Demon Throttle - Nintendo Switch

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hamfighterx
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Re: Demon Throttle - Nintendo Switch

Post by hamfighterx »

dai jou bu wrote:I’m on the other side of the fence: this is designed very well for playing with other people. The feature requests you’re asking for really only matter for single players; I have never used these QoL features you’re asking for when I’m playing co-op with someone else.
Fair enough that it does seem like the game was probably designed around balancing for 2P simultaneous play. However, as someone just playing it by myself, it's a concern for me and I'm sure I am not alone.

I also agree that this is the kind of game that once you learn the levels/bosses, it gets easier. Definitely feels like a doable clear with dedication. But most people aren't going to memorize a super niche NES tribute game, whereas they might enjoy it more if they could more easily access the other levels. From a design standpoint, I don't think there is any particularly good reason to be so restrictive and allow people to see later levels ONLY if they get there on a single credit from the start of stage 1. Why not just allow continues from the start of the current stage? Or a boss practice mode? Or picking your starting stage? Lots of ways to address this that feel like they would have been better than what the devs actually chose to do.
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dai jou bu
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Re: Demon Throttle - Nintendo Switch

Post by dai jou bu »

hamfighterx wrote:Fair enough that it does seem like the game was probably designed around balancing for 2P simultaneous play. However, as someone just playing it by myself, it's a concern for me and I'm sure I am not alone.
I've been playing this game solo as well, but can appreciate the thought put into the game's design even though it's not optimal for me to play it by myself. Just be glad they didn't really double down on the multiplayer requirement and went the It Takes Two route for modern gaming or the surprise troll of Bubble Bobble's true ending, because they easily could've done that given that they nailed the classic NES feel down to a T. Hilariously the cutscenes right before the bosses play out as though both characters are still alive, even though in that actual session, one of them is not at the moment, so that's a good QoL improvement in my eyes lol.
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Sumez
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Re: Demon Throttle - Nintendo Switch

Post by Sumez »

given that they nailed the classic NES feel down to a T
What NES feel? I thought the game feels very inherently like most of the slew of modern indie titles who go for a retro style without ever really dedicating themselves to that classic simplicity.

Obviously the game takes heavily after one NES game, King's Knight, but I've never met anyone who actually likes that game. And it's mostly just the core concept that is copied, the feel of the actual controls and enemy design etc. is just kinda weird to me, and doesn't have the basic precision you'd expect from an NES game. Hell, just having all those damage numbers popping up all over the place immediately takes you away from that era.

Not that that itself is a bad thing, I didn't expect this to feel like an NES game at all. I'm just confused about the claim.
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dai jou bu
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Re: Demon Throttle - Nintendo Switch

Post by dai jou bu »

Sumez wrote: What NES feel? I thought the game feels very inherently like most of the slew of modern indie titles who go for a retro style without ever really dedicating themselves to that classic simplicity.
Not that that itself is a bad thing, I didn't expect this to feel like an NES game at all. I'm just confused about the claim.
Yeah, I poorly worded that, my fault. I was going along of hamfighterx's description of the game reminding them of an NES title and if the Devs really wanted to make it feel closer to that kind of experience they would've done something stupid like in Bubble Bobble.

I personally wouldn't lump it entirely on the NES hardware (especially since having damage numbers pop up would eat into the limited VRAM of the system already), but perhaps something on the arcade that was slightly more powerful, and, given enough skilled programmers and some clever tricks, would be able to port most of the experience intact on the NES a la Gradius.

Also, yeah, of course nobody would look back fondly on King's Knight. That was one of the big reasons why Sakaguchi was pushed into a corner and had Final Fantasy as their make or break moment in Videogame history.
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