|
Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Dec 1, 2020 7:33:01 GMT -5
Oh that's cool, did he finish anything on it?
A lot of those seem hard to go back to from what I've tried even if interesting historically. I really like Boulder Dash and International Karate+, and also like Montezuma's Revenge, HERO, Pirates! and Ghostbusters for example, based on the C64 versions.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2020 9:16:45 GMT -5
Oh that's cool, did he finish anything on it? A lot of those seem hard to go back to from what I've tried even if interesting historically. I really like Boulder Dash and International Karate+, and also like Montezuma's Revenge, HERO, Pirates! and Ghostbusters for example, based on the C64 versions. I think he put around 10 games out, mostly sports based. He used to pump them out in a weekend and though dreadful as they were, it was fun to rediscover some of them as public domain games years later. But that's what the Spectrum was all about - sold as a cheap entry point for wannabe hobby developers which would mean a large library of games for players. The most amusing part I think is that my Sister actually earned her pocket money by transferring the games to cassettes ready to be shipped out.
|
|
|
Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Dec 1, 2020 10:00:37 GMT -5
Hehe right, yeah that's part of the charm with it and other PCs for sure. The indie scenes of their time.
|
|
|
Post by dsparil on Dec 1, 2020 10:22:25 GMT -5
I like having to rank things in order even across disparate platforms. This is my top 15 using the very scientific method of the first game I thought of must by my #1. I didn't include multiple games from the same series, but I mostly also didn't immediately think of any either. I'm a little surprised at what I did and didn't include, but this is my gut feeling.
15 - Strikers 1999 / Strikers 1945 III Strikers 1999 is my favorite arcade shooter by far. I’m not sure how many quarters I’ve stuck into it over the years. The Strikers series has alway been a little silly in sticking mechs into a WWII setting, but it feels less weird in a game that was at the time set in the present day. It feels very cruel to me that all the other Strikers games got individual Switch releases, but I still grabbed Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha for this alone.
14 - Super Mario Galaxy Galaxy blew me away when it first came out, and it’s still a great game now. I prefer its nicer presentation over the sequel even though that might have the better gameplay.
13 - DDR 5th Mix I played so much 5th Mix during high school, and it’s the culmination of those first 5 volumes before MAX wiped the slate entirely clean although some songs did return in MAX2. It’s still the only game in the series to have double length songs which gives it the edge over any other entry.
12 - Zork Nemesis Despite being considered the black sheep of the series, Zork Nemesis is a whole lot closer in tone to the original trilogy than it’s given credit particularly Zork III. It’s one of the few Myst clones made directly in its wake that actually understands what made that game work. The story is fabulous and might be the only game that is a well done romantic melodrama. The live action FMV is copious and well acted by seasoned character actors, and it helps that the bulk of the story is closer to a historical drama rather than fantasy. I had stayed away from this for quite some time because of its reputation, but it’s wholly undeserved.
11 - The Journeyman Project 3 The third and sadly final entry in this time travel series is a great trip through lost civilizations; El Dorado, Atlantis, Shangri-La; but grounded in actual history and culture instead of completely wild fantasies. It's even educational with many facts (and jokes and hints) dispensed by returning AI sidekick Arthur. It finally adds character interaction with the Chameleon Suit that lets you copy the appearance of the characters. It’s also a nice way to pack in extra dialogue since some are different depending on your appearance.
10 - Final Fantasy XII Still one of the most gorgeous games ever made especially on a CRT. The freedom of the License Board is great as is Gambit system for “programming” your party members. I’ve always liked the story especially in it’s weird blend of Star Wars and what seems like a critique of the second Gulf War. The second part sort of feels like a stretch, but there’s enough elements that seem like it is intentional.
9 - Myst I love Myst, and I have every remake the first game. I even double dipped for the recent Switch port of realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. It’s a little quaint that such a small game made on a shoestring budget could become the best selling PC game for nearly a decade. It’s hard to come across a mechanical puzzle and not see Myst’s influence although its concepts in less skilled hands can lead to dire results.
