"Paying 1000 points (or more for a full translation), the same as an N64 game, for a regular SNES game which was playable without a translation anyway... now THAT is insulting to the consumer."
Um, I don't know if it's different in Europe, but over here, almost all GameCube and Xbox games can be easily found for less than $10 used (and that coming with a box and instructions). I appreciate the VC for finding rare games, or some really amazing compression techniques for CD titles. That helps me tolerate other games that are overpriced, since they pretty much saved me having to track down a Turbo Duo so far (except Corbie mentioned a way of getting Ys IV . . . man, I want, want, want . . . ). It's a really good game, and even with text-light games--although still playable with some annoying trial-and-error with some menus--devs felt it worthwhile to round it out with a tiny little story. Mega Man 2's little intro is like two sentences and yet made a huge impact on people who played it at the time. So what? It feels unfinished because of laziness. (I do know for a fact that selling something in a STORE usually marks up the price by more than double). The no-middle-men nature of downloads means a huge profit. How much was Half-Life 2 episode 1 for download, even though it was a totally new game?
"Its 100 extra points to convert A Japanese game to run on American or European machines."
You know how you can set change the region on your Wii? It's the same machine for EU and US, and still there are price differences because of "import" status to one or the other. Like, SMRPG? You want to pay a dollar less in Europe? Just change the region! (not that it's worth it. Just making a point)
"It's THE best Mario RPG of all time... I don't know why but every time I play this game it's like if it was the first time that I play it..."
That comment blew my mind, because that's the exact same experience I'm having right now replaying it. I think that it's because there's nothing quite like it. It's just like Squaresoft's old slogan which I wish it had kept--"Pick a world, we'll take you there."
Playing it again, I also started truly appreciating the platforming bits, which were at least as fun as, say, Sonic 3D Blast all by themselves. Though it's a traditional RPG for sure, it has a unique emphasis on action. And then, it's one of Square's epics, with memorable (new) characters and worlds connected by a story, with real laugh-out-loud dialogue. I keep hearing people say "Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana" as the SNES RPG triumvirate. But I think it should be "FFVI, CT, and Super Mario RPG." The pacing is perfect, a bit shorter than its contemporaries (though Chrono Trigger was also REALLY short. For me, 14 hours without a New Game+).
Super Mario RPG is just Grade-AAA escapism, with well-meaning humor and sincere writing in its story and artwork. With so much shock-value entertainment these days (including games) I hate to think someone missing out on something like SMRPG to take the edge off and just truly enjoy it. This came out in the middle of Square's heyday (which went on into the PS-one).
Paper Mario and M&L were different animals, but with Square missing for the story and the world-creating, artwork, and music, SMRPG's impact couldn't be repeated.
The Nintendo/Square mix resulted in one of the most successful joint-efforts in gaming.
Yeah, DoReMi is a great, easygoing change of pace. But I AM upset about the lack of translation. Hudson basically makes an easy buck by giving an import game, and then charges an extra $ for absolutely nothing. "cuz it's an import." Whatever. It's unprofessional and insulting to the consumer.
(whoa, that sounded too much like my recent political writing . . . O_o gotta knock that off)
5/5!!!!!!!!! I am pretty hard to please with the forced-scrolling shooter genre, and Gate of Thunder is awesome. Somehow I think of games like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden Sigma, where the action is intense and you either feel awesome for pulling it off or like you've lost to a worthy opponent if you don't. I had no idea I could enjoy a forced-scrolling shooter so much and even call it a thing of epicness until I experienced Gate of Thunder. Other shooters can feel like you're learning a dance, only really trying to figure out where in the screen you're supposed to be at what times. Gate of Thunder really isn't any different, but it's quite an elegant ship dance, with fair warning for threats and methodical placement of challenge.
Lords of Thunder comes close, but make no mistake, Gate of Thunder represents the perfect forced-scrolling shooter. The sequel gets away with throwing out a great deal more cheap shots--unpredictable, dubious hazards--thanks to the fact that it takes more than one hit to die. Gate of Thunder's challenges just make so much sense, like one area involving an asteroid avalanche while you were already going through a narrow passageway, preventing an unlucky player from hanging around the top of the screen when it started--thank you, Hudson, for using your brains and thinking about the player's point of view this time! Lords certainly isn't worse than the average shooter in this respect, but Gate of Thunder's polish makes the game one long string of the cleverest and yet impeccably-paced scenarios in the genre. No thoughtless or arbitrary stage design here.
Probably the most distinguishing aspect of the gameplay would be the ability to shoot forwards and backwards at the same time (making me miss this feature a lot in other shooters). Only one thing holds this game back, and it's tradition rearing its ugly head again: it is a PAIN to upgrade your ship again after it goes down, for one thing. (off the top of my head, Axelay is a shooter that got rid of this ugly staple of the genre)
7 levels of absolute awesome, along with a fantastic soundtrack, that's some great techno without Lord of Thunder's rather over-the-top tendencies.
Mag editors will do stuff like that all the time. And some people get interested because the eds got around to more stuff than most people and like to know what prolific gamers recommend.
That was a good read, Corbie. I'm always interested to know the preferences of people who have experienced a WIDE variety of games (and there are some readers whose lists I think I'd like to see too, like Adamant's who's seen it all ). I have over 70 VC games myself . . . there are many I haven't beaten, though, so making a list is kinda premature for me, but here goes anyway. I also listed games available on VC but have on collections instead. (Note: I refuse to put Ocarina of Time in here because I feel the emulation's framerate is unacceptable, and other N64 downloads are similar) 1. Mega Man 2 2. Super Mario Bros. (1) 3. Super Metroid. 4. Ys Book I&II 5. Super Mario Bros. 3 6. Mega Man 7. Super Mario RPG 8. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 9. Phantasy Star 2 10. Metroid 11. Super Mario 64 12. Super Mario World 13. Super Castlevania IV 14. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link (What are YOU looking at?! 15. Gate of Thunder 16. Lords of Thunder 17. Gunstar Heroes 18. Super Mario Bros. 2 19. Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting 20. Contra III
Something sorta-kinda like that. I guess these are the games that I'd say to some n00b Wii-owner, THESE are the ones you must get, maybe.
Whoa, the legendary Super Mario Bros. Widely considered the greatest game of all time on many list, both reader and editors'. Buy it a jillion times. I got it on the NES, GBA, GBC (SMBDX), Super Mario All-Stars, and now the VC. You gotta have it! REQUIRED!
Meh. I'm not so sure. PSIV is WAY more playable and palatable, and just plain easier dungeon designs (the only non-MEAN PS game). The larger amount of dialogue and story scenes are more familiar from one used to SNES RPGs. But I still think PS2 has the higher ambition in every respect, that makes it more memorable, with the story (though sparse, it is EXCELLENT), great characters--which a few of PSIV's were surely based on--and memorably-fiendish dungeons and boss fights.
But look, folks, you must play the whole series! PSIV feels kind of redundant after PSII but it's really polished (and the end of the three-part epic), while it's a continuous story with each game feeling unique. PSIII has a great sidestory too, even if it's a pretty ugly and cumbersome game.
Nothing really sticks out about it other than that it's just a charming, delightful game. I can't think of a better looking Genesis game, period--so incredibly colorful with gorgeous detail. It has just enough challenge and depth to be compelling but not overly stressful, so it's mostly a superb platformer for pure enjoyability.
In my opinion, just the thing for the end of a stressful day (or times O_o)
Yeah, I remember that "you are greedy" thing as pretty much the creepiest thing I have EVER seen in a videogame when I was a kid. I mean, how many videogames directly pass judgment on you and punish you? Sheesh.
Otherwise, this game is pretty weird. I don't think it even has an end that you could "beat it," if I remember right. And the enemies and hero . . .
Creepy-weird old-school. I can't believe they put this on the VC that they'd want anybody to relive this thing.
