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Post by toei on Dec 15, 2018 11:14:59 GMT -5
Ninja Gaiden (NES) I'm not sure why Ninja Gaiden is the first Switch Online game I really jumped on since I'm not actually all that fond of it. I wouldn't go so far to say that it's secretly a kusoge, but a huge amount of its difficulty seems to come from outright bugs rather than intentional decisions. It's not really even all that difficult until Act V. Enemies only infinitely spawn if their spawn point is on the edge of the screen. Move forward a little bit and it doesn't happen. I also noticed that it's possible to make some enemies disappear without respawning if you scroll the screen just right as the enemy is on the edge. At least NG isn't a cruel game since it's impossible to get a game over and your health is refilled at the beginning of a boss battle. Do people that didn't originally play this when it was fairly recent actually like it? I feel like it coasts on being Castlevania with ninjas and rare for it's time cutscenes. HLTB lists this as 3h. Total: 139 Letters: Complete Time: 616h + 430:11:23 I played through it for the first time in January and deeply hated it. I hate respawning enemies in side-scrollers, and NG's system is especially janky. The same enemy can spawn in a few different spots depending on your exact height when you reach a certain point, or it can spawn twice if you walk back a few steps and forward again. One quality is does have, though, that Castlevania does not, is agile movement and precise controls (though I feel like your sword doesn't come out quite as fast as it should). I especially like the way you can attack twice in a single jump, and the fact that it's actually useful on occasion. Castlevania, by comparison (or by itself) is stiff and slow, though it was more forgivable as a NES game. I don't think it's accurate to say that NG isn't cruel, since it forces you to restart several levels back if you die in the last level, knowing it's super cheap and there's a 3-form final boss at the end of it. That's far worse than giving you a limited number of continues together with good level design and a fair checkpoint system.
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Post by Digitalnametag on Dec 15, 2018 11:36:49 GMT -5
Ninja Gaiden (NES) I wouldn't go so far to say that it's secretly a kusoge, but a huge amount of its difficulty seems to come from outright bugs rather than intentional decisions. Yeah I said similarly when I beat it earlier this year too. The later stages are hard for the wrong reasons. I still enjoy the game but I usually quit playing it around the last couple levels. Mega Man 3 (NES) First time playing this on actual hardware. The ports clean up the glitches and graphic errors and I admit to playing with my Framemeister settings longer than I should have trying to get rid of the display glitch in the stage select. A quick Google search later revealed I was wasting my time hah. I forgot how easy it is to abuse the Rush Jet in this one. It doesn't automatically fly forward so you have complete control of it. You can easily cheese your way through some of the Wily fights with it. I like the addition of the slide but as a whole this one lacks a bit of polish. Other than the first title this is my least favorite of the six. Still a good game though.
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Post by Bumpyroad on Dec 16, 2018 5:56:22 GMT -5
The Little Mermaid ( NES) I'm not gonna catch up with dsparil with this one, am I?
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Post by dsparil on Dec 16, 2018 13:23:24 GMT -5
Car Quest I was never sure what to make of this, but as something on sale for 99¢ (down from $9.99), I figured why not. This is actually pretty good. You're some kind of sentient car with a ridiculous supercharger which has to restore the kingdom of Blocktaria by finding "artifacts" scattered about the main hub and as a reward for completing the 15 or so levels. The only inhabitant left, the king, is your constant companion.
This is kinda weird but not super weird. There's a very flimsy reason for why the main character is a car; it barely makes sense. Most of the gameplay is "platforming" with some environment puzzles. Everything is a strictly linear progress from an artifact unlocking an area to a new artifact or level for the most part. There is some nice variety in the levels too. $10 does seem like a high price although it's probably worth that much. It's a total steal at 99¢ though.
I finished in 08:07:45.
Total: 140 Letters: Complete Time: 616h + 438:19:08
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Post by dsparil on Dec 16, 2018 14:57:25 GMT -5
forma.8 (Switch) This I would have finished months ago if I had realized that I had put it down 10 minutes from the end… This is an okay metroidvania where you're a probe that can fly. That's a nice change of pace and well integrated into the level design. On the minus side, it's a little boring. This is actually my second attempt at finishing this as I also got it for Wii U back when it came out in in Feb. 2017.
I think my main issue is that while it does capture tbe feeling of being on a mysterious planet, it also goes past mysterious and into inexplicable due to a compete lack of any kind of dialogue or overt story elements. Some amount of exposition would have gone a long way. At least more cohesion between the various elements would have been nice.
I finished in about 4.5h.
Total: 141 Letters: Complete Time: 620.5h + 438:19:08
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Post by JoeQ on Dec 17, 2018 9:53:33 GMT -5
Are you going to do a final tally 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀? I'm probably done for this year, gonna focus on getting a few more platinums for games I already claimed earlier before leaving to visit my parents during the holidays.
