Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[it290]

Capcom doesn't have the best track record in American courts.

Moreover, their window already passed letting MN9 and Gunvolt establish precedence in the genre. Combined with litigation costs and the optics of bullying an indie studio, unlike Nintendo with their evergreen cross-cultural multimedia phenomenon, Capcom is likely content making money hand over fist with MH and RE.

Fair enough. But the Mighty No. 9 and Gunvolt characters are at least legally distinct. The 30XX lead character is literally just a female Rock with no helmet. But I suppose Capcom have been pretty chill with homages in the past, e.g. Street Fighter X Mega Man.

[Vanguard]

20XX's stages and bosses are still great and have some unique gimmicks, but yea it's not nearly as polished as the sequel or includes nearly as much level variety (four level themes shared between two bosses each vs each boss having their own stage in 30XX), although the physics are still spot on. One thing I do prefer in 20XX is that there's less of a focus on the permanent meta progression upgrades--there's still some, but much more downplayed compared to how emphasized the grind is in 30XX. If you're curious then it's still worth trying, but I probably won't be going back to it very often anymore.

The meta progression upgrades are totally unnecessary and I'd rather they weren't in the game at all, but at least you can get most of the important stuff in short order. Getting all of them is another story, I got the last one at around 100 hours. In practice they don't matter too much, turning up the difficulty level as you progress will outweigh the benefits of your unlocks. I say just keep playing the game at high difficulties for as long as it stays fun and don't worry about the upgrades.

[Sumez]

Fair enough. But the Mighty No. 9 and Gunvolt characters are at least legally distinct. The 30XX lead character is literally just a female Rock with no helmet. But I suppose Capcom have been pretty chill with homages in the past, e.g. Street Fighter X Mega Man.

Yeah, Capcom famously embraces fan projects, so I think they just don't really give a crap. Could probably sue if they really wanted to.

[Stevens]

CALLING COMMANDER BIRRU. HUNTDOWN IS GETTING A SEQUEL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awVf39Ktbpo

[it290]

I'm pumped, but also, it's a Roguelike which makes me distinctly less pumped

[Sima Tuna]

As long as it has arcade mode, my own personal 3-inch Birru-san will remain eternally erect.

[copy-paster]

I bought the first one on sale but didn't put much more playtime after 10mins of gameplay.

Booted up MS4 few days ago and there's a possibility this could be a new goal to 1CC/No Death run for this year, the only neo slugs I haven't 1CC yet. I imagine this is gonna be the hardest one to beat, used up 5 continues on the first 3 stages alone

[it290]

It's definitely worth giving a go in arcade mode. The scorechasing there is really fun since there is a theoretical maximum score, it becomes really addictive trying to eke out a few more points each run using the weapon combo and strike bonus systems.

[NYN]

Unholy Goalie, sweet annoyance! Sawyer is the tamest of the bunch, conceptually very mid. Mow-Mow the only man-man, oddly enough. And a Rogue game? Killed my stiffy. Looks and sounds amaze, though.

[Sima Tuna]

It's definitely worth giving a go in arcade mode. The scorechasing there is really fun since there is a theoretical maximum score, it becomes really addictive trying to eke out a few more points each run using the weapon combo and strike bonus systems.

Arcade mode is the real game mode. Story mode is just training wheels for the boss routing. If Arcade Mode Huntdown didn't exist, I wouldn't have spent so much time in this thread shilling the game.

Without the crowds and more dangerous spawns added by Arcade, + the better weapon drops, the game feels very empty and simple tactics like shooting while screen scrolling are able to wipe out 99% of the level threat for many of the story mode levels.

But I don't bitch about that because it's Story Mode and who cares? You play Arcade. Arcade expects you to screen scroll while shooting, as well as use every other trick, and compensates with enemy placements and sufficient pressure to keep you moving.

[it290]

Unholy Goalie, sweet annoyance! Sawyer is the tamest of the bunch, conceptually very mid. Mow-Mow the only man-man, oddly enough. And a Rogue game? Killed my stiffy. Looks and sounds amaze, though.

Agreed. Anna Conda was my go-to because I like her voice lines the best and Mow Man is the best choice for score play. Never liked John at all. I also think the game is way overdoing it on the lighting effects, hopefully they tone those down for release.

[BIL]

Huntdown still amazes me with its quality tbh. That and Tanuki Justice blew muh Nihongo-chauvinist mind a few years back. Customarily well-judged, messrs Stevens & Tuna! It's as good an Elevator Action Returns Again as I'd have expected from the old JP masters. Always interested to see what those guys do next.

