[Question] Unique game mechanics -- The best and the worst

I agree, Umihara Kawase was something of a revelation for me. It, to me, seemed like one of the first succesful attempts at slightly more elaborated physics in platformers (apart from Knight Lore and Head Over Heels). The elasticity of the hook line had a wonderful consistency to it and allowed for a lot of depth and freedom in movement around the levels, which was awesome.

Just a note for anyone interested, the PS1 Umihara Kawase Shun is also great~

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I first thought he was talking about the Mr. Mosquito (or Ka) games and had to look the kanji up.

Also, Kula World is from Sweden.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

But the topic isn't about your favorite unique games to begin with. Mo0 asked about strange, unusual, different and all around unique game mechanics, especially the most and least succesful executions of them.

And it still doesn't explain why you would type Katamari Damacy with kanji like a complete schmuck.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I never really had any issues with Resident Evil controls. Complaining about them has to me always been akin to complaining RE4 doesn't have a strafe or that Super Metroid doesn't have dialogue in it. Now I can't defend the controls to someone who thought they were awful, but the game wouldn't have had the same impact without them. The autoaim removed most of the frustrations so that's that. The slow turning and such could be akin to the stuff you see in nightmares, where you never move fast enough, even if that wasn't the developer's intention. It works for me. You learned to adjust to the controls, like in every other game (you can't for instance try and say MGS3's controls weren't cumbersome) and the stop start of the combat has been a specific appeal of the series. Barring perhaps RE3, which required you to move around more.

The controls also didn't originate with Resident Evil (Alone in the Dark did them before it), nor were they limited to survival horror. Plenty of adventure games used them succesfully, not least Grim Fandango and Little Big Adventure.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well it was more aimed at goldfish, really.

But I wonder at the people who complain Resident Evil controls should be abandoned in favor of something else, what exactly would they suggest? Analogue control has been attempted, and with the static camera angles of Resident Evil and its ilk, has proved to be extremely disorienting most of the time. The camera angles seemed another thing people bitch about, not considering the limited perspective was the point of the horror atmosphere. If they opted for a third person angle, WITH standard action controls, you'd have a very generic action game with annoying puzzles and limited ammo. RE4 wouldn't have worked half as well if you'd been able to move and shoot and strafe at the same time.

I was speaking idiomatically.