Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BIL]

Technically a vertical scroller and there is no visible pogo stick, but one of Pocket Bomberman modes is this kind of a platform game.

I remember Ghegs mentioning NY Nyankies' boxing glove having a similar function too. I love the kinetic bounce and creative movement of a good pogo mechanic, even if it looks goofy as all hell in SSD. I guess that's not quite a true example since you can only bounce off enemies, not the ground. It's a fine ol' line between sidescrollers with rebounding, repeatable air attacks (Super Shinobi II, SSD, Hagane, Ninja Warriors Again, SOTN, Ecclesia... er, and Mickey Mouse) and ones that let you bounce all over the shop.

[BrianC]

The Commander Keen series has a pogo stick, but it doesn't hurt enemies. There's also that pogo stick weapon in Mega Man 2 GB, but it doesn't seem to actually do anything.

[Squire Grooktook]

Spoiler

What is best in life?

Childhood successfully ruined, thanks Bil :3

[Ed Oscuro]

Technically a vertical scroller and there is no visible pogo stick, but one of Pocket Bomberman modes is this kind of a platform game.

I remember Ghegs mentioning NY Nyankies' boxing glove having a similar function too.

It does, and more, but it's a bit hard to control. Imagine Ninja Five-O but at a faster clip. It's very easy to grab on something, spin around, and end up behind where you started.

Haven't yet managed to play much of the games, but the level design basically sucked for the opening area, which basically kills my interest.

[blackoak]

Ranza was among the accursed handful of games that finally got me into pre-32 bit consoles. One of my favourite sidescrollers. There's nothing like it elsewhere, not that I know of anyway. That Wolfteam interview you translated a while back confirmed what I'd suspected about Toshio Toyota (Granada/Ranza director); an arcade gamer with a craftsman's attention to fine detail and "extensive enemy algorithms." There's a lot to observe and exploit in that game's stages and enemy behaviours, along with the player mech and its huge arsenal.

Yeah, I finished it last night (well, with a few credits--everything was good up to the last stage, haha), and I kept thinking how much detail was put into it. Loved the level design too, from the methodical cave stage to the all-vertical skyscraper stage, and the forest assault... just a lot of variety. You can tell they were really thinking about the mechanics, not settling on a single formula/gimmick and rehashing it with minimally varied levels. I saw Toshio Toyota's name there in the credits and knew it looked familiar, hah...

The weapon switching annoyed me at first, but I came to enjoy the added touch of realism in not being able to carry 6 guns all at once.

Definitely scratched that mecha itch. I'll probably try the harder setting sometime, and maybe go for a 1cc.

[cicada88]

1 CC'd Darkwing Duck after practicing about an hour each day for the last 5-6 days. I enjoyed the game quite a bit and the difficulty was just right. There are 2 optional bonus stages in each level and I only found 1 per level on average.

Graphics were really good. Music wasn't that great, but I did enjoy the ending theme.

Need to work on Duck Tales 2 this week and I'll try to write out so more detailed observations on these Disney NES games after that.

[Ed Oscuro]

Speaking of grand adventure, NES Nightcart is crackin', after a fashion; I've filled out applications to the League of Unreasonable Gentlemen for everybody! It's mostly an adventure game, but I wanted to discuss the actiony bits as they show some of the potential and pitfalls of a mixed mode game like this.

It's hampered by the usual few wooly-eyed developer nightmare decisions. On the adventure side, there's a lot of pixelbitchin' issues (basically, keep a walkthrough close by to have a good time) and a suboptimal UI; "Items" does nothing, the cursor flashes equally at all three hard screen edges as it does at the soft edge in the menu - the manual doesn't seem to mention pulling the cursor into the items menu to Operate them directly, which is necessary at many points, and is (again) arguably bad UI design since there's also that Use command.

The brawler side is also a bit cripped: Enemies are nicely energetic, leaping, teleporting, throwing in multiple attack types and generally being pains even when you find special items to decrease the danger.

