Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

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

Post by Ghegs »

Man, I love the original Prince of Persia. Top 5 Best Game of All Time material for me, great mix of platforming, combat and exploration. Mechner's developer diaries about creating PoP (and Karateka) are really good reads, too. Haven't played the SNES game, but the idea of doubling the game's length with more stages and boss fights just feels wrong.
Jonny2x4 wrote:I feel Another World has a much better cinematic approach. The levels in Prince of Persia feel too much like levels in a videogame
I like my videogames to feel like videogames. I never cared for Another World's approach into the genre.

Flashback I like until Death Tower or Earth. When I got the Switch version, I played until Earth and then just...stopped. It just gets too combat-focused later on, and not in a very fun way for my tastes, takes too long to kill things. But Jungle is a great stage, and New Washington as well, even if the latter has busy-work just going from one place to another.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

I actually like Flashback, but it has serious ups and downs, and the entire final part feels remarkably rushed compared to how fleshed out the first two areas are.
Ghegs wrote:Haven't played the SNES game, but the idea of doubling the game's length with more stages and boss fights just feels wrong.
On paper I'd agree - but it turns out it works super well. It's definitely less surmountable initially. But like I already outlined, the game lets you play for as long as you like after missing the time limit, so getting through it actually takes less overall commitment than the original version which made you start over every time you spent an hour.
It's honestly very respectful towards the original game, and stands on its own as a super well done half-sequel. If you love the original game, you owe this experience to yourself.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by FinalBaton »

kitten wrote:i've finally moved all the classic gaming consoles back into the living room
Now THAT's what I'm talking about Image

How do you like it in Tennesse btw? Are you from that state? 2 of my buddies love it so much down there that they go to Nashville every year (they are both very talented musicians and showman and play country/bluegrass) and hang out with the numerous friends they made there, and play open mic gigs and stuff, go out on Broadway etc. (I know there's more to Tennesse than Nashville, but that's what I've heard about the most and is my only point of reference). They both find southern americans really friendly and really connect with them, they say. Seems like a nice place to me. I have yet to go there but am definitely interested in going sometime
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

FinalBaton wrote:
kitten wrote:i've finally moved all the classic gaming consoles back into the living room
Now THAT's what I'm talking about Image
it's about time, yeah Image i appreciate it, hoping i dive enthusiastically back in and keep it up
How do you like it in Tennesse btw?
born, raised, and spent the vast majority of my life here. people here are amicable when you fit in, and, well... not amicable when you don't. as long as you're friendly and don't look too weird, you get to interact with a lot of people who still value common courtesies and the pleasantries of just getting along in a small town. however, be noticeably different or avoidant and anti-social and life is harder than elsewhere.

i'd say i live a pretty repressed lifestyle down here, and that it's not good for me. i've been wanting to get out for many years, but it's proven to be pretty insurmountable for a serious variety of reasons. i know how to navigate things down here, get friendly conversations from grandmas, smile and share thoughts with people in the grocery store when talking to my roommate out loud about what to cook that night - but i don't really get to be or express myself. on the other hand, though, big cities also scare the shit out of me. everyone's so callous and focused on routine or survival that it feels terrifying. also, i have a lot of trouble living anywhere without sprawling hills & mountains & loads of green.

wish i could live somewhere with smaller town sensibilities but much more politically progressive. no idea if i'm ever going to feel at home, anywhere. anyway, bil is going to come back and raze me to the ground if i get any more off topic.

- - - - - - - - - -

i just played (the shit out of) bloodstained: curse of the moon. hadn't been planning on getting this, but an LRG release was enough to tempt me! for those of you not familiar, i don't much care for castlevania 3/akumajou densetsu, and i've never, ever been hot on inti creates. i gave this a single play and wrote this in the middle of it on my discord -

Image

- but!! to my shock and delight, upon diving into a second playthrough and choosing to kill everyone with zangetsu rather than have them join my team, i started really warming up to it. it seemed as if there was - somehow - an actually designed game somewhere in this hodgepodge mess. usually, games like these purportedly offer a satisfying way to play no matter how you choose, but in actuality end up being so loosely designed that nothing is tightly done or worth your time. here, though, i think they actually they actually managed to at least make a couple of the modes and mindsets you take into playing this work surprisingly well. that may be short of all of them, but i'll take this, frankly.

