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Post by Apollo Chungus on Jul 12, 2021 14:58:59 GMT -5
Bushido Blade (PlayStation; First Time; 1 hour 25 minutes) I always wanted to give this one a bash ever since I watched that Stop Skeletons From Fighting video on it and its sequel, to the point where I downloaded and put it onto my modded PS Classic to try at some point. After a frustrating deadend attempt to play through just one character's arcade mode in Battle Arena Toshinden, this was an excellent counterpoint to that game. While Toshinden tries to do the fighting game thing of having loads of obscure combos but with no enjoyment in even the basic moves, Bushido gives you a basic moveset that lends itself to plenty of depth (and that's before you even get to the different movesets for each weapon). And because fighting is decided by one quick blow, you can plow through a character's story in sheer minutes.
Granted, there's actually a bit more to the story mode, as you can actually run away from your opponent and explore the castle if you want. Doing so, and pulling off one or two other things that I wasn't able to figure out, results in you finding the secret ending. You can choose to kill all your opponents, but this results in 1. your character getting the bad ending and 2. everyone having the same path of events. It is weird that for only six characters, the "kill everyone" path plays out in the exact same way for all of them: first four stages in snowy garden, fifth in sewers, and then the final four utilize the exact same opponents and areas every time. It became quite amusing how stage six's cutscenes features slightly rewritten versions of the same exchange, to the point where nearly everyone replies to the revelation that "Hanzuki..." hired your assassination with the same incredulously intoned "Hanzuki?"
I get the concept, and I admire how it and the Bushido code (which you must abide by in order to reach the game's end regardless of whatever else you do) are used to provide a bit more depth and interest to the story mode, but I wish that there was more specific situations for each character to tackle. As is, it just made for a weirdly paced and repetitive arcade mode, which it served as since there's no regular arcade mode. A very cool game all the same though, and one I'd really recommend for people who want really simple but quite deep fighting games; albeit along the lines of more atypical fighting games like Destrega or the DBZ Sparking! series.
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Jul 15, 2021 18:14:10 GMT -5
Super Mario Bros. (NES, replay, 37m44s)
Tried to see how fast I could boost through it, but I started losing too many lives so I had to abandon that plan because I needed to grab coins. Very bad run overall, but at least I finally got my mandatory SMB1 completion in for this year's thread. I kinda blame the controller.
Rating: 10/10
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Post by Apollo Chungus on Jul 16, 2021 18:00:27 GMT -5
F-Zero (SNES; First Time; 1 hour 4 minutes)
I've never properly played this aside from one brief attempt back in 2013, but I decided to give it a bash since it was already on the computer and I was waiting for something to upload. It's quite a cool game, with no frills fast-paced racing back by some tricky track layouts and banging tunes. I'm even a bit curious to try the GBA sequels that retain the original style (as opposed to the fully 3D X and GX). My only criticism of the game is the death pit jump in White Park II, where you have to hold down on the D-Pad in order to make the distance. No other point in the game requires this, so you have no experience or expectation that you must pull off that manoeuvre, and it feels unnecessarily harsh given that it's the last track in that particular cup.
Sky: Children of the Light (Switch; First Time; 3 hours 20 minutes)
I'm rather not sure whether this should count or not. It is an MMO-type game, but there are seven areas with a running questline when you start the game and you do reach a credits sequence at the end of the seventh. Afterwards, I think the idea is to go back and revisit areas to do new quests, and it is framed as something of a post-story concept given what happens. But if I'm wrong and it actually doesn't count, then disregard this entry.
This is something of a spiritual successor to thatgamecompany's previous title Journey, with it being a game where you walk around and jump while also interacting with other players on occasion as you're exploring the areas. The focus on community is really neat, as you can make friends with players, restore their 'health', guide them to areas if they're lost and even up secret areas, and they can do all of that for you too. My favourite moment in the game was when a random player and I started singing at each other using the game's call signal (normally used to show you where you're meant to go) for about five minutes, almost riffing on what the other player was doing. It was very sweet, and I love how the game's various philosophies came together to create that moment.
Otherwise, however, it's not for me. A lot of this is because of how the game ends, which left a really bad taste in my mouth even though I understand what they were going with and why. I was into it at first for the relaxing vibes, but then it tries to take those away in a manner that became unbearably annoying. I nearly even quit out of frustration just before 'the big moment' because of how irritated I was by the whole thing. It's a decent game, but one that I'm not sure if I'll go back to.
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Post by alexmate on Jul 17, 2021 13:04:28 GMT -5
Gunstar Heroes (Genesis, 1st time, Timer: 2hr 24)
Great game, but in my opinion not as good as some Treasure games. I preferred Alien Soldier and Dynamite Headdy.
