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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 11, 2008 21:54:20 GMT -5
www.hardcoregaming101.net/ninjagaiden/ninjagaiden.htmDerboo has written a fantastic look at the Ninja Gaiden, which goes above and beyond the call of duty, with extensive screenshot comparisons, comparisons between the old and new game series, and looks at the merchandise. [edit derboo: url updated]
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Post by morphballer on Sept 11, 2008 22:43:37 GMT -5
Very cool! This is right up my ally.
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Post by Pitchfork on Sept 11, 2008 22:48:21 GMT -5
I'm impressed. \ Side note: a few weeks ago, I got a voicemail message at three in the morning from my friend James.
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Post by morphballer on Sept 11, 2008 22:52:15 GMT -5
Isn't there a Shinobi game with a "castle gazing" scene?
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Post by ReyVGM on Sept 11, 2008 23:04:34 GMT -5
On the first page, the image saying "Round 8 Clear" is repeated twice. Also, could you put the Lynx NG screenshots a bit bigger? I can't belive how small the Lynx's res was.
There's also something that must be mentioned about the Lynx's Ninja Gaiden 3, which is what basically broke the game and made everyone hate it (despite being a really close and faithful port): the controls, they switched the attack and jump buttons (like the Gamecube Megaman Collection) and completely destroyed the game. It's totally unplayable unless you've never played a platformer on a 2 button pad before and aren't spoiled by always having the run/attack button first and jump in second.
Kudos on mentioning that NG3 has flat platforms. I always knew NG3 had something different but couldn't quite put my finger on it.
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Post by derboo on Sept 12, 2008 1:18:34 GMT -5
Isn't there a Shinobi game with a "castle gazing" scene? If that's the case, that would be a great inclusion. I guess it would be one of the Super Shinobi games? On the first page, the image saying "Round 8 Clear" is repeated twice. I'm currently not at home, so I can't have a look at my original files, but I might have planned to include another screenshot, copied the table cell, but forgot to change the file name. In that case, there would be an unused screenshot for that game in the set of files I sent in... If it's a placeholder because I provided too few shots, then I can send in more next week. I wouldn't have noticed about the Lynx button setting, since i've never had the chance to play it on an original Lynx. I've had more of a problem with my german keyboard switching the y and z buttons and the emulator that hadn't any options for the controls... I'm also usually pretty fast to pick up new control schemes, unless the 2 keys are 3 inches far... Is it important on an article written today, with all the varying genres, control pads and schemes we have now? I'd think if someone reads the article and gets interested, they'd run it in an emulator 99% percent of the time, anyway. Btw., are there any working Lynxes left in the world at all?
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Post by ReyVGM on Sept 12, 2008 2:55:09 GMT -5
I don't agree with the fact that you should give an opinion of a game on the article assuming that everyone is going to play it on an emulator. If anything, the emulator deviates from the actual experience one should have on the actual system, even if it's a terrible experience. For example, I've hated some games on a real console, but on an emulator using fast forward and save states I've come to like the game. Should I give out good scores or good opinions of the game because I used functions not intended on the real system? Of course, I'm not expecting you to buy a Lynx or anything, but to not mention the inverted controls just because you can change the keys on an emulator is something I do not agree with. I also think that the whole keyboard switching the Y and Z keys are actually the switched controls in the Lynx NG3. It's something that every review has mentioned as a major "WTF?" in that game. And yep, there are still lots of people that have their original Lynxes and games. There are a good number of fan communities about the system on the net. Hell, if there are Jaguar and CDi fans, there can be Lynx fans too
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Post by derboo on Sept 12, 2008 3:27:39 GMT -5
Of course, I'm not expecting you to buy a Lynx or anything, but to not mention the inverted controls just because you can change the keys on an emulator is something I do not agree with. I also think that the whole keyboard switching the Y and Z keys are actually the switched controls in the Lynx NG3. It's something that every review has mentioned as a major "WTF?" in that game. No, I don't mean that, german keyboards have switched y and z buttons compared to the rest of the world, which renders practically any game with hardcoded controls (like the lynx emulator, which uses z and x) virtually unplayable. But there's a way around this by switching WindowsXP to a foreign input scheme. Maybe you're right about that "everyone plays it on an emulator" argument being rather cheap, but then again the situation remains that most of the games out by now aren't almost all 2d-sidescrollers with the exact same control scheme anymore, so I don't know. Then there's me as the reviewer, and I never felt things like this to be an issue even in good old 8-bit times. But after all, it would be no problem to include this, if it's recommendable... I surely won't be able to convey some kind of "WTF" experience message, though, and it would probably turn out a half bored "some people say, that... but I don't feel it matters..."
