Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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BIL
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Marc wrote:Green Beret. UP TO JUMP. C'mon Hamster, in this day and age, you couldn't let us assign a button..... :cry:

Still, like Kung-Fu Master, a brilliantly simple example of a game doing one thing, and one thing only, but doing it very well. Bit pushed for time last night, but I'll bust out the arcade stick tonight and give it a proper go. Was also one of my go-to conversions back in the 8-bit computer days, pretty decent on both C64 and Speccy.
Total layman here, but it sounds like a jump button would involve quite a bit of modification, both to implement and to prevent conflicts with the stick (eg, the player now being able to jump while lying prone, this command obviously being physically impossible on a normal joystick). Outside of games whose controls needed extensive conversion (like ACA Ikari's new dual-stick setup, enabling LS30-impossible instant 180s), Hamster seem averse to meddling with code.

Even stuff like Image Fight and Strahl's third buttons aren't modifications, just macros that ensure Buttons 1 & 2 input on the same frame. Or in M2's case, Garegga 2016's "Rapid My Set" feature, that simply inputs [shot] a designated number of times for specific autofire rates (just like the PCB, there's no way to dial it back down once you've unleashed the fuckin fury).
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Marc wrote:Green Beret. UP TO JUMP. C'mon Hamster, in this day and age, you couldn't let us assign a button..... :cry:

Still, like Kung-Fu Master, a brilliantly simple example of a game doing one thing, and one thing only, but doing it very well. Bit pushed for time last night, but I'll bust out the arcade stick tonight and give it a proper go. Was also one of my go-to conversions back in the 8-bit computer days, pretty decent on both C64 and Speccy.
And while it loaded you were treated to tunes by Galway. I miss shit like that.

While I've played Green Beret here and there over the years I have never given if a proper go.

Not nearly as hard as I recall. Enemies move predictably and in set squads (3 runners and a shooter behind you), and moments as a kid you would back away (mortar guy) you realize as an adult the answer is keep moving and run that fucker through.

Up to jump works ok and getting caught on ladders had only killed me once. It controls really well.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Stevens wrote:Enemies move predictably and in set squads (3 runners and a shooter behind you)
Excellent catch. :smile:
moments as a kid you would back away (mortar guy) you realize as an adult the answer is keep moving and run that fucker through.
I like the early glimpse of Contra (AC & FC alike)'s nonlinear pathfinding, here. You can evade a bunch of zako by using the bridge, but that makes the mortar more dangerous than sticking to the low path.

Jumping from truck to truck a bit further in is such a satisfying little stunt. Looks and feels pro as hell.
Up to jump works ok and getting caught on ladders had only killed me once. It controls really well.
It's not quite as immortally entertaining as Contra's zako platforming RNG (never know whether that runner's going to leap the gap, or turn and retreat, or go for a surprise snipe), but the way enemies will, without fail, use ladders to keep on your heels is a great touch.

I notice you can OTG the flamethrower, try firing it while prone then immediately standing. No idea if that's got any use, I just love me some handling deets. Got my first Spartan-style 2-in-1 kill during this morning's credits, didn't realise you can actually kill an enemy either side of you with one swing of the knife. Good times. (SOTN's letting you start a slash at [left/right], then roll the pad all the way through to the opposite direction with the slash following suit is my gold standard for this stuff)

Speaking of SOTN, good Moon Rod barrage vibes with the bazooka. Launch a rocket then haul ass after it, enemies scattering like bowling pins. Image Great for sanitising the landing zone while leaping over mines.

Minor bit of design genius, the way dropped items will always launch to the right. Carriers who're about to escape the left edge can be nailed at the last instant, their goodies flying back in from the void. Conversely, blasting rightward carriers at range might leave you with a long trek to collect your prize, or even see it land amongst mines :shock: - encouraging up-close(r) and personal kills, and giving the knife a neat USP. Gash your ideological nemeses toe-to-toe for an easy pickup every time. Image Image

What a great confluence of Spartan/Rygar/Contra. Former's relentless pincer pressure, middle's white-knuckle 1HKO tension, latter's myriad pathways and walloping ballistics. Only thing I'm left wanting here is the FC/NES versions' OST, classically stern yet tuneful Konami R2RKMF vibe. I miss it a little. Still, at least the stock drum track is amiably ambient, rather than obtrusive ala 1942's morse code.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

i grabbed a recording for a nomiss on WARDNER NO MORI SPECIAL! will probably have it up, tomorrow. i wound up doing a couple recordings and keeping the better one, since i was actually a little drunk (i very rarely drink and nearly never do drunk gaming, but lol) and playing kinda goofy for the first. i accidentally take a hit from the stage 1 dragon and just run past it on the LessDrunk play... but it's pretty solid! i think i take another hit or two here or there but tend to play mostly pretty expediently and run into no problems on the final boss. on the MoreDrunk play i stand in the fire and don't take a hit and then stand it again and take one, barely escape with my life - seemed a little too dicey!!

i like how the game feels like it's in that era shortly after we moved beyond the single screen arcade games like donkey kong and you can kind of feel it. quite a few stages feel really unique in their gimmick application in a run, and the timer actually tends to matter. not much time for dawdling in several stages, and you're genuinely racing the clock in the final stage's gauntlet... complete with obnoxious platforming that requires numerous, consecutive jumps with narrow frame windows lol. man, when you miss one and fall down a bit, it hurts! but it sure does get the tension built up.

