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Post by JoeQ on Oct 10, 2020 14:15:49 GMT -5
Enchanted Arms (X360) - First playthrough, Time: 61:27:54 (timer) Rather generic early HD era JRPG from FromSoft. Not exceptional in any regard, but it has some neat ideas and systems and overall was a very solid experience.
I got all the achievements, golems and skills, beat the bonus dungeon and got the happy ending.
Rating: 4/5Alphabet Challenge: ABCDEFGH-J-LM--P-RSTUV---Z Number Challenge: --2-------
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Post by personman on Oct 10, 2020 18:19:31 GMT -5
Castlevania III Dracula's Curse (NES)- first time Think I saw someone played through the japanese version. I went through the American one on the Switch collection so, if it can't be counted no worries. The rule about only one person claiming a game got dropped a few years ago. As Snake implied when he posted about it, the American version of III is considered harder than the Japanese version. I don't think you'd suddenly change your mind, but I'd give it a spin since it's in that collection too. I should note that they are too similar for each to count for you if you do finish it, but feel free to post your thoughts on the difference even if you don't finish it. Ah, serves me right for skimming over the op. Guess I assumed since I got chewed out about that kind of thing a few years back. You just reminded me that the japanese versions are included on this, yeah I might take a gander just to hear the different music. But otherwise... Super Castlevania 4 (SNES)-Replay, couple hours Liked this one much better, which is no surprise since it's my favorite classicvania (not that I played many of them, what I'm attempting to rectify now). Besides the much gentler difficulty I just adore this games atmosphere. It's extremely somber in its tone of music and graphical style and honestly even though I get that the series was born from inspiration taken from schlocky b-movie monster films the kinda quieter darker tone just fits so well to the point where I wish the series stuck to it more. Sure it dabbled in it here and there in the metroidvania generation but I can't recall when it was so pronounced as it was here. Otherwise, its just so much nicer to play, have some control over your jump, and being able to attack in multiple directions is just so nice. Especially so my lazy ass didn't have to jump for every candle. I just think it's cool how it really doesn't pull its punch that much compared to the original, it just gives you a bit more freedom in how to tackle things and that's it for the most part. Only thing that got on my nerves is its habit of constantly having a bat swoop down to you in a split second and one the major platforming parts in the second to the last level was rather wonky (i fell through those crumbling stairs many times for not much reason I could see) imo, best classicvania. Best soundtrack, best art direction. Bestest. rating: 9/10
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Post by halftheisland on Oct 11, 2020 7:56:56 GMT -5
Wow it's been a while since I had something to put in this thread. Real life got in the way a bit over the last few months but does mean I've got several things half-finished to hopefully get through in the coming weeks.
Claiming Earth Defence Force 4.1: Shadow of New Despair (PS4, first time, around 30 hrs).
This sure is an EDF game - it's got all the stuff you know and love. Giant bugs, mad storyline, the whole business. I mostly really enjoyed it, compared to other EDF games I've played it didn't seem to have quite the same issues with straining the system and major lag when hundreds of enemies are onscreen, which was a pleasant surprise.
The core gameplay mechanic is there and is pretty solid. Shoot bugs, collect weapons/armour, rinse and repeat. There are a couple of real standout missions with some spectacular stuff happening, particularly the battles with the Walking Fortress Balam against Erginus. I actually found that rather than the flashy weapons, a standard combination of assault rifle and sniper rifle was best for taking on most situations. In terms of pure DPS and effectiveness, sniper rifles stand head and shoulders above most other weapons I encountered, and don't come with the risk of collateral damage like e.g. rocket launchers.
My main criticism is that the mission structure was very off, particularly towards the latter half of the game as the story starts to pick up. Very often felt like one minute you are taking part in a last-ditch, life or death battle for the survival of humanity against ever increasing odds, and then the next mission is almost like an early-game standard fight against a few swarms of giant bugs. Really ruined the pacing and meant that it felt like more of a slog than it needed to.
I played through all 89 missions as a Ranger and enjoyed it, but won't be going back to it unless I have a group of people to play co-op with.
A good, solid 6/10.
