Platinum: How do you like them?

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm a fan, but they're not perfect. But the stuff they do right, not a lot of other people are, so they stand out.

I like their harsh style. Their games are uber violent. Kinda sexist. And vulgar. I don't know, but I'm down with that. It reminds me of the days when gaming was a a boy's hobby, and nobody cared. I know that might sound stupid, but whatever. It's nostalgia. Maybe for a bad thing, but whatever.

What makes them so interesting is their gameplay. Makes sense, since those are the same folks who came up with DMC, RE 4, and the Clover titles. So gameplay is the show stealer with their games.

There's also a sense of pride with every game they make. The put a lot of effort into the soundtracks, and it seems like each of their games is one of their babies. I've seen a Platinum studios video, and there was a tile on the floor for each of their games. It reminds me of Treasure or CAVE.

They have their problems though. Kamiya's Bayonetta, while awesome, has some pretty wonky designs and music. Some people love it, but it's got too much of a Charlie's Angels vibe going on. The story is also....uh...I didn't understand it really.

Vanquish was awesome as hell too, but was a bit too short. It also had a "thin" story, with some amusing voice work. The main thing that bugged me though, was that you could tell they were having to cut corners by the game being sub HD. They cut corners on Bayonetta too, with the static story telling images, but overall the game seemed "fully formed and funded".

Max Anarchy is definitely their weakest game. But even it has things to enjoy. The gameplay is fast and fluid(as ususal). They never mess that up. But the game is designed around multi-player, and the single player is weak. No upgrades, and too many stages are just "kill as many guys in 3 minutes as possible". It's just repetitious and gets old. But I love the vibe of the game, and the soundtrack. I would love to see a sequel, that just drops the MP junk, and focuses on a fully fleshed out single player mode. The brawling is really fun, but need more moves. And this game I consider the low point of their cutting corners. From what I understand, they had to take out a loan to make it(Sega was broke). And it shows. It's rough looking overall, and sub HD also. Vanquish was, but looked nice and detailed. This, not so much. It's a frustrating game, but it's got it's pluses(MP being one of them).

Metal Gear Rising.....OK now.... This one is pretty damn good. But it's too short. Not by a lot, but it needed about two more full stages. Or maybe merged the last 3 chapters and made an all new chapter, that was about 45 minutes long or so. The game was on a limited time schedule, so it's understandable. Everything that is there is pretty awesome. You just wished it lasted longer. I have problems with the difficulty balance, but it doesn't take away from it's kick ass-ness.

They have MadWorld, which I have played some of. Seems cool, but hampered by waggle controls(WHY?!). Infinite Space...I know nothing about.

I think they're one of the most exciting companies out, even if they seem kind of hampered by budgets, schedules, and other things. They always bring some fun to the table.

I'm a bit heart broken that Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2 are coming to the Wii U(and yes, I know that B2 wouldn't exist without Nintendo), since I have zero intention of getting that machine. I'm pretty convinced that W 101 will be "new" and be fully realized and funded, since it's a Kamiya game. Bayonetta 2 will probably be well funded too, but until we see more of it, it's hard to see how good it will be. Different director and all.

Well, what do you guys think of Platinum? Overrated? Underrated? I think they could benefit from branching out a little more. All they make are action titles....which is great, but I wouldn't mind a TRUE survival horror game, or another game like Okami.

Opinions?

[Mischief Maker]

If you are going to watch one review of Anarchy Reigns, make it this one:

http://youtu.be/aaui8-cVVHQ

[iconoclast]

They're one of the few developers I still care about. I just wish they polished their games a little more, since all of them have some major problems. Bayonetta has some glitches that break the game, unbalanced scoring (angel arms are way too good imo), bad vehicle stages, and way too many button mashing sequences. Vanquish has random weapons drops, its scoring system is very simple, and it's a little too short. Metal Gear Rising is just light on content in general, but what's there is pretty good aside from some balance problems. I lost interest in Max Anarchy after a few days, so no comment on it. MadWorld sucks.

I don't want to sound too negative, though; Bayonetta and MGR are the 2nd and 3rd best action games this gen, and Vanquish is the best TPS of all time. They dun good, real good.

[AweOfShe]

I absolutely love 'em. Worthy successor to Clover Studios, IMO.

As for their individual games... I loved Madworld. Found Infinite Space to be pretty enjoyable, for a genre I absolutely loathe. I think Bayonetta and Vanquish are fantastic. Have yet to play Anarchy Reigns and Metal Gear Rising though. Really looking forward to Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2.

