Is Lester the Unlikely Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- Of course not, but this game is a little different than people might think. The Lester sprite anecdote is from a SNEScentral interview with Eric Browning: snescentral.co...
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I always liked the concept about a nerd getting tougher as the game progresses.
Yeah, the idea was always really appealing to me. I'd much rather play some pathetic nerd than a try-hard bad-ass.
The problem was just that having randomized chances to suck at things is annoying. It would be better if he was reliably bad rather than springing it on you out of nowhere where it can disrupt the game flow and screw you up.
It's probably a premise better realized in a genre like RPG than platformer. But as I think about it, the SNES Star Wars games do a good job of following Luke Skywalker's zero-to-hero's journey with platform-action mechanics, with the notable exception that Luke's abilities don't utterly suck right out the gate.
@@hotpileofgarbage , sadly the Star Wars games are hard as hell.
MLG!!! MEME GAME!!!
@@hotpileofgarbage That's exactly what I was thinking. In the X-com games, your troops have a roll chance of getting freaked out by the aliens and they'll start running away automatically or friendly fire your own team. Hearing about how Lester runs away like a pansy without your input reminded me of Xcom, Darkest Dungeon and the like.
I played through this game many, many times as a kid. Mastering the difficult controls and the restrictions placed on me by the character and the game was really satisfying. The way Lester gains confidence and becomes a pirate-stabbing serial killer by the end made it worthwhile to me to learn the ins and outs of the game. It always bums me out to see people say how horrible it is, so I'm glad you gave it the time it needs to show what it really has to offer.
This is why I love this channel and will even watch the baseball game ones even though I'm not interested in baseball.
You would like the Gothic series (or really anything by Piranha Bytes), then. You start super weak but become quite strong by the end.
I appreciate your love for the game but it's definitely one of those "good ideas, badly executed" types.
I could have stomached a single level where you start weak but it goes on farrrr too long!
@@SAMagic Yeah, it's got a lot of problems! I'm not out to change anybody's mind, that's for sure. I played it as a kid and really enjoyed it, and this is one of the only reviews I've seen that actually covers past the first few areas, which made me happy. If I were playing it for the first time today, I'm sure I'd give up early and maybe watch a Let's Play instead if I were curious how it ends.
I never got past the first stage lol. M awful at most games though.
I do like these games that tried something differentwith their premise, they didn't work most of the time, but at least they tried.
But it seemd totally unique to this generation, the PS1/Saturn era was where games started to get a lot more corporate.
Hello you. 👋
While that is true to some extend there were still games on PS1/Saturn like Nights into dream, 3 Dirty Dwarves, Parappa the Rapper the Oddworld games that were.. ehm out of this world.
nowadays most games boil down to either openworld collectathons (they didn't die with DK 64) Sports games or set piece driven 3rd person action games in the AAA sphere and Indies it's mostly Metroidvanias, retro styled platformers and rogue like/lites that dominate the scene.
It's not all gloom and doom however, there are plenty of great games on both sides of the isle but it does feel like creativity has been stifled a bit when it comes to mainstream and the games that vie for the public eye.
Aren't you a mindless Metokur fan?
bruh. ps2 beg to differ. that console was the definition of experimental
MLG!!!! MEME GAME!!!!!!! MLG!!!!!!
The idea probably would have worked if the opening levels were actually harmless. Like Lester gets in his own way but there’s no way to actually die so it’s just about pushing past his fears for a bit.
100%. Or if the life system were more forgiving. Let the player laugh at the ineptitude, and then as the character's (and player's) proficiency increases the challenges could too!
If it was made today, it would be smart to give you an opening level where he's daydreaming as being a badass, or you play as someone else, just so first time players know the game will eventually get good.
I liked the idea of this game more than the game. A modern update / sequel could actually be fun
I think the only other game that did this was Breath of Fire III. The main character during the first quarter of the game just waves his sword in random directions when you use the attack command, but once he becomes more confident his attack animations display that. It's a very minor detail (unlike in Lester the Unlikely), but it's nice visual development nevertheless.
