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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jul 13, 2020 5:17:31 GMT -5
So I want to brush up on my knowledge of the late 80s-early 90s games in these genres. Will be playing some of these after I finish Within a Deep Forest and that Toejam & Earl remake probably.
Which do you like best and which seem like the more important/relevant ones to play today?
D/Generation (AMI/PC, 1991) Esper Dream (FDS, 1987)(fan translated) Starflight (PC (1986/MD, 1991 (Remake)) - MD Paradroid 90 (AMI, 1990/AST)(Remake)
Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (PC-88/PC-98/MSX, 1989/PCE CD, 1992)(fan translated on MSX) - SNES?
Radia Senki: Reimeihen (NES, 1991) Dungeon Explorer II (PCE CD, 1993) Little Big Adventure/Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure (PC, 1994/PS1, 1997/iOS, 2014) - steam remaster? Mystic Towers (PC, 1994) Dungeon Explorer (PCE, 1989/MCD, 1994)
Moonstone (AMI/PC, 1991)? Esper Dream 2 (NES, 1992) Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters (PC, 1992/3DO, 1994) Eggerland Mystery 2 (MSX, 1986) Willow (NES, 1989)? - Started playing but got bored last time Shiryou Sensen: War of the Dead Part 2 (MSX, 1988/PC-88, 1989)? Cowboy Kid (NES, 1991) Xak II: Rising of the Redmoon (MSX, 1990/PCE CD, 1992) The Lone Ranger (NES, 1991) Little Ninja Brothers (NES, 1989)?
The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang (SNES) Al-Qadim/Al Qadim: The Genie's Curse (PC, 1994) Xak III: The Eternal Recurrence (PC-98/FMT, 1993/PCE CD, 1994) StarTropics (NES, 1990)? - w/ hack? Made it about halfway before Jajamaru Gekimaden: Maboroshi no Kinmajou (NES, 1990)(fan translated) Ninja Taro/Sengoku Ninja-Kun (GB, 1991)? Xak: The Tower of Gazzel/"Xak 2.5" (MSX/PC-88/PC-98, 1991) Super Ninja Boy/Super Chinese World (SNES, 1991)? Super Chinese World 2: Uchuu Ichibuto Daikai (SNES, 1993) Heimdall 2 (PCs, 1994)?
There's some more but that seemed like a good place to cut off.
Oh and if you want to link to your review of a game go ahead.
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Post by dsparil on Jul 13, 2020 8:24:48 GMT -5
To pick one, Star Control II no question and obviously the modern Ur-Quan Masters version which is based on the 3DO port. I think the original DOS version hasn't aged as well and lacks the legitimately good voiced dialogue that got added on 3DO.
Starflight is also very important, but there’s a lot of rough edges particularly around save management which has to done manually from the DOS prompt. The Genesis version is different to the point that it should be considered totally separately.
Other thoughts:
D/Generation - I think this hasn’t aged super well although it was well regarded at the time. I’ve also had a lot of trouble getting the original version to run properly, but there’s been a rerelease fairly recently. It is a little scummy that the version with the original graphics is a separate purchase from the one with crummy new graphics. I feel like I dodged a bullet in not getting that one, but it also left me irritated enough to not buy the straight port.
Little Big Adventure - I like this and the sequel, but think that one is better. Not sure if it’s really important particularly since it’s basically a follow up to the significantly more important Alone in the Dark. The PS version clears up some issues but is lower resolution. I haven’t tried the updated version.
Mystic Towers - I don’t really see this as being important at all or the earlier side scroller. I don’t like it anyway. I think it would have been totally forgotten like the original game if it hadn’t been published by Apogee.
Al-Qadim - It is fairly unique in being a D&D action-adventure game, but the gameplay isn’t that great and pretty basic. SSI was nearing the end of their D&D license and was just throwing stuff at the wall to see if it'd stick by Al-Qadim.
StarTropics - I like it a lot, but it’s a bit mixed in terms of importance. It has more significance to Nintendo history as a Japanese developed western exclusive, but I don’t see it as being important in the grand scheme of things.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jul 13, 2020 9:33:46 GMT -5
Thanks, but what is it you dislike about mystic towers exactly? The music was what caught my attention as well as playing as an old man.
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Post by dsparil on Jul 13, 2020 9:57:10 GMT -5
The controls are clunky, and enemies have way too much HP. It wouldn't be too bad if you didn't have to defeat all the monsters in each tower. I always found it to be a little bit boring because of that. It's mainly just in a genre that doesn't have much shareware representation.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jul 13, 2020 11:48:32 GMT -5
Aah I see. Thanks for the heads up.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 7, 2020 3:52:01 GMT -5
To pick one, Star Control II no question and obviously the modern Ur-Quan Masters version which is based on the 3DO port. I think the original DOS version hasn't aged as well and lacks the legitimately good voiced dialogue that got added on 3DO. In UQM, is there a way to toggle higher game speed or fast-forward during auto-pilot travel between systems?
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Post by dsparil on Aug 7, 2020 8:03:06 GMT -5
I don't think you can.