I never laughed so hard in ages, because I admire the articulate honesty. I'm also starting to think you might be right. That gave the angry game nerd a run for his money. XD
"So, is it just me or does anyone else here want them to put Castlevania 64 on the VC?"
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really don't know what everybody's problem was with Castlevania 64. I thought it was an awesome re-imagining of Castlevania in 3-D. . . . man, if Konami knows anything, it's how to get the best sound out of hardware, too. Even the Genesis Castlevania sounded memorable , which I thought was impossible to do on that system.
Yeah. I'm taking a break after I beat the first eight stages perfectly so I won't make myself nuts. Like the 360's achievements, some of the challenges are cool while others are kinda stupid (beat the game five times in a day?)
I started with Galaxy Man, noticing the different way he looks when he jumps straight up or at you. This is a hard thing to do, but once you get his weapon, go for Jewel Man, who is weak to it and yields that really effective shield that will make the rest of life three times as easy from there on out. (notice Jewel Man mimics you--jumps when you jump, shoots when you shoot, so jump slightly and run under him). I get used to using the weapons a LOT, because they're so effective in this game. Use a file starting with lots of screws so you can get M-Tanks for refilling weapons.
It's hard as rocks but it's doable, thanks to some of the most scientific game design I've ever seen. Worthy challenge, therefore . . . except that you don't get anything for beating the challenges.
Edit: Only TWO challenges to go for me: Mr. Perfect, and beat it 30 times.
On the positives, it looks/sounds good (great music!). Dungeons can be fun to conquer. It's aping Zelda, and once you copy the formula, it's kind of hard to screw up.
And yet the few things this game does differently than Zelda hurt it a lot. For one thing, though the items knock off Zelda, many of the dungeons actually have armor, sword, or shield upgrades. In Zelda games (even the original), progress in a dungeon was limited until finding that dungeons item, which helped progression. If it's a sword or shield, it's missable, not doing anything with progress and dungeons aren't as interesting because of it. Boss battles are comparatively forgettable too.
I think giving high praise to Neutopia would be taking Zelda for granted. Kind of like what happened when casual Star Wars fans said "um, Episode 1 is my favorite!" And probably didn't realize that the appeal of it probably lies in its heritage. Likewise, I think Neutopia is nowhere near Zelda's equal, but since it has enough in it to remind of an overall better game, it gets off easier. Granted, some things can feel more streamlined, like its overworld being divided into four layers rather than one daunting one all at once, but then, it's also an easy way out for less complicated structure for exploring. Also, it kind of kills the fun out of getting stronger swords and armors, because you simply face stronger enemies in response to your stronger equipment (rather than, say, going to that place that used to be prohibitively difficult with your new feeling-awesome equipment).
I dunno. It's so hard to be objective about this one. There's just no way to play it without thinking "Zelda-clone," though it does feel inspired enough to, say, make someone wonder who was knocking the other off . . . maybe. As I go into it with an open mind (as there are many ways Zelda had clearly been improved in later sequels) and enjoying it a great deal as an experience on it's own, NO, this is not as good as Zelda in its game design, which still had better dungeons thanks to better use of special items, for one thing, and a better overworld for the same reason. But even with the sheer number of Zelda titles now, who couldn't go for yet another round of retro Zelda anyway?
90% of the challenges!!!!! (still haven't even cleared it 10X tho)
I'm actually going for Mr. Perfect. Gone through three stages so far without taking any damage (hey, at least you can save between the first eight stages). It's actually not as bad as you'd think as soon as you manage to get your first special weapon.
Edit: Got through all eight bosses without taking any damage! Now for Wily's castle O_o
I got my hands on a cart a few years back, and considering the legendary status of this game, I was rather underwhelmed myself. I even heard some people mention it in the same breath as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, which is seriously pushing it. I think the game would have been WAY more fun with another player or two. Kind of a cross between Zelda and Final Fantasy . . . though I don't recall many puzzles, or remember much of anything about the story.
Pretty simple and (I'm afraid) repetitive, but then, that's what would have made it really great if I had friends around at the time who would go for it. (maybe now's a good time to round up the riffraffs again . . .) Very enjoyable art and music, and an action-RPG that somehow doesn't make you say "Zelda-wannabe" is something else.
@ Eltigro:
WOW! As sad as that is to hear you lost the game, it's really awesome to hear someone else that feels empowered to give, even on a limited budget like that (man I can feel that . . .). Hats off to you, sir!
This game is hard but completely fair. There's a "Mr. Perfect" challenge, which is completed by not taking any damage ever, and just the fact that it's conceivably doable is a testament to the game's superior design. Any jerk can make a "hard" game, but to make one with total justice like this is a rare case and is the reason why it won't be anywhere NEAR as frustrating as many other games that are just as hard.
The only thing I have against it is the lack of pacing. They threw in so many original ideas into this game that I am flat-out amazed, but as a platformer (and not just a "shooter") it should have more "smelling the roses" moments where you're just enjoying the thing--just a few breathers here and there, enjoying the backgrounds and music without another world to conquer at times.
So yeah, this is definitely the most "intense" game in the series. I've played Mega Man 1-8 so many times that I might just be an expert on the genre, but I don't know how anyone who's beaten ANY shooter on the VC would consider it hard. I beat it a few times and got 40% of the challenges without too much trouble (up to 66% now).
Beyond that, the feeling I get with MM9 is this ambition to create an alternate successor to Mega Man 2 in many ways, evolving slightly, but differently, than MM3 did. The weapons are just fantastic this time around, with all of them easily put to good use regularly (unlike many entries in the series). Also, like the first two games, there aren't many easy-going segments--you're faced with a distinct challenge all the time, and the developers were arguably not as concerned with making the challenges of each stage relating to the name of the boss. (Like did anything in Galaxy Man or Tornado Man's stage feel like anything that would make one think of Galaxy's or Tornado's at all, aside from the backgrounds?) That's generally where the fun in lots of platformers are: stages with a theme, and MM9 has the challenges but not the escapism that others in the series and the genre had.
It is tough, but I think that report is incredibly overblown, and ought not be compared to many difficult games that, as aforementioned, are arguably unfair or mindless--the game design knows exactly how it is challenging the player with what. It is obvious the developers were thinking about every challenge, enemy placement, powerup placement, and so on. It's hard for me to compare this to the rest of the series because it's really so different--as an extreme fan of the series, I can feel the difference in times and developers, here, especially with the methodical nature of challenging the player and a quite a bit less player empowerment--playing as Mega Man in this game never really makes you feel like some awesome super-hero like the others, and rather constantly challenges his very limits; very seldom is ANY enemy just something to blast through for fun. On the whole, it's clear that Capcom took this unique effort very seriously with excellent results.
Like Marvel Maniac, I am severely underwhelmed by this game. I like Blazing Lazers better for its more responsive control, except for a miserable difficulty spike at the end.
Like a lot of shooters, the design doesn't really feel well thought-out at all. I'm obviously supposed to memorize the levels as so many hazards are totally without warning. (Game designer: "why not just put that there? And then that, and then that?") Apparently the "challenge" of that appeals to some people, but I prefer Gate of Thunder, where things make more sense and level design seems designed with intent.
I'm almost as far as saying I hate this game and am sorry I downloaded it. I'm not particularly a fan of the genre because so many are designed this way, and the challenge is all about finding the ONE way around a situation. And Soldier Blade is a great example of unthinking stage design. On the plus side, continues are unlimited for once, which is a big deal as far as I'm concerned (let's just pretend I have unlimited quarters in my pocket).
To me, Gate of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, and Axelay are FAR superior to all the other shooters on the VC (I have around twelve). Okay, you can't mess with the bizarre R-Type I guess. Star Parodier is supposed to be an improvement, so maybe I'll check that out sometime.
Thanks for setting the facts straight, Adamant. I always appreciate that.
