Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[Bloodreign]

CotCP reminds me a bit of Shadow Dancer, mainly with the element of using your dog as an attack, but it's lifebar can deplete and the dog can die, unlike SD where the dog dies, but comes back as a small pup and eventually returns to regular size. The shop reminds me of Chuuka Taisen and Forgotten Worlds ( And Magical Taruruto-kun on Mega Drive), with the little lady inside ready to sell you items you need. This game seems to have elements of other games in it fused together, and it just seems to work nicely.

[Sumez]

i own a jp version of this game, but i have not played it (it's one of like... five? fc games i own a box for). acquired a complete version in a very large bundle of famicom games i purchased from a friend. i had assumed for some reason the language barrier would make this tough for me to play, is that not true? it's one of very few fc games i own that i still haven't gotten around to playing at all (it was purchased probably about half a year ago at this point). also, is the nes version any better?

The language barrier is the primary reason to go with the NES version. There's some humor and charm in the game you'll be missing out on, but primarily you'll need to understand what the items you buy in the store do. Otherwise you should be fine with the Jap version. It has some cool stuff missing from the US release, such as the much more hellish underground stage. I'm still considering investing in the Famicom release.

[Bloodreign]

I see you edited your post, was about to say, Asmik. But is it them that did the game, or one of those small unheralded Japanese developers we never hear much about?


Wait, an extra stage in the FC version?


Damn it, maybe I should invest in that version as well.


Edit: Oh wait, never mind, a harder stage you mean.

[BIL]

I see you edited your post, was about to say, Asmik. But is it them that did the game, or one of those small unheralded Japanese developers we never hear much about?

Quest, IIRC. I only know cos I was briefly considering a copy of Matendoji. :V It seems quite cool (I actually beat the NES version as a kid, can't recall much of use) but I had other stuff on my plate at the time.

[Sumez]

Asmik released it in the US. It's developed by none other than Quest. Famous for the Ogre battle/tactics series. They also made The Scheme, which is an interesting early metroidvania, but most notably features one of Yuzo Koshiro's best soundtracks.

It absolutely feels like a Vic Tokai game, though! I'm kinda surprised to not find any overlapping staff members.

[kitten]

i own a jp version of this game, but i have not played it (it's one of like... five? fc games i own a box for). acquired a complete version in a very large bundle of famicom games i purchased from a friend. i had assumed for some reason the language barrier would make this tough for me to play, is that not true? it's one of very few fc games i own that i still haven't gotten around to playing at all (it was purchased probably about half a year ago at this point). also, is the nes version any better?

The language barrier is the primary reason to go with the NES version. There's some humor and charm in the game you'll be missing out on, but primarily you'll need to understand what the items you buy in the store do. Otherwise you should be fine with the Jap version. It has some cool stuff missing from the US release, such as the much more hellish underground stage. I'm still considering investing in the Famicom release.

i managed to play through the jp version of banana king (bananan ouji no daibouken? i think, i'm too tired and about to fall asleep so i'm not gonna google this and check. i lied, i checked. i spelled it right. go me) by consulting someone's TAS of it at a few points for quiz answers (it always asks them in the same order and the answer is always in the same spot), so i can probably do the same, here. maybe.

also, don't forget the fujiwara interview link i posted on the previous page. you may already be reading it, but the thread is moving quickly and i figured it worth a reminder, just in case.

[Bloodreign]

I see you edited your post, was about to say, Asmik. But is it them that did the game, or one of those small unheralded Japanese developers we never hear much about?

Quest, IIRC. I only know cos I was briefly considering a copy of Matendoji. :V It seems quite cool (I actually beat the NES version as a kid, can't recall much of use) but I had other stuff on my plate at the time.

Thanks for the information Bil (I had forgotten the Japanese name for the game), I've never know Asmik stuff to be good, well that explains why this game is actually good, they didn't do it.

Also thank you Sumez.

[BIL]

Ah yes, as Sumez implied, the shop girl is kyoot. ¦3 Always loved the wardrobe changes for the tutorials and "News Update."



I could totally see why someone might associate this with Clash At Demonhead, quite similar tone and personality.

[Sumez]

Btw, Clash at Demonhead is another text heavy title that was never released in Europe. This is a lot more famous (even if it was completely unknown by me at the time, due to a lack of local release - while Mr. Gimmick was topping the sales charts here), and surprisingly it's still fairly cheap on eBay by NES standards. If you want to be ahead of the fashion curve you gotta look for the region exclusive releases. It's a mystery to me why Cocoron is still super cheap, and Kickmaster relatively affordable.

