Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BIL]

I was holding the spinning jump attack item, and realized I could hold down and attack and cancel it.....which led to another discovery. If you hold down and attack in midair, you can mash the button and attack much faster!!! That discovery made the first phase of the last boss incredibly easy.

I didn't know about the down+B rapid slash trick until making this thread - cool that you found it yourself.

Jaquio's a beautiful example of lethal simplicity. The attack doesn't look like much, but hitting him without getting clobbered yourself takes a surprising degree of forethought. You need to devise an exit and entrance for each hit, and getting greedy will see you swarmed. It's a pretty unique fight, and really the only one that measures up to NG1 template Castlevania's best.

[Shoryukev]

I didn't know about the down+B rapid slash trick until making this thread - cool that you found it yourself.

Jaquio's a beautiful example of lethal simplicity. The attack doesn't look like much, but hitting him without getting clobbered yourself takes a surprising degree of forethought. You need to devise an exit and entrance for each hit, and getting greedy will see you swarmed. It's a pretty unique fight, and really the only one that measures up to NG1 template Castlevania's best.

It came out of frustration of not being able to attack without using up all my alt-weapon points

It definitely is unique, the way the orbs move around can be hellacious if you let them get the best of you. Seeing the link of you tackling it on the first page of this thread (HERE) will probably help. My approach was far less systematic (mainly just shouting obscenities at the screen and flailing my thumbs all over the controller...the wife took interest in what I was playing and she usually never cares LOL), but it's good to know there is a way!

Is there any method to getting the orbs he throws at you to disappear at the bottom of the screen? When I was fighting him it seemed like they cricled around and came back up to try and hit me again.

[BIL]

Is there any method to getting the orbs he throws at you to disappear at the bottom of the screen?

Yes, absolutely. Basically, they behave like the game's much-loved Eagles. ;3 If you're on the floor when they're launched, by the time they reach you they'll have picked up enough speed to go clear offscreen. If you're on the pedestals, or worse, level with Jaquio, they're gonna hang around and make life hell. You'll notice in that replay, I do fine until I take a minor hit, then try to rebound too aggressively and promptly lose half my lifebar before backing off to regain control.

Here's a (rather bad-tempered ) breakdown of the fight in text. Prompted by a ridiculous internet dance battle elsewhere on the forum.

[Shoryukev]

Ahh I see, sounds like a game of manipulating both horizontal and vertical screen-space to trick the orbs/fireballs while trying to get hits in on the boss when you can. Also good to know that the flames are only good for one bar of health per hit, I was getting ganged up by them circling around me and it seemed like much more than that since it all got out of control so fast. Very similar to the eagles, except there's no open pit for me to fall in and get killed by LOL.

It's funny how you can watch something like your video of the boss and think "gee that looks easy", but unless you have an understanding of the inner mechanics of what's going on looks can be very deceiving. If I was using an emulator I'd just replay the boss using savestates and figure it out pretty quickly, but being sent back to 6-1 on real hardware really makes you earn it.

Fighting through act 6 over and over again does teach you how to play the game though.....there are a lot of scenarios strewn across the levels that teach you how to handle the game's mechanics. Very similar to the NES mega man games in that respect (there's a rather funny video Egoraptor made about this concept). A lot of NES games do things in this manner, and I think it is brilliant. I'd rather learn how a game works by well thought out level design showing me than sit through a tutorial or have my hand held. Ninja Gaiden sends you back to 6-1 when you die on the boss so that eventually you'll reach the end having mastered the game......if it didn't do that you'd simply master the boss-fight itself and nothing more.

[atheistgod1999]

Spoiler

I didn't use any subweapons or the down+slash trick.
https://youtu.be/Qqurqf6z4QQ

[EmperorIng]

How do I know you didn't use subweapons if the video only starts at the boss explosion?