- -

i also played ATOMIC RUNNER CHELNOV for the first time tonight, having my main exposure been the game center episode from a... couple years ago, now? i forget when that one got localized. there's a lot i like and a lot i don't like. i credit fed my ass through to the end, and it feels like an incredible amount of the difficulty comes mostly just from memorizing the game. knowing when to have one weapon or the other, knowing when to pay attention to the reverse side of the screen, knowing the really weird patterns on some of the bosses. both of the last two bosses are actually pushovers when you get them down and it makes the stages feel a bit anticlimactic.

a lot of my deaths came from the sheer hell of recovery (good god are the unupgraded shots useless) and getting pinged by some bullshit here or there, or just not understanding what in god's name i'm supposed to do on the later boss fights. i feel deeply confident this can be routed and mastered without a hell of a lot of effort and that i could probably get a 1cc on default as early as tomorrow, but it feels in that vein of game that tends to take me for a ride because i get to enjoy coasting, drop my guard, then forget shield guys are going to spawn in and accidentally shoot one and jump into something just above my head by trying to dodge the oncoming shield. or forget i need to turn around here because if i don't take care of these little nuisances that spawn a couple bullets i'm toast. or forget a rabbit just jumps from offscreen onto the part of the screen i was hanging out on (okay, this is just one specific spot, but it killed me like three times and there's no indication it's coming lol). etc., etc. too many moments where there's a bit too little queuing one in on what they're going to be needing to do next and then making them suffer for it.

the movement is extremely tight, the idiosyncrasy of the game is very appealing, and i enjoy all the data east aesthetic weirdness... but the onslaught of bits that nip an asscheek off for sipping a can of seltzer during what feels like single-handed downtime are really irritating. not being able to move backward is an interesting restriction and one that i genuinely endorse, and i like that both sides of the screen are dangerous. i'd have probably rather the button that turns you around be instantaneous rather than also require directional input (maybe i missed an option to disable this?), but it's neat. what's not neat, imho, is that there are two different types of jumps to wrangle with and one of them genuinely feels like a completely unreliable panic button that will sometimes get you killed because you used it instead of the other one. adding to that, you also get a fire rate bonus while standing still that is required in some situations and every weapon tends to have on-screen projectile limits and fire rate limitations that makes the spinny jump even more of a suicidal technique.

knowing to stand still to boost your fire, then leave the d-pad prone to do a non-spinny jump, and also keeping in mind you absolutely cannot travel backwards, and then also also keeping tally of on-screen projectiles so that you don't fire too many of a certain weapon and then leave yourself unable to respond to a more immediate threat, and then also also also dealing with certain enemies' bizarre gimmicks (example: some projectiles hit the shield guy when you're not even crouching and then you eat shit and die, and some of them only do/don't hit on certain levels of power [default laser level 1 slides just under the shield's hitbox and kills him, laser level 2 hits the shield and gets blocked properly and doesn't make them death traps], thus making recovery extra frustrating and weird). aaa!! it's a bit fucking much. oh, right, and you can jump on most things, even stuff that looks like it would kill you, but if the same shit comes up under your feet and you're not in jumping animation you just *die*. god. it's easy to forget any one of these things for a moment and then enter JIGOKU NO RECOVERY.

i do like the game, but it does that data east thing where i just... strictly disagree with some design fundamentals. i'd have probably gotten rid of the power-up system, wholesale (one of them effecting your jump is really awkward and kind of fucks with your understanding of the game's movement for a bit), and just had the player start fully powered-up with the ability to cycle weapons. having the wrong one at the wrong part can be extremely dangerous and it's seriously hard to remember when to switch or that if you switch you won't be able to switch back to something effective before the boss, and so on. i'd have also gotten rid of the spinning jump and *maybe* adjusted fire rate to not boosted when motionless but not be so impotent when moving, but that's mayyyyybe neat enough to stay.

midnight resistance tends to also irritate me with its bizarre key system and bombs, and there's a couple encounters that sour me on an otherwise real fun game (i... really, really hate the fucking jet squadron lol). i think one of the reasons i love crude buster so much is because i don't have to fiddle with anything - shit's straightforward as hell, routing is pretty minimal and mostly just knowing when to chuck something at someone. there's some some dumb stuff like knowing that blowing up the vending machines nets you 1ups and jarringly spartan pattern manipulation that requires experimentation and memorization, but i always know when i'm in for it and frankly like a lot of it because it's super tight. with chelnov, comparatively, i feel the biggest threat of death is forgetting what nondescript stretch of stage you're on and when you need to be halfway up the screen and ready to face back versus one quarter up it and focusing forward.

i think i'm quite likely to warm up a lot more on it tomorrow and ultimately have a *mostly positive* impression of the game, but the niggling deco-ness of it all feels unshakable.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Also forgot to mention in my last post - shooters and other weapon carrying enemies will always follow you via ladders. Runners ignore them.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Jeneki »

Using this weekend to try out a few games, picked up Ikari III. And I don't get this game at all. Seems more like P.O.W. 2 than Ikari 3, but I suppose they're not really P.O.W.s in this game so that name doesn't apply. Is there a method to the madness here? Some really fast moving enemies that require precise lining up to land an attack, and you have to be like an inch from the top of the screen to get it to scroll up. Getting pwned hard on this one and will take any tips.

Green Beret rules though. I forgot how enemies turn into skeletons when you flame them, so badass. Ghosts N Goblins Guy would be proud.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Eh..Ikari III is meh at best. Sprites are nice and big, but it just isn't very fun. Suffers from the early Konami beat em' up syndrome - Ralf and Clark can't grapple. You're left with like three moves.

If I am playing a game and all I can do is punch, kick, and jump kick I better be playing Spartan X.

Green Beret is fucking dope though. I'm glad a few of us here are playing it.

Does anyone know if there are any differences between GB and RN'A?

I did some research but couldn't find anything.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

rough day, finally unwinding by playing more atomic runner - i take back what i said on the last boss, i think i just had a lucky run, before. i don't... understand his movement at all. when he becomes untethered from the wall, i seriously cannot tell what the mother fuck he's doing. sometimes i fall through his arm because some of its frames don't have any collision at all. sometimes his arm moves through and impales me because i never get an opportunity to bounce on it. sometimes he walks all the way to the left of the screen and i just die because there was - as far as i can tell - quite literally nothing whatsoever i could do. i seriously do not understand what dictates his movement and when and why he'll do the full charge through the screen. when he does that, it feels the only thing that can save you is bouncing on him, but that requires jumping onto his arm, which can unpredictably just kill you because you won't bounce on it and will instead fall through it or it just decides you die. i think when it "just decides you die," it's moving from the bit below fully extended to fully extended, and because it just jerks about wildly and covers a lot of space between frames, it's possible you can be above the arm before it does that, ready to bounce on it, and then it just *moves through you* which immediately collides with your hitbox and ends you.