I'm still playing Wandering Souls. In my eyes this is the best video game ever made. I'm reasonably confident that I'm now the world's best Wandering Souls player, though of course I've got far less competition than I should given the game's stellar quality. I've recently recorded a speedrun of lunatic difficulty, getting a 100% clear with a time of 8:58:42. The first 100% clear I posted in this thread some years back was 47:50:37.

Superbly played and chronicled as always! Added to the index file, needless to say.

Booted up MS4 few days ago and there's a possibility this could be a new goal to 1CC/No Death run for this year, the only neo slugs I haven't 1CC yet. I imagine this is gonna be the hardest one to beat, used up 5 continues on the first 3 stages alone

Interested to hear how you find it! I'm a fan, but love or hate MS4, one thing Noise Factory lack is Nazca's trademark endgame hell-spike. I'd say MS4's no-miss is about as hard as MSX & MS3's, overall, but it ramps up faster. Second boss can be a real killer; even routed, I find it a rush to demolish, the screen juddering with every brutal collapse. (just like MS3, some routes are dramatically tougher than others; Mission 4 / Lower is possibly the equivalent of MS3's Lost Japanese Army hell-ride)

tbh, while Black Finger Jet sounds rad, I'd rather Akio, Meeher, and HIYA et al did an official reskin of MS4. Y'know, starring those fish dudes they were gonna make their next Slug about. Nothing fancy, just a hardcore INNSMOUTH SENKI to put down those rude fish fucks. I think MS4 complements MSX & MS3's grand scale well, as a stripped-down Mission Pack. Some rip-roaring action and tricky enemy waves, and it runs at a nice fast clip, too. It's just the pastiche aesthetic that marks it down slightly next to the Nazcas, imo. (MS5, by comparison, really needed its first half tightening up, even if I like it a lot overall)

Spoiler

^ Upper st1 autoscroller sucks 3; But! Lower packs a titanic kill-count on par with MSX's ravenous kickoff (JUDGMENT ♫) - sans slowdown!

Spoiler

^ Love the intensity of that pincer attack early in st2. Even if it's partially because Noise Factory fucked up the M-15A's hitstun. >w>

Spoiler

^ VERTICAL FORCE (■｀W´■) Wish that precarious battling was how you busted into Rugname in MS3 after the first vert STG bit!

[1KMS]

I played Huntdown for the first time a few days ago. Coming off Terminator 2D: No Fate, I was immediately impressed by how it implements the Blackthorne-style dodge mechanic. More specifically, how they counterbalanced bullet invulnerability with melee and explosive vulnerability, making it part of a dynamic of options, instead of a static, stallout-the-game button (T2D:NF).

"I always wanted a thing called Frothing Demand."
(Or: "Why is Bitmap Bureau out here cribbing mechanics direct from Cinematic Platformers™ and throwing around the word 'arcade'?")

One thing about Huntdown that threw me off initially was the crouch-slide. I thought I was sliding on blood or something. I'm sure with proficiency this becomes more of an asset, but at my current level it leads to many a smashed face. Plus, I'm bringing a Retro-Bit d-pad to an arrow key/Hitbox fight, so an alternate mapping would've been helpful.

[Sima Tuna]

I played Huntdown for the first time a few days ago. Coming off Terminator 2D: No Fate, I was immediately impressed by how it implements the Blackthorne-style dodge mechanic. More specifically, how they counterbalanced bullet invulnerability with melee and explosive vulnerability, making it part of a dynamic of options, instead of a static, stallout-the-game button (T2D:NF).

"I always wanted a thing called Frothing Demand."
(Or: "Why is Bitmap Bureau out here cribbing mechanics direct from Cinematic Platformers™ and throwing around the word 'arcade'?")

One thing about Huntdown that threw me off initially was the crouch-slide. I thought I was sliding on blood or something. I'm sure with proficiency this becomes more of an asset, but at my current level it leads to many a smashed face. Plus, I'm bringing a Retro-Bit d-pad to an arrow key/Hitbox fight, so an alternate mapping would've been helpful.

