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P.N.03: Not too bad

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I won't even bother putting LTTP in the title, it's ancient and there was no party with this game.

A few weeks back I bought P.N.03 to finish off my collection of the Capcom Five Four. It mostly feels like a missed opportunity. It could have used a few more layers of depth, more variety, better environments, and some serious control work. So many aspects of the game seem to be there just to cause annoyance and frustration. But overall it's not too bad. There's some strategy that comes in to play with determining what to kill and in what order (too bad the game tends to break down as soon as there are more than three targets on-screen) and I like the old-school feel. And it's pretty entertaining to watch all the dancing, spinning, and gyrating.

I did have some weird issues with getting progressive scan. It takes a few soft resets to get it to work properly, and sometimes it wouldn't kick in until after going through a room or two. The outdoor environments are just so lovely in their dithering glory.

But holy shit, my arms hurt. I've never button mashed so much in my life. Once you unlock the second round of suits, the only ones really worth using are the Blazer suits (the offensive-based ones), none of which have the Automatic upgrade (of ass-shaking fame). That means furious button mashing, sometimes for upwards of 20 to 30 seconds. This game made me work up a serious sweat, with all the mashing I'm surprised my thumb isn't completely raw.

I beat the game and unlocked the Blackbird suit, which lets you fully upgrade all the other suits. Too bad you lose all the points from the first playthrough (anger and rage).

I'll probably play through it again, just so I can unlock the last suit. It would have been interesting if there was a sequel, with (a shit ton of) tweaks it could have become a legitimately great game. Too bad it will never happen (Capcom's 360 game announcement on Monday - believe).
 
I found that playing the game with the controller resting on your lap with your index and middle fingers on the A button works better than mashing with your thumb. I think I have it set on the other settings too so that X and Y kidney buttons do the dodging instead of the top buttons. Works much better.

And PN03 was awesome.
 
The game felt really lame (even including the 'tension' of trying to stay in comb) 'till I found out about the specials and how to keep using it effectively. Then the game changes completely on how you handle areas and rooms.
 
Hell yes. I love this game. The controls feel stilted and bad until you really get into combat and realize they are designed around the enemies attacks...and then they fit like a glove.
 
Wario64 said:
I found that playing the game with the controller resting on your lap with your index and middle fingers on the A button works better than mashing with your thumb. I think I have it set on the other settings too so that X and Y kidney buttons do the dodging instead of the top buttons. Works much better.

And PN03 was awesome.
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I'm left-handed, so for the times when I really need to tap fast (and with no need t move around), I'd switch to my left, tapping with my index finger and using my pinky if for the L button if needed. I probably should have used the Type B controls, would have made dodging feel much better.

At least I won't have to tap anymore, once I upgrade my Ultra and/or Blackbird suits.
 
One of my favorites games ever, still have the shades in the box given to preorders..back then. :)

Too bad there's not going to be a sequel...ever...though at least Capcom gave it a nod in The Mercenaries in Resident Evil 4; same soundtrack (favorite song from P.N.03 was Mission 08, which they used when you control Hunk in Mercenaries), same kind of gameplay...

By the way, keep in mind that while the Papillon Suit (final suit) looks pretty, plus lets you choose which Drive you want to use..one hit and you get killed.
 
fernoca said:
One of my favorites games ever, still have the shades in the box given to preorders..back then. :)

Too bad there's not going to be a sequel...ever...though at least Capcom gave it a nod in The Mercenaries in Resident Evil 4; same soundtrack (favorite song from P.N.03 was Mission 08, which they used when you control Hunk in Mercenaries), same kind of gameplay...
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Also Mission 4 had Krauser's music I believe. Caught me by surprise, I've never seen a case of one game taking music from a (mostly) unrelated game. The soundtracks not too bad, there are some decent tracks in there.
 
Are there any other combo-ish games in this vein? This reminds me that I need to buy Shinobi (played through it, but don't own it) and Nightshade.
 
I think this is the first (and only) game that has made me swalow my pride and start a new game in Easy Mode after getting assraped hard in Normal Mode before reaching the 3rd room once you arrive in the facilities for 30 times in a row.
 