[BIL]

Spoiler

I didn't use any subweapons or the down+slash trick.
https://youtu.be/Qqurqf6z4QQ

Nice - out of curiosity, was that a no-deaths run as well? Looks like it was, unless you didn't get any 1UPs either! edit: haha, nm, didn't see your score. ;3

Also, as topic caretaker I have the responsibility of assigning avatars for those lacking them so I took the liberty of making you one, but of course feel free to submit your own if it's not to your liking. :3

How do I know you didn't use subweapons if the video only starts at the boss explosion?

Looks legit enough to me - he's got no subweapon in that footage, so either he did it on one life (with Jaquio confiscating it as usual) or he died and made it back there without one.

edit: er, sorry, I'm very, very tired. You're right Mr. ING! I'll sit back and snooze in my armchair a bit.

[atheistgod1999]

either he did it on one life (with Jaquio confiscating it as usual) or he died and made it back there without one.

The latter.

[BIL]

Muh brainz not work good atm, sorry, I somehow thought Ing only meant the boss rush itself. Still, that's certainly a dead Jashin.

[Shoryukev]

Spoiler

I didn't use any subweapons or the down+slash trick.
https://youtu.be/Qqurqf6z4QQ

Congrats on beating it! I tried it again last night and got my butt handed to me about 5-6 times. My problem isn't so much dealing with Jaquio as it is making it to the boss-room with more than half my health bar.

I'm getting good at getting back to 6-4 fast, but that last stretch before the boss room always pummels me Ninja Gaiden is fairly similar to CV1 in the manner that it's designed to punish you for trying to rush through it in most situations. Time to slow down and really analyze the enemy patterns.

[Squire Grooktook]

It took me about 4 play sessions, 2-3 hours each, to 1 life clear Ninja Gaiden. This was from an essentially "fresh start" not having played the game in ten years (during what I would call childhood) and having almost no memory of it.

First play session: took 1-2 hours or so to credit feed it successfully, learning the ins and outs of the entire game from scratch.

Second play session: Some isolated practice on problem areas of the last stage, before successfully going for a 1cc.

Third play session: 2 hours or so trying and failing to 1 life clear.

Fourth play session: 2 hours or so ending in a succesfull 1lc.

So yeah, the games not too evil if you're a veteran to these types of games. I've certainly had more brutal experiences with shmups and side scrollers.

[electricgrave]

Nice! I'm about to embark on a new Ninja Gaiden run myself and funny enough I was thinking of taking the same steps you did. I did the same with a few NES games a few years ago, got back into Batman the Movie (Sunsoft), Castlevania, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, G.I. Joe (Taxan) and Ninja Gaiden III. I did 1CC all of them but only a No Death Run on KQF. I think it's time to get back in business but this time I'm gonna work with Ninja Gaiden, NGII, Shatterhand, Shadow of the Ninja...maybe Megaman 9, we'll see how that goes.

Continue Run.
No Continue Run.
No Death Run.

The NDR is always the part where I finally burn out, I've only managed this with less than a handful of games, however I like to think that I can
apply myself enough to make it happen. I use videos a lot at this point.

The one thing I like to do with games like NG is actually using the power ups to their full potential, knowing the stages power ups and ammo is fun for me, I like to use all those aids to their extent, I mean, I can do the sword run and everything is great but I find it more rewarding to use everything to my advantage, makes the runs look more fun too IMHO.

[BIL]

Playing the best console action games (sidescrollers and others) to one-life standards tends to bring out a quasi-coinop challenge, I find - it's hugely reinvigorated my interest in old, supposedly conquered favourites. Clearing CV1 on a single life is a very different prospect from making it to the steps of Drac's keep and collapsing in a broken heap, counting on a checkpoint refresh. Contra Spirits and Gimmick are the two finest examples of this optional challenge I've found, so far - both could go straight into a JAMMA cab with the barest of DIP switch tweaks (chop the extend frequency, add a timer) and start kicking ass and taking credits.

There's also a small but distinct cinematic aspect to really burning through a game. Simon's supposed to kill Dracula, not drown in the catacombs! More like FAKE SIMON, mirite? :O

By the way, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank (GB) is one helluva mini topdown tanking epic when cleared on single-life stipulation. You will witness the dot matrix with stereo sound devastation of all in sight...