Not so happily, it's there's (sometimes?) a notable delay before making a second jump, which really hurts at the Goliath fight. Screen edges and the uppercut combo are really exploitable - and sometimes necessary. Enemy behavior seems usually highly predictable by screen positioning (and additionally, in the case of the blue-suited English Gents, relative player positioning). There's also at least one enemy which seems to defy having his attack pattern broken down into something approachable for no damage, unless you get lucky and trap him in an unending combo. I would also like better use of the control scheme - you can jump, standing combo, or crouch for a combo ending in an uppercut; that's it. You get ridiculously good air control; you can start a jump going away from Goliath, and pull in midair to sail over his head.

Thing you can't unsee: All walking friendly NPCs are dwarfs! A bit more than half Lampshade's size. Maybe this explains why so many NPCs are animals.

Playing through it a second time to see if I can't figure a few things out, and also to see all the traps.

Overall, really cool effort from Beam Software, which was somewhat unexpected. Story / game state doesn't really progress - but there's plenty of tension in trying to use all the extra sources of health to best benefit, yes, even the deathtraps can serve as health fill-ups. Not a perfect game, and has a really ugly palette most of the time, but who cares about that on the NES?

[BIL]

Much as I RABU MICKEY MOUSE, it's time to MAN UP THIS THREAD with a return to TESTOSTERONE-FUELLED SWORD CARNAGE (・｀W´・)

Spoiler

carry on

Devil Hunter Yoko (KLON 1991 / MD) Mechanically a little patchy, but on the whole a creative, tough and entertainingly directed sword action game.

There is a quality Japanese sidescroller in here, though it takes some finding. Chief flaw is the lack of viscerality, on hits both given and received. Taking damage doesn't interrupt control, and with the short recovery period and swarming bullets, a euroshumpshitsandwich disaster might seem to loom. Fortunately the game is designed around avoiding the overwhelming majority of damage, preferably all. HP is limited, restores infrequent, and mastery of the character is paramount to success. The primary sword attack creates another less than ideal impression, having an unlovely visual resemblance to Ys III's ineffectual wafting.

In practice the sword combines Getsu Fuuma Den's defensive back-to-shins arc with Strider's infinitely high attack rate. Though lacking reach, its range and speed make it deceptively good at fending off swarming zako and flak, as well as bringing down bigger enemies - and as in those games, you can freely move around while attacking. The boomerang shield, a unique and intuitive counteroffensive mechanic in its own right, also has an interesting effect on the sword. While the shield's in flight, the sword will stay out as long as [attack] is depressed, skewering anything that makes contact. Try shooting one way to kill distant targets while facing the other to hold off those closer, or following the shield into a crowd to impale stragglers. You can also point the sword straight down to ward off attacks from below, by launching the shield with a downthrust (invaluable for crossing stage 2's opening bridge). I love this "defensive stance" mechanic in Kenseiden, and it's just as fun and useful here. I suppose I have a thing for counteroffensively-geared action, being a Metal Black fan.

The other strong suit is rolling stage design, sharing Daimakaimura and Strider's disdain for flat surfaces and straight paths. Yoko handles steep terrain similarly to Hiryu, sans wallclimbing, with a limited degree of air control much like that of Strider 2. Interesting attack/defense interplay and scenic, treacherous battling ultimately sold me on the game.

Graphically not a standout, but nice deep parallax landscapes make it more attractive in motion than stills would suggest. I've next to no familiarity with the source license, but I can't imagine cheesecake-hungry superfans would like Ms.Yoko's workhorse Faceless Konami sprite much (though I dig her economical animation and find her evening dress quite charming, if just as volcano-impractical as Mr.Kujaku's priestly robes). At least they get kyoot intermission pics! Music is likewise unremarkably solid, st2's disarmingly lovely BGM aside.

Recommended for sword sidescroller adherents who like steep surfaces and don't mind some rough edges. Wouldn't quite call it essential, but it easily makes the next tier down (Nice To Have Around Tier) of Kujaku Oh II, Jewel Master, El Viento and Alisia Dragoon.

Stay tuned next time, as I explore my perennial hateful love Akumajou Dracula XX: Motherless Fuck no Nazo

[cicada88]

the cover, cart and manual artwork are all killer on that game

princess leia and bjørk adopt a Finnish orphan

[Ed Oscuro]

Size too-big sweater cuffs over the palm = super beastly

Even the name was suppressing my interest Time to see how it compares with FC (nevermind, MD) Valis (which seemed, on a really cursory inspection, to be just a mess).

