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Tell me about Platinum Games.

Sjukob

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Jul 3, 2015
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So I learned about this studio about a year or so ago, when I noticed that Bayonetta and the first Devil May Cry game, which I enjoyed a lot, had the same person in one of the leading development positions - Hideki Kamiya. I was aware of Bayonetta existence before I tried out DMC series, but it appeared dumb to me. Some weird bitch beating up gummy bears, gay. I thought so until I gave it a go, because of Kamiya's name on it, I was very pleasantly surprised with it and found it very enjoyable to play. I would even say that it's one of the absolute best beat'em'up/slasher (whatever you want to call them) type of games out there.

And my question is - are other games made by Platinum worth a shot? I've already bought Vanquish, since every Platinum game in Steam is on sale now and Vanquish and Bayonetta are dirt cheap with 75% discount, but I would like to know more about the rest of their products: Metal Gear Revengeance, Nier, Wonderful 101, Transformers. Are they fun, are they good? They only things I know that Revengeance was heavily unfinished or something, Nier is more of a movie than a game and Wonderful 101 is "one big gimmick" the game, also I heard that it was developed to use Wii U features extensively and that begs the question: "How does it work on PC?"

I would like to hear opinions about Platinum games games, yeah.
 
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Steezus

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Revengeance is actually super fun and a great entry point for character action games. It also does a better job at exploring Raiden's character arc than MGS4, which is fucking insane considering that the game and its plot and cast are stupidly over the top.

Also, Vanquish is easily the best third person shooter ever made. It's over ten years old and the gameplay is still ahead of its time.
 

Hobo Elf

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MGR is really fun, though it's pretty simple and after a while it's just super easy. I enjoy the boss fights but after a couple of runs I just destroy them within a minute on the hardest diffuclty level and I'm by no means a pro at these kind of games. It was the last good Metal Gear game.

Wonderful 101 was pretty bad, I thought.. Kamiya design 101, add a bunch of gimmicky and unfun gameplay segments, combat isn't even a fraction as decent as anything else the genre has to offer and the super sentai subject matter didn't really interest me either. I'd pass on this.

Astral Chain is another nice and recent game by Platinum but it's only available on the Switch because it was funded by 'Tendo.

I'd say that Bayonetta 2, Astral Chain and MGR are my favorite titles by PG. The others are either forgettable or not very fun.
 

distant

Learned
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To be honest I enjoyed every game of theirs that I've tried, top tier company. Astral Chain, Bayonetta 1/2, MGR, Nier Automata, Vanquish. Wonderful 101 was cool when I got a handle on the combat which actually took a while. The combat is so fluid with high level execution (or you can mash which is also viable on lower diffs) and the visual spectacle is always over the top but well designed.
 

Gruncheon

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Apr 30, 2015
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There's nobody else quite like Platinum. Their serious efforts (they've made some shovelware to pay the bills) are all gems in their own way. Bayonetta is a classic. Vanquish, though basically forgotten, is the best third-person shooter of all time. W101 is genius. Revengeance is a really enjoyable, though less polished, Ninja Gaiden like.

I think they're a really admirable studio - they just want to keep pushing out original games with great arcade-ey gameplay.
 

Darth Roxor

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Personally, I thought Bayonetta was boring as hell in the long run. I did however enjoy Transformers muchly, particularly because it was such a lovely throwback to the original cartoon.
 

DJOGamer PT

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Platinum Games are a wierd one, as they may one day make something really competent and fun, but then follow-up with something painfully mediocre and forgettable

You already played Bayo, which might very well be their best
You can try Bayo 2
The fanbase seem a bit split on that one though...
Some say that Bayo 2 is a meatier game, while others say that while that's true it also has something lacking from 1
But nonetheless both parties agree that it's a good sequel

MGR Revengeance like Steezus said is pretty fun and good entry point for spectacle figthers
In fact this was my jumping point towards DMC, God Hand, NG and Bayo
However, MGR greatest failling, since you came from Bayo and DMC you'll feel that the game lacks the advanced shit for the more hardcore audience to really sink their teeth in
The plot is hilarious by itself, but you'll miss out alot if you didn't play previous MGS games, not because of connections to those titles mind you, but because MGR is a parody of MGS tropes and plots

