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Post by windfisch on Apr 19, 2019 6:41:29 GMT -5
The Illusion games are awesome, did not expect them to show up (that means that Quackshot is also a possibility.) And Hard Corps is there, yay. Most of the other games were more or less to be expected, but are top-notch nonetheless (except for Landstalker). Combined they already make up for some of the more lackluster inclusions like Comix Zone, Ecco, Altered Beast and Space Harrier 2. My only issue with Landstalker is that your main character sprite does not have a shadow to distinguish its current position on the area. That's all and it seems to be a curse for isometric games... :/ I agree. But for me that's a pretty huge issue. I'm not a fan of isometric platforming in general, few games manage to make it fun (Light Crusader does it a bit better, for example). Landstalker is way too heavy on precision platforming and the stiff controls (only 4 way direction controls) make it worse. It's probably a good game, if you can get past that, so I can understand why it was included. However, when it comes to this type of action adventure Crusader of Centy would be a much better choice, if you ask me.
I get that some of the games in this collection were chosen mainly for the sake of nostalgia. And admittedly even the weaker ones have some redeeming qualities: Altered Beast is wonderfully cheesy, Ecco has a great sense of atmosphere, Comix Zone looks just gorgeous and Space Harrier 2 is actually okay, but nowhere as smooth as the first arcade game. It's just that there are many better games for the system that could easily replace them.
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Post by dsparil on Apr 19, 2019 7:53:31 GMT -5
The 4 way controls make the platforming in Landstalker easier and takes some of the ambiguity out of your spatial position. The controls themselves stink, but I always get used to them when replaying.
I'm a little more concerned with the large amount of overlap with the Genesis Classics Collections (12 out of 20). 2 more either are (Puyo Puyo/MBM) or likely (Thunder Force III) will be Sega Ages titles, and 2 others either are (Bloodlines) or very likely (Hard Corps) will be part of the upcoming Konami collections. That leaves the Mickey games, Earthworm Jim and Super Fantasy Zone as "exclusives" so far, but I wouldn't be if SFZ ends up as an Ages title since the original will be.
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On the Romancing Saga front, I triggered the long quest that I think I messed up on my first attempt, but didn't do it because I was too weak. Now it seems like I can't do it at all. Yay! Wouldn't be surprised if I can randomly get access to the dungeon I need eventually.
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Post by windfisch on Apr 19, 2019 9:05:45 GMT -5
You may be right about the controls.
Since this is a stand-alone console, overlap with other releases should not be a concern. It's supposed to appeal not just to core gamers, but also to people who don't own every gaming device out there. Therefore it just should be the very best titles for the system, simple as that.
Sure, there still are a couple of worthwhile games that have not been rereleased (Hyperstone Heist, Quackshot..). But the Illusion games indicate that they're willing to go the extra mile. So, who knows..
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Post by dsparil on Apr 19, 2019 9:44:10 GMT -5
Sega Ages is Switch exclusive, but GCC is $30 and is available for everything. That already has most of the obvious choices being a 50 game set but is limited to Sega. It does ultimately come down to what the other 20 are, but are a handful of first and third party games worth $50? 🤷♀️
Edit: On the other hand, GCC lacks a perfect pixel mode and most of the games don't take well to filtering. Being an M2 coproduction, I do expect the technical aspects to be spot on though. Could be worth it just for that.
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Post by lurker on Apr 19, 2019 10:43:17 GMT -5
Kinda wary of Hyperstone Heist because the TMNT games seem to have rights issues when it comes to re-releases. When was the last time a TMNT game was re-released completely intact?
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Apr 19, 2019 11:14:23 GMT -5
RE:Shinobi, I didn't even get far enough into Revenge to get bothered by the difficulty. I just didn't like it in general. But after getting into Shinobi III I should probably give it another shot. Shadow Dancer is indeed not that difficult once you know what to do, but I feel the difficulty mostly comes from the fact you won't know what's coming first time you play it. It pretty much boils down to remembering what's coming. In pretty stark contrast to Shinobi III, but then, that game is quite different and from several years later. Sega Ages is Switch exclusive, but GCC is $30 and is available for everything. That already has most of the obvious choices being a 50 game set but is limited to Sega. It does ultimately come down to what the other 20 are, but are a handful of first and third party games worth $50? 🤷♀️ Edit: On the other hand, GCC lacks a perfect pixel mode and most of the games don't take well to filtering. Being an M2 coproduction, I do expect the technical aspects to be spot on though. Could be worth it just for that. It also comes with two USB MD controllers and a nice little Mega Drive to put on your shelf, so I think there's a little extra value even if the game list might end up being a bit redundant. I'm going to wait for the final list of games before maybe placing a pre-order. I'm tempted to get it, but I already own every MD classics game on Steam, so it's really going to depend on the game list.