"If you downloaded Capcom's Mega Man 9 (If you didn't: Why!?) you can also download two downloadable content packs today."
. . . although I'm kinda far behind in my backlog to download anything else right now. . MM9 is definitely the most intense game in the "original" series (it's an Inticreates game, all right), but it's like one of the best NES game ever I also finally finished Ys and finally posted a short review that kinda reflects the sheer euphoria of it all.
I'm in the camp that considers today's entertainment noisy and desensitizing. We need constant action and explosions. "Pacing" is a lost art. I like some of new stuff, but it's hard to appreciate subtle or nuanced art after some of it. O_o
Ys Book I & II Well I finally finished Ys Book I & II (mind=blown), and wanted to contribute a proper review for those on the fence.
For western audiences, this title undoubtedly fell relatively obscure for no other reason than that it was released for the Turbo CD. Many call Ys “ahead of its time,” although this is an understatement; the game is extremely playable for its age, never causing frustration because of some lack of innovation or common sense later realized in the genre. In general, Ys could be described as “minimalistic,” never over-complicating itself.
To get straight to the point, Ys must be experienced for its timeless story. Storytelling in games often comes in one of two approaches in general; some, such as the later Final Fantasy series, are written thoroughly as a story more observed, with its playable characters eschewing attempts at making the player feel like a participant for the sake of preserving a strong, full narrative. Other series, like the Dungeons and Dragons derivatives (the recent “Oblivion”), have personality-devoid, mute characters and basic scripts for making a player feel like such a participant and lose depth of story and character as a result. Incredibly, Ys manages to fall in between and get the best out of both—the main character is (almost) entirely mute, but implications of his character are very strong because of his/your (both are accomplished at the same time) actions and supporting character reactions. Another game that came to mind very strongly, as strange as it may sound, was Half-Life, in which the storytelling is implicitly revealed to the involved player. Likewise in Ys, the character's journey and experiences slowly reveal a story of epic scope; Ys is truly a two-part epic, with the first being satisfying on its own—Adol Christin investigates the legends of the lost city of Ys, and in doing so gradually gets involved in stopping the return of the same threat that caused the disappearance of the land 700 years ago. The interactive storytelling of the game medium is at its finest, here, laced with brief cutscenes, fantastic voicework (by any standard) and writing. The conflict and questions of Book I are resolved at the end, and Book II begins a new story. By the very end, however, threads of Book I are expertly tied into the second, expanding the overall scope into a two-part epic full of twists and revelation. By then, I felt the satisfaction of a distinct, expertly-told fantasy epic—an instantly classic story by any standard, and an "experience" of a videogame. Unlike most modern games, the dialogue and exposition are, as mentioned, “minimalistic” and not overstated, directing both the narrative and the gameplay without excess.
As an RPG, the battle system is best thought of as a sort of auto-battle, with encounters involving automatically-calculated outcomes, and the “action” involved abbreviates the stop-and-swing part of similar action-RPGs. While seemingly basic, the boss-battles, in particular, cater to the system making for unique (and often brilliant) scenarios involving avoidance of projectiles and approaching an enemy from the right angle. Book II almost immediately adds a fire magic attack to this as well, along with some other items and spells that carefully add layers of complexity, in much the same way that the story is expanded. Dungeon-crawling and exploration are nowhere near as hazardous or cumbersome as so many RPGs of its time, with just the right amount of challenge to navigate.
To those measuring this game by The Legend of Zelda series, consider: how many Zelda clones do you want? Ys's ease of play and straightforward direction—though managing to never feel forced or “linear”— make the game hard to compare directly to anything. Its unique approach to action-RPG lends itself to an emphasis on narrative, and in this case, gameplay and plot work closely together without compromising each other. Quite simply, Ys Book I & II is one of the most fully-realized, air-tight packages in gaming, period. The times haven't put a scratch on the sheer impact of the experience, nor has anything since made it obsolete—as classic as games get. 5/5
. . . oh, and this is about as much bang for eight bucks as can be on the VC. It's one of the great RPGs of the 16-bit era along with the likes of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario RPG, and maybe Secret of Mana.
As for Turbo games (I have 18 so far):
(1) Ys Book I & II . . . by FAR (2) Gate of Thunder (3) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (4) Lords of Thunder (5) Ninja Spirit
Note: I'm coming from the original arcade version. This one must be different, as I can't imagine anybody giving this game a perfect score.
I really do like a lot of things about this game. Moreso than its predecessor, its visuals and music are really memorable and stylish, and there's some quality stage design here. But without apology I say this every time it applies: It's an arcade port. It's designed to eat quarters.
Arthur moves clunky and slowly, while some enemies move quickly and oftentimes without a discernible pattern. He can take three hits at the very most. I can't even think of a game where the hero is so miserably disadvantaged against his opposition. Checkpoints are far apart, too, like the other games.
Some call this hard, I'm leaning towards lousy game design, as a lot of situations in the action don't have reliable ways out--again, thanks to slow/limited character movement with fast/agile enemies that can come in all sorts of directions and corner you.
I actually beat Ghosts 'n Goblins and made it to the final boss of this one, and couldn't figure out how to get to the "real" boss from the clues. This game really could have been more fun with a different main character, I think, as so much real creativity and inspiration are found in its other aspects--but it's wasted on Arthur, the poor sucker who's not up to this onslaught.
It's busted by a design choice. Forget about it. Or at least, do yourself a favor and don't blame yourself for your troubles here.
I keep hearing the PCEngine has 700 games on it in Japan (we got, what, just over a hundred between the Hucard and CD titles?). I'm kind of curious where you research this stuff on the net, like the most notable Japan-only PCE/TG-16 titles and such.
The Ghouls 'n Ghosts port? How does it compare to the version on the Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1?
That game probably helped kill my Xbox, along with God knows how many brain cells, from all the hours I spent trying to get past the last stage to the real boss without turning it off (can't remember if I knew what I was doing or not). I did beat Ghosts 'n Goblins tho.
This game has some surprisingly solid shooting and platforming action. Since this was Sega's answer to Donkey Kong Country, the audio/visual presentation is respectable also.
However, I can't shake the "made-in-a-garage" feeling I get when playing this game. The level design is incredibly forgettable and sometimes flat-out cumbersome; some stages are repetitive, straightforward, or involve finding power-ups in some really un-fun vertical exploration (it has to do with the way items are hidden, with the camera not showing enough around a character to easily discern where you are in the area relative to other things).
I was pleasantly surprised that Vectorman turned out to be more than a technical demo. In some ways, I'd call it Mega Man's evil twin with platforming and shooting robots. 3/5
Personally, I think this generations' consoles have the worst bang for the buck EVER. Right now, I don't think any of the consoles' libraries stack up to that of, say, the PS2, put together! (of all five, I think the DS is probably my favorite platform . . .) So yeah it seems like you have to spend a lot just to get an even amount of games in each genre. (Contrary to PS3 price-haters, I don't think MGS4, Uncharted, R&C, to name a few, are worth taking lightly).
Otherwise, I'm really happy about this news too for the 360. I'm not sad that it isn't coming to the VC either, considering how the VC emulations of N64 games screw up the framerate.
If I were on Nintendo's staff and watched these boards, I'd be lmao all day. Indeed, I would feel like a powerful influence over society.
NA and EU games are like 90% the same anyway. Paying five bucks for a C64 game is a tiny bit unfathomable to me right now, but that could change I s'pose.
^You know, for all the ways they said they'd make MM9 so "traditional" that's pretty much the most un-traditional thing they could have done. Not that I'm complaining--they should have made them all women! Why not?
Actually, if it turns out that you can download this to a PSP from a PS3, I'll be all over the PS3 version. Plus, I'm tired of swapping stuff from the dinky Wii storage to the the SD card and back anyway. (But at least I discovered how to use an SD card unlike a lot of people who are always wondering whatever they'll do once they fill up their channels/flash drive)
I know this is kind of the wrong place to ask, but does anyone know if the PS3 version can be transferred to the PSP?
