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Post by Xeogred on May 1, 2020 17:40:19 GMT -5
I only played the remasters and had a great time. Can't recall them having any issues, so yeah. Probably a better experience than the PS2 versions.
Although I have a lot of voluntary time off again next week, I'm not sure I'm itching for something complex and brutal like Tomb Raider II right now. I'm kind of thinking of getting back to some more Genesis gaming, since I wanted to hit up more of that system again this year. Or maybe I should play some PCE games... but their mascot Bonk has never looked appealing to me at all, lol.
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Post by toei on May 1, 2020 17:44:40 GMT -5
I only played the remasters and had a great time. Can't recall them having any issues, so yeah. Probably a better experience than the PS2 versions. Although I have a lot of voluntary time off again next week, I'm not sure I'm itching for something complex and brutal like Tomb Raider II right now. I'm kind of thinking of getting back to some more Genesis gaming, since I wanted to hit up more of that system again this year. Or maybe I should play some PCE games... but their mascot Bonk has never looked appealing to me at all, lol. I don't find Bonk appealing as a character either, but Bonk 2 is a solid game, if you want to give one a shot.
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Post by Sarge on May 1, 2020 17:45:11 GMT -5
Funny you mention Bonk - I was just giving the third game some run earlier today. I just wish there was a way to save progress.
I agree, they're solid games. Not Mario/Sonic level, but I've absolutely seen worse.
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Post by Chema on May 1, 2020 18:32:27 GMT -5
Maybe it's time to play my copy of the Sly Collection for the Vita.
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Post by Xeogred on May 1, 2020 18:51:54 GMT -5
Maybe it's time to play my copy of the Sly Collection for the Vita. I can give Sly 1-2 a big thumbs up, but I fell off Sly 3. That one got a little crazy with all the other playable characters and such.
Sly 1 is really simple and feels like a lost Rare / N64 platformer, in a good way. I was pretty impressed with how well it held up when I played it years ago on the PS3 remaster trilogy. It has kind of a cool, gritty, All Dogs Go to Heaven vibe to it as well, fun characters and a slightly darker edge with the cartoony aesthetic.
If I have a favorite non-Nintendo 3D platformer though, I'd say it's Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. The first game is a little rough, but after that the entire franchise is freaking awesome. Going Commando had probably the perfect balance between exploration/platforming and action, while the sequels leaned a bit more into the action. But they still all rock. I think it was Sarge that says they kind of feel like 3D Mega Man (outside of Legends), and I can definitely agree to that.
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Post by Chema on May 1, 2020 19:13:40 GMT -5
Maybe it's time to play my copy of the Sly Collection for the Vita. I can give Sly 1-2 a big thumbs up, but I fell off Sly 3. That one got a little crazy with all the other playable characters and such.
Sly 1 is really simple and feels like a lost Rare / N64 platformer, in a good way. I was pretty impressed with how well it held up when I played it years ago on the PS3 remaster trilogy. It has kind of a cool, gritty, All Dogs Go to Heaven vibe to it as well, fun characters and a slightly darker edge with the cartoony aesthetic.
If I have a favorite non-Nintendo 3D platformer though, I'd say it's Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. The first game is a little rough, but after that the entire franchise is freaking awesome. Going Commando had probably the perfect balance between exploration/platforming and action, while the sequels leaned a bit more into the action. But they still all rock. I think it was Sarge that says they kind of feel like 3D Mega Man (outside of Legends), and I can definitely agree to that.
Guess I will give them a try!
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Post by Sarge on May 1, 2020 19:28:40 GMT -5
Yeah, I recommend them as well. The first Sly is a bit more straightforward, the second expands things quite a bit. Both are excellent, and yeah, the third game is a bit disappointing, but still pretty decent overall.
I put some time into Gex, enough to get my first password. I actually like how this game feels! Controls are solid, with both a tail whip and a tongue move that you can use to grab powers (shooting a fireball, for instance). And you can climb on most surfaces, which also feels quite novel for a game of this type.
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Post by Ex on May 1, 2020 21:49:25 GMT -5
All this Bonk talk reminded me I beat a bunch of Bonk games back in 2015. So here's my reviews of the Bonk games I beat five years ago... Bonk's Adventure (TurboGrafx-16) Ex's rating: 6/10 There was a time in gaming history when every console manufacturer wanted their own clever platforming mascot. And so it was that Nintendo has Mario, and Sega has Sonic, and NEC had Bonk. Bonk's first outing to come stateside was this game; Bonk's Adventure. And what an interesting though flawed adventure it is.
Traveling the prehistoric country side, Bonk goes about his personal mission to exterminate every dinosaur he comes across. Bonk being the sole human present, I can only assume he's doing this to promote his future species territorial advantage. To kill dinosaurs, Bonk bashes them to death with his large deformed skull (a result of calcified hydrocephalus as best I can tell). Sometimes Bonk gets hurt while doing this, and so he eats copious veggies and fruits to restore his life. Once in a while Bonk will accidentally eat a chunk of dinosaur meat broke off from their mutilated corpses after he cranial-assaults them. Being a vegetarian such as myself, accidentally ingesting meat causes Bonk to fly into a furious rage which makes him temporarily invincible. Somewhere along the way Bonk ends up being excreted out a crying dinosaur's rectum, after which he travels up on the moon, and falls in love with a pink alien plesiosaur. That's about the gist of it best I can tell.