[Shoryukev]

Playing the best console action games (sidescrollers and others) to one-life standards tends to bring out a quasi-coinop challenge, I find - it's hugely reinvigorated my interest in old, supposedly conquered favourites. Clearing CV1 on a single life is a very different prospect from making it to the steps of Drac's keep and collapsing in a broken heap, counting on a checkpoint refresh. Contra Spirits and Gimmick are the two finest examples of this optional challenge I've found, so far - both could go straight into a JAMMA cab with the barest of DIP switch tweaks (chop the extend frequency, add a timer) and start kicking ass and taking credits.

There's also a small but distinct cinematic aspect to really burning through a game. Simon's supposed to kill Dracula, not drown in the catacombs! More like FAKE SIMON, mirite? :O

By the way, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank (GB) is one helluva mini topdown tanking epic when cleared on single-life stipulation. You will witness the dot matrix with stereo sound devastation of all in sight...

There's a lot to be said about truly mastering a game vs. just beating it. One of these days I'll do a 1-life run of CV1, closest I've gotten is 3 lives. If I remember correctly I slipped up and let the birds dropping hunchbacks get the best of me on the last couple screens before Drac and died, then made it to Drac with about half health and lost the battle....THEN beat the game on the third life. The two hard parts for me is beating Death on the first try (I don't use holy water), and making it to Dracula with enough health to endure the battle.

I'm moving next monday, packing and getting everything ready is really cutting into my gaming time. I was supposed to have Ninja Gaiden beaten by now, but haven't even been able to play in the last couple days....dang it! lol

[BIL]

Real life action and/or platforming definitely takes priority, Draculas and Jaquios ain't much compared to some of that stuff.

I've been playing official Shatterhand sprite edit Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain this past week. Shatterhand is Natsume's sidescrolling masterpiece, distinguished by towering stage designs and the most finely weighted wall jumping/face punching action this side of Batman (FC). For the most part, this tokusatsu-licensed version keeps my non-NES having self very happy!

Gotta say though, its new fairground stage (Area C) is a letdown. Certainly not offensive, but decidedly mundane; none of the others' environmental sophistications, nor the rollicking violence that makes Area A the perfect opening blast every time. Even the setting is tame in comparison to their menacingly mangling, scorching industrial environs. I wonder what the development timeline was, or why they even nixed Shatterhand's submarine stage to begin with. The noticeably heavy slowdown, perhaps? Baby kinda went out with the bathwater if that's the case. Still - hardly the disaster it could've been. Short and simple beats some paint-drying autoscroller or rote pattern test any day.

Recorded a quick replay, now that I can mostly go without regular powerdowns / dead Options / firepit pratfalls. By total coincidence with my above gripes, Area C.1 was by far my poorest stage. Mostly sloppy play and lack of due attention... but I am compelled to point out the game (both NES and FC incarnations) is mildly affected by one of my old bugbears, HACK OR SLASH (PICK A CARD).

Spoiler

Zako runner overlapping with stationary sniper? Item box overlapping with bullet? Whatever the case, if you swing at two things you're only hitting one. Makes the first half's enemy arrangements deceptively punishing of a head-on attack. You kinda have to dance around 'em and I was lazy. I pass up C.2's HP station outta pure spite. 3: Sunsoft definitely takes the wall jumper/face puncher crown in this category, sorry Natsume! The riot shield guy who welcomes you to Area F.1's closing fence/fire gauntlet is one prick who benefits richly from this flaw, overlapping as he does with an item box (that might just contain a grenade for added comedy value). Luckily this tends to not be an issue elsewhere.

Why do I never seem to find cool glitches/bugs/etc? Also, grr! I hate it when later stuff messes up things Akumajou Dracula (1986) got right the first time! Rarr! Oh, also, your first jump upon entering a new stage or area will always be max height, so shake it out before commencing operation.