it still suffers a lot from putting its finger in too many pies - do you play the default mode with only zangetsu and kill everyone? do you play nightmare mode and mix things up, akumajou densetsu style? do you just run through ultimate like a total psychopath, using that sweet new charge attack to shred levels up? the game doesn't know which of these its best designed around, either, and definitely suffers a bit because of it. the default mode with all 4 characters is absolutely weak as hell and a very awkward experience your first time around. dealing with inti creates' penchant for memorization-heavy, overtly cinematic bossfights and sudden instant death amidst otherwise stakes-less level design while also swapping between four characters that the levels only kind-of-sort-of accommodate each of isn't exactly a great time.

i feel like the game is probably at its best when you're playing as an upgraded zangetsu, though i frankly have to say it's a toss-up whether i prefer the default mode where you power-up him up, or ultimate mode with its additional charge attack and more challenging boss fights. the former is maybe a bit more designed, but the latter helps mitigate this game's overt length and make it a bit of a blast. while i did end up doing a nomiss clear (ultimate mode without recruiting the magician - it's sloppy and i was mostly just going for the last trophy, but i'm uploading it, anyway), i don't think the game is super well accommodated to 1cc (which is hard to not get - i never continued on any mode) or nomiss. its sensibilities are more modern, and i think it prefers you play with reckless abandon. death is sometimes sudden and learning a new boss is sometimes not entirely fair (the zangetsu fight might as well be a QTE with how strict the memorization and prompts are), which is definitely something they're aware of, as they stick a free, respawning 1up outside the final bosses.

it's also just a bit too long for it, really. inti creates' has always had a focus on the individual stages or boss fights over the cohesive whole, and this lacks the classic castlevania sensibilities of being meant for a challenging marathon session. it's a bit more akin to something like rondo than it is cv3, but with a character who can potentially haul ass faster than any belmont. though i'm someone much more enamored with a quality, challenging marathon session, occasional games like these will still manage to charm me by sticking enough explosive fun on a slower, more stage-by-stage basis.

anyway! i recommend this, honestly. it's fairly good.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

COTM gracefully avoids most of the typical problems I usually have with Inti games. I loved the game and have already shared my thoughts on it in the appropriate thread if you care enough to find it :)

I also agree the game doesn't really know which mode it is balanced around - Nightmare mode feels almost pointless, as it's not even harder, save for some added boss patterns.
IMO however the game plays best as a NON-upgraded solo Zangetsu on normal mode (that is, not talking to the companions and also not killing them, which also prevents you from gaining access to any collectible upgrade on the stages) . It's the most challenging way to play the game (though still not too hard) and definitely the most rewarding to me. I love the short range of his sword, prompting proper timing from the player at all times.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

Sumez wrote:I loved the game and have already shared my thoughts on it in the appropriate thread if you care enough to find it :)
sumez!!! Image
you know there's only one appropriate thread, for me Image

i did actually see in there before posting in here, though. i feel that thread is more devoted castlevania enthusiasm (including much of the more modern stuff) and has a way different vibe than how i like to post, most of the time. lots of casual conversation in there, hard to wedge in my Walls of Text. plus, i kinda like to keep my thoughts collected in as few places as possible.
IMO however the game plays best as a NON-upgraded solo Zangetsu on normal mode (that is, not talking to the companions and also not killing them, which also prevents you from gaining access to any collectible upgrade on the stages) . It's the most challenging way to play the game (though still not too hard) and definitely the most rewarding to me. I love the short range of his sword, prompting proper timing from the player at all times.
ehhhhh, pass. zangetsu's upgrades are much too fun and that's going to take something about 45 minutes per run and turn it into something hard to get under an hour. the speed and precision involved in his dashing double jump (and the ability to shred popcorn in mid-air) is something weirdly tantalizing, in a game like this.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by it290 »