""Remake", "Port"... you guys aren't exactly helping spread the knowledge that StH on the Master System and StH on the Mega Drive are two different games here."
I heard it was mostly the same as the first Sonic for the Game Gear . . . which is (yet again) on the Sonic Mega Collection.
I wonder, is someone out there picking off people who know about compilations and collections? (sometimes there is a good reason, but in general . . .) Adamant's still alive, so I guess I can sleep easy . . .
I hear ya. That's a good way to look at it, I suppose . . . but I'm not sure that helps it be any less confusing. A map would have solved all, prolly.
I crack up at how the towns have platforms at ground level surrounded by killer water on two sides. I mean, how many kids do these guys lose in the average year?
Wow, kind of accidentally happened to revisit this page so soon.
My answer, for Thunderforce III and Elemental Master is "probably" for now. I casually visited quite a fair share in the 8/16-bit era--rentals/friends--but didn't buy very many at all, mostly because they're so short, I think. Limited continues hide the fact pretty well, giving the illusion of longevity (consequently, something you don't find in other genres too often: even many arcade ports simulate the endless pocket of quarters ). This is especially annoying in the all-too-often trial-and-error gameplay (I'm supposed to memorize the thing, on TOP of the stress of those limited continues). Sadly, haven't yet gotten to Ikaruga.--the latest traditional shooter I got into that I thought good things about was Einhander.
But thanks for pointing those out. I'll say good things about other shooters, but I believe par quality is a bit lower than other genres with retrogamers. It's probably more about some general issues with arcade ports and, of course, games modeled after coin-op game design.
In my mind, this is one of a handful of truly well-crafted shooters.
Firstly, there is NO power-up system, which means no waiting on flying upgrades and just focusing on staying alive and switching constantly between weapons for different situations--this element especially makes Axelay something really special. Not that it's the only shooter with weapon selects, but in this case the three types are each distinctly designed for different situations that will cause constant switching. It makes, say, the Star Soldier series look lazily-designed by comparison with simply finding your favorite screen-sweeping weapon, once you've grabbed the upgrades. Again, Axelay makes its contemporaries look just plain lazy with its thoughtful and innovative design choices. Likewise, not unlike the superlative Gate of Thunder (my personal fav), and unlike the Star Soldier series, the designers clearly had something in mind with how exactly they were placing obstacles and enemies, with, again, respect for the different types of weapons at your ship's disposal. Consequently, there are also no obnoxious spikes in difficulty (yet again, like those found in the more careless stage design of shooters like the Star Solider series). The scrolling is therefore slower and methodical, as it arguably ought to be with Axelay's elements of strategy, and the vertical scrolling sections create a legitimately appealing illusion of seeing a bit more "forward" than just overhead.
Let's face it: it was probably the old shmup games that created the stigma of "dumb video game" back in the day. If more shooters were crafted with this kind of care and thoughtfulness, the genre wouldn't have died so early and would have found itself more respected. I really don't see why more couldn't have.
I'm a little skeptical of MM9 in some ways. It was made by the guys who made the MMZero series, Inticreates, which was pretty flawed (basic things, like size of the sprite made it hard to see far enough around the character--LOTS of cheapness). The level design was never memorable to me in that series either. It just had a higher emphasis on story and that incredibly ill-conceived system of ranking that effected how you powered up (wouldn't the poor sucker who wasn't good at the game NEED the power-ups the most?).
We'll see, since Inafune got off his * this time and got involved for once.
It's nice to hear appreciation for those 32-bit MMs. I played Legends a so many times, and I thought MM8 was loaded with enough awesome action shticks that made it the best since 3. MMX4 had the most epic story of the entire franchise that got the lamest conclusion conceivable in its follow-up.
MEGA MAN 2!!!! Actually, in addition to the button-swap issue, there is another good reason to go for this instead of the GC collection. Defying all explanation, the Xbox emulation was the only one that got it right. I forget the name of the emulation method for the PS2 and GC versions, but it was the kind that tended to make moving sprites (like Mega Man) look like they were searing into your brain, glowing. Hard to explain. But a better emulation more than justifies a purchase, I think.
My single favorite game ever. Perfect gameplay, great art and music. (okay, Heatman's jumping blocks stage is just shy of impossible without "item 2")
I seem to remember Geno being the stoic of the bunch (calm, reserved, even-handed, thoughtful . . .) that you pretty much need in the classic RPG ensemble. Mallow was the kid, and Bowser was the frustrated, washed-up boss-type. New characters/worlds for this game were never seen again, which SUCKS.
I want Dracula X (aka Vampire's Kiss), the SNES port of Rondo, also! I'd be anticipating the N64 Castlevanias too (awesome, and I have no idea what people's problem was with those games) except "wah, two generations later we just can't do anything about the controller pack saving issue." (or so I'm told)
How painful, having Castlevania 1,2, and 4 for so long . . . and not 3. One of my favorite games on the system: a true NES epic.
^Soldier Blade isn't too bad difficulty-wise since there aren't limited continues, although in many ways it's really not as well-designed as many other shooters. I'm tempted to recommend Blazing Lazers over it, for better control, and level variety/design, but that one DOES have limited continues which hurts at the last area.
"I guess your a guy because IYO, it's wrong for a guy to not be fully clothed and have muscles but it's fine to have girls wearing revealing clothing and have their breasts jiggle about (such as Dead or Alive)."
The figures I've seen say that 80% of women find these kinds of bodybuilders repulsive anyway (which is kind of common knowledge), so chances are if "he" were a gal he wouldn't find similar appeal--flawed comparison.
I actually think the design of women in fighting games are pretty stupid too, and implausible (there's no way they'd be able to move fast at all, with all the weight).
Comments 386
Re: Corbie's Top 20 Virtual Console Releases - Part 2
@ Bass
"Paying 1000 points (or more for a full translation), the same as an N64 game, for a regular SNES game which was playable without a translation anyway... now THAT is insulting to the consumer."
Um, I don't know if it's different in Europe, but over here, almost all GameCube and Xbox games can be easily found for less than $10 used (and that coming with a box and instructions). I appreciate the VC for finding rare games, or some really amazing compression techniques for CD titles. That helps me tolerate other games that are overpriced, since they pretty much saved me having to track down a Turbo Duo so far (except Corbie mentioned a way of getting Ys IV . . . man, I want, want, want . . . ). It's a really good game, and even with text-light games--although still playable with some annoying trial-and-error with some menus--devs felt it worthwhile to round it out with a tiny little story. Mega Man 2's little intro is like two sentences and yet made a huge impact on people who played it at the time. So what? It feels unfinished because of laziness. (I do know for a fact that selling something in a STORE usually marks up the price by more than double). The no-middle-men nature of downloads means a huge profit. How much was Half-Life 2 episode 1 for download, even though it was a totally new game?
"Its 100 extra points to convert A Japanese game to run on American or European machines."
You know how you can set change the region on your Wii? It's the same machine for EU and US, and still there are price differences because of "import" status to one or the other. Like, SMRPG? You want to pay a dollar less in Europe? Just change the region! (not that it's worth it. Just making a point)
Re: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
"It's THE best Mario RPG of all time... I don't know why but every time I play this game it's like if it was the first time that I play it..."
That comment blew my mind, because that's the exact same experience I'm having right now replaying it. I think that it's because there's nothing quite like it. It's just like Squaresoft's old slogan which I wish it had kept--"Pick a world, we'll take you there."
Playing it again, I also started truly appreciating the platforming bits, which were at least as fun as, say, Sonic 3D Blast all by themselves. Though it's a traditional RPG for sure, it has a unique emphasis on action. And then, it's one of Square's epics, with memorable (new) characters and worlds connected by a story, with real laugh-out-loud dialogue. I keep hearing people say "Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana" as the SNES RPG triumvirate. But I think it should be "FFVI, CT, and Super Mario RPG." The pacing is perfect, a bit shorter than its contemporaries (though Chrono Trigger was also REALLY short. For me, 14 hours without a New Game+).
