A few flippant impressions of WayForward's Mighty Flip Champs DX (PSP Minis)

OK, so most people wouldn't describe the impressions below as "flippant." Honestly, I only used the word in the headline above because I liked how it complemented the "Flip" in Mighty Flip Champs DX.

With that out of the way, here are my initial impressions of this WayForward-developed, PSP-based puzzler-slash-platformer:

1. I really like how this game sounds. The trance-y background tunes are nice, but they're not what I'm talking about here. Instead, I'm talking about the Donkey Kong-esque (or Mario Bros.-ish, if you prefer) sound effects that accompany the protagonist's every step.



2. I also like how it looks. The above-mentioned protagonist, Alta, and her fishman friend, especially. Both are wonderfully realized and animated sprites that hark back to the 8-bit era.

3. That said, I wish I could see the game's graphics more clearly. Everything is so small that it's hard to fully appreciate the sprites that the folks at WayForward took such pains to create.

4. The main reason everything is so small is that the game's developers had to cram two of each stage's "pages" (areas) onto the PSP's otherwise-roomy screen. Although that negatively impacts Mighty Flip Champs DX's graphics, it positively impacts its gameplay (since it allows players to easily see where Alta will be positioned post-flip).

5. Mighty Flip Champs DX may look cute and cuddly, but it's got some serious teeth (i.e., it's tough). The first few stages are so easy that you'd be forgiven for thinking the whole thing is a cakewalk. Then you come to, oh, stage 1-7 and that notion is blown to smithereens as you try again and again (and again, if you're me) to reach Alta's amphibian compadre.



6. The only element of the game that I'm not so sure of at the moment is its emphasis on replaying each stage over and over in order to get the best time. Personally, I'm more of a beat-a-stage-once-and-then-get-on-with-it kind of guy, although I'm sure there are a lot of people who like this sort of gameplay.

So, that's what I think of Mighty Flip Champs DX after playing through its first two worlds. I'll write up a more formal review of the game after I've finished it. In the meantime, have any of you played it--or its DSiWare predecessor? If so, what do you think about it?

See also: 'WayForward's Austin Ivansmith is a pretty awesome guy'

WayForward's Austin Ivansmith is a pretty awesome guy

I hope he won't mind me calling him out like this, but I just have to extend a digital/virtual high-five to Austin Ivansmith, a director at WayForward Technologies.

A few days ago, I wandered onto deviantart.com in the hopes of finding a few pieces of gorgeous game-related art that could be discussed and/or drooled over here.

Before I had a chance to search for said images, though, I noticed that a heretofore-unread note was sitting in my deviantart mailbox. The note, of course, had been sent by Ivansmith and included a download code for WayForward's Mighty Flip Champs DX.



I'm guessing he saw the whiny post ("Why didn't somebody tell me Mighty Flip Champs received a PSP port?") I published about said PSP title a few weeks ago, but I can't say that with any certainty since the content of Ivansmith's rather succinct note was limited to the afore- mentioned download code and a cheery reminder to keep an eye out for the company's upcoming 3DS release, Mighty Switch Force (which he promised will "rock your socks off").

Since I've only played through the first few stages of Mighty Flip Champs DX thus far, I can't say much about it at the moment. I'll do my best to spend a bit more time with it this weekend, though, so I can share some impressions with all of you next week.

Why didn't somebody tell me Mighty Flip Champs received a PSP port?

While researching today's other post (about Mighty Switch Force's teaser trailer), I discovered that another WayForward-developed title that I've had my eye on for some time, Mighty Flip Champs, was rather stealthily released as a PSP Mini a few months ago.

Surprisingly, said port is supposed to be a pretty good one. "It's a game that, previous to its arrival on PSP, I could only imagine as a DS game," Joystiq's JC Fletcher wrote in a recent review. "But the PSP version turns the vertical 'flipping' horizontal, and puts the two locations on the left and right side of the PSP screen. To my surprise, this arrangement works out just fine! It doesn't feel like an adaptation to a less adequate platform; it just works."



Although I'd love to add Mighty Flip Champs DX to my ever-growing collection of digital PSP games, I'm going to have to hold off on doing so until I actually have some money. Another possibility: I could wait until I buy 3DS and then purchase all three of WayForward's "Mighty" titles (Mighty Flip Champs, Mighty Milky Way and Mighty Switch Force) via that system's eShop. Decisions, decisions.

See also: 'Metroid + Mega Man + Mischief Makers = Mighty Switch Force?'

Why didn't someone warn me that Pac-Man Championship Edition is even harder to control on the PSP than it is on the Xbox 360?