@@Y.Moroboshi Gothic does that as well. Being untrained in a weapon leaves you fumbling around like your average mall ninja, getting training has you move more effectively.
In a far-flung way, your answer might be Farcry 3.
glad you got far enough into the game to see lester become more heroic! maybe i'm just a mark for "cinematic platformers", but i actually quite liked this one-i think lester's "fear" mechanics are kind of cute, and the reactions to them by some reviewers are a bit overblown. maybe wouldn't play through again on original hardware, but with save states to compensate for the lack of continues etc, i'd say it's pretty good, even.
Lester's animations are far better than they have any right to be.
Well said, Sir! Chapeau.
The rock throw animation has me dying
The ending is hilarious. Lester at the end becomes a badass chad chick magnet due to his adventures.
Now thats a character arc
Virgin becomes chad
Life itself when you actually want to develop yourself
Internet guy goes outside simulator
Love this video. We all know the game from avgn but you actually provided some interesting insight into it that none of us would’ve ever known.
Character development in a platformer like this was unheard of. Eventhough it droves people away with the beginning the idea of progression is great
The game sucks though play yourself
Lester's character growth in this game reminds me of one of my favorite RPG tropes: the one party member who starts off pathetically weak, but if you stick with them and take the time to level them up, you're rewarded with them becoming OP as hell. (I call it "Magikarp Syndrome")
Breath of Fire 3 basically.
I rented this game at Blockbuster one time, cause everything was rented out, I always avoided this game, but my brother and I just finally decided to rent it, and we were laughing throughout the whole game, it actually turned out to be a pretty good game, better than what we'd expected, I'm glad it's getting more attention.
The concept for this game is actually awesome and I wish more games could be like this.
Reminds me of Gothic 1/2 where you start out as a peasant who can't even swing a sword around properly until you get proper training.
Or Breath of Fire 3 where you start out as a kid who (with no combat experience) starts cowering before swinging his sword around blindly at each of his attack-turns.
Just started playing Elex and hoo boy you can tell it's made by the Gothic team. They make you play a sci-fi hobo junkie going through severe withdrawal symptoms, it's brutal.
Yep. Then he slashes with a bit more confidence after the unicorns show up. Lastly he's a badass after the time skip.
Great game.
I remember playing this as a kid, but I never had the patience to get past the first level. Who would have guessed Lester gets better
I remember playing it as a kid, but I can't remember where. I remember thinking it was funny that he ran away when he got scared. I doubt I got past the first level.
A friend gave me this game for free. We were poor and I didn't have a lot of options, so I played this game more than anyone should. I never thought it was that bad, and have fond memories of playing it with my brother.
Maybe it’s the nostalgia talking, but I actually really like this game. I agree it starts pretty rough but I kind of like the fact that Lester kind of grows as a character.
Old AVGN was so good, but he did a real disservice to many old games and likely turned away many people from hidden gems like Lester the Unlikely. It was a surprisingly fun game once you got going and used to the quirks.
in what way is this game a hidden gem lol? no matter how good it gets later the early game is abysmal. even the devs hate it
and the amount of 'good' games he did a disservice to is pretty small. only one i can think of is street fighter 2010, and he didn't outright hate it. some people like silver surfer, but that's extremely borderline.
@@MarsofAritia because even with the bad mechanics at the beginning it's a fun and silly game. I've played it through a few times and it's been far more entertaining than reviewers give it credit for.
@@thegreen8172 I've had fun with some bad game too. doesn't make it a 'hidden gem' though. just compare it to the games released just in that month (01/94) and they wipe the floor with it.
@@MarsofAritia agree to disagree then
It's not like any of the games he played were available for retail when he did episodes on them, barring more recent . If anything, it's far more likely that he made more people interested in playing them just by exposing them to the fact that the game exists in the first place.
It reminds me of TaleSpin on NES, the game starts with a rather weak and slow plane, but as you earn money and buy upgrades the plane becomes faster and more powerful, but you have to have patience at first to reach that level.
I remember seeing a play through of this years ago and apparently the further you get, the stronger you become. I think when the love interest kisses Lester, he gets buff.
