Re: Games Beaten 2017
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:39 pm
Previous games:
December:
110) Faussete Amour (DUO) (5.0) (12/4) (3 hours)
111) Ys III: The Wanderer from Ys (DUO) (5.5) (12/7) (~5 hours)
112) Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action (DUO) (6.5) (12/9) (~1.5 hours)
113) Ys Book I & II (Book I) (TCD) (6.0) (12/16) (~5 hours)
114) Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue (8.5) (12/17) (~3 hours)
115) WeaponLord (GEN) (6.5) (12/18) (~40 minutes)
116) Alwa's Awakening (PC) (6.5) (12/20) (~6.5 hours)
117) Ys Book I & II (Book 2) (TCD) (6.5) (12/27) (~5 hours)
118) Cadash (TG16) (8.0) (12/30) (~2 hours)
119) Ninja Spirit (TG16) (7.0) (12/31) (~1 hour)
Ninja Spirit might be my last finished game this year. We'll see!
The game itself is a port of the titular arcade game. There's some downsampling of the graphics, as you'd guess, but overall it looks pretty nice. One of the neat components borrows from Ninja Gaiden II (or maybe it borrowed from this!), in that you can have two "shadow clones" that mimic your moves. Think of them a bit like the options in Gradius if you haven't played NGII. You also get a complement of four different ninja weapons: a sword, throwing stars, a sort of grappling hook, and some throwable bombs. I found all of them to have their uses except the hook. They all each have an upgrade level as well. The structure of the game is the usual single-plane "kill everything that moves" much like Revenge of the Shinobi, although the complexity is a bit simpler, in a sort of Kung Fu / Spartan X way (which is fitting, given its IREM heritage).
So, the game itself can be pretty tough at moments, but it's pretty easy overall. Or so I thought. The console version has been gimped a bit, as it defaults to "PC Engine" mode. This gives you actual life, where projectiles will take away one of your five health points. Sword attacks will still instantly kill you, however. Set the game to "Arcade Mode", and you'll feel the pain of one-hit deaths throughout the game. Fun times! At least the game gives some clemency in the form of unlimited continues. To be clear, I did not finish Arcade Mode, only curious about the differences after I'd blown through the game in the other mode.
Not a bad way to spend some time, but like most arcade ports, the experience is short-lived.
December:
110) Faussete Amour (DUO) (5.0) (12/4) (3 hours)
111) Ys III: The Wanderer from Ys (DUO) (5.5) (12/7) (~5 hours)
112) Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action (DUO) (6.5) (12/9) (~1.5 hours)
113) Ys Book I & II (Book I) (TCD) (6.0) (12/16) (~5 hours)
114) Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue (8.5) (12/17) (~3 hours)
115) WeaponLord (GEN) (6.5) (12/18) (~40 minutes)
116) Alwa's Awakening (PC) (6.5) (12/20) (~6.5 hours)
117) Ys Book I & II (Book 2) (TCD) (6.5) (12/27) (~5 hours)
118) Cadash (TG16) (8.0) (12/30) (~2 hours)
119) Ninja Spirit (TG16) (7.0) (12/31) (~1 hour)
Ninja Spirit might be my last finished game this year. We'll see!
The game itself is a port of the titular arcade game. There's some downsampling of the graphics, as you'd guess, but overall it looks pretty nice. One of the neat components borrows from Ninja Gaiden II (or maybe it borrowed from this!), in that you can have two "shadow clones" that mimic your moves. Think of them a bit like the options in Gradius if you haven't played NGII. You also get a complement of four different ninja weapons: a sword, throwing stars, a sort of grappling hook, and some throwable bombs. I found all of them to have their uses except the hook. They all each have an upgrade level as well. The structure of the game is the usual single-plane "kill everything that moves" much like Revenge of the Shinobi, although the complexity is a bit simpler, in a sort of Kung Fu / Spartan X way (which is fitting, given its IREM heritage).
So, the game itself can be pretty tough at moments, but it's pretty easy overall. Or so I thought. The console version has been gimped a bit, as it defaults to "PC Engine" mode. This gives you actual life, where projectiles will take away one of your five health points. Sword attacks will still instantly kill you, however. Set the game to "Arcade Mode", and you'll feel the pain of one-hit deaths throughout the game. Fun times! At least the game gives some clemency in the form of unlimited continues. To be clear, I did not finish Arcade Mode, only curious about the differences after I'd blown through the game in the other mode.
Not a bad way to spend some time, but like most arcade ports, the experience is short-lived.