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

Funkstain

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Funk, I want you to be right

Me too!

OK i'ma get this on iphone AGAIN just to see if I can work it I can't have Alzheimer's yet danggabbit

Moot_Geeza

Played a bit of the arcade version of The Punisher, which was really good. I never played the Megadrive conversion, but I thought it was bobbing around with the also-rans below SOR2. Had to turn it off because I ran out of time on the train and can't save Mame titles, but will probably start again tomorrow.

Also played Renegade, which I'd heard good things about but wasn't impressed with at all (my character kept turning to attack behind when there was an enemy directly in front), and a Neo Geo effort called Ninja Combat. The latter wasn't bad, but I felt the shurikens/range weapons were out of place and just fisticuffs would have been better. I also rescued a ninja - who became a playable character - called Musashi. Would it hurt to not directly copy the competition?

optimark_prime

Streets of Rage 2 remains one of my favourite games of all time, regardless of genre.

I own all three games on Mega Drive, and 3 is the least impressive, there's something that feels a bit 'wrong' about it.

optimark_prime

Streets of Rage 4?

http://youtu.be/gGzZfNAr7Pw

optimark_prime

Ah, this is the leaked footage I was after....

Streets of Rage 4

http://youtu.be/JtOIdgP7U44

Moot_Geeza

optimark_prime wrote:

Streets of Rage 4? http://youtu.be/gGzZfNAr7Pw

I forgot about Die Hard Arcade (and the sequel on DC). Woefully short, but very playable. Looks way better than the crappy SOR4 footage.

Edit: The Ruffian Games footage looked promising though, love the zoom out (pan out? I'm never sure which is correct) from the arcade machine.

Moot_Geeza

Thirty seven (fortnight): El Viento (Megadrive)

Wolfteam's platformer cum shooter from 1991. Sharing the same universe as Earnest Evans of Mega CD exclusive fame, and the second part of a trilogy (despite being released first), I'm pretty convinced this is one of the best lesser-known 16-bit games. Perhaps I've got overly fond memories of it due to the fact that it was an unexpected bonus to receive such a good game with my second hand Megadrive in 1992, but imo this was streets ahead of most games of this type in the early 90s. It also had the honour of being the first Japanese import I ever owned (along with Rastan Saga II, but I'd prefer to forget that).

I've been looking forward to this, but feel free to burst my bubble with reports on its general shitiness. Just don't knock the music please - I recorded the whole soundtrack on a TDK90 once.

Anecdote from 1991: I found my Megadrive a the bottom of a wardrobe in a black bin liner in my dad's bedroom six weeks before my birthday in November, and snuck upstairs to read the manuals - or look at the lovely Japanese ones - pretty much every chance I got. Aside from Sonic on the Master System and the agonising wait to afford a second hand copy of Landstalker they'd reserved for me in my local games shop, I don't think I've ever been as desperate to get my hands on anything in my gaming career.

Play and discuss, or simply reminisce.

Schedule:

(19/08, fortnight): Yoshi's Story (N64)
(02/09, week): Rollergames (NES)
(09/09, fortnight): Actraiser (SNES, VC)
(23/09, fortnight): Grand Theft Auto (PS, PC)
(07/10, week): New Zealand story (various)
(14/10, week): Bitmap Bros free choice
(21/10, fortnight): Vectorman (MD, compilations)
(04/11, fortnight): PC Kid 2/Bonk 2 (PC Engine, VC)
(18/11, week): Wonderboy week
(25/11, week): Kirby week
(02/12, fortnight): Solstice II/Equinox (SNES)
(16/12, week): Fantasy Zone (MS)
(23/12, fortnight inc. Christmas break): Pinball free choice
(06/01, fortnight): Blackthorne (various)
(20/01, week): Pilotwings Week
(27/01, week): Atari 2600 High-Score Challenge Returns

davyK

Never heard of this one but then I'm not really a big Megadrive head.

JonB

Yeah, this passed me by. (Was it ever released in Europe?) I'll take a look.

Moot_Geeza

JonB wrote:

Yeah, this passed me by. (Was it ever released in Europe?) I'll take a look.

I don't think it was, or at least I never saw it.

optimark_prime

Never heard of it either. Looks lightening quick though.

optimark_prime

eBay prices are steep :-/

Moot_Geeza

optimark_prime wrote:

eBay prices are steep

It's quite nippy, especially with the sprint move, but I don't remember it being as quick as it is in that vid, so the speed might be slightly off there.

Moot_Geeza

I'm so keen on the game it made the wall of my games room:

Don't panic Nintendo fans, I also have Ocarina of Time & Yoshi's Island in a frame, but they fell off.

JonB

I've started playing this. Done a couple of levels. Hmm... I shall give it more time.

Oh, here's a tip for anyone stuck at the top of the building on level 1-2. Those brown things are doors! You can enter them by pressing up.

Moot_Geeza

Up to level four on this, and annoyingly my save state has lost sound (even when starting a new level). Now I have to decide whether to start again or plough through. I'm enjoying it, but without the music it's slightly more obvious that it hasn't aged as well as I thought it might have.

JonB

I finished El Viento. It wasn't too long or too difficult in the end, although it can still be annoying.

Overall it's ok. There are hints of smart level design, original bosses, some varied use of the special powers, but they all lack polish and aren't fully developed. The graphics are pretty crap too, and the control over the main character leaves a bit to be desired - sometimes just falling off a platform can be unnecessarily tricky. Not awful, but not a patch on other MD games of a similar type, such as the Shinobis, Strider and Alicia Dragoon (come to think of it I might play that next). 5/10

Moot_Geeza

A little harsh imo, but to be honest it's not as good as I remember it. In 1991 it was pretty special, or at least I thought it was a year later, but I can't disagree with most of that.