Edit: Wow, attack / bullet cancelling in the sword mechanic! I wonder if this will allow some speedkills. The floating seeds look like something right out of an Igavania

This game doesn't screw around! Tough (and unfortunately fiddly) platforming, tons of enemies spewing bullets and plowing right into your backside, treacherous 1-up placement. This game is pretty cool, just a bit too fiddly with the platforming / timing for me.

The speedkill is real! Sort of - it looks like an autofire-enabled speedkill will be executed with your back to the enemy, as the sword starts a bit behind Yoko's head. Yoko is so fragile that a speedkill seems a lot more daring than it would be in Super Shinobi, though. Just a few moments in contact with the second boss will kill you.

Stay tuned next time, as I explore my perennial hateful love Akumajou Dracula XX: Motherless Fuck no Nazo

I (savestated through) played this one again just the other day. The game's insistence on giving you few opportunities to maneuver is strange. When you can maneuver, it'll be while surrounded on ghosts on top of a mine bucket chain precariously perched above a bottomless pit. But my moment of realizing how small the screen is came in one two-screen area where a block separating you from a spearman basically limits your maneuverability to nil. In gameplay terms I guess it was a way of forcing the lower spearman into relevance (you have to watch out from his long attack from below) but it still feels strange to be just asked to perch safely and whack away.

[BIL]

Just making it to st5 in Yoko myself. And aww sheeit, Yamaha funk detected! Dunno if this is the last stage as Youtube recs suggested, but if so it's been a good run. Stages 3 and 4 are both really cruel with their armies of bullet-spewing fish and bugs. I think the former's actually tougher to one-life; managed the latter but keep screwing up the former. Doesn't help that it has a genuine instance of Total Bullshit with that tornado that, AFAIK, you have to cough up a bit of HP to in exchange for a boost. I'd like to think there's something I'm missing but oh well.

It all feels infernally no-missable, though. When you hear buzzing wings, prepare for divebomb countermeasures! No seriously, that shit is a legit audio cue. Around fish, never relax. Legit two-hit killers in st3. Slightly shakey-feeling game, for sure, but as pro review ghetto badman said perfection is overrated. Actually I find Yoko a lot easier to love than Alisia Dragoon, which is similarly bullet-happy without the responsive controls.

XX is, I think, a perfect illustration of how not to do pastiche. If it'd simply ported over Rondo's engine I'd have indulged in a copy by now. But nope... every time I get that DORAKYURA geek itch and fire up teh ROMZ for re-evaluation, the godawful walk speed and attendant comical animation make me wince. Then I get down to the Methodical Sidescrolling Action™, spending a few evenings getting good enough to one-life it again. Hey, this is actually not that bad! That clock tower stage is a minor masterpiece! Then I notice I'm tired and worn out from wrestling with the inexplicably leaden handling and nonexistent recovery window and never want to play it again. See you next year Akumajou_Dracula_XX.smc!

Good action games (good games period) never have that effect on me, no matter how punishing. XX is unfortunately a drag. Metal Slug 4? LORD IT'S UGLY, HOLY FUCK - but hey, the engine's intact and it still doles out the Ravenously Violent Sidescrolling Action™ I like from the real games! Sold! (uh, the PS2 port. the budget reprint of. >_>)

I'm left wondering about the nazo of our titular antagonist - what scoundrel gave developers the idea that oldschool Dracula = infuriatingly leaden move speed? The briskly-scrolling original doesn't have this issue (Simon's MSX2 counterpart is damn near too nippy). None of its console sequels either. Densetsu II sadly has a hint of it, but it's the outlier. So I can only assume whoever handled XX's handling was just a real asshole who wanted to tempt me into blowing money on games I don't respect. >:[ To borrow our own Patchy-kun's terminology, if you think oldschool Dracula = slow walking, you're lying! *raspberry* *eat pussy sign*

I actually tried out GBCV3 (I can't even be bothered to look up its proper name) for the first time this evening - you know how the Super Game Boy adds a "HAAALP" voice sample to Donkey Kong? I so wish this one had borrowed the Price is Right losing horn for those zombie pit candles.