8 - A Mind Forever Voyaging AMFV is my favorite of Infocom’s games since it’s truly a work of interactive fiction rather than a highfaluting term for a text adventure. Steve Meretzky really hated Reagan and wanted to depict the end point of throwing away principles in return for short term economic benefit after his reelection, but did it in a science fiction setting with an AI visiting a simulated city in decade intervals. Considering the events since its release, it scarily comes across as less of a polemic than it did at release.
7 - Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers It’s hard for me to decide if I like SMTIV or this more, but the originally non-retro cyberpunk elements push it slightly ahead. This is definitely my favorite of the Megami Tensei games with the traditional gameplay anyway. The dungeons are on the simpler side, but I generally don’t like the overly maze-like ones in some dungeon crawlers. The lack of demon leveling is also a plus since it pushes you to make new ones instead of sticking too long with old ones.
6 - Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology The original version was a nice enough RPG with parallel timelines that you jump between, but it didn’t feel like the story was really over. I don’t know if that was because there were plans for a sequel, but regardless, this version ties everything neatly together and adds a bunch of other story enhancing side quests. One of the things I absolutely love is how the story additions give all the villains a change for some kind of redemption. The one sore point is that the original textures didn’t get an upgrade in the move from the DS to the 3DS unlike some other Atlus ports of this time frame. It did however get excellent voice acting as a cherry on top.
5 - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword This was made for people like me that got way too into the sword fighting in Wii Sports Resort. I think I might have hit the TV on more than one occasion. I didn’t have that kind of space when this came out, but I love it just the same. The dungeons are my favorite part of any Zelda, and the all dungeon design is fine with me. I pretty much marathoned through it in just a few days because I was so enthralled.
4 - Kirby Star Allies Kirby is one of my favorite series, and the latest main game is such a pure triumph. Shinya Kumazaki, this game’s director and general director of all things Kirby at HAL, has been the driving force at giving a bit of background to the world of Kirby, and that gets used to great effect here. For a series that is fairly simple at its core, there’s still so much life and possibility still unexplored, and I feel confident that it is in good hands.
3 - Shinsekai Into the Depths This is without a doubt one of the finest and most unique metroidvanias ever made, and possibly my favorite Capcom game. It’s set underwater as the name indicates, and takes full advantage of the setting. It also hits the right balance between mystery and explanation and ends in such a great way without feeling inexplicable. It’s longer than I usually like for the genre, but it has enough environmental and gameplay variety to keep tedium from setting in. As this was initially an Apple Arcade exclusive, Capcom didn’t have to foot the full bill, and I think the lack of financial pressure let the team make the game they wanted to make with good results.
2 - Might and Magic VI I somehow managed to get this more or less at release for $5 because the box was a bit mangled, but had to wait some time before being able to play it. My computer had a Cyrix processor which was the budget option although just a few years earlier had been a credible alternative to Intel in both price and performance. However, unlike AMD which had a cross licensing agreement with Intel, Cyrix’s processors were the result of reverse engineering so they could have issues. MM6 was the only game that caused me any trouble as it simply would not run and it look some time to work around that. There was an official patch eventually, but it came over a year after release!
It was definitely worth the struggles, and I might have played more MM6 than any other game. The character system is simplified compared to earlier and later entries, but I think that is a source of strength rather than weakness in this case. It’s much easier to understand a potential party combination when the class structure is in a “triangle” of three base classes (knight, cleric, sorcerer) and three hybrids (paladin, archer, druid) between them. There’s some great and complex dungeons, and a huge wealth of content. I haven’t actually finished this since ’99, but I still put in a considerable amount of time every few years.
