Retro Club - 8 & 16-bit puzzlers - The Bear and Badger

Eric

I played the first CT Special Forces to death but two and three are apparently much better. I thought it was probably too similar to the MOH you have just played through too!

Moot_Geeza

I'm resisting the urge to take my swanky new Switch to Leysdown this weekend, so the GB Micro is packed instead. Should get some Scurge done.

I'm also stuck on Metroid Fusion, so I'll be consulting Youtube shortly.

[Deleted User]

Metroid Fusion is great, enjoy.

Moot_Geeza

I'm on the move again. Got my mega sprint ability. It looks superb, the animation is top notch.

nick_md

Can't remember which retro thread is which, but I put 20 mins or so into Robocop the other day and, yeah hasn't aged well has it.

The theme tune will always go a long way mind.

Got to level 2 anyway but yeah the combat was just pretty poor and too punchy to start with. I enjoyed shooting the guys out of the windows though.

Are we doing scores? I'll go 2/5, it would be a 1 but I've been whistling the theme tune a fair bit.

As for my choice, it's been tough deciding but I think I'll add Snake Rattle & Roll to the list. Had a lot of fun with that as a kid and have never gone back to it as yet. Was also considering Cobra Triangle but that'll have to be next time.

JonB

We should be playing Scurge at the moment then?

I'll try and start tonight.

nick_md

fuck knows mate, whats it on?

JonB

GBA. It's the current choice - see last page.

I've just started it anyway and only done the opening bit. Seems decent, but might be a bit fiddly to play on a keyboard, especially with the isometric perspective. I'll try and have a proper go when I have more time.

nick_md

If I could manage Escape From the planet of the Robot Monsters I can manage this. Expect my codifying opinion in a few weeks.

Moot_Geeza

I'm a few savepoints into this, maybe 45 minutes of play, got the grabber a while ago. It's fiddly, even with proper controls, but it has enough qualities to creep into hidden gem territory. The shooting is a bit cumbersome as could do with a strafe button (although the stationary fire thing helps). Without it, there's a lot of hopping around and repositioning when firing, which I may grow to like as it's clearly an integral part of the way it plays, but thanks to the view it's occasionally annoying when facing a swarm. It feels like a twin stick isometric Metroidvania that forgot the host console only has a dpad.

Replenishing what's basically an extra health bar on a ticking timer isn't for me either, but there's a good game here. HLTB has it at 10hrs, so I won't be going the distance, but I will put another hour or so in, partly because it's exceptionally polished and well presented.

JonB

Yeah, I doubt I'll get through 10 hours. I guess that makes sense though - it's pretty much Metroid with a perspective shift.

nick_md

I've never got on with any metroidvania stuff. Know nowt about this tho so will happily boot it when next half cut.

Moot_Geeza

I don't really like them, but I'm warming to the ones that tell you where to go. There was never a problem getting to the next bit in Ori in the Blind Forest, and in Metroid Fusion you can stand on a pad, that's highlighted on the map, which will tell you which room to head to. I hate being lost though, my sense of direction is poor enough in real life.

Edit: Ori and Dust: An Elysian Tale might be the only ones I've finished.

retroking1981

Robocop (NES)

Had decent memories of this as a kid. I never owned it but borrowed it off a friend for a weekend and blasted through it having fun along the way. Even though I knew back then this wasn't up there with the best games for the system, time has not been kind.

It's main problem is the controls, the words clunky and stiff spring instantly to mind. When navigating stairs can take more than one attempt you know the game has issues. Its a bit of a shame as apart from that its not entirely awful, but bad controls are game breaking.

The graphics are ok, quite colourful in places for the Nintendos limitations, no where near the best the system has to offer but serviceable. The music is fine, what there is of it, but that track will soon do your head in. Maybe I'm being to harsh here as most 8-Bit games only had one or two tracks.

Game length lets it down to, its no wonder I did this over one weekend back in the day. Six short levels and your done, probably half hours play on a good run or a couple of hours to git gud like we'd have to have done back in the day. On the plus side it does a half decent job of following the plot of the movie.

In short, its bad and shows just how far ahead the Japanese were for the most part in this period.