Talking about God Hand
While not made by Platinum, it was made by devs that left Capcom and went on create Platinum Games

Vanquish is pretty fun
I wouldn't call it the best third person shooter, as I think RE4 is overall a more complete experience than Vanquish
But I would put it up there next to Max Payne 3 - both excelent mechanic wise but just decent in terms of level design and campaign

Nier Automata is an Yoko Taro jRPG but this time with actually decent and fun gameplay
So if you're into grindy jRPG's with bizarre plots, baby's first existential crisis and 4th wall breaks, then go for it...

I don't know about Wonderful 101, never played it, but Mathew boy seems to love it to death:



But then again he's alway been a Kamiya fanboy


And I guess that it when it comes to Platinum...
They really don't have anything else worthwhile IMO
 
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Ghulgothas

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Add Madworld to your list. And if you're not already aware, all of the games that were made by Clover Studios before they were dissolved and reformed into Platinum are also great. Okami, Viewtiful Joe, Godhand etc.

Revengeance had a lot of DLC content added after the fact, but it's all auto-included in the Steam release now. The more of them you play the more a preference among them you'll have. YMMV, but Astral Chain is their weakest. Good, but their weakest.
 

Ivan

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Must-Plays:
Wonderful 101
Bayonetta 1
Bayonetta 2
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance



If you're starving for more, these are lesser, more appetizer titles than the full course meals above:
Transformers
Madworld


Have yet to try Astral Chain.
 

ADL

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When netplay becomes viable on 360/PS3 emulators, Anarchy Reigns will get the second lease on life it deserved the first time around.
 

karoliner

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The only really bad ones which you should avoid are Legend of Korra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Astral Chain. The rest go from okay to great. The older games sometimes have the problem of too many quick time events. Bayonetta 2 is better than 1.
 

ADL

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The only really bad ones which you should avoid are Legend of Korra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Astral Chain. The rest go from okay to great. The older games sometimes have the problem of too many quick time events. Bayonetta 2 is better than 1.
Is Astral Chain really bad on the same level as Korra and TMNT? Those games are terrible but I would believe Astral Chain is mediocre as I haven't heard much praise.
 

Amurada

Educated
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Jul 26, 2020
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73
Kamiya is a peculiar one, as I think his greatest strength as a lead developer does not come from him being responsible for everything that makes the combat in those games great. Rather, Kamiya generally tends to focus on making games that have established characters and worlds that are compelling -- and after having played God of War (2005), genuine cinematic revelry that beats out most of the competition that vie to convey the same thing. He just so happens to surround himself with some of the best combat designers in the business. This isn't to say that praise thrown his way is unfounded, as Wonderful 101 more than shows what complete creative freedom allows him to accomplish as a scenario director, writer, and worldbuilder. I know these sound like pretentious terms to some given the source material, but the established settings and charming characters are present in all titles with Kamiya at the helm, and patterns start to emerge if you're willing to pay attention, to what exactly his influence on these games entail.

Platinum in general, is a great developer that has played to the strengths of developing highly polished mechanics. Unfortunately, they are not very experimental, as most of their games derive from what had already been established with the first Bayonetta title. The AI in their titles have never been as sophisticated as Ninja Gaiden's, but the design of enemy encounters themselves helps alleviate the issues therein; the mechanics within each release have never been as experimental as Senran Kagura's; but Platinum has maintained the top spot in keeping attacks as visceral and satisfying as possible, and by far outpaces both titles when it comes to dynamic cinematic scenarios that are far more than QTE fests. If anything, most of their games after Bayo1 have essentially stripped down mechanics to fit the setting/conceit of the world in question. Funnily enough, one of their licensed titles - Transformers - has been the greatest successors when it comes to iterating on the mechanics surrounding panther form. Despite this lack of experimentation, the third, of what is now 10 titles that utilize Bayo1's combat design happens to be their best game. And while I firmly believe that MatthewMatosis is a shit tier critic, Wonderful 101 is by far Kamiya's best game, as it highlights all the strengths Platinum has over its competitors.

