Need ERE to play that MCD one.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Need ERE to play that MCD one.

Please don’t tell me to play bad Mega CD games because I will actually do it.

Fun fact: Elon Musk worked as a programmer on the Mega CD version of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.

Wait - this is a thing?

Dino Crisis is queued up on my Miyoo Mini.

Bit annoyed with myself because I’ve just looked at an online brochure for Home in Manchester and it turns out they had a ‘90s season in December - I could have watched Jurassic Park and Hook in the cinema and then played the videogames at home like back in t’th day! Oh well.

I had a go at Toy Story on the Super Game Boy the other day. It’s a terrible direct adaptation of the Mega Drive game with absolutely basic Super Game Boy features - a static background on the outside with the gameplay being in sepia for some mad reason - not meaningfully any better than the handheld’s green-tinted monochrome.

Extra points for Dino-Riders in my head.

Castlevania Legacy of Darkness (N64)

A playthrough of Henry's short campaign that is unlocked after completing the main quest with Cornell. You are tasked with saving 6 children in 7 game days, the levels are from the main quest but are road blocked and more streamlined.

I first played this back in 2021 and gave it a generous 3/5 despite its obvious short comings. For what it is, this a decent little side quest that would definitely be a slice of DLC in modern times. Having said that, anyone who knows the history of this game knows the whole package is basically Castlevania Director's Cut, and what the original release should have been in the first place.

Anyway, now Henry's quest is complete I have unlocked Reinhardt and Carrie's campaigns, which are slightly redesigned from the first game and considered the definitive way to play them. I will come back to this again in a couple of years and finally play Reinhardt's quest.

So yeah much like my original review I enjoyed this. Like I said back then, it is not good, but pure personal enjoyment. The early 3D era was when I was probably into gaming more than ever, and I'm largely immune to the jankiness that came from the generation when developers were still trying to find their feet in a new dimension.

3/5

My reviews

1942 (Arcade) 

The original in the 19XX series, and a solid start. Simple as you like, nice clean graphics, and hard as nails. Goes on a bit too long, and loses a point for being the only entry that's not co-op, but a classic.

3/5

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1943: The Battle of Midway (Arcade)

Came out 3 years later, everything is slightly better and it's a bit shorter so doesn't drag as much. Also you now have a fuel meter which slowly depletes, but is refillable by collecting power ups. It also doubles up as a life bar, so one hit kills are out which helps with the difficultly. 

4/5

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1941: Counter Attack (Arcade)

Another 3 years later, this one adds scenery that you can bump into that sends your plane into rotation shooting in all directions. This might be used strategically, but I didn't get a feel for it. As a result the stages feel a lot narrower, and for me less enjoyable. Worst of the bunch.

3/5

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19XX: The War Against Destiny (Arcade) 

A whopping 5 years before this one dropped in '95. As a result the art style is completely different thanks to the jump to the CPS-2 hardware. This one is set in a fictional WWIII, and the art style just looks a bit off. Also with the new hardware there's now far more going on on screen, it's more of a bullet hell and a lot tougher as a result.

3/5

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1944: The Loop Master (Arcade)

Released in 2000 and as the name suggests, set back in WWII. Graphics are gorgeous in this one, very detailed but not to the point of not being able to see what's going on. When you die in this one all your power ups remain on screen which you can then retrieve, also this one plays in 4:3 which helps it not feel quite as claustrophobic. Both of these help with the difficulty which is a big plus point for me, for as much as I enjoy shoot 'em ups I'm not particularly good at them.

4/5

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Varth (Arcade)

Released in 1992, this may as well be part of the 19XX series. The unique aspect in this is the inclusion of items called pods. When collected they follow you and carry weaponry of their own, they also double up as a shield. Decent but not particularly memorable, and another one that's too difficult and drags on.

3/5 

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Ikari Warriors (Arcade)

Ridiculously hard, to the point of feeling broken. The big deal with this back upon release was that it used a 12-way rotary joystick, that may fix the broken feeling you get compared to playing with modern controls, but I doubt it helps with the difficulty. I have a slight soft spot for it due to the NES port being one of the dozen games I was lucky enough to receive with my second hand console, and this is vastly superior to that awful port, Ultimately though, a bit pish.

2/5

My reviews

There is something about 1942. I keep going back to it. It's a hateful bollocks of a game and is so tough. But I really love it. It's really satisfying taking out the enemy formations. Have played it in many forms - MAME, Capcom emulation packs on PS2, Wii-VC etc.

The sequels are "better" games but they feel like they are missing something compared to the old original.

Had it as an office gaming score challenge a year or two ago - we had a really competitive week or so with - had it set up running MAME on an old laptop/projector with an old 360 arcade stick and it was great craic.

Have we done 8 and 16 bit puzzle games that aren't Tetris / Puyo Puyo etc.?

Are we saying no tile-matching games generally: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tile-matching_video_game

All puzzle games welcome I reckon. I assume Davy just means not the obvious ones? Either way tile match stuff is allowed, I have decided.

Memories of shoddy versions of Klax.

Couple of hidden gems on NES.

Quarth and Clu Clu Land