|
Post by Sarge on Mar 7, 2022 22:24:21 GMT -5
Oh, wow, that's short. I might give that a run myself, would like to see how it stacks up to the arcade and PC Engine versions.
EDIT: And done. Gotta hand it to 'em, this is a surprisingly faithful port of the game. Way better than I would have expected. I'd say 6/10 is fair, maybe even 6.5.
|
|
|
Post by toei on Mar 8, 2022 6:58:00 GMT -5
Think I'll give it a shot too. The original game wouldn't be long either if it wasn't extremely dfficult. I've personally only beaten the PC Engine version.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Mar 10, 2022 11:05:22 GMT -5
A few thoughts on games played that I won't be finishing for this theme... Chakan (Genesis) = This really could have been something special. The graphics are great, the OST is esoteric in a good way, the foreboding atmosphere is strong, multiple weapons to use, an alchemy system, the plot and premise are intriguing... but it's such crap to actually play. Enemies constantly hound you, the sprawling unintuitive level designs are annoying, there's a stupid "you lose!" timer counting down, die once and you have to do the entire stage again, hit detection is flaky... all of that adds up to a lot of not-fun. I'd love for some talented ROMhackers to take the assets available, and remix it all into a game worthy of the aesthetics. What a waste of great art/music talent. StormLord (Genesis) = Absolutely bad eurotrash. I don't know why it is that most European platformers are just so damned awful, but here's another one. I remember this game having controversy over some of its female sprite graphics... utterly tame by today's standards. StormLord wouldn't have been fun even in its day, so I guess the designers threw in some risque (for the time) titillation. Seeing the RazorSoft logo on the box art was a fair enough warning. Galahad (Genesis) = Another eurotrashy platformer, but this one at least genuinely tries. It's kind of action-RPG-ish, with the player traversing levels under guidance of missions, there's a monetary system and shopping, the level designs are open and sprawling. That said the graphics while kinda competent are also overly busy (a typical euro style), and don't always provide enough contrast between enemies and backgrounds. It's another game where you are always running into enemies and traps every two steps. The combat is dumb given that your sword barely swings a foot ahead of you. Traversing the big open stages isn't rewarding so much as aggravating. I will say this game had genuine ambition though, and apparently a lot of content, plus there's a password system, so the player could eventually muddle through it all. If Galahad were more fairly designed and better polished, it would certainly be a cult classic. As it stands, its more of a rough draft at best.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Mar 14, 2022 16:58:08 GMT -5
I actually have started playing something for this theme again, and it's The Adventures of Little Ralph. Of course, this fit into a prior month as well, but I kinda fell off of it because of the wonky jumping. Well, it's not like that has improved, but using a different gamepad with the PS Classic has improved the experience a ton. Turns out you can use the 8BitDo adapter with a PS Classic as well, and let me tell you, it feels fantastic with the Series X controller. So much better than the mushy digital pad Sony crafted. I figure I'm over halfway through, so hopefully I'll finish it tonight if I get on a roll.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Mar 15, 2022 16:03:10 GMT -5
I did indeed finish up Little Ralph. It feels like the game has a little bit of an identity crisis - it feels like a game where you shouldn't have one-hit deaths, but it does. It wants you to make precise platforming jumps, but doesn't give you the tools for actual precision. It has some neat setpieces, but feels incredibly unforgiving, particularly when it goes full troll-platformer at the end. Ironically, while the fighting segments also feel somewhat out of place, they're also extremely solid and competently executed, so I appreciate what they did there. It's just the rest of the game that doesn't really resonate with me. So I'll go with a 6.5/10 score. Decent, bordering on good, but it could have been great with just a few small tweaks.
|
|
|
Post by toei on Mar 15, 2022 20:04:34 GMT -5
I'd like to hit up Run Saber by the end of the month, it's one of the only games of its genre on the SNES that I haven't already beaten, and possibly the only decent one.
Other, less likely candidates: Galahad, Strider, Strider Returns (all on the Genesis). I've played all of them before so I have a a good idea what they're like, except for Strider Returns which I probably didn't spend more than a couple minutes on. I kind of liked Galahad, but there must be something I didn't like about it because I never stuck with it for more than 2, maybe 3 levels. They're long levels.
I want to beat at least one of those.
I liked Ralph and don't remember having an issue with the jumps, but I got sick of the mine cart level and stopped it there. It also seemed really long for a pure platformer that you're expected to beat in one go. I never even made it to a VS fighting boss, I think, which I was looking forward to.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Mar 15, 2022 21:45:14 GMT -5
Little Ralph is a bit of a mess, but it has gusto. I enjoyed the 2D fighter boss battles more than the platforming. I liked the game a fair bit more than Sarge did: Title: Chippoke Ralph no Daibouken (The Adventure of Little Ralph) Platform: PlayStation Region release played: Japan Year of release: 1999 Developer: New Publisher: New Graphics: 4/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 4/5 Fun factor: 4/5 Quick Thoughts: Chippoke Ralph no Daibouken is a Japan-only arcade-style action-platformer which remains obscure to this day. The plot is told through quite a few text boxes, but unfortunately this game remains Japanese only (no English fan trans yet). The majority of the gameplay focuses on high precision platforming whilst slicing baddies to bits. There are occasional boss battles however, wherein the gameplay changes into 2D fighting, both forms of gameplay are well done. Being a 2D 1999 release on a platform that applauded 3D, The Adventure of Little Ralph was clearly a love letter to skilled fans of retro gaming.
+Graphics are like SNES on steroids. +Tight responsive controls. +Stiff oldschool challenge. +The copious checkpoints are appreciated. +The OST is occasionally great.
-I don't care for the level timer. -Didn't like fighting the "bat guy" boss more than once. -The mine cart part is oof. -If you don't play on Normal you miss a bunch of levels, problem is "Easy" is default. -This game really should have a fan translation by now.
toeiI think Run Saber is legit, I very much enjoyed it. IIRC it even has simultaneous two player co-op, man that'd be fun. >Strider Returns I'm interested in giving this one a fair chance too. Were you ever into the Valis games? At least the ones on PCE/PCE-CD? - I decided to drop Popful Mail. It's cute and has a charming presentation, but the level designs are bland and the backtracking is simply not fun. I know Falcom made the original version... I wonder if the SEGA CD version is not as good since it was made by a different developer. Or maybe Falcom's versions are just as meh, I dunno. So far I've beaten two games for this theme, I will beat a few more. I may hit up some arcade stuff by month's end.
|
|
|
Post by toei on Mar 15, 2022 22:48:32 GMT -5
I only really like Valis 2 (PCE-CD). The Genesis version of 1 is too slow but it's sort of decent. I really hated 3 and 4. I actually started playing Super Valis for this month's theme at the very beginning but I left it aside as it's just not very good.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Mar 15, 2022 23:49:01 GMT -5
Played through Kaizou Choujin Schbibinman 3: Ikai no Princess. It was thoroughly meh. Nice cutscenes, large sprites, but stage design is pretty bland and the hit detection and physics feel a bit sketchy. I'd probably give it around a 5.5 - just not very impressive, despite apparently being very well received in the PC Engine community.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Mar 16, 2022 10:18:36 GMT -5
Don't think I'd ever heard of Kaizou Choujin Schbibinman 3: Ikai no Princess. It looks fun in screenshots, but screenshots don't capture bland level design or questionable hit detection/physics.
|
|