Racketboy forums’ Summer Games Challenge 2019

[prfsnl_gmr]

I adore the NES Ninja Gaiden games. I’ve only beaten the third game once, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve been through the first two almost a half dozen times each. I’ve spent a little time with the Master System game and, so far at least, it is very solid. Much faster than most games on the system too.

[Key-Glyph]

I'll be really interested to hear how different the Master System Ninja Gaiden is (or isn't)!

All right, so, the progress is strong in Zelda II. But first, let me recap my history with the game, because a lot of folks find this amusing.

Zelda II was the first Zelda game I ever played. My babysitter had it, and I played it for maybe a cumulative total of ten minutes somewhere in the mid-1990s. I had no idea what I was doing and never accomplished anything, but I found the whole experience fascinating and would repeatedly revisit it just to hang around in towns and watch civilians wander to and fro.

A few years later I saw a copy of the original for sale at a TV/VCR/Stereo repair shop and thought, "Oh nice! A Zelda game! This is gonna be awesome, just like the one at Melissa's house!" I got home, hooked up the NES, popped it in... and was like, "What the heck is this?! This isn't a Zelda game at ALL!" I was so disappointed that Zelda 1 was nothing like Zelda 2 that my interest waned almost immediately, and I didn't go back to the original until the mid-2010s, long after I'd played Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and Ocarina of Time. Apparently this is exactly the reverse experience of 99% of folks I've spoken with.

So, I've been really excited to get into Zelda II, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. So far I've finished two palaces, and I just picked up the hammer. Woohoo!

What I love most is the battle system. As I was playing it I commented, "This really reminds me of the battles with stalfos in Ocarina of Time," to which one of my friends replied, "Zelda II was actually the direct inspiration for that!" It's just so exciting to really duel with enemies, and have to fine-tune timing and patterns. That is so my jam. I also like that leveling up my defense and attack doesn't actually seem to make the game easier, but just... doable. As I inch into more difficult areas I always feel like I'm just able to hold my own and accomplish my goal -- I never feel truly comfortable, or like I can rely on my HP to save my butt in a battle if I haven't yet found an enemy's pattern. Constant vigilance!

[prfsnl_gmr]

Nice, Key. If you have the hammer, then you’ve completed one of the game’s most challenging sequences. Also, I agree completely regarding the combat. I think it’s the best swordplay on the NES and, possibly, the best until the 32-bit generation.

[pook99]

@key: that is a great story, definitely not the experience most people had, but it makes you wonder, imagine if Nintendo had released zelda 2 first than zelda 1, how would the series have been different? I always contend one of the most interesting things about the NES era is how sequels would stray from their original games, zelda, mario, castlevania, all had sequels that played entirely different than their predecessors. That would never fly nowadays but it certainly was an interesting time in gaming.

@prfsnl-gamer: I agree about the Zelda 2 combat, it was awesome and I can't believe that, even to this day, it is never seen in other games. Nowadays we have SO many retro inspired games out there and just about every classic you can name has inpsired some random indie developer except zelda 2, its weird.

[BoneSnapDeez]

It took me a long time to "get" Zelda II. I didn't beat the game until I had the GBA port; I played on a DS and was able to put the system to sleep which helped bypass the terrible NES save system. Then I went backwards and beat the NES and FDS versions of the game. This thread has me itching to play it again. The combat is surprisingly complex and well-crafted. It's a tough game, and I'll readily to admit to doing copious amounts of brute-force grinding during all three of my playthroughs. Waiting until there's one dungeon remaining to grab all the 1-ups is extremely helpful too. I actually found the stretch to the final dungeon (+ the final dungeon itself) to be the most difficult part of Link's journey.

I think I'm just gonna shoot for one Summer Challenge game myself. The one I alluded to earlier: Kid Icarus. (I'll actually be playing the original disk version: Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami....... ah, remember the days when localized games and their Japanese counterparts had completely different titles??).

[prfsnl_gmr]

The stretch to the final dungeon + final dungeon is definitely the hardest part of Zelda II. I owned the game as a child, but didn’t beat it until I was a man. Coincidence? I think not.

Also, Kid Icarus is solid once you get past the first level. It is one of the few games that gets significantly easier as you go. The Gameboy sequel is more of the same, but more polished and a bit easier. It may be a good warm up.

[MrPopo]

At least with Zelda II once you get to the final dungeon you respawn at the start on game over.

[lordb0rb4]

Small update guys, manage do knock down Star Wars Battle for Naboo today, played on Mupen64 emulator and i just loved the whole game.

I'm very impressed by how the game looks and sounds, Naboo's setting provides amazing vistas and the game feels very fresh with it's airborne and terrestrial vehicles.


The game structure is very similar to the Rogue Squadron games, the more you get to know the mission and enemy placement the better you fare and even after failing several times it keeps rewarding the player.

.New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS, 2006)
.Air Combat (Playstation, 1995)
.Star Wars: Battle for Naboo (PC, 2001)
.Grand Theft Auto III (PC, 2002)

Made some progress in GTA and made to the second map, amazing all the way.
.Mortal Kombat 2 (Arcade, 1993)
.Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (Playstation, 2000)
.Metroid: Zero Mission (Game Boy Advance, 2004)
.Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox, 2005)
.Zone of the Enders (Playstation 3, 2013)
.Prince of Persia:The Sands of Time (Playstation 3, 2011)

[Ack]

And chaulk another one up for the bad guys.

1. F.E.A.R. 2
2. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Yeah, I have now beaten Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines as a Nosferatu dressed like a gimp who started out as a fist fighter and ended up playing the game like an FPS. The end result is that the leaders of the Camarilla and Kuei-Jin are dead, I blew up some stuff, and I gave the Anarch leader the finger. Good times.

Having beaten the game as a Nosferatu, I know I could go back as a different vampire clan and have a different experience, but frankly I beat the game the way I wanted to play it, so I don't see much reason to return. I'm good with where things left off.

Playing this also drove me to look into what happened with White Wolf, and, uh, yeah. They went down the tubes. They went down hard. I feel bad about the end of some games that I enjoyed 15 years ago, but it looks like they self-inflicted a lot of their wounds. I can't say I'm truly surprised. I knew someone who worked there a long time ago; I hope she ended up ok.

Now, moving on to the next game, I started up Men of Valor. It's a buggy mess and not a classic. That said, I'll probably still play through it because the approach it takes to Vietnam, the ongoing political situation back home, the media, racism and civil rights, and so on.

Maybe I'll check out an RPG like Wasteland or something.

[MrPopo]

I'm going to want to know more details about Men of Valor; it looks like it should just be MoH: AA in a jungle. And I can highly recommend Wasteland to you.