Despite meeting all the criteria - I could never get the ULTRA SKANK outfit (something something butterfly) and lost all interest.


good while it lasted. Capcom does great games (per usual)
 
There was a party, a very select party formed by gentlemen with exquisite taste.

Such a great game and so poorly understood.
 
one of the best shooters last gen. steep controls curve, though, which most people to ever try pn03 never passed. would buy e sequel, heck a wiimake, in a heartbeat.
 
Such a shame that this game was mauled by the critics. Most people saw it as a normal 3rd person action/adventure game, but it wasn't that at all. It was more similar to playing an oldskool shooter with freedom of movement, all about destroying stuff and keeping a combo up. I suppose that Capcom could have marketed that aspect better. Oh well, game still kicks ass.
 
does anyone get a bayonetta feeling from this game (or vice versa)?

female lead with guns and dancing and gyrating. it's a tenious link i know, but i just can't shake the feeling.

does anyone know how many people from P.N.03 are now at platinum games working on bayonetta (if any)?
 
USD said:
Are there any other combo-ish games in this vein? This reminds me that I need to buy Shinobi (played through it, but don't own it) and Nightshade.
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Aside The Mercaneries mode in Resident Evil 4, The Club is the next closest thing, only that in that one you can run and shoot at the same time..but they added some other twists, like laps on which you have to kill and do as many combos as you want, while running around, completing laps and before the timer runs out..basically like a racer; there's also a mode that forces you to stay inside an area shooting and doing combos; you can't get out or you die so you have to survive and do as many kills as you can before the timer expires.

Great game that also like P.N.03 was ignored; it also has online multiplayer (which is dead because there's none to play with) and leaderboards. It was made by Bizarre Creations, the same team that did Geometry Wars and Project Gotham Racing; and it's available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
 
This is the game that made me stop putting so much importance on review scores. I actually picked this game up about 2 years ago, I found it cheap and saw it was from Capcom (I love Capcom!). Anyways, I didn't really love the game but I thought it was fun and was a pretty unique game. I figured it probably got a lot of mid to high 7's and maybe an 8 or two thrown in.

Well, when I checked the review scores I was shocked! EGM gave it a 43, Gamespot gave it a 51, IGN gave it a 53, Gameinformer gave it a 58. At this point I though, perhaps I just have a very unique opinion of the game. I checked a couple of boards and nope, there were a lot of real gamers out there that really enjoyed this game.

The reviewers as far as I am concerned were wrong about this game. I mean, their scores are supposed to help gamers decide whether a game is worth getting or not. According to those scores they were saying that this game should be ignored and if every gamer did just that, a lot of people would've missed out on this game. Furthermore, there are probably thousands of additional gamers who would've appreciated this game had they played it but instead bypassed it because of the review scores.

Since I played this game I still read reviews but if I find a game's premise interesting and game footage looks interesting to me, I'll leave the final say up to other gamers who purchase and play the game.
 
Darkpen said:
I bought this for $5, played it for 20 minutes, then returned it :S
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You know how many great games I would've missed out on if I gave up on them in the first 20 minutes . . . A lot
 
Preordered it, got a bonus mousepad (I wanted shades too damnit), and loved it despite its flaws. I know there are guys out there who do not like it, but hey, that's true for every game there is. Still, this game is a rather strange one in that regard. I get the feeling that there's quite a clear delineation between people who like it and people who don't. Very little middleground inbetween. Anyway...

Count me in for a hypothetical sequel. Only one wish: Less random german names please!
 
MrVargas said:
Well, when I checked the review scores I was shocked! EGM gave it a 43, Gamespot gave it a 51, IGN gave it a 53, Gameinformer gave it a 58. At this point I though, perhaps I just have a very unique opinion of the game. I checked a couple of boards and nope, there were a lot of real gamers out there that really enjoyed this game.
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yeah, it's really just about bothering to find out how the game actually works mechanically. I think most of those saw that third person perspective and knew how to play the game. no point putting in the time, right? ign's god hand review is a classic of course. there are a bunch of other examples aswell, but gunvalkyrie on the xbox had some good reviews like this. especially eurogamer's review.
 
