FinalBaton wrote:BrianC wrote:I find it interesting that NG3 seems to have some Shadow of the Ninja influence with the ability to hang on bars and the appearance of more robotic enemies.
Been saying for years on here that it's a Shadow of the Ninja-style game! But no one they be believin' me *smh*
So I fully agree with you there!
Also the upgradable sword, and certain enemies' ability to block, and the noticeably more methodical pace (jointly created by lower gravity, larger hitboxes and thorny ambush spawns). I have to admit it never occurred to me - the game's still at least 50% Ryukenden, with its universally 1HP enemies, fire/forget subweapons and wall-scaling, plus several returning enemy types - but in hindsight, I definitely see the resemblance.
At least we know that the Gameboy Ninja Gaiden Shadow is a straight up Shadow of the Ninja game in disguise!
Incidentally, besides everyone's favourite
Basilisk Mine Field (NG1 st4-2), the other song Natsume cover is NGIII's inverted catwalk BGM. The area it's used in even resembles the NGIII stage, with flying enemies attacking from above and below a hanging-grippable bridge.
(Kage's own final boss BGM is of course revisited here
)
CIT wrote:In other news: I've been spending some time with this one...
[GBA Revenge of Shinobi]
...and hoooboy, is it not up to the standards of its forebears.
Not sure if it will pick up eventually, but basically the game has
extremely bland design and
zero challenge. And that despite the controls being clunky as fuck.
Haha, I remember when that was released BITD. "Alarm bells" barely suffices, seeing that revered title attached to something recalling random Amiga kusoge.
Thank you for your investigating ;-;7
Now, been a while since we had one of these.
~A Heartful Digression (but NOT RLY >;3)
I'm a fan of the KCET Silent Hill quartet. Like many, I've grown fonder of black sheep SH4 over time. The series' subsequent outsourcing to palookaville
may have aided the rehabilitation of its least-loved member.
Even BITD though, I was never satisfied with the stock
"It's a great game, just not a great SH" argument. An avowed return to the
"World of someone's nightmarish delusions" must be judged as such. I thought it was a
pretty good SH, hurt by a combination of rushed development and punishing design (which I now regard as arcadey tightness - Hard mode, no saves, clobbering fiends and nailing ghosts while stockpiling holy relics, martial and navigational prowess taking up the slack...
Splatterhouse Part 3 Riddim ). It contributed some excellent material in spite of its flawed execution. Dryly foul, understatedly twisted dreamscapes.
Ever Downward
No, the thread's not going survival horror (
Dr. Chaos fans represent
you weird fucks
). Yes, there is a point to your old friend Dr. Biruford's ambling reminiscence!
I was recalling the SH4 furore in my current revisit of
Metal Slug 5. I realised that if MS5 had been some plucky new IP, or even Cyber-Lip 2, I'd have warmed up to it. At the same time, ala SH4, I didn't want to accept it on "Good Game/Bad Slug" terms. I learned after
Athena that even at a fair and reasonable price,
shit still stinks.
MS5's opening stage sucks. It's the MVS series' worst, a bland retread of MS3's perfectly enjoyable (and
optional) boat ride. Mercifully, MS5 also has the best first boss. Not that MS1-4's set a high bar, but MS5's has some genuine chops. Smooth curve from an ominously shelling, barging beast at novice, to a
violent shotgunning speedkill at adept.
The game should've kicked off inside the temple, which still isn't great with its lukewarm enemies and tedious tunnel-sliding, but at least can be Attacked Aggressively™. The optional Black Hound (go Low, then Left) is a really cool rival-type midboss - only they forgot to bring him back! Doh.
Apart from st4's bullet-sponging underwater sequence, another segment yearning for the cutting room floor, the remainder of MS5 continues to avenge st1's shitty autoscroller. It even contributes some series highlights of its own, like the new ninja Grenadiers and their fierce st3 factory defense. Great zako design - agile, melee-savvy killers who can
also plug turtling players from clean across the screen, encouraging a close-quarters bloodbath.
The same stage's ROBO ARMY climax puts the excellent Slug Gunner to stern use - it's all too easy to lose your ride to the mix of brutal mortars, aggressive brawlers and meddling zako. Tearing through floor after floor in an unstoppable COMMANDO slaughter is viscerally authoritative action, on par with its series' and genre's very best.
As with fellow revenant MS4, MS5's curve is noticeably steeper than the easy-going Nazcas. Stage 2's STG boss brings the sort of intensity I'd have appreciated in MS3's overlong space battles. Stage 4's docks see some of the most relentless siege waves since MS1's feared bridge of doom, a high point matched by a remarkably intense fourth boss.
On balance, MS5 is worth having. Like MS4, it can't escape the shadow of Nazca Slug's "real thing." But also like Noise Factory's quietly excellent pastiche, it'll suffice if you've completed those, and want more of their inimitably rollicking gash n' blast. Gonna nail down some 1LCs this year - hadn't planned on it, with my PS2 back home, but ACA continues to keep me in the arcade gaming.
CMD: FIGHT_DIRTY.EXE / ACTIVATING ROBO SHIV Slug Gunner deserves its own game, holy fuck it rocks. Vernier, tank mode, vulcans, cannon, pilebunker... and Wolf Fang-style strafe. Tantalising glimpse of first-rate mecha sidescrolling.
Also, Eri's ducking 2xSMG firing animation is the cutest thing