8-bit classics/disappointments
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Shatterhand
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Well, first, the Genesis/MD is 16-bit... and this is a thread about 8-bit. Secondly, the MD Rockman collection version of Rockman 2 was not the greatest port... despite having upgrading visuals, I felt the music and playability were poor.Neon wrote:Why the NES versions over the Genesis/PCE versions?Mega Man 2/Rock Man 2 (NES/FC):
Thankfully a tad easier than the first and it has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard come out of the Famicon/NES. No matter how dated the visuals are, there's just something about this game that makes it a joy to play everytime.
River City Ransom/Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (NES/FC):
I think this is more enjoyable as a team-game than in single player, but still mindless fun.
As for the PC-E SCD of RCR/DNM, despite being a great upgrade, I suppose I have more nostalgia for the NES/FC version. But certainly, your mileage may vary.
I had a c64. there was great stuff on it.
Some meories for it.
Cosmi was the KING of atmospheric games, but only on the c-64! Forbidden FOrest absolutely OOZES atmosphere, and while the graphics were blocky as all hell, the game just has this way of sucking you in like no other. it was a BIG hit back in the day.
Caverns of Khafka has more atmosphere then gameplay. that game is so buggy it's not funny. no wait. it IS funny. you can climb up off teh top of the scren and back on the bottom with the climbing rope move. you can float in midair by jumping and using ther climb rope move in the middle of the jump, you can go thru walls by moving to them and oving backwards, you can be walking down a 45 degree grade and suddenly fall to your death because your left right speed was identical to falling speed.. the list goes on and on.
Another gem from Cosmi was Aztec Challenge. Again, the atmospherics, and while the game is simpl it has a lot of variety in it. It's an "easy" game that isn't so easy, and demands total concentration. SUer the "HOPAZTEC" level is cheap, but the other ones are very reasonable.
SOme more in the "true greats' department. i'm leaving the euro games off of this list, and only including retail US games.
1) Jumpman. devilishhly difficult, an dan insane amount of variety. ALso made for the atari 800. it's just as brilliant there too. Same with junior. Epyx's best. Well maybe impossible mission is better. MAYBE.
2) everything made by Synapse Software. Some of the hilights include Necromancer, Sentinel (not to be confused with the other popular game by the same name, this one is a star raiders clone) Encounter (actually developed by Novagen, this one is a battlezone clone), Fort Apocalypse, Pharaoh's Curse (better on atari, tho), Shamus (better on atari, tho), SHamus Case II (just as good as atari this time), Survivor, Blue Max, Drelbs, Zaxxon (a bit on the easy side, tho), Quasimodo, Warriors of Zypar (think 2 player versus joust in 3d!) the list goes on.... Oh, and Lode Runner's Rescue.
Some meories for it.
Cosmi was the KING of atmospheric games, but only on the c-64! Forbidden FOrest absolutely OOZES atmosphere, and while the graphics were blocky as all hell, the game just has this way of sucking you in like no other. it was a BIG hit back in the day.
Caverns of Khafka has more atmosphere then gameplay. that game is so buggy it's not funny. no wait. it IS funny. you can climb up off teh top of the scren and back on the bottom with the climbing rope move. you can float in midair by jumping and using ther climb rope move in the middle of the jump, you can go thru walls by moving to them and oving backwards, you can be walking down a 45 degree grade and suddenly fall to your death because your left right speed was identical to falling speed.. the list goes on and on.
Another gem from Cosmi was Aztec Challenge. Again, the atmospherics, and while the game is simpl it has a lot of variety in it. It's an "easy" game that isn't so easy, and demands total concentration. SUer the "HOPAZTEC" level is cheap, but the other ones are very reasonable.
SOme more in the "true greats' department. i'm leaving the euro games off of this list, and only including retail US games.
1) Jumpman. devilishhly difficult, an dan insane amount of variety. ALso made for the atari 800. it's just as brilliant there too. Same with junior. Epyx's best. Well maybe impossible mission is better. MAYBE.
2) everything made by Synapse Software. Some of the hilights include Necromancer, Sentinel (not to be confused with the other popular game by the same name, this one is a star raiders clone) Encounter (actually developed by Novagen, this one is a battlezone clone), Fort Apocalypse, Pharaoh's Curse (better on atari, tho), Shamus (better on atari, tho), SHamus Case II (just as good as atari this time), Survivor, Blue Max, Drelbs, Zaxxon (a bit on the easy side, tho), Quasimodo, Warriors of Zypar (think 2 player versus joust in 3d!) the list goes on.... Oh, and Lode Runner's Rescue.
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Shatterhand
- Posts: 4039
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- Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
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http://screenmania.retrogames.com/msx/01/msx_0008.html
This game is called Pay Load. It was released only on MSX, and though it had its share of fans among MSX users, outside the MSX scene the game is completely unknown.
In Pay Load you had to drive a truck in the roads of Japan, delivering different kind of cargos in the cities. In each city of the game there was an office where you could ask for a job, and then you had a deadline to deliver your cargo.
