Harmful Park and other exotic unknown Shooters...

[ST Dragon]

Well, if there is one good thing about the Top 25 Thread, then it must be that you get to find out about unknown exotic shooters like these:

Harmful Park

http://uk.geocities.com/nightopian64/sc ... _pics.html
http://uk.geocities.com/nightopian64/re ... _Park.html



I had never heard of these PS-1 shooters before:

Kyuiin
http://uk.geocities.com/nightopian64/sc ... _pics.html
http://uk.geocities.com/nightopian64/re ... yuiin.html

Gaia Seed - Project Seed Trap

http://uk.geocities.com/nightopian64/sc ... _pics.html
http://uk.geocities.com/nightopian64/re ... _Seed.html


Let alone this French shooter StarRay! (Even though being an AMIGA fan my self! )

http://atariforce.free.fr/tilt/tilt/starray.htm

When was this released by the way, around 1988?

[BulletMagnet]

Just as a bit of trivia, IIRC the reviews n' stuff on the site you linked to were stolen from here:

http://users.pandora.be/twin-dreams/menu.html

Back on topic, Harmful Park is a personal favorite of mine despite a few annoyances; Kyuiin is unique, but overall not as impressive. Never played Gaia Seed, and with the price it goes for, probably never will, heh heh.

[Limbrooke]

Harmful Park is one of the most enjoyable shooters ever made. It's well made with clean graphics and a story too. The scoring system is also well developed. A title worth picking up.

[professor ganson]

Never heard of StarRay. Interesting.

Harmful Park is the only first-rate title among the other three. It's one of the top games on one of the top systems for shooters. Like Harmful Park, GaiaSeed is fun, nice-looking, and thought to be too easy. In the case of GaiaSeed it is thought too easy in part because, as I recall, your life bar refills as time passes. In the case of Harmful Park it is thought of as easy mostly because the default setting is "Easy."

[Ghegs]

Harmful Park is one of the most enjoyable shooters ever made. It's well made with clean graphics and a story too. The scoring system is also well developed. A title worth picking up.

Indeed, Harmful Park is (almost) worth the price it usually goes for. I especially like the Score Attack stage, more people with the game should play that.

Not so much with Gaia Seed. I've played it exactly two times - first time to 1CC normal difficulty, second time to 1CC hard difficulty. Yes, first attempts on both cases. It's really that easy. After that it has rested undisturbed in my shelf.

[Ceph]

Like Harmful Park, GaiaSeed is fun, nice-looking, and thought to be too easy. In the case of GaiaSeed it is thought too easy in part because, as I recall, your life bar refills as time passes.

So you aren't angry at me for pointing the Gaia Seed auction out and thereby practically forcing you to buy it?

[Limbrooke]

Indeed, Harmful Park is (almost) worth the price it usually goes for. I especially like the Score Attack stage, more people with the game should play that.

Not so much with Gaia Seed. I've played it exactly two times - first time to 1CC normal difficulty, second time to 1CC hard difficulty. Yes, first attempts on both cases. It's really that easy. After that it has rested undisturbed in my shelf.

Yes, it's odd how STS made default 'Easy'. It really gives off the wrong first impression.
I must say that the Score Attack is pretty intense on any mode, but it's loads of fun. Combo-ing is great too. Everything except the Pototo/fries weapon can do some serious points.

[professor ganson]

Like Harmful Park, GaiaSeed is fun, nice-looking, and thought to be too easy. In the case of GaiaSeed it is thought too easy in part because, as I recall, your life bar refills as time passes.

So you aren't angry at me for pointing the Gaia Seed auction out and thereby practically forcing you to buy it?

Dude, I owe you one. A great price for a quality game. I never met a shooter that was too easy for me.

[nem]

Just as a bit of trivia, IIRC the reviews n' stuff on the site you linked to were stolen from here:

http://users.pandora.be/twin-dreams/menu.html

Except they weren't stolen. The Geocities one is the guy's first homepage before he migrated over to Pandora:

April 25 2004

The big decision has been made to finally transfer the site from Geocities unto Pandora, which will make my work both easier and harder at the same time.