Also, I got brought down to 1HP by gravity inversion gal (Area E boss), but she's a real temperamental hussy so I dun care LMAO. Sometimes it's a near-instant kill. At least in Solbrain she is kinda cute! On NES, you get some boney ghost instead! :O What is it with Natsume and denying cute vg wimmenz to the Western youth?! Nah, I was happy with my close katana technique on that stage's magnetic mineys, so eh.

Managed to not totally cock up the last stage, only tanking one persistent trouble spot (first MG trooper in anti-grav tower). What a sustained technical rush that final area is, a crescendoing of almost tangibly grueling superhuman maneuvers. The last boss ain't half bad, either - I really like his fireball/shoulder mixup, and how he can turn chunks of floor lethal at random. He's very crushable with practice, particularly if you reach him with ample firepower, but never unsatisfyingly so - keeping pointblank to land big damage is always an entertaining shuffle.

As excellent as its handling and stage designs are, the unique synergy of its Option mechanic is my favourite aspect of this game. Outside of Guilty Gear's Zato/Eddie, the closest sidescrolling equivalent I can think of is GAU Entertainment's superb Ex-Ranza (MD). However, its support bike feels more discrete weapon than extension of the character's body. Almost makes me wish this had been a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure license, haha. I could totally go for an entire game of ABA/Katana. Their fragility might be initially irksome, but besides that making deft handling and clean kills especially rewarding, it was a smart move with well-kept Options meaning more POW time. It's critical to note you can reposition them to your back without walking forward, by crouching and hitting the diagonals.

[electricgrave]

BIL you devil! I'm taking notes on the Shatterhand talk, I'm gonna be honest, I've only scratched the surface with that one, but I always wanted to dive deep into it, game plays so smooth.

As for No Death Runs...well, I know what you mean about the challenge, it's more in par with an arcade 1CC but still, games like Castlevania last stage calls for more than an arcade 1CC I think, I mean, you can bomb all day on some final stages/boss...no such thing in CV, you just gotta speedrun that ledge to perfection and then deal with the tower which isn't as bad as the ledge BTW.

[BIL]

Hwaa, corrected replay is finally up.

BIL you devil! I'm taking notes on the Shatterhand talk, I'm gonna be honest, I've only scratched the surface with that one, but I always wanted to dive deep into it, game plays so smooth.

I still feel much the same. ^__^ Besides its sheer tactile finesse, the routing of POW rampages is a very cool strategic element. Loads to tinker with on both immediate and longterm levels... hugely substantial game!

As for No Death Runs...well, I know what you mean about the challenge, it's more in par with an arcade 1CC but still, games like Castlevania last stage calls for more than an arcade 1CC I think, I mean, you can bomb all day on some final stages/boss...no such thing in CV, you just gotta speedrun that ledge to perfection and then deal with the tower which isn't as bad as the ledge BTW.

My favourite bit of stage 6 is the Skeleton Bros tag team, at the clock tower's summit. Smack between two large, deadly setpieces requiring crisply executed strategy, you've got a jittery little skirmish that can all too easily take a nip out of your scant resources, or even kill you outright. It's the part that makes me most nervous, tbh. No lie, I've had a storming 2-ALL run end when I fell down the stairs while rushing at the lower bro. I just stared into the screen for a bit afterward.

[Shoryukev]

BIL you devil! I'm taking notes on the Shatterhand talk, I'm gonna be honest, I've only scratched the surface with that one, but I always wanted to dive deep into it, game plays so smooth.

As for No Death Runs...well, I know what you mean about the challenge, it's more in par with an arcade 1CC but still, games like Castlevania last stage calls for more than an arcade 1CC I think, I mean, you can bomb all day on some final stages/boss...no such thing in CV, you just gotta speedrun that ledge to perfection and then deal with the tower which isn't as bad as the ledge BTW.