Rating: 8
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Post by Apollo Chungus on Jul 18, 2021 14:17:45 GMT -5
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (Game Boy Advance; First Time; 1 hour 40 minutes)
I grabbed a bunch of GBA games that have injected into the 3DS' Virtual Console, so that I could have something quick to jump into and hopefully complete in between larger games. One of these was Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (or Crash Bandicoot XS, which stands for "Xtremely Somewhere-in-the-middle", for my fellow Europeans) by Vicarious Visions. It's a fairly basic Crash spin-off, as it's just a 2D platformer using the originals' gameplay and a good chunk of settings, enemies and even music, and a surprisingly decent one given how dreadful their PS4 remakes of the originals are in terms of feel, collision and consistency. It also features quite a few minigame style stages like Warped, but they're not too bad either - the underwater stages are much easier and shorter, while the Space Harrier-like shooting stages are a nice change of pace.
That said, it's an alright approximation of the Crash style and nothing more. There isn't anything unique in terms of presentation or design, and later levels don't offer much beyond more frustrating bordering on stupid level design tricks to catch you off-guard (which makes trying to smash all the crates a bigger pain in the arse). If you need your goofy boy spinning and crashing into crates, this ain't a bad way to check it out if you've exhausted the original games for all they're worth.
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Post by ZenithianHero on Jul 18, 2021 18:58:36 GMT -5
Streets of Rage 4 (PS4, First Time, 3 hours)
It's a great return to the series. I found it challenging on normal, but satisfying because I learned tricks to defending yourself. I try not to do the assist with extra lives, but I had to near the end anyway. I like the new characters and bosses. I was impressed by the variety of enemies and hazards overall. I'm definitely going to play the game in co-op next time I play, and also get the DLC. Solo, unlocking retro versions of the roster take some score grinding from the looks of it.
9/10
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Post by personman on Jul 20, 2021 13:37:47 GMT -5
Mega Man III via 3DS virtual console, replay, 2 hours
This is where the Gameboy versions hit their stride. Which I won't lie I probably have some bias since MM3 is my favorite of the NES series and this one pulls from some of my favorite levels. And dare I say a lot of the levels look even better than the originals despite being on weaker hardware. Gemini Man's stage in particular is even more confusing and unsettling, ha. I just have a soft spot for 3's levels with their surreal abstract settings, though I do miss Snake Man's bizarre fortress made of snakes the jungle they have it in now looks great. And even better the second set of stages borrowing from 4 are all new, which is great since 4 was so bland I can barely remember anything about it, and a couple of them are a real good challenge too such as Drill Man's stage. Though there is a kinda dumb room in Dustman's stage that looks like you can't cross. Just plop Rush with his coil down in the middle of the spikes to go forward.
Its just a good solid package all around. Good selection of weapons that I constantly found good uses for, good levels that are not too hard or easy. Think the only thing I'd say is the special rival boss is a joke and Wily's fight didn't fare much better.
It's of course held back by its platform and such but still, I personally think I like it better than the NES games.
Rating: 8
Mega Man IV via 3DS virtual console, replay, 3 hours
I remember this being my favorite of the GB series back in the day and I guess I can see why. For one the presentation is dialed up to 11 and its honestly the best looking Game Boy game I can think of... but it seems like they took no consideration for how well the thing will run because good lord the poor engine just gets brought to its knees non stop. Half the time you're playing this game in slow motion which doesn't upset me a ton I can see many people taking issue with it. For the most part I found my actual inputs not being affected at least but they really just went a little crazy here. But besides that while the game is still solid I didn't care for the levels as much at first. I think the first 4 levels are fairly faithful to the originals which were pretty bland and the weapon selection is not the best. Once you get to the levels from 5 though they are once again all new and are pretty good for the most part even if it feels like Crystal Man's stage goes on for waaay too long.
The last stage borders on Metal Slug 3 levels of ridiculous too with like 3 mini bosses and so many dang screens. Wily has 3 phases on top of it. Thankfully checkpoints are very generous and the bosses themselves aren't too tough. It just seems like there was a ton of enthusiasm for this one and they just wanted to thrown everything and the kitchen sink into it. Long stage with tons of bosses! Yes! The charge shot has kick back now! Neat! Currency and item system that's completely unnecessary! Yay!
Don't get me wrong, its still excellent but just kinda bloated. I liked 3 a bit better but I'd hold it about at the same level as 3 just messier.
Rating: 7 and a half?
