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[Hero]

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.

 

[dark_preacher]

i actually got this really cheap at gamestop a couple months ago after being interested in it originally with all the good press it got before being dumped on by all the reviews.

loaded it up in my wii about a week ago and it just seemed totally unplayable. i dunno if i just couldn't get into it or what, but it seemed like everything about this game was just plain bad. am i missing something that makes this game drastically better?

keep in mind, i just played it for maybe 15-20 minutes before turning it off in disgust.

 

[underfooter]

I really enjoy this game too. It has some weird controls, but plays in a way no other game does. Good arcade shooter with more depth than meets the eye.

 

[Mistouze]

The control scheme was strange but could have so much more enjoyable if the movement was handled à la Killer 7. But I've just played 30-40 minutes of it andI haven't been very brilliant.

 

[Kafel]

 

[Saoh]

repetitive, button masher, killed my thumb , impossible to collect money and the upgrades are insanely hard to get.

yeah, it was fun for like 2hrs but this time i have to go with the reviews :/ and i was looking foward to it.

 

[Bildi]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I think people didn't understand that for the most part fighting enemies involved the sideways motion and stringing things together. Turning and running around enemies was not really an element in battles.

It was much more akin to a top-down veritcal shooter than a 3rd person action game.

 

[PolyGone]

you have to view the game more like a traditional shooter rather than a standard 3rd person action game.

Its all about weaving in and out of enemy fire, then counter attacking. I can't remember the highest combo I got, but I think it was in the high 20s. There's one room that repeats in a couple of stages where 2 dozen enemies spawn in rapid succession.

 

[fernoca]

Sign me in...hehehehe..
Loved the game..ended playing it for over 80 hours...not bad, for a 10 hours long game..hehehehe..
Loved the action..the music..the concept..everything..

Best song was thje one from Mission 8...

Capcom should consider making some sequel of it...after all they have made sequels of games that have sold less [and costed more] (or that the first sold more, and the later sold less..and less..)..so why not put a small team on it??

After all; they sold probably as many units as they shipped...and barely advertised it..

 

[Wario64]

The control scheme was strange but could have so much more enjoyable if the movement was handled à la Killer 7. But I've just played 30-40 minutes of it andI haven't been very brilliant.

dude your avatar is huge, resize it

 

[Dark Ninja]

Heres a video made for one of the best parts of this game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTJ23dnteL0

 

[Coin Return]

Sign me in...hehehehe..
Loved the game..ended playing it for over 80 hours...not bad, for a 10 hours long game..hehehehe..
Loved the action..the music..the concept..everything..

Best song was thje one from Mission 8...

Capcom should consider making some sequel of it...after all they have made sequels of games that have sold less [and costed more] (or that the first sold more, and the later sold less..and less..)..so why not put a small team on it??

After all; they sold probably as many units as they shipped...and barely advertised it..

You type like a rapist.

I didn't like P.N 03.

 

[CowGirl]

Loved every minute I spent with this game.
It had a very oldschool fell, and like others say you play it a lot more like a shooter.

Good times.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Loved it for the 25 hours I invested in it. I could never unlock the Papillon suit.

 

[fernoca]

You type like a rapist.

I didn't like P.N 03.

LOL :lol
Is that english is not my main language..so I like leave the sentences open..because I don't even know if I started them correctly...

 

[Beezy]

PN03 is a great game. **** the haters.

 

[Bildi]

Heres a video made for one of the best parts of this game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTJ23dnteL0

That's great. Definitely made me want to plug in this game again tonight!

 

[Saoh]

remember when Vanessa? had guns?

i can only wonder...

 

[Junpei Heat]

I always wanted to get the Papillion suit but never did aside from that it was an alright game.

Edit:Oh yeah guns :lol

 

[mrkgoo]

I bought the game, and I loved it. It's weird at first, but once you figure out the 'way' to paly, it was a blast. It was nearly like a simon says, memory, rhythm game than a shooter. You target, shoot, press 'R' to dodge, right followed by 'l' to dodge left, continue shooting etc...