Last week I did something I've been meaning to do for a long time: I bought my first PSP game.

I know, I've talked about buying Cladun: This is an RPG, Half-Minute Hero, Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip, Patapon and quite a few other games since I picked up a PSP last year, but for various reasons I have yet to follow through and purchase any of them.

So, which game did I buy when I finally let loose last week? The PSP Minis version of Pac-Man Championship Edition. It was just $4.99 and it would allow me to play this awesome title on the go--how could I choose anything else, right?

After playing the game for a bit over the weekend, though, I'm currently asking myself a completely different question: Why in the hell didn't I choose something else?



Before I get to why I'm asking myself that question, I have to say that nearly everything about this PSP Minis release is a mirror image of its Xbox 360 counterpart. The former looks and sounds just as good as the latter, as far as I'm concerned, and the former also shares all of the latter's modes and options--well, except for the ability to compare ones high scores with those of players elsewhere in the world via an online leaderboard.

Although I can see that irking some die-hard Pac-Man Championship Edition fans, that's not my big beef with the PSP iteration. No, my big beef with the game is that it controls terribly whether you use the portable system's directional pad or analog "nub." (Basically, the former is too tight and the latter is too loose, at least in my experience.) In fact, it's so difficult to control that I doubt I'll play it more than a handful of times--which is a shame, because this is could have and should have been the perfect title for on-the-go gamers.

Oh, well, at least it only set me back $4.99. Here's hoping my next PSP purchase--which is likely to be Cladun: This is an RPG, Hot Shots Tennis or Patchwork Heroes--will be less of a disappointment.

Raise your hand if you, too, think Pac-Man Championship Edition is digital crack

I've suggested as much in various posts since my Xbox 360 arrived a few weeks ago, but in case those casual remarks slipped right by you, here's the deal: I'm completely addicted to Pac-Man Championship Edition.

Specifically, I'm addicted to the five-minute "championship" mode that serves as the centerpiece of this Xbox Live Arcade follow-up to Tōru Iwatani's arcade classic. (There's also two, 10-minute "challenge" modes and three "extra" modes, one of which lasts for five minutes and two that last for 10.)

Honestly, it's impossible for me to play this mode just once. That's what I mean to do, at least on most occasions, but invariably I end up telling myself, "just one more time," as soon as the game's clock hits zero.



Despite all of the time I've put into Pac-Man Championship Edition thus far, I'd hardly call myself good at it. I improve a little each time I boot it up, though, which is part of what keeps me coming back for more. The other part? It's simply a blast to play--even when I miss my high score by a wide margin.

I'll post more in-depth impressions of the game (likely in one of my "somewhat gay" reviews) soon, but in the meantime just know that I'm enjoying the hell out of it and that I heartily recommend it to anyone who has a PSP or an Xbox 360.

Herp derp

You know how I've been whining about how my DS, PSP and Wii have been offline since we bought a new wireless router a few months ago? (Just nod and agree with me if you don't remember any of this.) Well, it seems all three systems could have been on line all along. Doh!



I figured that out today after reading that Pac-Man Championship Edition (above) has hit the European PlayStation Store. Unfortunately, no one seems to know when the game will show up on our shores, but you can bet your butt that as soon as it does I'll pick it up--along with ClaDun: This is an RPG.

(Via kotaku.com)

Maybe I don't need a 360 after all

Here's a pointless piece of trivia for you: I've been pining for an Xbox 360 ever since Pac-Man: Championship Edition hit the the system's XBLA service in June 2007.

Three years later, it remains one of the only reasons I want Microsoft's boxy, black system.

So, the question is: Will I still want an Xbox 360 after the game is released later this year as a PSP Mini? At this point, I'm not so sure.



Anyway, speaking of the PSP version of Pac-Man: Championship Edition--a playable version of the game was shown off at the recent Gamescom event in Germany.

Hopefully that means it'll hit the PlayStation Store soon (he asks with hope)?

Macaron Reversi

Now here's a game that's sure to stay in the Land of the Rising Sun: A portable rendition of Reversi played with macarons, the crispy, chewy confections made famous by French pâtisserie Ladurée.

Japanese PSP (and, likely, PS3) owners won't have to empty their piggy banks to pick up the pastel-plastered title when it's released on May 13, though--all they'll have to part ways with is ¥300 (a little over $3).

Why will it be so cheap--I mean, besides the obvious (we're talking about Reversi played with macarons, after all)? Well, Macaron Reversi is going to be one of a handful of titles that will help launch Sony's "PSP Minis" line of games in that territory.

(Via andriasang.com)