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Post by toei on Sept 11, 2019 23:16:11 GMT -5
Haha, I also had a handful of Archie comics. Seems like you couldn't avoid those at the time, you'd end up with a few even if you didn't like them. I thought Betty and Veronica were hot and Jughead was kind of cool (though now that I think about it, all he did was eat hamburgers), but I wouldn't have rated Archie as high as, say, Spider-Man. At least it was better than Bazooka Joe comics.
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Post by Sarge on Sept 12, 2019 0:36:55 GMT -5
I finished Justice League Heroes: The Flash tonight. I'll try to blabber about it tomorrow.
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Post by Ex on Sept 12, 2019 0:38:52 GMT -5
Alrighty, I finished #5 for this theme: Yep it's Capcom's 1992 release on NES; Disney's Darkwing Duck. Based on the hit cartoon back in the early '90s. Basically a show about a superhero duck who was sort of a parody of Batman. I was a fan of the Duck Tales cartoon, but for some reason Darkwing Duck never really grabbed me back then. Still, I had seen enough episodes to remember most of the cameos in this game. I've often read this game lauded on forums throughout the years, but I'd never gotten around to it. Well tonight I finally did. This is a shoot 'n jump platformer that clearly reuses the NES Mega Man engine. Which makes sense enough, as Capcom owned said engine. There are some modifications to the mix though. Darkwing can actually duck for one thing (no pun intended). He can also grab ledges, to ascend or descend from them. That said, in no way shape or form is Darkwing Duck as well designed as any of Capcom's actual NES Mega Man games. And in the pantheon of Capcom produced Disney licensed NES titles, I think Darkwing Duck falls on the low end of the spectrum honestly. I personally enjoyed even Capcom's Disney's The Little Mermaid and TaleSpin on NES more than this. But that's not to say Darkwing Duck is completely without merit. +Captures the show's theme pretty well. +Lots of variety to the stage designs. +The challenge level is rather high. +Tricky enemies and puzzle-y bosses. +Highly decent OST with catchy tunes. -The ledge grabbing/releasing mechanics are wonky and never felt right to me. -Far too many enemies shoot projectiles constantly from all directions. -You cannot move (as in hand over hand traverse) while hanging from a ledge or platform. -You can't shoot upwards or diagonally, but enemies can. -Most regular enemies take an annoying amount of shots to defeat. When I first started playing this game, I thought it seemed rather decent. Unfortunately the longer I played, the more I began to disdain the experience. Darkwing Duck only has seven stages, but there's enough haphazard challenge here that it still feels kinda long. I suppose if you were a fan of Darkwing Duck himself, you'd get more out of the mileage. Although your patience might falter still, after being mobbed by over abundant enemy placements and ridiculous projectiles. Indeed clever platforming opportunities are often ignored in favor of mobs and gobs of enemies. Not to mention falling to your death, simply because the ledge grabbing mechanic refuses to remain consistent in its execution. A lack of polish all around; I can't help but think Capcom's gusto just wasn't with this one. Compared to their true NES classics like Duck Tales and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck feels halfhearted. Perhaps by the time Capcom got to this point, they were well tired of making Disney games. Regardless getting my hopes up high for this twenty seven year old licensed platformer proved to be a mistake. It was the error that crapped in the night.
Ex's time to beat: 40 minutes Ex's rating: 5/10
Did you know...
There is an entirely unique Darkwing Duck game on TG-16? It is completely different than the NES version! Better, worse? I dunno.
- And with that beat down, I'm gonna take a break from this Club Retro theme for a bit. Though I may come back later this month and beat another superhero game (or two).
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Post by Sarge on Sept 12, 2019 10:21:57 GMT -5
Oh, I can tell you, that TG-16 game is worse.
Much worse.
And yes, I've definitely beaten Darkwing Duck on NES many times. I think it's better than a 5/10, but I don't think you're wrong about the flaws you point out. I think I've just gotten used to the layouts, so it doesn't bother me as much. I've also gotten the hang of the somewhat finicky grab mechanic, so that alleviates some of my gripes, too. I'd probably say it's a 7/10 for me. It's not great like the Mega Man games, though.
Also, did you know you can hold up to deploy DW's cape and block projectiles? That can be helpful in a few spots.
