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Post by toei on Jun 27, 2019 19:09:10 GMT -5
So, before this theme is up, what's the best game y'all would recommend playing that I might not have tried yet? Assume that I've covered the easy-to-reach NES stuff like Metal Storm. Also, if you want to feel a bit insecure when it comes to Ninja Spirit, well... it got run at SGDQ this year. Perman for a (very) easy, quick platformer/board game hybrid. Ken-Go / Lightning Swords for a cool, defensive side-scroller. Just remember that you're supposed to hold the attack button most of the time as it blocks AND charges up more powerful attacks with more reach. The game expects you to walk around while blocking. As for that play, I just watched the infamous fall around 9:40, and smiled when everyone clapped. This part is so, so ridiculous to learn. Keep in mind that hitting any one of those ninjas while falling would have killed him, and there's a ton of different spots he could have started that fall from before even beginning to chart a safe route (the starting point I stuck to ended up being closer to the wall to the right). I don't feel insecure, though. I know I could memorize the game if I felt like it. I really, really don't.
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Post by Ex on Jun 28, 2019 8:52:23 GMT -5
So, before this theme is up, what's the best game y'all would recommend playing that I might not have tried yet? Before anybody walks away from this particular Club Retro theme, they really oughta play through the arcade versions of In the Hunt and GunForce II first. I also agree with toei that you should try this one: www.romhacking.net/translations/2588/
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Post by Sarge on Jun 28, 2019 11:03:49 GMT -5
Alrighty, I'll give it a go this weekend. I have played through GunForce II, and it's really good. I do need to play more of In the Hunt; I played it a bit a while back, but I tend to not stick with shooters, for better or worse.
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Post by Ex on Jun 28, 2019 12:30:24 GMT -5
In the Hunt; I played it a bit a while back, but I tend to not stick with shooters, for better or worse. In the Hunt is an underwater submersible shmup, as a result its gamespeed is more forgiving (moves slower than usual). Check out this boss: - I am at the very very end of Bloodstained, I should have it beat tonight. I sincerely plan to finish at least ONE more Irem game over this weekend, providing real life obligations allow. I recognize I've done a poor job of participating this go around. I blame that on two things; not being all that interested in Irem games, and Bloodstained releasing this month.
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Post by Sarge on Jun 28, 2019 16:11:51 GMT -5
I think that's understandable, though. Unlike Natsume, I don't think Irem's output really compares, so there just isn't a lot of interesting material to mine. I won't say I had a bad time with some of the games, but most of them feeling pretty "meh".
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Post by Ex on Jun 29, 2019 22:51:57 GMT -5
Alright I busted out some MAME tonight for the Irem times. Some quick mentions... All of these are pretty good shmups, from what I played:Battle Chopper Dragon Breed* Air Duel Mystic Riders* Lethal Thunder*If you're looking for shmups where you don't play as ships, but rather humans, check these out. Cosmic Cop has nice graphics, but toei is right that game is a pain in the ass to play. The player sprite is stupid big, I kept running into other ships rather than just getting shot. Dumb. Ninja Spirit seems like a decent platformer. Sarge was asking for recommended Irem games, I forgot to mention Ninja Baseball Batman to him. That is a very fun and unique beat 'em up. Check it out Sarge . Also I know toei and Sarge love Moon Patrol. Did you guys ever check out Horizon? It's kind of like Moon Patrol, except instead of jumping up and down, you switch planes to avoid enemies: So what Irem arcade game did Ex end up actually playing to completion? I'm glad you asked: Yep it's the famous and super well known Major Title 2!
Major Title 2 is an arcade golf simulation developed and published by Irem in 1992. (It is the sequel to the original Major Title, if you hadn't guessed.) MT2 is an exceptionally well made golf game. It's got just enough technical realism to feel authentic, but enough arcade sensibility to remain well paced and fun. You can choose your club, direction, curve stance, power rating, and even put spin on the ball. Factors like wind direction and terrain slope elevation are taken into account. The graphics are crisp and clean, and the music and sound effects are very well done. Controls are super simple and use just two buttons aside from the direction input. There are two different 18 hole courses to play on. One course takes place in the USA on countryside land, the other in Europe in a more wooded area. The challenge starts easy and gets quite hard, but not once did I feel like any of my failures were the game's fault. You are given all the technical and strategic tools needed to make par every time, if you've got the skill. Trust me you will pump your fist when you make a birdie! This is good stuff for folks who enjoy playing golf simulations. For fans of this genre, I highly recommend Irem's Major Title 2. 8/10
Here's the attract mode:
Unfortunately the attract mode doesn't play any of the good music. Oh well.
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Post by toei on Jun 30, 2019 4:27:19 GMT -5
Yeah, Horizon was one of the first I checked out. Replacing jumping with plane-switching was a decent idea to take the concept further, but it doesn't work nearly as well as Moon Patrol in practice.
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Post by Ex on Jun 30, 2019 15:47:12 GMT -5
Well folks today is the final day of the Irem theme. I'm personally finished, here's what I beat:Disaster Report (PS2) - A rather terrible game about surviving in a city collapsing via earthquakes. Nice concept, amateur hour execution. Major Title 2 (Arcade) - A rather great golf simulator with proper arcade pacing. A special thanks to toei; he really carried this theme and supplied us with tons of background information on Irem and its games. My personal opinion is Irem made about a dozen good arcade games, and a few good console / portable releases. That said their overall quality leans towards C-tier if averaged out. Yet the two Irem games I'm most interested in playing, R-Type and Steambot Chronicles, I ended up saving for a later date. So my future Irem spelunkery is not over yet.
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Post by toei on Jun 30, 2019 16:46:50 GMT -5
A dozen good arcade games is extremely generous. I have to wonder if you would've felt the same if you played them long enough to try to beat them. Ninja Spirit arcade seems cool if you play it just briefly, for instance, but... My opinion about Irem is that they made a few good games very early on, in the first half of the '80s, then mostly stuck to the R-Type style of design; sluggish pace and a level of memorization far beyond what other developers of the time required. Their good games past that point (according to my tastes, obviously) were not made by Irem proper, but by Nanao, Tamtex, or subcontractors. I finished: Ganchu! Yanchamaru (GB) Spartan X 2 (NES) Ken-Go / Lightning Swords (ARC) Perman (NES) Taiyou no Yuusha Fighbird (NES) Ninja Spirit (PCE) Taiyou no Yuusha Fighbird (GB) (this is a different game) I wonder if dunpeal2064 ever did find time to complete R-Type.
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Post by Sarge on Jun 30, 2019 17:46:27 GMT -5
Ex : I played through Ninja Baseball Batman a good while ago (don't even remember if I was recording scores at that point!), and definitely had a fun time with it. I gave Perman a shot, and it seemed pretty decent, at any rate, along with its sequel. I need to use the translated version of the first game, though, and I didn't seem to have it on my current setup in any form. EDIT: Finished Perman. Definitely a strange little game. I liked it well enough, though; probably a 6 or 6.5. There are typical platforming stages, where the hero has a weak little punch until you upgrade it, and you also collect stuff throughout the stage that gets used for taking on bosses... on a board game. Yes, a board game. Very strange, indeed. At any rate, you'll win a particular prize through mini-games that help out with the bosses. There's a life-doubler, but my favorite was the fake dice you can use to get constant fives and sixes. The last boss sees the hero take him on without any powers, and is the only "proper" boss battle in the game. At any rate, I might give the other a more concerted go. From what I could tell, I'm not sure the board game portions are in there, but it swaps perspectives from side to overhead. And I noted walking through small openings was really fiddly.
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