I played through it like twice to get more money for upgrades.

I loved it, but I bought it for really cheap, and sold it for more, and then bought it again and sold it. Is till like the game, but when you buy a game for $10-$20, adn you have the opportunity to trade in a game for $30-40, you don't pass up.

 

[:Motorbass]

Oh, I appreciate big time. Yes tedious, yes weird, yes quickly done. But teh style omg.
Still working my ways towards Papillion from time to time. ah the music <3

 

[mrkgoo]

Heres a video made for one of the best parts of this game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTJ23dnteL0

Aww...man, makes me want to go paly it again!

Anyway, reminded me that the bosses were cool, and the style the game had was awesome. I really didn't mind the repetitive rooms...felt like a really old school arcade game.

 

[mr_sockochris]

I loved PN03 to pieces. I can fully understand why it was so generally disliked, the controls were certainly unorthodox to say the least, but once you mastered them the way the game was made suddenly made sense. Hard mode with the Papillion suit is where the game really shined. The whole 'one hit and you are dead' deal with the Papillion gave the game a Ikaruga/Gradius/etc feel to it. I did post a review of it here sometime before the US release but it seems to be long gone from the datebase now...

On a side note, for those who don't have the game you can still hear some of its wonderful music in the Mercenaries mode on RE4

 

[dark_preacher]

just want to clarify that i'm not trying to bash the game. i genuinely wanted to like it due to the unique character design and excellent art style employed.

i just can't help but feel like it's one of those games that i just don't 'get'.

 

[marvelharvey]

I loved it too, but found it quite tough, mainly because I was continuously hypnotized by her ass wiggling and couldn't draw my eyes away for long enough to see the enemies.

 

[C- Warrior]

I found the game to extremely fun and addicting.

But after 3 hours or so -- the gameplay concept becomes painfully obstructive. The game is designed for shoot n' hide twitch based mechanics against opponenst singulary ahead of you -- with at most 3 or 4 opponents in a given cardinal direction ahead of you.

Shit goes down the hill when the game surrounds you with multiple (up to 8) enemies around you, the stiff controls at which point become a problem.

The game is a perfect arcade experience. Very fun, but in short bursts. But the problem is -- you can't play the game in short bursts because due to the difficulty level, you constantly have to play the game in larger bursts to mantain and increase your skill level.

 

[Alex]

I liked it in the same manner I did Gunvalkyrie, lil awkward to get into, but ultimately pretty darn solid fun for cheap.

 

[D-X]

in before arse gif

 

[Baron Aloha]

I loved it. Its one of those games that you could play through over and over again (and in fact you were generously rewarded for doing so). I wish there was a sequel.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I had this game sitting at the bottom of my pile of games still in its wrapping for ages… I picked it up for under £10 early last year! I finally took it out tonight - weirdly before I even saw this thread - as I was looking for something to play on the Wii.

Anyways, I cant say I was very impressed... it was not at all what I was expecting and the tank controls killed the fun from the get-go... but seeing as so many people are having a love-in about it this thread I will give it another go tomorrow.

I think I only got to the eight room of the first mission so there should be lots more to see

 

[MegaTen]

Awesome game. It takes a long time before you can buy all of the suits, but it's definitely worth it. I also could never stop playing this over and over since the rhythm in which the game is played is pretty challenging, while still addictive.

 

[Fady K]

When this was first announced, I was crazy about it, as I loved Capcom and Im a big Mikami fan.

The game was fun, but im going to be honest here - it disappointed me big time. The gameplay for me got old after a couple of hours, and the story was laughable. Also level design was Atrocious with a capital A.

But what I really liked was the soundtrack, anyone know whos behind it?

