Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS)
Well I haven't been technically playing this, I've been reading Last Window: The Secret of Cape West. So I completed this 4 months ago and having just come off Hotel Dusk I'm not in any hurry to play this again, thankfully I don't have to, once you complete Last Window you get the option to experience the game as a mystery novel. The screen of the original DS wasn't exactly designed for reading (it's the reason why I gave up on ever reading 100 classic book collection for DS) but thankfully it isn't much of an issue here, the wording is spaced out and the font isn't affected by the small screen. The novel is a nice feature, it lets you go over events again that you might have forgotten about and experience the story in a different medium, most importantly though it links Last Window and Hotel Dusk together with reveal that Last Window is (spoiler warning) a crime novel written by one of the characters from Hotel Dusk, is that confusing? Just a little.
So lets get this straight, in the games universe the events in Hotel Dusk actually happened but Last Window is a fictional novel inspired by the protagonist of Hotel Dusk (Kyle Hyde).
I'm actually just over thinking things here and clearly the book was just a cool little idea the creators had when designing the game, I like the idea of the classified documents containing character background information and interviews with the characters. So really there are two universes, one where the events of the Last Window actually happened and one where Last Window is just a mystery novel.
Super Princess Peach (DS)
I'll be honest, I'm liking this more than I thought I would. I know people have looked at this game and laughed at the concept "Princess Peach has to save Mario from Bowser by getting emotional on everyone", it sounds daft but the game is in all fairness pretty damn good. I'm one of those people who thinks the Mario games are lacking a bit in imagination these days so playing a 2D Mario series platformer that is actually 2D and uses its own unique mechanics is a nice change. Actually Super Princess Peach isn't like Mario at all, it reminds me of action platformers like Astro Boy: Omega Factor and Dynamite Headdy only without Treasure's trademarks (high difficulty, sprite rotation, scaling, big explosions, weird stuff, etc).
if I had to compare Super Princess Peach to a Nintendo title I'd say it is a bit like Yoshi's Island only less difficult and with levels that don't feel like a big maze.
It seems like a weird nitpick but I feel like the artwork contrasts badly with the actual game, this will take a big of explaining. On the top screen you have 2D sprite Peach who for lack of better words looks cute, if not adorable, this little sprite feels like it has much more character than any other version of Peach that has existed before or since. The Princess Peach on the bottom of the screen is the MacGuffen Princess we have known for the last 30 years, it irks me in the same way the Mario Party games irk me in that it is completely devoid of character.
Animal Crossing (Gamecube)
Back to the dog race that is Animal Crossing, once again I open my letter box and once again the room rating people tell me my house has too much free space, are they messing with me or something? Upstairs alone has a wrestling ring and a ivory piano. I'm officially 2 fossils away from completing the collection, don't know what I'm going to do when I finish, bugs don't appear until spring and the fish selection is pretty limited at the moment. I still haven't visited the Tropical Island yet...
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