Agreed. The upgrades add a bit of modern platformer flavor into the old formula, and allow for a level of improvisation that makes for really fun moment-to-moment play. The back half of the game is practically designed around them, and although I probably just suck, I have completed an unupgraded Zangetsu run and I felt like it turned the bosses into really strict memorization/reaction routine instead of just a fun challenge. I'm sure that with enough effort, that could turn into something extremely rewarding, but the freeflowing nature of the upgrades just adds a lot of variety that isn't present otherwise. I love how they expanded on the core idea of CVIII by turning the companion system into a fully customizable set of gameplay options rather than a 1-time choice, though—although I would have preferred the shared healthbar approach from III as opposed to the weird life system you get with the companions in Bloodstained.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Eh, upgraded Zangetsu is fun, but way too OP to be fully enjoyable, IMO. You can cheese the entire game with the jump slash thing.
Non-upgraded Zangetsu finds some of that Ninja Gaiden-esque fun in having a precesion demanding short ranged weapon as your primary attack, but really plays entirely like its own thing.

Of course, the cool thing about the game is that both are viable choices, and it's cool that you like upgraded Zangetsu, but I feel like you are "missing out" if you aren't able to enjoy the more barebones game with a smaller margin for error.
it290 wrote:I have completed an unupgraded Zangetsu run and I felt like it turned the bosses into really strict memorization/reaction routine instead of just a fun challenge.
Honestly, that's the bosses of this game no matter how you play it. They are ridiculously trial-and-error based, and even if I'm not a fan of them, I think they are mostly passable. Fortunately they are only a small part of the game.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Herr Schatten »

Still playing Probotector MD somewhat regularly, but little time for games means that my progress is quite slow. I'm currently playing the B path (save lab instead of following guy). I got the first few stages down, and currently working on the boss stroll (there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of fighting in it) of the jungle stage. I‘m already a bit annoyed by stages 3 and 4, as they seem to be the least interesting so far, so it seems like weird decision to make these mandatory.

I completed the game with the secret joke ending, but apart from the obvious Castlevania reference, I don‘t seem to get the jokes. Can anyone share some insight what‘s up with those three bosses?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BurlyHeart »

OK, the Messenger is awesome again. Just completed the
Spoiler
level with the butterfly as a boss. Great fun and a nice use of the time mechanics. This is what I had been missing!
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Awesome! There are a few new areas after the reveal. My favorite stage is among them. How many have you reached so far?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by kitten »

Sumez wrote:Honestly, that's the bosses of this game no matter how you play it. They are ridiculously trial-and-error based, and even if I'm not a fan of them, I think they are mostly passable. Fortunately they are only a small part of the game.
sumez is right. they're all more or less just rote memorization and then performing the exact routine they want out of you. they often expect you to be acting a move ahead of them, too, which makes their ostentatious presentations filled with long invulnerable/unhittable periods particularly irritating. while these are relatively tame and passable as far as the developer is concerned, it's a definite dampener on the overall game and just really poor design, in general. they're usually going to kill you or take you for a thrashing on the first couple of attempts, and then every other time is like being choreographed into a really boring dance.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sir Ilpalazzo »

A year or more ago, on this forum - either in this thread or the Genesis one, I can't find it now - there was discussion about the Genesis port of Ghouls 'n Ghosts. There was a widely-circulated gif posted on twitter showing that the fireballs fired by Shielder, the stage 1 boss, had wildly inaccurate hitboxes in the Genesis port, much less accurate than the arcade version - but I seem to remember the consensus on this forum being that the gif was actually incorrect in some way and that the port was fine. Does anyone else remember this stuff and know the details?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by WelshMegalodon »

kitten made a post on it here. I can't recall if there was ever any further discussion on the hitboxes.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by FinalBaton »

The hitboxes on the first boss' fireballs are indeed messed up, but that's the only time in the game where where hitboxes are a problem, as far as I remember. an otherwise excellent experience, an eminently playable and incredibly fun(and addictive) port to pick up and play.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sir Ilpalazzo »

