Topic: cheetahman91's Retro Game Thoughts

OK, due to some recent complaints about me making too many daily retro threads, I have decided to make one big thread discussing these games. I have absolutely no idea of what this blog is or how to use one, so I'll just make a giant thread. I'm going to post the last three game thoughts and a new one, so enjoy! Please don't report me for quadruple posting either, I want to keep the thoughts separate.
Rolling Thunder (Namco/1986/Arcade):

This game is a run and gun (sort of) where you play as a secret agent, codenamed "Albatross", trying to save a girl. Whenever I first played this game on Namco Museum: Battle Collection, I was like, "Holy crap this game is hard!". It is a pretty difficult game. You can only take one or two hits which sucks. One unique feature about the game is the fact you can jump from floor to floor, and hiding in doors. I found that a unique concept and it adds an amount of strategy to the game.

Even though the only powerup is a machine gun, it's effective if you use it effectively. You can get pretty good too if you memorize the stages in certain places. I also like the secret agent themed music. I think it fits the game very well and it's really good too. I just like this game, despite the difficulty.

Afterburner 2 (SEGA/1987/Arcade):
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The gameplay involves you flying around in a F-14 Tomcat jet plane shooting down enemy aircraft. Your weapons include a gun and a limited amount of missiles. Missles get refuelled every few stages. In this version, your airplane can be sped up or slow down using a throttle. That's really all the gameplay right there.

I know this arcade machine was a cockpit where the seat moved around and it had a flight stick, but I've only played it with a controller before. Whenever I first played this game, it reminded me a little bit of Space Harrier (another SEGA classic) in that it was a shooter with psuedo-3D visuals, but after I played it a while, I grew to like it better than SH. It seems more frantic and fast paced to me which makes it a little more difficult. I suck at this game though because I die every 10-30 seconds. Thankfully you can have as many continues as you want and you die where you left off. One interesting cameo I found in the game was that on one of the landing strips where you refuel on missiles, you see the Ferrari Testarossa going down the landing strip on stage 13.
Like SH though, the game suffers from being short and repetitive which may turn some gamers off. The game can be beaten in less than an hour if you're wandering how long. However, I look past repetitiveness in most games which helps me appreciate the game more. The music and graphics are great too.

Plaque Attack (Activision/1983/VCS(2600)):

First off, this is a shooter. It's a different shooter though because you play as a tube of toothpaste and your goal is to shoot various foods such as burgers, candy canes, and french fries to defend the teeth. If a food comes in contact with a tooth, it flashes yellow and rots. Sometimes though, you can save the teeth. As the game progresses, the food goes down (or up) in more complicated patterns which makes the game, of course harder. One unique thing about this game is the fact that your tube can travel anywhere on the screen, it can even flip! Loose all teeth though, and its game over. You'll also need to hurry as you only have a limited amount of toothpaste. As most VCS (2600) games, you can change the difficulty.

I first played this game on Activision Classics on the PS1, and along with Enduro, it was one of my favorite games on the collection. It's just so unique compared to every other shooter out there. Yeah I know the VCS (2600) was filled with unique games, but lets face it, a lot of them weren't that great. This game on the other hand, it's a load of fun. It also rarely flickers which is a good thing. It's a fun arcady style shooter filled with replay value. Like most Activision games, this game features a special patch after getting 35,000 points.

One thing I didn't know about this game though is that it's considered an educational title! That surpised me because I knew most education titles sucked. Even Steve Cartwright, the games programmer, said he made it for people to develop good eating habits! Well, even if this considered an education title, I still like it.

Amidar (Konami/1981/Arcade):

This game was developed in 1981 by Konami. It's a game that has heavy influence from Pac-Man. The game has three parts, a gorilla maze, a bonus stage, and a paint roller stage. The gorilla stage is pretty much the same as Pac-Man where you have to collect all the dots to complete the stage while avoiding the tribal people. The paint roller stage is where you have to paint the entire stage while avoiding pigs. It requires more strategy though, as the only spaces that can be painted are the ones next to the already painted ones and the whole square must be painted. The bonus stage is where you play as a pig and is similar to that pipe game in Mario Party where you pick a pipe and the pig goes down. Touch a banana and you get bonus points.

I really didn't know what to expect when I played this one. Whenever I played it though, I was thinking "Just another Pac-Man clone". After a while, I knew this was not just a generic clone. It was the unique paint roller stage that convinced me this was not a generic clone. One thing I liked about the game was when you pushed the fire button, it made the enemies jump and you could pass under them. Too bad it was only for a few times though. It's also a little harder than Pac-Man too, which is a plus. I've also played the VCS (2600) version, and I wasn't very impressed. It just doesn't feel the same as the arcade experience. All in all, this is an excellent early Konami title.
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Wow, out of those four, Amidar's the only one I haven't played. I think I played it's clone on MAME32, can't remember. Looks fun, though.

You'd like it if you liked a Pac-man like game.

Plaque Attack is certainly not a bad game, but I never got comfortable with the controls, and the game gets really overwhelming very fast. Crackpots had a somewhat similar premise, but had much more manageable threats to fight off.

Ah yeah, and the unique thing about Amidar is the way the enemies move around the maze. Unlike Pac-man, you have less room to move, no real method of defense, and there are more enemies, but they move in predetermined and understandable paths. The key to the game is knowing how to navigate the maze to avoid getting caught up in their paths.