[Bloodreign]

I chalk CotCP up to Alisia Dragoon syndrome for myself. AKA a condition where I write a game off, decide to randomly play a ROM, get pleasantly surprised, and get lucky and find a copy locally (not on Crystal Palace though, used to see it often, but that has dried up). It's one of those games you overlook, but it is a huge mistake as you pass on a game that is quite good. I do tend to overlook games sometimes, but it's never permanent, if it's good IMO, it'll eventually get picked up by me if it's affordable.

Also yes, the shop girl is cute, like the girl from Forgotten Worlds, and ONE girl from Chuuka Taisen, in CT the second shopkeeper is some ugly alien thing.

Also LOL Nintendo of America, the main guy is a hero of the Heavenly Palace, you sly dogs removed that and made it the Crystal Palace.

Edit: I picked up Clash at Demonhead years ago for dirt cheap, it's not too shabby a game, but it's not one I've put much time into yet.

[kitten]

Btw, Clash at Demonhead is another text heavy title that was never released in Europe. This is a lot more famous (even if it was completely unknown by me at the time, due to a lack of local release - while Mr. Gimmick was topping the sales charts here), and surprisingly it's still fairly cheap on eBay by NES standards. If you want to be ahead of the fashion curve you gotta look for the region exclusive releases. It's a mystery to me why Cocoron is still super cheap, and Kickmaster relatively affordable.

when's the last time you looked at kickmaster prices? imo they've shot well out of "fairly affordable"

cocoron's cheapness is probably because no one popular has "uncovered" it. it's definitely waiting for it. i actually wrote about both cocoron and lickle

i still haven't played clash at demonhead. got tired of waiting for someone to list one for like $10, which i didn't want to pay more than. might want to start browsing for it, again.

[Bloodreign]

when's the last time you looked at kickmaster prices? imo they've shot well out of "fairly affordable"

cocoron's cheapness is probably because no one popular has "uncovered" it. it's definitely waiting for it. i actually wrote about both cocoron and lickle

i still haven't played clash at demonhead. got tired of waiting for someone to list one for like $10, which i didn't want to pay more than. might want to start browsing for it, again.

I consider myself lucky, I found Kickmaster locally years ago for less than $10. I seem to luck out with many a game right before their prices explode. It's happened with Kick Master, Alisia Dragoon, both Gargoyle's Quest games, Demons Crest, Shatterhand, and likely far more. I still remember finding Cowboy Kid locally for $5. I know the game was around 100 bucks at the time I bought it too.

[kitten]

i got lucky on a few of those and some others, too, bloodreign, but didn't really kick into collection overdrive until just a few years ago. has made me seriously regret not getting in, sooner. i was especially late to the draw and outright stupidly stubborn about finally getting into imports

kickmaster i had to pay a pretty penny for (i think like $60-70, and the condition wasn't even great - i hate ebay and might have sold my entire collection by now if i didn't discover yahoo auctions japan), and it was one of the very last KID games i had yet to play. it ended up being the only i would consider genuinely good/great, though definitely not the only one i found myself fond of.

oh shit, jesus, massive clarification on the above that i've still not given recca a good go. please don't kill me, yagawa fans

[Sumez]

when's the last time you looked at kickmaster prices? imo they've shot well out of "fairly affordable"

True, it's gotten up a lot over the last year or two, but I can find a "sold" article on eBay which went for $75
I know you're not quite there in Americaland yet, but living in Europe, that's not far above what almost any shitty PAL NES title will set you back for a decent CIB copy. The prices have gona absolutely nuts at this point, and any region exclusive games still below $100 are only there on borrowed time... One can only hope this bubble will burst eventually.

cocoron's cheapness is probably because no one popular has "uncovered" it. it's definitely waiting for it. i actually wrote about both cocoron and lickle

Surprisingly though, Cocoron was featured at AGDQ.

[Bloodreign]

i got lucky on a few of those and some others, too, bloodreign, but didn't really kick into collection overdrive until just a few years ago. has made me seriously regret not getting in, sooner. i was especially late to the draw and outright stupidly stubborn about finally getting into imports

kickmaster i had to pay a pretty penny for (i think like $60-70, and the condition wasn't even great - i hate ebay and might have sold my entire collection by now if i didn't discover yahoo auctions japan), and it was one of the very last KID games i had yet to play. it ended up being the only i would consider genuinely good/great, though definitely not the only one i found myself fond of.