Yeah, that's exactly what happens. You beat the gorilla, the love interest kisses Lester, he flexes his bicep, and from then on he stands up straight and a lot of his animations change to show his new confidence. It's a one-time change, not a gradual one.
SNESDRUNK always here to brighten up even gloomy Tuesday afternoon in London thank you!
I actually really liked LTU. It took some getting used to, but once you got the hang of it it was pretty cool. Underrated game.
I agree
Love that you're mention how popular the avgn videos are but I learn so much more about games and if they're worth playing from the short, informative videos you put out regularly.
AVGN is goddamn insufferable. I can’t stand him.
SNES Drunk is a delight!
Well, the AVGN exists to entertain. It's not meant to be an in-depth review, it's from the point of view of an angry dude who likely doesn't give the games he's playing a fair shot.
Something like that would've made more sense with modern game design - beginning of the game could be a stealth horror game where you have to hide from enemies, but as the game goes on you learn to fight them and eventually become a badass and it becomes more of an action game.
No one ever talks about how much upper body strength Lester possesses. I’m sick of it! (Also great review as always!!)
I can say I actually appreciate learning that he/the game "improves", if one were willing to keep playing it. Sure, lots of games feature growth, development, and unlocking new options, and abilities, but more of them might have better indicators that they will. I never played this game; as you said, my only exposure to it was the AVGN video, years ago, and James never discussed it, as if most people just olayed some, saw shit, and quit, so while I would still never feel compelled to go pick this up, or even huntvdown a Let's Play-type video of it, which doubtlessly exists somewhere, on TH-cam, i can still be happy ti know that it grows within itself.
I loved that game. To me, the character development throughout was cool and the beginning stages were funny to my 12 year old self. I don't think it was a bad game, just a slow one. And it was engaging to see how much the character would improve as we progressed. I really thought it was worth the patience needed.
I would love to see a remake, tbh.
"going home and being left alone" IS a goal of many a great hero! The hobbit/LOTR first springs to mind lol
This game is underrated, it was fun as a kid and took skill to speedrun.
The Sideshow Bob impression was pretty spot on. I wonder if he actually just nailed it that well or if he did a whole bunch of takes.
Never knew that Lester got more confident and moved faster as the game went along, AVGN made it seem as if he was slow and afraid the entire game. I like the concept of your character being scared in the begining even if the executuon was not done properly
I wouldn't take anything AVGN says too seriously, he is a comedian first and game reviewer second. A lot of the time he would only play the first level or two of a game and then make the review based on that. He has gotten better over time but I still view him as more of an entertainer than a reviewer, much like a lot of the caustic critics.
@@tinkerer3399 Agreed. Even the first game he reviewed, Castlevania 2, the Nerd always talks about how horrible and cryptic it is, but James Rolfe has said that he likes the game.
Most people would probably assume the whole game is like this if they can't stomach the first couple levels. First impressions are important, after all.
James kinda sucks at playing videogames...
@@Denny-Thray To be fair, that and the Jekyll/Hyde video were experimental projects and AVGN wouldn't exist even as a concept until two years later. I personally enjoy the episodes where he is more himself and less his character the most, like the retrospectives, as they are more nuanced. It's more fitting to view the character talking about Castlevania 2 as a legacy joke/running gag considering how often he mentions the title in reviews.
I had no idea how deep this was from the AVGN episode.
I've never been great with life decisions, so I'm gonna give this game a go tonight. Might be back if I enjoy it.
