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Post by loempiavreter on Jan 4, 2015 12:07:01 GMT -5
I know some folk say it's lazy/budget design, but I quite like faux throwback graphics to 8-bit or arcade games. And in the case of NES 8-bit style, that's certainly not nostalgia goggles, I never owned a NES back in the day, I started with Megadrive, but I came to appreciate the look of Ninja Gaiden and similar games like Project Vice Doom, Shatterhand etc. There's a recent resurgance for this kinda style with plenty of games releasing in this style. So Im listing some, but I'm also hoping for some input from others, and learning new titles  8-Bit Commando  Cataegis The White Wind  Freedom Planet  Insanity's Blade  Jet Gunner  The Joylancer Legendary Motor Knight/The Joylancer EX+ Legendary Motor Rivals  Maldita Castilla  Muri  Noitu Love & The Army Of Grimming Darns  Noitu Love 2: Devolution  Neon Grey  Odallus The Dark Call  Oniken  Shovel Knight  Slain The Seven Towers  Steel Assault  Super Cyborg  Volgarr the Viking  |
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Post by steven on Jan 4, 2015 14:40:37 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. To be honest I'm so out of touch with today's gaming generation that 80% of those titles I never heard of or seen before. Which ones are the very best of those you posted? Some of them look really intriguing, and some look like they came out back in the day.
Speaking of throwback games, in the latest Retro magazine there's two highlighted that intrigues me: Axiom Verge and Timespinner. AV resembles Super Metroid and TS resembles Symphony of the Night. Both figure to be released for PS4 sometime in 2015.
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Post by moran on Jan 4, 2015 16:00:03 GMT -5
Axiom Verge also came to mind for me. A recent Game Informer had a big piece on it and I'm really interested in it. I really like this throwback art direction when it suits the game. I feel that a more modern approach just wouldn't seem right with certain gameplay.
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Post by ZenithianHero on Jan 4, 2015 16:09:15 GMT -5
I wish this wasn't exclusively an indie thing. I feel like there is a huge disconnect between mainstream companies and indie because of how they see retro and 2D.
Some of these look great, I should keep my eye on them. I almost bought Shovel Knight but I felt bloated buying during holiday sale to pick it up this time on sale.
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Post by shelverton on Jan 4, 2015 16:53:27 GMT -5
Very nice thread. A lot of throwback retro platformers look absolutely nothing like the games I grew up with which is a bit annoying. They seem to just look like deliberate rubbish to me. But many of these games mentioned here really look like they could've been made circa 1991-1994 which really excites me.
I've only played Shovel Knight and Oniken, but Timespinners, Steel Assault (Shatterhand almost?), Maldita Castilla (Ghosts n Goblins?) and a bunch if others look geniunely interesting.
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Post by loempiavreter on Jan 4, 2015 19:29:58 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. To be honest I'm so out of touch with today's gaming generation that 80% of those titles I never heard of or seen before. Which ones are the very best of those you posted? Some of them look really intriguing, and some look like they came out back in the day. I quite like most of them, some of them haven't released yet like Steel Assault, Slain The Seven Towers, Odallus The Dark Call, Super Cyborg, Neon Grey. Of those I think I look the most forward too Steel Assault and Neon Grey, I kinda like linear stage design more then Odallus or Slain's more exploration based stage design (though it's still divided in several stages, and not like a metroidvania). The very best I think, is Maldita Castilla, a Ghouls 'n Ghost tribute indeed. And it's free too. But I'm quite fond of those NES-style Side Scrolling Action titles like Oniken, Jet Gunner and the Sega Master System-like Cataegis The White Wind. THey play faster then say Volgarr or Insanity's Blade. Even if I like those 2 a lot too! (although I prefer Volgarr over Insanity's blade, IB has a little too much hp sponges at times...). Personally the weakest entry I posted is 8-bit Commando, which is a bit of an uninspired contra clone, which I posted more for complettion sake. But all the others are worth a look I think (maybe Muri is a bit stiff... but maybe c64 fans enjoy this one). Timespinners looks kinda interesting, but also like a Metroidvania? Axiom Verge is a Metroidvania, not really my cup of tea, but please let me know anyway |
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Post by derboo on Jan 4, 2015 19:38:50 GMT -5
Volgarr the Viking may look like a mess, but it is ridiculously well-designed. And it's in the current Humble Bundle, so you can get it for a dollar, if you can also stand to own Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior Classic and Abe's Odyssey.
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Post by Bobinator on Jan 4, 2015 19:48:13 GMT -5
MURI is basically an Apogee game, and is heavily inspired by the original Duke Nukem. It's very authentic, which includes no in-game music, only 16 colors, and PC speaker sound effects. For me, though, that shows a ton of effort into making it accurate to the experience that I can really appreciate that.
