Brain Dead 13

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:57 am

I've started playing this game. Good thing I went for the 3DO version and its superior video quality, 'cause I'm not getting much enjoyment out of the gameplay! The illogical mapping of buttons to certain actions occasionally reaches ludicrous proportions, like the battle with Moose where you dodge vertical rods by pressing Up and Down. Is this standard for Quick Time Event games? I've done QTEs before, in games like D and Red Steel 2, but this is my first full-QTE game.

At least the video is great fun to watch, though. Truthfully, I'm not sorry I got this game, because there's just something unique and fun about the zany animations. And the fact that there are save points every 30 seconds or less (in fact, the vast majority of the time, it's 20 seconds or less) keeps the gameplay from getting too frustrating.

By the way, the game struggles with loading during the fight with the giant statue, and on two occasions it even froze up there. No big deal, but I am curious: Is this normal, or do I just have a slightly damaged copy?

FrumpleOrz · Post by **FrumpleOrz** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:17 am

I haven't played Brain Dead 13 in years, so I can't judge that specifically, but yeah, most of those games are like that. I decided to beat Dragon's Lair a few months back out of years of resentment of not understanding it as a kid.

I beat it and I had some fun, but it was mostly "GRRRR THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE" or "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY TIMING WAS A MILLISECOND OFF?!" I'd image that BD13 has a lot of similar issues.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:03 pm

Dang. I noticed that reviewers rate Brain Dead 13 much lower than Dragon's Lair or Strahl, and since the footage in BD13 is obviously cooler than in either of those games, I had assumed their gameplay must be better.

And... now I seem to be stuck in BD13. According to an FAQ I checked, there are five encounters that can be completed by either escaping or defeating the enemy, and you have to defeat all five for an elevator to Fritz to appear. (Why the manual doesn't explain any of this is beyond me.) Well, I've beaten all five, and the elevator still isn't in either spot. What am I missing?

The only thing I can think of, and this is a long shot, is that because I escaped the last time I ran into one of the witches, the game overwrites the record of my having defeated her. Possible or no?

sneth · Post by **sneth** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:06 pm

classic QTE was trial and error, then pattern memory.

Modern QTE events in games are ....child's play. This is why most classic gamers feel this is one of the worst crutches in game development.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:58 pm

Well, I beat it. Turns out what I was missing was the two eyeballs from the two witches. (Why, of all the objects lying around the mansion, does Lance think it would be a good idea to take those?

)

The finale is actually pretty fun. Totally trial-and-error, but it has a very good rhythm to it, and I kept wondering what pose Lance would pull next. Unfortunately, my copy of the game invariably crashes during the end sequence.

I was able to quickly look up the last 50 seconds of video on YouTube, but obviously it's not the same.

And now, for a long closing rant (feel free to sit this one out): Why in the world is there no save point on Disc 2 until over three minutes in?! Every time you make the slightest flub on the battle with Fritz, you have to:
1.Remove Disc 2 and insert Disc 1.
2.Wait for Disc 1 to load and get through the opening screens.
3.Wait for Lance to cross the mansion bridge.
4.Play the last five seconds of Disc 1 over again.
5.Remove Disc 1 and insert Disc 2.
6.Wait for Disc 2 to load.
7.Wait for the lengthy opening sequence to play out. Admittedly, this sequence is absolutely priceless the first time you see it; I absolutely laughed. And on the second, third, and fourth viewings I was still spotting new stuff to chuckle at. But on the 12th viewing? Getting old.

Isn't it common sense to allow the player to save as soon as he reaches a new disc? This was my main frustration with Enemy Zero (Saturn), too: Disc 2 starts with a long cutscene and an incredibly dangerous gameplay section before finally giving you the chance to save. It's ridiculous. Having to swap discs twice for each time you die is not fun.

It's all the more frustrating because the battle with Fritz is one of the most well-designed sections of the game; almost every move makes sense, and there's even a pattern to it after a point. But to minimize the time wasted on the disc-swapping thing, I resorted to a walkthrough.

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 1:31 am

Martin III wrote:Dang. I noticed that reviewers rate Brain Dead 13 much lower than Dragon's Lair or Strahl, and since the footage in BD13 is obviously cooler than in either of those games, I had assumed their gameplay must be better.

I can see Dragon's Lair getting higher marks due to the nostalgia factor, but I'm surprised Strahl rates higher than BD13. I like Strahl, but it's short & very easy. BD13 seems quite big by comparison.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:51 pm

I was browsing Ebay for 3DO games when I stumbled on a listing of this game with a photo showing three discs. Curious, I took a look. While the seller's description provides no illumination, on closer inspection I saw he has two different Disc 1s: A normal Disc 1, and one which says "Disc 1 (v1.1)".

