Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

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

Post by Sima Tuna »

BIL wrote:
Sima Tuna wrote:I basically didn't play arcade games until the ps2 era, and never had a mega drive or master system. So if it wasn't on one of the ps2 compilation discs, I didn't get to experience it. :) Thank god for ACA.
I was pretty much the same - always had a fondness for AC-styled stuff, but arcades weren't a thing where I grew up (consoles barely were, tbh). It wasn't until Gradius V that I finally appreciated the value of all killer, no filler single credit design. (the hardass announcer is my godfather, I only cleared it to earn his booming approval Image) At that point I realised I had a shit-ton of catching to do, on AC and console alike. Still do. Image
Yeah, I remember seeing Metal Slug at arcades and thinking it looked cool as hell, but we never had so much money I could play games at arcades. The first arcade game I really got into was the home console port of Knights of the Round on Snes. I played the shit out of that one.
WelshMegalodon wrote:
On an unrelated note, any particular reason you aren't just using non-commercial emulators for these older titles? Nothing wrong with supporting quality re-releases, of course, but there's no shame in being like BIL and enjoying both routes .
Mainly the fact my computers right now suck mega dongs. One is basically broken and the other is an older laptop I really don't like to use for gaming. It runs hot when playing games. Not sure about emulated games, but I've been trying to baby it. I don't mind supporting quality port jobs when the price is right anyway, and the contra port was $5 on a sale. That's some value. :D I think I paid a similar price for the konami arcade collection.

I've tried all the contra games on the collection and they're all interesting. I vastly prefer Famicom/NES Contra to arcade Contra and Super Contra. The controls in the arcade games... Not a fan of that shot delay. I had heard it mentioned in the thread, but I could really tell when I was playing. Sometimes aiming seems fine. Other times it takes, say, 2 full seconds for the contra guy to start firing after switching angles.

Super C (Contra 2 on NES/FC) seems great, but it's too hard for me. :lol: I want to play more of Game Boy Contra, actually. It reminds me of Bionic Commando GB and Castlevania 2 (belmont's revenge), in that it's extremely impressive how well they've translated ideas when moving from home console to portable hardware.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Vanguard »

Emulation for NES/SNES era consoles should run fine even on ancient relic computers.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by WelshMegalodon »

Can confirm, have run puNES and Snes9x 1.60 on Celerons.

BlastEm's website even mentions that it can run at full speed on an AMD E-350.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sima Tuna »

Out of curiosity, what are the modern games that the thread thinks show strong R2RKMF design? Which ones "get it right," so to speak?

I guess we can consider Shattered Soldier one of the first "modern" R2RKMF games, or the first I remember anyway. It's hardly modern now, but these arcade genres were already starting to die at the time it released on ps2. Then you have some of the early XBLA/PSN stuff, like Hard Corps Uprising and Double Dragon Neon. Portable systems had Metal Slug XX/Metal Slug 7, new Kunio games and Contra 4. There was PC of course, a massive market for indie devs. Too many to count, and a lot of them pretty bad imo. And now we have Blazing Chrome, Ninja Warriors Once Again, Pocky and Rocky remaster coming out soon, SoR 4, etc.

So, did any of the post-arcade R2RKMF games hit you particularly hard? Do you think any were especially good? Especially bad?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Steel Assault (2021) is great, I'm comfortable saying. I've not played it all the way through, still embroiled in a deadly arcade bucket list Image - but I love what I have, and the guys who've vouched for it ITT are trusted fellows, each worthy of continuing The Great Legend of R2RKMF should the scrubs ever catch me napping!

I'm sticking around until at least Part VIII, though. Image Image *2x middlefingers + eat pussy sign*
Sima Tuna wrote:Bionic Commando GB
Great game - easily competes with, and in some ways outdoes the more celebrated FC game it's an expanded remake of. I love both - while the FC grappling isn't as finessed, its higher velocity has an immortal reckless thrill. Meanwhile GB dials the gravity down, but sports extended do-or-die swinging undreamed of on FC. Dynamic duo. GB's sharp vintage manga style and manful BGM don't hurt, either. Image

Image
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

Spent some time with Yie-Ar Kung-Fu (FC) today and noticed a few interesting things.