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Post by Snake on Dec 17, 2018 12:11:53 GMT -5
Ninja Gaiden (NES) I'm not sure why Ninja Gaiden is the first Switch Online game I really jumped on since I'm not actually all that fond of it. I wouldn't go so far to say that it's secretly a kusoge, but a huge amount of its difficulty seems to come from outright bugs rather than intentional decisions. It's not really even all that difficult until Act V. Enemies only infinitely spawn if their spawn point is on the edge of the screen. Move forward a little bit and it doesn't happen. I also noticed that it's possible to make some enemies disappear without respawning if you scroll the screen just right as the enemy is on the edge. At least NG isn't a cruel game since it's impossible to get a game over and your health is refilled at the beginning of a boss battle. Do people that didn't originally play this when it was fairly recent actually like it? I feel like it coasts on being Castlevania with ninjas and rare for it's time cutscenes. HLTB lists this as 3h. Total: 139 Letters: Complete Time: 616h + 430:11:23 I played through it for the first time in January and deeply hated it. I hate respawning enemies in side-scrollers, and NG's system is especially janky. The same enemy can spawn in a few different spots depending on your exact height when you reach a certain point, or it can spawn twice if you walk back a few steps and forward again. One quality is does have, though, that Castlevania does not, is agile movement and precise controls (though I feel like your sword doesn't come out quite as fast as it should). I especially like the way you can attack twice in a single jump, and the fact that it's actually useful on occasion. Castlevania, by comparison (or by itself) is stiff and slow, though it was more forgivable as a NES game. I don't think it's accurate to say that NG isn't cruel, since it forces you to restart several levels back if you die in the last level, knowing it's super cheap and there's a 3-form final boss at the end of it. That's far worse than giving you a limited number of continues together with good level design and a fair checkpoint system. I grew up Ninja Gaiden 1. I imagine most casual gamers that played Ninja Gaiden, recently for the first time, would rage quit. The infinite spawning is exactly what makes it difficult. Especially if you have a tendency to try to run away or around enemies. The key is to swiftly move forward much of the time, without backtracking. There are definitely a few areas where it's easier to make the enemies moonwalk-vanish off the screen past their respawn point. The last boss is what makes it frustrating for a kid. Die, and you have to restart all the way through that hell of a gauntlet. And most would expect to die the first few times facing the boss, just to figure out how to fight and damage the stupid boss. Especially after you take the masked father and go face-to-face with the Jacquio without the jump and slash or fire wheel sub-items. Your subweapon is robbed from you after you finish each segment of the end boss, so you have only to rely on your reflexes and ability to recognize the attack pattern. Once you adapt to the gameplay mechanics, it actually becomes quite easy, and carries over to the next 2 Ninja Gaiden games. It's all in the timing of a slash.
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Post by zerker on Dec 17, 2018 16:38:11 GMT -5
I finished Minit (Switch), though I will be poking around a bit more to find things I missed. I didn't even manage to buy the sneakers yet!
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Post by Woody Alien on Dec 17, 2018 16:43:47 GMT -5
Please don't stop counting just now, I have just restarted playing games after a hiatus, so now I want to make my tally a little longer!
Finished Insanity's Blade (PC/Steam). Basically it's an arcadey 16-bit-styled action game created by putting in a blender all those old-school "lone barbarian hero against hundreds of monsters" games. Major inspirations are Rastan Saga and Ghosts 'n' Goblins (it even has the same font), but there's also stuff lifted from Golden Axe, Castlevania, Black Tiger, Rygar, Magic Sword, Forgotten Worlds... However it doesn't really hold a candle to any of these, after a while it's just mindless and tedious button mashing. Graphics and music are good, there's plenty of gore, but the gameplay is quite limited and the overly long levels quickly make it somewhat of a slog. Just stick to Volgarr the Viking and Odallus, even if those are too damn difficult.
The creators are Causal Bit Games, the same ones that made Battle Princess Madelyn which just came out. Hope that this one is more substantial and that they learned from their mistakes.
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Dec 17, 2018 17:20:38 GMT -5
Yessss. I skipped the last few months so that the final results are a bit more interesting. There'll be some stats and stuff too. And I'm in the same boat. I think I probably have claimed my last game for this year already, unless I finish Smash Ultimate or Dark Souls somehow this year. Or maybe I'll throw in Sonic Labyrinth if I'm feeling adventurous.
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Post by Bumpyroad on Dec 18, 2018 6:49:20 GMT -5
I grew up Ninja Gaiden 1. Ninja Gaiden 3 was the first game i've tried and then went backwards. It's a fine game on its own and the best in the classic series. I can say the same about Streets of Rage 3 & Golden Axe 3. Will block everyone who don't agree with me.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 19, 2018 8:56:30 GMT -5
Phantasy Star (Switch) I haven't played or finished PS in a very long time so I figured I'd give the Ages version a play. I used the Ages mode which ups experience, meseta dropped and lowers the encounter rate. That ends up highlighting how much of the difficulty of the original mode really just comes from being underleveled and underequipped from the skimpy battle rewards. I never had to grind at all and breezed through the whole game minus the last two bosses which ties into my main issue with the game. The range of damage and encounter rate is very wide so those bosses in particular can do barely any damage or knock off nearly half of a characters health! With encounters, I would sometimes go through an entire floor and not have a single battle or sometimes have several with only a few steps in between. The fact that there's no MP restoratives or way to target individual enemies really saps battles of any strategy.
