Heard good things about this Guacamelee! game.

Me as well. I will buy once I have wifi back in the house.

@GameDadGrant

It's very good. Anyone who can only play it on the Wii U, I highly recommend it.

Got to play a bit of Armillo and it seems like a fun title for 6$. Odd framerate issues here and there but they're looking to fix it apparently cause they never experienced it on their dev kits I guess.

I highly recommend Mario Tennis GBA for its simple and fun gameplay and RPG mode. I sunk many hours into it, both in the RPG stuff and just exhibition matches. Peach is quite an adversary. Shame there's no way to play multiplayer.

What would you guys compare Guacamelee to in terms of gameplay? And quality?

Pretty good week. Armillo's always looked cute and I'm curious about the GBA Mario Tennis. Anyone played the latter?

@TriforceBun

There has been some discussion on the game already, the game is often said to be a Metroid-style map with brawler combat.

If I were a wealthy man I'd probably get Guacamelee and Armillo along with Chibi-Robo Let's Go Photo which is out today in PAL territory, but I think I'll have to save my money for Shovel Knight. Whenver that may get here.

@TriforceBun

See above re Mario Tennis.

Guacamelee's gameplay is pretty unique to me. Maybe kind of Viewtiful Joe-ish in its melee combat combo stuff (although I don't have much experience with VJ so that's not too informed of a comparison) and the platforming is really more about timing. Hard to explain without revealing some later powerups.

The progression is pure Metroid except you can buy some stuff as well.

@TriforceBun
It's sort of like Metroid but with melee attacks. It wears its inspirtaion on its sleeve, too.
It's a fun, quality game with a nice, Mexican Day of the Dead style.

Oh, Mutant Mudds is getting the 20 extra levels from the Wii U version today, too!

@Guillaume
Oh, that's great!

I should beat the main game I suppose.

@Guillaume
Gasp! Is that NA only at the moment or what?

EDIT: Nope, it's worldwide! Or at least NA/EU. Wooo!

@TriforceBun

I should add that the gameplay is fun and deep enough that I went through all the optional challenge rooms and got gold in most.

Dang, sounds like I'm going to have to make some tough decisions on what to pick up. And I still haven't beaten Shovel Knight yet!

I might grab one or two of this week's games a few weeks down the road, after I've gotten my fill of Shovel Knight, MK8 and TWW HD. The rest of the summer is pretty dry for Nintendo releases, right?

Thanks for the impressions.

TriforceBun said:

The rest of the summer is pretty dry for Nintendo releases, right?

I… hope so.

I can't keep up with recent releases. Still haven't fired up 1001 Spikes. And I intend to play more Shovel Knight than I already have. Been meaning to check out Squids Odyssey, Armillo, Stick It to the Man and a few others, too.

I know everyone is busy with Shovel Knight and that Mario Kart 8 thing probably but Guacamelee! is pretty freaking awesome and everyone should play it. It's really a love letter to Metroid / old school Nintendo in so many ways... but also very modern. Easily one of the best indie games... well, best games period... I've played in recent years.

I know no one has an XBox One here but it's also free with your Gold account this month. You might as well purchase it on the marketplace if you have a Gold account, in some crazy chance you get an XBO one day.

@Guillaume

I'm very much looking forward to the new Mutant Mudds levels! Renegade Kid is awesome for updating the 3DS game multiple times with free new content.

Guillaume said:

Oh, Mutant Mudds is getting the 20 extra levels from the Wii U version today, too!

Suh-weet! Will download.

Hmm, I wonder when we'll get the rest of MOON Chronicles?

So, is it every week that Atlus puts their games on sale, or just every other week?


@TriforceBun Don't go into Guacamelee expecting the progression/unlock mechanics to be especially clever a la Super Metroid...the ability-specific roadblocks are almost always literal. They're color-coded blocks that you need to smash with the right attack before you can access the next area. You do get some abilities later on that are a bit flashier, but the map design isn't especially intricate on the level of a Metroid or even Castlevania. It does have its moments, though, and the core brawling gameplay is pretty good.

That said, I thought the game was pretty and a special experience overall. I was a bit sour on it at first, but like @Jargon I ended up liking it enough to go through the challenge rooms and get gold medals in them all.