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Post by windfisch on Aug 21, 2020 10:10:11 GMT -5
I'm looking for games that more or less resemble the following titles: - Kujaku Ou 1+2 (aka: Spellcaster (Master System) and Mystic Defender (Mega Drive))
- Alisia Dragoon (Mega Drive)
- Shadow Blasters (Mega Drive)
- Magician Lord (Neo Geo)
- Jewel Master (Mega Drive)
- Majyuuou (Super Famicom)
Here are some of the defining traits for this supposed sub-sub-genre, which I took the liberty to name "Magician run 'n gun" (I'm sure someone will come up with a better name, though):
- Sidescrolling run 'n gun gameplay with deliberate pacing similar to Rolling Thunder or Shinobi
- some platforming, but main focus on combat
- magic-based projectiles as the main attack or at least as an integral part of the gameplay
- charge-mechanic to increase attack power
- dark fantasy setting, featuring magic, demons and sometimes unsettling scenery
Games that are close, but not quite what I'm looking for:
- Ghosts 'n Goblins games - too much platforming
- Shinobi games - pretty close (Shadow Dancer in particular), but overall not enough magic and demons
What other titles come to mind and which are your favorites? I'm grateful for any suggestions, even if those don't match all of my criteria.
edit:
Here's a list of mentioned games and my assesment of how close each game fits what I'm looking for ("high"/"mid"/"low", sometimes based on gameplay-footage only, though): title
| gameplay fit
| atmosphere/setting fit
| Valis 2 (PCE)
| high | high
| | Shadow Land/Yokai Dochuki (ARC, ...) | high (?)
| mid (too cute)
| | Willow (ARC) | high | high | | Xargon (PC) | mid - high (?)
| mid - high (?)
| | Little Nemo (NES) | mid (primarily a platformer)
| mid-low (too cute, with the exception of the final boss)
| | Gargoyle's Quest I and II (GB , NES) | low-mid (action adventure, lots of platforming)
| high | | Astyanax (NES) | mid (no projectiles?)
| high
| | Ghostbusters (MD) | high (?)
| mid-high | | Dragon Buster (ARC, NES) | low (?) (not projectile-based, iIrc, proto-action adventure)
| mid (bit too bright and cute)
| | Monster Land series | mid-low (not mainly projectile-based, mostly action adventure)
| mid (too cute)
| | Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS) | low (platformer, not really projectile based)
| low (bright and cute)
| | ESWAT (MD) | high
| low (urban/sci-fi setting)
| | Black Tiger/Black Dragon (ARC) | mid-high | high | | Act Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon (ARC) | mid-high (?)
| mid-high (?) | Psychic World (MSX, SMS/GG)
| mid (leans towards platformer)
| mid-low
| Fire Hawk: Thexder - The Second Contact (PC-88, DOS)
| mid-low (part shoot'em up?)
| low (sci-fi)
| Maze of Galious: Knightmare II/Majou Densetsu II: DG (NES)
| low-mid (maze-like?, action adventure?)
| mid (cute)
| Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)
| low (action adventure, mostly melee combat)
| mid
| Faxanadu (NES)
| low (action adventure)
| mid
| Valkyrie no Densetsu/Legend of Valkyrie (ARC, PCE)
| mid (?)
| mid
| Magic Sword (ARC, SN)
| mid-high
| high
| Ghost Sweeper Mikami (SFC)
| mid (mostly melee combat)
| high
| GegeGe no Kitaro (SFC)
| high (?)
| high
| El Viento (MD)
| high
| high
| Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru (Saturn)
| high
| high
| Cadash (ARC, MD, PCE)
| mid-high
| high
| Magical Pop'n (SN)
| mid (platforming-heavy, mostly melee combat, slightly Metroid-like)
| mid (cute)
| Blades of Vengeance (MD)
| mid-high
| high
| Skyblazer (SN)
| mid (platforming-heavy, mostly melee combat)
| high
| Nightmare Busters (SN)
| mid-high (similar to Gunstar Heroes' fixed shot mode)
| high
| GODS (Amiga, ST, SN, MD)
| mid-high
| high
| The Magician (Amiga)
| low-mid (very slow paced)
| mid
| Hundra (Amstrad CPC,...)
| mid (maze-like structure?, no scrolling)
| mid-high
| Storm Lord (Amiga, ST, C64, MD)
| mid-high (?)
| high
| Popful Mail (MCD, SN, PCE)
| low-mid (Monsterworld-like action adventure)
| mid-high (cute)
| Wardner (ARC, MD)
| mid-high
| mid-high
| Magical Quest 1-3 (SN, GBA)
| low-mid (platformer with minor shooting)
| mid (cute)
| Hocus Pocus (DOS)
| mid-high (fast paced)
| mid (cute)
| Pu·Li·Ru·La (ARC)
| low? (brawler)
| low (cute and bright)
| Shadow of the Beast (Amiga, ST, MD, SN,...)