I started collection I'd say, 2009 or 2010. I already owned about 300 or so games from years past, but felt the need to expand the collection in case I'd ever get to retire, and have something to do the rest of my life. I've stupidly passed on games back then that were cheap, and then saw later on the games gotten too expensive. I've gotten most of my hauls locally, save for imports. Imports are pretty much a majority of what I buy now, but that market is also starting to rise as resellers get smarter. That little loophole is closing quickly, so I'm trying to strike quicker. Stuff like Knight of the Round and Captain Commando on the SFC is getting as bad as the US versions value wise. It was nice to get something like Violinist of Hamelin SFC for $24 for loose cart, while other copies are going for $40+ (I highly recommend that game). My eyes are always on the look out for another copy of Ghost Sweeper Mikami SFC for under $30, but that's only happened once, when I didn't have the cash to buy it off Ebay. The hunt for that one continues, unlike a Hamelin, which I got fairly quickly, and struck at the right time on Ebay.

These days I sit at 1,188 games, though 60 or so of these are VC or PSN games. The rest are physical media.

[kitten]

i am way too poor to be able to go for CIB, except in extremely specific cases for cartridge stuff. used to only go for CIB with genesis stuff back when prices for complete games were nearly identical to loose, but a gulf there has begun to steadily rise that sometimes has me go for loose there, too. snagged a musha aleste for only 6000 yen loose last year and thanked the powers that be i finally had a physical copy of one of my favorite games for that cheap.

I started collection I'd say, 2009 or 2010. I already owned about 300 or so games from years past, but felt the need to expand the collection in case I'd ever get to retire, and have something to do the rest of my life. I've stupidly passed on games back then that were cheap, and then saw later on the games gotten too expensive. I've gotten most of my hauls locally, save for imports. Imports are pretty much a majority of what I buy now, but that market is also starting to rise as resellers get smarter. That little loophole is closing quickly, so I'm trying to strike quicker. Stuff like Knight of the Round and Captain Commando on the SFC is getting as bad as the US versions value wise. It was nice to get something like Violinist of Hamelin SFC for $24 for loose cart, while other copies are going for $40+ (I highly recommend that game). My eyes are always on the look out for another copy of Ghost Sweeper Mikami SFC for under $30, but that's only happened once, when I didn't have the cash to buy it off Ebay. The hunt for that one continues, unlike a Hamelin, which I got fairly quickly, and struck at the right time on Ebay.

never heard of violinist of hamelin! i'll have to look into it whenever i get up, tomorrow. do you not buy from yahoo auctions japan? you should seriously consider getting a proxy and using it, you'll save tons over ebay prices, and i do mean tons. the exchange rate is pretty favorable right now, too. just don't bid on anything i want, ever

[Sumez]

Buying from YAJ via a proxy is pretty much guaranteed to get your stuff into customs

[kitten]

was recommending to bloodreign, who is not in europe :p

[Bloodreign]

was recommending to bloodreign, who is not in europe :p

Can't say I've used the service, but a friend of mine used to go through Shmups forum resident gaijinpunch when he was in Japan, and got me a few games this way.

[Sumez]

there's only one dynamite batman! :O

i'm referring to what is known as "batman: return of the joker" on the nes. i'm curious what other game you thought i could be referring to: the movie game? the gb game? the gb game is curiously referred to as "return of the joker" in both territories, and has nothing to do with the nes game.

i really love dynamite batman a lot and consider it to be sunsoft's finest batman game. there are a few rough portions (particularly on your first playthrough), but it is a damn satisfying game to no miss and absolutely gorgeous.

Alright! In that case maybe I should give it another shot someday. I didn't like what I played when I first tried it - but if you think it's better than the first NES game I imagine there's something there.

I guess I have a bit of an "Obscura stance" on this game - I only played a few stages in, but during those stages I encountered numerous horrible trial and error sections, enemies attacking you from off-screen without warning and such things, annoyingly clunky controls, and absolutely confusing boss fights which seem to have no point to them apart from mashing buttons!?
I have a hard time finding any quality in this game aside from its amazing presentation, and other opinions I have seen on the internet from people who have actually played the game only seems to confirm this, so I decided to consider my assumptions about the game confirmed. This is literally the first time I've heard someone who has cleared the game claim that it is better than Batman The Videogame.
So is this one of those cases where you HAVE to be good at the game before you can like it?