From a technical perspective, Bonk's Adventure has some positives. The sprite work is all above average, very expressive and humorous enemies abound. The soundtrack is quite good, with catchy and moody tunes in equal measure. And the controls are simple enough to be mastered in mere seconds. That said, most of this game's levels are very straight forward boring affairs. Being a platformer that's a real detriment, instead of clever challenges the player is often merely subjected to waves and waves of silly enemies. Making levels even more mundane is the fact most areas lack background artwork entirely. At least boss battles are done quite well, often being very large and well animated.
On one hand Bonk's Adventure is a cool game, with its silly setup and lively graphics. But on the other, Bonk's Adventure feels amateurish compared to the likes of Mario or Sonic. One has to take into account this game had a development time of only three months. For such a tight schedule, what's here is a little impressive. But the fact remains the bulk of Bonk's Adventure's gameplay is so shallow to make in the first place, that even a caveman could do it. Bonk's Revenge (TurboGrafx-16) Ex's rating: 6/10 Bonk's Revenge didn't learn much from its TG16 predecessor "Bonk's Adventure". The same problems that game had its sequel does as well. Mainly lackluster level designs, slowly responsive jump controls, and bosses that take way too many hits to kill. However the same strengths persist as well, such as bright colorful expressive graphics and an upbeat whimsical OST. (At least this time the backgrounds have actual artwork, so that's an improvement.) Just as in the first game, with this sequel the developers are hiding amateur game design behind above average aesthetics. Thus with Bonk's Revenge, Bonk himself still had a long ways to go if he wanted to compete with Mario or Sonic. But if you just want to bash your skull into cute dinosaurs a lot, Bonk's Revenge is up to the task. Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure (TurboGrafx-16) Ex's rating: 6/10 King Drool has once again stolen half the moon because why not? And Bonk doesn't take too kindly to this considering his pink dinosaur girlfriend lives there. One more time Bonk sets out to kill any dinosaur between him and crushing King Drool's face. That's about as deep as the story gets, so on to the specifics then.
Bonk 3 has barely evolved past what the first two games offered. The biggest difference here is that Bonk can grow or shrink in size thanks to special candies. This new feature is rarely used to any meaningful effect however, and comes across more of a graphical gimmick than much else. Outside that, the level designs have at least improved in complexity, with more climbing, mazes, and platforming than ever before (along with a strange fascination with tube traversal). Bosses still take too many hits to kill, but outside that aspect the overall gameplay is much more forgiving in Bonk's third game compared to his earlier efforts.
Graphically Bonk 3 continues its series' strength in large expressive sprite work, although quite a few enemies are recycled from earlier games. One big step down unfortunately is the OST isn't nearly as good as the first two games. Maybe Hudson was trying to encourage players to buy the CD version of this game instead in that regard (I played the HuCard version). Overall Bonk 3 simply isn't enough of an upgrade over earlier games in this series to competently show the developers are learning from their prior mistakes. If you want to laugh at a cave-baby-man eating narcotic candy and headbutting a transvestite nautilus this is your game. If you're looking for actual solid platforming the likes of Mario or Sonic, keep looking. Bonk's Adventure (Game Boy) Ex's rating: 7/10 Bonk's Adventure on Game Boy is not the same game as it is on TurboGrafx-16. Although it shares the same basic gameplay elements and concept, there are improvements. The level layouts are much better designed for example, and enemy placement is more respectful to the player. Actually the difficulty has been toned down quite a bit in the Game Boy version, and it feels fair now rather than aggravating. That said, bosses still take too many hits to kill (especially the final boss), but unlimited continues help with this issue. Bonk's Adventure on GB has very nice and clean graphics, and excellent music, with good controls. Honestly it's a better game overall than the original trilogy was on TG-16, and I'm not just saying that from all the head trauma either. Bonk's Revenge (Game Boy) Ex's rating: 7/10 Bonk's Revenge on Game Boy is not the same game as the original TurboGrafx-16 entry was, nor was it developed by Hudson Soft for that matter. But that's not a bad thing, because this Game Boy port is the better game. Primarily its level designs are of much higher quality and length than the original Bonk's Revenge. Difficulty is better balanced now as well, although bosses still take way too many hits to kill. Graphically and musically this title pushes the hardware and is definitely above average for its platform. Another improved aspect is that Bonk has multiple forms in this game, giving him special powers with a variety of benefits. Bonk's Revenge on Game Boy would have scored higher with me if some of its bosses were more reasonable, and if the final level was as imaginative as the earlier ones. Still, if you're looking for a solid old school platformer for the venerable Game Boy, Bonk's Revenge is worth banging your head against for a while.
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Post by Sarge on May 1, 2020 21:51:44 GMT -5
Those are pretty fair scores. Also, holy cow, three months? Okay, I have mad respect for the devs now, to get out something that solid and playable in that short a time frame. Impressive work.
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Post by Ex on May 1, 2020 22:04:52 GMT -5
Also, holy cow, three months? Okay, I have mad respect for the devs now, to get out something that solid and playable in that short a time frame. Impressive work. I don't remember exactly where I read that, because my review is from five years ago. I recall at the time I was reading a whole lot about the Bonk games on many different websites. I vaguely recall reading about that three month development time in different articles. A cursory Google search brought this article up for instance: "If you’re wondering why an additional company was roped into producing the game, the reason is simple: PC Genjin, or Bonk’s Adventure as it would come to be known in the West, was developed on an extremely tight schedule. The teams had just three months to pull together a platform adventure to serve as the new PC Engine mascot’s introduction to the gaming world." ( www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/the-history-of-bonk/ ) I'll defer to toei concerning if that development time was legit or not. He's really good at finding old Japanese development/interview articles.
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