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Post by Xeogred on Jul 16, 2022 22:45:00 GMT -5
Dang, I wish haha.
Well I know we're supposed to focus on the CD games here, but I'll go ahead and talk about this one...
The ADVENTURE genre.
This game rules. Everything from the graphics, to the combat, and especially the bizarrely awesome music, is quite awesome. It does and doesn't make me think of Castlevania throughout. The platforming is pretty smooth and with nothing but an axe you gotta get up close to kill things. The vine platforming amused me in that it is exactly like Donkey Kong Country's, maybe this was some inspiration for DKC implementation of that stuff. I'm kind of impressed this is 1988 too. Seems like it was ahead of its time by a year or two perhaps graphically and all.
The bad, well the last level was pretty terrible and a slog. I kind of roll my eyes when some old platformers pull this trick where the final level is a ridiculous maze gimmick where you can repeatedly go in circles if you don't figure out the right paths. Even SMB1 is guilty of having this idea. I can give Shinobi III a pass since I'm biased, but I hated the maze in Revenge of Shinobi. I think what really bummed me about it here with Legendary Axe though is that I liked all the outdoor environments and the platforming. The final level is just a chain reaction of lazy hallways with nothing interesting going on except a combat gauntlet and also one of the more boring music tracks. Bummer. Cool final boss fights though and overall, it's pretty dang cool and worth playing for sure.
Listen to these insane arpeggios. Most of this OST blew me away and for once I have nothing I can think of to compare it to. It's so dang original.
That said, the first level gave me Zelda II vibes, which is a pretty unique OST itself.
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Post by toei on Jul 16, 2022 23:02:09 GMT -5
Xeogred Glad you liked it. I love the level 1 track, it has to be one of my favorite on the system. That game reviewed very well back in 1988, and was held as the TG-16's killer app by gaming magazines for a while. Considering the Genesis wasn't out, it was definitely one of the most impressive console games out at the time visually. My favorite thing about the game is how good hitting enemies feels, though, especially when you charge to the maximum. I'm not surprised you didn't like the maze at the end, since you always complain about Revenge of Shinobi's. I really liked it, though. There was a logic to it, with the lettered hallways, and I enjoyed the tension as I explored the maze, always making sure my weapon was fully charged and using the more powerful jump attack to kill those big enemies in one hit. The final boss looks crazy as hell. Legendary Axe 2 is nothing like the first one - in fact, it was made by a different company altogether. It's pretty decent, though, and it does have a nicely gritty atmosphere. The NES version of Astyanax is actually closer, gameplay-wise, though it isn't nearly as well-made, as it uses the same weapon system (and it was actually made by Aicom too). There was supposed to be a side-scroller RPG for the Genesis that would have likely used Legendary Axe's engine, to be called Dando or Vasum. A real shame it never came out.
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Post by Ex on Jul 16, 2022 23:02:33 GMT -5
Title: Flash HidersPlatform: PC Engine CD Region release played: Japan Year of release: 1993 Developer: Right Stuff Corp. Publisher: Right Stuff Corp. Graphics: 3/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 2/5 Fun factor: 3/5 Flash Hiders is a Japan-only PC Engine CD exclusive 2D fighter. What makes Flash Hiders special is its well developed scenario mode, with lots of dialogue and animated cutscenes. This mode only focuses on one character, but there's an Advanced Mode that has less developed stories for the other characters. Flash Hiders also allows players to adjust their fighters stats, giving players some agency over their own fighting style. Those who enjoy Flash Hiders should look toward the Super Famicom for its sequel; Battle Tycoon.
+Very in-depth scenario (story) mode. +Can adjust fighter stats (yay glass cannons!) +Lots of nice animated scenes in the scenario story bits. +Decent graphics for the sprites and backgrounds. +Tight controls and clean fighting mechanics. -The tons of dubbed Japanese dialogue (without subs) in scenario mode is not in English. -Not a whole lot of special moves. -Would have appreciated more ranged attacks.