"Gotcha, you candle-whipping prick! Welcome to zombie hel - oh you figured out how to crawl under blocks. Baw. >:[ "

[Ed Oscuro]

what scoundrel gave developers the idea that oldschool Dracula = infuriatingly leaden move speed? The briskly-scrolling original doesn't have this issue (Simon's MSX2 counterpart is damn near too nippy). None of its console sequels either. Densetsu II sadly has a hint of it, but it's the outlier. So I can only assume whoever handled XX's handling was just a real asshole who wanted to tempt me into blowing money on games I don't respect. >:[ To borrow our own Patchy-kun's terminology, if you think oldschool Dracula = slow walking, you're lying! *raspberry* *eat pussy sign*

Perhaps a bit off-topic but in the non-NES or sidescrolling action miscs thread we are talking about Dark Souls a bit. There's inertia and slowness, and then there's commit to attack. In the real world inertia is in action all the time, but in games it can be selectively applied.

Anyhow, my guess about Dracula XX is that it might be related to porting the sprites in. 256x224 seems to be the nominal SNES resolution (before overscan, of course) and HG101 saves the day with a complete review of the format differences between the various Dracula X PCE demakes. Anyhow, resolution doesn't look like the killer, so it might be some other factor. To know for sure I'd like to framestep between the games. At a cursory glance, one thing that's immediately obvious is that SFC Rikuta!! is swinging his arms back and forth a lot more than in the PCE original. I vaguely remember having discussed this years ago on the CVD - my guess is that somebody decided to make Richter's movement appear to "glide" less so that his feet actually appear to be pushing against the floor. PCE Richter doesn't really look bad unless you notice him in some of the single-room boss fights (i.e., Ghost Shaft), and even then the amount of animation makes his gait appear more natural.

Some time I'd like to frame step some game footage to see what's going on in terms of how fast he actually moves.

Super Adventures In Gaming has a nice overview of another peculiar Dracula X/XX failing - Richter's goofy castle gates face-off pose. Whoops!

I actually tried out GBCV3 (I can't even be bothered to look up its proper name) for the first time this evening - you know how the Super Game Boy adds a "HAAALP" voice sample to Donkey Kong? I so wish this one had borrowed the Price is Right losing horn for those zombie pit candles.

"Gotcha, you candle-whipping prick! Welcome to zombie hel - oh you figured out how to crawl under blocks. Baw. >:[ "

Now there's a game with unforgiving time limits. "Oh, you think you're going to go somewhere and back just because it's an open plan? TIME OBA"

Another "around fish, never relax" game: Trojan on NES. Stage 2. CHAUMP~ Interesting game, been looking for a title that uses the up direction for jumping. Enemy patterns aren't really doing it for me though.

[BIL]

Favourite bit of XX's intro is the "BWAHHH" face on that old dude in the lower-right of Behemoth's page. That and how the boxart doesn't match the cutscenes doesn't match the sprites. Maybe it's all a bad straight-to-VHS Rondo sequel taking place in 1999?

I do wonder how much (if any) of the XX walk speed is simply a porting artifact VS conscious alteration. What particularly irks me is, the game otherwise behaves accurately down to little things only fans would notice. The way backstep won't activate before you land from a jump, no matter how early you've held "attack" in the air. Or how you can quickly append an errant whip to another direction before the attack frames lock in (eg, crouching right -> standing left). Then there's the rather disappointing lack of a dedicated subweapon button. Viewed like that, it does seem plausible they just bunged in the code and let god sort it out. As much as possible anyway.

Then again the invincibility period is also very screwed-up. Where Richter is invulnerable until well after he's back on his feet in Rondo, in XX he's fair game the instant he hits the ground, making inoccuous stuff like bats mortally dangerous (prime juggle opportunity). Perhaps that could be related to refresh/game speed, but I'm just grasping there (coding ignoramus). At any rate the game's just needlessly leaden, in a way none of the other traditional console Draculas are.

I love the Souls discussions on here. First became aware of the series back when Elixir, IIRC, posted a Demon's Souls thread here prior to its overseas release. Looking forward to playing them in release order sometime in the far future along with the million other post-PS2 games I never got around to before the vintage gaming cardboard bug dealt me a horrible bite. ^_~ (have actually had a crummy Greatest Hits Demon's Souls SE@LED ZOMG for years but imma play it I swear!)

