I agree with the bolded, but honestly - I really don't see it as a big deal, from recent memory - Ratchet & Clank, Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter were all the same for me to varying degrees. The story, dialogue and characters (excluding the MC) are forgettable at best, it's just not something that really needs to be fleshed out in a platformer (not to say they can't - A Crack in Time for example was great), which is something the Mario titles are fully aware of. If there is to be a Knack 3, I hope they forgo trying to tell a story and just keep it simple.
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Knack II |OT| Knack-knack-knackin' On Heaven's Door
- Thread starter Drencrom
- Start date
I agree with the bolded, but honestly - I really don't see it as a big deal, from recent memory - Ratchet & Clank, Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter were all the same for me to varying degrees. The story, dialogue and characters (excluding the MC) are forgettable at best, it's just not something that really needs to be fleshed out in a platformer (not to say they can't - A Crack in Time for example was great), which is something the Mario titles are fully aware of. If there is to be a Knack 3, I hope they forgo trying to tell a story and just keep it simple.
jobrro
Member
Finished today, really enjoyed it. Didn't play Knack so long ago, got it in a sale for I think $8 so I think I played this it this year.
I still find it is more enjoyable to play in short bursts though, playing a chapter at a time seems to be a pretty good sweet spot for me (much like the first game), though I did have a longer session towards the end of the game. I can understand how some reviewers might not enjoy the two games if they are trying to rush through it in one day, but taken at about an hour at a time I find it very, very fun.
Loved the new moves and the upgrade system felt pretty rewarding.
I don't think I could give the game less than a 4/5 if I had to rate it.
End of the game spoilers
I still find it is more enjoyable to play in short bursts though, playing a chapter at a time seems to be a pretty good sweet spot for me (much like the first game), though I did have a longer session towards the end of the game. I can understand how some reviewers might not enjoy the two games if they are trying to rush through it in one day, but taken at about an hour at a time I find it very, very fun.
Loved the new moves and the upgrade system felt pretty rewarding.
I don't think I could give the game less than a 4/5 if I had to rate it.
End of the game spoilers
I just wish there was a moment where Knack just becomes stupid big near the end. He gets pretty big sometimes, and you take control of the titan, but I wanted him to become the size of a titan. The game gives me a similar feeling to Wonderful 101 at times, where stuff just gets more epic as time goes on, but it doesn't follow through like W101 did with making you feel quite so epic at the end.
I just really like how in some levels what would be bosses or sub bosses early on in the chapter become like nothing when he gets big. I just want them to take that further at the end of the game.
I just really like how in some levels what would be bosses or sub bosses early on in the chapter become like nothing when he gets big. I just want them to take that further at the end of the game.
Goldrusher
Member
There's only "30 frames per second mode" and that's disabled by default.
Yeah, that just seems factually wrong. On hard the game basically relies on well timed parries of projectiles and split second blocks and dodges. And it all works reliably like a charm.
I like Dunkey and Jim quite a bit and respect their opinions, but their reviews for this don't align with my experiences at all to the point where I have to doubt they even really tried. Especially in case of Dunkey, who almost paints a minor mechanic, the QTE's, as the main meat of the game. 8 hours in there were, what, a couple of minutes of QTE's when put together? A couple of intetactive cutscenes and opening a door here and there in GoW style, that's it, QTE's aren't even really incorporated in the main gameplay.
Me!
For pro users are you sure?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-knack-2-and-how-it-exploits-ps4-pro-features
jobrro
Member
There's two sets of options for Pro users.
1080p/1800c
Locked 30FPS/Unlocked
Both options are independent. 1080p unlocked will run pretty solid at 60fps, 1800c unlocked will run in the 40s generally. You can lock either to 30 if you prefer.
Yeah High Frame Rate mode under Display Mode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=456&v=kdqhei0yXwY
Sorry but what? R&C has great characters (Clank, Qwark, Dr. Nefarious to name a few) and dialogue. The difference is that it's humorous and self-aware, unlike Knack which is trying so hard to be world-endingly serious. And J&D has Daxter.
I honestly don't mind the story in K2 at all since you can skip the cutscenes.
I'm strictly talking the reboot and I count Clank/Daxter as main characters. I'm not saying it can't be done, I just mean the games would be fine even without it.
Goldrusher
Member
Oh, I see.
If you go into the Options when in-game, you only have the 30 fps toggle.
"High Frame Rate Mode" is only available from the main menu, but again, it seems enabled by default?