Wang on stage 16 (1st opponent, 4th loop) might be the easiest fight on the entire game. His attacking routine is so fast that he just jerks around and never actually attacks. You can beat him by just walking up to, and hitting him.
Spoiler
Image
There is also a routine to Wang on other loops but I couldn't reliably exploit it from loop 5/6 onwards.
He'll get close to you and usually perform 4 attacks in a row before taking a step forward and repeating. This isn't entirely reliable (see the GIF below) as he'll occasionally only perform two or three before stepping forward but he seems to revert to the 4-hit routine afterwards. The trick is to give him a little space so that even if steps forward prematurely you're far away enough that'll he will miss the subsequent attack. Then, you just have to count his attacks and after his 4th one, give a slight step forward and kick him. There's a bit of timing involved but it's fairly simple.
Spoiler
Image
Mu (final opponent in the loop) can be hit out of his M. Bison-style dive. This is somewhat hard to pull off as the timing is fairly strict (and only becomes more so in later loops).
He'll either dive high or low; low can be hit with a punch but not a high-kick; the opposite for the high dive. It is pretty hard to quickly adjust your attack at close range, so it is better to just duck and always hit with a punch; his high dive will miss you (and so will your punch) but he'll usually skedaddle away from you after missing his attack (again, somewhat loop-dependent; sometimes he'll kick you instead). You can also occasionally hit him with a high kick as he retreats.
Spoiler
Image
Chen, the chain-guy, can only hit you low with his chain. On many loops, you can trap him in a corner and he won't use the chain at all, only kicks. If you duck, he will always miss and will retreat when too close to you and repeat.
Spoiler
Image
You can then simply punch his junk for an easy perfect.
Spoiler
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I now have a higher opinion of Level-1's "always-facing-the-opponent behaviour". Although it limits your actions, it aids you just as often; sometimes you will land a hit that you shouldn't have, only because your character automatically faced the opponent at the right time.

I'm still not sure if Level-2 actually starts at a later loop, because the easy (stage 16) Wang shows up on both modes on the same stage. I'll have to check if up later.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

I love Yie Ar arcade. Never have beaten Blues.

NEEHAO.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

I've barely played the arcade original; I think the FC port is mostly a different game, like FC Contra, etc. I'll play it eventually, along with the sequel on the MSX.

How are you folks, by the way? It has been a while since I last posted and I haven't seen baton, kitten, squire, etc post in some time either.
Hope you folks aren't on dewormer; the squad would never let you live it down. :)
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BrianC »

The FC version is an MSX port. Odd how both use different names for the characters from the AC version, which carried over into the MSX sequel, IIRC. I have been doing ok. Mostly work and computer/video game stuff.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

Glad to hear, Brian. With all this covid stuff I can't help but get a little worried when the usual crowd doesn't post for too long.
BrianC wrote:The FC version is an MSX port.
Interesting, I didn't know that.
I don't think I've played the MSX version but, thinking of it, I recall the sequel going Spartan X-style with a short level in between boss fights. I don't remember whether it was good or not, though.

Actually, I remember someone mentioning the name changes and how Mu, the first oppponent in the arcade original, became the final opponent on the FC quite a while back; it was probably you. :)
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

__SKYe wrote:Glad to hear, Brian. With all this covid stuff I can't help but get a little worried when the usual crowd doesn't post for too long.
I'd not thought about that. :o Baton popped in the other day, I seem to recall. kitten as we know tends to go AWOL for long stretches, I do hope she's alright. Squire too, I'd not realised it'd been so long. I know he gets busy from time to time, had my own sabbatical from The Hard Gaming a couple years back. Can't burn yourself out. :wink:

As for me, a lifetime of Cheeto Dust exposure has fortified me against most bioweapons and chemical attacks. It's also turned me into the mere shell of a man, nothing more than a killing machine, but I consider that a fair trade tbh.

Image

I'm finishing up my Saigo ~CERTAIN VICTORY GUIDE~ It turned out to be more of an undertaking than expected, put me wording skills 2 tha test Image But anyone advising on such a treacherous quarry must know their shit! Was gonna hold back for a companion video essay, but the awful truth is I can't edit for shit :shock: So I will figure it out and get my AMV on. :cool:
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

Yeah, I'm sure kitten, squire et al will eventually drop by. Normally I'd just think it's life getting in the way but with the pandemic one can never be too sure. :)
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Great Yie Ar post, by the way! Marked for index, which is getting a big update soon, I promise, for real this time. :cool:

It endlessly amuses me that punching opponents in the junk is just a part of the Yie Ar lexicon - just as it is in real Kung Fu. :mrgreen: Golden Target! Ping!