I think the dungeons themselves are so-so. Most of them are very simple with a few much more complex ones without a whole lot in the middle. The Ages version gives you the option of having an automap which does help immensely for the complex dungeons. It shows the 3x3 area around you so it also points out drops before you hit them which is nice. The automap also points out hidden walls of which there are actually quite a few. They don't always lead to anything good, but they'll occasionally lead to a large cache of mesetas or a strong enemy. The few more complicated ones aren't even worth exploring since there's rarely anything good in chests and enemies only drop flashes which are obsoleted very early in the game. It's probably unreasonable to expect the dungeon quality of a full crawler, but I'd go so far as to say most of them are exceptionally poor. I've never been fond of them, but the Ages mode really points out how dull many of the layouts are.
The graphics and the FM music are what really shine though. I'm probably in the minority for thinking the PSG soundtrack is awful, sub NES even, and doesn't match the quality of the graphics. The FM soundtrack sounds pretty good and elevates the experience.Rhe dungeon graphics are not that great though. Everything is the same brick texture on all four sides with only differing colors separating dungeons. Everyone mentions that animated movement, but no one seems to mention that turning is nowhere near as good and always shows a generic long corridor before being replaced with the actual geometry.
PS is nice for the most part, but it coasts on the graphics and the setting somewhat. Having fantasy and sci-fi overtly mixed is somewhat innovative for the time since most other games that mixed the two tended to spring it on you at the end with varying degrees of eventual integration e.g. Might & Magic or Ultima II. In terms of gameplay, it really pales in comparison to its immediate contemporaries Megami Tensei I or even Final Fantasy I, but the lack of MT1 in the US and the much later release of FF1 really raised its reputation. For an $8 game now, it'd say it's worth it if only because the Ages mode cuts out all the tedium.
HLTB lists this as 18h which I'm going to arbitrarily cut in half from the lowered encounter rate.
Total: 142 Letters: Complete Time: 629.5h + 438:19:08
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Post by dsparil on Dec 19, 2018 13:32:24 GMT -5
Sonic 3D Blast (Switch) I picked up the Sega Genesis Classics collection mainly for Landstalker, the Shining games and PS 2-4, but the PC version of Sonic 3D Blast is a favorite of mine. I have never played the Genesis version before and I can see why people don't like this game. This feels much more rudimentary than the PC (and Saturn) version even though the core game is the same. The improved graphics and music really do add a lot to the experience, and the Sonic 2 style bonus stages are much better too. The loss of the music was the worst though. The CD soundtrack is a a favorite of mine even though it's quite different than the usual Sonic games. The Genesis soundtrack is a lot blander and more boring. It would have been very interesting if the Director's Cut patch could have been included (beyond a long shot) as the controls do seem to be worse and improvements there are one of the patch's features.
I finished in about 1.5h. I should have written my times down, but I finished each main stage in 5-7 minutes.
Total: 143 Letters: Complete Time: 631h + 438:19:08
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Post by Digitalnametag on Dec 19, 2018 18:21:12 GMT -5
Caladrious Blaze (PS4)
Bought this one in the PSN sales for $7ish last weekend. The art caught my eye and lo and behold one of my favorite character designers Suzuhito Yasuda happened to do the artwork for it! Finally managed to beat the game without using a continue today (on easy...). This unlocks the true final boss after stage five.
I hardly ever play shmups but I had a lot of fun with this one. Lots of characters and abilities to choose from. Each character ship has a base shot and three shot abilities on a separate meters that can be leveled up post stage. Beating the game with a character allows you to mix and match their three load out shots with others which is neat. Some of the characters are clearly better than others (Caladrious base homing shot especially) but this seems to be balanced by lower scores due to the way multipliers build. Not sure how the game compares to other shmups though. Standard play through takes about 30 minutes. I got about 60% of the trophies and the rest look to require nearly perfect plays so I'mma pass on that. Just sounds more frustrating than fun. Hats off to anyone that can get the Platinum on this one. Persona Dancing Platinum it ain't.
Had more fun playing this than I expected. Anyone have some modern shmup recommendations on the PSN or Switch for me?
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Post by dsparil on Dec 20, 2018 7:00:33 GMT -5
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Switch) I like the Alex Kidd games a lot and do wonder a little bit what Sega would have been like if Alex Kidd had stayed their mascot. It would have been nice to at least get more of them! The Alex Kidd "Christmas present" in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was a delight though. This isn't the last game, but it's the only Genesis game; the last game is a Shinobi parody. I've always liked how the last level, the eponymous castle, is actually a fairly lengthy and winding area.
HLTB lists this as 1.5h.
Total: 144 Letters: Complete Time: 632.5h + 438:19:08
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