Super Mario RPG is just Grade-AAA escapism, with well-meaning humor and sincere writing in its story and artwork. With so much shock-value entertainment these days (including games) I hate to think someone missing out on something like SMRPG to take the edge off and just truly enjoy it. This came out in the middle of Square's heyday (which went on into the PS-one).
Paper Mario and M&L were different animals, but with Square missing for the story and the world-creating, artwork, and music, SMRPG's impact couldn't be repeated.
The Nintendo/Square mix resulted in one of the most successful joint-efforts in gaming.
Absolutely essential. Please don't miss it! 10/10
Re: USA VC Update: Mega Man 3
"where are the megaman X games?!?!?!?!"
. . . on the friggin "Mega Man X Collection."
Unless, you're super-finicky about emulations (which I am). I don't even like playing GC games on a Wii.
Re: Corbie's Top 20 Virtual Console Releases - Part 2
Yeah, DoReMi is a great, easygoing change of pace. But I AM upset about the lack of translation. Hudson basically makes an easy buck by giving an import game, and then charges an extra $ for absolutely nothing. "cuz it's an import." Whatever. It's unprofessional and insulting to the consumer.
(whoa, that sounded too much like my recent political writing . . . O_o gotta knock that off)
Re: Mega Man 9
Yes, continues are unlimited. You just have to start from the beginning of a stage (not a checkpoint). Mega Man is just awesome like that.
Re: Gate of Thunder
5/5!!!!!!!!!
I am pretty hard to please with the forced-scrolling shooter genre, and Gate of Thunder is awesome. Somehow I think of games like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden Sigma, where the action is intense and you either feel awesome for pulling it off or like you've lost to a worthy opponent if you don't. I had no idea I could enjoy a forced-scrolling shooter so much and even call it a thing of epicness until I experienced Gate of Thunder. Other shooters can feel like you're learning a dance, only really trying to figure out where in the screen you're supposed to be at what times. Gate of Thunder really isn't any different, but it's quite an elegant ship dance, with fair warning for threats and methodical placement of challenge.
Lords of Thunder comes close, but make no mistake, Gate of Thunder represents the perfect forced-scrolling shooter. The sequel gets away with throwing out a great deal more cheap shots--unpredictable, dubious hazards--thanks to the fact that it takes more than one hit to die. Gate of Thunder's challenges just make so much sense, like one area involving an asteroid avalanche while you were already going through a narrow passageway, preventing an unlucky player from hanging around the top of the screen when it started--thank you, Hudson, for using your brains and thinking about the player's point of view this time! Lords certainly isn't worse than the average shooter in this respect, but Gate of Thunder's polish makes the game one long string of the cleverest and yet impeccably-paced scenarios in the genre. No thoughtless or arbitrary stage design here.
Probably the most distinguishing aspect of the gameplay would be the ability to shoot forwards and backwards at the same time (making me miss this feature a lot in other shooters). Only one thing holds this game back, and it's tradition rearing its ugly head again: it is a PAIN to upgrade your ship again after it goes down, for one thing. (off the top of my head, Axelay is a shooter that got rid of this ugly staple of the genre)
7 levels of absolute awesome, along with a fantastic soundtrack, that's some great techno without Lord of Thunder's rather over-the-top tendencies.
Re: Corbie's Top 20 Virtual Console Releases - Part 2
@WoRMaSTeR
Mag editors will do stuff like that all the time. And some people get interested because the eds got around to more stuff than most people and like to know what prolific gamers recommend.
Re: Corbie's Top 20 Virtual Console Releases - Part 2
That was a good read, Corbie. I'm always interested to know the preferences of people who have experienced a WIDE variety of games (and there are some readers whose lists I think I'd like to see too, like Adamant's who's seen it all ). I have over 70 VC games myself . . . there are many I haven't beaten, though, so making a list is kinda premature for me, but here goes anyway. I also listed games available on VC but have on collections instead. (Note: I refuse to put Ocarina of Time in here because I feel the emulation's framerate is unacceptable, and other N64 downloads are similar)
1. Mega Man 2
2. Super Mario Bros. (1)
3. Super Metroid.
4. Ys Book I&II
5. Super Mario Bros. 3
6. Mega Man
7. Super Mario RPG
8. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
9. Phantasy Star 2
10. Metroid
11. Super Mario 64
12. Super Mario World
13. Super Castlevania IV
14. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link (What are YOU looking at?!
15. Gate of Thunder
16. Lords of Thunder
17. Gunstar Heroes
18. Super Mario Bros. 2
19. Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting
20. Contra III
Something sorta-kinda like that. I guess these are the games that I'd say to some n00b Wii-owner, THESE are the ones you must get, maybe.
Re: Super Mario Bros. 3
@Marvel_Maniac: I have shared your observation. The jump physics are off in All-Stars too.
I really did like the SMB2 in All-Stars tho.
Re: Super Mario Bros.
Whoa, the legendary Super Mario Bros. Widely considered the greatest game of all time on many list, both reader and editors'. Buy it a jillion times. I got it on the NES, GBA, GBC (SMBDX), Super Mario All-Stars, and now the VC. You gotta have it! REQUIRED!
Re: Metroid
Well said, Corbie! Metroid FOREVER! Make the kids play it.
Re: F-Zero
. . . okay, Corbie, where are you hiding?!
Show yourself!
Re: Phantasy Star II
@Corbie
Meh. I'm not so sure. PSIV is WAY more playable and palatable, and just plain easier dungeon designs (the only non-MEAN PS game). The larger amount of dialogue and story scenes are more familiar from one used to SNES RPGs. But I still think PS2 has the higher ambition in every respect, that makes it more memorable, with the story (though sparse, it is EXCELLENT), great characters--which a few of PSIV's were surely based on--and memorably-fiendish dungeons and boss fights.
But look, folks, you must play the whole series! PSIV feels kind of redundant after PSII but it's really polished (and the end of the three-part epic), while it's a continuous story with each game feeling unique. PSIII has a great sidestory too, even if it's a pretty ugly and cumbersome game.
Re: Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
^ YES ^
Turbo has the better game engine, which is a polished version of the original SF2. SSF2 is clunkier.
Re: Ristar
Ristar is just great.
Nothing really sticks out about it other than that it's just a charming, delightful game. I can't think of a better looking Genesis game, period--so incredibly colorful with gorgeous detail. It has just enough challenge and depth to be compelling but not overly stressful, so it's mostly a superb platformer for pure enjoyability.
In my opinion, just the thing for the end of a stressful day (or times O_o)
Re: Mighty Bomb Jack
Yeah, I remember that "you are greedy" thing as pretty much the creepiest thing I have EVER seen in a videogame when I was a kid. I mean, how many videogames directly pass judgment on you and punish you? Sheesh.
Otherwise, this game is pretty weird. I don't think it even has an end that you could "beat it," if I remember right. And the enemies and hero . . .
Creepy-weird old-school. I can't believe they put this on the VC that they'd want anybody to relive this thing.
Re: Alex Kidd in Miracle World
@Linkthelegend2
I never laughed so hard in ages, because I admire the articulate honesty. I'm also starting to think you might be right. That gave the angry game nerd a run for his money. XD
Re: Super Castlevania IV
"So, is it just me or does anyone else here want them to put Castlevania 64 on the VC?"
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really don't know what everybody's problem was with Castlevania 64. I thought it was an awesome re-imagining of Castlevania in 3-D.
. . .
man, if Konami knows anything, it's how to get the best sound out of hardware, too. Even the Genesis Castlevania sounded memorable , which I thought was impossible to do on that system.