it feels really brazenly and patently unfair. the last form is also made more difficult than it needs to be by measure of how totally unreadable where you actually walk on the arm of the statue of liberty. you don't walk *quite* on top of it, so knowing exactly where the floor is is difficult to decipher. couple that with a boss who backs you up against the side of the screen where the arm is most steep who will wildly swivel up and down, and it's very, very, very easy to go for a jump on his head and then land on the arm, only for the boss then to move up through the arm and hit your feet. this kills you, because you only bounce off something if you're in jumping frames. this ain't no super mario bros! i guess in *that* instance we're just supposed to autofire jump, just in case?

this boss and the central american bird thing (st5?) are just... exhaustingly awful fights. maybe i seriously do not "get them," but they feel erratic to the point of sometimes unpreventable death. i think maybe if i shoot the last boss enough before it backs up against the wall, it decides it won't actually do the full charge and fuck you, but i can't even tell for certain. sometimes it fires a bullet and then if i jump i hit its arm and die, but if i don't jump i eat the bullet and die. sometimes it impales me when i'm jumping to get shots on it in a way any other enemy would collide with my feet and cause a bounce, but because his frames just spontaneously teleport the collision on his arm, it never hits your feet and you die. there... are... also times where it's lower down and as i fall i just die? i can't understand why i don't bounce. what is happening??? is this boss seriously in some respects a crapshoot?

i think i'm putting this game down until someone otherwise proves to me the last boss has a reliable strategy so long as you play well enough. i'm at the point where i'm genuinely starting to question if have run into a bug and i can't even jump off the arm on frames i'm supposed to be able to. i was playing with max lives/continues for practicing and i've gone through dozens here. i've had a bit where i advance to the last phase and the arm randomly extends forward almost immediately and i just die where i spawn in. this is some bullshit. am i crazy? is my game fucking up? is there some sort of indiscernible way to manipulate his movement??? what the fuck is up =(((
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BIL
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Jeneki wrote:Using this weekend to try out a few games, picked up Ikari III. And I don't get this game at all. Seems more like P.O.W. 2 than Ikari 3, but I suppose they're not really P.O.W.s in this game so that name doesn't apply. Is there a method to the madness here? Some really fast moving enemies that require precise lining up to land an attack, and you have to be like an inch from the top of the screen to get it to scroll up. Getting pwned hard on this one and will take any tips.
I tried to like this one, but it's just poor. Takes everything bad about POW (anaemic jumpkicks a-go-go, boring enemy/stage design, graceless and aesthetically jarring gunplay), then cranks up the Camera Fuck for a comprehensively unlikable brawler. Among competitors to Technos's genre-defining 80s works, Ninja Gaiden outclasses anything SNK or ADK did with its tight fundamentals and spirited direction.

(I've tried in vain to coin a more succinct term for Bad Scrolling Cameras than "screen edge riding." for now, pls consider CAMERA FUCK the official stand-in. "My junk! :o It is aggressively bumping and grinding the camera lens! :shock:" Do you see ;3)

RE tips, even the mighty Korean superplayer Janet only seems to have managed a 2CC. Given their prowess in other balls-hard (and better) arcade games, I'm gonna put that down to their wanting to be done with this one.

Probably common knowledge, but Koji Obada's Guevara is the real Ikari III. Reinstates Ikari's shot/bomb/tank triad, with Dogosoken's special weapons and hulking bosses, and the nervy addition of POWs. Enemies won't deliberately execute them, but they'll happily mow them down while attacking you, viscerally punishing turtlers. Introduces an element of long-term mastery, as well as some bloody aesthetic grit.

Tough as hell - though just like its predecessors, the battlefield is riven with tactically lucrative seams. NB also: the first stage is longer, and its boss tougher, than much of the remainder - just like Ikari and Dogo, it's a tight-run ~15minute clear. Here's my current st1 boss strategy - having reached him in the tank, with a bazooka, I'm carefully sniping his zako, conserving my gear for the head-on kamikaze. The heli's dives and seeking missiles are a real handful, I'm not sure how to fight it clean... for now it's all Armoured Bazooka (your special weapons will replace the tank's turret, for an intriguing "Super Tank" option).

Interestingly, while your grenades are sadly nowhere as devastating (or fun :sad:) as Ikari/Dogo's catastrophic REDSPLOSIONS, your peashooter's shot rate is much fiercer, and it will now damage most vehicles. At least one later boss can be plinked to death in short order.

The final stage and boss hit a profound, surgical extreme - I'm not surprised Obada seems to consider Guevara his last word on the subgenre he helped popularise. Only a slim surplus of grenades for the preceding enemies - you need the rest to kill the boss. And while said boss is easily safe-spotted... if you're slow about killing him, you're eating the trademark Ikari airstrike. The timer stops only at the traditional Ikari freeze-frame, making it eminently possible for a slowpoke to kill the boss, trigger the ending demo, then eat a rocket mid-flex. :lol: The HUD vanishes with the boss - as far as I'm concerned, that's the 1LC bagged even with a post-game death, though it'd look like shit Image Image

I'd have been going for the 1LC, but I got sick of SNK40th's shite control bug. It's just about tolerable - right stick will randomly freeze up every hour or so, demanding a waggle to snap it free - but I found myself preemptively waggling whenever I had a moment, and feeling exactly like I don't want to: like I've paid money to play some shit-assed MAME hack on my TV. ACA Guevara's been on the list for like a year now, Ikari III and POW having made it out Q1 2020. Can't complain - there's always TANK aka Ikari Zero. Image I'm just gonna wait on Hamster's usual excellent work. Roll on ACA Battle Field, Bermuda Triangle, and most of all, mahfuckin Search And Rescue Image

Image

Also, Ikari III's FC port is dramatically more likable than the AC version. Fixes the camera and juices the crowd numbers, while upgrading the jumpkick to a walloping god-hammer. While you're still using it constantly, here you'll want to, with every rocketing boot sending truckloads of zako sprawling into their graves.