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Post by dsparil on Jul 20, 2021 14:36:47 GMT -5
Final Fantasy II (GBA, First Time)
Now FFII is so much better in its DoS form! This is clearly the game that got the real attention during development. FFI had a few little cutscenes here and there, but this game has so many more which isn’t surprising as the story is significantly more developed, and major characters even have portraits. There’s still some mechanical issues particularly with MP growth and some of the useless fourth party members, but there’s still a lot to enjoy here. That it’s locked in an “easy” mode isn’t an issue because it’s more or less at the standard difficulty of a FF rather than being a total snooze fest like FFI in DoS.
I finished in 15:48.
Rating: 9
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2021 15:19:08 GMT -5
Final Fantasy II (GBA, First Time) Now FFII is so much better in its DoS form! This is clearly the game that got the real attention during development. FFI had a few little cutscenes here and there, but this game has so many more which isn’t surprising as the story is significantly more developed, and major characters even have portraits. There’s still some mechanical issues particularly with MP growth and some of the useless fourth party members, but there’s still a lot to enjoy here. That it’s locked in an “easy” mode isn’t an issue because it’s more or less at the standard difficulty of a FF rather than being a total snooze fest like FFI in DoS. I finished in 15:48. Rating: 9 A little bit of a coincidence, I am currently working my way through FFII, though the PS1 version (was kind of eyeing the GBA port enviously, but we already had this one, so....). Anyway my opinion has been pretty changeable. Definitely the levelling system is pretty odd and could have done with some tweaking. I really enjoy being able to exploit an RPG in my favour with systems like this one; the only problem is that the game kind of forces that, at least with MP. I don't know how they expected you to have enough considering dungeons have no rest points and ether is expensive. I managed to find my way to Mysidia early though, picked up some powerful equipment and the Swap spell, which has turned the game around from frustrating into easy mode for the time being. The game is taking me a fair bit of time though, and I must say levelling spells is a bit of a time waster.
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Post by spanky on Jul 20, 2021 15:30:40 GMT -5
Felt like playing something for the NES that was low effort and could be beaten in an hour or less. So I settled on Astyanax (Replay).
Despite having a decent collection, I play most of my NES games off my Everdrive now. I own the cartridge of this and decided to give it a shot. I had to spend a bit of time cleaning and fiddling with it to get it working. It really took me back to my collecting days where I'd buy a bunch of games and have to spend 30 minutes cleaning them thoroughly to get them working without any glitches. I should play more games like this honestly - the bit of investment I have to put into the game makes it more likely I'll actually see it the whole way through. Had I played this off my Everdrive I would have probably shut it off and found something else after I died in the first level.
As for the game itself...it is a completely average game based on an arcade game. It's very similar to Legendary Axe, right down to the power meter. You have a big chunky sprite and a generous life meter, which is cool and all but most of your deaths come from a butterfly or something knocking you into a pit (classic 8-bit trope). The music isn't bad, I recalled the main theme of the game which is pretty impressive considering the last time I played this was probably two decades ago.
You can use different weapons, but they are pretty similar aside from the amount of damage they do and the number of magic points they consume. Despite the game making a big deal about the axe, you spend most of your time using the spear or sword.
There's also Ninja Gaiden-esque cutscenes, but they are very boring, with little animation and very slow scrolling text. I think the arcade has a completely generic plot but I guess this verison tries to make it a bit more interesting by making the hero an ordinary high schooler. The story doesn't add tons to the game though, everything is very straightforward. Good on ol' Astyanax getting his thicc fairy waifu in the end I guess.
The game is hardly thrilling but it's fun enough. It would have made a slightly disappointing birthday present in 1990 but a pretty good weekend rental.
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Post by Apollo Chungus on Jul 20, 2021 18:45:00 GMT -5
Sonic Robo Blast 2 (PC; First Time; 2 hours 11 minutes)
This is one of, perhaps even the most famous Sonic the Hedgehog fangame, as it's been in development since 1998/9 and is still going to this today. It's based on a modified version of the Doom Legacy engine, creating a 3D platformer inspired by the Mega Drive originals where your traverse large, sometimes labyrinth-like levels at almost blistering speeds. Although there's supposedly a couple of zones missing owing to the focus on refining the engine and the emphasis on multiplayer modes, there is a complete single-player campaign in here with seven zones that all lead naturally into one another. I've played this once or twice over the years, but I finally made a proper go of it this time and I'm happy to say I've finally beaten it.
