by prfsnl_gmr Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:25 am
Summer Games Challenge
1. Adventure - Broken Sword (PC/iOS)
2. Beat 'em Up - Guardian Heroes (SATURN/360)
3. Fighting - Virtua Fighter Remix (ARCADE/SATURN), Virtua Fighter 2 (ARCADE/SATURN/PS3), and Fighting Vipers (ARCADE/SATURN/PS3)
4. FPS - Perfect Dark (N64/360)
5. JRPG - Dragon Warrior II (NES/GBC)
6. Racing - Virtua Racing (ARCADE/PS2), Daytona USA (ARCADE/DREAMCAST), and Sega Rally Championship (ARCADE/SATURN)
7. Rail Shooters - Virtua Cop (ARCADE/SATURN) and Virtua Cop 2 (ARCADE/SATURN)
8. Run 'n Gun - Ikari Warriors (ARCADE/PS3)
9. Shmup - Galactic Attack/Layer Section/RayForce (ARCADE/SATURN/XBOX/iOS)
10. Sports - Decathlete (ARCADE/SATURN)
I knocked out Sega Rally Championship last night. It is a really, really great racing game. It is less realistic than Virtua Racing; it isn't as fast or fun as Daytona USA; but it is more challenging and more addictive than either. I highly recommend it, and I am looking forward to playing through the Dreamcast sequel. (Next summer, maybe?)
I had the strange experience of playing through increasingly sophisticated racing games on decreasingly sophisticated hardware. (I played Virtua Racing, released in 1992, on my PS2; I played Daytona USA, released in 1994, on my Dreamcast; and I played Sega Rally Championship, released in 1995, on my Saturn.) I nonetheless developed a lot of respect for these classic Sega racing games, and their strange, somewhat inverted difficulty curves. (As alienjesus noted, to win these games, you have to drive flawlessly on the beginner course; you have to drive really well on the intermediate course; and you have to avoid completely screwing up the expert course.) I also really had some fun getting back into racing games for a while, and I can't wait until I see another Sega racing game in an actual arcade.
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Next, I will try to tackle Galactic Attack/Layer Section/RayForce (ARCADE/SATURN/XBOX/iOS). I have determined that I can't really tolerate the compromised visuals on the Saturn and Xbox ports; so, I will play through it on my iPad. The touch controls aren't that bad, and I will consider the game "beaten" when: (1) I play through the whole game in one sitting; and (2) can beat each of the first four stages on a single credit and each of the last three stages on two credits.
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Finally, I have now beaten ten(!) games in five genres for my summer challenge. I am very happy with my progress so far, and I look forward to getting through the last five games on my list (each of which is in a different genre).