Keep in mind, I've yet to play Nier Automota or Astral Chain, so judgement on those games are subject to review. Interestingly enough however, both of those games seem to stem from a slightly different design philosophy, with AC potentially iterating upon N:A, so there may be interesting design tidbits to pull from those games.
 

Machocruz

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Bayonetta is a must play for anyone remotely interested in action games. Combine it's superb gameplay with an instantly iconic character, and you have one of those games that exceeds genre and goes into the canon of great, classic games.
 

Sjukob

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Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
2,052
Thank you for your input everyone. But I would like to keep the ball rolling for now.

Does MGR play more like a traditional beat'em'up? Like, forget about showing off, just use your best moves in the most efficient way possible. No idea about how important is it to be aware of the Metal Gear series story, I've never played any of those games, the only thing I know about the series is that you play as a dude named Solid Snake, who is a super agent or something and he does super agent related stuff.

Nier Automata is an Yoko Taro jRPG but this time with actually decent and fun gameplay
Is Yoko Taro a big figure in jRPGs? I basically know nothing about the genre.

So if you're into grindy jRPG's with bizarre plots, baby's first existential crisis and 4th wall breaks, then go for it...
Sounds like trash to be honest, but that's what I thought about Bayonetta initially, so I'll reserve my judgement. By the way, why does the Steam version of the game has mixed reviews?

Madworld, Okami, Viewtiful Joe, Godhand
Are they worth checking out? I know that Godhand is one of a kind and is really cool, I'll check it out some day. As for the rest, eh, at first glance they seem passable at best.

I did however enjoy Transformers muchly, particularly because it was such a lovely throwback to the original cartoon.
What were the other reasons?


So far I haven't seen the answer to my question about Wonderful 101 controls on PC. I know that the game was developed with Wii U fetures in mind and I would like to know how well did they handle them in PC port. I also heard that under the guise of a silly casual game hides a brutal action for nerds and even Kamiya himself said that he considers first playthrough of the game to be a tutorial. Are there any Wonderful 101 experts here? How close to truth is that?
 
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Steezus

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Does MGR play more like a traditional beat'em'up? Like, forget about showing off, just use your best moves in the most efficient way possible. No idea about how important is it to be aware of the Metal Gear series story, I've never played any of those games, the only thing I know about the series is that you play as a dude named Solid Snake, who is a super agent or something and he does super agent related stuff.

It plays like DMC/Bayonetta, but the systems aren't quite as complex and deep. You still need to learn essential things like parries and dodge timings and you advance your move repertoire by unlocking skills.

Maybe read up on Raiden's story (MGS2 and 4) so you won't be totally lost, but beyond the character setup, the plot stands on its own legs. It's mostly dumb fun combined with huge spectacle and cheesy butt rock music. super fun experience/10
 

DJOGamer PT

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Does MGR play more like traditional beat'em'up? Like, forget about showing off, just use your best moves in the most efficient way possible. No idea about how important is to be aware of the Metal Gear series story, I've never played any of those games, the only thing I know about the series is that you play as a dude named Solid Snake, who is a super agent or something and he does super agent related stuff.

Yes it does
MGR is a pretty simple but competent brawler
It's fast paced, aggressive and flashy with a very good sense of kinect energy but the objective of the combat is simply to kill every enemy in the level as fast as possible
"Took one hour to beat this chapter? Well when you replay it, try to beat it in 20 minutes."

But like I said above, the biggest failling of the game is it's inability deliver good advanced mechanics that the more hardcore audience of the genre seek
Because overall MGR combat despite being very enjoyable, is ultimately unpolished and even underdeveloped a bit
But you'le only start really notice those flaws after the 1st playtrough

Boss battles are fucking awesome though

You don't need to know anything about previous MGS games to understand MGR and laugh at it's silliness
It's simply that MGR is intentionally poking fun at MGS plot tropes and character so you'll miss out some of the fun by not having played previous games





Is Yoko Taro a big figure in jRPGs? I basically know nothing about the genre.

I am not much into jRPG's myself
Supposedly the guy made some Drakengard games, that where purposely violent because he doesn't understand why videogames in general are so violent

I don't know...
The guy wers a circular laughing moon helmet all the time
Being a oddball is his gimmick...