I also enjoy Hideki Kamiya's twitter feed.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

I heart Platinum! Their games are great where it really counts, GAMEPLAY. If they ever needed money, they should create a Kickstarter, and I'll make sure they get a big chunk of mine. I like 'em that much and would like to see them make a game where they realize the complete vision they have for it. It always seems like they could use another six month or so just to add some extra content and polish things up and Voila, PERFECTION.

Here's my thoughts on their output:
Vanquish
Absolutely love it. This is how I imagine a 3D Contra game would play. Plot is a throwaway, tho and it needed an extra six month in the cooker to add a couple more levels and bosses, as well as, polishing things up.

MGR
Haven't finished it yet, but damn is it good. Gets a great when it comes to gameplay again. It's so intense! I just wish the levels were more Metal Gear-ish. They're kinda bland, to be honest.

Madworld
I have it but it doesn't compel me to play it. I thought the controls were awkward and the concept didn't exactly excite me.

[IronSteel]

They made Bayonetta and Vanquish. Which makes them awesome in my book. Now if only they'd port those two for the PC but chances for this are pretty much zero

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I like Platinum. I always try to check out their games.

[exquisite_torture]

I'm a huge fan of Platinum Games. I was fortunate enough to receive MGR: Revengeance on its release day from Love Film and enjoyed what I played, but it's far too brief and its final boss is much too difficult than it has a right to be for 'Normal' mode. I've clocked seven hours on it so far and two of those have been on the final boss. My save doesn't have any energy top ups, so I may have to restart.
Had I bought this game I'd have been very disappointed. I was expecting at least a fifteen to twenty hour campaign.

[GaijinPunch]

I only played Bayonetta, but liked it. I heard dealing with them is like pulling teeth though. So, fully expect them to jump the shark at some point.

[Kaiser]

I'm a huge fan of Platinum Games. I was fortunate enough to receive MGR: Revengeance on its release day from Love Film and enjoyed what I played, but it's far too brief and its final boss is much too difficult than it has a right to be for 'Normal' mode. I've clocked seven hours on it so far and two of those have been on the final boss. My save doesn't have any energy top ups, so I may have to restart.
Had I bought this game I'd have been very disappointed. I was expecting at least a fifteen to twenty hour campaign.

15-20 hour in a slasher game? That would get tedious/boring fast. Wrong expectations.

[CMoon]

I'll chime in with the 'love what they do, but where's their masterpiece?' sentiment. Haven't played MGR yet, but all their other games feel somewhat flawed to me. Always a great idea hampered by some enormously stupid design decision. Vanquish's upgrade system is bizarre at best. Bayonetta has poor level design. Yeah, Madworld seemed like a great idea, but it was far too limited in scope.

Platinum is one of the only developers I still care about, but I also know there's going to be some disappointment served along with the product.

[exquisite_torture]

I'm a huge fan of Platinum Games. I was fortunate enough to receive MGR: Revengeance on its release day from Love Film and enjoyed what I played, but it's far too brief and its final boss is much too difficult than it has a right to be for 'Normal' mode. I've clocked seven hours on it so far and two of those have been on the final boss. My save doesn't have any energy top ups, so I may have to restart.
Had I bought this game I'd have been very disappointed. I was expecting at least a fifteen to twenty hour campaign.

15-20 hour in a slasher game? That would get tedious/boring fast. Wrong expectations.

iirc Ninja Gaiden/2 took me about that, and Bayonetta too.

[evil_ash_xero]

I only played Bayonetta, but liked it. I heard dealing with them is like pulling teeth though. So, fully expect them to jump the shark at some point.

Could you elaborate?

[Zaarock]

I'm a huge fan of Platinum Games. I was fortunate enough to receive MGR: Revengeance on its release day from Love Film and enjoyed what I played, but it's far too brief and its final boss is much too difficult than it has a right to be for 'Normal' mode. I've clocked seven hours on it so far and two of those have been on the final boss. My save doesn't have any energy top ups, so I may have to restart.
Had I bought this game I'd have been very disappointed. I was expecting at least a fifteen to twenty hour campaign.

15-20 hour in a slasher game? That would get tedious/boring fast. Wrong expectations.

iirc Ninja Gaiden/2 took me about that, and Bayonetta too.

Bayonetta is only a couple hours "longer" than MGR and both games can be speedrunned in under three hours. And normal on MGR is much much easier than normal on Ninja Gaiden 2, so I don't see how that comparison works either. VR missions and whatnot will probably take you many hours as well.

