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Post by Woody Alien on Nov 28, 2019 10:06:06 GMT -5
Tecmo's famous fantasy action-puzzler and all of its sequels and related games. I wanted to like this game more but I always found it too difficult and frustrating for its own good. Especially since it's hard to concentrate on the puzzles when you're being constantly under attack.
The sequel and spin-offs do a better job of being puzzlers that aren't so punishing and obtuse, but, as always happens, they are generally ignored and the original game is the only one to be ported again and again until the end of time. A pity, also because the Zodiac theme is interesting but underused, besides being "exotic" for Japanese audiences I guess?
Bit of silliness: the name of the sorceress from the Monster Rancher spin-off game, Nada, always reminds me of either Roddy Piper's character from "They Live" or this Italian singer who was popular in the 70s and is still active:
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Nov 28, 2019 10:18:18 GMT -5
Love the first game (on NES anyway). Someone needs to hack the controls in the SMS version, it has a nice OST.
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Post by kingmike on Nov 28, 2019 13:29:51 GMT -5
No mention of the level creation mode in Solomon's Key 2/Fire 'n Ice. The Japanese version includes battery-backup RAM to save user levels (like 22 I think), but Tecmo cheapened out on the western versions and removed it, letting players only create a single level.
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Post by condroid on Nov 28, 2019 14:03:53 GMT -5
I'm a big fan of the original design which had relatively open levels that allowed for different strategies and rewarded exploration. I like most of the sequels/clones somewhat less as they moved to a more puzzle-based design over time. The newer games are maybe a bit more focused but most of it now basically comes down to "figure out the solution we had in mind for this level". There is a 3DS game in this style that illustrates this problem fairly well. One fantastic game in the original style is Spherical. The basic game mechanics (you can build/destroy blocks) are based on Solomon's Key but there is a twist: after a few seconds a ball appears at the top of the screen and you have to create a path to guide it to the exit. Like Solomon's Key it has a ton of hidden secrets and bonus rooms but it also adds some pretty cool new features like a co-op mode, boss fights, warp zones, and a password system (one of the biggest flaws in the original imo). The game has 100 rooms including a few specifically designed with the co-op mode in mind and the C64 port features some nice tunes by Chris Huelsbeck/Ramiro Vaca.
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Post by Woody Alien on Dec 1, 2019 10:40:43 GMT -5
No mention of the level creation mode in Solomon's Key 2/Fire 'n Ice. The Japanese version includes battery-backup RAM to save user levels (like 22 I think), but Tecmo cheapened out on the western versions and removed it, letting players only create a single level. Whoops! I did put a screenshot of the options menu but forgot to talk about editor mode. My bad.
condroid: you are right, but (beside not remembering about it) Spherical still becomes its own thing and is not a spin-off or a blatant rip-off like the others games mentioned. Thanks for suggesting it though, it's a cool game!
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