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Post by Ex on Sept 12, 2019 11:31:06 GMT -5
Also, did you know you can hold up to deploy DW's cape and block projectiles? Yes, and I used it sometimes. The trouble with that cape mechanic is, the game's arbitrary about what enemy shots can and can't be deflected using it. The first time through the game, it's a crap shoot as to whether or not the cape is going to work against any given projectile. I think the idea of the cape mechanic was good, but its implementation wasn't consistent enough for me.
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Post by Sarge on Sept 12, 2019 11:32:58 GMT -5
This is true as well. There really aren't that many you can block with it.
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Post by Sarge on Sept 12, 2019 16:38:09 GMT -5
So, let's talk about Justice League Heroes: The Flash. This was created as a tie-in to the console game, Justice League Heroes, which was a sort of X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance RPG-brawler. The GBA game is decidedly not that. It takes the form of a traditional beat-'em-up, where you take The Flash through several levels that culminate in a showdown with Brainiac, which apparently then ties into the main game's plot.
Given that this is a WayForward jam, it has a bit of that company's style at the time. Spritework is surprisingly small, but understandable as they wanted to give The Flash more room to maneuver in the environments and show off his speed. You have a meter that govern how you use your powers. To start with, you can go into hyper speed with a press of the R button, which effectively activates slo-mo for all enemies. This can be useful against certain bosses in particular. You also have a dash move triggered by the A button, which sends you zipping towards the closest enemy in that direction. This is where the game differs from most brawlers, since it gives you some impressive ping-ponging between enemies at times. It really captures the essence of The Flash's speed.
Unfortunately, despite unlocking a few more moves during the course of the game (a sort of cyclone-style run around enemies and a ground pound, both of which seem woefully underutilized) and having nice Justice League member cameos via a limited screen-nuke move, you'll be using the bread and butter of dashing in, getting in your licks via the default combo, and getting out while the getting is good. Dashing in willy-nilly doesn't always work, either, as enemies will often counter if you time your actions incorrectly. This is the most fun thing about the game, but it also can be repetitive. Just a little more variety in the default attacking combo would have helped tremendously.
I don't know who did the soundtrack for the game, but at times it reminded me of the one in Sigma Star Saga. Couldn't find much to confirm who did the actual work for this game, but given that Martin Schioeler seems to be credited for a lot of licensed stuff, it wouldn't surprise me if he were involved.
Anyway, this was a decent enough distraction, but not the greatest thing ever. For a licensed game, it's certainly very solid, but I found it a bit too repetitive for a three-hour game. I'll give it a 6.5/10.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 12, 2019 17:52:10 GMT -5
I can echo Ex's issues on Darkwing Duck a bit. I beat that one last year: hardcoreretrogaming.boards.net/post/266Don't think I disliked it enough to be a 5/10, but it didn't blow me away or anything either.
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Post by Ex on Sept 12, 2019 21:22:24 GMT -5
SargeI didn't know Wayforward was involved with JLH:TF, but yeah sometimes their stuff is mediocre. But in the realm of this theme, I'll recommend Wayforward's Batman: The Brave and the Bold on Wii. My wife and I co-op beat that one years ago, and we both enjoyed it. (Edit: well that's a 2010 game actually, so won't fit here this year) XeogredOn your points: Yes you are super correct about that issue. The cape raising can mess up your jump, or even when it doesn't, it still adds a delay to your jump, often causing you to get hit by a projectile you should have missed if it weren't for the cape raising delay. That was another thing that Darkwing Duck was inconsistent about. Sometimes if you fell in a pit, the screen would scroll down and the level continued. Sometimes you would simply die. So the player was never 100% sure if they were supposed to use a downward pit or not. Just another aspect of game design that wasn't well thought out. Like I said, the game just isn't nearly as polished as it should have been. Especially for a Capcom game. Maybe it got rushed out the door.
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Post by Sarge on Sept 12, 2019 21:35:14 GMT -5
Oh, the pit stuff is definitely left over from Mega Man. Generally, if you hit a dead end, you knew it's time to go down. I don't remember if DW telegraphs this more poorly, but it sounds like it does.
Speaking to Batman: TBatB, I agree, fun stuff all around. I played through it a few years back. I actually loved how it leans into a more Adam West, goofy vibe. The cartoon did the same, and made me chuckle quite a bit. I mean, there's an entire musical episode where Neil Patrick Harris is the Music Meister, and it's ridiculous.
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