1 - The Dig Even though I greatly preferred the craft and design ethos of LucasArt’s adventure games over their competitors, I’ve always been less enthused about their most beloved games. The Dig stands out as their absolute most serious game with only a few sarcastic lines even resembling humor. It has a great science fiction story that’s much more interested in depicting a decayed alien world and a fallen civilization than getting too bogged down in details that don’t matter. The time consuming door code entry in the main hub is a legitimate design failure, but I’ve always loved this game just the same.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2020 11:48:28 GMT -5
Nice list dsparil. I really find my own pretty boring when I read everyone else's but, oh, well. Not surprised to see a Zork game in there, but a DDR game is something I've not seen you talk about. With 'The Dig' though, did you not find the puzzles somewhat obtuse? I needed to use a guide heavily on that one. Nice atmosphere to it, though.
|
|
|
Post by dsparil on Dec 1, 2020 12:35:09 GMT -5
I play a lot of rhythm games in general, but that's a genre that doesn't come up here much. I also don't play DDR as much as I used to. I don't live near an arcade with one any more, and my current apartment isn't ground floor so it seems rude. I have all the home PS2 releases, but it's been almost a full decade since there's been any new home releases on any platform.
With The Dig, I think the turtle skeleton is the only place I remember having any issues, but it's been so long since I first played it that I'm probably forgetting anything else.
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Dec 1, 2020 20:12:58 GMT -5
I'm quite scattered to do an actual numbered list at the moment. For now, I'll list a random 10 or 13 favorites that have made a significant mark on me. I wouldn't call all games I like "good," but even so, I still enjoy replaying them.
Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 3 - Out of all Street Fighter games, this one is my favorite. While the soundtrack strays in style from the first 2 Street Fighter Alphas, the gameplay with juggling hits and combos and even custom combos is quite rewarding. A huge roster of characters, old and new, and just about every character is a joy to learn and play as. Plus, dramatic battle mode is so, SO FUN! I wish Capcom had carried subsequent games in the 2-D, hand drawn animated style. I can only dream how Street Fighters and Darkstalkers would look with BlazBlue level quality.
Ys Book 1 and 2 - Technically 2 games in one. I've picked up Turbografx CD and PC Engine CD copies of the game, just to listen to the audio tracks off the CD. I bought the Falcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 and 2 just so I could get the remakes of Ys 1 and Ys 2 to play on the Sega Saturn. Then came Ys Eternal, essentially another remake. Got it and played it for the Wii via Virtual Console shop. And was the first game I played again when I got my PC-Engine Mini. Simplistic but addictive, with a unique mood and atmosphere. And I love how all the characters you meet return to help you along the way. And the ability to transform into a monster and talk in the 2nd half of the game was such a cool concept for its time.
Mega Man 2 - Timeless. Timeless experience. I can feel a lot of love was put into this game. I pretty much replay this once a year. Colorful, fun graphics and enemies. Excellent soundtrack. Great stage design. One of the first games I played where I wish it never ended and starved for more.
Mike Tyson's Punch Out - C'mon, it has freaken Mike Tyson as the nearly unsurmountable end boss. The toughest of all Punch Out games in my opinion, where it requires razor thin response and reflexes. This game is pure, it's a knock-out in spades. Loveable, silly characters, great action.
Final Fantasy VI/Chrono Trigger - Speaking of games that I wish would never end, FF VI (and Chrono Trigger) are my top 2 RPGs where I longed for more and more things to do. RPGs to play to death, to completion, to devour and scour every crevasse, every secret, every item. These are games I feel melancholy as the credits are rolling. So sad when it's all over.
Time Crisis - While Namco's other shooter, Point Blank/Gun Bullet, has a lot more varied tasks or variations on a light gun game, Time Crisis wins me over with its sense of making you the hero. Up till Time Crisis, most games light gun hero games like Mad Dog McCree, Virtua Cop, etc, the way to survive is to eliminate targets before they attack you. But Time Crisis gives you a pedal/dodge button so you can retreat behind cover... while the time counts down as to force you not to turtle. I love that dynamic of needing to learn the balance of attack and defense. The cheesy cinematic story and voice acting seals it for me. As the 2nd boss of the stage declares before the duel, ".... allow me to ENTERTAIN YOU!"