Re: Mega Man 9
@Clayfrd
Yeah. I'm taking a break after I beat the first eight stages perfectly so I won't make myself nuts. Like the 360's achievements, some of the challenges are cool while others are kinda stupid (beat the game five times in a day?)
I started with Galaxy Man, noticing the different way he looks when he jumps straight up or at you. This is a hard thing to do, but once you get his weapon, go for Jewel Man, who is weak to it and yields that really effective shield that will make the rest of life three times as easy from there on out. (notice Jewel Man mimics you--jumps when you jump, shoots when you shoot, so jump slightly and run under him). I get used to using the weapons a LOT, because they're so effective in this game. Use a file starting with lots of screws so you can get M-Tanks for refilling weapons.
It's hard as rocks but it's doable, thanks to some of the most scientific game design I've ever seen. Worthy challenge, therefore . . . except that you don't get anything for beating the challenges.
Edit: Only TWO challenges to go for me: Mr. Perfect, and beat it 30 times.
Re: Neutopia
Neutopia . . .
On the positives, it looks/sounds good (great music!). Dungeons can be fun to conquer. It's aping Zelda, and once you copy the formula, it's kind of hard to screw up.
And yet the few things this game does differently than Zelda hurt it a lot. For one thing, though the items knock off Zelda, many of the dungeons actually have armor, sword, or shield upgrades. In Zelda games (even the original), progress in a dungeon was limited until finding that dungeons item, which helped progression. If it's a sword or shield, it's missable, not doing anything with progress and dungeons aren't as interesting because of it. Boss battles are comparatively forgettable too.
I think giving high praise to Neutopia would be taking Zelda for granted. Kind of like what happened when casual Star Wars fans said "um, Episode 1 is my favorite!" And probably didn't realize that the appeal of it probably lies in its heritage. Likewise, I think Neutopia is nowhere near Zelda's equal, but since it has enough in it to remind of an overall better game, it gets off easier. Granted, some things can feel more streamlined, like its overworld being divided into four layers rather than one daunting one all at once, but then, it's also an easy way out for less complicated structure for exploring. Also, it kind of kills the fun out of getting stronger swords and armors, because you simply face stronger enemies in response to your stronger equipment (rather than, say, going to that place that used to be prohibitively difficult with your new feeling-awesome equipment).
I dunno. It's so hard to be objective about this one. There's just no way to play it without thinking "Zelda-clone," though it does feel inspired enough to, say, make someone wonder who was knocking the other off . . . maybe. As I go into it with an open mind (as there are many ways Zelda had clearly been improved in later sequels) and enjoying it a great deal as an experience on it's own, NO, this is not as good as Zelda in its game design, which still had better dungeons thanks to better use of special items, for one thing, and a better overworld for the same reason. But even with the sheer number of Zelda titles now, who couldn't go for yet another round of retro Zelda anyway?
4/5
Re: Mega Man 9
90% of the challenges!!!!! (still haven't even cleared it 10X tho)
I'm actually going for Mr. Perfect. Gone through three stages so far without taking any damage (hey, at least you can save between the first eight stages). It's actually not as bad as you'd think as soon as you manage to get your first special weapon.
Edit: Got through all eight bosses without taking any damage! Now for Wily's castle O_o
Re: Secret of Mana
I got my hands on a cart a few years back, and considering the legendary status of this game, I was rather underwhelmed myself. I even heard some people mention it in the same breath as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, which is seriously pushing it. I think the game would have been WAY more fun with another player or two. Kind of a cross between Zelda and Final Fantasy . . . though I don't recall many puzzles, or remember much of anything about the story.
Pretty simple and (I'm afraid) repetitive, but then, that's what would have made it really great if I had friends around at the time who would go for it. (maybe now's a good time to round up the riffraffs again . . .) Very enjoyable art and music, and an action-RPG that somehow doesn't make you say "Zelda-wannabe" is something else.
@ Eltigro:
WOW! As sad as that is to hear you lost the game, it's really awesome to hear someone else that feels empowered to give, even on a limited budget like that (man I can feel that . . .). Hats off to you, sir!
Re: Review: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)
This game is hard but completely fair. There's a "Mr. Perfect" challenge, which is completed by not taking any damage ever, and just the fact that it's conceivably doable is a testament to the game's superior design. Any jerk can make a "hard" game, but to make one with total justice like this is a rare case and is the reason why it won't be anywhere NEAR as frustrating as many other games that are just as hard.
The only thing I have against it is the lack of pacing. They threw in so many original ideas into this game that I am flat-out amazed, but as a platformer (and not just a "shooter") it should have more "smelling the roses" moments where you're just enjoying the thing--just a few breathers here and there, enjoying the backgrounds and music without another world to conquer at times.
So yeah, this is definitely the most "intense" game in the series. I've played Mega Man 1-8 so many times that I might just be an expert on the genre, but I don't know how anyone who's beaten ANY shooter on the VC would consider it hard. I beat it a few times and got 40% of the challenges without too much trouble (up to 66% now).
Beyond that, the feeling I get with MM9 is this ambition to create an alternate successor to Mega Man 2 in many ways, evolving slightly, but differently, than MM3 did. The weapons are just fantastic this time around, with all of them easily put to good use regularly (unlike many entries in the series). Also, like the first two games, there aren't many easy-going segments--you're faced with a distinct challenge all the time, and the developers were arguably not as concerned with making the challenges of each stage relating to the name of the boss. (Like did anything in Galaxy Man or Tornado Man's stage feel like anything that would make one think of Galaxy's or Tornado's at all, aside from the backgrounds?) That's generally where the fun in lots of platformers are: stages with a theme, and MM9 has the challenges but not the escapism that others in the series and the genre had.
It is tough, but I think that report is incredibly overblown, and ought not be compared to many difficult games that, as aforementioned, are arguably unfair or mindless--the game design knows exactly how it is challenging the player with what. It is obvious the developers were thinking about every challenge, enemy placement, powerup placement, and so on. It's hard for me to compare this to the rest of the series because it's really so different--as an extreme fan of the series, I can feel the difference in times and developers, here, especially with the methodical nature of challenging the player and a quite a bit less player empowerment--playing as Mega Man in this game never really makes you feel like some awesome super-hero like the others, and rather constantly challenges his very limits; very seldom is ANY enemy just something to blast through for fun. On the whole, it's clear that Capcom took this unique effort very seriously with excellent results.
10/10
Re: Soldier Blade
Like Marvel Maniac, I am severely underwhelmed by this game. I like Blazing Lazers better for its more responsive control, except for a miserable difficulty spike at the end.
Like a lot of shooters, the design doesn't really feel well thought-out at all. I'm obviously supposed to memorize the levels as so many hazards are totally without warning. (Game designer: "why not just put that there? And then that, and then that?") Apparently the "challenge" of that appeals to some people, but I prefer Gate of Thunder, where things make more sense and level design seems designed with intent.
I'm almost as far as saying I hate this game and am sorry I downloaded it. I'm not particularly a fan of the genre because so many are designed this way, and the challenge is all about finding the ONE way around a situation. And Soldier Blade is a great example of unthinking stage design. On the plus side, continues are unlimited for once, which is a big deal as far as I'm concerned (let's just pretend I have unlimited quarters in my pocket).
To me, Gate of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, and Axelay are FAR superior to all the other shooters on the VC (I have around twelve). Okay, you can't mess with the bizarre R-Type I guess. Star Parodier is supposed to be an improvement, so maybe I'll check that out sometime.
Re: Kirby's Adventure
I always wondered if they got the name "Kirby" from the vacuum cleaner company. XD I wonder if I'm the first or the last one to that party.
Another really great platformer series by Nintendo . . . though secrets are deviously hidden.
Re: USA VC Releases: Mario Golf and Shining Force II
Thanks for setting the facts straight, Adamant. I always appreciate that.
"If you downloaded Capcom's Mega Man 9 (If you didn't: Why!?) you can also download two downloadable content packs today."
