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Post by Sarge on Nov 10, 2018 19:13:35 GMT -5
Best place to find that is probably on tcrf.net. Anyway, Shatterhand is different over in Japan. It has a completely different stage, and is based on a anime, Super Rescue Solbrain. Oh, and looking on there, I somehow almost forgot about Ninja Gaiden Shadow. If you liked Shadow of the Ninja, you'll probably like that as well, seeing as how it's just a rebadged SotN for Game Boy. EDIT: And I went ahead and beat Ninja Gaiden Shadow. Solid, although a little slower than I remembered. Lost a few lives, but no continues used. I'd say... 6.5/10.
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Post by Sarge on Nov 11, 2018 17:45:37 GMT -5
Who needs save states, anyway? Just took out Shatterhand without 'em. Not without dying quite a few times, though. I remembered the checkpointing in the last stage being awful, but I didn't remember it being that awful. You have to get through all the refight bosses before it sets a checkpoint; back to the beginning if you don't make it! The only advantage is that you can at least try for another run of lining up your symbols to get the super suit. But guess what? In a show of leniency, if you do get past those midbosses, you get to continue from there, leaving you only the final section to scale. And if you play your cards right there, you can get a super suit right before fighting the last boss.
Speaking of which, it can be pretty RNG what he does, but I pretty much just crowded his space and unloaded on him. When my hits knocked him back, I chased and continued to pound him. He dropped pretty quickly.
The grenade bot is pretty good, and I've also gotten use out of the flamethrower bot, but I think the most versatile is Alpha-Beta-Beta, which is the ricochet shot bot. You can fiddle around with positioning and take out some enemies that might be located in some really disadvantageous positions.
Anyway, I've made my thoughts known on this one before. I just love the feel of this game; for me it's 9/10 territory, a cult classic that deserves that status and then some.
EDIT: Shadow of the Ninja is done. I did use some save states here; I haven't played in a while and didn't have as much patience this time around. I tend to forget the boss patterns between plays, so it took me a bit to get it down. I'm usually okay on the stages. Pretty sure if I turned around right now I'd finish the game with continues to spare.
Anyway, I don't think the game quite hits the level of Shatterhand, but it's definitely one of Natsume's stronger NES entries. I'm waffling between giving it either an 8 or 8.5. Probably 8, because I think Mitsume Ga Tooru is better, and I gave that an 8.5.
Oh, and the soundtrack rocks.
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Post by Xeogred on Nov 11, 2018 19:35:45 GMT -5
I recall the ricochet bot doing very little damage compared to the others, but yeah I did like its range. It must be the "grenade" bot that I liked most. Shoots a downward diagonal shot that did heavy damage to whatever it hit and a little around it. The aiming was like the piercing laser, but I liked the grenade bot most.
It was hilarious how in the boss rush for Power Blade 2 you get fully healed in between every fight, haha... how nice.
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Post by Sarge on Nov 11, 2018 21:26:19 GMT -5
Yeah, it's not that powerful, but definitely great for a lot of situations as far as safety goes. And it sure was nice of 'em in Power Blade 2, indeed. Also, Dragon Fighter is done now. I don't know what the time frame was on this one, but it feels like something between Choujin Sentai Jetman, which was really basic, and Shadow of the Ninja, which showed some stronger level design chops. I also like the feel of the combat, and turning into a dragon provides a nice hook. The shooter stage played pretty solidly at the end, and I found it intriguing that the hit sound effect sounded like what Irem used in stuff like The Guardian Legend. Once again, the soundtrack kicks serious butt. I think this one gets a 7/10 from me. ( Xeogred, saw that you posted Track 3. Good stuff, that.)
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Post by Xeogred on Nov 11, 2018 21:33:37 GMT -5
Good to see someone else play Dragon Fighter. I can definitely agree on that comparison in between those two, it's not as high quality as most of their main releases but still very solid for sure. A sequel done purely in the shmup style of the last level would have been pretty cool I'd say.