After Burner.... man you brought back some memories there. I prob dropped enough quaters into that machine to buy the whole thing

Mr. Do!(Universal/1982/Arcade)

In this Universal game, you assume the role of a clown of Mr. Do and your goal is to dig and collect all the fruit on the screen whilst avoiding enemies. If you can collect a group of fruit one after the other, you get some bonus points. Mr. Do is equipped with a magic ball that he can hurl at enemies and destroy them, but beware, you must wait a second or two to get the ball back after you shoot it and hit something. Mr. Do can also use big apples which he can move to crush the enemies. There are also enemies that have a letter from the word EXTRA, and if you defeat all five of them, you get an extra man.

The first time I played this game, it was the VCS (2600) port. I thought it was a unique idea, (this is a Golden Age game after all), and after enjoying it, I decided to try the superior arcade version. I enjoyed it even more than the port, which is usually how I feel about most arcade games, save a few exceptions. It's addicting as hell too. I find myself playing this game quite often in fact. The enemies get faster of course which makes this a good old school type game. Another thing I like is when you collect a fruit, a note plays. The notes get higher as you get one fruit after another in a group. For some reason, Mr. Do looks like an old man with pajamas on rather than a clown. All in all, this another highly enjoyable arcade game. If only we knew who holds the rights to it now so we can see if this buried gem can be on the Virtual Console...
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Mr. Do! I loved Mr. Do! It was great Dig Dug clone, and I love the premise. I sure miss it. I should order the SNES port from eBay someday (yes, they have a 16-bit port).

Don't forget Neo-Mr. Do!. It's a remake of the orginal for the Neo-Geo and it's quite excellent too.

Meh, I didn't care for Mr. Do. It was nothing more than a cheap ripoff of Dig Dug IMO, and I hate clowns (which the main character happens to be).

I DID enjoy Mr. Do's Castle though. If you could do a thought of that one one day, that'd be great.

I don't know why people are so scared of clowns. I'm not.
And, yea, I know, Ric, I immediately recognized it as a Dig Dug clone the first time I played it. But a good Dig Dug clone at that!!!

I never found it to be a ripoff TBH. The only similarities I found was digging and crushing enemies. I find Amidar more of a Pacman ripoff than Mr. Do a DigDug ripoff, but that's just my opinion. I didn't really care for Mr. Do's castle either. Maybe another spin might change my mind...

I remember when I still had MAME32 a game that looked like Do! Run Run. A good game, I loved the play on perspective. I think there should be a Mr. Do! compilation disc someday. Who agrees?

I'm not too sure about that and there are two reasons:
1. I don't know who owns the right to Mr. Do now.
2. Only six games were ever made for the series. A Universal compilation would be great though.

Sonic 3D Blast (Saturn/1997/Saturn)

In this port of the 1996 Genesis (Mega Drive) game of the same name, you assume the role of the world's fastest hedgehog,(Sonic in case you were wondering) and he must save all the little birds called Flicky's from the clutches of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Each world is separated into three acts. The first two acts are the main levels where Sonic must destroy five enemies per section to rescue the Flickies and guide them to the giant ring to go to the next section. Beware though, because if you get hit by an enemy while guiding Flickies, them and your rings will scatter and you'll have to retrieve them. Find Knuckles and Tails and you'll be transported to a special stage that's just like the one in Sonic 2 (Genesis) where you get a chance to get a Chaos Emerald. The third act is a boss level where you have to defeat Robitnik who's in one of his many robots.

First off, let me say this. I grew up with this game. Not the Genesis version, this version. I've compared both versions before and let me tell you this, the Saturn version blows it out of the water. EVERYTHING about this game has been improved especially the special stage. I find the special stage the best special stage in ANY Sonic game. Some people dislike this game because all you do is collect birds, but I don't mind that at all. I like how it's different than all the other Sonic games up to this time. He's lost his speed though, but I couldn't see him going too fast in an isometric game which this is. One thing that irritated me about the Saturn version though (actually two things) were the godawful load times which the Saturn is infamous for and the fact you can't save your game. Ugh... so annoying. The music in this game was excellent too, same for graphics, even if only one part of the game was real 3D. Overall, this is my favorite Saturn game other than the amazing NiGHTS Into Dreams...
I'm not gonna post a gameplay video this time. Instead, I'm gonna treat you to the special stages:
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I found the MegaDrive iteration of Sonic 3D Blast to be very underrated. It's a really decent title, and I like how some of the gameplay elements were lifted from the arcade game Flicky. It's also got great music.

I'm mixed when it comes to the music from 3D Blast. What I mean is that some music from both versions is better than the other version. For example, I like the music off the Saturn version of Green Grove better than the Genesis (Mega Drive) version. On the flipside, I like the Genesis' (Mega Drive) version of Diamond Dust better than the Saturn. The one problem I have with the music off the Genesis (Mega Drive) is it suffers from the Genesis' crappy sound chip.
I also find Genesis 3D Blast to be a tad underrated, but it's just not as good considering the fact the original version I played was the far superior Saturn version.

I only played the Genesis version of Sonic 3d Blast and I own that one for a long time. The game is the weakest Sonic game on the system, but it is a decent game. There are worse games for the Sega Genesis like Virtua Fighter 2.