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MrPopo wrote:Even the infinite spawning bugs aren't good for health farming.

Yeah, farming rats and garbage bags for measly health pickups for 5-10 minutes sucks. WayForward always finds ways to do stupid things in their otherwise great games. That's how it's been for every WayForward game I've beaten anyway.

First 50:

51. Oniken - PC
52. Strife Veteran Edition - PC
53. The Mummy Demastered - Switch

So yeah, thought I'd finish this after I was taking a Mario break. As Ex mentioned, this is basically a Metroidvania with a Contra protagonist. There's a larger emphasis on your weaponry compared to Metroid games; enemies are very aggressive and deal a lot of contact damage so killing them fast is of paramount importance. The game has a pretty diverse group of weapons, and it's a shame that they didn't try to balance them such that you might want to use previous weapons for their different properties. For the most part you just want to use the latest weapons you pick up (though I kept the flamethrower, since it might be slightly less damage than the mercury gun but the spread effect is amazing).

The game is a bit lighter on powerups that get through obstacles. You get a ceiling climb, a high jump, a fast run which gives you further jump distance, two kinds of grenades for barriers, and the ability to sink into water (yes, not floating has to be earned). The fast run has the problem of being a somewhat subtle effect; you don't even get some speed lines to indicate it's kicked in. Later on there is an optional replace your forward roll with a dash that can be used in midair, which I guess is another bit of mobility, but I never found a spot where it was necessary; just easier than getting a perfect dash jump. Apparently combining it with the run fast lets you bust through some barriers, but I never tested it.

The game has a more linear progression compared to other Metroidvanias; while there is some backtracking to do to get more items, for the most part you go from area one to area two without needing to revisit previous areas to get to the next area. There is a warp system, but it's of limited utility because of the in game implementation (helicopter landing points, which means no warp points in underground areas). In fact, I'd say that's where basically all of the game's shortcomings come from; an attempt to keep things fairly grounded. Sure, there's monsters, but there's actually not that much other supernatural stuff outside of boss fights. So since the game tries to stay grounded it becomes harder to justify all the stuff that has made Metroidvanias flow better over the years.

It's still a solid Metroidvania, and the health thing isn't so bad once you get past the second boss; at that point you will have enough health and weaponry that the refill from each new health tank is enough to keep you going. I ended up taking three and a half hours for 54% item collection and 90% map completion with a single death against the second boss. I guess that's my final complaint; half of the game's item percentage is useless collectables. And by useless, I mean they don't even change the ending (that's if you do it deathless or not).

The flamethrower was my jam most of the game. I like that it arced upward and left temporary flames. It made plowing through bats and crows a lot easier. As for collectables, I don't know. I mean what do you even get if you find all 50 relics? No clarity there to act as an incentive.

You get an achievement for 100% collection. The relics are meaningless except for that achievement, and you don't even get any recognition until you have all the other pickups as well.

That looks great. I don't know how one messes up a map system in these though. Hollow Knight's sounds problematic to me too and kind of makes me hesitate about buying it.

I'm watching the Giant Bomb quick look now and the music is definitely a nice blend of old and new like you said. The combat actually makes me think of Jurassic Park 2 The Chaos Continues, haha.

Is it Tom Cruise under the helmet? ...

Exhuminator, did you get around to Axiom Verge?

Xeogred wrote:That looks great. I don't know how one messes up a map system in these though.

With The Mummy Demastered; I believe obfuscating the map system was implemented as an attempt at artificial longevity. Just as it was with Mega Man ZX.

Xeogred wrote:Exhuminator, did you get around to Axiom Verge?

Not yet. I plan to play it in November when my physical Vita version ships.

Lame, but yeah doesn't sound like a huge issue. And ~4 hours is perfect for most Metroidvania's.

Axiom Verge was hands down one of my top favorites last year, incredible stuff. Metroid meets HR Giger meets David Cronenberg. Should be perfect for you. Also highly recommend Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight, but I'm not sure what else that is available on.

But yeah man this Mummy game looks shockingly great, my kind of aesthetics, everything looks awesome and there's like no traces of the movies from what I'm seeing haha, so funny. $20 seems steep though. But this kind of looks more appealing to me than Shantae, I might check it out before I get around to the other Shantae's.

Xeogred wrote:Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight, but I'm not sure what else that is available on.

It's on GOG.com. Exhuminator approved.

BoneSnapDeez wrote:GOG.com. Exhuminator approved.

DAMN RIGHT

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91. Devil Hunter Yohko: 7th Alarm Bell | Megadrive | 1991 | 3/10

Here's a licensed Megadrive game based off the Devil Hunter Yohko anime series. It stars a school girl who learns she's actually a successor in a long line of demon hunters, and so she takes up a sword and starts killing demons. Or something, I don't know. The story was in Japanese and I haven't seen the anime. The gameplay here is similar to Valis. You run through platforming stages slicing enemies up with a sword. You can also create a barrier around yourself that you can throw at enemies. Every stage has a time limit, and there's a boss fight at the end. There are no special powers or power ups to find, none of that. This is a super simple game, honestly feeling more like a NES title than something you'd expect from the Megadrive.



Devil Hunter Yohko: 7th Alarm Bell is also an infuriating experience. This is one of those rare platformers that when you jump, you can't change your direction in midair. Combine that with wonky physics and slippery sloping platforms, and you've got some not fun. Now sprinkle never ending enemies that constantly swarm you like gnats, and you've got a nightmare. You basically have to constantly swing your sword, even while you're jumping, or else you'll just die from nonstop enemy bombardment. And stages have maze-like design at times, meaning by the time you reach the end boss, you might run out of time fighting it. Luckily if you die, there are checkpoints through the stages. There are only five stages however, so you can beat this game fairly quick once you memorize the platforming layouts.



I cannot in good faith recommend anyone play Devil Hunter Yohko: 7th Alarm Bell, ever. Not even if you enjoy the anime. The graphics are rather drab and unimpressive, the peppy OST is misplaced given the thematic subject matter, and level designs are simultaneously boring yet irritating. I have to assume this game was made as quickly as possible to cash in on whatever hype its anime source had at the time. Needless to say, Devil Hunter Yohko: 7th Alarm Bell has not aged well. Although I don't see this game ever having been much good in the first place. How bad is this crap? During one stage you travel over water, if you fall in the water you die. But at the very end of the stage, you have to fall in the water, in order to fight an underwater boss. Why can Yohko suddenly breathe underwater, when she couldn't just moments before? It makes no sense, and neither does playing this game.

Xeogred wrote:That looks great. I don't know how one messes up a map system in these though. Hollow Knight's sounds problematic to me too and kind of makes me hesitate about buying it.

Hollow Knight's map system drove me crazy. First you have to buy a map for the area, then you explore, then you rest at a save point and your map actually gets filled in. And if you want to see your position on the map you need to equip a badge, reducing your capacity. I usually forwent that because it wasn't hard to figure out where you were once the map was filled in.