. . . although I'm kinda far behind in my backlog to download anything else right now.
.MM9 is definitely the most intense game in the "original" series (it's an Inticreates game, all right), but it's like one of the best NES game ever I also finally finished Ys and finally posted a short review that kinda reflects the sheer euphoria of it all.Re: Ys Book I & II
I'm in the camp that considers today's entertainment noisy and desensitizing. We need constant action and explosions. "Pacing" is a lost art. I like some of new stuff, but it's hard to appreciate subtle or nuanced art after some of it. O_o
Re: Ys Book I & II
Ys Book I & II
Well I finally finished Ys Book I & II (mind=blown), and wanted to contribute a proper review for those on the fence.
For western audiences, this title undoubtedly fell relatively obscure for no other reason than that it was released for the Turbo CD. Many call Ys “ahead of its time,” although this is an understatement; the game is extremely playable for its age, never causing frustration because of some lack of innovation or common sense later realized in the genre. In general, Ys could be described as “minimalistic,” never over-complicating itself.
To get straight to the point, Ys must be experienced for its timeless story. Storytelling in games often comes in one of two approaches in general; some, such as the later Final Fantasy series, are written thoroughly as a story more observed, with its playable characters eschewing attempts at making the player feel like a participant for the sake of preserving a strong, full narrative. Other series, like the Dungeons and Dragons derivatives (the recent “Oblivion”), have personality-devoid, mute characters and basic scripts for making a player feel like such a participant and lose depth of story and character as a result. Incredibly, Ys manages to fall in between and get the best out of both—the main character is (almost) entirely mute, but implications of his character are very strong because of his/your (both are accomplished at the same time) actions and supporting character reactions. Another game that came to mind very strongly, as strange as it may sound, was Half-Life, in which the storytelling is implicitly revealed to the involved player. Likewise in Ys, the character's journey and experiences slowly reveal a story of epic scope; Ys is truly a two-part epic, with the first being satisfying on its own—Adol Christin investigates the legends of the lost city of Ys, and in doing so gradually gets involved in stopping the return of the same threat that caused the disappearance of the land 700 years ago. The interactive storytelling of the game medium is at its finest, here, laced with brief cutscenes, fantastic voicework (by any standard) and writing. The conflict and questions of Book I are resolved at the end, and Book II begins a new story. By the very end, however, threads of Book I are expertly tied into the second, expanding the overall scope into a two-part epic full of twists and revelation. By then, I felt the satisfaction of a distinct, expertly-told fantasy epic—an instantly classic story by any standard, and an "experience" of a videogame. Unlike most modern games, the dialogue and exposition are, as mentioned, “minimalistic” and not overstated, directing both the narrative and the gameplay without excess.
As an RPG, the battle system is best thought of as a sort of auto-battle, with encounters involving automatically-calculated outcomes, and the “action” involved abbreviates the stop-and-swing part of similar action-RPGs. While seemingly basic, the boss-battles, in particular, cater to the system making for unique (and often brilliant) scenarios involving avoidance of projectiles and approaching an enemy from the right angle. Book II almost immediately adds a fire magic attack to this as well, along with some other items and spells that carefully add layers of complexity, in much the same way that the story is expanded. Dungeon-crawling and exploration are nowhere near as hazardous or cumbersome as so many RPGs of its time, with just the right amount of challenge to navigate.
To those measuring this game by The Legend of Zelda series, consider: how many Zelda clones do you want? Ys's ease of play and straightforward direction—though managing to never feel forced or “linear”— make the game hard to compare directly to anything. Its unique approach to action-RPG lends itself to an emphasis on narrative, and in this case, gameplay and plot work closely together without compromising each other.
Quite simply, Ys Book I & II is one of the most fully-realized, air-tight packages in gaming, period. The times haven't put a scratch on the sheer impact of the experience, nor has anything since made it obsolete—as classic as games get. 5/5
. . . oh, and this is about as much bang for eight bucks as can be on the VC. It's one of the great RPGs of the 16-bit era along with the likes of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario RPG, and maybe Secret of Mana.
As for Turbo games (I have 18 so far):
(1) Ys Book I & II . . . by FAR
(2) Gate of Thunder
(3) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
(4) Lords of Thunder
(5) Ninja Spirit
Re: Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Note: I'm coming from the original arcade version. This one must be different, as I can't imagine anybody giving this game a perfect score.
I really do like a lot of things about this game. Moreso than its predecessor, its visuals and music are really memorable and stylish, and there's some quality stage design here. But without apology I say this every time it applies: It's an arcade port. It's designed to eat quarters.
Arthur moves clunky and slowly, while some enemies move quickly and oftentimes without a discernible pattern. He can take three hits at the very most. I can't even think of a game where the hero is so miserably disadvantaged against his opposition. Checkpoints are far apart, too, like the other games.
Some call this hard, I'm leaning towards lousy game design, as a lot of situations in the action don't have reliable ways out--again, thanks to slow/limited character movement with fast/agile enemies that can come in all sorts of directions and corner you.
I actually beat Ghosts 'n Goblins and made it to the final boss of this one, and couldn't figure out how to get to the "real" boss from the clues. This game really could have been more fun with a different main character, I think, as so much real creativity and inspiration are found in its other aspects--but it's wasted on Arthur, the poor sucker who's not up to this onslaught.
It's busted by a design choice. Forget about it. Or at least, do yourself a favor and don't blame yourself for your troubles here.
1/5
Re: Virtual Console games to be directly downloadable to SD cards
The biggest file I have is the S&P at 283 blocks. It takes less than thirty seconds to swap it to the flash memory. I have a 2 Gig SD card.
I'm kind of amazed at people saying it takes so long to transfer games. Maybe it has something to do with the card size?
Re: EU VC Releases: Earthworm Jim and Shining Force II
AWESOME!
Except, why the Megadrive version of EJ? I've never played either, but is there a reason for why one would want that and not the SNES version?
Re: Hardware Focus - NEC SuperGrafx
@Corbie/Adamant/somebody else who knows stuff:
I keep hearing the PCEngine has 700 games on it in Japan (we got, what, just over a hundred between the Hucard and CD titles?). I'm kind of curious where you research this stuff on the net, like the most notable Japan-only PCE/TG-16 titles and such.
Re: Hardware Focus - NEC SuperGrafx
The Ghouls 'n Ghosts port? How does it compare to the version on the Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1?
That game probably helped kill my Xbox, along with God knows how many brain cells, from all the hours I spent trying to get past the last stage to the real boss without turning it off (can't remember if I knew what I was doing or not). I did beat Ghosts 'n Goblins tho.
Re: Vectorman
This game has some surprisingly solid shooting and platforming action. Since this was Sega's answer to Donkey Kong Country, the audio/visual presentation is respectable also.
However, I can't shake the "made-in-a-garage" feeling I get when playing this game. The level design is incredibly forgettable and sometimes flat-out cumbersome; some stages are repetitive, straightforward, or involve finding power-ups in some really un-fun vertical exploration (it has to do with the way items are hidden, with the camera not showing enough around a character to easily discern where you are in the area relative to other things).
I was pleasantly surprised that Vectorman turned out to be more than a technical demo. In some ways, I'd call it Mega Man's evil twin with platforming and shooting robots. 3/5
Re: Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie "Exclusively" on XBLA
@Virus
Personally, I think this generations' consoles have the worst bang for the buck EVER. Right now, I don't think any of the consoles' libraries stack up to that of, say, the PS2, put together! (of all five, I think the DS is probably my favorite platform . . .) So yeah it seems like you have to spend a lot just to get an even amount of games in each genre. (Contrary to PS3 price-haters, I don't think MGS4, Uncharted, R&C, to name a few, are worth taking lightly).
Otherwise, I'm really happy about this news too for the 360. I'm not sad that it isn't coming to the VC either, considering how the VC emulations of N64 games screw up the framerate.