-Scenario mode only focuses on Bang Bipot. -Difficulty is low, AI easy to exploit. Ex's time to beat: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ex's rating: 7/10
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I also tried another PC Engine CD exclusive fighter called Kakutou Haou Densetsu - Algunos, but it sucked so I stopped playing it.
Definitely enjoying this theme so far. BizHawk is a great emulator for TG/PCE CD, that's what I'm using and taking screenshots with too.
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 16, 2022 23:58:18 GMT -5
toei : I couldn't remember if you liked II or not, so that clears that up again. I'll have to check it and Astyanax out.
The "omph" behind the axe hitting enemies definitely felt great, especially when it was fully mid-level charged. The full charge hit was cool but I don't know if a screen-stopping effect for a second was necessary or not, haha. Gets the point across though. I thought those huge spiders were cool to fight and broke into so many pieces. I guess if there was a method to the madness for the final maze that's cool. It wasn't terrible, but I just really liked the other levels more, even the caves.
Looking up "Flash Hiders" on an anime site brings up Senran Kagura. Not surprised I guess since that kind of fits... whatever the heck a Flash Hider is. Some excellent graphics there for sure. Maybe I'll check out BizHawk sometime, but I'm pretty happy with mednaffe. I've taken some screenshots here and there:
toei said Download is cool and the intro certainly is:
Gradius II:
The Legendary Axe:
So I think I mentioned when I played Seirei Senshi Spriggan, something around the final boss like "exploded" in game and completely funked up the graphics. I didn't realize I took a screencap of what I was looking at but lucked out on beating it somehow:
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Post by Sarge on Jul 17, 2022 21:33:09 GMT -5
Xeogred: What emulator were you using? Ex: That looks pretty slick. I thought I'd downloaded that one, but maybe I didn't.
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 17, 2022 21:47:38 GMT -5
Xeogred : What emulator were you using? mednaffe 9.2.
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Post by Sarge on Jul 17, 2022 22:17:54 GMT -5
Hmm... no idea. I thought that was pretty accurate. Maybe just dumb luck with a game bug, or a bad ISO? I ended up playing through it on the TG-16 Mini... if I remember right.
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 17, 2022 23:10:19 GMT -5
Well like I mentioned, thankfully I lucked out and still beat it somehow haha. It was amusing looking up a video to see what the final boss actually was. I can see how it was doable kind of blind but I'm a little shocked I got that lucky and beat it.
I sampled a handful of stuff tonight.
Unfortunately, I do think Spriggan Mark 2 has just enough text/cutscenes that it does feel like losing out on a lot of the experience just playing it for the shmup sidescrolling fun. You can turn off the voices and maybe dialogue bits altogether in the pause menu, but yeah. The actual gameplay seems pretty vanilla, so they maybe were going for a bit more style over substance here. I don't know if I'll keep playing, but I'd definitely entertain checking this out again if it ever gets translated.
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Post by Ex on Jul 17, 2022 23:27:19 GMT -5
Xeogred I remembered another PC Engine CD action-platformer you might like; Kaze Kiri. I remember briefly sampling this one about ~20 years ago, but I've never played through the whole game. Wouldn't be surprised if Sarge and toei have, though. I'll likely hit it up sometime this week. I'd like to finish 2 or 3 more PCE-CD games before month's end. Also toei, I have added Download and The Legendary Axe to my "retro games to play sooner rather than later" folder.
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Post by toei on Jul 18, 2022 6:13:37 GMT -5
Yeah, I remember discussing Kaze Kiri with Sarge , I'm pretty sure he beat it. I wrote an article about it for HG101. It's an odd game, as it has almost no level design. Instead, each area is basically flat, and you have to beat a set number of enemies to move on. In that sense, it's more of a beat-'em-up, though it doesn't really feel like one in terms of the fighting. Also, enemies block a lot. You do have some pretty cool moves, and some of the boss battles are fun. It's kind of so-so, but I don't hate it. Ninja-wise, there's also Iga Ninden Gaiou, which has a great CD OST and is IMO decent, if a bit slow. It feels older than its release date, though, like a late '80s game. Think Altered Beast.
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