Physical Education (Day 228)

I'm not sure I'll ever be completely sold on the viability of touch screen controls for gaming. I think the Nintendo DS and 3DS are great handhelds, but even when I really enjoy games that employ heavy usage of the touch screen, I always walk away with some level of irritation. If not for its touch screen controls, I would have completed The World Ends With You many years ago. I like the battle system, the music, and the graphics--but the controls are awkward and no matter how much I try, I cannot get used to them.

Somehow, I managed to get through Kirby Canvas Curse, which is controlled exclusively through the touch screen. It was a good game, but I'd still much rather play a Kirby title with more traditional controls. Kirby Mass Attack is another game in the series that requires exclusive use of the touch screen, but in its case, you have to simultaneously control 10 different Kirbys at once. These Kirbys must be led through obstacle courses, lava, murky water, space, and around spiky foes. When a Kirby dies, it starts to float away as a ghost--unless you recover it. Sometimes this is impossible, like if your Kirbys get squished against a platform in a vertical scrolling level or if all Kirbys die at once.

Touch screen controls have never felt as responsive as I'd like them to be. I always find myself frantically stabbing and swiping at the screen in an attempt to get it to do exactly what I want. I'm unsure as to why it wouldn't be simpler to hit a button to jump instead of swiping up on a touch screen. Of course, in the case of Mass Attack and Canvas Curse, the game's would likely not be playable with traditional controls. They are designed from the ground up for touch screens, and in that way they are well designed. However, this cannot make up for the flaws inherent to the control scheme.

I'm almost done with Mass Attack. After I'm finished, I think I'll probably be taking a break from games that make heavy use of the touch screen. I've always felt it made a lot more sense as a supplement to gameplay rather than a primary element. I don't usually play platformers that often, but I think I'd like to try something else after I'm done here. Maybe I'll try something out on the Game Boy Advance. Alternatively, I could play Klonoa, a title I abandoned many years ago when my first Wii malfunctioned. Handhelds seem more convenient at the moment, though--so I might look around and see what I can find.