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Post by zerker on Apr 20, 2019 11:33:47 GMT -5
I wonder if they're going to include the Genesis version of Aladdin. Well, they already have Disney on board, so it doesn't sound particularly far-fetched
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Post by JoeQ on Apr 20, 2019 11:48:15 GMT -5
I wonder if they're going to include the Genesis version of Aladdin. Well, they already have Disney on board, so it doesn't sound particularly far-fetched
Depends. The Illusion games were made by Sega themselves, so they just needed Disney's permission. Aladding was developed by the long gone Virgin Games, which might complicate matters.
Quackshot might have a better chance.
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Post by shelverton on Apr 20, 2019 12:43:18 GMT -5
Question: Was Strider ever included on any of the Genesis/Mega Drive collections (ps2/ps3/xb360/ps4 and so on.)? I could’ve sworn it was but now I don’t know? It seems like it’s a given, but.... was it ever?
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Post by JoeQ on Apr 20, 2019 13:05:38 GMT -5
Question: Was Strider ever included on any of the Genesis/Mega Drive collections (ps2/ps3/xb360/ps4 and so on.)? I could’ve sworn it was but now I don’t know? It seems like it’s a given, but.... was it ever?
Nope and neither were any other non-Sega games. All the collections up to now have been only Sega's own games, which is why it's kinda surprising they went out of their way for the MD Mini.
Maybe you're thinking of the remake/reboot/whatever from a few years ago?
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Post by ZenithianHero on Apr 20, 2019 13:24:51 GMT -5
Only home version of Strider I remember rereleased in collection form was the NES version via Capcom Classics Mini on GBA.
EDIT: That said, Genesis Strider DID make it on Virtual Console for Wii.
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Post by windfisch on Apr 20, 2019 17:46:35 GMT -5
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.
Fusion, Zero Mission and Prime 1 are certainly among my favorites. So that's a good sign. But then what sane person wouldn't like them?
But what about other Metroid-esque games that are similar in terms of atmosphere and/or gameplay? For example: I consider The Swapper (awesome), Knytt Underground (fantastic) and Steamworld Dig (pretty good) all games that draw substantial inspiration from the Metroid series, but not as much or none from Symphony of the Night. While The Swapper is related to Metroid mostly in terms of atmosphere and setting, Knytt UG and Steamworld Dig have more in common gameplay-wise with the series. None of these are carbon-copies, so those might not be the first that come to mind. Another one I can think of is Axiom Verge, which was close, but ultimately not my cup of tea.
So have you played any of those or others that might fit the description?
I suppose I'll wait for a Humble sale (you get a DRM-free version). That way I won't mind, if I still end up not liking it that much.
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Post by mainpatr on Apr 20, 2019 18:28:22 GMT -5
Have you played Xeodrifter yet? A "micro Metroid" game, with a structure pulled straight from Kirby Superstar or Space Hunter.
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Post by windfisch on Apr 20, 2019 19:57:17 GMT -5
I have, this is what I posted then:
"Just finished Xeodrifter (Steam) and I've got mixed feelings about that one.
It's a decent enough take on Metroid, but a pretty unpolished one. It started out as a side-project apparently and it shows: There is not much variety when it comes to different stages. And you can't see far ahead when in the foreground layer, which clashes with the fast gameplay resulting in lots of cheap hits. So you have to play overly carefully. There are also enemies that are plain bullet-sponges. And due to respawning after leaving a room, these merely seem to exist to artificially lengthen the playtime along with a scarcity of checkpoints. You also can't change weapons on the fly (only in the inventory menu), even though switching weapons is pretty much required during boss fights. The latter still remain one of the better aspects of the game - even though it's the same boss each time, but with added attack patterns. I got it on sale, so I don't regret buying it. But the full retail price seems too high, considering the competition."
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Post by JoeQ on Apr 21, 2019 5:41:32 GMT -5
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.
Fusion, Zero Mission and Prime 1 are certainly among my favorites. So that's a good sign. But then what sane person wouldn't like them?
But what about other Metroid-esque games that are similar in terms of atmosphere and/or gameplay? For example: I consider The Swapper (awesome), Knytt Underground (fantastic) and Steamworld Dig (pretty good) all games that draw substantial inspiration from the Metroid series, but not as much or none from Symphony of the Night. While The Swapper is related to Metroid mostly in terms of atmosphere and setting, Knytt UG and Steamworld Dig have more in common gameplay-wise with the series. None of these are carbon-copies, so those might not be the first that come to mind. Another one I can think of is Axiom Verge, which was close, but ultimately not my cup of tea.
So have you played any of those or others that might fit the description?
