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Post by Sarge on Jan 26, 2024 19:25:16 GMT -5
I made way more progress with it than expected last night. I've knocked out four islands so far (I think), and I'm going to keep progressing until I get all my abilities and then do all the backtracking for extra stuff. I probably only need the upstab at this point, which should be coming up pretty soon.
Also, I wasted a lot of time in the casino. It's very much tilted toward the player (at least the slot machine is), as it's super cheap to play and you can win up to 30,000 coins at once if you get super lucky. I ended up getting a 10,000 win whiile playing, and bought a heart container and the Light Shield. I'd like to get the Light Sword, but it's almost 50,000 coins!
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Post by toei on Jan 26, 2024 22:16:18 GMT -5
I always associated it with Donkey Kong Country because of the overworld with the raft and stuff (like in DKC3 IIRC). That's a compliment as I normally can't get into pure platformers anymore, but I still find DKC very appealing. Something about the extra depth, and the feeling it invokes. I don't usually play games for nostalgia but I think there's probably a lot of that with DKC - it represented that new depth that late SNES action games could have compared to before. It was the first game I knew that gave you a completion percentage, too, and something about it going past 100% was fascinating to me. Super Adventure Island II, I found in the early '00s through emulation - never heard of it in the '90s - and it was one of those games I meant to give a shot all those years ago because of the adventure elements but never got around to it.
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Post by Xeogred on Jan 26, 2024 22:48:18 GMT -5
DKC1 has that kind of magic I'd say. Despite how often I've replayed it (my #1 SNES platformer I'd say nowadays), I can still specifically picture exactly where I was when I got it Christmas 1994, how far I got, just everything, it paints a full picture of my whole life itself back then. Same with Shinobi III from that era and same place I lived in. Didn't have a Genesis at the time myself, but all the kids around me did and some of them had some great games like that one that I got to play a lot. I always say Shinobi III may be the most nostalgic inducing Genesis game for me, so perhaps DKC1 is that for the SNES. Even though I was a big fan of Mario and all too, it just left such a mark.
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Post by Sarge on Jan 27, 2024 2:01:43 GMT -5
I finished up Super Adventure Island II. For the most part, it didn't offer too much resistance... until the last boss. Of course! Took me four or five runs to get all the patterns down - there are two phases for both forms, so you have a lot to learn and the dude hits like a truck unless you get the best gear from the casino, which I... didn't. I probably should have stopped and grinded out at least the Light Armor. Aaaaaanyway, once I did get the patterns down, it became fairly trivial, just pure execution when you know what's coming. I like this one a lot. I'm not sure if I want to give it a 7.5 or an 8/10, but I think I may actually be underrating it. I just gave DuckTales an 8/10, and I think this is better than that. It might be an 8.5, although that feels a little high... but screw it, I'm not doing quarter points. Probably took 7-8 hours to finish. Also, I didn't even know the game had a stage map I could consult! Great googly moogly. Just as well, I had a pretty decent internal map, as the stages aren't overwhelmingly large. Definitely recommend this one to folks that like the Monster World games, it's very much cut from the same cloth. I'd say Monster World IV is better than this one, but this is better than Wonder Boy in Monster World. Dragon's Trap is probably also better by a smidge.
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Post by Xeogred on Jan 27, 2024 10:21:40 GMT -5
Also, I didn't even know the game had a stage map I could consult! Great googly moogly. Just as well, I had a pretty decent internal map, as the stages aren't overwhelmingly large. Definitely recommend this one to folks that like the Monster World games, it's very much cut from the same cloth. I'd say Monster World IV is better than this one, but this is better than Wonder Boy in Monster World. Dragon's Trap is probably also better by a smidge. Good to know on those.
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Post by Sarge on Jan 27, 2024 19:11:36 GMT -5
Knocked out Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics.
This is a very different game from the original SNES game - you don't get much in the way of distance weaponry other than a club upgrade (that you don't keep) and temporary projectiles from eating certain items that you can spit out. However, it does control much better. It has some mild exploration elements in that you can tackle stages in whatever order you want on the world map, and you can also upgrade your house or give flowers to girls as well as restore health with your currency. The girls never liked the flowers, though, so I guess that's pretty random. It's got some big, bold colors and looks quite nice.
I didn't love that it throws a boss rush in at the end, but thankfully if you've got extra lives you get a checkpoint after each one. The last boss seems imposing at first, but has some pretty delineated patterns that aren't bad to deal with once you know the window in which to hit.