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Post by halftheisland on Oct 11, 2020 17:16:02 GMT -5
Wow it's been a while since I had something to put in this thread. Real life got in the way a bit over the last few months but does mean I've got several things half-finished to hopefully get through in the coming weeks. Claiming Earth Defence Force 4.1: Shadow of New Despair (PS4, first time, around 30 hrs). This sure is an EDF game - it's got all the stuff you know and love. Giant bugs, mad storyline, the whole business. I mostly really enjoyed it, compared to other EDF games I've played it didn't seem to have quite the same issues with straining the system and major lag when hundreds of enemies are onscreen, which was a pleasant surprise. The core gameplay mechanic is there and is pretty solid. Shoot bugs, collect weapons/armour, rinse and repeat. There are a couple of real standout missions with some spectacular stuff happening, particularly the battles with the Walking Fortress Balam against Erginus. I actually found that rather than the flashy weapons, a standard combination of assault rifle and sniper rifle was best for taking on most situations. In terms of pure DPS and effectiveness, sniper rifles stand head and shoulders above most other weapons I encountered, and don't come with the risk of collateral damage like e.g. rocket launchers. My main criticism is that the mission structure was very off, particularly towards the latter half of the game as the story starts to pick up. Very often felt like one minute you are taking part in a last-ditch, life or death battle for the survival of humanity against ever increasing odds, and then the next mission is almost like an early-game standard fight against a few swarms of giant bugs. Really ruined the pacing and meant that it felt like more of a slog than it needed to. I played through all 89 missions as a Ranger and enjoyed it, but won't be going back to it unless I have a group of people to play co-op with. A good, solid 6/10. ...and just like that, another one bites the dust. Deus Ex (PC / Windows 10, replay, 18:37 based on last quicksave)Enough ink has been spilled over that there is little meaningful that I can add. One of my favourite games of all time, and probably the first game I could say really made me passionate about the possibilities of the medium. I install it every few years, boot it up and play for a few hours before putting it back, but this time I made myself push through that mid-game inertia and rediscovered just why I love it. It's janky as hell, has aged incredibly badly in places (OK, basically everywhere), and towards the end of the game is clearly cut back from what it was intended to achieve, and yet it still manages to be something special. Unquestionably one of the greats and a rare 10/10 from me.
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Post by dsparil on Oct 13, 2020 7:51:21 GMT -5
Picross e4 (3DS, First Time)
At this point, the e series pretty much enters a state of stasis. Free is no longer a puzzle set and is instead an optional rule. Regular picross is bumped up to 105 puzzles, there's 2 Micross puzzles and 45 Mega puzzles with up to 15 more unlocked by having e, e2 or e3.
I finished in 9:42.
Rating: 8
Edit: Can't believe I forgot to mention it, but 20x15 puzzles also return! A single 15 puzzle page, but that's still something.
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Post by spanky on Oct 13, 2020 10:06:10 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES, replay)
OK, so this is already on the list but....I've been into playing games lately that can be beaten in an hour or less (one of my favorite things about 8-bit games to be honest).
Popular opinion about this game is mostly negative...but I honestly like it quite a bit. It is loaded with questionable 8-bit design (cheap, unavoidable hits in particular) but I can deal with it. I've played this game ever since I was a child though and I think that makes you forgiving and adaptable towards that sort of game design.
The water level sucks but I was able to beat that thing when I was literally 6 years old. It is not unreasonably difficult.
On the other hand, the final hallway in the Technodrome kinda is. It is loaded with guys that have jetpacks that take a ton of hits do a ton of damage and are near impossible to avoid. there's a part where you have to trick their AI into flying away by crouching, otherwise they'll crash right into you. If you don't have all 4 turtles near full health you probably won't make it.
Shredder by comparison is a joke because he is one of the few enemies in the game that flinch when you hit him. Just stand on the top platform with Don and hit him every time he jumps up.
People complain about the departures with the source material...but all the changes are fine with me. It's weird and I like weird. I think one of my favorites areas is the abandoned trainyard at night. With the creepy music and patrolling helicopters it actually has a bit of atmosphere.
The amount of damage you deal out is sort of arcane and poorly explained. I know Don does more damage and you do more damage when at 1/2 health but aside from that, there's lots of times where I swear that it only takes me 2 hits to kill an enemy when it should take 3. Is there an FAQ out there anywhere that explains the damage mechanics?
It's not perfect by any means but I think I would play this one over the other 8-bit TMNT titles at least.
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Post by lurker on Oct 13, 2020 13:18:45 GMT -5
My favorite of the NES ones is still Manhattan Project. I had the DOS/PC port which actually had an impossible jump due to the gap in the sewer level getting screwed up.
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Post by spanky on Oct 13, 2020 14:20:49 GMT -5
My favorite of the NES ones is still Manhattan Project. I had the DOS/PC port which actually had an impossible jump due to the gap in the sewer level getting screwed up. My cousin had a friend who had the PC port. I remember being amazed at the time by the concept of an NES game also appearing on the computer at the time (I was pretty young). Even though I have a personal preference for the original game, TMNT 3 is definitely superior and could lay a claim at being the best beat-em-up on the system.
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Post by spanky on Oct 13, 2020 15:13:35 GMT -5
Super Castlevania IV (SNES via Super NT, Replay)
OK, so this is also already on the list twice, but I'd really be doing a disservice myself to not play a a Castlevania game during Halloween season.
