Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[FinalBaton]

Haven't played them in a while. I remember liking 'em, but yeah there was some frustration.

A must get for Sega-CD collectors IMO, the music on that platform is amazing. Atmospheric af and extremely well done

[Stevens]

Atmospheric af and extremely well done

See with cheats turned on, and a sparked joint, Ecco becomes a totally different game, very peaceful..

[BIL]

Haven't played them in a while. I remember liking 'em, but yeah there was some frustration.

A must get for Sega-CD collectors IMO, the music on that platform is amazing. Atmospheric af and extremely well done

Aww sheeit, I just noticed the first game got an NTSCJ Mega CD release. Might nab it. The OST is at times formidable, as with Open Ocean... vast and pitiless, yet starkly beautiful, much like TEH OPEN SEA ITSELF (Biruford Attenborough). Rather unhappily, the JP Ecco 1 cart replaces Open Ocean's Genesis BGM with an utter piece of shit! Wahhh! 3;

The second game didn't get JP CD release, it seems, but even on cart its audio quality is dramatically better than the slightly tinny first game.

The JP Ecco 1 cart also lets you respawn at the final boss if you die, rather than repeat the entire lengthy stage beforehand, which might be of interest. Seems to be a particularly contentious checkpoint among fans - mostly hated, but I've seen a couple people insist it makes Welcome To The Machine the trial it should be. No strong feelings either way tbh.

[FinalBaton]

Rather unhappily, the JP Ecco 1 cart replaces Open Ocean's Genesis BGM with an utter piece of shit! Wahhh! 3;

Aaargh... that swap is no good : ( What were they thinking?

See with cheats turned on, and a sparked joint, Ecco becomes a totally different game, very peaceful..

Exactly And our friend LegendByGod on youtube seems to agree :



In addition to being a survival horror game, Ecco is deep-psychedelia and will fuck your mind.

That game is absolutely, totally, without a doubt, kvlt af.

[Sumez]

Played the original Ecco through on MegaCD (actually on an emulator on the original Xbox as I didn't have a MegaCD at the time, but I did have Ecco for it), and I definitely enjoyed it, despite it getting stupidly weird in the 11th hour. The chill early part of the game is definitely the best. And the soundtrack for sure - Ecco The Dolphin is New Age: The Game. He even has stars on his forehead.

Never played the second game, but I'm pretty sure it's sitting somewhere in my collection. And so is the MegaDrive version of the first game, and the Dreamcast sequel. I don't really know why I got these games in the first place.

[Stevens]

Oh and the ost for Tubes of Medusa? Drool.

[FinalBaton]

Oh and the ost for Tubes of Medusa? Drool.

That one is better on the ol' YM2612, for sure. just fucking insane

The whole Ecco II ost on cart is worth listening to, it's good stuff.

[drauch]

Man, that turtle in the corner is killing it.

[FinalBaton]

Man, that turtle in the corner is killing it.

I like to think it's both extremely wise AND confident
some sort of badass Omniscient turtle grandmaster

[BIL]

Looks like he's been hanging out with beloved Sonichu icon the perpetually blazed Yawning Squirtle.

[FinalBaton]

haha yes he also looks high af, no doubt
looks like he's been 420 blazin' it HARD

[BrianC]

Man, that turtle in the corner is killing it.

Especially since it isn't a ninja turtle.

[Sumez]

I can't be bothered with either FDS or NES collecting, though the latter is certainly more likely to occur at some point.

I'm sure we've touched on this before, but.... that means you are missing out on Kickmaster? I feel like that game is a major representative of the Hold Right While Killing genre and where it could have gone if it hadn't died with the next generation of consoles. Insert mandatory Yagawa comment.
Other interesting NES exclusives are Startropics, Zen Intergalactic Ninja, Monster In My Pocket, the G.I. Joe games, Akista's Ring, and the better version of Powerblade. And a personal favourite: Nightshade.
Lest not forget your own favourite version of Ninja Gaiden 3.

[BIL]

Pretty much my want list right there Kick Master is easily the most pressing of the pure exclusives, seems very cool and is vouched for by many cool peeps like yourself! I immediately took a shine to the YGW-esque powerups tumbling downscreen.

I technically have NGIII (and the similarly-advantaged CVIII), just in beat-to-hell cart-only state. With how much harder it seems to get NES stuff complete in good nick, I'm toying with just gutting some loose carts and printing custom labels / snapcase papers ala Strider77.

I'd never consider that with JP stuff, partially because they seem to have simply taken better care of their stuff over there (I don't mind edge wear or creasing at all - adds character imo - but not the "backed over in the driveway, fell into a belt sander" stuff I see listed as "very good" ), but also because I generally don't find Western formats as charming. I still recall going "WHAT THE FUCK" and immediately after "THAT IS SO FUCKIN CUTE" when I got my first FC cart, Akumajou Densetsu (seller pics made it look NES-proportioned).

[Sumez]

My copy of Kickmaster is cart-only, and probably the worst condition of any of my NES carts (not counting the Deja Vu that got completely mauled in the mail), with some weird allergy-like blisters forming on its surface.
But I got it for practically peanuts, I can't complain. I'm happy with what I have.