It's also surprisingly short - I was always under the impression that the game was quite a bit longer and more exploratory than it actually is (probably from Nintendo Power coverage), but an expert can finish in under an hour, and it took me around two for a first run. The game does give passwords, too, so you don't have to burn through in one run, and you can save continues for an optimal run.
Scoring this one, I'd say it's at least a 7/10. It won't knock your socks off, but as a nice-looking game with some neat setpieces and solid controls, you can do way worse on SNES.
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Post by Sarge on Jan 30, 2024 0:56:54 GMT -5
Played through G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor. I've beaten this one a few times, but this might be the first time I went through every stage. I'd also forgotten that you can use the radios you collect using down+select, which gives you ammo refills or even revives a wounded team member. Very handy, indeed, and a good reason to run through all the stages to stock up. Well, that, and assemble a big team of Joes. Of course, you actually have to be a little careful how you allocate your power-ups - much like the first game, there's fists and guns to get to level 4, and there are six Joes... and there are now three new weapons: a laser gun, a wave beam, and a missile launcher. They all consume varying amounts of ammo.
On top of that, each Joe (other than Gen. Hawk) has their own quirks - Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes have projectile attacks even with their melee slashes when powered up, Roadblock can shimmy through tight spots and seems to have the most melee attack power, Wet Suit lets you go underwater, and Duke... oh, Duke has very, very strong gun attacks and can fire upwards and downwards. Lemme tell you, a level 4 gun absolutely shreds Cobra Commander. It's pretty impressive.
There are flaws here - some of the boss patterns are kinda dumb, especially the minibosses. Mostly the "jump over and hit from behind" thing, but the first one you encounter in the game responds so quickly to your attacks that just about the only way to beat him is just power up your gun through the stage and tank him. I remember there being some sort of method to handle him with melee, but I'll be darned if I can remember it now. I also think the level layouts and the screen scrolling can lead to some blind hits from enemies coming on screen, which is a bit annoying.
Graphically, though, I think this one is a step up. I do like the look of the snow levels, too, and there are a few great tunes, too, although some are a little annoying.
Anyway, this one doesn't get much love, with most preferring the first game, but I think this one is better. I hated the maze levels and how much you had to go through secret walls to route your way through all the stages in that one, but this is more straightforward and plays better for that reason. I'll give this a 7/10 - it's still not an amazing game or anything, but it's a solid time on a system with a lot of solid platformers.
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Post by Ex on Feb 3, 2024 0:28:53 GMT -5
Title: Snowboard KidsGenre: Racing Platform: Nintendo 64 Region release played: USA Year of release: 1998 Developer: Racdym Publisher: Atlus Graphics: 3/5 Audio: 4/5 Challenge: 4/5 Fun factor: 1/5 Premise: If you combined Mario Kart 64 with 1080: TenEighty Snowboarding you'd end up with something like Snowboard Kids. The primary mode is a series of 9 tracks (6 initially) where four boarders compete in a downhill race, using random items to gain advantage in the interim. There are other modes including stunt mode, shoot mode and speed mode. Up to four players can compete in local 4-way split-screen. There is a shop to unlock various stuff using coins collected while racing. +A good idea in theory. +Nice OST. +Up to four simultaneous players. +The snow and ice theme comes across well aesthetically. +A variety of modes to "enjoy". -Controls are slop flop city. -It shouldn't be so damned aggravating to turn, collect items, use items, jump crevices, etc. -Way too easy to run into obstacles of every fashion (including disabled opponents), then it takes forever to get your inertia going. -There's no cup mode where tracks are organized in a sensible fashion. -This is nowhere near as good as Mario Kart 64. Conclusive thought: Snowboard Kids is a solid concept in theory, but the end result is rather unpolished, and really aggravating to play. Ex's time to beat: 30 minutes (I finished all the race tracks... not sure there's a way to really "beat" this game.) Ex's rating: 4/10
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Post by Xeogred on Feb 3, 2024 1:00:12 GMT -5
Probably a lot of rose tinted nostalgia goggles around that one haha. I think I played it a few times back in the day. But yeah, everyone knew about it, saw it at Blockbuster a lot, etc. Kind of an iconic game.
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Post by toei on Feb 3, 2024 1:15:16 GMT -5
Seemed like there were so few N64 games that each of them was more special and memorable in a way. I don't think I played this, but I remember that cover very well. There's no way I'd remember games like Wave Race 64 or Blast Corps (!) if they'd been for the PS1 instead. Reminds me of the games that come out early in a system's life; nobody would remember stuff like Bug! or Ephemeral Phantasia otherwise.
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