Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Trio the Punch is quite an enjoyable little romp, but unfortunately I think it gets pretty bad for a bit during the factory. Everything before and after is great, but those stages are really really bad and there are far too many of them.
@trap0xf | daifukkat.su/blog | scores | FIRE LANCER
<S.Yagawa> I like the challenge of "doing the impossible" with older hardware, and pushing it as far as it can go.
<S.Yagawa> I like the challenge of "doing the impossible" with older hardware, and pushing it as far as it can go.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
tbh I kinda like em No, definitely a bit spongey there, with the tanks that turn into gumdrops that turn into dinosaurs that turn into mechs. Puts a slight dampner on the game's strong suits of crisp 1HKOs and aerial improv. (edit: I mean technically they too demand aerial improv, but it's the less exciting, evasive sort versus a handful of sponges, as opposed to aggressively invading crowds and bodying chumps left and right)
OTOH, the preceding Ninja set of stages had me thinking of Jaleco's Ninja Kazan, and its own endgame - IE, I wish they'd just done a whole game's worth of those. Excellent stuff. (both games sporting the classic "pass through damaged enemies" mechanic later put to famous use in FC Batman and Actraiser II, even)
Player-side, I like their take on the classic Kage no Bunshin body split, too - very different from the usual unidirectional+syncfire Gradius model of Saigo, Strider and Ninja Gaiden II, with its delay letting you not only fire in opposite directions, but also pincer a single target. (are "suicidal body explosion" techniques as ubiquitous in Japanese ninja media, I wonder? I notice The Revenge of Shinobi's Mijin is in here too, in less stylised, somewhat more graphic form... homie's head blows clean off )
Despite my previous post, I actually did forget the ending. Gimmick true last stage vibes, kinda.
Assuming the ACA default of 12HP / 100timer is accurate, this is probably the easiest sidescroller I've played from the line since The Lord Of King. Exactly as with that one, though, a lot of that ease is really just an absence of typical bone-jarring AC brutality, and there's likewise a good deal of finesse to keep 1CCers occupied. Were this on MD/PCE/SFC, it'd be comfortably middle difficulty at least, imo.
The inter-stage gambling element sounds like complete and utter kusoge material, especially with it being the sole means of recovering HP - kinda raised an eyebrow at that. Happily though, you get quite a bit of HP, there are impressively few cheap shots to speak of, and your mobility is vastly more important than your firepower. Stomp is critical! (now if you could gain/lose that, oof).
Bouncing on/off enemy fire is PEAK NINJA
Conversely, I think being forced to switch characters (rather than merely being offered the chance) might've proved interesting, assuming the character balance is sound. I'm wondering if Kamakura/Ninja is the EZMODE character... my attitude is, unless the game is completely and utterly defanged (ala TNWA's Kamaitachi and his cheesy Crouch P), my picks are mine mine mine. Them OTG Buffalo Shuriken be HAWT, kinda finesse that can sell an entire game.
OTOH, the preceding Ninja set of stages had me thinking of Jaleco's Ninja Kazan, and its own endgame - IE, I wish they'd just done a whole game's worth of those. Excellent stuff. (both games sporting the classic "pass through damaged enemies" mechanic later put to famous use in FC Batman and Actraiser II, even)
Player-side, I like their take on the classic Kage no Bunshin body split, too - very different from the usual unidirectional+syncfire Gradius model of Saigo, Strider and Ninja Gaiden II, with its delay letting you not only fire in opposite directions, but also pincer a single target. (are "suicidal body explosion" techniques as ubiquitous in Japanese ninja media, I wonder? I notice The Revenge of Shinobi's Mijin is in here too, in less stylised, somewhat more graphic form... homie's head blows clean off )
Despite my previous post, I actually did forget the ending. Gimmick true last stage vibes, kinda.
Assuming the ACA default of 12HP / 100timer is accurate, this is probably the easiest sidescroller I've played from the line since The Lord Of King. Exactly as with that one, though, a lot of that ease is really just an absence of typical bone-jarring AC brutality, and there's likewise a good deal of finesse to keep 1CCers occupied. Were this on MD/PCE/SFC, it'd be comfortably middle difficulty at least, imo.
The inter-stage gambling element sounds like complete and utter kusoge material, especially with it being the sole means of recovering HP - kinda raised an eyebrow at that. Happily though, you get quite a bit of HP, there are impressively few cheap shots to speak of, and your mobility is vastly more important than your firepower. Stomp is critical! (now if you could gain/lose that, oof).
