, it's hard to even play these games. They did try to compensate for the lack of one of the buttons, but the rules they assigned for controlling each of the games are ridiculous. Why do I have to slide the character in Assault on Hoth instead of just tapping left or right on the control pad? Why don't you have the ship automatically drop bombs over targets in Red Leader instead of assigning the only button to bombs while the easily wasted lasers are automated? Why am I continually pulled backward during the final segment of Battle of Endor? And, most importantly, WHY DO I NEED TO PRESS THE CENTER OF THE TOUCH PAD TO ACTIVATE AN ATTACK IN LIGHTSABER DUELS?! These choices add difficulty to games that were already pretty hard to start with and shift the difficulty from the gameplay to the controls, which is a cardinal sin of game development. So even though the games play the same, playing them is a lot less fun...
Replay Value: The only game on here I'd be tempted to come back to is Red Leader, since that's the only one that controls well. I guess if you spent enough time playing Assault on Hoth and Battle of Endor and learned how to use the game's wonky controls, you could overcome their frustration and see how far you could get with the actual game. But I feel safe in saying that NOBODY will want to return to Lightsaber Duels. So it has replay value, but only if you feel like you CAN replay it...
Overall:
If you've ever wanted a crowning example of how a great retro game can be ruined by bad modern controls, here you go. The gameplay is virtually unchanged and the graphics and music are still pretty darn good, but the touch pad is so unnecessary and offers so little that you have to wonder why they chose THIS game to showcase their new control scheme. I don't blame Code Masters, given what they had to work with, but I am disappointed that someone, probably Jakks Pacific, chose to implement these certain controls into this game. It's like trying to play Super Mario Bros with a trackball, it just doesn't work. So if you can, find the original version and play that. If you can't, then just play Red Leader. Nothing else is worth your time.
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