I don't remember changing it.
Yup, a shame you have to quit out to change - but then again, high framerate mode is the only mode you should be playing with.
Karspankey
Banned
The parts all falling off Knack when sizing down looks so cool!
Just looked it up, these Knack head symbols are just easter eggs that are hidden all over the game for players to find. The first game had 45 of them.
HueyFreeman
Banned
The parts all falling off Knack when sizing down looks so cool!
I still don't think knacks terrible character design is justified by this - but man that is super lovely particle physics.
https://twitter.com/cerny/status/906006526980009984
Don't forget to tweet to Cerny and make Knack 3 reality
ShiftaDeband
Member
Platinumed this game last night. Was pretty fun with the exception of the challenges. All in all, I had fun and man, I really loved the animation and physics.
I 100% agree with this. Such a tease.
I 100% agree with this. Such a tease.
Goldrusher
Member
This game.
So long. It just keeps going.
So long. It just keeps going.
You sound knackered.
Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
I beat it with a final time of 10:45. It did feel long despite that not so long running time. I thought it was ok. It was better than the first one, but there's not much that's sticking with me now that I'm finished. No super amazing parts or memorable moments. No crappy parts either, just a solid 7/10 throughout. The characters are just as atrocious as they were in the first game though. Knack is likable, but that professor needs a slap in the face sooooo bad.
Goldrusher
Member
Nice one.
I actually just beat it a few minutes ago.
11h36m
40/100 treasures
21/143 medals
Wonderful game. So much fun.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
LMAOOOOOOO at the end of Chapter 8
I love this game.
Shit is THAT why I'm getting stuttering?
I turned off "30 fps mode" thinking that was all I needed to get 60 fps. Thanks for clarifying, they could have made that clearer.
Knack: LUCAS.... G-R-O-W U-P
and that time-lapse!! ahahaha.
and that time-lapse!! ahahaha.
I love this game.
Shit is THAT why I'm getting stuttering?
I turned off "30 fps mode" thinking that was all I needed to get 60 fps. Thanks for clarifying, they could have made that clearer.
RedAssedApe
Banned
Yeah if you didn't pop into option from the main menu you could easily miss the high frame rate/resolution option as that's the only time you can change it as it requires the game to reboot.
eerik9000
Member
Finished it yesterday.
Terrible story
Terrible dialogue
Terrible characterisation
Enjoyable gameplay --- both combat and platforming/exploration
While I was hoping Knack II would "redeem the franchise", all it did was prove that is so inherently bad and cannot be fixed. If you skip all the cutscenes and just play the levels, I guess there's a good game there. But the writing is just so bad that it actively worked against my enjoyment of the game.
Terrible story
Terrible dialogue
Terrible characterisation
Enjoyable gameplay --- both combat and platforming/exploration
While I was hoping Knack II would "redeem the franchise", all it did was prove that is so inherently bad and cannot be fixed. If you skip all the cutscenes and just play the levels, I guess there's a good game there. But the writing is just so bad that it actively worked against my enjoyment of the game.
dickroach
Member
yup. I want to be on board with the "but it's a platformer/childrensgame/whatever, what did you expect?" sentiment, but the writing really was so bad that it made the game worse.
and knowing that they actually hired an acclaimed writer for Knack 2 just highlights it
Rated-Rsuperstar
Member
I dunno, ive laughed at some of the humor in the game. More so then some other critically acclaimed games.
And i have to chuckle at lucas's full on transformation into mark cerny after a certain time lapse grows his hair out.
And i have to chuckle at lucas's full on transformation into mark cerny after a certain time lapse grows his hair out.
Shin-Ra
Junior Member
Just beat the game for the first time on Very Hard which was very hard in parts and I died a lot, especially some of the multi-wave arena battles in the first half. Once you get the
it eases up quite a bit. I think I found pretty much all the secret treasure chests once I built the secret finder too.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJe3m4rXoAAdESn?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJe3oUpXoAAdoFl?format=jpg&name=large
Time for coliseum next!
boomerang
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJe3m4rXoAAdESn?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJe3oUpXoAAdoFl?format=jpg&name=large
Time for coliseum next!
Can't really agree with that. I mean, the writing is absolutely not good, but the writing was never what people liked about Knack. When you say "If you skip all the cutscenes and just play the levels"... I mean, that isn't really a huge sacrifice with a game like Knack.