Bouncing on/off enemy fire is PEAK NINJA
Spoiler
Conversely, I think being forced to switch characters (rather than merely being offered the chance) might've proved interesting, assuming the character balance is sound. I'm wondering if Kamakura/Ninja is the EZMODE character... my attitude is, unless the game is completely and utterly defanged (ala TNWA's Kamaitachi and his cheesy Crouch P), my picks are mine mine mine. Them OTG Buffalo Shuriken be HAWT, kinda finesse that can sell an entire game.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
-
copy-paster
- Posts: 1698
- Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:33 pm
- Location: Indonesia
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
More attempts of Contra SS lately, had a good pace then this happens. Also from yesterday got some good ol' World of Longplays dodging
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Ha, I seem to recall that happening to me a few times over the years... I'd always try to avoid committing to a crouch too soon, though it's obviously easier said than done with the RNG.copy-paster wrote:More attempts of Contra SS lately, had a good pace then this happens.
I can't remember offhand (it's been ages) - can Lance actually make contact with you while you're prone/crouching, while he's in the air? I can vaguely recall him landing on me, if I was in a corner and he decided to use his (otherwise harmless) flashkick projectile, so I'd usually avoid them.
Nice. Shattered Soldier's hitboxes felt so rad. Nakazato absolutely nailed that same danmaku-esque precision from Spirits and Hard Corps, always got the scrubs in the comments yelling FALSIFICARE (cf Hurblat's classic scrub magnet).Also from yesterday got some good ol' World of Longplays dodging
That deserves a GIF! Love that description.
Mission 1's my favourite overall, with the nonstop destruction and stomping BGM - but Mission 3's first half is SS's most sustained quality, imo. An all-too-rare opening run/gun with good air+ground enemy presence, followed by an aggressive and very speedkillable Contra III Garth redux (love how it crashes and burns on the wall, damn!), then that always-tricky conveyor battle. Kinda falls off from there, with that dozy Eel and the not-so-great Crawler Tank first phase, but I like the multi-tasking finale, too.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
-
copy-paster
- Posts: 1698
- Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:33 pm
- Location: Indonesia
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Stage 3 also recommend as starting stage for S-Rank grind as it has most RNG out of 4 early stages, makes restarting less painful although I'd just keep going once reaching stage 5.
I have yet to find sidescrolling run and gun with that sweet aim lock feature, the one I know of recently is MD Midnight Resistance. Kindof weird why indie devs still stuck with HC/III's gunpoint lock only, pretty sure aim lock will benefit more for games like Cuphead, if it does happen tho it will be essentially Shattered Soldier 2 .
I have yet to find sidescrolling run and gun with that sweet aim lock feature, the one I know of recently is MD Midnight Resistance. Kindof weird why indie devs still stuck with HC/III's gunpoint lock only, pretty sure aim lock will benefit more for games like Cuphead, if it does happen tho it will be essentially Shattered Soldier 2 .
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Wolf Fang aka Rohga Armor Force - another DECO sidescrolling run/gun, albeit for 8way stick rather than Midnight Resistance's Loop Lever, and mecha rather than commando-themed - has a sort of simpler SS strafe mechanic; hold the [fire] button to lock direction while moving freely. It's a simpler aiming setup - there's just the 90' angled upward shot - but it'll seem familiar to any SS vet.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if it influenced Saurus's masterpiece of topdown run/gun, Shock Troopers. ST has a very similar 8way-optimised strafing setup. IIRC, Wolf Fang lets you tap the button for a bit more DPS at the cost of lock, too. Both games also have the Shinobi-style proximity automelee, as well as limited-use super weapons attached to specific mechs/characters... and even an evasive maneuver, albeit very differently-implemented (Wolf Fang has a short-ranged dash for macroing your chunky hitbox around the screen; ST has an i-framed evasive roll). Hmm!
Wolf Fang's a really cool game, regardless - worth a look for sure if you dig Valken-styled mech action and want something more arcade-paced. I'd love to see it get an ACA release, and actually... it wouldn't be all that unlikely. Hamster actually released its PS1 port once before, as a reprint on their Major Wave label. It's an excellent port AFAIK, though naturally not quite 100% perfect. Even includes the PCB's hidden "Professional" mode, which has you take on the game's entire slate of branching stages, Darius Gaiden Extra-style.