If you're holding onto the stopwatch sub-weapon, that last stretch before Drac isn't so bad. You're safe while you're on the stairs since you can't be knocked back by getting hit, but my biggest problem is I'll often take a hit from one of the hunchbacks before I can latch onto a set of stairs.

[Volteccer_Jack]

The riot shield guy who welcomes you to Area F.1's closing fence/fire gauntlet is one prick who benefits richly from this flaw, overlapping as he does with an item box (that might just contain a grenade for added comedy value).

For what it's worth, I think that particular riot shield guy is next to that box intentionally; you're supposed to hop on top of it and punch him back, then you can stand between them and open the box in between the next few punches it takes to finish him off. One of my favorite moments is shortly after that, when another riot shield shows up right as you are climbing over a fire, and you have to jump just right if you want to get there before he blocks your landing (Gravity Bitch is the only reason I haven't attempted to speedrun Shatterhand).

Also, you can punch repeatedly in place to reposition the robot, if you don't want to make the robot aim downward by crouching. With the bouncing shot and enough aiming tricks, you can clear out most enemies without ever going near them. And you can throw the robot off screen if you just need it gone for a couple seconds (be careful it doesn't get hurt flying back to you).

[BIL]

I like the way you think Jack.

One of my favorite moments is shortly after that, when another riot shield shows up right as you are climbing over a fire, and you have to jump just right if you want to get there before he blocks your landing

Yes - this bit vexed me at first, since my landings were inconsistent, and retreating to safely lure him out is terribly lame. Then I noticed shielders move dramatically quicker when your back is turned, Boo-esque, and this particular one was preying on my inadvertently doing just that mid-jump. BOOM, momentum restored! That shield won't stop your god damn body from exploding, you prick!

(Gravity Bitch is the only reason I haven't attempted to speedrun Shatterhand).

God almighty, how did I neglect to link that run? Frame-perfect Smug Smoking Cat every time.

And you can throw the robot off screen if you just need it gone for a couple seconds (be careful it doesn't get hurt flying back to you).

This and this. It's a great respite if your buddy is ill-suited to the current task (Katana is weak vs Area F's swordsman boss), but it's no free lunch. I ended up switching to Grenade for the final stage rematch with aforementioned - was just too easy to have him leap between me and my returning buddy. Nothing more heartbreaking than hearing him explode offscreen. ;-;7

[Obscura]

2ND OPINON



starring TEH LORD OF KING (FC / Jaleco, 1989) aka ASTYANAX (unlike Metafight, the JP version unfortunately has the same shitty NES story! But STFU haters, my cart is glorious nippon ver)



Revisited this one recently, having previously been turned off by its strict one hit per attack policy. Where Dracula, Ryukenden and similar games let you smite a theoretically unlimited horde of foes with each measured strike, or blow away meddling pests while assailing a heavy target, Lordy nullifies your attack after the first hit. Coupled with the charge period for strong strikes, this can be awkward and frustrating! That popcorn pest wafting its way between you and the armoured skeleton you're counting on smacking into a pit with a mighty charged blow, before it does the same to you? IT'S GOING TO RUIN YOUR SHIT, ABORT ABORT ABORT. Instead you should expend power on the popcorn, back the big guy off with a weenie whap, then batter his fuck in on the rebound once recharged.

This system irritated the hell out of me the first time around, but with a bit of adjusting I started enjoying it as a distinct handling characteristic (and yes, I do now have to re-evaluate Legendary Axe!). It gives the game a nice rhythm between smacking away meddling pests and dealing heavy damage to big targets. The weapon selection is also more interesting than I realised. Instead of merely obsoleting each previous level, Dracula-style, the spear, axe and sword improve melee damage while steepening magic ammo cost. Creates a mild mage/cleric/warrior tactical dimension, and you can freely trade up or down provided an item box is nearby (and you know the sweet protip of exhausting MP to make fairy appear).

JUDGMENT: Solid, chunky and decently challenging action game with a few interesting ideas. Worth getting cheap, as it seems to go for even CIB.