Oh, thanks - Chucat's tweet that kitten posted is exactly what I was looking for. That's interesting; so the hitbox seems to be the same size but is weirdly displaced, like the hitboxes of the stage 2 turtles (don't remember if their hitbox was quite so odd in the arcade original as it is in the Genesis port).
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Marc »

Played some Hard Corps: Uprising.
Bit of a strange one this, as an arcade/Contra game it misses the mark in pretty much every way. As a console shooter, in Uprising mode, it’s pretty good fun, even though it still feels like a Euro grab-bag of ideas that wasn’t fully play tested. My personal impression is that it was designed with level 2 weapons in mind, then messed around with from there to increase difficulty – it simply lacks any flow and isn’t fun to play with default strength guns. Other bugbear is a lack of any meaningful feedback on taking a hit, but there’s a whole host of smaller problems that conspire to rob the thing of a lot of its potential. Looks bloody beautiful though.

It’s reminded me that I also have Matterfall unplayed on the PS4 HD – might need to have a Housemarque week soon, as I never got as in-depth with Nex Macchina as I’d like and I haven’t touched Resogun in quite some time either (although even thinking about its overly-strict chaining gives me a cold shiver).
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Sir Ilpalazzo wrote:the hitbox seems to be the same size but is weirdly displaced, like the hitboxes of the stage 2 turtles (don't remember if their hitbox was quite so odd in the arcade original as it is in the Genesis port).
I'm not sure if it's exactly the same between the two (the graphics are different on MegaDrive, so there's bound to be some difference), but the hitbox is definitely weirdly off on both versions. Like on one side you can stand a bit into them, and the other you can't at all, which is valuable knowledge in certain tight situations. It's not an unfair hitbox, just forgiving in an unintuitive way.

It's definitely an excellent port, probably one of the best arcade ports of its time, and a GIF about a single projectile's hitbox shouldn't throw you off from that idea.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

Hey some of you might find this interesting - Ninja Warriors Once Again demo on Exa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... rnTV5I92a0
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by WelshMegalodon »

Tantalizingly close to 1CC:

Image

I even got through all of 6-3 with zero lives. One more sword-cancel barrage and Jashin would have been dead...
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by FinalBaton »

Keep at it, bud :) Put a bit more time in and the 1 CC will be coming for sure
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by WelshMegalodon »

Thanks! Your support is appreciated.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Stevens »

After spending an hour with Katana Zero's hard mode I can say it's uh..hard.

The very 1st board (cat) is about the equivalent of around the regular games mid point and it only gets worse from there.

I've probably died about 100 times so far (just cleared stage 3). Like the original game though once you figure out a way it becomes easier. You really need to lean on your bullet time, although I am sure at some point a no death run sans bullet time will show up from someone.

Haven't fought the first boss yet. Curious to see what has changed.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Volteccer_Jack »

This absolute madman actually completed Actraiser 2 on "difficulty 202":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3Sk5UV4C0

For those not in the know, this uses a password that causes the game to look in the wrong place for enemy stats, resulting in enemies having arbitrary attack and HP values anywhere from 0-255. Since the max HP the player or any enemy can have under normal circumstances is 20, and the player does like 1-3 damage per attack, many enemies on this mode kill you in one hit and have to be attacked double- or triple- digit numbers of times to be killed (and certain enemies do no damage at all and/or die in one hit). Pretty awesome that he cleared this mode, and in just over an hour, despite having to fight multiple bosses with >100 HP.

...But the real reason I came back to this thread is because I FINALLY beat NG1
Image
The last boss really lives up to the hype in this thread! Simple yet supremely thrilling, shockingly elegant especially for such a rough game.

One big thing I noticed coming back to this game is how without exception every single one of the 'unfair' jumps in NG1 can be handled safely, without any memorization, provided you can pull off high-precision aerial attacks on demand. As long as I ran straight to the edge and jumped without hesitation, every surprise threat can be dealt with on pure reaction, at most demanding I stop my jump short on the edge to avoid contact damage.