I also wonder if Nakazato might've been influenced by Alien Soldier's Gold Armour mode, which is pretty much the middle ground between Wolf Fang and SS.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if it influenced Saurus's masterpiece of topdown run/gun, Shock Troopers. ST has a very similar 8way-optimised strafing setup. IIRC, Wolf Fang lets you tap the button for a bit more DPS at the cost of lock, too. Both games also have the Shinobi-style proximity automelee, as well as limited-use super weapons attached to specific mechs/characters... and even an evasive maneuver, albeit very differently-implemented (Wolf Fang has a short-ranged dash for macroing your chunky hitbox around the screen; ST has an i-framed evasive roll). Hmm!
Wolf Fang's a really cool game, regardless - worth a look for sure if you dig Valken-styled mech action and want something more arcade-paced. I'd love to see it get an ACA release, and actually... it wouldn't be all that unlikely. Hamster actually released its PS1 port once before, as a reprint on their Major Wave label. It's an excellent port AFAIK, though naturally not quite 100% perfect. Even includes the PCB's hidden "Professional" mode, which has you take on the game's entire slate of branching stages, Darius Gaiden Extra-style.
I also wonder if Nakazato might've been influenced by Alien Soldier's Gold Armour mode, which is pretty much the middle ground between Wolf Fang and SS.
Last edited by BIL on Fri May 20, 2022 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
-
copy-paster
- Posts: 1698
- Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:33 pm
- Location: Indonesia
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Looks neat would check out along with Shock Troopers, Aquas also grind the former too on hardest difficulty on stream (and he got one).
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Can always count on Aquas, man has great taste and great skills alike.
A widely-known but nonetheless neat detail about Wolf Fang - it's actually the middle game of the Kuhga trilogy, bookended by STGs Vapor Trail and Skull Fang. Lots of little cameos connecting all three games, and most importantly, all have customarily killer Gama Delic BGM. Calculatedly bombastic synth-rock with big hooks and fat chuggy guitars, plus some knock-down drag-out intense boss BGMs.
> CROSS FIRE
> SLAUGHTER MACHINE: DESTROY (first-rate tracknames )
> MIDNIGHT CHASER
Plus one of arcade canon's most elegiacal Name Entry requiems: GREATEST KNIGHTS ;-;7
Also holy fuck how'd I miss this? Japan's VGM scene never fails to impress.
A widely-known but nonetheless neat detail about Wolf Fang - it's actually the middle game of the Kuhga trilogy, bookended by STGs Vapor Trail and Skull Fang. Lots of little cameos connecting all three games, and most importantly, all have customarily killer Gama Delic BGM. Calculatedly bombastic synth-rock with big hooks and fat chuggy guitars, plus some knock-down drag-out intense boss BGMs.
> CROSS FIRE
> SLAUGHTER MACHINE: DESTROY (first-rate tracknames )
> MIDNIGHT CHASER
Plus one of arcade canon's most elegiacal Name Entry requiems: GREATEST KNIGHTS ;-;7
Also holy fuck how'd I miss this? Japan's VGM scene never fails to impress.
Last edited by BIL on Sun May 22, 2022 4:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Any impressions of Snow Brothers special? There's a "review" of it on Nintendolife, but gives very little information about the game and bashes both the original Snow Bros. and Tumblepop.
Edit: Went ahead and bought it and I like it quite a bit so far. Interesting that the cutscenes seem to be based on the NES version's plot of Nick and Tom being turned into snowmen, when other versions suggest that they were always snowmen.
Edit: Went ahead and bought it and I like it quite a bit so far. Interesting that the cutscenes seem to be based on the NES version's plot of Nick and Tom being turned into snowmen, when other versions suggest that they were always snowmen.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Still stuck with the assignment from hell at work, but I must beg you folks to help me on this: top score (pardon, "World Record") on Dead Connection? I am wondering if I should bother, instead of doing pointless things such as sleeping, eating and, duh, breathing.
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Gemant would know that sort of thing - I'll give it a go and report back.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
That review is embarassingly bad.BrianC wrote:Any impressions of Snow Brothers special? There's a "review" of it on Nintendolife, but gives very little information about the game and bashes both the original Snow Bros. and Tumblepop.