it always makes me laugh when i think of lester cowering in fear of a turtle
I remember there was a time the guy in the rental store recommended me this one. Now I think he was trying to push it so the game would finally get rented. Isn't the Out Of This World protagonist also called Lester? I suppose it's not the most adventurous name indeed
I have to admit, when you put it that way, the game DOES do something almost entirely unique in the sphere of gaming: an actual ordinary guy being forced to man up and face a dangerous situation conveyed through actual gameplay mechanics. It's not like gaining power as you level up and increase your stats and learn new skills; even in Earthbound your ordinary boy protagonist Ness leaves his home and immediately starts fighting against monsters with his improvised weapons without a moment's hesitation. It reminds me of what Yahtzee Croshaw said in his review of FFXIII: "This Hope guy has been established from the start as a whiny, weak, inept, cowardly, socially retarded mummy's boy, so presumably he's the character most of the audience are meant to project onto. But then combat starts and he literally pulls a boomerang out of his arse and joins the fray. Consistency is nice." About the only other example I can think of was one of the Breath of Fire games (not sure which one, I only heard about this, never played the series) where Ryu starts the game as a child and is prone to randomly crying in combat instead of doing what you tell him until he ages up to adulthood. So this game has that going for it if nothing else. But I think it's also an example of the old saying "'Unique' does not mean 'good'". Yes, they created a clever mechanic that gives the game a neat narrative touch- but it does so by making the game insufferable to play and inarguably worse until you get over it. So it still wasn't necessarily a good idea, just like trying to bake a functioning battle tank out of banana bread would be a unique but also not good idea.
The Breath of Fire thing isn't quite like that. In Breath of Fire 2, you play as kid-Ryu for a short time, and his attack is one of those windmill-fist things you see kids do sometimes and can't do more than two damage on a critical hit. After the intro sequence, you're a trained warrior, so you don't see the progression that much.
In Breath of Fire 3, which is probably more what you're thinking, your character is given a sword and his attack animation for the first good bit of the game is that he looks away and flails it at the enemy while crying. It takes a while into the story that he begins to actually use the sword competently, and eventually he grows up and is very confident in his sword swing. The damage doesn't change, but the animation does, which is still a nice touch.
@@SamWeltzin It's possible I was confusing it with a totally different character from a less-memorable game.
@@ArcaneAzmadi Possibly!
"An ordinary man"
Running away from turtles, taking damage from falling 5 feet
This is not ordinary
And the gameplay sucks no matter how ambitious the idea is
I can't even get to the later levels
You've just out done every single person who ever did a review on a game. Hat's off!!
I've never heard about this game before (not really into AVGN either) but it is really commendable that you took your time to review it "fairly" as the devs had a really unique idea, regardless whether it execution was misleading with those initial stages. Thanks again, SDrunk
In the first level/demo for God of War on PS2, the game starts with you doing great things. You kill hordes of monsters and a giant multi-headed hydra on a boat. That game sold well.
Lester the Unlikely spends the first three levels running from turtles and other minor threats. Few people playing the first level of this game would want to buy it, even if the developer was sitting next you and saying "it gets a little better in 3 levels".
_'THIS NERD MAKES ME LOOK LIKE CHARLES BRONSON!!'_ - AVGN
I love it when character development is portrayed in game animation. Shadow Hearts is another good example. First half of the Game whenever Yuri uses his Fusion ability he screams and looks tortured, after about halfway through he has a nice character moment that makes him more confident and whenever he uses Fusion after that he just confidently snaps his finger and smirks.
Total length of video: 400 secs.
Total length of "SNES Drunk": 4 secs.
1% of the video was spent listening to "SNES Drunk".
The cool thing about earlier systems like snes is the sheer variety of games. They were not scared to try something new and fail. Some did, but there is great variety and originality in the games
I remember renting and playing this. 😤 My patience got truly tested.
This box art unlocks core memories of reading through EGM magazine
This game has a special place in my heart, what a charming premise.
Another awesome vid from one of my fave channels! Love hearing your voice and great sense of humor. Sarcasm rules! Plus a callback to Sideshow Bob's vocal shudder? Bah, hah, hah!!! Keep it up...
I always loved this game because it's the definition of Virgin to CHAD transformation.
I had this game back in mid-90's and I actually grew to really like it. Yes, it's slow and clunky at times but the concept and atmosphere really sold me on it, along with Lester's character progression, which made you feel accomplished. As a bit of a nerd myself, it was neat to see a game in which a character like that ends up becoming something of a hero. It isn't a "great" game by any means (the controls can be really finnicky and some of the difficulty can feel a little cheap as a result) but it is a much better game than I think people give it credit for.