Guevara's FC port is also a lot friendlier than AC, though it offers a completely different breed of topdown run/gun. Unlike Micronics' bleak attempt to replicate tactical LS-30 action on FC (read: gut-wrenching input lag), SNK wisely jettison the conceit, unleashing balls-out 9000BPH Senjou no Okami scoot/shoot. I've never determined if the scoring is viable, but I do know it has mad stuntin' cred - an All POWs 1LC is champion white-knuckle intensity. It's appeared on doujin superplays alongside the PCB for good reason.

Alternatively you can just rip through the stages, riding the napalm death torrent... but you'll leave behind acres of friendly and hostile graves alike. Image Image Balls-out run/gun with a visceral finesse element.

---

Good going on the Atomic Runner front, kitten! Not meaning to ignore you with this impromptu Ikaripost. I think that's the most detailed reportage I've seen on A.R. here, tbh. Only messed around with the MD one, so far, and haven't even tried the AC original. I wonder if the latter will finally see console release in the near future... odds are looking good, with both Hamster and M2 working with G-Mode (owners of the lion's share of DECO IPs, including Chelnov). Currently it's just X68k for that one.

Incidentally, it was supposed to get a Saturn port - cancelled late in development. IIRC the ISO's floating around out there.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Udderdude »

I came across this Power Blade hack and thought of this thread .. https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5240/

1LC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNIuIMSngc
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

By our own Sumez :mrgreen: (discussion here)
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

BIL wrote:
Marc wrote:Green Beret. UP TO JUMP.
Total layman here, but it sounds like a jump button would involve quite a bit of modification, both to implement and to prevent conflicts with the stick
What you could do is have a button literally assigned to emulate Up on the stick, something you could theoretically setup in MAME or even an arcade cabinet itself with some clever wiring. It'd potentially allow you to take advantage of some glitches that only exist on a setup where pressing down + up together is possible if they exist (similar to how there's a glitch in Donpachi that lets you stay in place with Type B while turning the gunpod to the side, used for a specific final boss exploit), but would achieve the ability to have Jump on a button at the very least (and you could program the emulator to ignore "impossible" inputs such as Down + Up to avoid glitches, which is a toggle option on some emulators like Nestopia).
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Udderdude wrote:I came across this Power Blade hack and thought of this thread .. https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5240/
Let me know what you think of it :D

Vanguard's 1LC video is from before I made the boss tweaks btw.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

bil, re: chelnov - i've heard the x68k version prohibits standing still and angling shots upward, which sounds... awful. i haven't played the arcade version, which i am told that is otherwise a pretty direct port of, but i'd probably be willing to give it a shot. after that last post i made i still haven't gone back to playing. i seriously think until someone shows me a solid strategy for the final boss, i'm peaced out of bothering to 1cc it. while you can get a lucky run and just bag the son of a bitch, it's way too easy to burn through a huge amount of stock just getting your ass chewed off by what sincerely feels like a boss who will very, very frequently just kill you with no possible way out. i want to believe there's a reliable strategy or way to manipulate the movement or something, but i absolutely couldn't discover it.

while i feel shaky about how many idiosyncratic mechanics are layered on top of each other in the game, i feel i'd be willing to work with what i don't like and enjoy the game if there weren't a humongous threat looming at the end of it that could potentially eat double digit stock and not give me an opportunity even to kill it. if anyone knows how to reliably handle the boss, *please show me,* i'm begging ya lol. mmmmaybe if you get to the fight with the three-way wrecking ball and just damage dump it so fast it doesn't get a chance to fuck you over? god, with a few tweaks, i really think the game could be so much better. it's a shame that i think crude buster is going to be the only deco game i can think of unambiguously fondly.

- - -

re: power blade hack - wtf, you got rid of the double boomerang? that's like the most fun thing about the game when compared to power blazer. i kinda forgot that dropping down ladders kills you in power blade, because it doesn't in power blazer. means it was quite likely a pretty conscious decision for whatever baffling reason, given the whole story behind power blade being a later conversion. i wish i knew more about power blazer, that game is weirdly filled with problems for a natsume game, but i have a weird fondness for it. i think it might have also been the first game natsume made for taito to publish, thus beginning their working relationship that brought us the wonderful TNWA. anyone here get a clear on power blazer? even one with continues & whatnot? it's really mean!! i did a nomiss ages ago and probably talked the game mostly to death.

i feel power blade mostly works as-is and you can just user impose some restrictions if you want (i don't, because the health + armor is fun to just slam into a couple bosses - their patterns are sometimes tedious and i ain't patient lol), but power blazer needs a serious rework. the most immediate thing i would change is completely getting rid of the "upgrade" that reverts your boomerang back to its original state before the red upgrade that allows it to pass through enemies. picking that shit up on accident can tank a run since all the bosses are attrition bulldozers and if you can't get 'em killed quickly you're in serious danger. i'd also wholly redesign boss fights, fix the timing on some alternating platforms, and maybe make the jump a smidge higher? in the magical dream world where i can just fund whatever i want and have an infinite ability to communicate with all people, i'd try to get the original team together to fix it up and maybe make a sequel to it rather than just a sequel to power blazer - though this would be well after i give tomomi sakai a zillion dollars upfront and then tell him if he decided to make another game that i'd be greatly pleased.

not to say i don't like power blazer 2/captain saver, i quite do, it's just power blade feels like the little game that couldn't :< and i wish it could. it's a really interesting design theory game because you get to watch it get transformed in its american release and then the sequel become directly correlated to the redesign. perhaps not-coincidentally, it started as a rockman clone, which is the biggest famicom-era catnip to theory addicts given its six installments and pleasingly smooth, semi-didactic design. i think years of posting here has worn me down on theory nitpicking and made me a bit more geared toward just appreciating what works, but i still can't help but entertain gamethink a bunch. most of my energy for that has been redirected toward MTG, however, which is an infinitely more fascinating and agency-driven outlet for that than thinking about fc games.