I can understand not liking Snow Bros., but when you have little to back that up with it just becomes mindless bashing. His attempts at being funny in the process are quite cringeworthy too.
-
copy-paster
- Posts: 1698
- Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:33 pm
- Location: Indonesia
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Got a new PB from recent stream (1 death clear with S-rank strats), vod is here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1491834297
Watch to find out why I got one death, and it was a very cheap one like literally got hit over frame-perfect hitbox . Also TLB's fireball attack is true S-rank killer IMO, you don't know what attack he's gonna throw at you air or ground one. We call it a COIN FLIP attack .
Bonus: Another tight hitbox moment
Watch to find out why I got one death, and it was a very cheap one like literally got hit over frame-perfect hitbox . Also TLB's fireball attack is true S-rank killer IMO, you don't know what attack he's gonna throw at you air or ground one. We call it a COIN FLIP attack .
Bonus: Another tight hitbox moment
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
I stopped by VideoGamesNewYork on my birthday a few days ago, and saw Ninja Saviors sitting on the shelf. Because of some prominent supporters of the game around here - you know who you are - I decided to pick it up. And, holy shit, I'm absolutely loving it.
Feels like it's in 'perfect game' territory. Plays like butter. Thought I owed you all a thank you for your tenacious and passionate shilling. I'd love to go for a Normal 1CC eventually, but for now I'm just enjoying the ride.
EDIT: The Normal Clear might come easier than I expected, now that I'm playing more...
Feels like it's in 'perfect game' territory. Plays like butter. Thought I owed you all a thank you for your tenacious and passionate shilling. I'd love to go for a Normal 1CC eventually, but for now I'm just enjoying the ride.
EDIT: The Normal Clear might come easier than I expected, now that I'm playing more...
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
You have chosen wisely.
You're sure to be in a fine haze about now, but don't think too hard about all of this. Just go out and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good. You know, it's just what hunters do! You'll get used to it.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
I finished Super Cyborg on Switch and I'm really glad the game was rebalanced a small touch. Just to enough to calm some of the more ridiculously strict timings.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
With games of TNWOA's calibre, I like to think of it as more of a humanitarian relief mission. There's a shamefully incomplete startup guide here, in case it's of any help. (I've still not gotten around to Raiden, dunno WTF I'm doing with him. Now that's value! ) Both OA and its SFC predecessor are quite self-explanatory brawlers, yet more than finessed enough to write about.jehu wrote:I stopped by VideoGamesNewYork on my birthday a few days ago, and saw Ninja Saviors sitting on the shelf. Because of some prominent supporters of the game around here - you know who you are - I decided to pick it up. And, holy shit, I'm absolutely loving it.
Feels like it's in 'perfect game' territory. Plays like butter. Thought I owed you all a thank you for your tenacious and passionate shilling. I'd love to go for a Normal 1CC eventually, but for now I'm just enjoying the ride.
EDIT: The Normal Clear might come easier than I expected, now that I'm playing more...
As you've likely noticed, sheer survival difficulty isn't really their lasting forte (though they'll certainly hand out the bumps while you learn the ropes; both learning enemy traits, and figuring out just how dominant your characters really are). As fiendishly meddlesome as the enemies can be, it's your clear time that'll suffer post-beatdown. As Time Attack pieces both games are thoroughly immortal, by virtue of that wicked crowd RNG and starkly diverse player characters.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
-
copy-paster
- Posts: 1698
- Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:33 pm
- Location: Indonesia
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
At long last, here we go!copy-paster wrote:Not sure if S-rank really worth it given some cruel RNGs.
Took near 2 weeks to remember everything, did the attempt last year before on real hardware but no luck. Have to say this is among one of best gaming achievements to me, and it holds special place cause played this since childhood I remember those times got freaked out over st1 boss 2nd form hahah
There was a bit clutch in seabad stage where my charged grenade attempt didn't fully charge so I failed to 1-cycle jetski mecha, also got rolling ball attack once was a bit tense there but I survived.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Congrats, will enjoy watching later for old times' sake. It's odd, Shattered Soldier feels more oldschool to me than even the NES Contra I grew up with... I guess it's because SS occupied a more specific time, when scrolling action was the rarity rather than the norm on consoles. SS, Neo and Gradius V were my obsessions for a good year or so in the early 00s.