I was sorta disappointed at first too, I only started really enjoying the combat near the end of my second playthrough (on v.hard) once I got down how most things work. Iconoclast said the same to me on XBL. Your problem with the last boss sounds understandable if you really didn't get any health upgrades. the boss is a pushover IMO, the only thing hard about him is that he does big damage. his attacks are slow enough that it's very easy to use the dodge to go through them, no point using parry. Actually the last boss I haven't beat on hard without taking any damage, should do that today Best boss in the game is actually the second to last boss, but he does so little damage that most people won't notice how crazy he is.

[exquisite_torture]

Yes, but I don't play games to the same standard as you
I clocked twenty two hours on Bayonetta and both it and Ninja Gaiden seemed more substantial.
Hi btw, you've been on my 360 FL for years for some reason.

[Imhotep]

same here, one of the few companies I care about. I don't care for their vulgar style though, it even prevents me to play some of their games. But gameplay is still nr. 1.

a successful collaboration with Grasshopper would be dynamite.

[GaijinPunch]

I only played Bayonetta, but liked it. I heard dealing with them is like pulling teeth though. So, fully expect them to jump the shark at some point.

Could you elaborate?

Just something I heard through the grapevine. I know a handful of people in the industry, and gossip is a huge part of life in Japan. The booze generally makes everyone a little loose-lipped.

[Squire Grooktook]

Max Anarchy is definitely their weakest game. But even it has things to enjoy. The gameplay is fast and fluid(as ususal). They never mess that up. But the game is designed around multi-player, and the single player is weak. No upgrades, and too many stages are just "kill as many guys in 3 minutes as possible". It's just repetitious and gets old. But I love the vibe of the game, and the soundtrack. I would love to see a sequel, that just drops the MP junk, and focuses on a fully fleshed out single player mode.

It's not their weakest game at all. In fact it might be my favorite.

The entire point of the game was multiplayer. It's a fighting game. If you want a single player focused action game from PG, play Bayonetta or Mad World or whatever, since the combat has basicly the same feel except without all the strategic elements that were purposely added for the purpose of making pvp deep as hell.

And honestly, I don't know how you can call the multiplayer "junk". It's the most original, exciting, and creative multiplayer experience I'v seen in years. As The Best Gamers said, I really hope to see more games like this.

Saying a multiplayer focused game is weak because of the single player is like playing a fighting game and saying it sucks because you only played 1p arcade mode. Or playing a Cave shmup and saying it sucks because you only played the co-op mode while credit feeding. If you like single player games, cool. If you like multiplayer games, cool. But don't go into a game that's specifically been advertised as focusing on one aspect and then complain because the other aspect is lacking. It's like an action gamer going in and playing PORTAL and then complaining that it doesn't have enough combat. Seriously.

[scrilla4rella]

I'll second GP's observation. All you have to do is look at some of Hideki Kamiya's tweets, like this one where he says something like, "fucking stupid foreigners."

https://twitter.com/ondgaku/status/288732948419731457

[Squire Grooktook]

Most of his tweets are meant to be funny though (and they are). I wouldn't take it too seriously.

[Skykid]

I'll chime in with the 'love what they do, but where's their masterpiece?' sentiment.

God Hand.

I like what Platinum stand for, I like their direction and they're commitment to bucking current gen trends, but I'm always dissatisfied with the result. I've not played a Platinum game (discounting God Hand) I feel hit all the right notes. I can see the good in Bayonetta and Vanquish, but I can't turn a blind eye to the failings the way combat fans seem to be able to. Tonally, the humour is completely off in both of the aforementioned, too, puerile in an unfunny way, pandering to what they think might amuse westerners instead of recognising the gold in God Hand's raw, remarkably subtle but entirely bonkers VG send up. And some of the music is like a drill through the brain.

I reckon Platinum have got a masterpiece in them, like Vanillaware they're on the cusp of what they do. I hope they find a way to get it to us before folding.

[Squire Grooktook]

I reckon Platinum have got a masterpiece in them, like Vanillaware they're on the cusp of what they do. I hope they find a way to get it to us before folding.

Honestly, AR is a masterpiece to me in the same way the original Street Fighter 2 is a masterpiece.

It's conceptually perfect, and loads of fun to play. The only way it could be better is if, like sf2, it gets updates every year or so with new characters/better balance/more modes/more stages/etc.

I hope it gets them. I can see myself playing this game for years to come either way though.