 

[daemonic]

One of my most played games last gen. I unlocked everything there was to unlock and have played through hard mode with the Papillon equipped for every mission. Great game.. full of flaws, but was still fun. The controls needed more work, and the environments could have been more varied, but I loved the energy drives and enemies. The game is begging for a sequel/prequel.

 

[angelfly]

Definitely one of my favorite GC games. I've played through it several times and the game is still addictive. Every review I read complained about the controls but for me they worked fine. I'd really love to see a sequel but sadly I doubt I will.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Great game.

It's like a old-school shooter in 3rd person. Not for everyone, and could probably have been refined a bit in the control department, but it worked for me.

 

[Hero]

Surprised to see this many people on GAF with positive impressions from it still. It is one of those games where it either clicks or it doesn't. No learning curve or progression really.

Forgot to mention the soundtrack. Some might think it was lame, but I liked most of the tracks. Speaking of which, did Capcom ever release an OST for it? I've been searching eBay and Google and can't come up with anything.

 

[daemonic]

Surprised to see this many people on GAF with positive impressions from it still. It is one of those games where it either clicks or it doesn't. No learning curve or progression really.

Forgot to mention the soundtrack. Some might think it was lame, but I liked most of the tracks. Speaking of which, did Capcom ever release an OST for it? I've been searching eBay and Google and can't come up with anything.

I've also looked, but I've only been able to find unofficial ones.

 

[Lighting Gels]

Great great game.
Loved the action, loved the music, loved Vanessa.
I keep a dozen gamecube games in my videogames collection being PN03 one of them... it really deserves it.

 

[ourumov]

Nicest ass last gen.
I beat the game and had lots of fun with it... Anyways, you can argue that level design was horrid and repetitive and I can't say anything against it.

 

[Shadowmancer]

I picked this up for $2 at EB (Canadian dollars, so I imagine it would've been free for you Americans ), and am loving it. Feels like an old-school 2D shooter made 3D. Half way through the game so far, and I am going to try and get the Papillion suit.

 

[sky]

Great game.

It's like a old-school shooter in 3rd person. Not for everyone, and could probably have been refined a bit in the control department, but it worked for me.

Precisely.
One of those games you know isn't AAA, but still find strangely compelling and addictive.
The style and music fit together really well, and of course Vanessa looked great doing all her moves. A simple shooter, but sometimes that all you need.

 

[callous]

Nash is spot on. Add to that how much I love the graphics design and it's one of the more memorable experiences of last generation for me. Very pleasant little surprise.

 

[BrokenSymmetry]

Vanessa Z. Schneider. Coolest name in video gaming ever!

 

[LuCkymoON]

Oh, I appreciate big time. Yes tedious, yes weird, yes quickly done. But teh style omg.
Still working my ways towards Papillion from time to time. ah the music <3

Thanks I've been looking for a bigger image of that. Got any more?

 

[disappeared]

Vanessa reminds me so much of Jill Valentine, which is never a bad thing. I really should give this game a shot.

 

[Furoba]

RE4's game engine comes from this title (and was of course heavily tuned up until the final release)... Shame what happened to Production Studio 4, and especially Shinji Mikami afterwards.

 

[mrkgoo]

Wait Shinji Mikami was involved in this one? cool.

 

[disappeared]

Yeah, I think I really need to track this game down now. It'll probably be the last game I ever play on the Gamecube.

 

[Furoba]

Wait Shinji Mikami was involved in this one? cool.

He had to pay quite dearly for the commercial failure of PN03 as well... And a second time during his transition from CPS4 to Clover ("I will chop off my head if RE4 doesn't remain exclusive to GameCube" fame... But only his public image took a severe hit at that time).

 

[Kevtones]

One of the few games of this past gen I 100% completed. Too bad most misunderstood the game and labeled it as a poorly controlled 3D run and gun...

Its a rhythm based shooter that utilizes cover, simple dodge mechanics and puzzle like layouts to utilize its strong system. One of my favorite shooters ever.