[BulletMagnet]

Doh, you're correct. I must've been thinking of this post from the newer site:

Looks like the people at http://www.retrogaming.it/ found it good enough to "borrow" a bunch of pics from my reviews. ;P

[Ghegs]

I must say that the Score Attack is pretty intense on any mode, but it's loads of fun. Combo-ing is great too. Everything except the Pototo/fries weapon can do some serious points.

The difficulty options don't affect the Score Attack stage, it's always the same. The high-score thread is sorely lacking in competition for it.

[captain ahar]

harmful park is simply the shit. i've never regreted buying it (and at $80, no less). DantesInferno rocks, wherever he may be...

The high-score thread is sorely lacking in competition for it.

yeah, cus that thing is intimidating. i've cleared it exactly once, and the score was rubbish. -_-

[professor ganson]

i've never regreted buying it (and at $80, no less).

That's actually a good price, assuming the game's in good condition. I bought it on EBay from a really nice guy in England, and it was like $130-140, something like that. This was at least a year ago.

[captain ahar]

i've never regreted buying it (and at $80, no less).

That's actually a good price, assuming the game's in good condition. I bought it on EBay from a really nice guy in England, and it was like $130-140, something like that. This was at least a year ago.

its in awesome shape. might even have the spine... i've not played it in ages.

[Nei First]

i've never regreted buying it (and at $80, no less).

That's actually a good price, assuming the game's in good condition. I bought it on EBay from a really nice guy in England, and it was like $130-140, something like that. This was at least a year ago.

its in awesome shape. might even have the spine... i've not played it in ages.

Wow, I must ask you , in your opinion is the game worth that? or do you regret spending that much? I mean you did say you haven't played it in ages.

Score attack mode aside, the apparent ease of completing the game is off putting cos I'm worried about longevity vs price. But it sounds like the game plays good, it definatly looks good. With this game can I afford to wait another year, with hopes of a surprise bargain popping up? I mean there are still essentials that I don't have yet, which I could otherwise spend the cash on...

[captain ahar]

it is pretty easy, but then there are other difficulties if you are feel up to it (they get hell hard).

it was a great purchase for me, and i haven't played it lately. but i have lots of games i love that don't "get much love." as far as price goes, its value isn't going anywhere (except up). i'd say if you have the means and can find a reasonably priced copy, buy it. then if it isn't your cup of tea (for some crazy, crazy reason) you can sell it at or greater than cost (but not too much greater, profiteers are a nuisance).

another thing that is really worth mentioning. despite the "ease" of the game, it simply plays really well. all 4 weapons have their place (well maybe not all four ), and the scoring system is very well designed given the enemy patterns that are thrown at you.

and aside from all that. the game is just adorable! KAWAII! ^_^

look at this screen and tell me you aren't selling your car for ze cash

[Limbrooke]

harmful park is simply the shit. i've never regreted buying it (and at $80, no less). DantesInferno rocks, wherever he may be...

The high-score thread is sorely lacking in competition for it.

yeah, cus that thing is intimidating. i've cleared it exactly once, and the score was rubbish. -_-

I haven't yet cleared it or the game myself.
I'm more keen on highscore before clearing, and as a result my scores aren't that great. Eventually I'll post some up.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

StarRay is a defender clone with loads of paralax. (not to be confused with Overkill) I remember finishing it back in the day.

[Herr Schatten]

Never heard of StarRay. Interesting.

I think I mention it in every other thread about good Amiga shmups.