[KindGrind]

I love the Souls discussions on here. First became aware of the series back when Elixir, IIRC, posted a Demon's Souls thread here prior to its overseas release. Looking forward to playing them in release order sometime in the far future along with the million other post-PS2 games I never got around to before the vintage gaming cardboard bug dealt me a horrible bite. ^_~ (have actually had a crummy Greatest Hits Demon's Souls SE@LED ZOMG for years but imma play it I swear!)

Defile that S34LZ already!1

I find Souls games and hard retro games pretty connected, to be honest.

My last year or so of binge playing lots of NES/SNES games was interrupted by Bloodborne momentarily (only post 1998 games I've played this year, I think), but I found the challenge to be just right, without a doubt the rock hard games I have been playing of late had humbled me somewhat, and I was ready to take a beating. Turns out most NES games are harder than the new Souls brethren, as I didn't die as much as I thought I would. Simple controls, intelligent design, healthy dose of challenge - these are the makings of a good game, old or new.

[BIL]

I've no post-2001 consoles sadly. 3: It's all about pleasure and pain. ;3

[Squire Grooktook]

I 100% approve of Demon's Souls on account of the ultra lengthy checkpoints (15-20+ minutes if I recall) bringing the real arcade nail biter style tension.

[KindGrind]

I 100% approve of Demon's Souls on account of the ultra lengthy checkpoints (15-20+ minutes if I recall) bringing the real arcade nail biter style tension.

Unlocking shortcuts (very few at that) in this game is almost as rewarding as killing the bosses themselves.

[BIL]

Seems I fought off my recurring DORAKYURA XX rabies only to catch the Capcom/Disney variant from this thread, so I picked up Ducktales FC aka WANPAKU DUCK YUME DAIBOUKEN. (・｀ω´・) bouncy bouncy! Certainly is nice cooling off with this after getting my smouldering ass cheeks handed back by Yoko and Undeadline.

No idea if there are any regional differences, text aside, but this is another of those FC games whose overseas release (NTSCU) came first. I'd hoped Unca Scrooge might be indulging in a spot of NUSA-verboten tobacky like the Little Nemo chaps (fascinating stoly there).

[cicada88]

It would be interesting to see if there are any region changes in the Capcom Disney games. I kind of doubt it, but you never know.

I've been using the US versions for my playthroughs as they generally came out at the same time or first in the US (Darkwing Duck, Tale Spin and Adventures in the Magic Kingdom didn't see a JP release according to Wikipedia).

[BrianC]

It would be interesting to see if there are any region changes in the Capcom Disney games. I kind of doubt it, but you never know.

I've been using the US versions for my playthroughs as they generally came out at the same time or first in the US (Darkwing Duck, Tale Spin and Adventures in the Magic Kingdom didn't see a JP release according to Wikipedia).

There's a region change for Rescue Rangers, but it's just some minor graphical corrections in the intro.

What about differences in non-Disney Capcom NES games? Gunsmoke was on FDS in Japan and has less music than the NES version (FDS version's music repeats after stage 3). Megaman 2 has an extra difficulty mode and fixes a few minor text issues ("pass word" to password and "Clash Man" to "Crash Man"), but is otherwise the same. Megaman 3 has a couple minor stage differences (1 room has changed) and fixes some bugs.

Bionic Commando is one of the more famous ones and one of the few where I have both versions on cart.

[BIL]

Top Secret is one of the FC sidescrolling library's big gains over NES. Really benefits from the extra enemy presence - it feels close to the arcade game at its busiest points. All joking about the Naziriffic plot aside, I really like the uncensored graphics. The game has a certain campy, brutal neo-WWII aesthetic that's totally lost on NES. It's like a Japanese Wolf3D, haha.



Dig that blood-drenched logo. edit: dig it in monsta rez too

I don't own anything in multiple regions ATM, but if I ever get into NES collecting, CVIII and NGIII are dead certs. Love the FC games but I consider the NES versions the definitive. Wouldn't mind Bloodlines and Hard Corps either, though their NTSCU upgrade is far less significant.

[cicada88]

Finished DuckTales 2 tonight with a 1CC on "Hard" getting the hidden treasure ending.