I suppose I'll wait for a Humble sale (you get a DRM-free version). That way I won't mind, if I still end up not liking it that much.
I haven't yet, but from what I know of The Swapper that one seems to be the closest in terms of a sense of isolation and mystery. That's another great thing about ESA, it actually has a multilayered plot that you'll want to unravel. Compared to Metroid games, which are usually very straightforward in that sense.
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Post by windfisch on Apr 21, 2019 18:49:45 GMT -5
The ESA plot aspect sounds pretty neat. I'll check it out someday.
So, I've just finished The Addams Family for the Mega Drive (which is almost identical to the SNES version) and it's among the better games developed by Ocean. That doesn't mean it's great, however, after all they've released a bunch of games of questionable quality. But it certainly is more interesting than one would think. For staters it's an open-world platformer, which were quite rare during the 16 Bit days. There's even a Zelda-style health upgrade after defeating bosses, so calling it a Metroidvania wouldn't be too far off.
And it looks and sounds rather neat. Sprite are generally nicely drawn and often well animated. The backgrounds are a mixed bag, some are colorful and clean, others a bit busy and/or dull and tilesets can get old after a while. This goes double for the music: While the individual tracks are well-composed, there are not many in total, so they get reused often.
The game features rather large stages, sometimes interconnected with each other (but it's no Super Metroid in terms of size). And these usually are filled with death traps and enemies, requiring high precision and leaving little room for error and it can get quite frustrating. One reason for that are the controls that, while not terrible, can be slightly too slippery when trying to bring your character to a halt. I got used to it for the most part, but then there is the obligatory snow & ice section, which of course makes the sliding so much worse. It's easily the weakest part of the game. Thankfully there are tons of extra-lives to be found - all of them well needed. Also helpful are some temporary items that give you the ability to fly or invincibility. Additionally there are weapons, which disappear after taking a hit however and are few and far between, which is a shame as they make the gameplay more versatile and less frustrating. Overall I did like the exploration aspect (finding hidden areas), the occasional little puzzle here and there and the "flow"-feeling when getting the timing of difficult jumping sequences right. Controls could be tighter and level design more forgiving, but it still was a rather wortwhile experience.
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Post by shelverton on Apr 22, 2019 2:37:52 GMT -5
Ooh, congratulations on beating The Addams Family! I found it very, very hard (SNES version) but I did beat in back in the day after much frustration and (possibly) some kind of cheat code, I think. But I loved the strange thick atmosphere and the soundtrack. I agree on the slippery controls though. Did anyone play Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt btw? Jesus christ that was sadistic...
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Post by mainpatr on Apr 22, 2019 3:11:41 GMT -5
Ooh, congratulations on beating The Addams Family! I found it very, very hard (SNES version) but I did beat in back in the day after much frustration and (possibly) some kind of cheat code, I think. But I loved the strange thick atmosphere and the soundtrack. I agree on the slippery controls though. Did anyone play Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt btw? Jesus christ that was sadistic... Oh yes did I play Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt. Can't event get past any stage.
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Post by windfisch on Apr 22, 2019 7:13:31 GMT -5
Ooh, congratulations on beating The Addams Family! I found it very, very hard (SNES version) but I did beat in back in the day after much frustration and (possibly) some kind of cheat code, I think. But I loved the strange thick atmosphere and the soundtrack. I agree on the slippery controls though. Did anyone play Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt btw? Jesus christ that was sadistic... I did use save states. While I try not to use them exessively, as this breaks the flow of a game, I find them to be valuable time savers for games that would otherwise test my patience. The SNES version looks and sounds even nicer than the MD one and being more familiar with the game by now, I'll probably try to beat it with less "cheating" some day.
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Post by lurker on Apr 22, 2019 13:30:38 GMT -5
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Post by zerker on Apr 22, 2019 17:25:43 GMT -5
Ooh, congratulations on beating The Addams Family! I found it very, very hard (SNES version) but I did beat in back in the day after much frustration and (possibly) some kind of cheat code, I think. But I loved the strange thick atmosphere and the soundtrack. I agree on the slippery controls though. Did anyone play Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt btw? Jesus christ that was sadistic... I did use save states. While I try not to use them exessively, as this breaks the flow of a game, I find them to be valuable time savers for games that would otherwise test my patience. The SNES version looks and sounds even nicer than the MD one and being more familiar with the game by now, I'll probably try to beat it with less "cheating" some day. If you want to go semi-legit, there's a hidden door in the main staircase room, which itself has another hidden door. This leads to a secret series of rooms with a bunch of 1ups and freely available powerups. It was spoiled for me in a Nintendo Power years ago, and it makes the game considerably less annoying.
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