Then he made Nier, which despite having mediocre gameplay even for jRPG's standards people swear is one of the best fucking jRPG's ever because of the setting, atmosphere and music
So Nier became a cult classic, which is the reason Platinum agreed to make a new Nier game - Nier Automata
Which became his breakout title, and made him a big name

Sounds like trash to be honest,

Look I only played until half-way of the 1st act, and the rest I know either from one of my friends that completed it or from here
It's an open-world jRPG, but the only quality of the world is it's visually appeal, other than that it's as bland as most jRPG's overworld (unless they are part of the main quest there are no cool locations to discover, the overworld design consists of large open spaces connected by corridors, map is filled with trash mobs and the occasional treasure chest)
The quest design is literally just fetch quests, and enemies scale to your level
Really, from the gameplay, only the combat is good - it's simple and well designed combat system with some nuances, but nothing exceptional

The game has 3 acts, the first one you play as Rule 34 superstar the female android 2B (as in "to be or not to be", GET IT!!?, it's a game about existentialism)
The 2nd act is basically the 1st but now played from the perspective or her side-kick
And the 3rd act is the continuation of the last two but now you play as a rogue android
Then you have like 5 main endings with lots of different variants (some of them even delete your save file)

The music is lovely to say least:







Are they worth checking out? I know that Godhand is one of a kind and is really cool, I'll check it out some day. As for the rest, eh, at first glance they seem passable at best.

So far I haven't seen the answer to my question about Wonderful 101 controls on PC.

God Hand is up there with DMC, Bayo and NG
You have to try it out

Viewtiful Joe is a simple but very fun 2D brawler
Joe gets sucked into a Japanes superhero movie and becomes himself the star of the picture
Again simple combat but really fun and charming
There's really not much else I can add to it

Can't give an opinion on Okami (as I never played it) other than the artstyle seems neat and it's supposedly a cult classic
Same for Madworld, but that game uses a Wii Mote I think, so you'd have to buy one
And again can't comment on W101
 
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SerratedBiz

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Mar 4, 2009
Messages
4,143
Yoko Taro is known for interesting takes on common game tropes and mindfuck moments that make (made?) a big impression. His games may not be better-than-average in many regards but the sum of its parts (especially related to story, atmosphere) is greater than the individual components.

Rule of thumb is, they're worth the time you invest into them even if it may not seem readily apparent from watching a video or trying the first hour of the game.
 

Momock

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Messages
644
Bayonetta was their only semi-good game (with God Hand), all the rest ranges from mediocre (Revengeance, Automata, Clover studio games) to pure garbage (the licensed games, Madworld, Vanquish, that space-RPG for DS). I haven't played Wonderful 101 and Astral Chain, so I can't say about these two.
 

Sjukob

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DJOGamer PT Steezus
Well, I guess I'll be alright with MGR. Your posts reminded me of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, which I had a lot of fun with, but objectively it was a very casual and even outright braindead (once you got the hang of things) game, but it was still very enjoyable to play for various reasons like: unique setting, the things characters could do, coop and others, I completed it over 5 times in total.
 

fork

Guest
Bayonetta was their only semi-good game (with God Hand), all the rest ranges from mediocre (Revengeance, Automata, Clover studio games) to pure garbage (the licensed games, Madworld, Vanquish, that space-RPG for DS). I haven't played Wonderful 101 and Astral Chain, so I can't say about these two.

Disagree. Even Bayonetta is fucking garbage. One of the most overrated sudios ever.
 

Momock

Augur
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Messages
644
Nah, Bayonetta's combat and art direction are divine. The level design and some cutscenes are garbage, that's why it's only "semi-good" in my opinion (and not "average"... there's nothing average in Bayonetta, that's for sure!). Everybody should play Bayonetta and God Hand, if you don't you failed at life.
 

Siveon

Bot
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
"A year ago"
Did you live under a rock?

Also yes nothing has ever topped Vanquish as a third person shooter. The only thing that comes close gameplay wise is Warframe, but Warframe is a grindfest.
 

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