2/5

One for my cull pile...
Keepers: 0
Culled: 1

Moot_Geeza

I'm up to 90 mins or so on Scurge. It's an impressive game, but it falls down by being so fiddly. The character is quite large and the enemies can swamp you quite quickly from the edges of the screen. I also keep maxing out my infection meter, which needs to be reset regularly (a bit like grabbing air in Ecco the Dolphin, perhaps). On the plus side, there's a fair bit of variety in here, but there's too much game for my tastes - I don't tend to reach for the GBA for anything over 5hrs long these days (preferrably far less, but I'm wading through Metroid), unless it's grid based tactical goodness.

I've seen some of the later sections on Youtube, a fair few people do seem to be quite taken with it, but it's a swing and a miss for me. In terms of graphics/sound it's probably one of the beefiest titles on GBA, but it's not all that fun to play.

68%

Moot_Geeza

You're up from tomorrow, Jon.

JonB

Already? I'll have a think.

I didn't get very far with Scurge TBH. It was a tricky one to play on a keyboard with the size of the sprite and its imprecise movement.

JonB

So, I was thinking of a few different things. Arcade versions of Black Tiger or Mr. Heli perhaps, or Atomic Runner on MD. But in the end I came back to Granada, which I've suggested here a few times before but hasn't been played as far as I know.

Granada (MD)

It's a multi-directional scrolling shooter, viewed from above, in which you control a nippy little futuristic tank. In each level you have to find and destroy a certain number of targets before fighting a boss. It was never released in Europe, but I had a US version way back then and played it a good amount. It's quite tricky but not too tough - I completed it so it can't have been that bad.

A couple of things: it looks a bit crap, especially the first level. It really does seem a little dull at first, but the level designs get more interesting from level 2 onwards. Also, the controls are a bit of a fudge - it would suit a twin stick setup but it's a Megadrive game. The default configuration is fine once you get the hang of it though - hold down the B button to lock weapons in a certain direction.

Moot_Geeza

Didn't know it was Wolfteam. Will get on that this week.

Moot_Geeza

Put the credits up to 6 and managed to get to stage 3 on this. It's much more my kind of shooter than the forced scrolling kind. Controls are fine, I stuck with the standard settings. My only gripe would be that it's cumbersome to strafe whilst alternating between the main guns and the canon. Graphics are functional with the occasional decent looking effect (first boss stood out as looking better than the standard sprites). Music is typical Wolfteam, with the clapclap sounds and strong tunes.

No idea how long it is, it'll probably need 12 stages to feel of a decent size. I'm quite keen on it after a quick go.

Moot_Geeza

I also liked the way you had to stop firing at the second boss before it would fire itself and reveal a weak spot, working that out cost me three lives.

JonB

I think there were about 9 or 10 levels.

Moot_Geeza

Finished. Was 9 levels. Did some reading on it just now, Megadrive version is a port apparently (and a slightly inferior one too):

It's a pretty good game. Frankly terrible graphics aside - the scrolling water, oh my - it's a neat curio that does appear to have slipped through the cracks over time. I was using save states quite heavily by the end, but as Jon says it does seem to be doable without, as opposed to many games we play in here where it's obvious seeing the credits unassisted would be beyond me *cough UN Squadron*. Nothing is exceptional, a few aspects are below par, but it's original, fun to play (at the time, I'd imagine, and definitely as a retro game) and it all works. Was released in early 1990, so I've added 4 points to my original score and gone for an OG Mean Machines 84%

JonB

Good stuff. Keeping this going all on your own.

Moot_Geeza

I'm happy for this to descend into Moot Plays..., but anyone hoping to avoid that should start to get stuck in.

Davy, you're up from Monday btw.

nick_md

Hey I played Robocop.

Will try this one out today.

Eric

I'm blaming Yakuza for my lack of commitment here. I've played Robocop and Scurge and have downloaded Granada although I may try the Sharp one if I can emulate it. I will post some thoughts on the other two.

JonB

Eric wrote:

I'm blaming Yakuza for my lack of commitment here.

Now there's an excuse.

JonB

I will continue to play these BTW. Just hampered a bit playing on the laptop keyboard, which sometimes makes it overly tricky, so I didn't really get into the first two.

Moot_Geeza

Dip in/dip out is fine, I'm not whip cracking. I'm not afraid to get the defibrillators out if people stop suggesting stuff to play though; I'll flog a dead horse with glee. The RetroPie is one the the best things I've ever owned (even though I played Granada on PSP).

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