wyrdwadGotcha
You are collecting floppy games also? I've got a half dozen floppy games complete in box (mostly KOEI games, and some RPGs), and I am surprised that most of these floppies still work fine
I've basically been going nuts collecting whatever I can get my hands on for a good price. Floppy games, cartridge games... doesn't matter to me, as long as it's relatively cheap and looks like fun.
So far, these are the titles I've picked up:
- The Goonies
Really fun, well-designed platformer. Beat it. Definitely a must-own.
- Youkai Yashiki/Ghost House
Decent, if flawed, platformer. Beat it. Wonky controls, but interesting (if overly cryptic) puzzles and boss solutions. Not a good game, per se, but I got some enjoyment out of it. The swapped controls (A attacks, B jumps) hurt it a bit, though.
- King Kong 2
Flawed but really intriguing Zelda-like with iffy controls but really cool puzzles and a lot to explore. Can't save your game without a tape drive and a copy of Hinotori/Firebird, though, which is ridiculous. Have a copy of Hinotori on the way, but no tape drive (or Megaflashrom), so since I can't save, I haven't popped this one in much. I will probably buy both a tape drive and a Megaflashrom cart in the future, so eventually, I'll play through this.
- Xanadu
Definitely the best 8-bit version of Xanadu, and a great game in general, albeit HARDCORE AS BALLS. Working my way through it slowly, alongside numerous other games. Possibly my favorite title on the system so far, though it has steep competition. Can easily see why this game put Falcom on the map, as for the time it was made, it's just about the most sprawling, involved, successfully ambitious title on the market. Would've absolutely blown my mind if I played it when it was new.
- Cross Blaim
Metroid wannabe. Controls well and looks nice, and seems to have some neat ideas in it (and lots to explore), but it also has really grating music and sound effects. The audio issues make this slightly less appealing to play than other MSX titles, so I've shelved it for the moment, but will definitely go back to it later.
- Borfes and the Five Devils
Obscure Zelda-like I picked up on a whim that turned out to be AWESOME, albeit extremely difficult and unforgiving. Has simple solid-colored sprites, but nice-looking backgrounds and surprisingly good character animation, as well as catchy music (though the sound effects are kind of obnoxious). Working my way through this one, and enjoying it a lot. Some of the sub-weapons and transformations in this game are really creative, with the boomerang in particular being the coolest weapon ever -- after you throw it, it tracks your movement, so you can guide it around the screen to manually seek and destroy enemies from a distance.
- Castlevania/Vampire Killer
Just got this one in the mail yesterday after snagging it for a surprisingly good price ($60 for the Japanese game and manual, albeit with no box). This is probably the game I'd use to showcase the differences in design philosophies between the NES and the MSX, as it's a VERY different game from its NES counterpart. I'm still not sure if I like it better, but I definitely like it a lot, and really appreciate the added strategic elements and exploration. A must-play for sure. Though this one also has swapped controls (A attacks, B jumps), which is really unfortunate.
- F-1 Spirit
An astoundingly deep racing game with a ton of tracks, lots of car customization, brutal AI, and great crashes and explosions. Really shows off what Konami could do with the MSX hardware, and I'm really enjoying the game a lot more than I even thought I would -- though I totally suck at it.
- Zukkoke Yajikita Onmitsu Douchuu/The Fools Yaji & Kita's Top-Secret Journey
Another random purchase I made, this time because it was a HAL Laboratories action RPG that looked kind of like a Goemon game, with gameplay that looked kinda Zelda 2-esque. After much struggle (since there was virtually NO information on this game anywhere online), I managed to beat it just last week. Not a great game, but it has a certain charm to it for sure, along with decent graphics and really catchy music. The biggest draw was trying to figure out the solutions to obtuse '80s puzzles in a game that I couldn't just look up a FAQ or walkthrough for. Eventually did wind up enlisting the help of some msx.org people to help me figure out the last few clues, though.
- Knightmare III: Shalom
I need to sit down and play this game sometime, as it seems really good, but I've only put a very small amount of time into it so far. It looks kind of like a Zelda-like at first glance, but actually has no regular combat -- just conversation and puzzles, punctuated here and there by puzzle-esque boss battles. The dialogue in the game seems absolutely fantastic from the little I've played, though, with your main character having a ludicrous amount of well-written snark -- don't know how well that carries over into the fan-translation, though, since I'm playing in Japanese. But I definitely think I'm going to enjoy this one when I eventually get around to playing through it.
- Xak: The Art of Visual Stage
Played several hours into this game so far. It's a really nice Ys clone with what seems to be a decent story and decent characters, somewhat flawed (but still fun) bump-system combat, and FREAKING AMAZING music -- easily the best music I've heard on the system so far, matched only by its own sequel. The biggest downside of the game, for me, is the jerky scrolling, which not only isn't smooth, it also redraws the screen on-the-fly (resulting in some very distracting tearing), and it slows down when you're traversing more complicated areas, giving the game a very touch-and-go feel overall. But I'm still enjoying it a lot, and definitely plan to play this one to completion when I can.
- Xak II: Rising of the Redmoon
Have only barely played any of the game so far (mostly just popped a few of the disks in to make sure they worked), but once again, the music is outstanding, and the intro cutscene is really epic. This one no longer redraws the screen on the fly, and the framerate seems more consistent, but it's also SLOW -- the scrolling still isn't smooth, and definitely isn't fast. I didn't play far enough to really get into combat, so I can't speak as to its gameplay, but I hear it's awesome, so I look forward to playing more of it after I beat Xak I.
I've got four more games on the way, too: Hinotori/Firebird, Knightmare II: The Maze of Galious, Ashguine II: The Sky Citadel, and Tengoku Yoitoko/Welcome to Heaven.
...Considering I started buying these games just to "tide me over" until I could pick up a Megaflashrom, I think I've done pretty well so far!
And I realize you've probably played a lot of these, but... I dunno, I just felt like posting impressions. I assume you don't mind.
-Tom