That's definitely a factor. I get my best Huntdown gameplay on a Switch with joycons, which have the separated dpad just like a keyboard or hitbox. A ps4 controller also kinda has a similar thing going on, so that can be a fair substitute. But I have also played Huntdown with a combined dpad and accidental diagonals are a killer. This is a game where your up and down presses have to be rapid and precise while also moving left and right and pressing the jump button at times. One of the most powerful pieces of tech in Huntdown is the midair dive/slide and how you can use that to manipulate your position in the air. Diving straight down is a good way to get out of the air fast when you need to be in place for a boss cycle. Another powerful defensive tool is the "press up to hide around a corner" Blackthorne ability you mentioned. For both of these, you need very precise up/down input.

I was thinking about Huntdown again recently (as I frequently do during my "private" time) and my brain was coming up with dumb analogies about how Huntdown works, like "it's almost a full-on cover shooter like Gears of War." And other statements that aren't true but sound kinda like they could be. There's definitely a bit of a cover shooty feel to Huntdown sometimes, although the Arcade Mode enemy aggression keeps the pace pulse-pounding and pushes you out of cover if you try to turtle up. I dunno where I was going with this. Huntdown is a great game and there's not many 2d shooters with the more tactical design to them. Like, the DNA obviously goes back to Shinobi, EAR, Rolling Thunder etc, but Huntdown does a lot of things that aren't in those old games, so I think Huntdown took some lessons from tactical shooty games both 2d and 3, old and modern. For once, for the better, since the arcade design doesn't suffer in the process. Taking cover works great in Huntdown since you can't stay there for long.

[it290]

I would recommend turning on the auto-hide/cover option unless you just wanna be hardcore like that. Simplifies that aspect of the game a lot.

[1KMS]

Like, the DNA obviously goes back to Shinobi, EAR, Rolling Thunder etc, but Huntdown does a lot of things that aren't in those old games, so I think Huntdown took some lessons from tactical shooty games both 2d and 3, old and modern. For once, for the better, since the arcade design doesn't suffer in the process. Taking cover works great in Huntdown since you can't stay there for long.

I'd love to know what Easy Trigger were most inspired by. "Elevator Action Returns + The Outfoxies" is a decent summary of the design, but to your point it feels more granular and curated. I was picking up similarities (not necessarily influences) with stuff like The Lawnmower Man (scale, aim constraint) and Flashback (perspective). The weapon smorgasbord brings to mind Worms just as easily as The Outfoxies.

ET deserve an innovation award for doing something that I've wanted to see in action games ever since their running times started pushing 90 minutes: partitioning the full content into arcade-length, Doom-style episodic games. Based on the Story Mode running time, they really only needed two episodes, but separating it into four allows each section to tell a self-contained story and end with a fitting climax. Modern devs, this is how you make uncompromising, bloat-free arcade games without alienating IGN. Especially you whack 'em up guys. As far as I'm concerned, a 90-minute BEU doesn't have playability, let alone replayability.

Could've used a timer in Arcade Mode to drive the pace a little though. Possibly, the only aspect in which the game isn't as hardcore as Asterix and the Great Rescue.

[it290]

Great point about the episodic element. It's great for score chasing as well since you get a natural difficulty/complexity progresssion and 4 discrete leaderboards. It's honestly kinda crazy that the game shipped without arcade mode; I wonder if they'd always intended to include it or if it only occurred to them post-release? The scoring elements are so well-designed it's hard to believe the game wasn't originally structured around them.

It's not quite the same, but in the BEU space I think Absolum does a pretty good job with the episodic/chapter structure. The runs are only ~60min to begin with, but they're cleanly divided into 3 parts and you can easily save and quit and return at any time.

[Sima Tuna]

Great point about the episodic element. It's great for score chasing as well since you get a natural difficulty/complexity progresssion and 4 discrete leaderboards. It's honestly kinda crazy that the game shipped without arcade mode; I wonder if they'd always intended to include it or if it only occurred to them post-release? The scoring elements are so well-designed it's hard to believe the game wasn't originally structured around them.

It's not quite the same, but in the BEU space I think Absolum does a pretty good job with the episodic/chapter structure. The runs are only ~60min to begin with, but they're cleanly divided into 3 parts and you can easily save and quit and return at any time.

Not only are the scoring elements so excellent, with the Unreal-style voice clips and crazy combo potential, but the best part of Arcade mode is how it changes enemy and weapon spawns.

In Story Mode, what I dislike isn't just that enemy mobs are too small to cause any real threat, so that scrolling + shooting kills everything before it appears. It's also that you get new weapons at such an anemic pace. "Oh, here's a single uzi. Ok, I guess now you can have the shittiest version of the shotgun. Uh... Have fun with the rest of the level, guy."

