Comments on: Pop-up Videos and Love

By: Pedro Luchini

Pedro Luchini — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:07:08 +0000

You mentioned “Dracula X”, but the game that takes the cake in my opinion is “Symphony of the Night”. I’ve played through the whole thing half a dozen times, and I always discover something new with each playthrough. (I once went through the trouble of taking screenshots with a PSX emulator to verify that equipping the “Secret Boots” does, indeed, increase the height of Alucard’s sprite by one pixel!)

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:45:19 +0000

Plenty of games have this sort of thing. Perfect Dark and the cheese, Metal Gear Solid and the pictures, Portal and its recent Morse code, etc.

Personally, my favorite loving touches are those that involve the characters. Things that really help develop them. You can find quite a few of these in most character-driven games: Majora’s Mask, the Final Fantasies, or the Harvest Moon games, for example.

By: The Management

The Management — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:48:30 +0000

Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call the card games a loving touch since they were quite prevalent and their rewards were heavily integrated with the battle system, i.e., the core gameplay focus of the series.

Super Metroid, though, is definitely a great example. As an obscure reference (if I recall correctly), invincible enemies couldn’t be frozen with the ice-beam, but they would still slow down if shot with it. Now that’s love!

By: Not That Guy

Not That Guy — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:12:50 +0000

In Final Fantasy VIII and IX, the card games were a way to add a touch of realism to these worlds, while giving the player a sometimes welcome diversion.

By: Cavan

Cavan — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:57:17 +0000

Super Metroid. Hands down one of my favorite love games with the little aliens and the small but interesting alternate ending. It may not be a programmer’s signature, but it made the game seem more interesting to me.

By: The Management

The Management — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:37:57 +0000

Hmmm, well the battle with Gato is one of the events at the fair, so the player doesn't have to wait too long for the action. The other activities can be fun, though, and some of them certainly represent interesting one-offs that didn't need to be in the game. Going into a bit more detail, one of Chrono Trigger's loving touches that I distinctly remember was the ability to get extra cats.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:15:58 +0000

A good example might be the freedom to wander around and play minigames at the Millennial Fair, right at the beginning of Chrono Trigger. If the game was made today, I am sure the concern would be, “how do we get the player kicking ass as soon as possible?”