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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by BoneSnapDeez Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:49 pm

Arcanum is one of the best WRPGs. It is clunky as hell, but the setting and atmosphere are incredible. I love it.

Anyhow, IT'S ON LIKE

1. Grandia (PlayStation)
2. Jungle Hunt (Xbox - Taito Legends)
3. Jungle Hunt (Atari 2600)
4. Jungle Hunt (Plug & Play - ColecoVision Flashback)
5. Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
6. Donkey Kong (Intellivision)
7. Donkey Kong (ColecoVision)


Continuing my trend of playing retro-retro games I decided to tackle Donkey Kong next.

I don't think I need to explain this one to many people. It's a single-screen platformer notable for featuring the very first appearance of Mario. Oops, I mean JUMPMAN. Since the arcade game predates the Famicom, it was originally ported to a bunch of second gen systems and computers.

I used to rent the NES port frequently as a kid, but I've never owned it. Here's the second gen console rundown:

Atari 2600
This one is pretty hilarious. Mario looks good but Donkey Kong resembles a sock monkey and I swear that he's tossing chocolate chip cookies instead of barrels. Only two levels total before looping. The ladders aren't staggered in level two, which makes things a little easier. Though the flame enemies move rather quickly.

Intellivision
A marked improvement here. The graphics are a bit nicer overall and level two actually resembles the arcade version. Donkey Kong looks like a frog this time.

ColecoVision
Whoa. This is really good. A testament to how much more powerful this console is compared to the others. It looks very similar to the arcade game and there are three levels. It's close to the arcade experience but I believe there are fewer enemies on the screen. I'd say this would be even with the NES port, but of course the NES controller is so much better.


And there you have it. I'm going to stick to old arcadey stuff + their respective ports for awhile before diving back into retro RPGs.
Last edited by BoneSnapDeez on Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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J T
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by J T Sat Jan 24, 2015 3:03 pm

BoneSnapDeez wrote:
Atari 2600
Donkey Kong resembles a sock monkey and I swear that he's tossing chocolate chip cookies instead of barrels.

ColecoVision
Whoa. This is really good. A testament to how much more powerful this console is compared to the others. It looks very similar to the arcade game.


Sorry Atari!
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by BoneSnapDeez Sat Jan 24, 2015 3:06 pm

dem peripherals tho
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REPO Man
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by REPO Man Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:12 pm

Xeogred wrote:And Dante's Inferno was incredibly terrible.

It's a shame.


The only thing terrible about Dante's Inferno is that there STILL isn't a sequel!
dsheinem
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by dsheinem Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:17 pm

REPO Man wrote:
Xeogred wrote:And Dante's Inferno was incredibly terrible.

It's a shame.


The only thing terrible about Dante's Inferno is that there STILL isn't a sequel!


Dante's Inferno > Bayonetta

no blue text
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Sarge
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by Sarge Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:55 pm

January

1) Rollergames
2) Bayou Billy
3) Whomp 'Em
4) Love+ (repeat, B-)
5) Love+ (repeat, B)
6) Zen: Intergalactic Ninja
7) Battletoads & Double Dragon
8 ) Battletoads (repeat, first time with Game Genie, this time using save states, nowhere near legit win... but it was "beaten")
9) Battletoads (repeat, legit, no Game Genie, no continues, no save states!)
10) Rockin' Kats
11) The Little Mermaid
12) Tiny Toons Adventures
13) Tiny Toons Adventures 2
14) Code Name: Viper
15) Bayou Billy (completely legit!)
16) King of Dragons (on Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
17) Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
18) Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

(A bit of cross-post from TT.)

First, the one I'm really proud of: Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom. Not the Japanese version or the Trilogy version, the NES one. Legit. Finally. I don't know if I can count the number of tries it took me to get a proper run through 7-3. I also absolutely detest 5-1B. Climbing those moving platforms with all the enemies popping up all around you, and more than willing to ride you right off the platforms back to the bottom is tough. It took me a lot of runs to figure out the best patterns against the final bosses, too.

I'll also mention that the game is calibrated a lot differently from Ninja Gaiden II, which I'll get to in a second. All enemies hit for at least two damage, and most actually hit for three. And that sucks. There's not a whole lot of hit recoil, though, which is both good and bad. Good in that you don't go flying off as many ledges. Bad in that the hit invincibility is really short and you can hemorrhage life fast. The other crappy thing is the limited continues. The last run I made, though, I didn't need any. And for the first time, I abused the 1-Up loop in 6-2. Turns out I didn't need 'em, but better safe than sorry in case my 7-3 run turned out terribly. (I actually had a phenomenal run on the third go, so I didn't even come close to exhausting my stock.)

It's a great game. It's just a bit too hard in a lot of ways. I'm tempted to try out the Japanese version, or compare to Trilogy.

So I decided, I've beaten the first and third games legit, might as well go for the second. So Ninja Gaiden II is down legit-style. And that one wasn't as bad. At least until you hit 7-2. I had several problems with Jacquio until I got a pattern down (play defensively and let your clone do the work), then the second part got me stuck until I had an excellent run where I managed to keep the Art of the Fire Wheel to that point. Very effective in bringing that life meter down. Last form went down like a chump.

