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Post by Sarge on Aug 5, 2021 0:02:58 GMT -5
Yeah, I like both of those, actually. The US box art is actually quite good.
I found the best guy in the game to be the one that looks like Gilius Thunderhead. Here, he's a multi-directional archer with a lot of range, and his alternate fire can reach upwards quite a bit, while still having a lot more distance than the spear-tosser you start with. Well, him, and the upgraded spear tosser barbarian guy. Very similar range/abilities, and good foot speed, at least in GGSX.
I watched an arcade run - player was very skilled, but also took a lot of deaths - and he kept one character in reserve and obliterated the last boss in a single shot. Actually, I think it's that samurai on the US cover - he has a whirlwind attack that apparently can be extremely powerful if used correctly. If you know what to do, it's definitely possible to get through the game without credit-feeding, but man, it would take a lot of practice. Even with tons of knowledge, the run I watched cut it close on the timer several times.
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Post by toei on Aug 5, 2021 3:52:17 GMT -5
Sarge Interesting that Gain Ground SX is good. The other PC Engine ports of late '80s Sega arcade hits aren't. Though I still think it's really interesting how Sega licensed all those games for their rivals; there are Nes/Famicom ports of Fantasy Zone, Altered Beast, Space Harrier and Shinobi too. It completely goes against my childhood conception of how console wars work, but I think it just goes to underline how much Sega saw itself as an arcade company first until the Genesis really took off out West. The consoles were a side thing. Although the PC Engine goes against that same conception even harder, what with Hudson Soft's friendly relationship with Nintendo... I don't pay much attention to the business world outside of the entertainment I'm into, but it seems to me that Japan is really into the whole friendly rivals thing (as seen in Shonen manga). As another example, I'm a big fan of Japanese cinema from the studio days. By the late '60s, Toei and Toho emerged as the two biggest rivals... but the son of Toei's president ended up working as an actor for Toho, then became a big producer there, before becoming Toei's president much later. Which could also be seen as a child rebelling against a parent in the most on-the-nose way you can imagine, but there are tons of examples like that. Japanese business people, at least in the entertainment industry, seem to really rely on rivalry as a motivator. "We can't let X beat us!" is the type of phrase you hear a lot.
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Post by Ex on Aug 5, 2021 8:17:08 GMT -5
rely on rivalry as a motivator. "We can't let X beat us!" I think that's a healthier motivator than, "We've got to meet the quarterly shareholder expectations!"
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Post by Xeogred on Aug 5, 2021 22:10:06 GMT -5
Hard to find cool images of the Valkyria Chronicles levels but oh well, I really enjoyed the Chapter 10 Fouzen stages. They were in the mountains with some canyons, some outposts, big bridges, lot of mortar strikes you have to dodge. Then the second big mission had huge elevators that were big enough to fit the tank which was cool. At this point I've noticed the maps sometimes have some hidden enemies that have a unique name. I'm betting they're the ones that drop the unique weapons, though Ex kind of implied otherwise with the US release? I wonder if taking those special units out nets you some extra exp or whatever. It's fun to explore the maps and take them out if you have turns to spare.
I have a second tank now, which is going to get pricey upgrades wise.
But tank's aside, I'm starting to see the power of ORDERS. It usually takes ~3 rockets via a tank to take out an enemy tank, that's 6 CP spent. Well, if I Order Demolition Boost for 3 CP on a Scout or Shocktrooper, if they can get behind a tank for the weak point, it goes down instantly and you're only spending 1 CP to move a normal unit. Saving 2 CP there... so I'm learning some cool strategies heh.
It was kind of critical to realize this is one mission where I had to "disable" a vehicle without destroying it. Shooting the weak point with my normal units did nothing, until I utilized the Orders to boost anti-armor damage. Then I basically sweeped that mission in like another turn or two.