Tomorrow, I am going to play through DuckTales 1 to get the better ending that I missed on my first Hard mode 1CC, and then run through Rescue Rangers 1 & 2 again so everything is fresh in my mind before giving my overall rankings and impressions.


Hitler no Fukkatsu/Bionic Commando might be my next game to go through--I've *NEVER* gone through any game in this series.

[BIL]

Highly recommended! One of the jewels in the FC sidescrolling action crown, along with all the usual suspects from Konami, Tecmo, Natsume et al.

The Game Boy entry (titled "Bionic Commando" in all regions) is just as good, actually better in some regards - smoother grappling engine, more challenging level designs and much more developed boss battles. It's ostensibly a remake of the FC game, but storyline aside packs easily enough innovation to be considered a proper sequel. Killer soundtrack as well. Worth getting an SGB or GB Player for entirely on its own.

[BrianC]

I read about the Duck Tales proto on The Cutting Room Floor. Some interesting differences. It's also where "Dream and Friends" came from. One odd thing is that Bubba's dialog was changed to be more like the cartoon version in the final, but Bubba lost his caveman speak in Ducktales 2. doh!

[BIL]

It'll always be Dream and Friends to me! Actually the FC version still has it, bahaha.

Of minor note, the prototype's Transylvanian crosses now read "RIP" on FC, just like in the retail NES version. While Dracula IV's graves were left unmolested, this domestic release held no respite for the sanctity of the dead. :[

[nosorrow]

The Game Boy entry (titled "Bionic Commando" in all regions) is just as good, actually better in some regards - smoother grappling engine, more challenging level designs and much more developed boss battles. It's ostensibly a remake of the FC game, but storyline aside packs easily enough innovation to be considered a proper sequel. Killer soundtrack as well. Worth getting an SGB or GB Player for entirely on its own.

BIL, thanks to you, I just bought the game this minute.

I've been a major NES Bionic Commando fan since I purchased the game brand new with my own money back in April 1989 (I was 12!). Hopefully this plays as well as you say.
I'll be playing it on the GameCube (Game Boy Player) with one of those GBP Hori pads.

What's everybody's take on Kid Dracula here (not talking about the regional differences graphics-wise, just the gameplay)? Is it worth it? For the record, I am a pretty big 2D Castlevania fan (I own pretty much all of them, even Legends).

[cicada88]

What's everybody's take on Kid Dracula here (not talking about the regional differences graphics-wise, just the gameplay)? Is it worth it? For the record, I am a pretty big 2D Castlevania fan (I own pretty much all of them, even Legends).

I played through this game around Halloween last year. It's a good, decently challenging platformer. It honestly has very little to do with the Castlevania series gameplay wise. There are some references here and there though like a simplified clock tower level. You pick up new abilities of the previous boss that you can use in future levels au Rockman.

It's got some decent graphics but it does tend to flicker and slowdown quite a bit. The bland colors kind of kill any technical merits of the graphics. Music didn't stand out at all.

TL;DR - I personally find this game somewhat overrated due to its association with Castlevania & it being a Japanese exclusive Famicom game that doesn't require any Japanese. It is definitely worth a play through. Box art is also very strong

I also just realized you might be talking about the Game Boy version which is the same type of game but that I've never played

[nosorrow]

I also just realized you might be talking about the Game Boy version which is the same type of game but that I've never played

Ah! yes, I should have been more clear. I have pretty much all I ever wanted on the original Game Boy front, I'm kind of looking to add a game or two if they are really worth it and one of those titles is the aforementioned Kid Dracula, while the other is Solar Striker (which I also have yet to play).

[cicada88]

I also just realized you might be talking about the Game Boy version which is the same type of game but that I've never played

Ah! yes, I should have been more clear. I have pretty much all I ever wanted on the original Game Boy front, I'm kind of looking to add a game or two if they are really worth it and one of those titles is the aforementioned Kid Dracula, while the other is Solar Striker (which I also have yet to play).

Well, from all things I hear and my experience with the home version, I would say Kid Dracula would probably be a good pickup for you, especially as a Castlevania fan.

Solar Striker comes highly recommended if you are a fan of BW GB. Just get it.

[nosorrow]

I would love for Nintendo to hire a few Cave guys and develop a full-fledged modern shmup based on the Solar Striker license (lol).

Yes, it's so cheap I might as well get it.