+Nice style & tunes, medieval battle fury makes boners rage and bub-bubs bounce
+Big chunky sprite FC action done right, fuck a Dynamite Batman
+Interesting melee/magic weapon balancing
+Jaleco cart & box look so goddamn wrong all your friends will think you're a badass pirate
+Fundamentally solid: controls sharp, scrolling locked down, collisions tight

-One hit per swing setup takes adjusting to
-Dumbass story puts slight ding on medieval funnins

edit: ok, I'm really loving this rollicking good time once you learn to work around the one-hit system...
edit2: ...and embrace the YGW-worthy WEAPONISED BOMB. Seriously, bomb like a motherfucker. Get all the kills. Fairy will fuel you back up before long but not until the tank's dry!

So, I just gave this a run, having not played it since I was a kid.

Axe = best weapon, easily. Enough physical damage to SMASH bosses, reasonably cheap spells. The spear does so little damage that it isn't worth using, and the sword limits your spellcasting too hard to be practical. I didn't know you could trade down? I thought you had to follow the Axe -> Spear -> Sword progression?

Can't say I agree with "fundamentally solid". I still don't know how you're "supposed to" walk through the doors in the last level; the best I could do was just wiggle my stick across the "up" directions while standing in front of it. The little flea enemies dropped by the giant eyes sometimes go right through you, and I'm not certain why. The bosses are some of the most pathetic in sidescroller history, with two of them that can be stunlocked in the corner (and one of those is re-fought in the final stage!), one that is totally neutered by just crouching in the center of the screen, and multiple that have literally unavoidable attacks that you just damage race. The "large damage bar means dishonest challenge design" pattern strikes again!

Level design is pretty reasonable, although a lot of it is really, really easy. I wish there was more stuff like those plants in stage 3 that force you to land on the very edge of a ledge and quickly give them a charged slash. The later stages tend to devolve into "spam time-freeze spell and run for it", with stage 4 being the worst offender.

[BIL]

Ah, Teh Lord of King. What an annoying box to have on a shelf, WTF Jaleco. I may record a replay sometime to demonstrate my approach to its raggedy yet workable giant sprite+giant lifebar action. :3 It's the sort of game that's very tankable, yet I still find fun to play more calculatedly. A minor personal favourite.

The weapon powerup item (looks like an axe) does only go one way, axe/spear/sword. But you can freely choose weapons at the fairy's "shop," at least in the FC version. Hit [down] and you'll open the weapon menu. AFAIK, after you've opened a couple item boxes, exhausting MP before the next will usually cause her to appear. I kinda like that dynamic, haha.

FAILY PLS aka Bomba's Last Reward

Spoiler

Can't say I agree with "fundamentally solid". I still don't know how you're "supposed to" walk through the doors in the last level; the best I could do was just wiggle my stick across the "up" directions while standing in front of it. The little flea enemies dropped by the giant eyes sometimes go right through you, and I'm not certain why.

For the doors, you need to hold [up] for a second or so. The eyes' bouncing projectiles are harmless to touch, it's when they explode that you'll take damage (think Contra's Snowfield grenades).

The bosses are some of the most pathetic in sidescroller history, with two of them that can be stunlocked in the corner (and one of those is re-fought in the final stage!), one that is totally neutered by just crouching in the center of the screen, and multiple that have literally unavoidable attacks that you just damage race. The "large damage bar means dishonest challenge design" pattern strikes again!

By fundamentals, I mean the most basic elements of a sidescroller. Stuff like camera tracking, control response, collision. If a character's riding the edge of the screen (MD Aladdin) or dropping inputs (Holy Diver) or just hopelessly uncalibrated to the game's demands (Dynamite Batman), any finer aspects like stage and boss design will suffer. Ultimately, I'll take a game with rock-solid basics and throwaway bosses like Ninja Gaiden over something more ambitious that trips on its own shoelaces.

Lordy is nowhere even remotely as good an example of this as Ninja Gaiden, I hasten to add.