Image

^ Gotta draw the line at the ACA version's official thumbnail though. :shock: :lol:
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

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Haha, they know their target audience well. :lol:
BIL wrote:Great Yie Ar post, by the way! Marked for index, which is getting a big update soon, I promise, for real this time. :cool:
It's probably been over a year (or two!) since I said I was gonna write those review posts, so I'm no better. :)

Seriously, though, I'll likely write at least a few this week; going through my old posts will let me review what I've written before and to fill in stuff I've missed and/or forgotten to include. Besides, I've played -- and indeed, am playing -- a few games over the last few weeks that I want to post about too, so it is a good time to do so.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by it290 »

I played the hell out of the C64 port of Yie Ar as a kid. It's hard as balls but I still think it holds up pretty well. Worth a look if you want a different take on the game.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sima Tuna »

BIL wrote:Great Yie Ar post, by the way! Marked for index, which is getting a big update soon, I promise, for real this time. :cool:

It endlessly amuses me that punching opponents in the junk is just a part of the Yie Ar lexicon - just as it is in real Kung Fu. :mrgreen: Golden Target! Ping!

Image

^ Gotta draw the line at the ACA version's official thumbnail though. :shock: :lol:
They're just taking inspiration from Jackie Chan movies.

https://youtu.be/zza9wV5R3ao?t=163

Snake in Eagle's Shadow is an amazing movie btw. Definitely worth watching for fans of martial arts action.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

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it290 wrote:I played the hell out of the C64 port of Yie Ar as a kid. It's hard as balls but I still think it holds up pretty well. Worth a look if you want a different take on the game.
Cheers, I'll eventually have a look at it too.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Sima Tuna wrote:They're just taking inspiration from Jackie Chan movies.

https://youtu.be/zza9wV5R3ao?t=163
Haha, I wouldn't doubt it! Although socking attackers in the ol' Golden Target (or windpipe) has been a scholarly pursuit since formidably ancient times, Kung Fu being an art of self-defense Image You have to do what you have to do, ideally striking so the meaty goodies are crushed between your boot and their owner's pelvis, as one manuscript told it :O Oh Jesus, I've just gotten this thread hardbanned from my office network for the next decade, again! :shock:
Snake in Eagle's Shadow is an amazing movie btw. Definitely worth watching for fans of martial arts action.
Can't go wrong with Golden Harvest! Well, not too far wrong. Gotta admit Wheels on Meals aka SPARTAN X put me to sleep until the end, but ho ho hooooly fuck, what an end w/ Urquidez vs Chan :o
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Played some Battle Axe the last couple of days. Was really curious about this one, because no one has really talked much about it, and most of the footage you can find out there is a mix of people praising the obviously gorgeous pixel art, and talking up the "old school arcade like" gameplay, with the typical comparisons being Gauntlet (somewhat fitting) and Golden Axe (not even remotely reminiscent), which I guess hints at the game's primary appeal being its visuals rather than its gameplay. And of course, the most common criticism you'll find is that it's "too short".

Well, I don't really have a lot to say about the game aside from the fact that there's probably a reason no one's talking about it, and it's really not worth your time. Play Xeno Crisis instead.
I can feel a lot of Xeno Crisis' DNA carried over into this game (it even has a recurring enemy showing up), but where XC has constantly satisfying and fast-paced tactical action gameplay, Battle Axe has pressing the attack button while paying attention to the occasional enemy going in at an odd angle to steal a hit. That's about it.

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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sima Tuna »

BIL wrote:
Snake in Eagle's Shadow is an amazing movie btw. Definitely worth watching for fans of martial arts action.
Can't go wrong with Golden Harvest! Well, not too far wrong. Gotta admit Wheels on Meals aka SPARTAN X put me to sleep until the end, but ho ho hooooly fuck, what an end w/ Urquidez vs Chan :o
I'm not one of those who shills for Jackie Chan movies, normally. I like the first drunken master and I really like police story, but a lot of the chan stuff is a little more comedy than what I prefer. I'm more of a Chang Cheh kind of guy (historic bloodshed and honor! Bros before hos!). But I saw Snake in Eagle's Shadow recently and was very impressed with how well it mixed both comedic and dramatic elements with spectacular kung fu.

I don't see a review for Vigilante. Did anyone talk about that game in this thread?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Mosquito-san has posted some nice replays over the years, including a one-handed nomiss with no damage taken until the last boss. :lol:

I enjoy it, but as the old refrain goes, it's not quite as good as Spartan X/Kung Fu Master. Loses some of its total immediacy, and I thought the controls weren't quite as sharp, though they're still more than serviceable. The junior partner of IREM's 1988 headliners opposite Saigo and ImageFight.