Also, I'm not sure if Noitu Love 2 is quite really a throwback, per se. The original game is, sure, but if the sequel's trying to be anything, I'm not sure what. It's closest to something like Treasure's Shilleoute Mirage, so maybe it's the closest to a Saturn game? Not sure, really.
(alsobuyfreedomplanet)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2015 20:28:17 GMT -5
Really been digging this genre lately, so thanks for posting this thread! I'll have to check each of these out in time. Volgarr looks like a He-Man rip off, so that sounds right up my alley to start.
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geishaboy
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Like that movie Drunken Master, minus the kung-fu
Posts: 190
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Post by geishaboy on Jan 4, 2015 20:30:16 GMT -5
I absolutely love these kinds of games. Thanks for posting that list, I'm sure that I'll wind up trying most of them.
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Post by Gendo Ikari on Jan 5, 2015 2:02:20 GMT -5
Also, I'm not sure if Noitu Love 2 is quite really a throwback, per se. The original game is, sure, but if the sequel's trying to be anything, I'm not sure what. It's closest to something like Treasure's Shilleoute Mirage, so maybe it's the closest to a Saturn game? Not sure, really. Saturn and PS1 have turned 20 recently. I don't see why a game reminding the greatness of 2D in the 32-bit era cannot be a throwback, too. |
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Post by Feynman on Jan 5, 2015 2:06:06 GMT -5
I'm going to add my voice to the list of folks saying "play Volgarr the Viking." It's an incredibly good game that offers some of the best level design you'll find in the genre.
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Post by steven on Jan 5, 2015 3:31:35 GMT -5
Maldita Castilla was the one that grabbed my attention the most. It totally looks like it could have been on the Genesis circa 1990, heh. That boss is something wicked too, imagination-wise. Love it! Total GnG vibe.
Agreed with Shel that too many of the "throwback efforts" are just lame looking. The ones in this thread though do look very 1991-1994, like Shel said.
For future throwback games, I would like to see more emphasis placed on 16-bit styled throwbacks. Nothing against 8-bit styled games, but to me 16-bit was what caused my emotional wheel to turn the most.
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Post by loempiavreter on Jan 5, 2015 7:30:52 GMT -5
Also, I'm not sure if Noitu Love 2 is quite really a throwback, per se. The original game is, sure, but if the sequel's trying to be anything, I'm not sure what. It's closest to something like Treasure's Shilleoute Mirage, so maybe it's the closest to a Saturn game? Not sure, really. (alsobuyfreedomplanet) Both Noitu love 2 and Freedom Planet feel like SAT/PSX era games... and that perfectly fits the bill I'm gonna highlight a few games, because they are upcoming and in development: Steel Assault is starting their Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight campaign on the 19th of January. They are looking to raise $8000,- for the game. It looks really nice visually, I think it's one of the better efforts mimicking Famicom style graphics. And also gameplay wise it looks like Shatterhand-ish, so count me in as a fan! Video: Follow development: forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=41313.0steelassault.tumblr.com/steelassault.com/Neon Grey is a nice little throwback to that 80s Cyberpunk (an road warrior post apocalyptisism) craze, that's coming back in favor now. The soundtrack totally resembles a Italian movie of that fashion, I really like it and it's visual style which reminds me of an early arcade entry, something similar to Capcom's Trojan. The armor>weapon thing is also nice, hope they keep it:  Video: Follow development: forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=34152.0www.facebook.com/neon.grey.the.game?ref=ts&fref=tsSlain The Seven Towers is said by the creators to play as Ghouls'n Ghost meets RPG elements... I hope not too much RPG! I'm afraid puzzles is going to slow the game's pacing down quite a bit. At least it's stage based (like Odallus). It looks really nice though, especially that death animation. Video: Follow development: forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=37009.0www.wolfbrewgames.com/slain/Cataegis The White Wind is the odd duck in here, in which it resembles a SMS look (or at least that's what they are going for). It has a early access release, if u are adventurous like me I really like it, even if some sprites look a bit off-key anatomy-wise.. it's really fast paced... as you may notice pacing is important to me. STUFF need to happen all the time  Video: Follow development: www.facebook.com/cataegisrodrigot.itch.io/cataegis-the-white-wind-ziggurat-chapter |
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Post by derboo on Jan 5, 2015 7:47:58 GMT -5
in which it resembles a SMS look (or at least that's what they are going for). I really wish more games would do that. The one thing I absolutely do not appreciate is NES sprite color limitations. |
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