[Nei First]

it is pretty easy, but then there are other difficulties if you are feel up to it (they get hell hard).

it was a great purchase for me, and i haven't played it lately. but i have lots of games i love that don't "get much love." as far as price goes, its value isn't going anywhere (except up). i'd say if you have the means and can find a reasonably priced copy, buy it. then if it isn't your cup of tea (for some crazy, crazy reason) you can sell it at or greater than cost (but not too much greater, profiteers are a nuisance).

another thing that is really worth mentioning. despite the "ease" of the game, it simply plays really well. all 4 weapons have their place (well maybe not all four ), and the scoring system is very well designed given the enemy patterns that are thrown at you.

and aside from all that. the game is just adorable! KAWAII! ^_^

look at this screen and tell me you aren't selling your car for ze cash

Lol nah I'll keep my car thanks. Thanks for your insight, the game looks incredible that's for sure. I'll be looking around for deals.

[captain ahar]

but its frankenstein and he's giving us the finger while shooting lasers at us in a vain attempt to make us die!

[professor ganson]

That's actually a good price, assuming the game's in good condition. I bought it on EBay from a really nice guy in England, and it was like $130-140, something like that. This was at least a year ago.

its in awesome shape. might even have the spine... i've not played it in ages.

Wow, I must ask you , in your opinion is the game worth that? or do you regret spending that much? I mean you did say you haven't played it in ages.

Score attack mode aside, the apparent ease of completing the game is off putting cos I'm worried about longevity vs price. But it sounds like the game plays good, it definatly looks good. With this game can I afford to wait another year, with hopes of a surprise bargain popping up? I mean there are still essentials that I don't have yet, which I could otherwise spend the cash on...

Is it worth $135 or so? Probably not for most shmup fans, but for me it's easily worth it. All around one of my top five games for aesthetic appeal-- both look and sound. Gameplay-wise it's not in my top 10, but still very appealing. And remember, the game is really only easy on the default setting "Easy," but there are plenty of more challenging difficulty-levels to choose from. Even on the Easy setting, the game gets pretty manic.

[Nei First]

@captain ahar: lol I'll whoop mr frankenstein's ass with my Dezorian Nei sword of justice!


@Professor Ganson: So having Harmful park, is like having a rare but beautiful car as a trophy, right?

[BulletMagnet]

In terms of price for Harmful Park, I got mine for around 70 bucks some time back (no spine, otherwise good) and thought I got a good deal...others, however, said that they managed to nab it for around half that. I forget who it was who claimed that though...in any event, I suppose that there's at least a deal or two out there for the game. Also be aware that, while I and others like the game a lot, others who have played it haven't been nearly as fond of it, so get as much info on the thing as you can before spending the dough.

[Turrican]

StarRay is quite good - besides the very heavy graphics for a Defender clone, it is remembered mainly because it should have been one of the top launch killer-apps for the infamous Konix Multisystem. There was an article about it on Retro Gamer.

I didn't recall it was made by a French developer though.

[Ceph]

In terms of price for Harmful Park, I got mine for around 70 bucks some time back (no spine, otherwise good) and thought I got a good deal...

Same here. After waiting for a good deal to come up for almost a year, I eventually managed to snag a copy for 60 Euros (shipped) last year, that's like 72$. It's a good game. If I had to buy it again, I'd be willing to spend more on it, it's definitely worth it.

[Ganelon]

Harmful Park is really fun; even though I don't like cute-em-ups, this game is just so warm and fuzzy and not very difficult that it feels like a nice virtual stroll through a sunny day in a park.

[professor ganson]

@Professor Ganson: So having Harmful park, is like having a rare but beautiful car as a trophy, right?

Hmm, I think it's more like what Ganelon suggested: instant fun in the sun right there in your stash of games.

[EOJ]

Just picked this up on ebay (no spine, but otherwise supposed to be in nice condition) for $71. Looking forward to it.

[Limbrooke]

Just picked this up on ebay (no spine, but otherwise supposed to be in nice condition) for $71. Looking forward to it.

Oh...that was you.
Well I might have took another stab at that one too, if I wasn't working.
There was this one a few days earlier, and I really wish I didn't miss that also.
http://cgi.ebay.com/HARMFUL-PARK-Playst ... dZViewItem
(Even though the manual is slightly faded.)

Same guy sold Gradius Gaiden for $30 too, would've been nice on combined shipping.