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Post by Ex on Feb 15, 2019 11:09:30 GMT -5
The way the game handled mechanically didn't appeal to me It also didn't help that Wrecking Designs screwed with the numerical stat balancing of the Japanese release when they "localized" this game for USA.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Feb 15, 2019 11:47:30 GMT -5
The PCE version, which is based off the computer originals, is best by far.
The Sega CD and Super Famicom "ports" are really totally new "interpretations" of the game. Both are decent, but the North American Sega CD version is probably the worst due to the localization.
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Post by toei on Feb 15, 2019 13:22:04 GMT -5
There's a patch that undoes the stat changes, isn't there? As part of the Un-Worked thread on romhacking.net. I remember thinking Popful Mail was overrated at the time, but I suspect I might like better now. I wasn't into side-scrollers when I played it. The one Sega CD RPG I really liked, surprisingly, was Vay. More than either Lunar games, even.
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Post by anayo on Feb 15, 2019 15:43:39 GMT -5
The PCE version, which is based off the computer originals, is best by far. The Sega CD and Super Famicom "ports" are really totally new "interpretations" of the game. Both are decent, but the North American Sega CD version is probably the worst due to the localization. Huh. Kinda like how people say the Sega CD version of Lords of Thunder doesn't measure up to the PCE CD original?
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Post by Sarge on Feb 15, 2019 16:06:27 GMT -5
Soundtrack is better, though, on the Sega CD one.
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Post by anayo on Feb 18, 2019 7:54:31 GMT -5
The PCE version, which is based off the computer originals, is best by far. The Sega CD and Super Famicom "ports" are really totally new "interpretations" of the game. Both are decent, but the North American Sega CD version is probably the worst due to the localization. (Sorry I'm replying to this out of sequence but whatever.) The YouTuber Kidshouryuken recently spoke about Popful Mail for the PCE CD and he said nice things about it. Everyone here on HRG is saying that it's better than the Sega CD version, too. So I wonder if I dismissed it because of my underwhelming experience with the Sega version.
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Post by toei on Apr 7, 2019 0:29:42 GMT -5
Fuck, Golgo 13: Mafat Conspiracy is awful. At the least the first one had its partial non-linearity, creativity and ambition going for it; this one is all linear, has fewer play modes (three), a less intriguing story, and it plays horribly.
In the beginning, as you through the first side-scrolling levels, the game seems more polished. You can actually fire while crouching, there are barrels and crate you can duck behind, and higher platforms you can reach by holding Up and jumping; it's basically a lesser Rolling Thunder or Shinobi, and though the controls aren't as responsive as either, those first few levels are pretty decent. Then you reach the first first-person dungeon, and it's torture. It's huge and confusing, there is no mapping feature, movement is sluggish, there is no scrolling, no music, annoying sound effects, it's ugly and gray, and you can't even keep moving by holding the button; you have to press the direction button for every step. After a long period of just wandering around at random, I decided to only way I was going to keep at it would be with maps. Then when you reach the end, it gives you 5 minutes to make it all the way back out, something that would have been completely impossible without a map. Then there's a terrible car level, where you have a very limited time to make it through a course filled with ridiculous unending curves without a brake button and try awkwardly to hit enemy cars with bombs that just kind of go up then drop lamely like baked potatoes. Then there are more crappy dungeons, and the side-scrolling levels get progressively messier and more annoying, until they become almost completely unplayable (and marred by massive slowdows) by Area 5-5.
There was some discussion recently of they don't make games as bad as the worst games of the old days anymore, and this is an example of it. Today, a game this poorly designed would be laughed off of Steam.
3/10.
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Post by anayo on Apr 7, 2019 6:41:18 GMT -5
Fuck, Golgo 13: Mafat Conspiracy is awful. At the least the first one had its partial non-linearity, creativity and ambition going for it; this one is all linear, has fewer play modes (three), a less intriguing story, and it plays horribly. In the beginning, as you through the first side-scrolling levels, the game seems more polished. You can actually fire while crouching, there are barrels and crate you can duck behind, and higher platforms you can reach by holding Up and jumping; it's basically a lesser Rolling Thunder or Shinobi, and though the controls aren't as responsive as either, those first few levels are pretty decent. Then you reach the first first-person dungeon, and it's torture. It's huge and confusing, there is no mapping feature, movement is sluggish, there is no scrolling, no music, annoying sound effects, it's ugly and gray, and you can't even keep moving by holding the button; you have to press the direction button for every step. After a long period of just wandering around at random, I decided to only way I was going to keep at it would be with maps. Then when you reach the end, it gives you 5 minutes to make it all the way back out, something that would have been completely impossible without a map. Then there's a terrible car level, where you have a very limited time to make it through a course filled with ridiculous unending curves without a brake button and try awkwardly to hit enemy cars with bombs that just kind of go up then drop lamely like baked potatoes. Then there are more crappy dungeons, and the side-scrolling levels get progressively messier and more annoying, until they become almost completely unplayable (and marred by massive slowdows) by Area 5-5. There was some discussion recently of they don't make games as bad as the worst games of the old days anymore, and this is an example of it. Today, a game this poorly designed would be laughed off of Steam. 3/10. Had to look this one up but I agree. The ironic thing is that those first person maze bits would have made for really attractive magazine screenshots and probably attracted a few players back in the day: Back in the 16 bit days anything remotely 3D astounded me, whether it was well done like the bonus stages in Sonic 3 and Knuckles or unplayable by today's standards, like Zero Tolerance. I can only imagine the sentiment would have been even stronger in the 8 bit days. I wonder if people were super impressed by the third person shooting parts in Contra for the NES back when it was new...
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Post by Ex on Apr 7, 2019 10:09:55 GMT -5
I wonder if people were super impressed by the third person shooting parts in Contra for the NES back when it was new... When I was a kid, I was definitely impressed by that part. Anytime a 2D console would implement 3D gameplay, it was really impressive. I'm thankful that I got to grow up along side video game graphical development, to be wowed over and over again as technology dramatically improved. Kids today would think Star Fox looks like caveman graphics, but seeing that on SNES during its release window was mind blowing, just as one example. It must be quite different growing up as a kid today, with graphics as good as they are now. I'm not sure how kids today would be wowed growing up with today's great-but-fairly-stagnated graphics. I suppose for them it's more about how technology is implemented rather than displayed (like advancements in VR or AR).
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Post by toei on Apr 7, 2019 12:21:44 GMT -5
I remember Sonic 3D Blast's fully-3D intro blowing my mind, and before that, I was even impressed by the 3D effects on those palm trees in the first Sonic: So yeah, anything 3D was impressive. That said, Mafat's first-person dungeons are the least impressive I've ever seen. Sewer Sam on Colecovision looks considerably more impressive in motion. The thing with Mafat is that since there is no scrolling and the regular panels all look the same, there is literally no visual cue that you're even moving unless you're turning or approaching a corner. I'm pretty sure that's why they cut out the music, added a footstep sound effect, and forced you to push a button for each step; that's the only way you could accurately map out these places. The one thing that is pretty cool about the dungeons is the combat; every now and then, in fixed spots, an enemy will appear before you. You have to press A to pull out your weapon, hold the D-Pad in the right direction to aim, shooting-gallery style, and press A again, all before the enemy shoots. So it's actually like a simplified FPS in those moments, and it's pretty good at testing your reflexes.
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