I have a few problems with the game, for sure. On pure controls, I think characters accelerate too damn quickly for their own good, which becomes a pain for levels that require precise platforming over bottomless pits. Some might say that's what Sonic games are like, but the Mega Drive games were more than happy to let you play slowly if you wanted to, and I wish there was a speed cap option available so that I could maybe play as characters besides Tails (his flying is a MASSIVE crutch). Egg Rock is also pretty pants, and apparently the only stage that hasn't been radically overhauled in recent years apart from some obnoxious bits getting cut out. That and Black Core get way too hard that I'm not thinking "that's a satisfying challenge", but "god above I'm never doing that again".
But it's a 3D Sonic game unlike any other, and I do really like when it is good. Castle Eggman's new Act 1 is surprisingly atmospheric and well-paced, while the various extra stages and characters give plenty of incentive to replay and explore. Also, it allows for easy installing of add-ons and mods, so you can use the same gameplay style with new characters, music, stages or even entire mods with cool things going on. Which leads me to...
Sonic Robo Blast 2: Sol Sestancia Part 1 (PC; First Time; 51 minutes)
This is a 10-level mod created by Roger van der Weide, inspired by late 90s 3D action games that featured themed levels connected via a hub world like Mega Man Legends and Sonic Adventure. After a failed assault on the Egg Fleet to retrieve the Master Emerald, you end up on the island paradise of Sol Sestancia, where Eggman has suddenly become a major sponsor and provider of tourist attractions. It's dodgy as heck, and it soon becomes clear that he's using this as a front to take control of the island, using the shattered pieces of the Master Emerald to power devices. It's up to you to disrupt his plans, and put a stop to him.
All of this is conveyed through the game itself, utilizing the level design, characters who you can speak to, the background music, the themes of each stage and the obstacles you encounter. It's a very good basic example of how to use the basic elements of your game to tell a story and inform the player what's going on in the world around them, and in such a way that they might not even notice it. The game is pretty goofy, with loads of silly character drawings and voice acting that feels like it fell out of late 2000s fan animations, but I find it all so charming. Felt weirdly nostalgic in a way, to see a Sonic fangame just featuring loads of characters from other Sonic media as background NPCS without a care in the world, or having loads of textures dedicated to background jokes and nods.
It's a solid fangame, with more to come in the future - and I can't wait. (This first part is considered by its creator to be fully done, so I think I'm okay in considering this a full game. If it goes against the rules and can't be included, however, that's fair enough.)
mb.srb2.org/threads/sol-sestancia.28868/
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Post by dsparil on Jul 21, 2021 6:33:18 GMT -5
Final Fantasy II (GBA, First Time) Now FFII is so much better in its DoS form! This is clearly the game that got the real attention during development. FFI had a few little cutscenes here and there, but this game has so many more which isn’t surprising as the story is significantly more developed, and major characters even have portraits. There’s still some mechanical issues particularly with MP growth and some of the useless fourth party members, but there’s still a lot to enjoy here. That it’s locked in an “easy” mode isn’t an issue because it’s more or less at the standard difficulty of a FF rather than being a total snooze fest like FFI in DoS. I finished in 15:48. Rating: 9 A little bit of a coincidence, I am currently working my way through FFII, though the PS1 version (was kind of eyeing the GBA port enviously, but we already had this one, so....). Anyway my opinion has been pretty changeable. Definitely the levelling system is pretty odd and could have done with some tweaking. I really enjoy being able to exploit an RPG in my favour with systems like this one; the only problem is that the game kind of forces that, at least with MP. I don't know how they expected you to have enough considering dungeons have no rest points and ether is expensive. I managed to find my way to Mysidia early though, picked up some powerful equipment and the Swap spell, which has turned the game around from frustrating into easy mode for the time being. The game is taking me a fair bit of time though, and I must say levelling spells is a bit of a time waster. I didn't think most magic was worth it really. You might be past this point, but Fire for Black Flans was the only offensive spell that was useful, and I never leveled it past 4 or 5. The late game offensive spells get screwed over by the spell leveling since they don't seem to have any intrinsic strength and only vary by element. Cure, Esuna, Berserk and Life to a lesser extent were the only spells I used all that much aside from Teleport and Warp for dungeon navigation. I mostly powered through with dual wielding on everyone. The high price and low restoration of ethers are problems too. In the GBA game, you can grind the Memory mini-game a bit for an ether or two by the time Cure cost starts to get too high versus MP. By the end of the game, you're just drowning in money though and it isn't a problem then. I went through something like 50 ethers in the last dungeon since the three main members had around 3000 HP by that point and even a level 15 Cure was only healing around 600 HP. I made Maria my "Red Mage" and she only had 140 MP and never gained a single point after the second or third to last dungeon when it went from around 75 to 140 fairly quickly. I feel like I'm talking myself into thinking I gave it too high a rating, but I also feel like these issues didn't end up inhibiting my progress. The GBA version is also easier than on PSX since it switched to a standard 99 per item max. Being able to save anywhere too was the only thing that made the second part of the final dungeon manageable since there's some encounters that are basically instant death while others are much more manageable.