Re: Super Castlevania IV
"I guess this one is just missing the seriously dark mood and theme of some of the other games"
Interesting point. Rondo of Blood, "Chronicles," and Legacy of Darkness all had really dark rituals for intros . . .
Re: EU VC Releases: Master System Sonic & Two C64 Classics
MY 250th game>YOUR 250th game pthhhhhh!
If I were on Nintendo's staff and watched these boards, I'd be lmao all day. Indeed, I would feel like a powerful influence over society.
NA and EU games are like 90% the same anyway. Paying five bucks for a C64 game is a tiny bit unfathomable to me right now, but that could change I s'pose.
Re: Mega Man 9 Confirmed For US Release On Monday!
^You know, for all the ways they said they'd make MM9 so "traditional" that's pretty much the most un-traditional thing they could have done. Not that I'm complaining--they should have made them all women! Why not?
Actually, if it turns out that you can download this to a PSP from a PS3, I'll be all over the PS3 version. Plus, I'm tired of swapping stuff from the dinky Wii storage to the the SD card and back anyway. (But at least I discovered how to use an SD card unlike a lot of people who are always wondering whatever they'll do once they fill up their channels/flash drive)
I know this is kind of the wrong place to ask, but does anyone know if the PS3 version can be transferred to the PSP?
Re: EU VC Releases: Master System Sonic & Two C64 Classics
""Remake", "Port"... you guys aren't exactly helping spread the knowledge that StH on the Master System and StH on the Mega Drive are two different games here."
I heard it was mostly the same as the first Sonic for the Game Gear . . . which is (yet again) on the Sonic Mega Collection.
I wonder, is someone out there picking off people who know about compilations and collections? (sometimes there is a good reason, but in general . . .) Adamant's still alive, so I guess I can sleep easy . . .
Re: EU VC Releases: Master System Sonic & Two C64 Classics
What's with the lucky number thing, anyway? Did Nintendo express any intent with that?
Re: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
@Marvel_Maniac
I hear ya. That's a good way to look at it, I suppose . . . but I'm not sure that helps it be any less confusing. A map would have solved all, prolly.
I crack up at how the towns have platforms at ground level surrounded by killer water on two sides. I mean, how many kids do these guys lose in the average year?
. . . okay, bad joke.
Re: Axelay
@Badnux
Wow, kind of accidentally happened to revisit this page so soon.
My answer, for Thunderforce III and Elemental Master is "probably" for now. I casually visited quite a fair share in the 8/16-bit era--rentals/friends--but didn't buy very many at all, mostly because they're so short, I think. Limited continues hide the fact pretty well, giving the illusion of longevity (consequently, something you don't find in other genres too often: even many arcade ports simulate the endless pocket of quarters ). This is especially annoying in the all-too-often trial-and-error gameplay (I'm supposed to memorize the thing, on TOP of the stress of those limited continues). Sadly, haven't yet gotten to Ikaruga.--the latest traditional shooter I got into that I thought good things about was Einhander.
But thanks for pointing those out. I'll say good things about other shooters, but I believe par quality is a bit lower than other genres with retrogamers. It's probably more about some general issues with arcade ports and, of course, games modeled after coin-op game design.
Re: Axelay
@Marvel_Maniac: YES
In my mind, this is one of a handful of truly well-crafted shooters.
Firstly, there is NO power-up system, which means no waiting on flying upgrades and just focusing on staying alive and switching constantly between weapons for different situations--this element especially makes Axelay something really special. Not that it's the only shooter with weapon selects, but in this case the three types are each distinctly designed for different situations that will cause constant switching. It makes, say, the Star Soldier series look lazily-designed by comparison with simply finding your favorite screen-sweeping weapon, once you've grabbed the upgrades. Again, Axelay makes its contemporaries look just plain lazy with its thoughtful and innovative design choices. Likewise, not unlike the superlative Gate of Thunder (my personal fav), and unlike the Star Soldier series, the designers clearly had something in mind with how exactly they were placing obstacles and enemies, with, again, respect for the different types of weapons at your ship's disposal. Consequently, there are also no obnoxious spikes in difficulty (yet again, like those found in the more careless stage design of shooters like the Star Solider series). The scrolling is therefore slower and methodical, as it arguably ought to be with Axelay's elements of strategy, and the vertical scrolling sections create a legitimately appealing illusion of seeing a bit more "forward" than just overhead.
Let's face it: it was probably the old shmup games that created the stigma of "dumb video game" back in the day. If more shooters were crafted with this kind of care and thoughtfulness, the genre wouldn't have died so early and would have found itself more respected. I really don't see why more couldn't have.
1. Gate of Thunder
2. Lords of Thunder
3. Axelay
These three are neck-and-neck to me on the VC.
Re: USA VC Release: Mega Man 2
I'm a little skeptical of MM9 in some ways. It was made by the guys who made the MMZero series, Inticreates, which was pretty flawed (basic things, like size of the sprite made it hard to see far enough around the character--LOTS of cheapness). The level design was never memorable to me in that series either. It just had a higher emphasis on story and that incredibly ill-conceived system of ranking that effected how you powered up (wouldn't the poor sucker who wasn't good at the game NEED the power-ups the most?).
We'll see, since Inafune got off his * this time and got involved for once.
Re: USA VC Release: Mega Man 2
@Badknux
It's nice to hear appreciation for those 32-bit MMs. I played Legends a so many times, and I thought MM8 was loaded with enough awesome action shticks that made it the best since 3. MMX4 had the most epic story of the entire franchise that got the lamest conclusion conceivable in its follow-up.
Re: USA VC Release: Mega Man 2
Vectorman? Really? It's an okay game, but . . .
MEGA MAN 2!!!! Actually, in addition to the button-swap issue, there is another good reason to go for this instead of the GC collection. Defying all explanation, the Xbox emulation was the only one that got it right. I forget the name of the emulation method for the PS2 and GC versions, but it was the kind that tended to make moving sprites (like Mega Man) look like they were searing into your brain, glowing. Hard to explain. But a better emulation more than justifies a purchase, I think.
My single favorite game ever. Perfect gameplay, great art and music. (okay, Heatman's jumping blocks stage is just shy of impossible without "item 2")
Re: USA VC Releases: Super Mario RPG and Clu Clu Land
(wandering back to the SMRPG thread . . .)
I seem to remember Geno being the stoic of the bunch (calm, reserved, even-handed, thoughtful . . .) that you pretty much need in the classic RPG ensemble. Mallow was the kid, and Bowser was the frustrated, washed-up boss-type. New characters/worlds for this game were never seen again, which SUCKS.
Re: OFLC Update: Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES)
I want Dracula X (aka Vampire's Kiss), the SNES port of Rondo, also! I'd be anticipating the N64 Castlevanias too (awesome, and I have no idea what people's problem was with those games) except "wah, two generations later we just can't do anything about the controller pack saving issue." (or so I'm told)
How painful, having Castlevania 1,2, and 4 for so long . . . and not 3. One of my favorite games on the system: a true NES epic.
Re: USA VC Releases: Cho Aniki and Final Soldier
^Soldier Blade isn't too bad difficulty-wise since there aren't limited continues, although in many ways it's really not as well-designed as many other shooters. I'm tempted to recommend Blazing Lazers over it, for better control, and level variety/design, but that one DOES have limited continues which hurts at the last area.
Re: USA VC Releases: Cho Aniki and Final Soldier
"I guess your a guy because IYO, it's wrong for a guy to not be fully clothed and have muscles but it's fine to have girls wearing revealing clothing and have their breasts jiggle about (such as Dead or Alive)."
The figures I've seen say that 80% of women find these kinds of bodybuilders repulsive anyway (which is kind of common knowledge), so chances are if "he" were a gal he wouldn't find similar appeal--flawed comparison.
I actually think the design of women in fighting games are pretty stupid too, and implausible (there's no way they'd be able to move fast at all, with all the weight).