Joseph Merrick said:
yeah, it's really just about bothering to find out how the game actually works mechanically. I think most of those saw that third person perspective and knew how to play the game. no point putting in the time, right? ign's god hand review is a classic of course. there are a bunch of other examples aswell, but gunvalkyrie on the xbox had some good reviews like this. especially eurogamer's review.
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But all you had to do to love it was go in expecting something like a Gradius or R-Type, instead of Tomb Raider or whatever... was it really that hard to figure out the game's actual genre?

I went in expecting it to be what it was, and absolutely loved it. It's a great game all around, with great graphics and art design, great music, great gameplay... it's unique and original too, while being familiar enough to not take too long to figure out. Really, you can't ask for much more.

CTLance said:
I get the feeling that there's quite a clear delineation between people who like it and people who don't. Very little middleground inbetween.
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This does seem to be true, I agree. The awful review scores are proof of it. It's just too bad that more reviewers didn't like it... it deserved a much better reception.

About the only significant negative I can think of is the story and script. The story is awful and the writing even worse. It's kind of hilariously bad and incomprehensible sometimes, really... oh well, a game like this isn't exactly about having a great plot, so it really doesn't matter. It's about gameplay, which is fantastic.

fernoca said:
By the way, keep in mind that while the Papillon Suit (final suit) looks pretty, plus lets you choose which Drive you want to use..one hit and you get killed.
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Plus getting it's a real pain. I mean, having to beat all five training missions after every single main level? That would take a long time... I did a lot of the training missions, but not every single one. It's not necesarially worth the effort... maybe, though. The training missions are a big part of the game, and are pretty fun for sure.
 
A Black Falcon said:
But all you had to do to love it was go in expecting something like a Gradius or R-Type, instead of Tomb Raider or whatever... was it really that hard to figure out the game's actual genre?
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yeah, I didn't have a problem with this either. but I just remember butting heads in defense of the 8/10 score I gave it back in the day there. :lol
 
I generally like shooters, but the controls were too clunky for me... I'll have to go give it another chance one day, but movement seems too awkward.
 
Fun game, also...

29cl5q9.gif
 
Brilliant stuff, fairly certain the game used Jill Valentine's model as well, but I am not 100% sure. They definitely look similar.

Wish we'd see Vanessa in another game, even if it was a TatsuCap kind of cross over. She's perfect for that kind of stuff.

Even more amazing that this animation is NOT MoCapped.
 
One of those crazy games that gets totally rorted by the media and gamers yet manages to secure itself a small group of diehard supporters. Awesome game, bummed there will never be a sequel.
 
Nemesis556 said:
Brilliant stuff, fairly certain the game used Jill Valentine's model as well, but I am not 100% sure. They definitely look similar.

Wish we'd see Vanessa in another game, even if it was a TatsuCap kind of cross over. She's perfect for that kind of stuff.

Even more amazing that this animation is NOT MoCapped.
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I'd keyframe that ass, if you know what I mean.

Vanessa's face is certainly a lot different to Jill's, though Capcom might have reused the body. Vanessa's face kind of looks like a young Meg Ryan.
 
blu said:
one of the best shooters last gen. steep controls curve, though, which most people to ever try pn03 never passed. would buy e sequel, heck a wiimake, in a heartbeat.
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:lol
The game was mediocre to the core.
 
Same as almost everyone in this thread, at first I was turned away by the controls but once I got used to them the game got really addicting and fun..also great music.

Definitely a hardcore underrated gem.
 
I made an appreciation thread two years ago, will repost my comments then.

Recently digging through my games of last generation, I decided to pop this little shooter gem back into my Gamecube to give it a quick romp.

While the game was received with mediocre to poor reviews, I can't help from enjoying this game. I think one of the more detrimental aspect of the game is the way the controls are handled. After all, the character was designed in such a way that she's supposed to be graceful like a dancer but for the most part it has clunky tank controls.

