Random Gaming Thoughts

[pierrot]

That smug bastard! Supposedly he's a lizard, but that don't look like no lizard I ever did saw. Certainly not a Union Lizard. Wouldn't have been quite as bad if continuing didn't reset to Room 1 of Round 5, though.

I did beat him once I figured out that the I/O polling for the attack button is bandwidth limited, and I could prevent myself from randomly getting faced by those somersaulting shadow ninjas if I slowed down my mashing of the attack button. At that point I started dying to the fireballs, though! So I was down to my second to last life when I actually finished him off.

Did you try any of "Shadow Dancer II," Xeo? I played up to Round 3-2 before I had to continue, and I stopped there. Looks like it gives more continues though, so it seems like it might actually be easier, overall. There's a fair number of extra enemies to deal with, but they don't seem to make things all that much more difficult, and it's a short game to begin with. Also, did you ever get all 50 ninjas in any of the bonus rounds?

Although, I have to say, screw that first boss, and his friggin' frame-trap BS!

[Erik_Twice]

I think I should play Tactics Ogre. Seems like I would enjoy it.

Did you play Ogre Battle at all, before? I really enjoyed the story, and production values in the Saturn version of Tactics Ogre. I find the tactical battles to get kind of dull after a while, though, and really didn't enjoy the gameplay at all by the end. I was too invested in the story to stop, though. Oddly, I think I liked Ogre Battle's gameplay a bit more, overall, which is kind of weird, because I didn't really like Ogre Battle very much in general. They're both pretty good games, though. Not my favorites, but pretty good.

Hey sorry pierrot, I didn't see your message.

I have played like 30 seconds of Ogre Battle. I do have played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance which was clearly influenced by Tactics Ogre and I fancy something of the type. They also have some "story segments" that could be fun to talk about so.

[Ack]

I've never made it to the end of Shadow Dancer, and with this discussion, I really don't think I want to...

[pierrot]

I have played like 30 seconds of Ogre Battle. I do have played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance which was clearly influenced by Tactics Ogre and I fancy something of the type. They also have some "story segments" that could be fun to talk about so.

Ah, okay. I've only played a very small amount of the original FF Tactics, and a fair amount of A2, but there's quite a bit more going on in the FF Tactics series, mechanically, than in Tactics Ogre, I feel. It's not a necessity to play Ogre Battle first, either, but I think it kind of helps, and there's at least a bit more to the gameplay in Ogre Battle than in Tactics Ogre. TO has a really top tier story though. I wrote a lot about the game when I beat it a couple years ago. Here were my thoughts after finishing it, if you wanted some more detailed opinions:

https://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=49713&p=1075391&hilit=tactics+ogre#p1075391

I've never made it to the end of Shadow Dancer, and with this discussion, I really don't think I want to...

Aside from the last three rooms of Round 5, it's not so bad. It's mostly just the red ninjas, and by extension, the shadow ninjas that act like red ninjas, that ever really bothered me; Aside from the final boss room, because that "lizard" is obviously a giant douche-canoe. The worst part is probably that the rate at which he summons another round of shadow ninjas seems to be somewhat random.

[Ack]

Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre are very different takes on the strategy/tactics RPG. They're both good, but TO has more in common from a system standpoint with games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Saiyuki, La Pucelle Tactics, or Echo Breaker. Ogre Battle will fill in the larger story, but it isn't necessary to enjoy TO. That said, if you like the original TO, you can seek out Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis. It's a side story that doesn't require any knowledge of the OB/TO universe, and it's a fun game.

[Jmustang1968]

I love all things Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre. There is a good mod for the Tactics Ogre PSP remake whuch enhances and "fixes" what I already feel like is the or a top tier tactics RPG. I can give more info if interested.

[Ack]

No reason not to, jmustang! Lay it on us.

[Jmustang1968]

The one vision mod. Check the link, lots of enhancements. Pulls together the best of original with remake plus some things.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/one-vision1

[pierrot]

I'm doing that thing again where I keep beating games on one of my last two lives. First Contra Hard Corps (again), then Shadow Dancer, and now Shinobi III. Really did not think I was going to make it through The Final Confrontation in Shinobi III, even though I'd gotten there without continuing. I definitely would not have made it if there hadn't been some "safety" 1ups in the final stretch. I ended up killing the final boss pretty much immediately after stepping into that room for the first time. It was one of the quickest boss fights in the entire game, for me. Was pretty surprising, and I was really wary of another form, but I was also relieved to not have to start back at the beginning of the game, again. Hell of a ride, though.

[pook99]

Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre are games I have wanted to play forever, I don't know if I will get to them this year though. I just started shining force, which is a game I have always wanted to play, and then I will likely move on to Langrisser 4 for playstation. After that, I have always wanted to play final fantasy tactics and I heard into the breach was great so I may check that out as well.

How does the ogre series compare to the above games? Better? Or should I just finish those first?