i really think a lot of people in this thread would probably enjoy mtg with the right pitch and attentive friend to guide a beginning experience. i know i'm saying that once every few months, but it bears keeping in my yaptrap wheelhouse. incredible amount of classic game design principles going on. wish i could recommend arena, but it mostly only has recent cards and there's been a lot of bad shit and powercreep in the last year or two (maybe the highest concentration in the game's long history) - the only formats you can play on arena sadly have Problems, even though the game is a great teacher in lieu of a buddy. if anyone here ever gets into the game for the first time and has someone persistent pushing them to try it, remember there's a lot of formats, and even within those formats, a lot of decks. each deck is basically a different "game" you pit against someone else's game, too, and you can have a fuckawful first (second and third) experience while mtg is still something you'd come to love with the right valence cast on it. some formats better facilitate playing outside of the meta and creating your own deck than others, too, and you could be playing the 'right' deck, but just playing against the 'wrong' ones. if these words have at all enticed anyone to just give it a look, i like to link this presentation to people into classic gaming i think would possibly like mtg - give it a watch!

- -

in other news, my WARDNER NO MORI SPECIAL nomiss clear is up, complete with review. once again, comments, questions, etc. - all welcome in this thread. curious if any other game enthusiasts know some of the game's secrets!!

i also played a whole bunch of stuff on stream for friends last night, and went back to kyoryu sentai zyuranger and chojin sentai jetman on request from one friend - i need to get recordings of those for this thread! i never did ages back, even though i did quality runs on them. jetman is actually pretty decent and well-paced if you play on the secret OHKO mode, even if it's VERY far from one of natsume's best games.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BrianC »

kitten wrote: i also played a whole bunch of stuff on stream for friends last night, and went back to kyoryu sentai zyuranger and chojin sentai jetman on request from one friend - i need to get recordings of those for this thread! i never did ages back, even though i did quality runs on them. jetman is actually pretty decent and well-paced if you play on the secret OHKO mode, even if it's VERY far from one of natsume's best games.
Have you seen the original series the games are based on? Both are quite a bit of fun. I tried the Jetman game a bit and wasn't wowed by it, but I found it interesting how it felt like a proto-Shatterhand in some ways. I'll give that secret mode a try.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

^ i haven't! but my friend was familiar, and we chatted a bit about both series as i played. i'm not really a super sentai person, even though i really enjoy quite a few tokusatsu/inspired games. feels like something i'd get a bit lost in. if i ever got into tokusatsu in general, it'd be for the episodes of whatever ultraman series that chiaki konaka wrote for, and then we'd see if i springboarded from there. i enjoy enough japanese cinema at this point that it's maybe weird i've not gotten started. maybe i'll get really into sukeban deka....

the jetman game is pretty basic, but it's eminently easy to get mastered and facilitates some fast, punchy play. good way to spend an afternoon, even if it feels like they didn't finish it or it was a side project during shatterhand development or whatever.

- -

just got a recording done for shadow dancer! just a basic nomiss on default difficulty. i meant for it to be bombless, but i get myself into a stupid situation in the last stage and use one - found myself getting a bit impatient and kinda charged forward when i shouldn't have. had a run on stream last night where i didn't do that, but for some reason with a game like this where death is so spontaneous i play worse doing a recording because of the expectation it's gonna be on my yrtub. i'm such a performance anxiety baby ;___;

i streamed a 1cc on loop 3 afterward, which has a few nasty surprises. the ~ultimate skill ceiling~ for this game is probably sword-only, do all 3 loops consecutively without bombs, but even doing a nomiss on loop 3 with bombs and shuriken feels like it'd be too tedious and too easy to mess up with some frustrating little weird things to memorize or route. i really strongly feel like this one is meant to have the player go fast and loose with lives (hence why it litters them) and not be an experience you go too deep into outright mastering. i credit-fed sword-only on loop 3, and jesus GOD DAMN the first room of stage 5 is a nightmare lmao. sword-only sometimes feels easier because being able to consistently get a sword slash out actually does make some parts a bit more reliable, but when they add a bunch of gun guys it gets really hectic.

i do like the game, but i probably consider it less an essential MD action title than most. i should really revisit revenge of/the super shinobi, soon, it's been way too long.
also, good lord, my mega drive kick is intense! Image

this is a lot of recordings and intense play the last few weeks. i'm having so much fun after a mostly dry year w/r/t gaming, feels good to be back on the wagon. i think i needed the break, was having a hard time divorcing play with engaging with people/news/etc. for a while and it was getting to me.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Gotta say I kinda like treating licensed Sentai games as ready-made character assets and little else. It's not that I don't like those shows, I just enjoy that sense of playing with someone else's toys. :cool: (in my R2RKMF house Image)

Image

More like kids, I've got to punch this ninja in his mouth so hard his entire body explodes, mirite Image

Respect 2 Treasure's Hajime no Ippo GBA game, that thing was so intense I had to watch both series of the anime. Wanted to know why Ippo's speech samples and super frames were changing VS certain opponents, and all the little inside references during each fighters' cornerman sequences, and if the anime's hits were anywhere as murderously destructive-feeling as the game's (close, but ultimately no contest when it's your inputs slipping that decapitating straight and liver-shotting a ferocious competitor to his knees, ribcage cracked and lifebar hopelessly bloody).

Good fun both. "It's your fault I grabbed his rod!"
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Hornet »

I remember enjoying Atomic Runner MD a lot. Partly because I loved how smooth the movement felt, but mostly because the gameplay almost felt like Rygar AC having sex with Elemental Master, so it was difficult for me not to enjoy it lol. Definitely DECO's finest moment as far as I'm concerned (I also happen to have a soft spot for Vapor Trail, but it's no Atomic Runner MD).
kitten wrote:if anyone knows how to reliably handle the boss, *please show me,* i'm begging ya lol.
I was reading your post and it all just came back to me, my experience with the final boss was almost identical to yours.

The key here is to control the play field and the flow of the fight. Don't let him corner you.

