I agree about the sometimes repetitive and/or barren backgrounds in Drac X SNES. But for me the biggest visual failure is its tendency for backgrounds to look washed-out and greyish. E.g. on
Stage 6, the "black" background is much too grey; lookit the way the skeleton outlines and crow are a far more popping shade of black. The skeleton shouldn't need such a silhouette and the crows should instead be greyer to show up against darker, more vibrant backgrounds. Similarly, the worldmap is absolutely beautiful but its colors look weirdly faded, and not in an evocative sort of way.
I'm not asking for everything to pop or for the background to be as colorful as the sprites (which can distract); and a muted color palette is sometimes used appropriately in the game, e.g. in the murky swamp-caves of st4'. But often I feel like the intended colors are struggling to get through the monitor.
On a different note: anyone have action side-scrollers to recommend on Steam while the summer sale is on?
Volgarr the Viking is my main jam on Steam just now. A very thoughtfully constructed game with quite distinctive terrain/enemy arrangements, and challenges that require careful use of the hero's move-set. It can be a bit slow-paced, and the emphasis is on figuring out and rehearsing the right tactics rather than improv (there's very little randomness). I worry that it might become too easy upon repeat play, but it's no joke and I'm told there's expert levels.
Other Steam recommendations: Oniken (Vice Project Doom-like game); They Bleed Pixels (just getting into this but it seems promising: difficult platforming in a slippery, spike-riddled dreamworld, with some macabre beat-em-uping thrown into the mix). Look forward to watching some of Squire's
runs after I clear it. I am a little bit annoyed by TBP's ubiquitous use of plain black walls + floors---a common indie-platformer design that is crisp and stylish enough, but ultimately can make level environments feel disposable and unmemorable (see also Electronic Super Joy, where everything's in silhouette).
Wings of Vi looks very intriguing and challenging, hope to get to it soon. I'd also like to look into some more roguelike-ish games such as Spelunky and Rogue Legacy; recommendations welcome.
Super Meat Boy is a great value on Steam. Perhaps my #1 game ever, it's also the one that brought me back into serious gaming as an adult. Maybe not the best game aesthetically, but it has gobsmacking amounts of superb acrobatic jumping action, with a hero who (for the most part) controls as well or better than Mario.
It's gotten some dislike on this forum for its bite-size challenges and dubious hardcore reputation. And it's true that its characteristic flavor of grinding practice (with infinite lives) on short hard segments is not exciting in the way that a limited-lives campaign can be; but it is still addictive, and an effective tool to build skill that lets the player focus their efforts on the parts they need to learn (much as one might use save states). The hardest levels, even though they're doable in a minute or less, actually do have a long sequence of quick but tough hazards, forcing players to struggle to get practice on the later ones.
It also cuts out a lot of the downtime of traditional games, the plodding along and easy-enemy-slaying and candle-whipping filler which, sure, can help build atmosphere and tension, but is not the main reason to play. And what I've found is that, both in Meat Boy style "hardcore" platformers and in more traditional NES fare, a tough game only really shines long after you clear it for the first time, when you've already put in the practice and have enough skill to aim for low-death runs. At that point the difference between formats is lessened and Meat Boy can have a similar sense of being on a tense, exciting campaign, but with an exceptional density of skilled action segments that is really satisfying.
I really do wish there were a limited-lives option (choose between 1000 lives to start, or 100, or 10, or 1; and with some 1ups thrown in). That would motivate me to get more skilled at worlds where the no-death achievement is out of my reach. (My best no-deaths are in Hell on light-world, and Hospital + The End on Dark World.) Of course one could also design one's own rules for a run to add tension and a sense of achievement.