That's an SSS-rank, imo - no restarts PLUS Rolling Ball Lance
That's an SSS-rank, imo - no restarts PLUS Rolling Ball Lance
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
-
copy-paster
- Posts: 1698
- Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:33 pm
- Location: Indonesia
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
We had discussion with one peep in shmups discord one time, we both think that SS is what if IREM tasked to make a Contra game. The way the weapons works, the memo, biomechanical boss designs really reminded us the good ol' R-Type. It even has a long cock boss in stage 5
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
I forgot about the giant dick, it's been that many years Also the Mission 6 finale "CRITICAL MOMENT OF CONTRA" aka The Real Contraception Simulator - complete with alien jizz exploding all over the screen. "The Nutsack Factory," we used to call that boss. The chromosome motif is legit kinda creepy, and even if it's nowhere as dangerous as the earlier Jellyfish form, that BGM and atmosphere are first-rate.
No wonder Irem felt pressured to crank up the dicks for both R-Type Finals!
No wonder Irem felt pressured to crank up the dicks for both R-Type Finals!
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
I'm definitely liking Snow Bros. Special so far, though it's definitely not a 1:1 port (as far as I can tell anyway. Enemy behavior seems mostly true to the original, but on one stage where the green enemies drop down right away in other versions, they stay on the platforms longer). 60 FPS and controls feel nice and zippy.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
I've played a bit of Super Cyborg and as a fan of run and guns to a ludicrous degree and of Contra in particular, I just find this game... not particularly compelling. The pressure from constant left and right zako means making even the smallest jump is ludicrously tedious, and overall the game was just more boring than fun to me. It's a good try but I feel like the slavish dedication to the Contra formula is more in the game's detriment than its favor overall.XoPachi wrote:I finished Super Cyborg on Switch and I'm really glad the game was rebalanced a small touch. Just to enough to calm some of the more ridiculously strict timings.
We here shall not rest until we have made a drawing-room of your shaft, and if you do not all finally go down to your doom in patent-leather shoes, then you shall not go at all.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Good to hear the controls are tight! Sadly, I've pretty much decided to ignore new stuff, no matter how tempting, until I know it handles sharply. Would happily retire my Saturn disc for that Layer Section redux, in a heartbeat. But well, you know. I might give SBS a look now.BrianC wrote:I'm definitely liking Snow Bros. Special so far, though it's definitely not a 1:1 port (as far as I can tell anyway. Enemy behavior seems mostly true to the original, but on one stage where the green enemies drop down right away in other versions, they stay on the platforms longer). 60 FPS and controls feel nice and zippy.
The Nintendolife review is unsurprising to hear of. We live in a world where the mainstream considers a moderately demanding Zelda-esque like Dark Souls not just notably difficult, but torturously, nigh-impossibly cruel. "Will it brick my console: Y/N" is all I want to know from these blundering jerkoffs.
EDIT: Oof, Christ. This is concentrated Eau de CVG straight outta "The Newsagents" circa 1992. Here's an archive link for my fellow curious - I hear it annoys these outfits, which is welcome compensation for my having to read their garbage!
Chortle! Top banter, m8 - let's go "Back To Mine" for some "Ant & Dec" on the "ITV!" I am sure your engagement with the single-screen platformer genre will more than match your familiarity with the famous crime serials of Frost and Morse et al! (Cor, you've missed a real back-of-the-net pun there mate! John "Thaw," hello? - Ed)BSE On Wheels wrote:Nicholas Snow and Thomas Snow. Not bad names – we can foresee a gritty murder mystery series starring one Thomas Snow coming to ITV in the near future – but not names that inspire enormous confidence in their capability.
Oh.Western European Capital of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome wrote:You walk around freezing enemies. You collect various items for points. There's very little to it and its appeal seems to extend only to its fans.
"It all feels identical" whines the "Cheeky Chappy" who's spent the preceding review describing Bubble Bobble, Saboten Bombers and Snow Brothers interchangeably.Proofreading By OFSTED wrote:The potions are a whole thing; they'll appear all over the field and grant increased speed and power. Taking a hit means you lose all this, but it doesn't really meaningful affect the difficulty because everything feels identical.
In a neat through-line from the early 90s to the present day, this is the same gaping void of insight behind demands for Easy Modes in new FromSoft titles. You know - those games where you walk around stabbing enemies and collecting various items for XP. I hear they are madly popular with "their fans" (pfft! LEMME GEDDON WITH MOI LOIIIFE), while the man on the Clapham omnibus gets bitten to death by random dogs because game mechanics R hard and how do I raised shield?