Forget about his arm, don't try to bounce on it (you can do it, it's purely timing-based, but it's risky -especially if you're going for a 1CC/1LC run-). This is the safest way (that I know of) to reliably handle the final boss:

Strategy for PHASE 2
1) Notice the three pillars in the background, stand between the first and the second pillar
2) Sit there and let him come at you. Your instinct will probably tell you to jump/move away from him, just STAY where you are, he won't touch you
3) When he starts moving backwards FOLLOW him until you reach the 3rd pillar, stay there
4) When it's clear, jump and shoot the crap out of him
5) Repeat

Strategy for PHASE 3
1) Jump on his head (aim for the center/back of his head, not his face). You will either bounce on the head itself or on the projectiles that he throws at you
2) Keep bouncing until he's in the right side of the play field
3) Just before he reaches the edge of the play field move to the left side
4) Stand on the statue's arm and shoot the crap out of him as he moves towards you
5) Repeat if needed

Hope this helps.

EDIT
Forgot to mention that a wide shot weapon is the best choice against the final boss. It will take care of the blue balls and you won't have to stop shooting at him to deal with dodging (particularly helpful in phase 3).
Last edited by Hornet on Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

^^^ Excellent post, highlighted for index. :smile: I was thinking it sounded a bit like Saigo no Nindou's last boss, IE deadly and obscure but controllable with very specific techniques.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

thank you kind hornet!! Image will hopefully get back to the game, soon

currently playing some BATMAN for the MEGA DRIVE after a certain conversation in another thread had me batshit O_O lol. you know what? i seriously think this game gets a hard rep and that it's pretty damn solid. currently trying to get a nomiss on normal recorded, have already managed to get right next to that on stream. i tried hard mode, but it just doubles most enemy & boss HP, which is lame as hell. game is already pushing it a little bit with how repetitive some of the boss fights are, but hard mode is just like... :roll: yeah. okay. very uninteresting difficulty change.

edit: golly i hit 1000 posts
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Perfectly good action/platformer, somewhat dinted in my estimation by its ambitious Famicom co-licensee. Doesn't have the FC's mechanical finesse (enemy hitbox cancel on damage for precision toe-to-toe combat be hawt, see also ActRaiser 2 and upcoming Solbrainesque killer Steel Assault), nor its grueling athleticism... nor its aesthetic chops. Why is the movie's Flugelheim Museum full of bottomless pits, spiked floors and levitating platforms? Headcanon Power Activate >_<; Aha! It's an interactive Castlevania exhibit! Hahaaa! Damn I'm good. Image

Shoulda just sent Bats through the RUINS OF LABORATORY, though. All kinds of bone-grinding, skin-melting industrial shit in there. The floor caved in, and flammable toxic shit was set ablaze! Fuck you mean Joker didn't have a RUINS OF LABORATORY in the movie. :evil: Where'd he get all his WMD shit then?! Supply chain is fundamental!

Not to rub up on FC Bats too much, its ambition causes it some trouble of its own - though the matured run is so finessedly kinetic, I've got to pardon 'em.

ULTRA WALLKICK FINESSE + ENEMY HITBOX CANCEL = NO CLAW IN UR FUKKIN FACE
Spoiler
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ESCAPE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY WITH BUNS OF STEEL + MAD GRIP STRENGTH
Spoiler
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EDIT: You know what? I'm just gonna fire my entire FC Sunsoft Golden Age payload, because THATS HOW THIS IS MAKIN ME FEEL (■`W´■)

HWAAAAAAAAA (`ω´メ)

I'm just bitter about the MD's ending tbh. Image

Doing it right Image
Spoiler
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Doing it wrong Image
Spoiler
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Doing it SILENT HILL 2 Image
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DOING IT 2GETHER :shock:
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Permanent residence on my MD shelf next to Kujaku Ou II, Jewel Master and Rambo III. Sometimes it's good to get straightahead FC-vintage action with 16bit technical solidity (pardoning Rambo III's slowdown). Naoki Kodaka & co turn in some stirring BGM as usual, steely and muscular yet resoundingly haunted.

(have you heard the PCE version's music? I know it was your thread that was posted in - reposting it here in case it's news to anyone. bangin' sound. I've yet to play the game itself, probably should... I dig a good maze-chaser)
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

BIL wrote:I'm just bitter about the MD's ending tbh. Image
i-i thought it was okay ; _ ; you know, my friend i was streaming it for also slammed how bad it looked (she loves and hates batman, but knows more about it than anyone i've ever known) and i wound up being like "pehhh, it's fiiiine." maybe i'm just a bit defensive because of the game's usual reputation as being left in the dust. i've still never gotten much into the famicom game, tbh. i've beaten it a few times, but always years apart and i think the most recent play was probably something like 5 years ago? my sensibilities have changed a bit since then! i've been minded toward getting 1cc's or nomisses since getting back into classic games something like fifteen years ago by this point, but i would often put them down after getting just a single one and only do 'em on stuff i really loved or easy stuff. at this point, i've done nomisses on challenging & cruel kusoge like cross wiber, and when i look at something like one of sunsoft's most beloved, most well-produced batman games and know i've never really refined a run and only done a couple scrub clears... well, it's on the agenda to get back to, eventually lol.

tempted to do a write-up on batman now, but i should save it for my review on my YT lest i never fucking write the thing up. i do hope some people in the thread actually read those, they're basically just my forum posts shaped up and i only ever started doing recordings because this thread helped pushed me there.
(have you heard the PCE version's music? I know it was your thread that was posted in - reposting it here in case it's news to anyone. bangin' sound. I've yet to play the game itself, probably should... I dig a good maze-chaser)
gave it a listen then and another just now! it's pretty hot. one of my favorite jam versions of it is an old doc future upload on youtube. featuring, uh... visuals from that rem lezar movie from that one best of the worst episode well before rlm exposed it. man, i certainly didn't recognize that's what it was, back then lol. still need to play that PCE version of batman, real bad! i love me a good batman game. i've not played a sunsoft batman i don't like (forgetting return of the joker md, since they didn't port that and it's dogshit), even return of the joker gb, and i think that's the only one i've got left untouched. i'm always losing my fucking shit when people talk up the arkham series, act like it's the only/first good batman games, etc. fuck that shit!! O__O sunsoft4lyfe. i'm also still hugely in love with TAS on game boy, made by some of the same peeps who did interstellar assault & cave noire. that's my fav batman game and one of my fav games, period.