[kitten]

shamefully posting in here while neglecting to keep up with skye's response to me (i am sorrrryyyyy, i will get to it T_T) to mention i also vouch for kickmaster. it's my favorite KID game by a fairly wide margin (not counting recca, one of the few i don't own), and one of the only titles they've made that i unreservedly love without having to give serious caveats on its highly idiosyncratic KID quirkiness.

it's very good for serious marathon sessions, too! each loop gets successively more difficult and starts to increase enemy health (among some other things), though by loop 4 the numbers are so bloated that the game becomes monumentally tedious and i just drop it. sweet spot would be right between loop 2 and 3 imho - 3 is a little too rough on how much you gotta wail on enemies, but 2 feels real good, if a taaaad bit short of the sweet spot. loop 3 gives you full ending and feels like the intended end point, but it breaks KID tradition and keeps going past that.

my record with it is nomiss up to loop 2's end, and then 1cc up to loop 3's end. would one day maybe like to do a nomiss of all 3, but loop 3 gets tuff.

[Ghegs]

I've made it to the last stage in Kick Master a few times, but have always failed in the vertical climb with rocks dropping on you -bit.

Great game, and the second stage with the creepy-ass skeletons in the background is one of the most memorable and graphically best NES moments, I think.

[kitten]

graphically best NES moments, I think.

yeah! kickmaster looks really, really good. you can tell it has to be done by the same graphic designer(s) as some previous KID games (low g man, both g.i. joe games, max warrior, burai fighter), too, what with the way the sprites are done, the heavy usage of the purples on the fc palette, etc. really feels like their scrolling action magnum opus in other ways, too.

[BIL]

Instantly noticed that distinctive Max Warrior style in the cutscenes, love it. That score tally portrait of Max is one of the most wordlessly plaintive around, any platform.



Ninja, Randar and Max - my ultimate FC buddy action trio. The BOSS / The ARMS MERCHANT / The PLAYER CHARACTER

[kitten]

^ which game is ninja from? not recalling from the graphic

[BIL]

FC Gun.Smoke - thought it'd be especially apropros given today's conversations.

[Sumez]

Kick Master's are definitely among the most unique graphics on the NES. Stylized in a way that you'd almost think wasn't possible with such a low fidelity, and occasionally looking almost like a glitch (especially with a composite signal) due to how unusual it is, with its heavy use of a thick black outline, that resembles rude scans of hand drawings.

[kitten]

FC Gun.Smoke - thought it'd be especially apropros given today's conversations.

ah, shoot, been a bit since i played it! i should maybe pick it back up and record a play, if only to show how fucked up my cart is. i don't think i ever went for the 1cc on that one. or maybe it's one of those games that doesn't let you continue and i didn't go for the nomiss. i genuinely forget - lotta games that force 1cc's to even reach the end screen that i forget to write notes that distinguish that.

from my notes -

"my cartridge is amusingly bugged, and gets progressively worse through playthroughs. it happens every time in the same way, regardless of how much i clean it. it starts as just switching the letter "O" with the letter "G", but eventually starts replacing many letters and screwing up a few background tiles. still very playable, but a little annoying and quite funny."

maybe i should just bang out a completely amateur run to show what happens to my cart and then go get one that doesn't screw up. would i get the fc version, or the other nes label, though...

[BIL]

JP Gun.Smoke is disk-only, sadly - I'd totally nab a copy otherwise. Irritates me how most of the in-house Capcom ports seem to be on FDS, while the Micronics crap got lovely carts. >_<

[BrianC]

JP Gun.Smoke is disk-only, sadly - I'd totally nab a copy otherwise. Irritates me how most of the in-house Capcom ports seem to be on FDS, while the Micronics crap got lovely carts. >_<

The only ones I'm aware of that were FDS exclusive were Gun.Smoke and Section Z. One early in house Capcom port, Senjou no Ookami, is so glitchy it's surprising that it's NOT Micronics.

[BIL]

Oh right - must've blown it out of proportion in my head, haha. Still irritates the hell out of me, Konami's FDS stuff much the same (Gyruss, Jackal). It's such a picky, transitory platform in comparison to the FC's immortal cartridges.

And yeah, Senjou is definitely in Micronics territory. The BULLETS will fly out of Super Joe's ANUS

[Sumez]

I really want that FDS Gyruss though... It's the only game I can think of in the entire FDS library that really utilizes its FM sound well.

[FinalBaton]

Let us not forget that Star Tropics is a great game!!! as Sumez said (regarding the NES-exclusive talk)

BIL, y no u collect NES Are you not a patriot????? You're making bald eagles cry

[Sumez]

StarTropics is incredible. I was really won over by it after decades of reluctance to play a probably-half-assed "zelda clone".

[BIL]

BIL, y no u collect NES Are you not a patriot????? You're making bald eagles cry

It's like I said a few months back, I hail from... CUCK ISLAND (■｀ω´■) You can't expect too much of me.