Akumajo Densetsu/Castlevania 3 - I prefer the Japanese release on this one. Enhanced sound chip, plus Grant's default weapon are infinite throwing daggers, not simply a short stab. Multiple paths and playable characters, and a difficulty level that balances a learning curve between frustration and beatable. Rocking music that finds its tracks in later Castlevania games. I have special nostalgia for this one, as my papa bought it for me while we were on several hours layover in Narita Airport.
Gran Turismo Sport - Simply gorgeous. I'm sure this will only be my favorite until the eventual Gran Turismo 7 on Playstation 5. I could play this one for endless hours, with endless cars. Or not even play, but waste even more hours tinkering with photography mode and car livery mode. It's a real-life car lover's game.
Ace Combat 4 - I love how the story unfolds, how it's made to set you up as a random pilot who eventually everyone pins their home as you become a legendary hero. And its not even told from your perspective. Great dog fight fun.
Zelda 2:Adventure of Link - Action adventure Zelda game! The black sheep of the series, requiring old school skill, and can be finished in a relatively short amount of time. While I won't say it's a better game design than Zelda 3:A Link to the Past/Triforce of the Gods nor Breath of the Wild, it is the one game in the series I've replayed the most.
|
|
|
Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Dec 3, 2020 18:41:02 GMT -5
Thanks for joining in, newcomers. Interesting to see so many different Zelda games being mentioned in this thread. Still waiting for a certain person to post about the GB Link's Awakening. 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 - whilst I wouldn't expect you to write a book on it (I would be the one who actually read it - haha), perhaps you could go into a bit more of what aspects of Splatoon 2 you like, since it is your favourite. e.g. Why do you prefer it over 1, do you enjoy single player or multiplayer the most? What are your mode preferences? Well, for one, the gameplay loop is just really satisfying and well designed. It's like DOOM, it's very hard to get bored of (especially since there's a lot of variety between weapons), and because it's online there's a lot of variety in the situations you'll find yourself in. There's also so many weapons that still to this day I'm discovering new ones to get into. The painting mechanic is also just ingenous. It's not just used for combat, but also to shift the battlefield around in your favor, and it also means that you can make yourself useful even if there aren't enemies nearby. Plus, it gives each weapon two purposes it might be stronger or weaker in, and you got an interesting way of supporting your teammates. There's also a good variety of ranges/spreads (and types of projectiles - sometimes you slosh or fling rather than shoot), and they somehow made weapons with nearly no range work really well in a shooter. The way the DLC was handled was also really great. Having something new each week (later, month) to try out might sound like a cheap trick like a login bonus, but for some reason it just really works. It also has a great amount of attention to world building. I don't mean lore and story and such things (it also has more of that than you'd expect), but things like the details in the stages. There's tons and tons of random logos and typography spread throughout the stages, in addition to all the clothing brands and weapon brands, the latter you'll barely notice are that in-depth in-game, it took me looking at the Splatoon wiki to piece that together. I especially love, love, love all the little logos and mystery bits of texts spread throughout the world's environments. Also just the way they made the regular multiplayer modes, the Salmon Run mode, the single player, and the DLC single player all feel like such a different game with just character designs and lighting is very well done (while still keeping it coherent of course). But then again, that's the kind of attention you'd except Nintendo to their games. Like, I cannot overstate how well this game gels visually. The soundtrack is great too. Again, each mode has their own track selection that differs dramatically from one mode to the next, and it's all explained by having different in-universe bands and musicians (often being different musicians IRL as well, one band I think is part of the Mario Kart 8 band?), with the regular multiplayer having the most different bands. Again there's just more detail and depth to it than you'd expect, with the different artists having different productions, drum kits and stuff like that. Anyway, I mostly play the regular Turf War mode, the Splat Zones mode (the only Ranked one I really like), and Salmon Run. The regular single player is just for polishing up your skills. The DLC was much more interesting, but I find that the weapons and painting mechanic don't reach their full potential in the single player modes. As for why I think it's better than Splatoon 1, that's easy for me. Splatoon 1's only advantage is that it has unique stages, songs and specials. Specials were way OP in Splatoon 1, but the other two are still fun enough to hook up the Wii U for every once in a while. However, S2 just has so many improvement in QoL areas, adds a bunch of new weapons, has an amazing PvE mode, and makes upgrading your equipment much easier and more player-controlled. It's just an upgrade in most ways, so S1 is only really worth revisiting for its unique content (which, to be fair, is very good and worth revisiting). Anyway, I could go on and on about other things like the Splatfests, or how Salmon run forces you to learn new weapons, or just the general satisfcation of covering a stage in paint...but I think you get the gist by now. Some things are hard to explain anyway to people who aren't familiar with the game.