- - -

also, holy shit, i gave a couple runs to original mode on senjou no okami II before going to bed and managed to clear on the second one - that shit RULES, you were right on the money. slightly negative first impression with how tight the tracking on some of those enemy turrets are (mitigable! just gotta Learn The Game) or a few other niggling complaints, but by the end of it i was having a fantastic time. a little bummed at the lack of two-player, but i'll take this original mode over that, easily. what a grand ol' time. i gave hard mode a brief shot and was shredded by those suicide guys lol. seems like the difficulty on hard mode is probably a little front-loaded with what seems like identical bosses but a great deal more danger in the chaff. you really need a speed upgrade or two before they stop being obnoxiously threatening.
Last edited by kitten on Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by FinalBaton »

hell yeah, senjou no okami II rulez. Birro recommended it and I wasn't disapointed
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

One of those home editions so essential, it makes the later, arcade-perfect port (Capcom Generation 4) feel incomplete for its absence. Image See also PCE Salamander vs Deluxe Pack Plus.
kitten wrote:also, holy shit, i gave a couple runs to original mode on senjou no okami II before going to bed and managed to clear on the second one - that shit RULES, you were right on the money. slightly negative first impression with how tight the tracking on some of those enemy turrets are (mitigable! just gotta Learn The Game) or a few other niggling complaints, but by the end of it i was having a fantastic time.
Something you'll pick up with experience is how to bomb (and how not to). Particularly important on Hard, where bomb hoarding can make your life hell. These guys ain't playin! ;3 Also good old-fashioned zoning and bullet-herding. Image

Drag that wall of death away by its horns, then go for the soft underballs Image
Spoiler
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As you'd expect, the pressure eases up a lot once you're rocking FAST BOOTS and ARMED 2 THE TEETH Image Though you'll never have a free ride. Excellent balance of gear to resistance, and (as if it needed any), a great incentive to ferret out those secret passages and stashes.

Pay attention to the Original Mode's hi-score table, it contains a terrifying secret. :lol: Or a dubious one, maybe, but it'll keep you busy.
kitten wrote:i-i thought it was okay ; _ ; you know, my friend i was streaming it for also slammed how bad it looked (she loves and hates batman, but knows more about it than anyone i've ever known) and i wound up being like "pehhh, it's fiiiine."
In total fairness - while the wall of text and goofy "man-shaped crater" get owned by the FC (and Silent Hill 2)'s bleak economy, the mental image of someone "Now, looking dizzy with his face ice-cold, yet his teeth stuck out, and his eyes directed aimlessly towards the star-sparkling night sky" is a postmortem image of such combined pathos and absurdity, it's the sort of thing I have to bite my cheek until I taste blood, lest I burst out laughing in line at the bank.

Seriously, imagine your favourite (drama where the protagonist/antagonist dies impactfully at the end) adhering to that description. I'm screaming internally just thinking of it. :lol: It's the "Now," that makes it imo. It was all good, then *BAM* Now he's dizzy with his teeth stuck out staring at the starry sky. :cry: I stare at the sky, and it leaves me blind ♫ <- THE THEME OF MD JOKER
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

BIL wrote:Pay attention to the Original Mode's hi-score table, it contains a terrifying secret. :lol: Or a dubious one, maybe, but it'll keep you busy.
you might not believe this, but i just beat that secret mode (which i only learned about via some old post of yours i found on a search?). recorded it, even! will probably have the upload up in the next 12 hours. had just finished hard mode before the post you just made and felt cocky enough to go for it. holy SHIT that stuff is intense!!! the start is an absolute nightmare and on the run i did it on i even had to utilize poor burner while rifle took an early death and PRAY TO GOD i didn't get myself killed before buying a revive in stage 3. there's some seriously fucking tense moments and i think this recording will likely be highly enjoyable to watch, eheh. once you stabilize, which is probably once you get rifle's speed to max or get him the bullet-proof jacket and breathing room HP, i think it's smooth sailing for anyone with the game even loosely routed and a good handling on our protagonist, rifle-san.

mini-guide:

CHARACTERS:

rifle: the best character, hands down. immediately upgrade his speed to max, and when you're scrolling the screen, always incessantly twitch in a pattern of diagonal spray across the side of the screen you're scrolling. the speed is what makes him so good, but his shot is pretty damn good, too. excellent fire rate. DO NOT hold the button down all the time, necessarily! you'll want to pop a round into a surprise suicide soldier, especially if you're hugging the edge of the screen. you'll be using him most of the game, and it is absolutely imperative he be alive for the stage portion of each stage. do not let him die unless you're near a tent and know you can afford the revive.

burner: the sad retard of the run :[ burner's speed sucks, max health is low (he overcompensates being the wuss by violating a common sense of ethics with his weapon, a right cad, burner), and i frankly do not know if powering him up does anything other than increase the range of his weapon, but definitely doesn't fix his real problem: his turning speed!! you strictly cannot afford to have a shot rotate that slowly in this mode.

launcher: has an incredible max HP, but goddamn that movement speed is shit. launcher is who you turn to on the run when you absolutely need to just fucking body something. rifle low on health and you're having CHEMICAL WEAPONS utilized on your ass? this man and his noble haircut are there to soak up the poison fumes *and* kill the goddamn truck. you'll only use him a couple times (not at all if you're playing really well) but it's worth upgrading him tertiarily just to tank a few hits and act almost like a couple free mega crushes.

laser: the back-up hero. laser can get *almost* as fast as rifle and his shot is no fucking joke. not great for sweeping dudes, but absolutely nasty for sniping tanks and killing bosses, especially bosses with numerous points to be shot (the truck trio, the turrets on the battleship). i should have probably used him more, he can absolutely shred and knowing he's good is a huge part of making the run go easy.

homing: well. i guess he's more useful than burner? don't forget he comes with a free mega crush on him lol.