It's pretty ahead of its time with that concept - kinda reminds me of Unepic, if LtU was released today as an indie title there'd be video essays telling people to play it.
I played it a long time ago and I liked almost everything except one part of it. In these types of games, I just quickly find out how to play them. It's not a badly made game, it just needed a little more final polish over some jumps.
What a nuanced view. I would of never thought this title had any redeeming qualities
Still some videos here and there, thank you very much Snesdrunk!
i rented this game many times when i was a kid and couldnt get very far but then one weekend it just clicked and eventually beat it and really liked it
This game feels like an embarrassingly apt metaphor for my entire adult life, thus far.
Because the controls are so limiting, this game is actually easy to play. There's only ever going to be 1 certain way you can pass a hazard, and it's going to be obvious after you know what he can do.
The thing that took me the longest to figure out in this game was, no joke, that you can pick up that rock to throw at the bats.....
Great vid - Will probably never actually play this game, but I liked that you gave a "bad" game what little credit it has due.
I like how weirdly experimental and avant garde this is. Character development? In my SNES platformer?
I really really like the game. Nothing else like it. I will always remember when Lester takes control of your controller and runs away, lol.
This is one of those that seems impossibly difficult at first, but it can be mastered. As someone who actually took the time learn and eventually beat it, it frustrates me to see it dismissed without a full picture of what the entire game actually entails (character development and all).
As you say, it’s not one of the best SNES games out there, but it has some unique ideas and shouldn’t be outright dismissed.
i love this game, i consider it a comedic hidden gem. thank you for making this.
Man, this game is what the AVGN videogame should've been: rage-inducing due to the nerdy coward, which gets better as he becomes more confident (as opposed to badass megaman). It'd be cool if someone made an AVGN hack for this!
Thank you for not asking for a sub and a like, as every other video game channel does! I especially like the obscure games you show on here. Thanks!!
Just as you said, I only knew of this game because of AVGN. Been a fan of his for well over a decade...damn I can't believe it's been that long 😳. I must say, I really appreciate you doing this video cuz I had no idea that such a great idea like the character arc took place in this game! It kinda makes the terribleness in the beginning make so much more sense. That's awesome! Thanks for sharing! Been a fan of yours now for a couple years and always enjoy the videos you put out even if I've never heard of the games 😂. Keep em coming! And I hope you and your supporters have a nice rest of your day!
Its good idea and awful execution
I can't even get half way through the game
I remember seeing this on in Nintendo Power constantly. It was always showing up in the hints and tips section, usually people asking how to solve the puzzles in the final levels.
Interestingly, I think you could draw a parallel between this game and the Tomb Raider reboot games. I know this sounds silly, but I feel like the first Tomb Raider reboot is very similar in concept to Lester The Unlikely, the difference being that Lester is played for comedy and Tomb Raider is played for drama. In Tomb Raider, the first hour or so is spent sneaking around enemies instead of engaging them directly, sliding into traps by accident, and using beginner survivalist skills to do things like dress wounds and build fires. When Lara finally gets a gun, she's still very scared to use it. She's hesitant to take a life because she never has before. But eventually she gets confident with a gun and is able to basically charge into full war zones.
I loved this game growing up. My uncle always would call everyone Lester and make the scared noise he makes.
You could have said "no" and just ended the video right then and there and I would have been satisfied. That being said, though, I'm pleasantly surprised to see this game actually gets better the further in you go!
That sideshow bob shudder was on point lol.
I heard Vinny mention SNESDrunk on his obscure snes/genesis game stream...and I was like "oh hey I know that channel"
whenever your snesdrunk intro comes on it makes me cross my eyes !!! LMFAO
It's a salvageable idea for sure, perhaps if the game hinted in someway that Lester would eventually level up, there would have been more incentive to trudge thru the first levels.
honestly this has always been a game I feel like deserves a remake. the concept is easily something someone would make in the modern era.
In breath of fire 3, ryu hits like a wuss at the beginning. But after nina joins the party, he learns how to swing a sword. It doesn't change the attack power but its a cool little attention to detail
Wow, you blew my mind showing footage of Lester jogging, hahah. Love the concept of this game now that I understand it more...