[Obscura]

If you go for weapon change on the fairy, how long will it be until you run into another, since you're still at zero magic?

[BIL]

Dunno, from what I've seen you really don't want to change weapons if you'll be needing magic shortly. IIRC you'll get an HP+MP restore before the next fairy.

I've been fooling about with it today, actually ended up using the sword for virtually the whole game. By st5 it can bludgeon big enemies pretty nicely, leaving the occasional freeze for traversing pits. I used to try switching to Spear for more freeze magic in st4.1/MARSHY, but exhausting the sword's MP and recharging with the Fairy works about as well. What a grueling stage... I'd forgotten how ridiculous the slowdown gets, haha.

Collision is actually a bit better than I'd recalled. I also like the "elbow strike" animation when you attack something at point-blank, gritty. Game could've been significantly tuned up with a block mechanic, and fixing the one hit per swing issue, and less reliance on wafty popcorn pests... in case it's news, Makyou Densetsu aka Legendary Axe (PCE/TG16) is supposed to be very similar and much better. Same director as the arcade TLOK, and it shows. From what I've played it is indeed a much more credible action game than FC Lordy. Still need to put more time on it, though. Its pseudo-sequel Ankoku Densetsu (marketed as an actual sequel on TG16) ditches the charge mechanic, but has a similar feel. I really like that one, a basic but gratifyingly solid hack/slasher.

[Vludi]

One hit per attack is the worst mechanic ever, especially in beat 'em ups like D.D. Crew (which i'm trying to 1cc anyway because i'm masochist)

What do you think of arcade Astyanax? i find it a better spiritual sequel to Legendary Axe than the NES version, the last level is damn weir thoguh.

[BIL]

I've never actually played the arcade version, though its last stage's bizarre tonal shift is justly known far and wide. It's like late-80s action games could barely keep the Aliens influence at bay.

Oh god yeah, I hate the one-hit thing almost as much as inertia in an STG.

[trap15]

D.D. Crew (which i'm trying to 1cc anyway because i'm masochist)

IMO it works for D.D. Crew, though it's very unconventional as a result. It's actually a favorite game of mine.

Did an AGR (strategy and game discussion w/ replay; STGWeekly but for not-STG) with Macaw and funkdoc on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Kn-F_7x2U

[Obscura]

Just gave Legendary Axe a try; meh, actually not as good as Astyanax NES. The jump is annoyingly floaty; you have to hit straight-down to crouch, diagonal-down doesn't cut it (really annoying for those of us who play on stick, since it means that walk forward -> crouch requires going through the center instead of just pulling the stick down); collision detection is sort of wonky; foreground decorations obscure the action a lot. Also, I'd say it also doesn't look as good as Astyanax NES, despite being on a more powerful console (to be fair, Astyanax is damn good looking for an NES title).

[Vludi]

D.D. Crew (which i'm trying to 1cc anyway because i'm masochist)

IMO it works for D.D. Crew, though it's very unconventional as a result. It's actually a favorite game of mine.

Did an AGR (strategy and game discussion w/ replay; STGWeekly but for not-STG) with Macaw and funkdoc on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Kn-F_7x2U

Yeah, there are max 4 enemies on screen and they aren't too fast, so the jump+attack and run+heavy attack tactics work just fine, also tons of extra lives in the way. It's just that it's not very exciting to play for me, since the enemy variety gets old fast and you are doing the same tactics with all of them. Just died in the final boss btw

I watched that episode indeed, waiting for more AGR videos!

[Obscura]

So, since I'm in the mood for an action platformer, I bit the bullet and tried Mighty No. 9.

Screw the haters, this game isn't bad at all! The dash gives it a great kinetic feel, and the way it's integrated into combat gives it a wonderfully aggressive rhythm. I love that the "E-tanks" in the game come from actually using the absorb mechanic well, instead of "exploring". The boss fights so far have been really nice, too (I've killed Pyro, Cryo, and Aviator), although Aviator could have stood to be a bit of a shorter fight, admittedly.