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Post by toei on Aug 7, 2020 15:38:05 GMT -5
I don't recommend playing the MSX Xak games. It's tempting to do the series in order, but the MSX has incredibly choppy scrolling, which sucks for anything action-based. Xak III PCE-CD is a really solid (and brief) game, though. There are no subs during the handful of anime cutscenes, but you can get a text translation of those (I think gamefaqs has it). The first Xak did get a SNES translation, but it's said to be the worst port of the game. The main thing is they slowed down the gameplay enormously and force you to do a ton of grinding compared to the better versions. I've actually tested this myself; you level up several times faster in the PCE-CD version. Hopefully PCE-CD Xak 1 & 2 is translated one day. I don't like most of those NES games you mentioned, except for StarTropics which is pretty cool. Super Ninja Boy is one of those games that sounds a lot better than it is, too. The random encounters get extremely annoying. I do like Spike McFang. It's a nice mid-tier, light-hearted SNES ARPG.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 7, 2020 17:02:02 GMT -5
So I've beaten Xak SNES since then (the crossed out games I've beaten since posting the thread) - It was mostly mediocre besides the music I thought but yeah, I found the MSX one a bit too sluggish when I had a look at it. Thanks for the info on Xak 3 and I agree regarding the PCE CD 1 & 2 pack. minirevver.weebly.com/xak-the-art-of-visual-stage-snes.htmlI liked the world in Little Ninja Bros and the real-time combat was fine but yeah, seems like you have to use some GG codes for those games to make the pacing more tolerable. Which I'll probably try. Radia Senki also seemed pretty cool though I only tried it briefly after struggling a bit with SC2. Right now I'm doing a bit better in the latter so it's taking up most of my time.
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Post by toei on Aug 7, 2020 17:22:26 GMT -5
I will say that Radia is above-average for a NES RPG, but I'm just not a fan of NES RPGs in general. For me this is really a genre that came into its own on 16-bit consoles. The exceptions are Dragon Quest IV, Final Fantasy III and Just Breed, all three of which feel more 16-bit in substance (if not aesthetically). DQIII, Glory of Heracles 2 and Silva Saga are also pretty good. That's pretty much it for me.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 7, 2020 17:37:59 GMT -5
From what I've played I agree, though the Action RPGs and AAs tend to hold up better for me. It's basically from Crystalis onwards that I start actually enjoying the NES ones without hacks or codes. But I grew up with Wonder Boy 3 and Golvellius for SMS and shortly after those I played games like Zelda 3 and Soul Blazer for SNES so those were my gateway to the genre(s).
FF3 was a pretty good turn-based one, and I enjoyed the DQ3 remake for SNES for the most part. I think that'll do for a history lesson on TB console ones right now.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Dec 8, 2020 13:37:49 GMT -5
Thoughts on these?: Efera & Jiliora Emblem From Darkness Karakuri Kengoden Musashi Lord Karakuri Jin Hashiru Ultima: Runes of Virtue 1-2 Famicom Jump II Saikyou no 7 Nin Ninja Boy 2 The Summoning Darkmere Veil of Darkness Magicoal Ruin: Kami no Isan
Brandish 2 PC-98 Equinox Etoile Princesse Ecstatica StarTropics 2 King's Field 1-3 Brandish 3 Monster Max
Brain Lord Basted
Götzendiener Dragonstone Blood Gear Cybermage: Darklight Awakening Shining Wisdom Big Sky Trooper Addams Family Values Rejoice: Aretha Oukoku no Kanata Ladystalker Crystal Beans from Dungeon Explorer
Super Chinese World 3 Legend of Oasis Linkle Liver Story
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Brandish VT Speris Legacy Indiana Jones Desktop Adventure and Yoda Stories The Faery Tale Adventure 2 Mageslayer Community Pom
Granstream Saga Lands of Lore 2 ES: Battlespire Sub Culture
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Post by mainpatr on Dec 8, 2020 14:05:51 GMT -5
Basted is all of 1-2 hours long and really basic(and somewhat hentai!). Crystal Beans is just SFC Dungeon Explorer 2.
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Post by Snake on Dec 8, 2020 14:16:15 GMT -5
Brain Lord - I really enjoyed Brain Lord. It's one of those action/puzzle RPG's that off the radar, but I found kind of charming. It's been years since I played it though. I racked my brain and got stuck at a few sections, but the solutions to those puzzles ended up being very simple. Graphically and gameplay wise, kind of reminds me of Soul Blazer and 7th Saga.
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Post by spanky on Dec 8, 2020 14:25:00 GMT -5
I've only played a handful of those.
Startropics 2 - I like both Startropics games. The sequel isn't quite as well loved as the original but I still enjoy it. It ditches the cool "aliens in the south seas" setting of the first game for a more standard time travel plot. It has better control than the original and some silly humor here and there. It's fairly short too.
I really don't like Super Ninja Boy at all so I don't know if I could recommend Super Chinese World 3. It did just get a translation though so it miiight be worth checking out.
Addaam's Family Values is a kinda below average Zelda clone where your weapon is tied to your health - so you lose all your range if you're low on health. One of my most hated gameplay mechanics. It also uses passwords instead of saved games. I know it's moot in the era of save states but still, yuck!
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