Very intriguing. Anybody know what the deal with this is?

(Here's the listing if anyone wants to see for themselves: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Braindead-13-3D ... 3cc77679c5)

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:07 am

Perhaps it's a bug-fixed version? I recall there being a bug in BD13, and there was a fixed disc available (kind of like with Killing Time). I thought the BD13 one was black though? I could be wrong I guess.

ArfredHitchcacku · Post by **ArfredHitchcacku** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:07 am

I consider FMV games like this something of a tragedy. When you say "FMV games" this can mean anything with games that benefit from being interactive like Phantasmagoria or D to games that really have no business being games in the first place...I had some fun with Dragon's Lair and Triad Stone/Strahl but it seems a shame that such creative, entertaining animation is limited to the player having twitch reflexes, rote memorization and predicting what cryptic button press they're supposed to do. As fun as these games can get it's time to admit that the gameplay, in of itself, is pretty awful. I've heard nothing but praise about Brain Dead 13's style, animation, and creativity and nothing but bashing at its cryptic, frustrating gameplay. I still like this quicktime animation genre alright, I mean it produced an Anime OVA on 3DO, but whenever I play one I just get a feeling of missed potential, regardless of whether that feeling is warranted or not.

FrumpleOrz · Post by **FrumpleOrz** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:47 pm

ArfredHitchcacku wrote:I consider FMV games like this something of a tragedy. When you say "FMV games" this can mean anything with games that benefit from being interactive like Phantasmagoria or D to games that really have no business being games in the first place...I had some fun with Dragon's Lair and Triad Stone/Strahl but it seems a shame that such creative, entertaining animation is limited to the player having twitch reflexes, rote memorization and predicting what cryptic button press they're supposed to do. As fun as these games can get it's time to admit that the gameplay, in of itself, is pretty awful. I've heard nothing but praise about Brain Dead 13's style, animation, and creativity and nothing but bashing at its cryptic, frustrating gameplay. I still like this quicktime animation genre alright, I mean it produced an Anime OVA on 3DO, but whenever I play one I just get a feeling of missed potential, regardless of whether that feeling is warranted or not.

I would've completely agreed with you up until last night. I threw my copy of Out of This World in. remembering how much I enjoyed it when I was younger. It's still a decent game but I realized that it really isn't that different from Dragon's Lair and its ilk. It's the same trial and error, rote memorization gameplay, but with a better UI. I mean, really, every new screen is "okay, gonna die first time I go into it, absorb as much as possible."

I think I also got way more frustrated with OOTW than I did with Dragon's Lair or Space Ace. Maybe that's just me though.

sneth · Post by **sneth** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:12 pm

Austin wrote:Perhaps it's a bug-fixed version? I recall there being a bug in BD13, and there was a fixed disc available (kind of like with Killing Time). I thought the BD13 one was black though? I could be wrong I guess.

v1.1 is the bug fixed version. There is an area that crashes or loops. You can still beat the game with this error, but you have to get lucky and go around it. Pretty common, so im surprised by the price.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:28 am

Hmm... What part is that? The only times I remember the game crashing on me are (as mentioned above) during the fight with the giant statue and the end sequence, and those are both on Disc Two.

sneth · Post by **sneth** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:18 am

Martin III wrote:Hmm... What part is that? The only times I remember the game crashing on me are (as mentioned above) during the fight with the giant statue and the end sequence, and those are both on Disc Two.

it was some area with a lady. I want to say she was a hairdresser. I can barely remember. Vivi sounds right.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:06 am

Ah, okay. Now that I think about it, I do remember having to redo a good chunk of that scene for some reason. The bug you're talking about might well have been it.

MakillaGorilla · Post by **MakillaGorilla** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:43 pm

I really want this game (Killing Time as well) but I'm afraid to buy them on the big E because i dont know how to guarantee their the working versions.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:32 pm

You can always ask the seller if they've been play-tested. Some sellers even mention that in the item descriptions.

sneth · Post by **sneth** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:30 pm

MakillaGorilla wrote:I really want this game (Killing Time as well) but I'm afraid to buy them on the big E because i dont know how to guarantee their the working versions.

95% of them will be v1 with the bug at a certain scene. You should just buy the regular version and burn v1.1. There is no harm in that.

You can still beat the game on v1, it's just one small scene that will throw you around a bit.

Dreamstate · Post by **Dreamstate** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:41 pm

I think Killing Time is easy to spot the fixed version. If I am right, the original was red and the bug fixed version was black. Refer to this post http://www.3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2656 .

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