Arcade Mode throws that shit out and gives you more weapons, better weapons and more frequently. So in addition to more and deadlier enemies, you're using more of the weapons more frequently and thus having MORE FUN. The weapon limit comes into play and forces you to think about what to take and what to drop, which is very Haloesque.

It's the difference between an only pistol run of a DOOM level, vs a DOOM level that gives you the fun toys spread across the entire area, combined with the most enjoyable and challenging enemy combinations.

The episodic level "packs" of Huntdown is another aspect I really love. As you say, it allows for each run to have a theme and story, while also compressing run time down. It acts too as a difficulty select, since the earliest level pack (Hoodlum Dolls) is far and away the easiest, and they generally increase in difficulty after that. Although the way they increase in difficulty varies by episode too, with the Misconducts overwhelming you with dense mobs, as compared to the Heatseekers relying on flying units and their namesake seeking missiles.

Huntdown's Arcade Mode is just so fucking well designed. Yes, it's a little too easy for arcade 1cc veterans, but perfect for everyone else.

[it290]

Not only that but the weapon density is needed to maximize score, since you get a bonus for killing a mob with more than one weapon. My buddy is like #1/#2 on most of the leaderboards (or was when he last played anyway) and for the longest time we were trying to figure out how some of the #1 people achieved their scores, turns out you have to kill almost everyone with more than 1 weapon while maintaining combo and hitting all the other requirements to max it out.

[Vanguard]

I don't think I've posted about it in this thread, but Noita is one of my all time favorite sidescrollers. I think it's the best action roguelite. Its standout features are its physics and magic systems. Every pixel in the world is made of some material with its own physics properties. Dirt is easier to dig through or blow up than stone. Water puts out fires, turns to steam or ice in extreme temperatures, conducts electricity, and can be used to clean yourself. Objects have mass, and sufficiently heavy ones can be thrown or dropped as a form of attack. Some materials are flammable and can be ignited through magic or more conventional means. Acid melts through most things. And so forth. The near-infinite possibilities presented by the physics system mean you always have a variety of options for approaching your problems.

You play as a wizard who casts spells through customizable magic wands. Different wants will have strengths and weaknesses, such as fast casting speed, low mana, and things like that. In certain safe areas, you can transfer spells in your possession between the wands you own to create unique effects. You might make a wand where a projectile spell triggers an explosion spell to create what is essentially a rocket launcher, and you'll likely kill yourself with it in short order. There are hundreds of magical effects you can combine, and just like the material system, they present a nearly infinite number of weapons and tools you can assemble for yourself. It's very deep and fairly intuitive, and I consider it the best weapon customization system in gaming.



Noita plays like a run and gun sidescroller. You can aim your shots freely using the mouse or the right thumbstick. Your character has a jetpack-like flight ability that relies on its own energy supply, which recharges quickly. You explore a variety of randomized environments while fighting monsters and searching for anything you can use to help you survive. Noita can be approached as either a mostly linear dungeon crawl, or as an open world sandbox RPG. You start at the entrance of a dungeon, at the bottom of each section of the dungeon is a safe area known as a holy mountain. In holy mountains you get a full heal, a small health upgrade, the opportunity to buy new wands or spells, and a choice of one new perk for your character. Eventually you reach a final boss followed by the standard ending. A successful run will generally take around 2 hours, with significant variation depending on how aggressively you play and what tools you find.

There is considerably more to the game's world than the main dungeon. The dungeon itself has plenty of side areas with their own dangers and rewards, and there's an overworld with more content than you could possibly want. There are tons of enemy types and spells to discover that you'd never see in a standard playthrough. There are a bunch of alternate endings you can earn. There's essentially no limit to how powerful your wizard can become. I consider the linear dungeon crawl playthroughs to be the meat of the game. I think the open world content is an entertaining novelty but not something worth spending a lot of time on. It's conceptually cool that you can tunnel beneath the earth until you reach hell itself, or that you can power up your wizard until you have a literal quintillion health, with one wand that instantly nukes the whole screen for free, and another wand that transports you into a parallel reality, but the game quickly loses all sense of balance and focus when played that way.