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Post by Woody Alien on Jul 21, 2021 10:15:40 GMT -5
Crawlco Block Knockers (PC/Windows, first time)
I can't say the actual completion time, timer says 9 hours but it's because I re-tried multiple times some levels to perfect them and I don't know the average completion time, 3/4 hours maybe? Anyway, this is a nice little title bought during the Steam sales but you can find it on Switch too. It's a throwback to early 1990s arcade game puzzlers and naughty games: basically your character has to move colored blocks in the style of Pengo, Sokoban, etc. in order to uncover a girl's picture a la Gals Panic, Lady Killer, Splash and so on.
I really liked it, it's a style/genre I was missing and it's truly one of those games that is easy to complete but hard to master (complete a perfect or super-perfect silhouette). The levels are just a few (with 3 states of undress for each girl/s) with a boss every couple of them. Those are fairly difficult but also fairly varied, with a little patience and learning the right moves you can beat them, but if you can't/don't want to fight them no problem, you can spend the stars gained with perfect completions to avoid them. The difficulty progression is also well done, only the last stage is easier than the second-to-last one, probably as a means to let you rack up extra lives before the hard final confrontation. And there's two additional "secret" levels after that one! The soundtrack is quite good and, as are the graphics, is inspired by that neon/vaporwave/80s revival thing that is starting to wear thin but that I still enjoy, and it's appropriate to the game's general style and feel. My only complaint is that it's short and that I don't like too much that half-manga, half-comic book art style used for the girls' pictures, but that's not really a problem. Hope to either find other games similar to this one or new levels and challenges in a future update. 8/10
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2021 5:24:05 GMT -5
I didn't think most magic was worth it really. You might be past this point, but Fire for Black Flans was the only offensive spell that was useful, and I never leveled it past 4 or 5. The late game offensive spells get screwed over by the spell leveling since they don't seem to have any intrinsic strength and only vary by element. Cure, Esuna, Berserk and Life to a lesser extent were the only spells I used all that much aside from Teleport and Warp for dungeon navigation. I mostly powered through with dual wielding on everyone. The high price and low restoration of ethers are problems too. In the GBA game, you can grind the Memory mini-game a bit for an ether or two by the time Cure cost starts to get too high versus MP. By the end of the game, you're just drowning in money though and it isn't a problem then. I went through something like 50 ethers in the last dungeon since the three main members had around 3000 HP by that point and even a level 15 Cure was only healing around 600 HP. I made Maria my "Red Mage" and she only had 140 MP and never gained a single point after the second or third to last dungeon when it went from around 75 to 140 fairly quickly. I feel like I'm talking myself into thinking I gave it too high a rating, but I also feel like these issues didn't end up inhibiting my progress. The GBA version is also easier than on PSX since it switched to a standard 99 per item max. Being able to save anywhere too was the only thing that made the second part of the final dungeon manageable since there's some encounters that are basically instant death while others are much more manageable. Dual wielding is much better offensively than magic, but I like to have enough for curative magic to see me through a dungeon. The weapons you find at Mysidia are kind of OP for the point you can access them really. I've gotten as far as the Mysidian Tower and I'm pretty much mowing through enemies and bosses are only taking a couple of turns. I still had to retreat though because I was ill prepared for all the magic that turns your party attacks on themselves. Imps are my new worst enemy. Generally, I think more save points are the main problem I'm having, because areas such as the tower are just too long. I don't want to have to play for 2 hour sessions. And like you say the difference in item storage. I don't know if it's a thing in the GBA version but in order to use items in battle they have to be in hand, which is pretty useless, and of course there's too big a limitation on what you can carry. Oh and my trick for Flans and Mousses is just to run away. Fighting them gains me nothing, so I don't waste my magic on them.
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Post by spanky on Jul 22, 2021 14:14:54 GMT -5
Finally beat Hades (Switch, First Time) for real last night. Got the credits and everything.
So I picked this up at the suggestion of some friends and yeah...this is a really great game. After beating the game for the first time I didn't think I would be up to beating it again, but after a few more failed runs, and some mirror and weapon upgrades, plus my own skills improving to the point led to the game being almost easy. I'm up to 9 runs in a row without dying now. The only weapon I haven't beat the game with is the stupid bow, which I can't really get the hang of.
Despite being "done" with the game, it's fun enough that I think I'm going to keep at it.
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