GENERAL TIPS:

there's a bullet proof jacket in stage 3! get it, you dummy! while walking across the first bridge in the area with the chasms, right after you got an extra pair of boots after rifle's speed is maxed (or maybe you just maxed it with these boots cuz you fucking huffed it past another pair in PANTS-SHITTING FEAR of kamikaze zako), when you're walking across the bridge, hold DOWN and RIGHT. there's a box down there that the screen will try to scroll past if you're not going down to that area (the broken bridge you couldn't cross would have taken you there had it not been broken). there's at least two more in the game. one i think you'll probably find if you follow my advice in the next paragraph, but the other is in stage 7. there will be a part where you can go on three branching paths, go RIGHT and then shoot the fence with a box behind it. watch out, there's a few trucks on this route.

don't scroll the screen up thoughtlessly! damn near every secret in the game is moving left/right exhaustively before advancing, and sometimes the best stuff is in the hardest to reach places. this is also *general* advice. moving up the screen puts you into a hell of a lot danger when there's enemy vehicles, as you might spawn another one or get clipped trying to bull rush. as fast paced and frenetic as the game is, it's somehow equally methodical. i would seriously suggest a practice run on hard before doing a run on the secret mode, or playing hard mode until you're comfortable and can beat it without anyone getting downed. also, shoot environmental stuff before scrolling! if you hear the hit noise, that piece of environment is destructible and there's hidden goodies (stage 7 is filled with them).

know when to bomb! this seems like common sense, but you can actually tank SOME damage in this mode and want to hold back much more than you would playing arcade mode. rifle's speed increase makes him adept at dodging tank shells, which are deadly in arcade mode, and as long as you're careful, you can stockpile bombs for moments where you really need them rather than walking your ass into a situation where you need to use one or lose a limb. i wouldn't say you need to route bombs, per se (though a little bit helps, some bosses and situations become massively easier when you decisively use one), but you do need to hold them back for tough moments.
a postmortem image of such combined pathos and absurdity, it's the sort of thing I have to bite my cheek until I taste blood lest I burst out laughing in line at the bank.
lmao, yes!! that's part of what i like so much about it. he's just sitting there impact-cratered in the ground, life fading, and the credits scroll after a chunk of text about how comically gruesome it is he got fucking owned. it's hilarious AND hardcore. the 4 frames of him falling off the cathedral are just... awful, though lol

- -

ah, jeez, i didn't even mention how much i love senjou no okami II - i just went straight into the mechanics. frankly, after smoking that secret mode... i adore it. gotta be one of my favorite mega drive games and potentially even top 100 games of all-time material. something about original mode's marriage of light rpg elements with a mixture of methodical shooting and constant threats requiring twitch reaction is just... *mwah!* god damn, it is utterly satisfying, even when you're on an easy or rote stretch. that it's still providing stimulating and challenging activity even during downtime is what puts it up in masterclass, for me - that's where shit like contra fc sits.
ah, i feel absolutely electric!!! Image
Last edited by kitten on Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:25 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

That is some intense progress, and excellent notes too - indexed. :cool:
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

did you ever bother finishing up the secret mode, bil? i really and sincerely think it elevates the game. feels like a cruel joke at first, but once you're stable it's fucking great and there's no better way to play it.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Yep! Although it wasn't anything I wanted to record, me being a textbook prima donna. :oops: Pretty much a comedy of terrors, with dishonest Rifle-senpai ducking out every time a suicide zako got the drop on him, his underclassmen forced to eat the mortal impact. :lol: Last boss (who ain't shit ofc, but at least has timer pressure) saw Launcher-kun save the day with his mad DPS. I meant to go back and try Hard, in case he had boss-speedkilling potential earlier on.

TransAtlanticFoe liked it too IIRC, been forever but you'll probably see his posts on it around mine.

It's one of those things that rides the line between legitimate challenge and Easter egg joke (the devs clearly wanting people to find it, with that cute reveal) - especially jarring in console gaming's generally "safer" context. Typically I play on Hard now, but Nightmare's a great option to have. Imparts a bit (well, a ton) of Robotron/Smash TV mania to proceedings.

Were this an arcade game, I'd think it was merely mean-spirited like a million others - cf Ikari frog-marching your respawned character straight onto a landmine if you're not steering him clear at every step. :mrgreen:

I regret to report I've spent my morning in entirely less distinguished terms, and must also apologise for any feels ambushes contained herein. Sometimes the literature just moves me naw mean :cool:

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(last one got me NGL :cry:)
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kitten
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

BIL wrote:Yep! Although it wasn't anything I wanted to record, me being a textbook prima donna. :oops: Pretty much a comedy of terrors, with dishonest Rifle-senpai ducking out every time a suicide zako got the drop on him, his underclassmen forced to eat the mortal impact. :lol:
those poor lads ;-;7 all in the line of duty, they knew what they were signing up for when they tried to get rifle-senpai to notice them. my play is SCARY up until i stabilize on stage 3 (i beat the stage 2 boss with a like 0HP burner lmao), and then i pretty much just coast the rest of the game. everyone's alive at the end and has full hp, i've probably got a few leftover mega crushes, i bought the majority of life-ups and power-ups as luxury from shops because i rarely needed the health, etc. iirc i don't even lose a guy beyond that point at all. i could definitely do a better run, i feel like hot shit playing this, but i think i'm happy uploading this one because there's a lot of honesty in the early fuckups.
It's one of those things that rides the line between legitimate challenge and Easter egg joke (the devs clearly wanting people to find it, with that cute reveal) - especially jarring in console gaming's generally "safer" context. Typically I play on Hard now, but Nightmare's a great option to have. Imparts a bit (well, a ton) of Robotron/Smash TV mania to proceedings.
i think on revisits i'll probably play hard, and then if i'm feeling up to it, go for the secret difficulty. i really enjoy it more than hard, but going into that shit without warmup is undoubtedly hell
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EmperorIng
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by EmperorIng »

Very much enjoyed your Wardner 1cc kitten. I've always had a fondness for the genesis game despite its rough edges. The improved music quality really helps sell it over the arcade ost in my book. That and the extra bosses, etc. Like you though I think there were a few too many stages in calm-music-house!
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