This created a weird sense where I started looking at dangerous guarded jumps as "safe spots": no matter where you are in NG1 or what you're doing, you always know that if you can jump across the next pit and kill the gunner guarding the other side, you'll get a moment of (relative) safety to kill pursuers and plot your next move. I find this hilarious because it makes me picture Ryu running along some precarious walkway pursued by demonic birds and ninjas falling upon him from all directions, and he comes to a chasm which he'll need to perform a precise leap to cross safely, while a burly machinegunner sits on the other side just waiting to unleash hell upon the intruder, and that sight fills Ryu with relief. :lol:

Also it had the side effect of causing me to die several times on the very first horizontal stretch of 6-1. How am I supposed to know when to turn around and kill the enemies behind me, if there isn't a pit with a MG enemy for me to cross?!? I just had to guess and I kept guessing wrong like 3 times in a row and dying pathetically, lol.

After this revisit I rate NG1 significantly higher (but I still think it is the weakest of the bunch so I'm still not interested in the 1cc lol sorry guys)

EDIT: Also I'm still upset that this masterpiece only plays in a single tiny section! :evil:
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

WelshMegalodon wrote:I even got through all of 6-3 with zero lives. One more sword-cancel barrage and Jashin would have been dead...
You'll get it in no time. Jashin always end up being a somewhat unpredictable fight; sometimes I'll breeze through while taking a single hit or even none at all, and other times I'll get hit once, only to immediately get hit again by a flurry of them. Not very nice when nearly achieving a no-miss.

Volteccer_Jack wrote:...But the real reason I came back to this thread is because I FINALLY beat NG1
Well done, but are you sure you don't wanna go for the 1CC? It's not that much trouble now that you've cleared it, and it is a lot of fun. :)
Volteccer_Jack wrote:Also it had the side effect of causing me to die several times on the very first horizontal stretch of 6-1. How am I supposed to know when to turn around and kill the enemies behind me, if there isn't a pit with a MG enemy for me to cross?!? I just had to guess and I kept guessing wrong like 3 times in a row and dying pathetically, lol.
I usually turn around only once to kill an enemy in 6-1 (one of those hunchbacks, near the end of the stage), and just try to outrun everything else. The only really unpredictable spot is the enemy that throws weapons at you, which can really mess up your run; just hope for the best. :)
You can also use the candle (at the start of the level) to know when to jump over that first hunchback without having to stop to kill the enemies around. Here's how it usually goes for me.
Volteccer_Jack wrote:EDIT: Also I'm still upset that this masterpiece only plays in a single tiny section! :evil:
Have you listened to the SFC's version yet? :)
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Vanguard »

I've been playing a lot of metroidvanias lately. One I decided to revisit is Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight.

The developers were clearly big fans of Dark Souls and took a lot of inspiration from it. Bellflowers are estus flasks, bells are bonfires, you've got an invincible dodge roll, your attacks are a bit slow and can't be cancelled, the setting is a spooky and largely-deserted city, items come with short stories or bits of setting info, and very little of what happens is fully explained. For the most part these concepts handle being adapted into a 2d platformer gracefully, and despite lifting so much from another source Momodora 4 manages to retain its own distinct identity. I do feel that there are a few cases where the word choices try too hard to be Dark Souls and end up coming across as awkward. There are also lots of characters feel the need to chuckle at every little thing and I found it far more convincing in Dark Souls than I do here.

Anyway, about the game itself. Momodora 4 is about a warrior priestess, Kaho Reinol, who has been tasked with finding and destroying the source of the curse spilling out from the city of Karst. Kaho is armed with two main weapons. Her melee weapon is a sacred leaf taken from a magic tree. On the ground she can use the leaf to perform a combo of up to three hits, each hit doing more damage than the last. Kaho automatically steps forward with each swing, and as I said before, you can't cancel an attack once started, so you need to be careful when attacking near pits and other hazards. Kaho also has an aerial attack which seems to do about as much damage as the second hit of the combo. In general I find the aerial attack to be more useful, mostly because you retain control over your horizontal movement while attacking. The leaf is quite good at stunning enemies, most are rendered helpless after a single hit. Kaho's second weapon is a bow. Tapping the fire button fires a single arrow very quickly. It's weak but has infinite range and there's very little commitment. Holding down the fire button for a moment before releasing fires a stronger charged arrow. Charging for longer fires a three-way charged shot, and later in the game you can unlock a final charged attack which machine-gun fires powerful arrows straight ahead. Kaho can move and attack while charging, and one of the best ways to put out damage is to follow up a melee combo with a point-blank charged shot. By default arrows do not stun enemies, though there is an item, the pocket incensory, that changes that.