| mid (only a handful shooting segments, action adventure elements)
| high
| Altered Beast (ARC, MD ...)
| mid (only a handful shooting segments, beat'em up)
| high
| Elf (Amiga, ST,...)
| mid-high? (no scrolling)
| mid (cute)
| Viking Child (Amiga, ST,...)
| low (Monsterland clone)
| mid (cute)
| Legend of Hero Tonma (ARC, PCE)
| high
| mid-high
| Mamono Hunter Yohko (MD)
| mid (lots of platforming, only charge-projectile)
| high
| Risky Woods (Amiga, ST, DOS, MD)
| high
| high
| "Whoaaa, SAVAGE!" (Amiga, ST,...)
| mid (only one third is run 'n gun)
| high
| Hamelin no Violin Tamaki (SFC)
| low (puzzle platformer)
| mid (cute)
| Wiz 'n' Liz (MD, Amiga)
| low-mid (very fast-paced, collectathon platformer)
| mid (cute)
| The Adventures of Lomax (PSX)
| low-mid (platformer)
| mid (cute)
| Exile:Wicked Phenomenon (Turbografx CD)
| low-mid (Action RPG?)
| high
| Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Arc, MD, PCE CD)
| mid (autoscroller)
| low-mid (cute and bright)
| Totally Rad (NES)
| mid (Mega Man-esque)
| mid (kinda cute, but creepy boss designs)
| Valis III (MD, PCE CD)
| mid-high
| high
| Warlock (MD, SN)
| mid-high
| high
| Midnight Wanderers (Arc)
| mid-high
| high
| Wiz (Arc)
| mid
| mid
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Post by mainpatr on Aug 21, 2020 10:29:32 GMT -5
Valis 2(Japanese PC versions)
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 21, 2020 10:57:31 GMT -5
Shadow Land/Yokai Dochuki (ARC/NES, 1987) - First one with a charge attack afaik Willow (ARC, 1989) Xargon (PC, 1993) Little Nemo (NES) - You gain a charge attack for the final level Close: Gargoyle's Quest (GB, 1990) and Gargoyle's Quest II (NES, 1992) - ARPG/Platform Adventure Astyanax (NES ver., 1990) - Stamina-based main attack and spell sub weapons Ghostbusters (MD, 1990) - Non-magical Dragon Buster (ARC, 1985/NES, 1987) - No charge IIRC Wonder Boy in Monster Land (ARC, 1987)/SMS, 1988) and Wonder Boy III/MW II, Monster World III and Monster Boy - Spell sub weapons, no charge Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS, 1986) - The ring (you could also try my romhacks of it  ), no charge ESWAT (MD, 1990) - Non-magical, has a charge attack (you gain it along with the suit after the 2nd level) Black Tiger/Black Dragon (ARC, 1987) - Non-magical sub weapon projectile attack, no charge IIRC Act Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon (ARC, 1989) - Non-magical, no charge Psychic World (MSX, 1988/SMS/GG, 1991) - Non-magical though it might as well be Fire Hawk: Thexder - The Second Contact (PC-88, 1989/PC DOS, 1990) - Non-magical, no charge IIRC Maze of Galious: Knightmare II/Majou Densetsu II: DG (NES, 1987) - Platform Adventure/MV Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES, 1987) - ARPG/Platform Adventue, Fire spell Faxanadu (NES, 1987) - ARPG/PA While it's top down, Valkyrie no Densetsu/Legend of Valkyrie (ARC, 1989/PCE, 1990) basically fits and has some platforming. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2020 11:04:33 GMT -5
Capcom's Magic Sword has magical projectiles and you can recruit magic based assist characters.
Also there's Ghost Sweeper Mikami on Super Famicom.
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Post by mainpatr on Aug 21, 2020 13:12:04 GMT -5
Oh! I forgot to mention GegeGe no Kitaro for SFC.
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Post by Bumpyroad on Aug 21, 2020 14:48:47 GMT -5
Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru(Saturn)
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Post by windfisch on Aug 21, 2020 15:01:50 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Keep 'em coming. To give you a better understanding what I'm looking for I've made a list of mentioned games and how closely they fit my "needs" (see above).