Beyond the sub-GameFAQs writing standards ("fans liek it i don't" ~FIN~), the real tragedy of these revenant shitrags is, you can't even wipe your "bottom" with them. At least not without the paper and ink cartridge DLC!
There I go, breaking my own informal rule of not tracking dogshit into the thread. 3; However, I will say this for casuals: when their outlets bitch at a game's lack of concessions and/or frills - ie, its hardcore - I find that a legitimate endorsement for hobbyists, aficionados, and general enthusiasts of arcade-bred and refined gaming. In other words, I'd be a little worried if a modern revival of a classic arcade title didn't attract a little whining from mainstream quarters.
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Who the hell could confuse Saboten Bombers with Bubble Bobble? Saboten Bombers is a crack-fueled nightmare of explosions compared to the stately pace of Bubble poppin'.
But I guess it's all the same, maaaaan. You do things and get points! Shit, what a boring game. All you do is things and get points! So repetitive.
I'm reminded of the endlessly-recycled criticism of beat em ups, which is that they are "repetitive" because you punch people for the whole game. Never have I similarly heard Mario cited as a snorefest because all you do is jump on shit for the entire game.
But I guess it's all the same, maaaaan. You do things and get points! Shit, what a boring game. All you do is things and get points! So repetitive.
I'm reminded of the endlessly-recycled criticism of beat em ups, which is that they are "repetitive" because you punch people for the whole game. Never have I similarly heard Mario cited as a snorefest because all you do is jump on shit for the entire game.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
True! But I'm pretty sure this numbnuts could manage it. After all, these three games see you "walking about freezing enemies and collecting various items for points." Crikey m8s! I've figured out the genre thing! "Walk around shooting enemies and collecting various items for ammo" That's FPSs sorted. "Drive around not hitting enemies and collecting checkpoints for time extends" Racing games, scintillatingly aphorised! "Write walls of fried air garnished with side-splitting humours straight outta The Beano" Down goes the Games Journo Sim! In a riddle for the ages, all are popular with their fans, but not with non-fans!Sima Tuna wrote:Who the hell could confuse Saboten Bombers with Bubble Bobble? Saboten Bombers is a crack-fueled nightmare of explosions compared to the stately pace of Bubble poppin'.
Well... perhaps I'm uncharitable to suggest someone could be unmoved by Saboten's particular brand of gleeful-yet-calculating BBesque mayhem; it would surely elicit at the very least a gut "OMFG SPLOSIONS" reaction, as opposed to a sneering "LMAO too bad there's more than one level" shitpost-gone-review. Surely, right? Whoa - now I'm making shitty jokes, too!
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
But you don't. You throw fireballs, dodge attacks, swim, run sometimes, walk sometimes. There's a bunch of variety. I think those beat em ups that had the variety of actions never got the flak. Battletoads for example isn't usually criticized for its repetition.Sima Tuna wrote:Who the hell could confuse Saboten Bombers with Bubble Bobble? Saboten Bombers is a crack-fueled nightmare of explosions compared to the stately pace of Bubble poppin'.
But I guess it's all the same, maaaaan. You do things and get points! Shit, what a boring game. All you do is things and get points! So repetitive.
I'm reminded of the endlessly-recycled criticism of beat em ups, which is that they are "repetitive" because you punch people for the whole game. Never have I similarly heard Mario cited as a snorefest because all you do is jump on shit for the entire game.
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
They did from reviewers like this one.o.pwuaioc wrote:I think those beat em ups that had the variety of actions never got the flak.