As for "inherently bad and cannot be fixed", I think it can absolutely be fixed. I don't know what exactly Marianne Krawczyk did on Knack 2, but it's clear that she either didn't have much of a role, or that she really, really didn't care about the quality of the work. For Knack 3 to have a decent story, put whoever masterminded 1 and 2 in a strictly consulting role and give full control of the writing/storytelling to someone passionate who has a solid track record.
RedAssedApe
Banned
lol...yeah i didn't think this was a coincidence either. now all we need is for him to do the voice acting in knack 3 to complete the trilogy. he probably shouldn't be involved with the story though
Or you can play as a Crystal Knack and laugh as you decimate everything with super moves. I five-starred the first one with regular Knack and it felt more rewarding though.
Rated-Rsuperstar
Member
Finished on normal at 13 1/2 hours with 80 chests and 71% of the trophies. Really fun game. One of my favs this year along with uncharted, sniper elite 4, and yakuza 0. Sonys killing it with these exclusives.
I think I'm having a bug on chapter 8-3
I'll close the app and try again and if doesn't work my last resort is to restart the whole mission hoping this bug doesn't happen again.
Edit: yeah closing the app fixed it.
In the control center(location) there was a long ass black screen right before I got close to gundahar and suddenly Knack is fighting two big dudes, and after defeating them I get another long black screen with no cutscene and Knack is now alone in the same location with no sounds except for the music in the background and stuck in the place.
I'll close the app and try again and if doesn't work my last resort is to restart the whole mission hoping this bug doesn't happen again.
Edit: yeah closing the app fixed it.
Finished the game on Very Hard. Not sure what my overall playtime was, though. Definitely loved the final boss fight, but the story was a huge letdown for me. I was so excited to see more of this world and its characters after Knack 1, yet the characters here suck. The Doc and Charolette barely show up with the latter doing one thing the entire game. Lucas whines way, way, way too much. Doc treats Lucas like crap outta nowhere. Pretty much Knack, Ryder, and Ryder's girlfriend were the only good characters here.
Knack 1 had a great cast of characters. Idk how they dropped the ball here.
Combat's pretty fun. I dig the larger moveset and team attacks, but I think they should've balanced it a little more. When playing on coop, the team attacks are wayyyy too strong. Take Knack 1 where even with a friend, the game is still frustratingly difficult. Here, you can just use the circle punch to take off chunks of an enemy's health. It's still difficult, but easier than the first game.
Even the locales aren't as memorable. In the first game, I loved going to the ice and lava areas. Everything about those stages was just beautiful. Yet, there's not really a single memorable zone in Knack 2. Maybe they reduced the budget, so they couldn't get something like that again?
As much of an improvement as Knack 2 is, I'm pretty sure I prefer Knack 1.
Knack 1 had a great cast of characters. Idk how they dropped the ball here.
Combat's pretty fun. I dig the larger moveset and team attacks, but I think they should've balanced it a little more. When playing on coop, the team attacks are wayyyy too strong. Take Knack 1 where even with a friend, the game is still frustratingly difficult. Here, you can just use the circle punch to take off chunks of an enemy's health. It's still difficult, but easier than the first game.
Even the locales aren't as memorable. In the first game, I loved going to the ice and lava areas. Everything about those stages was just beautiful. Yet, there's not really a single memorable zone in Knack 2. Maybe they reduced the budget, so they couldn't get something like that again?
As much of an improvement as Knack 2 is, I'm pretty sure I prefer Knack 1.
You're the first person I've seen that prefer Knack 1 over Knack 2 lol
For what it's worth, I liked Knack, Lucas and Ryder in K2. Guess I'll have to play K1 one of these days to see what I missed.
Aarglefarg
Member
The combat has started to come together with the (5-1)
. The combat has been the weak point so far otherwise, at least on Normal, as it is much more forgiving than Knack 1 and I think not as well structured in terms of how each fight ramps up over previous ones.
hookshot
dickroach
Member
first I'm hearing about it. neat
It is not an easy game. Never played the original, but don't forget to block and parry projectiles and look at what the enemies are going to do (each of their attacks is projected before they execute it).
Also, you keep getting new moves throughout the game (on top of the moves you can unlock in the upgrade trees), sometimes they first let the player struggle with a certain new enemy type before handing out a real solution to them.
Nope, guess they didn't want to give Knack 1 players PTSD.
RedAssedApe
Banned
i didn't even unlock any of the special knacks on my playthrough lol. too many secrets 