This is my favorite TH-cam channel
I never actually played this game, but I read enough about it back in the day that I actually knew about the character progression. I can't recall if it was marketing or reviews or what, but we knew about it when it was new.
Kind of reminds me of the original Gothic. You start out not even knowing how to swing a sword correctly. You have to actually pay experts to train you. Of course, by the end, you are like a god-slayer.
The awkward controls notwithstanding, I don't see how this is a bad concept for a game. If anything that's Lester's biggest selling point. Rather than being a game focused on the power fantasy of being a magical talking animal or a cyborg or a muscley barbarian or whatever, it's about taking on the role of an "unlikely" hero. It subverts the usual video game tropes. This game is all about characterization, and it gives you a kind of experience which is pretty unusual for that era. If it wasn't for the fact that it's so frustrating to DO things, I think this would be pretty solid game. If anything, I think the opening levels are great at reinforcing the idea that this dude is NOT ready for this, but if he plows ahead, his adventures are truly transformative.
This should be good every review I've seen on this game says it's unplayable. Let's see your thoughts... 🤔🤔🤔
5:17 if it's wasn't such an old game I would think he Is based on Scott the Woz lol
They should have called it Lester’s Quest. kinda like Festers Quest but with a nerdy kid throwing pencils that stab enemies or a protractor that flies like a boomerang.
Thanks for giving this game a fair review! This is a game I actually have a lot of nostalgia for.
I’m glad you play through the games you review. Never knew he changes like that. Only watched AVGN review it.
i weirdly kinda like this game, but id say not really. but its nice to see your point of view
I remember this game getting advertised HARD in EGM.
The music in this game was awesome.
I've always appreciated the concept of this game. I think maybe it could work better as a modern title where they can actually explain things to the player in a clearer setting, and perhaps rework the start a bit to show you what the game becomes.
I went into this gaming know what it was, Nintendo Power made a huge article about how it was about a nerd slowly gaining confidence and by the end he'd actually be a fully playable character.
I didn't mind the game, saw it like any other cinematic platformer of the day, even bought it on clearance from Toy Liquidators (K.B. Toy's Factory Direct store for clearance toys) for like $15 a year after release.
God.. you remember weird things don't you.
Now that's proper journalism. I learned that this game isn't as bad as previously advertised.
Ite official- snes drunk has exhausted the entire snes library and finding beauty in the awful.
I commend his commitment. Enjoyable viewpoint.
Looking at the comments it seems I'm in the minority.
This was an awesome review. I find this game weirdly interesting even tho I haven’t played it
Never played this one but thanks for the video! I enjoyed learning about a new game!
When you put it that way, the character progression is neat.
It's worth noting he shares the name of Out of This World's protag, Lester Knight Chaykin.
I remember renting this one for a weekend as a kid and with enough patience dealing with the beginning, ended up really enjoying the game! The ending of him becoming a total Chad was hilarious, so at least it has a decently amusing payoff for all your troubles.
im kinda not suprised that the unlikely lester soon has more confidence throughout the playthrough. i wouldnt have known that until now
people call this game bad, but if this was an indie game in the 2010s it would be praised for being different and unique.
I think the concept is actually hilarious, genius, and beautiful even. It's absolutely ambitious and unique. The problem is that ambitious concepts need skill and execution to match it. They were in over their head. I think they tried and I do admire them for it. Someone should try and remake this game. They could probably make it work. But yeah, the game itself is a pain in the ass.
Seems like a fun concept for a game with a lackluster execution.
Still, it's nice to see a protagonist that looks like me, posture and all.
This seems like a concept that needs revisiting. Great review as always
Pretty much the same as all games, it's boring to start but you level up
That is the most fair and balanced review I have ever seen of this game!
Love that this game exists even if I'm not gonna play it. Going to a friend's house and trying this game and realizing the dev's were actually dedicated enough to the idea to make an entire deconstructive joke game? Unforgettable moment. Still turned the game off in level 1 of course, but I respect the commitment all the same.