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Post by kaoru on Apr 19, 2019 12:38:15 GMT -5
Bit of Dark Souls II progress. Just finished The Gutter/Black Gulch and lit the fourth primal bonfire. That scholar appearing gave me a good heart attack. I do still enjoy the game, most of the time anyways, but it kind of feels... a bit messy I guess. It's one of the "more is better" type of sequels. More areas, more enemies, more bosses, more stats, more items. But it feels like the parts of the team didn't communicate all that well and when the deadline crept close, had to stitch what was there together. It just comes of a bit disjointed and unorganized is all. I'm also not sure about the benefits to Scholar of the First Sin. For example the alterations to Heide's Tower of Flame and the Iron Keep make them starkly stick out as being way harder/more annoying than the areas before and even after those. I did not enjoy my stay in either one. Got a new BFF, though! A mammoth dropped the Mastodon Halberd in the Doors of Pharros which like the Zweihänder in DSRemastered became my go to cheesy two-hits-and-everything-is-dead weapon that will probably carry my incompetend ass through to the end once again, and with a super satisfying backstab animation to boot (not that I'm good at getting backstabs, and 1.5 games into the franchise, I doubt I ever will be).
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Post by windfisch on Apr 19, 2019 16:17:53 GMT -5
Kinda wary of Hyperstone Heist because the TMNT games seem to have rights issues when it comes to re-releases. When was the last time a TMNT game was re-released completely intact? Right, it's not very likely. But I'm allowed to dream, am I not?
(Personally I believe copyright and licensing and such is all a huge pile of corporate BS nowadays, so I try not worry too much about such things.)
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Post by eatersthemanfool on Apr 19, 2019 22:00:15 GMT -5
So, just finished Forgotten Anne. Not a bad game really. kind of short, and it's got a few filler sections that are annoying. I think i'd have been annoyedif I'd pyed full pricefor it. Really pretty animation and art direction. lots of hand drawn sprites in a 2d puzzle platformer. It's got a branching story that may or may not significntly change on subsequentplaythroughs i pln to check tht out soon.
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Post by lurker on Apr 19, 2019 22:09:57 GMT -5
So they actually used that theme...
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Post by JoeQ on Apr 20, 2019 7:14:40 GMT -5
I'm now about 80% done with Environmental Station Alpha and at this point I feel confident in saying it's the best 2D metroidlike I've ever played. Yes, even better than Nintendo's own efforts. But it's also most definitely not a game for everyone. It's right on the edge of challenging and frustratingly difficult, and if the design were any less tight and controls any less responsive it'd fall apart. The later bossfights and platforming demand mastery over you abilities and exploration of every nook and cranny is practically required.
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Post by windfisch on Apr 20, 2019 8:30:40 GMT -5
I'm now about 80% done with Environmental Station Alpha and at this point I feel confident in saying it's the best 2D metroidlike I've ever played. Yes, even better than Nintendo's own efforts. That's some high praise right there - enough for me to reconsider getting ESA. May I ask what other Metroid-likes you've played so far and which ones you liked best?
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Post by ZenithianHero on Apr 20, 2019 9:05:09 GMT -5
Kinda wary of Hyperstone Heist because the TMNT games seem to have rights issues when it comes to re-releases. When was the last time a TMNT game was re-released completely intact? Right, it's not very likely. But I'm allowed to dream, am I not?
(Personally I believe copyright and licensing and such is all a huge pile of corporate BS nowadays, so I try not worry too much about such things.) I would say the same after witnessing AvP and Illusion games being rereleased. Still, TMNT is now a Nickelodeon property and Viacom is not the coolest company in town for licensing. I would say we have a greater chance of seeing Jurassic Park which is one of the most iconic licensed games on Genesis.
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Post by lurker on Apr 20, 2019 9:10:17 GMT -5
I wonder if they're going to include the Genesis version of Aladdin.
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Post by JoeQ on Apr 20, 2019 9:16:07 GMT -5
I'm now about 80% done with Environmental Station Alpha and at this point I feel confident in saying it's the best 2D metroidlike I've ever played. Yes, even better than Nintendo's own efforts. That's some high praise right there - enough for me to reconsider getting ESA. May I ask what other Metroid-likes you've played so far and which ones you liked best?
Well, note that I said specifically metroidlikes as opposed to metroidvanias, as there really is no Castlevania/Igavania in ESA. Of those I've only really played the Metroid series. Metroid 1 and 2 I consider too archaic to be much fun today and somehow I never played Super Metroid. Fusion and Zero Mission are great, but ESA is better, IMO.
(Metroid Prime 1 is my favorite of Metroid series, btw)
I'd absolutely recommend you give ESA another shot. It's only 8€ afterall and you can get a Steam refund if it still doesn't work out for you.
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