[kitten]

I guess I have a bit of an "Obscura stance" on this game - I only played a few stages in, but during those stages I encountered numerous horrible trial and error sections, enemies attacking you from off-screen without warning and such things, annoyingly clunky controls, and absolutely confusing boss fights which seem to have no point to them apart from mashing buttons!?
I have a hard time finding any quality in this game aside from its amazing presentation, and other opinions I have seen on the internet from people who have actually played the game only seems to confirm this, so I decided to consider my assumptions about the game confirmed. This is literally the first time I've heard someone who has cleared the game claim that it is better than Batman The Videogame.
So is this one of those cases where you HAVE to be good at the game before you can like it?

i don't think that enemies ever attack you from offscreen, but the beginning of stage... 3? i believe it is? the snowfield? there are enemies that will attack you the moment that they pop on screen, and this is with incredible frequency many people's stopping point with the game. i forget the exact layout every time i replay it, but can usually get through it without a single death, now (i will always have such low health i am in big danger of dying on the next checkpoint if i've not played recently, however). that is by far the biggest hurdle in the game, but when you know to inch around it and how to react, you can get through it pretty easily without memorizing a layout. another frequent quitting point is the first joker fight, which is actually pt damn easy. i want to stress that despite r-type being a favorite game of mine, my memorizer skills are actually what i would consider a bit below average for the sort of enthusiast i am.

i would say it was only my 4th or 5th run through the game that i had beaten it on just one life. comparatively, i've beaten (but never 1cc'd) batman: the video game twice (years apart), and would strongly consider it to have more bits that require heavy memorization. although i deeply adore the aesthetic in that game, i consider its enemy design and pacing to be kind of shitty. dynamite batman is something i would genuinely consider to be much more fair, as unpopular an opinion as that is.

i, too, initially considered dynamite batman to be rough to the point of being almost unenjoyable, but was turning around on it before ever clearing it and much before my no miss. my opinion went up quickly after trouncing the snow field, and i feel strongly that once cleared a single time, becomes a very manageable bit on future runs. if you get past that point and do not feel your opinion picking up at all, it is quite possible you will never enjoy it, but i would be surprised to hear that you didn't quit right there. also, a couple of the boss fights are actually pretty decent, but they're all past that point. the first two (which are likely the only two you fought) can be beaten by mindless mashing or just damage dumping.

edit: corrected a bit where i said "second joker fight" but meant "first"

[BIL]

I'm not a fan of Dynamite Batman, myself - tried to get into it over the last couple years, but I always leave feeling like it's more of a tech demo than a quality sidescroller. The game design felt uncalibrated to the aesthetic, like an attempt at Rockmanesque precision platform shooting combined with giant beltscroller sprites. I did make it a bit past the snowfield, but that and the cavern afterward were definitely what soured me on it.

X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (SFC) is a much better attempt at the aesthetic imo - obviously it's more of a sidescrolling brawler than a platform shooter, but I like the disabling of enemy contact damage, and the player being in a strong position at short range (versus its weaker long-ranged shooting). Both of these adjustments would've helped DB, I think.

[kitten]

i feel it is pretty well-calibrated, but i definitely had your impression, at first. as someone that enjoys alien soldier, i figured you'd be a bit more willing to give a game with awkwardly gigantic sprites and high-action a bit more of a chance the game never asks you to do platforming that is unreasonable given the size of the sprites, and the movement all accommodates this.

[Sumez]

i don't think that enemies ever attack you from offscreen, but the beginning of stage... 3? i believe it is? the snowfield? there are enemies that will attack you the moment that they pop on screen, and this is with incredible frequency many people's stopping point with the game.

That is exactly what I'm talking about. I think it's the beginning next section that has a guy that's a perfect example of my issue with the game. You need to jump on a moving platform to get over a bottomless gap. The exact moment you land on the moving platform (or maybe even right before), he will scroll into view and immediately toss a fast knife at you! Even if you know that he's there, finding the exact timing and dodging the knife takes a lot of practice that that's exclusively based around trying various things until you finally get it. That is objectively horrible level design, and quite shocking from an excellent company such as SunSoft. There are many instances like this, and without having completed the game I can't even tell if this is the worst, but I find it to be very representative of the game. I just don't enjoy stopping every step to make sure a new knife tosser didn't just scroll in, that stuff seriously hinders the flow in what seems like it should have been an action game.