Noita has a reputation for being excessively chaotic and unfair, and while that isn't entirely unwarranted, Noita is much more fair than it is unfair. My best streak is 9 consecutive wins. A handful of exceptional players have done more than 100. Sometimes you'll die through no real fault of your own, a monster might stumble on a wand with a brutal spell combination that instantly obliterates both of you. A series of unfortuitous events could result in a hidden cache of explosives being detonated just as you haplessly pass above them. Both have happened to me. But those are rare exceptions, the outcomes of the great majority of Noita runs are decided by the player's skill and knowledge.

Noita also features extensive modding support, my favorite is the Entangled Worlds mod, which enables online multiplayer.

If you enjoy toybox gameplay, you should definitely try Noita.

[Marc]

I need to get back to Noita. I bought a mini PC just to play it, fired it up for a few hours, lived it, and haven't touched it since.

[Randorama]

Shameless self promotion: The Robocop 2 squib is up. Also, Due to CloudFlare woes, I can only access the forum sporadically unless I am "in the motherland" (like in this very moment, though I am flying back tomorrow). So, I am shamelessly spamming some more and asking interested people to bookmark Untold Tales of the Arcade, the blog on which I will upload new material when I do not have access to this forum. Whoever implemented CloudFlare on this forum is a tinfoil hatter, as far as I am concerned (though I acknowledge that the bots were becoming a veritable nightmare).

[Vanguard]

I found an incredibly good Metroid clone by the name of Zexion.



This game is Super Metroid's match in level design and exploration, and by far its superior in combat. Zexion's boss fights are particularly great. The weapons and other upgrades you find are very creative and super fun. Some of your offensive options seem almost too good, but your strongest attacks generally consume resources or are difficult to use. It's very rewarding to master a difficult boss until you can tear it to shreds in seconds, and the hardest enemies will still put up a good fight even with 100% item completion. Zexion does most of its storytelling visually, without text. If you remember the Crocomire and Mother Brain scenes from Super Metroid, this game does a lot of stuff like that.



There are built in challenges for speedrunning, low % clears, and more, and the level design was put together with those kinds of runs in mind. Personally, I'm more interested in normal play without any of those restrictions, and the level design works great that way too. There are intended sequence breaks, some of which require the use of hidden techniques. To give one example, you can jump at a wall and fire a missile at it point blank to boost yourself in the opposite direction. That will enable you to make a few jumps you'd otherwise need upgrades to make, but the game never tells you about it. Zexion even comes with its own randomizer feature, where all of the upgrade items have their locations mixed up. The game will always ensure that the upgrades available will allow you to proceed, but you may end up taking a very different route from a normal playthrough, and your run could end up a lot easier or harder depending on your luck. In the one randomizer run I've played, it started me with a midgame melee lance, and before long I found the lance's lategame upgrade. Had to approach things differently with only a melee main weapon, but it melted the early bosses almost instantly.



I can't say enough good things about this game. Seems to be Steam exclusive, unfortunately.

[Stevens]

Noita

Oh cool, a giant saw blade. Can't wait to try it.

WHY IS IT COMING BACK?!?!

[Vanguard]

Oh cool, a giant saw blade. Can't wait to try it.

WHY IS IT COMING BACK?!?!

No other game emphasizes the importance of being careful when tampering with the arcane arts like Noita does.

I've been playing it a ton lately. I got a nightmare mode win and my new win streak record is 11.

[Stevens]

Oh cool, a giant saw blade. Can't wait to try it.

WHY IS IT COMING BACK?!?!

No other game emphasizes the importance of being careful when tampering with the arcane arts like Noita does.

I've been playing it a ton lately. I got a nightmare mode win and my new win streak record is 11.

Damn. That's impressive.

Maybe I'll dive back in next week. Haven't seen my boy Steve in a while.

[nogden]

Been exploring a bunch of snes and genesis games lately and I found a gem. This has some of the tightest gameplay and mech action on the console imo, and I've been having a blast with it

[Sumez]

I found an incredibly good Metroid clone by the name of Zexion.

I only heard good things about Zexion, and all of it made me want to play it

Annoys me greatly that it's only available on PC. And only on Steam at that

[Steven]

Metal Slug X, 3, and 4 AES versions spotted in Tokyo today. Holy shit those prices are insane. Also found Garegga and Great Mahou Daisakusen PCBs, which was cool.

I should really try finally doing a Metal Slug 1CC eventually. I know the first game is pretty easy; I made it to the last stage on 1 credit a few times, so that's reasonable.

[Searchlike]

Got a game over at the same time I killed Lucifer
Such is life... Such is Daimakaimura...

Going for the 1CC has been a blast. Best game ever contender.