I still have my little early 00s collection of EDGE magazines, from when I was studying in the UK. Reviews of Ikaruga, DDP DOJ, Psyvariar 2: The WTF, Gradius V, R-Type Final... plus a healthy selection of retrospectives on Taito, Toaplan, IREM and Konami STGs of the 80s and 90s, and the vast PCE canon - all evaluated with an even-handedness that helped snap me out of a decade-long AAA-induced funk. These weren't myopic paeans to "TEH H4RDCOR3," or anything - they were sharply cognisant of the genre's innate limitations, and these being performance based-games that many would have no desire whatsoever to perform at. Crucially though, they consistently understood that those same limitations brought a strength of their own; a concentration largely lost from the mainstream, whose own darlings typically operated on the inverse gambit: wild expansive variety and possibility at the cost of arcade focus and immediacy. (slot any arcade genre into the preceding; STGs, brawlers, puzzlers, all share a short-fused immediacy and tension that's proven ageless)
(I could easily be wrong, but I think at least one of our own forum members worked for them, around that time. I know a couple of our guys are out there fighting the good fight as I type this. What's the expression... "present company excepted?" )
I genuinely don't expect better than that Snow Bros Special review from the average games writer. One man's antiquated cul-de-sac is another's blistering crucible of a killing floor, that's life. This guy and his ilk are just abysmally poor writers who habitually mistake barrel-bottom snark for levity.
Not to suggest AC-bred games have some unique scarlet letter, here; FromSoft and the roughly adjacent DMC school - "Hard 3D Action" - run into similar problems with casual reviewers. "Look m8, I'm pressing buttons, and making my bloke do flippy spinny choppy things - so give me my "PREY SLAUGHTERED" and let me GEDDON WIV MOI LOIIIFE, yeah?!" Where engagement is demanded, bitchfests follow!
光あふれる 未来もとめて, whoa~oh ♫
[THE MIRAGE OF MIND] Metal Black ST [THE JUSTICE MASSACRE] Gun.Smoke ST [STAB & STOMP]
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
You can jump, pick up weapons, use superjoys, run, dodge attacks, fight bosses sometimes in beat em ups too.o.pwuaioc wrote:But you don't. You throw fireballs, dodge attacks, swim, run sometimes, walk sometimes. There's a bunch of variety. I think those beat em ups that had the variety of actions never got the flak. Battletoads for example isn't usually criticized for its repetition.Sima Tuna wrote:Who the hell could confuse Saboten Bombers with Bubble Bobble? Saboten Bombers is a crack-fueled nightmare of explosions compared to the stately pace of Bubble poppin'.
But I guess it's all the same, maaaaan. You do things and get points! Shit, what a boring game. All you do is things and get points! So repetitive.
I'm reminded of the endlessly-recycled criticism of beat em ups, which is that they are "repetitive" because you punch people for the whole game. Never have I similarly heard Mario cited as a snorefest because all you do is jump on shit for the entire game.
Battletoads switches entire genres, like with the bike autoscroller and the worm scrolling platforming parts. I don't count that. Mario never changes genres. You're always jumping on shit from the start of the game until the end.
Beat em ups have variety and strategy both, but reviewers never notice because they've taught themselves that the core gameplay to brawlers is "repetitive." Where is this complaint when they boot up DOOM? From the start of the game to the end, you're always shooting shit in DOOM. Hell, in QUAKE, there isn't even a use button! You just mash your face onto switches or shoot things to open them.
A beat em up is a puzzle where punching is the solution. A platformer is a puzzle where jumping with correct timing is the solution. An FPS is a puzzle where aiming and firing is the solution. Every game is ultimately a puzzle-solving game for your brain. But that "repetitive" action which forms the core of the genre isn't repetitive at all! It's just the core way of engaging with the problem and solving it. Vendetta is a great example. Enemies aren't placed willy-nilly all over, and "spamming" isn't the answer to the problem. It's not a game about mashing punch while holding right. In Vendetta, you're solving problems. With punching and kicking. Each enemy does specific things. Each boss has its own gimmicks. Nothing is random. I don't understand the complaint that beat em ups are repetitive. Maybe if they were all randomly-generated, mobile game garbage, where enemies got vomited onto the screen and you pressed "punch" to explode them into showers of gore with zero effort, then I'd agree. But how is Vendetta repetitive? For that matter, since this is a shmups forum, what if shmups were all labeled "repetitive" too? Is Mushihimesama repetitive? "You just shoot bugs for the entire game, this sucks." cue 3/10 review from IGN.
-
Sengoku Strider
- Posts: 2225
- Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 6:21 am
Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari
Is it just me, or is Kūjaku Ō 2 (AKA Mystic Defender) pretty laggy? I'm playing with an original cart on original hardware, and at first I thought I must be perceiving delay in my setup or TV, but then other games were responding fine. Like there's a palpable delay between pressing left and your character actually turning and moving that way. He feels sorta stiff. Though I guess as a Buddhist monk simulator it doesn't need to feel like Shinobi.