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Post by Ex on Aug 5, 2021 22:33:04 GMT -5
Yes there are certain enemy soldiers that are "Aces", they drop special stuff that you automatically collect upon completing the mission. Orders will become critical in the last third of the game, definitely a required strategic skill. - Well I beat this one this evening: I like the USA box art this time. (Although the Japanese rear box art has its charms.) Title: Mystic DefenderPlatform: SEGA Genesis Region release played: USA Year of release: 1989 Developer: SEGA Publisher: SEGA Graphics: 3/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 4/5 Fun factor: 3/5 Quick Thoughts: Mystic Defender is the sequel to the Master System game SpellCaster. This time there are no adventure game segments, just 8 levels of side-scrolling action-platforming. Mystic Defender is pretty tough, especially some of its platforming can be brutal. In that regard, Mystic Defender is very much a "gamer's game", if you enjoy hardcore no-nonsense action this is it. So while Mystic Defender lacks the innovative ambition of its predecessor, it still manages to weave a spell of oldschool charm. +Creepy environments and spooky enemies. +Tight controls and solid physics. +Plenty of parallax scrolling. +I enjoyed the OST. + Endless THREE continues, apparently! -Enemies don't drop power-ups of any sort. -Enemies should at least award points towards extra lives. -Not enough bosses (opposite of SpellCaster in that regard). -Sound effects are pretty bad. -Lacks overall polish. This game has nudity in it, even the USA version does: SEGA does what Nintendon't! Also the credits introduction made me laugh: Ex's time to beat: ~1 hour Ex's rating: 7.5/10
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Post by Sarge on Aug 5, 2021 22:42:20 GMT -5
Wait, it had endless continues? It kicked me out after three continues... Anyway, moar Gain Ground. This time, the final port (or maybe not final port) that I haven't even played before for the SMS. And... it's surprisingly good! A little choppy, but very playable. It has a different set of levels - some come from the source material, some change significantly - and also has another set of ten levels that are pretty tough if you don't have the right members left. I managed to hemorrhage all my good ones in the fourth world, leading to a bad time and game over in the fifth. I literally couldn't clear the third stage because all my people were too slow to fight the conveyor belt floor. Once again, what do I decide to do? Cheat! There's a code to do a stage select and get one of each character, so I did that to finish up the game, and finish it I did, just barely squeaking in the win against the final boss who is apparently practically impossible to dodge in any manner, so you need to time your troop spawn and just get in as many hits as you can before meeting your inevitable death. I still think this is good - I'd probably toss it in the 6.5 range, 7/10 if I'm feeling really charitable. It's a very solid port for a system that often got some pretty awful ones.
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Post by Ex on Aug 5, 2021 23:58:48 GMT -5
Wait, it had endless continues? It kicked me out after three continues... I assumed it had endless continues, because I continued twice, and the continue screen never showed a "you have this many continues left" indication. 🤷♂️ Have you played the 2004 SEGA Ages version? That PS2 version wasn't developed by SEGA though.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 6, 2021 0:32:32 GMT -5
I haven't, but... I mean, maybe I should just complete the deal. I'd completely forgotten about that one. The 3D... isn't flattering to the game, that's for sure.
Also, I did jump in and beat Mystic Defender, but I decided to use save states so I'd make sure to clear that stupid pit that was giving me trouble. Which, by the way, didn't actually give me trouble this last time. I just needed to be slightly more patient than what I was being.
Honestly not sure what to give this one. I like aspects of it for sure - the different spells are cool - but something also feels just ever so slightly off. Still a good game, though, so I'd probably give it a 6.5 or 7/10. Let's go 7/10, actually.
Good job getting through it with only two continues, though. I honestly don't know why that one spot gave me so much trouble. The rest of the game wasn't so bad overall. I'm also pretty sure I've beaten this before, because I remembered a lot of the later stage stuff with the elevators and whatnot.
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Post by Ex on Aug 6, 2021 8:43:29 GMT -5
If you're talking about the spot with the lava-ish stuff, with the pillars that move up and down, that you jump across while also killing/avoiding enemies, yes I know what you're talking about. That spot took two of my lives. It is all about being patient though. Well, that and having the flame plume spell blowing forward as you jump across the pillars, to handle incoming enemies. By far the platforming was the most deadly stuff in this game for sure.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 6, 2021 12:41:22 GMT -5
Yeah, that's the spot. The one that has two successive jumps with the pillars that drop into the lava. The mistake I was making was not waiting a bit for the second pillar to drop a bit more to avoid whacking the ceiling, which I was trying to avoid instead by light taps of the jump button. In practice, it just meant I wasn't going to make the next platform.
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