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 2:41:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the write up 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 . I enjoy seeing such passion for a game. My favourite modes in 2 were the ones you didn't mention- Tower Control and Rainmaker. I think what I enjoy most about Splatoon is that the game is adaptable to a variety of playstyles. Being able to choose your own set weapons for your character was a big deal to me, and I hadn't seen it back in fps multiplayer games back in the day. I always found that these games required a certain skill set and Splatoon did away with that. Not good at combat? You can just focus on painting. Perhaps you're quite good at movement? Well, Splatoons gameplay has something for those players. The game feels like a great equaliser to me and it works especially well in a team game where different members can bring different strengths. I will say, for this reason, Salmon Run was a real disappointment for me, since I didn't realise until I got it that you couldn't take in your own weapon set. It didn't hugely harm my experience, I just chose to play the other modes instead. My opinions of the two games are honestly very close. I perhaps enjoyed the stages in the first game more and found having the map on the gamepad handy. That said, I didn't get around to the campaign mode in 2 yet, so perhaps 1 has a bit of an unfair advantage.
|
|
|
Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Dec 6, 2020 15:03:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the write up 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 . I enjoy seeing such passion for a game. My favourite modes in 2 were the ones you didn't mention- Tower Control and Rainmaker. I think what I enjoy most about Splatoon is that the game is adaptable to a variety of playstyles. Being able to choose your own set weapons for your character was a big deal to me, and I hadn't seen it back in fps multiplayer games back in the day. I always found that these games required a certain skill set and Splatoon did away with that. Not good at combat? You can just focus on painting. Perhaps you're quite good at movement? Well, Splatoons gameplay has something for those players. The game feels like a great equaliser to me and it works especially well in a team game where different members can bring different strengths. I will say, for this reason, Salmon Run was a real disappointment for me, since I didn't realise until I got it that you couldn't take in your own weapon set. It didn't hugely harm my experience, I just chose to play the other modes instead. My opinions of the two games are honestly very close. I perhaps enjoyed the stages in the first game more and found having the map on the gamepad handy. That said, I didn't get around to the campaign mode in 2 yet, so perhaps 1 has a bit of an unfair advantage. I had no idea you also played Splatoon (or I forgot?). I also like Splatoon 1 a lot, but there's a couple of stages there I never liked (Saltspray, Moray and Triggerfish). Splatoon 2 doesn't introduce any bad stages, IMO. Though Moray and Triggerfish return (somewhat improved tbh), and I still usually skip a rotation that includes either. I do miss certain stages of the first game, but I do hook up the old Wii U once in a while to play a few matches. But overall there's just too many QoL changes and additions that make the choice between 1 and 2 an easy win for 2. I don't have too much experience with other online shooters, so to me picking a weapon always made sense. It's kind of like picking a character, really. With one or two alternate versions of each in the form of sets. Salmon run I think is in part so fun because you're forced to learn weapons you otherwise don't play (that's also something fun about the DLC, though you do get a choice there usually). It lead me to give some weapons another chance in the regular multiplayer modes, like the Flingza Roller and the Heavy Splatling, which are currently two of my favorites. As for the single player in S2...it's fine. It's definitely better than Splatoon 1's, but it's still more or less a warm-up for the online modes. The DLC is a lot better.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2020 3:57:04 GMT -5
