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Post by Sarge on Feb 28, 2022 20:55:47 GMT -5
Some good ones, there, Ex. Shadow of the Ninja can be tough, but it's excellent Natsume NES fare, and Ninja Gaiden Shadow is basically a Game Boy version of that. Shinobi III is the best of the series. Run Saber is actually better than Strider in my opinion. (Although Strider 2 is aces and should be played.) And I like how Ninja Five-O takes the sort of early Shinobi (and Rolling Thunder) formula and adds the grappling hook to the mix.
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Post by toei on Feb 28, 2022 21:47:35 GMT -5
Shinobi 3 is the worst of the series, with incredibly uninspired level and boss designs. It has the nicest graphics and nothing else. Otherwise, I recommend pretty much the entire series. There are two main styles of Shinobi games: the original, which includes Shinobi, Shadow Dancer Arcade, and Shadow Dancer Genesis (two entirely different games) is very methodical and relies on carefully advancing and swiftly taking enemies out, as you die in one hit. Those are my favorite. If you want to try one, Genesis Shadow Dancer is the easiest/most accessible, though it's still going to be hard at the end if you have no experience with that type of game (Rolling Thunder, the original inspiration, is like 100x harder, though). The second, which started with Revenge of Shinobi and also includes the two Game Gear games, Shinobi 3 and Shinobi Legions, is more typical, with health bars etc. That's for the 2D games, since the 3D games (Shinobi and Nightshade) have their own, completely different gameplay styles. And there's some garbage game by a random Western dev on the GBA that is absolutely not worse playing. It's definitely worse than Shinobi 3, but I don't count it as a real Shinobi game.
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Post by Xeogred on Feb 28, 2022 22:06:09 GMT -5
As for me, Shinobi III is a top 5 Genesis game. So I highly recommend it.
I liked Shadow Dancer more than Revenge of the Shinobi. The arcade games were alright. These all remind me of classic Castlevania with the lack of running, awkward platforming, but with ninja stars/shuriken instead of a whip haha. Cool stuff once you get the hang of it.
Shinobi III plays nothing like them and for my tastes, it's better. But I don't really care to compare them that much.
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Post by Sarge on Feb 28, 2022 22:07:45 GMT -5
But it plays so much better. For me, feel is a big part of what makes a game fun, even if the stage layouts aren't very complex. It looks fantastic and, other than a still-finicky double jump, feels awesome to play.
Shadow Dancer for Genesis is great, though, I agree, and I'd take it over the arcade version anytime. The Game Gear games are super interesting, too, since they have some mild exploration elements and different characters.
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Post by Xeogred on Feb 28, 2022 22:17:11 GMT -5
When you nail the double jump or kick an enemy in the face, it's incredible satisfying. The controls in Shinobi III are sublime!
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Post by toei on Feb 28, 2022 22:33:33 GMT -5
I do like the jump kick in Shinobi 3 a lot. It's like a homing dive kick, it kind of pulls you down towards the enemy, then makes you bounce off of it so you can do it again. The only game I can think of that does that too is the PSX/SAT beat-'em-up Nekketsu Oyaku, and it's the best part of that game. The reason the game overall is a big disappointment for me is that it really doesn't take advantage of all these moves, or lets you use them in cool ways. There should be sections where you get to kick like 5-6 dudes in the face without ever landing once while slashing enemies in mid-air. There should be moments where you use that overlong running slash animation that almost never works to slay a fleeing enemy. There should be way more enemies in general. You have the skills to unleash a ton of damage, but you never get to use them. The first level is the closest the game gets to that, actually, and for that it's one of the best levels. It's not about complex layouts, although I do appreciate exploration too. But beyond 2-3 levels, Shinobi 3 has some really trash ones. With better levels, it really could have been the game people pretend it is. Shinobi Legions on the Saturn has a lot of flaws, but I do think the addition of blocking and shuriken deflecting was great.
The GG games are indeed deeper and better than you'd think for portable games from that era. Also, Ninja Gaiden GG is basically a secret Shinobi game rather than Ninja Gaiden. The only problem with it is that it's really short.
Traditional Shinobi is nothing like Castlevania, lol. They barely have any platforming at all, so the jumps aren't an issue.
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Post by Ex on Feb 28, 2022 22:38:53 GMT -5
I enjoyed beating all three of the Genesis Shinobi games, but I remember III being my favorite. That said, it's been a longggg time since I played through those games. I rented and beat them all back when they originally released. Who knows, with a replay my opinion could change on which entry is the best on Genesis. Maybe in March I'll redo these games for a fresh take.
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Post by Ex on Mar 2, 2022 2:02:23 GMT -5
Started on my first game for this theme this evening. It's the 1994 SEGA CD version of Popful Mail, with the Un-Worked Design patch applied. I only put a half hour in thus far, but I like what I've played. Perky protagonist, goofy humor, colorful world. The OST especially is good. (But this was made by Falcom so that's to be expected.) I thought this was an action-RPG, but it's more an action-adventure. You don't gain experience points to level up, rather you acquire money from killing enemies, to buy better equipment which raises your stats. I guess that's a roundabout way of leveling up technically. Whatever, there's definitely platforming, and the primary protagonist (Popful Mail) certainly wields a sword. This is actually the second time I've tried this game. The first time was back around 2000/2001, but what Working Designs did put me off from it. This patch fixes all those problems:
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So what's everybody else playing for March?
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Post by toei on Mar 2, 2022 3:53:09 GMT -5
I should probably replay Popful Mail someday. I finished it back in the day but didn't like it that much, but that was before I got into action-platformers (of which Mega Man absolutely aren't the pinnacle btw Ex). I felt for a while that I could probably appreciate it now, maybe even more so Un-Worked. Apparently the Sega CD version is vastly different from some of the others.
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Post by Ex on Mar 2, 2022 9:43:40 GMT -5
of which Mega Man absolutely aren't the pinnacle btw Ex Keep in mind, I was throwing the X, Zero, and ZX MM games in with that statement. (I would put the 2D Castlevania games in at a close second.) I understand if you disagree, but you should offer a counter-argument when you do. What series (or individual game) do you personally consider the apex of 2D action-platformer? I figured some here at HRG may have finished Popful Mail before. What I didn't realize until recently, is that this game released on many platforms. Aside from SEGA CD, it's also on SFC, PCE-CD, PC88, PC98, Windows, and even mobile. That said, not every version was programmed by Falcom. From what I can tell, the PC88/98 and SFC versions were the entries programmed by Falcom. And as far as I know, the only version available in English is the SEGA CD one, that's the reason I'm playing it.
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