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 21, 2020 17:34:53 GMT -5
I listed stuff like Maze of Galious and Gargoyle's Quest (metroidvania/platform adventure) because you had listed Spellcaster, which is basically such a game (but also a graphic adventure hybrid and mostly linear in structure). www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lc377nXlMwEl Viento is a good fit besides the setting being modern and urban but it still has a lot of dark fantasy elements. Spell attacks are charge-based. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZA4k-LeWa8Cadash as the mage is a pretty good fit except your first couple of main weapons are melee-based and there's no charge attack IIRC. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyBg3aAkyvMBlades of Vengeance as the mage is quite similar to Cadash and you start with a projectile attack. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zgMAandcX4Magical Pop'n - Ammo-based spells and no charge attack IIRC. Avatar and music are cute but the rest should be a good fit. www.youtube.com/watch?v=em1GYe-hOOwSkyblazer - Good fit besides having more of a platforming focus. www.youtube.com/watch?v=57YRyaEK_KcNightmare Busters - Basically Contra with a fantasy reskin. The charge meter is for the dash move which provides some invincibility time, but the game is still brutally hard. I can second Taromaru as a very Alisia Dragoon-like game. |
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Post by derboo on Aug 21, 2020 18:15:31 GMT -5
Some home computer-originated stuff waiting for your rating
- GODS by bitmap brothers
- The Magician (Amiga)
- Hundra (Amstrad CPC)
- Storm Lord
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Post by windfisch on Aug 22, 2020 6:55:24 GMT -5
ommadawnyawn2 No problem. Tbh, I've never played much of Spellcaster before, so I had completely forgotten about the adventure elements at the time of writing (those seem pretty a cool, btw). And I don't really mind games that are different from my "guidelines", I still might get back to those at another time. On the contrary, it's interesting to see what all of you come up with: There's a lot of fascinating stuff I never knew about, like Act Fancer, Shadow Land or Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru. The latter looks exactly like the type I was looking for and thus seems like a good reason to finally check out Saturn emulation. derboo Wow, The Magician looks sloooow, definitely a "stroll 'n gun". But I'm still intrigued, since it's so different from what I'm used to playing. @everyone I'll rate the newer entries properly when I've got more time. What I would love to read are some more thoughts on the games that are mentioned here. Which ones do you like/dislike and why? Is there something interesting or noteworthy about them?
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Post by jorpho on Aug 23, 2020 22:42:53 GMT -5
Wardner, maybe? Perhaps Popful Mail?
Perhaps even the Magical Quest Disney trilogy?
Apogee's Hocus Pocus?
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 24, 2020 7:13:10 GMT -5
Right, I'll try to rank all these from what I've played (I've reviewed most of them on my site):
Monster World series (3 and Monster Boy are the best)
Gargoyle's Quest I and II (GB , NES)
Willow (ARC)
Skyblazer (SN)
Little Nemo (NES)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS)
Valkyrie no Densetsu/Legend of Valkyrie (ARC, PCE)
Alisia Dragoon (MD)
Popful Mail (MCD)
Magic Sword (ARC, SN)
Black Tiger/Black Dragon (ARC)
Ghostbusters (MD)
ESWAT (MD)
Magical Quest 1-3
Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru (Saturn)
Maze of Galious: Knightmare II/Majou Densetsu II: DG (NES)
Magical Pop'n (SN)
Ghost Sweeper Mikami (SFC)
King of Demons/Majyuuo (SNES)
Faxanadu (NES)
Mystic Defender (MD)
Act Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon (ARC)
Psychic World (MSX, SMS/GG)
Cadash (ARC, MD, PCE)
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)
Astyanax (NES)
Blades of Vengeance (MD)
Xargon (PC)
El Viento (MD)
Spellcaster (SMS)
Nightmare Busters (SN)
Jewel Master (MD)
Shadow Land/Yokai Dochuki (ARC, ...) - Easier on PCE
Hocus Pocus (PC)
Fire Hawk: Thexder - The Second Contact (PC-88, DOS)
GODS (Amiga, ST, SN, MD)
Valis 2 (PCE)
Dragon Buster (ARC, NES)
Storm Lord (Amiga, ST, C64, MD)
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Post by jorpho on Aug 24, 2020 19:08:27 GMT -5
Oh, how about Pu·Li·Ru·La ? ETA: I guess Shadow of the Beast (and Altered Beast, for that matter) would probably be pushing it. Perhaps Ocean's Elf or Viking Child, but I doubt I would want to play either. (I think they're both on Steam these days for some strange reason.) |
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 25, 2020 3:43:24 GMT -5
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Post by windfisch on Aug 25, 2020 4:48:59 GMT -5
Shadow of the Beast and Altered Beast fit the tone perfectly. Gameplay-wise those are bit too melee-centric, however. Wardner is kinda close, overall.
I too was thinking about Hero Tonma lately. Good call! edit: It may be kinda cute, but it has enough horror elements to be close.
Other games I've stumbled across: - Mamono Hunter Yohko (MD) - It has a great demonic-vibe. It's not exactly a run 'n gun, though - you do get to use a charged projectile (doubling as a shield), but otherwise it's melee combat and a there is lot of tough platforming.
- Risky Woods (Amiga, ST, DOS, MD) - Good match in terms of gameplay and atmosphere, but not exactly newcomer-friendly (difficult and kinda obtuse). edit: The Mega Drive version features a cooler looking protagonist, wearing a cape and a toga of sorts, instead of the generic muscle-shirt and pants from the other versions. A bit like an inverse Kujaku Ou 1+2 situation, where the Japanese sprite's robe was sadly replaced with a much blander outfit in the western versions. (Probably because some idiot thought it might look too "feminine" for the market.)
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), no charge