I'm considering throwing the towel in as I can't do the dash move with the dpad I'm using, which means I'm taking plenty of unnecessary hits.

JonB

Dash move? I had a feeling there was something I was missing because some bits were impossible without getting damaged, but I managed to batter my way through nonetheless.

Anyway, I played through Alisia Dragoon this afternoon. I reckon it's a good alternative if you're looking for something else. A similar type of game (and another with a female lead) in many ways, despite the fantasy setting. It came relatively later in the MD's life so it looks good and is overall more polished than El Viento. A good 7 or even an 8 on a generous day.

Moot_Geeza

If you hold diagonally down right/left and press jump repeatedly, she does a crouching dash move that you can sustain as long as you hammer the button. You need it, for example, to get past some of the rats in the sewer without taking hits, or to cross spikes in tight sections where you can't jump. I had the game for a few weeks before I realised you could do it (the manual was in Japanese, but you can see it in the demo if you don't press start at the title screen iirc).

I've never played Alisa Dragoon. Much like Atomic Runner, it was always a game that seemed well regarded but passed me by. Will probably give it a go next week.

optimark_prime

I really enjoyed Alisa Dragoon.

I managed to finish it, back in the day, but having played it again recently.... I fear I've become a rubbish gamer! I couldn't get anywhere

Moot_Geeza

I just played the first level of Alisia Dragoon. It's a real curio, isn't it? My dpad is borked, as I seem to mention every other page, but am I right in thinking the weapon aiming is entirely automatic? I've never played a shooter quite like it, or at least not one that springs to mind. Once I worked out the power-up system I started to like this, but initially I did wonder how the hell this is so fondly remembered. I'll probably persevere with it.

JonB

Yeah, it's all auto targeting. Let the bar charge all the way up for a big attack on everything. Hold down the button to keep shooting (until the bar runs out). Switch between dragons too - they have their particular strengths even if it's not immediately obvious. Their attacks also work on a charging bar.

And when you pick up a thing to level up a dragon it goes to which ever one you have in use, so best to swap between them to make sure they're all leveling up. Each one goes up to level 3. There's a lot of stuff to find by exploring the levels fully, and it's often worth finding everything.

Moot_Geeza

Didn't finish El Veinto due to the sound glitch on my emulator, but I'd give it a solid 86% considering its age. Once upon a time that was a great game, and a huge leap up from the 8-bit games I was used to at the time.

Moot_Geeza

Thirty eight (fortnight): Yoshi's Story (N64)

A fortnight to play what many people consider the poor relation to Yoshi's Island; Nintendo EAD's Yoshi's Story. The publications that claimed to 'get' what the game was about on release described it as a title that revealed its charms slowly - playing for the credit roll will leave you feeling short-changed, much like Sonic Team's NiGHTS from the previous year. I've only played it briefly myself, but iirc it's a markedly different animal to the original, with the platforming striking me as far more laid back/forgiving. Considering the praise heaped on Kirby's Epic Yarn, I wonder if the world wasn't ready for YS in 1997.

Play and discuss, or simply reminisce.

Schedule:

(02/09, week): Rollergames (NES)
(09/09, fortnight): Actraiser (SNES, VC)
(23/09, fortnight): Grand Theft Auto (PS, PC)
(07/10, week): New Zealand story (various)
(14/10, week): Bitmap Bros free choice
(21/10, fortnight): Vectorman (MD, compilations)
(04/11, fortnight): PC Kid 2/Bonk 2 (PC Engine, VC)
(18/11, week): Wonderboy week
(25/11, week): Kirby week
(02/12, fortnight): Solstice II/Equinox (SNES)
(16/12, week): Fantasy Zone (MS)
(23/12, fortnight inc. Christmas break): Pinball free choice
(06/01, fortnight): Blackthorne (various)
(20/01, week): Pilotwings Week
(27/01, week): Atari 2600 High-Score Challenge Returns

JonB

I was always interested in YS, but never played it, and I don't think I'm going to bother with N64 emulation now either.

I'm currently having a SNES Mega Man binge. I'd never played any of those before, and they're really rather good. We should definitely do a Mega Man fortnight at some point.

JonB

Also, why aren't more people getting involved in this retro club thing anymore? Come on, you swines.

hylian_elf

Sorry, I always intend on doing so, but just end up having no time due to laying current games! Though I do post here and there and reminisce, which according to Moot is one way of taking part ("Play and discuss, or simply reminisce").

retroking1981

I'm still visiting, just not been anything I've wanted to play in recent weeks.

I got Yoshi's Story back in the day and was quite dissapointed. I'll boot it up at some point this week and try and get involved.

I can't remember it very well which is a bit of a bad sign really. What I do remember is it being a lot more complicated to 'complete'. Finishing the game A-B is very easy but the secrets were more obtuse.

You only need to do one level of Yoshi's Island to understand that there are 5 flowers, 20 red coins and 30 stars to get a perfect score of 100. Story on the other hand is more about eating certain fruits, I can't even remember much else.

Like moot said maybe it just came out at the wrong time, but either way it's nothing compared to Island.

Birdorf

I still come in here. But rarely have the games and don't like to emulate. I'm also very shy.

Yoshi's Story is possibly my biggest gaming disappointment ever. I'd envisioned a huge sprawling world with a gazillion levels and 2d graphics to die for.

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