This might be my favorite of the series and I'm sort of shocked that it's considered a mildly controversial entry. Is it too easy? Yeah, maybe? Do I care? No. Mind you, I don't dislike the restrictions on movement that the NES games have and I understand that the games are built around those restrictions and that's great. However, the SNES Simon is SUCH a joy to control. I love whipping in any direction, jumping on stairs, and changing my direction in mid-air. The game does get fairly challenging towards the end, starting at the 8th level with all the insta kill spikes, but nothing hair pulling. Which is fine, the game is a slow burn in that regard.
The game has a really unique visual style. It feels really gothic, with it's drab colors. The castle is covered in cobwebs, mustiness and overall disrepair. It conveys the feeling you're in an old, haunted castle better than many games in the series. And I love the final battle, despite Dracula not getting a cool second form. One of my favorite visual cues in the game as you start to fight the final few bosses is that the sun is starting to rise, and it's not you that lays the final blow on Dracula, but the window in his room being blown open (divine intervention?) and the sun frying him. Great stuff, very Hammer. And yes, I am a sucker for early SNES era Mode 7 exploitation.
I love the music too, very atmospheric, baroque and jazzy. Once again with the final battle, one of my favorite moments is when you start to get the upper hand on Dracula, the music changes to Simon's theme. Very triumphant.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2020 15:41:25 GMT -5
I think the reason Super Castlevania IV has become something of a black sheep entry is that the whip gameplay is actually quite different to other entries. For me I think the whip is overlong and means there is some redundancy to enemy placement and attack pattern design. Of course on the other side of the coin it also makes you feel very powerful. I think it's a nice game but I'd take either Rondo or Bloodlines over it.
I do have some nice memories of Turtles 2 The Arcade Game on NES. It was actually the first video game I actually bought for myself, with money I'd gotten for my 8th birthday. I have a lot of great childhood memories of that game so of course I prefer it to 1 or 3.
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Post by zerker on Oct 13, 2020 15:53:30 GMT -5
spanky, being in the list already doesn't matter, unless YOU have already played the game once in the same year
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Post by dsparil on Oct 14, 2020 12:21:27 GMT -5
Panzer Dragoon Mini (Game Gear, First Time)
Not worth playing at all unless you really want to see what a few PD enemies and bosses look rendered on the Game Gear. You still have the two attacks, but homing attacks don't have an animation so the targeted enemy instantly dies. Both buttons are the same action, and it would have been nice if one was the standard "hold down for homing" and the other was a rapid fire. You get three difficulty levels and five stages (the site says incorrectly says four) with no accuracy or score keeping in any way. This is recognizable as a PD game, but that's about it.
Rating: 4
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Post by personman on Oct 14, 2020 17:11:06 GMT -5
Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge (GB)- first time
I already went through the first Gameboy game on my 3DS a while back so I skipped that one. From what I remember of it I can say this game is a decent improvement though it feels like you still move just as slow as you did before, only now you can actually react to things probably since the engine isn't being brought to its knees all the time. Not a ton to say about this, it had some half way cool gimmicks like candles lighting the room and all the alternating climbing ropes where a neat challenge.
I did really get annoyed with Dracula though, with how ridiculously slow you move the window you have to hit him is so small its almost impossible to hit him and get to safety if you need to get close. I got frustrated and looked up a long play to see how to beat him and saw the fight was a joke if you had the axe on hand so... I played through the second to last level again to make sure I had it with me this time around. How annoying. Other than that, its just fine. Does a decent job with what they had but it's merely a curiosity now.
Rating:5
Feel like some day I need to check out Legends eventually just so I can say I've seen the whole Gameboy trilogy. Though I think I heard that one is pretty bad. I already beat Bloodlines a while back so all I have left is Kid Dracula and I'll be done with this collection. Kinda want to skip that too though lol, doesn't look that interesting.
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Post by dsparil on Oct 15, 2020 6:09:22 GMT -5
I thought Legends was pretty good although I did also like BR more than you did. Most of that is in comparison to the first GB game which feels like a beta that accidentally got released. Kid Dracula is okay, but the GB remake/sequel is better.
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Post by dsparil on Oct 17, 2020 6:29:15 GMT -5
This Strange Realm of Mine (Switch, First Time)
I had stayed away from this because the eShop description is so pretentious, but for $1.29 down from $13 I figured I'd give it a try. This is actually pretty good and very idiosyncratic although it does constantly cross the line from somewhat meaningful to outright pretension. This is mostly structured like an FPS, and there's some good gameplay and environmental variety. The downside is that every character is basically monologuing at you and it gets to be too much although the bulk of it is optional. They all give you the executive summary at the end which works much better. The good does outweigh the bad at least. For $13, the amount of content is a little skimpy and $5 or $6 would have been a better full price. $1.29 is a total steal in any case.
Edit: I finished in about 2.5h.
Rating: 7
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