I don't have too much experience with other online shooters, so to me picking a weapon always made sense. It's kind of like picking a character, really. With one or two alternate versions of each in the form of sets. Salmon run I think is in part so fun because you're forced to learn weapons you otherwise don't play (that's also something fun about the DLC, though you do get a choice there usually). It lead me to give some weapons another chance in the regular multiplayer modes, like the Flingza Roller and the Heavy Splatling, which are currently two of my favorites. As for the single player in S2...it's fine. It's definitely better than Splatoon 1's, but it's still more or less a warm-up for the online modes. The DLC is a lot better. I don't think Splatoon is a game that's come up before now since I joined the forum. That's what I like about topics like these, we get to discuss different games. I'm less specifically talking about online shooters. More of my experience is with couch multiplayer games such as GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Halo etc. Generally you'd select a sub-set of the games weapons, and they'd be found scattered on the map, with all players starting with the same weapon. It would either be this or something similar in all the games I played. I think you might understand my perspective more if I explain that I have a muscle condition that prevents me from being able to pull some things off on the controller. I am not able to aim in shooting games properly because I can't hold the analogue stick part way as they would require. So for me to be able to join in these games I'd have to find a weapon that wasn't a gun (GoldenEye and Perfect Dark have some nice options). Generally, for this reason (along with that of appeal) I had ignored the genre altogether for a while. Splatoon was the first game that gave me the freedom to choose my weapon and play in a way I feel comfortable for every match. I am noticeably better at battling in it, because of the gyro control, but also because the movement allows for much more evasiveness, since it feels more akin to a platformer. Still, even in Splatoon, I have my limits. So in Salmon Run, being saddled with a weapon I simply cannot use is just frustrating and learning them isn't an option for me. In other modes like the standard turf war, I can find a task that suits me, based on my opposition's skills, and establish whether I'll be able to directly do battle, or focus more on covering the environment, etc (this is also an important distinction - since Splatoon is the first game I played of it's type where killing wasn't the primary objective. If it were I wouldn't be playing).
|
|
|
Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Dec 7, 2020 15:02:39 GMT -5
I don't think Splatoon is a game that's come up before now since I joined the forum. That's what I like about topics like these, we get to discuss different games. I'm less specifically talking about online shooters. More of my experience is with couch multiplayer games such as GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Halo etc. Generally you'd select a sub-set of the games weapons, and they'd be found scattered on the map, with all players starting with the same weapon. It would either be this or something similar in all the games I played. I think you might understand my perspective more if I explain that I have a muscle condition that prevents me from being able to pull some things off on the controller. I am not able to aim in shooting games properly because I can't hold the analogue stick part way as they would require. So for me to be able to join in these games I'd have to find a weapon that wasn't a gun (GoldenEye and Perfect Dark have some nice options). Generally, for this reason (along with that of appeal) I had ignored the genre altogether for a while. Splatoon was the first game that gave me the freedom to choose my weapon and play in a way I feel comfortable for every match. I am noticeably better at battling in it, because of the gyro control, but also because the movement allows for much more evasiveness, since it feels more akin to a platformer. Still, even in Splatoon, I have my limits. So in Salmon Run, being saddled with a weapon I simply cannot use is just frustrating and learning them isn't an option for me. In other modes like the standard turf war, I can find a task that suits me, based on my opposition's skills, and establish whether I'll be able to directly do battle, or focus more on covering the environment, etc (this is also an important distinction - since Splatoon is the first game I played of it's type where killing wasn't the primary objective. If it were I wouldn't be playing). Ah, that makes sense. That would make Salmon Run pretty annoying outside of certain line-ups, I suppose. That's really too bad, because I feel they made it pretty integral in the ability-gaining loop. Out of curiosity, what kinds of weapons do you use, then? When I think about it, the ability to select a weapon set actually helped me out to get into the game as well. Using some easier weapons like the Aerospray and the Zapper at the beginning certainly was a better way to get used to the game than having weapons as pickups and being overwhelmed or potentially being stuck with something beyond my skill level.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2020 14:46:17 GMT -5
🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 - I use the roller a lot. As far as guns go one of the basic splatershots works for me as do the splat dualies. They are faster so my aiming doesn't need to be accurate overall to get hits in. Also I find them nice for area coverage so pretty versatile for me.
|
|