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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by it290 »

Sumez wrote: I can feel a lot of Xeno Crisis' DNA carried over into this game (it even has a recurring enemy showing up), but where XC has constantly satisfying and fast-paced tactical action gameplay, Battle Axe has pressing the attack button while paying attention to the occasional enemy going in at an odd angle to steal a hit. That's about it.
I think that's selling it a bit short; it's certainly no XC, but I think it's a decently challenging little memorizer w great art and music and some decent variety in gameplay between the characters.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Right, the third stage adds in remembering where fire spraying heads are, and where shield enemies that will rush at you before you can safely attack back at them are.
The final stage actually adds in some real gameplay, with the wizards you need to hide from until you can quickly attack them, and the red orcs throwing swords at you. At that point, the game goes into even more heavy memorization territory though.
As for the dragon boss, I'm kinda stumped on that, how do you even kill it without getting hit by the fireballs? I've had much better success moving in close an tank a couple of hits, but that won't get you the S rank.

Iolo really should be the most fun character, but he's suspect to so much BS from the game (like frequently missing enemies that he shouldn't) you're almost forced to play as Fae instead, who makes the game even more of a hack'n'slash.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Sima Tuna wrote:
I don't see a review for Vigilante. Did anyone talk about that game in this thread?
I love Spartan, one of my favorite games of all time. I'm not spectacular at it, but decent enough to make it through a few loops. Game is minimalist perfection.

Vigilante on the other hand, I don't know. There are things I like about it - the setting and ost are fantastic, punching and kicking basic mooks has serious weight (rebound jump kick to the face), and the 1st two boss fights are pretty good. Particularly the 1st boss if you know his trick.

The problem is the last three bosses. The last three stages are fine, but the bosses are a slog. Bosses three and four (palette swapped) you kill the exact same way and it takes fucking forever. The last boss you fight on a tiny platform and the hit detection just feels off and squishy for lack of a better term. He also takes fucking forever to kill. In fact all the bosses suffer from the squishy ness. The stages completely nail what Spartan did well - short and packed with action, but where as Spartans bosses were short affairs Vigilante's far overstay their welcome.

Worth playing? Yeah I would say it is. I go back to it every now and again but always come away with the same feeling that it could have been way better than it is.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by trap15 »

Stevens wrote:the hit detection just feels off and squishy for lack of a better term
That's because bosses randomly have i-frames that you can't control and just have to deal with it Image

There's a few tricks you can use to try to keep them from going invincible, or keep your hitboxes on top of them as much as possible to hit them as soon as they exit invincibility. But yeah, it's pretty unfortunately shitty feeling and I'm not sure why they decided to do it this way. I really like the game aside from that, great presentation and great feeling all around.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

trap15 wrote:
Stevens wrote:the hit detection just feels off and squishy for lack of a better term
That's because bosses randomly have i-frames that you can't control and just have to deal with it Image
Damn, that explains so much. :o I'd assumed my timing was off, somehow, when bosses would no-sell me. I'm used to Konami brawlers, where bosses can frequently just bitch-slap your combos, but I'd never heard of that. Will enjoy revisiting with it in mind.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

All the Vigilante talk made me jones. Figured it might be on ACA based on the discussion here, so I picked it up.

I recant my comments on stage 3/4 boss, they die much faster than I remember. That said the wash rinse repeat strat still holds true. It is a game from 1988, so I sort of understand.

Game has two hurdles to a 1cc:

Stage four just before the boss spawns a ridiculous number of mid level enemies more or less at the same time - brawler, knife, stick, and maybe chain guy. Like five or six of them total and it's prior to picking up the nunchucks. I save stated right before, going to try to see a way through. You thought two knife guys in Spartan could be bad? That's a well thought out pincer where you have a visible way out. These guys just surround you and you're done. At least that's how it looks right now.

Final boss - jump kicks and kicks seem to work best. I think with proper AI manipulation you can force him to the wall and just kick him till he dies. I can confirm this works, just have to get better at the jump kick timing. If you jump kick him in the shoulder (timings pretty strict) sometimes you get a hit and sometimes you bounce off, but he seems to walk backwards when you do. More experimentation needed.

Best I've done is like a 3cc.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by trap15 »

The last boss has a few notable tricks. Firstly, as you noticed, any time you hit him, his next reaction is to walk backwards for a fixed amount of time before resuming his walk forward. Generally (but not always!), as soon as he starts walking forward, his invincibility time will stop and you can start mashing attacks (notably, repeated kicks seem to avoid letting him go invincible more often than rapid kick-punch alternation), until he goes invincible again and begins his walk backwards. The beginning of the fight is definitely the hardest part, trying to get onto his girder and avoiding being kicked onto the ledge again (and then summarily kicked off); once you've got enough space it's a pretty easy thing to deal with.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Just save stated at the start of stage four. Died once on four and was able to clear five without continuing.

Used jump kick almost exclusively. Also jumped back and forth over the girders a few times when I needed space. Once you know what's going on he is pretty easy to manipulate.