In a lot of ways, NGII is less stressful, though, because of those infinite continues. You can go as long as your patience holds out. I probably beat my head against 7-2 for around an hour or so. And you die in much different ways. Lots more pit deaths like the first game, and less rarely from just running out of life, because most enemies do just one damage. Even the danged falcons.

In hindsight, I think NGII is the most balanced of the series, but I really like some of the combat in NGIII. The Super Sword is awesome stuff... and now I'm thinking and wondering if a little of that inspiration came from Strider. Either way, glad to have 'em both done.
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REPO Man
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by REPO Man Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:03 pm

dsheinem wrote:
REPO Man wrote:
Xeogred wrote:And Dante's Inferno was incredibly terrible.

It's a shame.


The only thing terrible about Dante's Inferno is that there STILL isn't a sequel!


Dante's Inferno > Bayonetta

no blue text


Actually, while I've only played the demo version of Bayonetta I actually prefer it to Dante's Inferno. But then again I've played through Dante's Inferno so many times and STILL haven't found all the collectibles yet.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by BoneSnapDeez Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:40 am

1. Grandia (PlayStation)
2. Jungle Hunt (Xbox - Taito Legends)
3. Jungle Hunt (Atari 2600)
4. Jungle Hunt (Plug & Play - ColecoVision Flashback)
5. Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
6. Donkey Kong (Intellivision)
7. Donkey Kong (ColecoVision)
8. Bubble Bobble (NES)

I played the hell out of this as a kid. It was nice to revisit it and do a solo run. This is one of the few video games my wife is willing to play, though she didn't join in for co-op this time.

For those unfamiliar, Bubble Bobble is a classic Taito arcade game later ported to various consoles and computers. The NES version seems to be the most popular, though it's also available on the Commodore 64, Sega Master System, and others.

In the game, one or two players take the role of cutesy dragon(s) who work their way through 100-ish single-screen levels. The dragons' main arsenal consists of bubbles spit from their mouths. Enemies hit with bubbles will be enveloped inside for a set amount of time and the bubbles must be popped to completely wipe out the bad guys.

It's a simple concept implemented very well. Controls are smooth and there's a wide variety of enemies and power-ups. In addition to traditional bubbles there are those that will set fire to enemies, shoot lightning bolts at them, or cascade them with water. Points are earned by popping bubbles (even empty ones) and collecting fruit left behind from defeated foes - gather enough points to gain extra lives.

The levels are varied enough to keep things interesting. Some are especially humorous, like the SOS stage and the one with the Darius shout-out. Unfortunately there are some levels with borderline incoherent design choices like multitudes of false walls and floors and enemies placed way out of reach. Thankfully these make up a small minority.

Much like Contra, this is a case where the NES port beats the arcade original. Not only is the control superior but the game is much more forgiving in terms of lives and continues.

One thing that makes me irrationally angry is the inane requirements needed to get the "true ending." In addition to collecting a specific item along the way to the final boss, you must also finish the game with two players. This is supposed to teach you the value of friendship or some other nonsense, but was likely first implemented in the arcade game as a way to collect more quarters. Well played, Taito.
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ExedExes
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by ExedExes Sun Jan 25, 2015 1:10 am

1. Call of Duty United Offensive Expansion Pack - PC (January 16)
2. *NEW* Dead To Rights - Gamecube (January 24)

In my opinion, Dead To Rights was an action movie turned into a video game. Sure, that can be said for many games in the genre (Gun comes to mind too) but I mean this one could have been turned into a real movie so easily. Plenty of weapons, tons of characters, cheesy one liners from our main protagonist, a reasonably good story with lots of twists and turns, and it was LONG, LONG, LONG. But it was also very frustrating and unforgiving in spots especially near the end. The typical scenario played out went like this: Enter area, get through it clearing out about 20 bad guys, find a locked door/gate/whatever. Go back to killing another 10-15 more, find the key/card/device for unlocking it, backtrack to the original location, killing maybe 10-20 more. There are minigames to break up the monotony (disarming bombs is one that sticks out for me, but what about that very first minigame, people who have played it know what I mean :wink:)

This was no one-off title either, I found out that it has been a series with at least 3 more games. I enjoyed it but I'm also glad it's done.
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Xeogred wrote:The obvious answer is that it's time for the Dreamcast 2.
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elricorico
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Re: Games Beaten 2015

by elricorico Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:32 am

1. Fatal Fury (GEN)
2. DuckTales Remastered (WiiU)

3. Final Fantasy IV (PSP)


Some months ago I had played this up to the last dungeon but had a save corruption happen. For whatever reason it didn't click back then that I had changed memory cards a short time prior and therefore had only lost a couple of hours. I realized this recently and got back to it.

Final Fantasy IV is my second favourite of the main series, and I have very fond memories of beating it as a teen on the SNES. This port really worked for me; I can't imagine a better way to play this game now. The character sprites didn't sit right with me for the first hour or so, but now I like them just fine. Everything else felt like it had just the right amount of updating.

This game really set a new standard for JRPGs and it was a lot of years before more than a handful had lived up to it. The story is fairly dated now, but the gameplay stands the test of time. The music is great, I like the pacing and it has some of my favourite FF characters ever.

I'll work on the other parts of The Complete Collection next. I remember dabbling with The After Years on the Wii, but it didn't grab me then. I suspect I'm more in the mood now having just beat the main game.
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