I don't even mind memorizer gameplay, but I'm not a fan of such an excessive amount of trial and error.

[Squire Grooktook]

Been meaning to finally dig into Mutant Apocalypse soon. Fan of Marvel Vs Capcom, so the X-Men cast in a brawly fighting scheme fits well with me. I'm also loving what I've seen of the character variety and soundtrack.

[BIL]

as someone that enjoys alien soldier, i figured you'd be a bit more willing to give a game with awkwardly gigantic sprites and high-action a bit more of a chance

Believe me, I had an eye on that particular snare while composing that post. >:3

The critical difference, imo, is that getting hit during Alien Soldier's stage segments (as opposed to bosses)
really isn't that big a deal. Nothing does much damage, pits don't kill, and health gems are abundant even if you're not actively generating them via bullet cancelling. It's often worth taking a few bumps to gain a better position, too, or inflict a Phoenix.

Like Gunstar, it's actually a relatively brawly, sloppy game compared to painfully strict things like Contra or the harder Rockmen. Learning to work around bumps is more for style than survival. With DB, I felt more like I was being punished and expected to compensate on pain of death.

Been meaning to finally dig into Mutant Apocalypse soon. Fan of Marvel Vs Capcom, so the X-Men cast in a brawly fighting scheme fits well with me. I'm also loving what I've seen of the character variety and soundtrack.

It's really great imo - has that inimitably meaty-as-fuck Capcom beltscroller feel to its hits. OTOH, I was turned off by its sequel War of the Gems, whose stage design didn't seem nearly as serious an attempt at action/platforming. Been meaning to check back on that, in case I was too hasty.

[kitten]

That is exactly what I'm talking about. I think it's the beginning next section that has a guy that's a perfect example of my issue with the game. You need to jump on a moving platform to get over a bottomless gap. The exact moment you land on the moving platform (or maybe even right before), he will scroll into view and immediately toss a fast knife at you! Even if you know that he's there, finding the exact timing and dodging the knife takes a lot of practice that that's exclusively based around trying various things until you finally get it. That is objectively horrible level design, and quite shocking from an excellent company such as SunSoft. There are many instances like this, and without having completed the game I can't even tell if this is the worst, but I find it to be very representative of the game. I just don't enjoy stopping every step to make sure a new knife tosser didn't just scroll in, that stuff seriously hinders the flow in what seems like it should have been an action game.

I don't even mind memorizer gameplay, but I'm not a fan of such an excessive amount of trial and error.

you can jump onto the platform and then quickly jump over his knife, or just charge into it and only get knocked a little bit back on the platform. i often forget that guy is there and manage to react in time. and, if i don't -

With DB, I felt more like I was being punished and expected to compensate on pain of death.

- death is hardly much of a punishment, anyway. you're sent back a few seconds and the levels are INCREDIBLY snappy and short. i consider it somewhat akin to another favorite of mine, bucky o' hare, which i feel kind of pioneered the super meat boy-esque hyper difficult but super short levels. even continuing doesn't send you back to the beginning of a stage, but to the last portion of it you checkpointed on, making failure but an extremely temporary setback. if your ego is deeply set in 1cc'ing everything, i can see this being a problem, but that's more of a player conceit than design flaw, in my book.

also, BIL, for criminy's sake, you're a fan of the first ninja gaiden, a game that punishes you with death for lack of memorization of a NUMBER of its portions and with a hilariously cruel punishment for dying on the final boss. to see you complain about death as a punishment in a game as generous as this is making me feel a bit taken aback, honestly.

[BIL]

Haha, I love FC Bucky - even though it pulls some Total Memoriser Bullshit with Red Planet's lava run, and Blue Planet's snakes, the majority is rollicking good mini-setpiece fun. I actually consider it a forebear to the more setpiece-oriented design Konami and Treasure would take in the 16-bit years (didn't surprise me at all to see Nobuya Nakazato and Masato Maegawa on its staff roll).

Point taken about DB's stages being short - I honestly can't recall, it's been at least a year.

also, BIL, for criminy's sake, you're a fan of the first ninja gaiden, a game that punishes you with death for lack of memorization of a NUMBER of its portions and with a hilariously cruel punishment for dying on the final boss. to see you complain about death as a punishment in a game as generous as this is making me feel a bit taken aback, honestly.

