Games Beaten 2015

[MrPopo]

I don't recommend the likes of Baldur's Gate or Arcanum as a stepping stone into the Computer RPG realm as they have steep learning curves and a lot of trial and error make even a bit of headway into the story. They are phenomenal games, but they require a lot of time, patience and planning to get through.

I think the real thing that hurts Baldur's Gate in terms of the noob experience is just how unforgiving the AD&D rules are. Baldur's Gate ends up being a giant tutorial for Baldur's Gate II, as II is when you reach that point where you don't feel like every combat is going to kill you and your characters have enough spell slots and spell levels to have interesting tactical choices. But the original you just have to treat like every combat is going to kill you (and in the first couple levels every combat probably will) and you'll do fine. Actually going through and doing the quests is not really an issue, unlike Arcanum. And it's even better if you're either doing the Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod (running Baldur's Gate on the BG2 engine since it adds some nice usability features) or using the Enhanced Edition (which I believe has the same usability features).

Personally I think Fallout is only a bit easier to get into than Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate does a better job of giving you a plot line to follow and you know you need to hit location A, then B, then C, with an option to explore all over the place if you want. Fallout is much more open ended and you don't really discover the main plot until midway through. Of course, if you prefer that then go for it. I also think Fallout wants you to do more research into its system to plan your character out, whereas the D&D system both forces halfway decent stats on you to play the various classes and since its random rolls people quickly realize they want to roll until they have a bunch of big numbers.

Shadowrun Returns is great, though. The combat is straight out of XCOM (in a great way) and you get a nicely balanced party in Dragonfall so you can focus on rolling a character you like, rather than needing to powergame things.

[Stark]

More humbling though while I fumbled with them, my brother was able to knock those games out when he was about 12. He then started to walk around with a stuffed toy taped to his shoulder pretending to be Minsk. It was a phase.

BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Squeaky wheel gets the kick!

[BoneSnapDeez]

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.

[J T]

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!

[BoneSnapDeez]

dem peripherals tho

[REPO Man]

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]

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

[Sarge]

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.

[REPO Man]

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.

[BoneSnapDeez]

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.