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Post by Sarge on Nov 11, 2018 21:48:40 GMT -5
My apologies if this has already been mentioned, but y'all know that Power Blade 2 track Xeogred posted a while back? And how I thought it sounded like it could have come from a Konami game? Well, turns out that the composer on that game (and Power Blade) was none other than Kinuyo Yamashita. She's most known for co-composing Castlevania! She also did some other Konami titles, including Arumana no Kiseki and Maze of Galious. Cool stuff.
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Post by Xeogred on Nov 11, 2018 21:56:38 GMT -5
The beat is SO Castlevania when you point it out now. The ever so slightly gothic tint is replaced with something a bit more sci-fi. I also don't think that's the only Konami composer they had, think the Contra guy did something somewhere too... Sarge is talking about this Power Blade 2 track: youtu.be/iXNV6bOg-PcAlso, can we agree the Shadow of the Ninja ending is one of the best finale tracks on the NES? Natsume were on FIRE when it comes to the OST's. I don't know if I ever really mentioned it, but hearing the music from these games over the last two years on VGM podcasts is exactly what got me super interested in their games in the first place. It's always an epic treat when the games rock too! Well, it was that and when I looked at these games on HG101, the amazing pixel art sold me too. I already feel like I could replay some of these again throughout the month, haha. Well, I should dive more into Mitsume Ga Tooru.
Sarge: I'm not sure when you last played SCAT, but it still gets my vote for my favorite of the OST's. Just utterly killer stuff from start to finish. Okay yeah, Kiyohiro Sada who did SCAT's OST, is one of the two guys who re-arranged the Contra arcade OST for the NES.
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Post by Sarge on Nov 11, 2018 22:08:49 GMT -5
Survey says... April 2016. Hey, RB posts are useful! I'm going to give it a listen again. No question they were killing it on NES. I know several of their games ( SotN and Shatterhand, for sure) were done by Iku Mizutani. I'm definitely a fan of his work. I've posted this before, but this feels like a good time to post it again. Remix medley of Shadow of the Ninja. Get past the intro, trust me. It shreds.
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Post by Sarge on Nov 11, 2018 23:33:56 GMT -5
Think I'm going to count that as a legit win for S.C.A.T. I took several runs at the last stage after save-stating and beating it, got to the last boss with four health, and lost. Then I found out all you have to do is put your guns on forward and move right up in his face and hold the button down. You'll take one hit, but he'll die in seconds.
Good game, although shmups aren't usually my jam. I'd say this is a pretty solid one, although not quite on the level of The Guardian Legend. I'll say... 7/10, for actually being somewhat reasonable in its challenge. And two-player co-op, which is pretty cool.
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Post by Ex on Nov 14, 2018 22:48:26 GMT -5
78. S.C.A.T. | NES | 1991
You have to wonder how any sane publisher could choose to go with that acronym. But anyway. "SCAT" is a pretty good shmup for NES.
+Extremely well programmed "solid" feeling gameplay.
+Adjustable satellite sidearms are cool.
+Simultaneous two player mode.
+Fun punchy OST.
+The best recorded vocal playback I've heard in a NES game.
-Game is balanced towards two players.
-No lives and checkpoints, only stage start continues.
-Levels move very slowly (for the benefit of two players I assume).
-Player sprite is a bit too large.
-Very short; only five stages.
There are a surprising amount of shmups on the NES and Famicom. "SCAT" falls in the upper-middle tier of available quality. This game takes a lot of inspiration from Capcom's "Forgotten Worlds", but deviates to an extent. As a single player experience, "SCAT"'s a bit hollow at times, but remains competent overall. I would have appreciated more imagination in the enemy and stage designs, and more variation in the weapon load-out. More than a measly five stages of course would be preferable. I suppose "SCAT" excels best as a co-op experience for two players to have a quick shmup jaunt. Like a lot of Natsume's NES output, this would have been prime rental material. Despite its ridiculous acronym, "SCAT" is anything but.
Ex's time to beat: 33 minutes Ex's rating: 7/10
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