It's not death itself I mind, so much as the vehicle of its delivery - where NG1 epitomises my favoured "compact sprites, centered camera" action/platformer aesthetic, DB's zoom gives it a cloistered effect that makes me feel constantly on edge. I should say, I tend to react really badly to sidescrollers with camera/visibility issues, in general (I simply could not keep MD Aladdin in my collection, I switched off the first Wai Wai World the instant I noticed the screen-edge ride, and even topdown brawler/ARPG The Story of Thor is on perpetually thin ice). So it's partially just me.

[kitten]

Haha, I love FC Bucky - even though it pulls some Total Memoriser Bullshit with Red Planet's lava run, and Blue Planet's snakes, the majority is rollicking good fun. Point taken about DB's stages being short (I honestly can't recall, it's been at least a year).

bucky o hare has been a long sought after no miss of mine, but i always play it only once or POSSIBLY twice in a row before shelving it for months to a year. it's a big favorite game of mine and a piss-easy 1cc with how many fucking extends they give you, at this point. i feel like you start to get an intuition about how to react to the blue planet's snakes after a couple of plays, but god damn, i seriously believe that lava run is the most unforgivable thing in the entire game. i'm curious, you ever play the game on "HARD!"? it's quite the different experience.

for the record, and again to bring up my 4 star rating (which you will see me bring many times in the future, bar me leaving the forum spontaneously), i consider both of these games 3/4 for their flaws. they do not get my prestigious highest rating, but are both games i do quite love.

It's not death itself I mind, so much as the vehicle of its delivery - where NG1 epitomises my favoured "compact sprites, centered camera" action/platformer aesthtic, DB's zoom gives it a cloistered effect that makes me feel constantly on edge. I should say, I tend to react really badly to sidescrollers with camera/visibility issues, in general (I simply could not keep MD Aladdin in my collection, I switched off the first Wai Wai World the instant I noticed the screen-edge ride, and The Story of Thor is on perpetually thin ice). So it's partially just me.

camera problems get to me, too! one of my biggest points of advice for dynamite batman is to CONSTANTLY be firing forward. if you're not rapidfiring N (like a noob, but it's an acceptable way to learn the game imo), a good strategy is to almost move forward while firing off C charge shots. it covers nearly the entire forward portion of the screen and charges nearly as fast as a shin contra weapon. it also kills almost any enemy in just one hit of a portion of its screen-clearing blast. i seriously understand your anxieties/troubles with the game as someone who is also frequently bugged by those, but i fully believe they are easily overcome.

i am going to hold the forum high score for making your posts have "edited" appear on them, soon

[BIL]

I don't think I'd enjoy going for a Bucky no-miss, tbh. I've definitely cleared it with only a handful of deaths, but its relatively long duration, abundance of sudden deaths and conversely not-that-extreme overall difficulty make me want to keep it relatively casual. That might be the Holy Diver PTSD talking, admittedly!

I think it'd have been improved by regular enemies doing more damage... a lot of the time it feels like nothing can kill you, except of course for the current setpiece's instadeath nightmare hazard.

i'm curious, you ever play the game on "HARD!"? it's quite the different experience.

I found out about it relatively recently, and thought it was both intriguing and terrifying. Just beforehand I'd been learning how to no-damage Yellow Planet's opening snakes, so I felt a bit vindicated upon learning of the mode's existence. Now that might be an interesting (and unbearably painful) no-miss. >:3

camera problems get to me, too! one of my biggest points of advice for dynamite batman is to CONSTANTLY be firing forward. if you're not rapidfiring N (like a noob, but it's an acceptable way to learn the game imo), a good strategy is to almost move forward while firing off C charge shots. it covers nearly the entire forward portion of the screen and charges nearly as fast as a shin contra weapon. it also kills almost any enemy in just one hit of a portion of its screen-clearing blast. i seriously understand your anxieties/troubles with the game as someone who is also frequently bugged by those, but i fully believe they are easily overcome.

Thanks, I'll definitely keep that in mind for my inevitable revisit. I'm just about done with my FC collecting, so I'm due to return to my Test ROM folder shortly.

i am going to hold the forum high score for making your posts have "edited" appear on them, soon

TBH, that only bothers me when I'm busting out the totally sweet ICE BURNS and trying to look spontaneous.