The game is full of small details: you had points in your driving license, and whenever you crashed your truck, you would waste time waiting for being fixed, pay for it, and one point of your license would be taken. If you lose all points, its game over. There are police cars everywhere, and if you above the speed limit, then can fine you (And remove one point from your license)... they can also fine you if you go in the wrong way, or if your cargo is heavier than the law permits.
You could buy new parts for your truck, like a turbo engine, or a new lights engine, so you could see further in night, or a radar scrambler, so you could fool the police's radar. Those parts could break too, so you'd had to fix them.
You also had to watch your fatigue... if your truck-driver gets too tired, he wont respond to your commands. You could stop and take a nap, or you could stop at a drive-in and eat a meal to feel more rested, and take a coffee to keep you awake. You could also drink a beer or two, so you take longer to get tired, but if the police gets you driving drunk, you will be in trouble!
You could also get the freeways, which are dangerous because they are full of crazy drivers, and you also has to pay to use them, but they help you reaching your destiny quickier. And they have no gas posts, so if you run out of gas in a freeway, its game over!
This game was so fun to play, I used to spend hours playing it. Each city has its own design, so there are rural cities, there are industrial cities and urban cities. As you can see in the screenshots, the graphics are very simple and blocky, but they suit the game very well. I recommend everyone to grab an MSX emulator, a pay-load rom, and try it out... just dont forget to put the game in ENGLISH
This game is called Pay Load. It was released only on MSX, and though it had its share of fans among MSX users, outside the MSX scene the game is completely unknown.
In Pay Load you had to drive a truck in the roads of Japan, delivering different kind of cargos in the cities. In each city of the game there was an office where you could ask for a job, and then you had a deadline to deliver your cargo.
The game is full of small details: you had points in your driving license, and whenever you crashed your truck, you would waste time waiting for being fixed, pay for it, and one point of your license would be taken. If you lose all points, its game over. There are police cars everywhere, and if you above the speed limit, then can fine you (And remove one point from your license)... they can also fine you if you go in the wrong way, or if your cargo is heavier than the law permits.
You could buy new parts for your truck, like a turbo engine, or a new lights engine, so you could see further in night, or a radar scrambler, so you could fool the police's radar. Those parts could break too, so you'd had to fix them.
You also had to watch your fatigue... if your truck-driver gets too tired, he wont respond to your commands. You could stop and take a nap, or you could stop at a drive-in and eat a meal to feel more rested, and take a coffee to keep you awake. You could also drink a beer or two, so you take longer to get tired, but if the police gets you driving drunk, you will be in trouble!
You could also get the freeways, which are dangerous because they are full of crazy drivers, and you also has to pay to use them, but they help you reaching your destiny quickier. And they have no gas posts, so if you run out of gas in a freeway, its game over!
This game was so fun to play, I used to spend hours playing it. Each city has its own design, so there are rural cities, there are industrial cities and urban cities. As you can see in the screenshots, the graphics are very simple and blocky, but they suit the game very well. I recommend everyone to grab an MSX emulator, a pay-load rom, and try it out... just dont forget to put the game in ENGLISH
Isn't the PCE version only a slight upgrade of the NES version? I heard mixed things about whether or not the GBA version is a port of it, but the reviews I read of the PCE version suggest that it may not have the new moves and the computer partners of the GBA version. Can anyone confirm if the PCE version actually has these features?Neon wrote:Why the NES versions over the Genesis/PCE versions?Mega Man 2/Rock Man 2 (NES/FC):
Thankfully a tad easier than the first and it has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard come out of the Famicon/NES. No matter how dated the visuals are, there's just something about this game that makes it a joy to play everytime.
River City Ransom/Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (NES/FC):
I think this is more enjoyable as a team-game than in single player, but still mindless fun.
On the subject of old computers, I remember liking our Apple IIe a lot when I was young, before it broke. Wings of Fury was probably my first shmup...
Anything else generally considered worth trying for that system?
The Megaman games on Genesis play slow compared to the NES versions. They are not the superior versions. BTW, the correct name for the Japanese NES is the FamiCOM, not the FamiCON.
Actually, the way it's written in Japanese: ファミコン can be romanized as either Famicon or Famicom (even though I'm well aware that the title is an abbreviation for Family Computer). The ン phoenetic can be read as either an 'n' or an 'm'. Most of the time, it's romanized as 'n', so that has a tendancy to affect how I write the title of the system.BrianC wrote:BTW, the correct name for the Japanese NES is the FamiCOM, not the FamiCON.
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Shatterhand
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- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:01 am
- Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
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Ok, now I want to kill someone.
I just played the Double Dragon version for the Spectrum, and its a lot better than the MSX one. Its at least 4 times FASTER and it has SOUND EFFECTS.
WHO THE HECK DID THAT LOUSY JOB FOR THE MSX VERSION?
Now I have a mission in my life... track the mothafucker who did the MSX version and shoot him 3 times at the knees, before shooting him in the head.
I just played the Double Dragon version for the Spectrum, and its a lot better than the MSX one. Its at least 4 times FASTER and it has SOUND EFFECTS.
WHO THE HECK DID THAT LOUSY JOB FOR THE MSX VERSION?
Now I have a mission in my life... track the mothafucker who did the MSX version and shoot him 3 times at the knees, before shooting him in the head.