Bayonetta to me is not a masterpiece but more like an arcade style action game. Don't take it too seriously, and you'll have a blast with the fast paced twitch based combat.

[evil_ash_xero]

Honestly, AR is a masterpiece to me in the same way the original Street Fighter 2 is a masterpiece.

Well, I doubt the MP aspect of the game will have legs, like a CoD game. So, in a few years, all you'll be left with is the SP, and the MP training.

You know, some more moves you could gain would have been nice. And I'm not talking about those badges in MP.


Where's their masterpiece? Hmmm...I would say Okami...but it's really easy. But I probably like it as a whole, the best. Viewtiful Joe is just a blast, but it's not their masterpiece. I have problems with God Hand. I don't like the humor in it. I don't like their humor in general, but in this one I'm running around like a Benny Hill guy, with surf rock playing in the background. It just doesn't work for me. I haven't played enough of the game yet to fully get into it though. I can see it's appeal.

After Okami, probably Bayonetta, just due to it being better than any DMC game. Like I said, it has that Charlie's Angels vibe, but I think it will be remembered as a landmark action title. So, I'd call that a masterpiece. It's not perfect though.

Vanquish and MGR have the potential in sequels. Who knows?

I'll say this, they make some of the most fun games out. And for that, I salute them.

[CMoon]

I'll chime in with the 'love what they do, but where's their masterpiece?' sentiment.

God Hand.

Yeah, I wasn't counting the Clover titles--in many ways God Hand almost works against them since I always find myself saying 'why couldn't this have been more like God Hand?'

[Zaarock]

I can see the good in Bayonetta and Vanquish, but I can't turn a blind eye to the failings the way combat fans seem to be able to. Tonally, the humour is completely off in both of the aforementioned, too, puerile in an unfunny way, pandering to what they think might amuse westerners instead of recognising the gold in God Hand's raw, remarkably subtle but entirely bonkers VG send up. And some of the music is like a drill through the brain.

IDK, the funny thing is Bayonetta's story and dialogue were largely decided by Kamiya as well, so it's sort of a pure "director" game which is sorta cool to me. Watch the developer playthrough if you want to hear why he made things like he did, etc. I don't think bayonetta tries to appeal to westerners much, vanquish does though but I don't see what you mean by bad humor in that game(?). Seems like a matter of taste to me though largely, the humor in bayonetta is pretty over the top like god hands but both are liked by many people. God Hand, remarkably subtle.. what? It's a very minor thing to denote in games like these though IMO, they're meant to be played through many times and when people are playing through again trying to master the game they'll be skipping pretty much all cutscenes unless they really like them.

Just finished S-ranking revengeance on rising and that was a very fun challenge but I doubt I'll end up playing through the game as many times as the others. I should get back to trying to speedrun vanquish, that was a lot of fun the last times I gave it a go.

Vanquish has random weapons drops

This was a big problem to me back when the game came out and I was playing it a lot, but recently I got the DLC weapons and tried playing with them which make this a non-issue. The laser cannon always has "ammo" so you can do no-random item playthroughs without any trouble. also takes a lot of skill to use efficiently and actually promotes melee use, shouldn't have been DLC. Scoring is still broken because one of the levels has enemies that respawn nearly infinitely though, but playing for speed is great.

[Squire Grooktook]

Honestly, AR is a masterpiece to me in the same way the original Street Fighter 2 is a masterpiece.

Well, I doubt the MP aspect of the game will have legs, like a CoD game. So, in a few years, all you'll be left with is the SP, and the MP training.

Nah. I still play 10-15 year old fighters with my friends all the time. Even if AR doesn't get the support and the thriving community it deserves, then I'll still be playing it with my friends.

Also fighting games always tend to have legs. Even indie fighters and ones that aren't "big" still tend to have their own little cult following you can always turn to. Already I'm seeing a pretty devoted fanbase turn up. I just hope it lasts.

[Skykid]

God Hand, remarkably subtle.. what?

Ha ha, ignore me, I have no idea what I was trying to say there.

Should have been more like, despite it being totally off the wall insane, its parody theme is directed with amazing assuredness.

Or something.

[evil_ash_xero]

On topic, but kinda not...what is up with the cursing enemies in Platinum's games? I noticed this in Madworld, and I'll be damned if they haven't kept it up. I about fell out of my seat when some poor solider went "MY LEGS!.....FUCK!".

Still, less vulgar, but as funny is when you chop off a soldier's arm, and he'll be like "I still got another one!". Holy Grail style.