That said, like a From boss, he will smash you if you're not careful.

Depending on stage four I can see getting the 1cc now.

EDIT - ate shit in stage four, continued. Was one jump kick away from a 2cc.

#2 - Reached the final boss. Any credit now. Not nearly as daunting anymore.

Faster strategy for boss 3/4 - the former was sweep, walk out of range, and repeat. New one is sweep, jump towards, land, repeat. Faster and easier.

I didn't know/forgot in nunchucks cancel bullets.

Stage four massacre is getting easier too. If you kill the right enemies and you will reach the nunchucks before the rest overwhelm you. Still haven't no missed it and I seriously wonder if if it's possible to not take damage.

Currently that stage is a guaranteed death.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Finally getting around to trying Curse of the Moon 2. I can't really dig up the posts that were made by people previously, but I did find this one by Herr Schatten which I think is worthy of quoting in full, because I agree completely with everything being said here:
Herr Schatten wrote: I played it a bit, but haven't even beaten episode 1 yet. The game kicks my butt hard, it feels much more difficult than the first.

I like that the individual characters play much more differently from each other than the quartet from CotM1 did. The downside of this is that certain levels and bosses seem much more tailored to certain characters. If you happen to lose the key character along the way, you can as well restart. The first game was much more flexible in this regard. I also think that the checkpoints are spaced too far apart, especially the ones before the bosses. You always have to cover a lot of ground until you can try again. Which you will. A lot.

I said it before, but I still hate it that 'retro style graphics' are inevitably synonymous with 'using the garish NES palette'. If you don't even try to mimic the other constraints, what's the point? I would have preferred it if CotM2 had upgraded to 16 bit visuals.
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The strengths of COTM2 are definitely different from the first. Each character is much more unique, and the way the game utilizes each character's unique strengths is really where it's at its best. When you first get a new character you get to play a short segment where their skills are demonstrated so well that they feel almost overpowered, but eventually you're tossed into situations where their weaknesses become a lot more apparent.
It's a lot of fun, but the way each area is tailored to each character feels incredibly restrictive. You either make use to the skills the game expects you to, including very liberal usage of very specific subweapons, or you're not just gonna have a much harder time, but also a much less enjoyable time. The game essentially embraces the people who love to route out Mega Man games using the various subweapons, but takes a big fat dump on the people who want to play through using only the buster.
The "second episode" of the game is more interesting this time around, compared to the "nightmare mode" of COTM1, because the character you lose is the one allround character that actually makes most sections easier, and can be used to heal the others as a backup plan. So the game is still well tailored to the rest, while demanding a more consistent performance from the player. Comparably, COTM1's Nightmare mode felt either easier than the Normal mode, or identical later on, because you had every character's special skill available from the start.

Like Schatten would also proceed to claim, if you lose a specific character in a specific spot you might as well retry, especially if you are at the last checkpoint before one of the later bosses. There's a harder setting in the game which causes you to lose a life and retry every time any character dies, instead of just losing that character, and I honestly wonder whether that really makes the game any tougher at all, or just less tedious.
Unfortunately it's a little too easy to just randomly lose a character at any moment to a stupid fuckup or the occasionally wonky controls. Although I'm happy they kept both knowckback and the dedicated jump arcs of classic Castlevania games, there are moments where you'll just fall vertically down to your death and it doesn't feel like it fits the game's gameplay style at all.
Especially the Corgi's hover move just works in the most unintuitive way I've ever seen such a skill implemented in a game. Hold down the jump button long enough and it'll activate on its own, but let go of the button, and it will keep going either until you press it again, or its duration runs out. This wonkiness caused a lot more than a few deaths for me.

The game is much, much harder than COTM1, but in general, I'm feeling a lot of throwbacks to Mega Man 9 and 10 which similarly display Inti Creates' complete inability to make games more difficult while at the same time feeling engaging, rewarding and enjoyable. The most challenging sections need to be tackled with a combination of patience, stopping and waiting out patterns, and figuring out a precise approach and playing that back, rather than relying on reactive inputs.
The harder bosses are beyond stupid in how they rely on character skills to take them out. You better bring the right characters and/or the right subweapons, or be prepared for a ton of tedium and/or tanking of damage. Hell, there's at least one boss that pretty much expects you to use the corgi's invulnerability skill to just sit and repel damage while wailing on the boss. Looking at recordings of clears of the game on YouTube, I still have yet to find any that don't end up relying on just tanking damage, since it's consistently more effective than hoping to dodge some of the BS you're met with.

I loved COTM1, but COTM2, though still fairly enjoyable, really proves that the previous game must have been a fluke more than anything.
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