1. Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour (PC)
2. Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter* (PC)
3. Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter (PC)
4. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (PC)
5. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight (PC)
6. Deadcore (PC)
7. Yakuza 4 (PS3)
8. Hyper Light Drifter (PC)
9. Doom 2: Valiant (PC)
10. Resident Evil 7 (PS4)
10. Doom 2: Ancient Aliens (PC)
11. Doom 2: Vanguard (PC)
12. Doom 2: Doom 2 The Way id Did (PC)
13. Doom 2: Community Chest Pack 4 (PC)
14. Doom: Doom The Way id Did (PC)
15. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (PC)
16. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 (PC)
17. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (WiiU)
18. Dishonored 2 (PC)
19. Kirby's Dream Land (GB)
20. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (GB)
21. Super Mario Land (GB)
22. Super Mario Land 2 (GB)
23. Mighty Final Fight (NES)
24. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)
25. Trip World (GB)
26. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)
27. Aladdin (Genesis)
28. Streets of Rage (SMS)
29. Bare Knuckle (Genesis)
30. Bare Knuckle 2* (Genesis)
31. Bare Knuckle 3* (Genesis)
32. Marchen Adventure Cotton 100% (SNES)
33. Earthworm Jim* (Sega CD)
34. Ghouls'n Ghosts (Genesis)
35. Contra (NES)
36. Super C (NES)
37. Final Fight 2* (SNES)
38. Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)* replay
I did it boys!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
haha. Not going to lie here though, I did boost up those lives to 7 after all... still took a few attempts for the final level though and I still wouldn't say I have that one down very well. The weird alien crawler head thing that can ram into you, it was hard to get through that one without taking a hit sometimes. All the vertical spam would be raining down and I'd be in his face blasting away, but then he'd shoot that beam at you. After that, the Ridley-esque boss pissed me off a lot, but was pretty easy to handle if you had the Cluster. That's IF. Still wasn't hard to take down after you figure out the patterns, but it took awhile and drains out my patience making me anxious. The level just kept going throwing everything and the kitchen sink at you, I had no clue what the final boss was. The huge alien head after that was a tough one because of that stupid snake that would twirl around and ram into you, I could never figure out a safe spot or any patterns. Seemed like sheer luck. Then there's Krang! Some of the forms were quite easy while others, again that stupid twirling snake like form really pissed me off. You could duck and take cover, but that didn't mean you were safe in that one spot the entire time that thing would slither back and forth. It was chaos. The blue orbs one was pretty tough as well, along with that weird grey boulder rock form or something, the hit detection on that part was insanely weird and hard to figure out. Finally... got through it though, only to see the game pull a Ghouls n' Ghosts on me and that I didn't see the true final boss. Then I rewatched Mike Matei's video (I have been off and on, I'd get through a level a few times then see how he would, but didn't watch ahead while playing this so I could experience it myself) and so I did see the final boss...doesn't look too tricky based off his video, if you have Homing at least.
The final boss on the 4th level is probably one of the most anxious battles I've ever played and of course, I had to replay this level a dozen times over. Good lord I'm having a hard timing thinking of another boss that makes me sweat that much. It's not even that hard either... but you're in the damn air, riding freaking missiles, having to constantly jump and maneuver between missiles, while this carrier is constantly shooting crap at you and explosions cover the screen. It's the scariest thing I've ever seen.
I actually don't think the 5th level is that hard at all. Especially when I realized the spinning maneuver with the shoulder buttons helps a lot. But the boss was a royal pain and I can't say this idea was cool or fun at all, so it's the stinker part of the game for sure. Cluster, Fire, and Laser seemed to help the most, but it felt like pure luck and was a lives sink sometimes. You can at least get some bombs and good weapons on the worms before going in, but still.
It seemed like level 3 was the real roadblock. Probably played it like 20 times haha. But once I got a grasp on that level and a good feel for the game in general, it felt like I handled the next stuff ahead a little better. Again, kind of like Contra and Super C, the final level itself seemed quite easy to me... but then there's 10 some bosses that are the game changer.
Overall it's hard to say which I like more between this and the NES games. They're definitely a different flavor. This is basically Bayonetta 2 decades before Bayonetta 2, every single inch of the game is an insane over the top spectacle with traditional ideas and normality thrown out the window. Personally for me, making it a bit scarier than the NES games, because there are so many boss battles with intricate patterns and gimmicks you have to master, your life feels far more delicate. It's crazy.
S rank on the music, controls, graphics, etc again for sure. This holds up perfectly. In a lot of ways, I absolutely love how this is basically the Konami answer to Capcom's Super Ghoul's n Ghosts, another one with the one hit deaths (though sometimes two if you've got armor). So it seems like the kind of have some of the same philosophies. I grew up loving Ghouls and wish I spent more time with Contra. But better late than never.
Recently though, I talked about how I generally don't like one hit death games. But I want to revise that thought a bit. In Contra's case, or Thunder Force for another random example, I don't mind it at all when you instantly respawn. You at least get a few chances to instantly learn and adapt to your mistakes. So I didn't use save states at all for the Contra games. On the flip side, when I ran through Ghoul's n Ghosts for the Genesis earlier this week, I definitely used them at times. When you die and are slowly thrown back to a checkpoint, it's those types that I really have to be in the mood for and don't always love. Of course there will be exceptions, nostalgia tied to some old favorites, and I won't turn those games down, but yeah. Super Ghouls being a nostalgic case here that I'd give the pass too. But anyways, games with instant respawns like Contra I have no issues with.
Damn good stuff I'll have to keep plugging away at and might be able to master on Hard someday to see the real ending myself.
Next up, Operation C and Hard Corps.