Enemy design is mostly good. The biggest flaw of both bosses and common enemies is that they're a bit too predictable and susceptible to memorization. In most cases, once you find a way to defeat one, the same method will work on all enemies of the same type. The game is pretty good about mixing up different enemy types into groups and using terrain to change how encounters play out, so it's not too bad. Ranged enemies tend to be the real threats, melee fighters can rarely compete with Kaho's mobility, and most don't have an answer to bow sniping.

Momodora 4's map is laid out so that the beginning and ending are linear and the middle is non-linear. The central portion requires you to collect four crests pieces before you can proceed. Each is guarded by a boss enemy, each grants a useful now ability when found, and they can be obtained in any order. I appreciate the freedom, though it's easy to wind up in a position where you'll need to do a lot of backtracking, and you can't fast travel until you find the right crest piece. Dark Souls also waited until the second half to unlock fast travel, but Dark Souls was a lot better about setting up shortcuts to quickly get out of cleared areas.

Kaho's power doesn't grow a terrible lot over the course of the game, but that's for the best. It means early game enemies are still relevant later on. There are no experience points. Your health can be increased by collecting vitality fragments, but there are enough in the game to maybe double your starting health in hard difficulty. The only real element of character customization comes from equipping items. Kaho can equip three active items and two passive items at any time, and her equipped items can be switched at any time (meaning the three active items limit is no limit at all). Most boss enemies drop an item if you beat them without taking any damage, and generally these items are extremely powerful. Most active items are either some form of healing, a magic attack, or a temporary buff. There's a wide variety of passive items, I find that the most powerful are the ones that improve your arrows, especially the pocket incensory I mentioned earlier.

It's an excellent game, highly recommended to anyone who enjoys platformers.

I also replayed Momodora 1 and 2, and tried 3 for the first time. RUtM is by far the best of the series. After that I'd say 2 is the most recommendable. It's a short, cute, easy, and fun metroidvania. 1 and 3 are more linear platformers and are just alright. 1 and 2 are also freeware. I noticed that the developer is working on a new game called Minoria. I'm sure it'll be a good game, but those 3d models are a big disappointment compared to Reverie Under the Moonlight's beautiful pixel art.
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__SKYe
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

Nice writeup. I've cleared the first two game, tried the third, and have yet to play the fourth.
It's been a while since I've done it, but I remember both games I cleared being quite enjoyable, though the first one is really short.

I've finally updated the index with the last 10 pages, or so. Took me a while. :)
I came across Vanguard's Rockman series ranking and wanted to add it there, but I wasn't sure where to put it, as it is not quite a game list, so I ended up creating a new section at the bottom for assorted game (series) rankings. I also added another to put Vanguard's recording setup/tips -- even though it is not game related, I think it is very nice to have such a guide handy. Tell me what you folks think and/or suggestions for something better.

I've also placed a small note in the reviews section to warn potential readers that the entries contained there are not the end-all-be-all, and that a little follow-up will likely be needed. I know the regulars here are keenly aware of this, but I put it there just in case. :)
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Vanguard
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Vanguard »

Volteccer_Jack wrote:This absolute madman actually completed Actraiser 2 on "difficulty 202":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3Sk5UV4C0

For those not in the know, this uses a password that causes the game to look in the wrong place for enemy stats, resulting in enemies having arbitrary attack and HP values anywhere from 0-255. Since the max HP the player or any enemy can have under normal circumstances is 20, and the player does like 1-3 damage per attack, many enemies on this mode kill you in one hit and have to be attacked double- or triple- digit numbers of times to be killed (and certain enemies do no damage at all and/or die in one hit). Pretty awesome that he cleared this mode, and in just over an hour, despite having to fight multiple bosses with >100 HP.
Dang, I'd never heard of that, what a crazy bug. That's an amazing victory too! It says a lot about how well-made Actraiser 2 is that it's still playable like that. Why is it called difficulty 202?