Despite this, I think it made for a fun, old-school shooter game. Picking and upgrading a suit that matched your playstyle gave it a little depth, and trying to link killing enemies together to create a large combo always felt rewarding. The special moves every suit came equipped with were quite diverse, from a single destructive beam to homing multi shot to temporary invincibility.

But still, I can understand that this game isn't for everyone. There's hardly any story, the only replayability would be earning the secret suits and that requires beating the randomly generated dungeons between the main levels, and there wasn't much else to do besides that. Even Shinji Mikami said himself that he was not completely satisfied with the end product. Luckily I believe this game helped to make the masterpiece that is known as Resident Evil 4.

From the 'tank' controls to the main character design of Vanessa, it's obvious that this game wasn't mean to start a new franchise for Capcom. However, I do believe it was mainly an experiment for Capcom as far as a true 3D action game for the Gamecube went. Perhaps Shinji Mikami realize that a direct, behind the character camera angle wasn't the best way to go, and thus lead to the 'over the shoulder' view in Resident Evil 4? The way Vanessa Schneider is designed strongly resembles that of Ada Wong's character in Resident Evil 4 as well. A mysterious femme fatale with strong acrobatics. And lastly, the most obvious comparison between the two games is the 'Mercenaries' mode in Resident Evil 4 being based heavily upon PN 03's chain combo system.

Overall I think the game was enjoyable as long as you didn't expect anything great of it. It was a commercial failure but hey, that's okay. You can't have success without failure.
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http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137860
 
AWESOME controls that were just perfect for the Gamecube controller.

I played tons of Gotcha Force before getting this game, and then returned to it after playing through PN03 twice and unlocking the Blackbird and Papillon suits. Whereas I thought Gotcha Force had decent controls beforehand, I now found them extremely lacking having got used to PN03's awesome control system.

For those who want to unlock the two secret suits:

To unlock the suit ‘Blackbird’

To get the Blackbird suit, the player must finish the game on any difficulty setting, plus all of the other Aegis Suits must be in the playerÂ’s inventory (excluding Papillon). Continue playing through the game on the same game save to amass enough points to purchase the nine Aegis Suits available during regular play, then after defeating the game, the Blackbird suit becomes available for future play on that particular game save file.

To unlock the suit ‘Papillion’

To unlock the Papillon suit, the player must finish the game on any difficulty setting with all the other Aegis Suits in their inventory (including the Blackbird). In addition, a Professional ranking must be achieved on all five Trial Missions. Load the game save with the Blackbird suit on it and play through the game once again, this time making certain to complete each of the Trial missions.
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This game has been sitting on the shelf at my local trade-in store for a few weeks now. This thread has pushed me over the edge, I love the idea of music theory + shooting.

Rez 2, come to me.
 
Stopsign said:
I bought it on the cheap last year, and couldn't get into it. I can definitely see why some people like it though
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Give it another shot. I hated it at first two. Had to walk away twice before it clicked. Didn't help they had "your" instead of "you're" (or vice-versa) in the dialogue at the beginning.
 
Jive Turkey said:
Give it another shot. I hated it at first two. Had to walk away twice before it clicked. Didn't help they had "your" instead of "you're" (or vice-versa) in the dialogue at the beginning.
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Jive Turkey
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Boerseun said:
To unlock the suit ‘Papillion’

To unlock the Papillon suit, the player must finish the game on any difficulty setting with all the other Aegis Suits in their inventory (including the Blackbird). In addition, a Professional ranking must be achieved on all five Trial Missions. Load the game save with the Blackbird suit on it and play through the game once again, this time making certain to complete each of the Trial missions.
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On GameFAQs it says you also have to get an overall Professional rating in the story missions. Is this true?

I shouldn't have bothered going through the trial missions the first time around, since now I have to do that shit all over again.
 
FTWer said:
:lol
The game was mediocre to the core.
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that's ok son, that game wasn't for everyone.
 
I picked this up. Reading Matt's review is hilarious if you just switch out P.N.03 with Resident Evil 4. I like the control scheme here more. You can tell its one of those games that will just play ugly if you're not adept at it, but can look stunning if you've got a good player or a speed runner. I'll probably post later the further I dig into this game (and after I switch difficulties...).
 
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