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Post by ReyVGM on Sept 12, 2008 3:43:49 GMT -5
"and I never felt things like this to be an issue even in good old 8-bit times"
Maybe because 99.9% of the games use a normal control scheme. But try and play the Gamecube Megaman Collection and you'll see how frustrating it is to "re-learn" how to play the games again just because the Jump and Shoot buttons are reversed. I wonder whose dumb idea was to do that. Seriously, who does that?
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Post by derboo on Sept 12, 2008 5:01:42 GMT -5
I'm positive that one or two of my old Game Boy games did that, and didn't also a number of Mega Drive games swap the button functions (ok, technically it's not 2-button anymore with that)?
We're learning to press 10+ buttons with individual functions together with up to 3 directional input units for each game nowadays, can it be that much of a problem to adjust to 2 buttons switched around?
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Post by YourAverageJoe on Sept 12, 2008 5:03:49 GMT -5
I've tried to play Ninja Gaiden, using an NES emulator. I challenged myself to NEVER use save-states in that game except in-between stages, and even then, I can safely say that this game dicks you over to no end.
I'm serious, enemies in the first stage gank you, so one hit can lead to you losing 80% of your health bar, or even worse. You can screw yourself over by JUMPING OVER WALLS AND DYING! You can wall-jump up to the screen above the one you're in, but if you do, you'll most likely "miss" the stairs you were "supposed" to use, and die, regardless of the fact that if there were no separation between screens, you'd have been just fine. If you die to a boss, you get sent to the beginning of the level, but if you die right in front of the door leading to the boss, you get sent back to a mid-level checkpoint.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. This game dicks you over, and I'll advise against playing it without extensive savestating or ulcer pills at the ready.
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Post by derboo on Sept 12, 2008 5:19:56 GMT -5
If you die to a boss, you get sent to the beginning of the level, but if you die right in front of the door leading to the boss, you get sent back to a mid-level checkpoint. Is that true for every boss? I remembered to this only to be the case with the last boss, but it's been a while since i've last lost to one of the other bosses, so my memories possibly weren't accurate enough. Gotta check next week.... Should I mention the wall jump ladder glitch in the article? I didn't think much about it, since once you know it, you just don't do it again... may be worth a mention nonetheless... The game dicks you over in a way any memorizing game does, comparably maybe to some of the harder R-Type games. If you want to beat it (without savestates) you HAVE to learn the levels (and constantly die in the process). As an Introduction to the NES series, I'd recommend the Japanese Famicom version of Ninja Gaiden III, which might be the most forgiving of them all.
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Post by zzz on Sept 12, 2008 7:23:23 GMT -5
There's also something that must be mentioned about the Lynx's Ninja Gaiden 3, which is what basically broke the game and made everyone hate it (despite being a really close and faithful port): the controls, they switched the attack and jump buttons (like the Gamecube Megaman Collection) and completely destroyed the game. It's totally unplayable unless you've never played a platformer on a 2 button pad before and aren't spoiled by always having the run/attack button first and jump in second. "and I never felt things like this to be an issue even in good old 8-bit times" Maybe because 99.9% of the games use a normal control scheme. But try and play the Gamecube Megaman Collection and you'll see how frustrating it is to "re-learn" how to play the games again just because the Jump and Shoot buttons are reversed. I wonder whose dumb idea was to do that. Seriously, who does that? This has got to be the single oddest complaint that I've ever heard of. I really don't think that this is even an issue or that it needs to be addressed.
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Post by YourAverageJoe on Sept 12, 2008 9:51:23 GMT -5
I don't really care whether you add that or not, derboo, but the phrase "jump & run" feels off when most reviews would rather use the word "platforming."
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Post by gpremier on Sept 12, 2008 10:00:13 GMT -5
about the nes trilogy, i'm not sure but maybe another game may be mentionned : V,I.C.E project doom. It plays ALOT like ninja gaiden, share the same quality and difficulty and have the same kind of storytelling with cutscene. What's diferent is that you're not a ninja and there is a few racing and shooting ministage(which are quite good). But the link is easy to do. I don't remember if it's done by the same company however.
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