Good job on the Ninja Gaiden clear.
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Volteccer_Jack
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Volteccer_Jack »

Momodora
I played the first 2, of which I would describe the first as "nice but extremely flawed", and the second as "nice but not really special in anyway except saving your game by smacking bells which is AMAZING 10/10 GOTY".

Reverie looks like a quantum leap from the first three games, so I got it a little while ago. But other than a quick testrun to make sure it worked properly, I haven't gotten around to it. My thoughts based on <10 minutes of play:
-Game is visually beautiful.
-You start the game with double jump. This is awesome.
-Basic melee attacks are really satisfying and fun, very reminiscent of Megaman Zero. Hopefully I can rip into bosses like Zero.
-Saving your game by smacking bells is AMAZING 10/10 GOTY
Vanguard wrote:Dang, I'd never heard of that, what a crazy bug. That's an amazing victory too! It says a lot about how well-made Actraiser 2 is that it's still playable like that. Why is it called difficulty 202?
Because the game attempts to set the difficulty to 202, instead of the normal difficulties, 0, 1, and 2. There's also a full set of passwords for this difficulty, and another similar mode (although the other mode is impossible to clear due to the stage time limit being ridiculously short).

It also has a bizarre and entertaining effect on the opening demo. Where normally you watch the Master easily cleaving his way through demons to confront Satan before the title screen appears, if you trigger the scene while either of these two "extra modes" are active, the Master will embarassingly die near the beginning, causing the scene to cut short, skip the title screen entirely, and dump you at the start of a new game.
__SKYe wrote:Well done, but are you sure you don't wanna go for the 1CC? It's not that much trouble now that you've cleared it, and it is a lot of fun. :)
I don't think you realize how many credits I used in Act 6 :oops: But seriously, I've got my NG plate full with trying to finally record that nifty SMS sword-only run, and I've still got things I wanna do in the Greatest NG Game, Ancient Ship of Doom. Maybe someday, but not in the near future.
__SKYe wrote:Have you listened to the SFC's version yet? :)
Yep, I actually have like 4 different versions of that song saved on my PC :mrgreen: The original is always my favorite though, the others don't quite match the sort of layered intensity; SFC is my second favorite, but I definitely the prefer the 'sharper' (probably not the correct word but you know what I mean) sound of the original.
"Don't worry about quality. I've got quantity!"
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Sumez
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Momodora 4 was one of my most positive surprises in recent years when it comes to the plethora of indie metroidvania platformers.
Vanguard wrote: The developers were clearly big fans of Dark Souls and took a lot of inspiration from it. Bellflowers are estus flasks, bells are bonfires, you've got an invincible dodge roll, your attacks are a bit slow and can't be cancelled, the setting is a spooky and largely-deserted city, items come with short stories or bits of setting info, and very little of what happens is fully explained. For the most part these concepts handle being adapted into a 2d platformer gracefully, and despite lifting so much from another source Momodora 4 manages to retain its own distinct identity.
This is pretty spot on, and only echoes my own conclusions. Short quote from my own post on the game here, as I feel like anything else I'll write would just be repeating that anyway:
Sumez wrote:I started out playing on Hard mode, which I don't regret. Some enemies will absolutely tear you up right at the beginning, and pretty much anything will either one- or two-shot you. It did get quite a bit easier, though, when I realised all healing items would refill at checkpoints, causing me to stop hogging them.

Bloodborne is obviously a big inspiration, both in the overall mood and the dark gothic city with a brooding red moon in the background. But this is also pretty much the best attempt I've seen at applying Bloodborne style combat to a classic 2D sidescrolling action game. Instead of making it sluggish and repetitive like Slain, it retains most of what makes good 2D platformers good, lifting only mild concepts stuff from From's titles, such as the importance of crowd control, the roll/dash, and the stunlocking melee attack combo with its dedicated forward-moving swings.
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