Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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soprano1
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by soprano1 »

ChurchOfSolipsism wrote:I'll make sure I'll download it illegally one day...
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Sumez
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

Much cheaper than new SNES games ever were, and only half of what of what iam8bit is selling those overpriced Mega Man carts for.

I think it's hard to sell SNES games much cheaper than that and still turn a profit.
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__SKYe
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

A bit off topic, but a few days ago I found my old Mega Drive, my Game Boy Colour and my chinese Famicom knockoff, along with a bunch of games for those systems, including some for the Master System (also have the SMS converter to play them).

Unfortunately the MD is a model II and requires a 9-pin mini DIN to connect to the TV, which I don't have around, and the only FC joypad I found has a semi-busted D-Pad.

I took a pic of the more amusing carts.

Two of those chinese compilation carts (999-in-1 or thereabouts)
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My Ninja Crusaders cart, which I can only assume is a bootleg because the JP cart pics I can find are nothing like it. It does have a different case than the other bootleg carts I own, though it is quite beat up and the stickers are long gone (in fact, I think they were already gone by the time I came into its possession).
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And by far the most amusing is this one:
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You'd think this is a game based on the Home Alone movie(s), but as it turns out, this is a bootleg of Konami's Rollergames, though it's lacking the regular title screen and instead boots to one saying DJ Boy.
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The one I couldn't find was the Boukenjima 2 cart, though it was, of course, also a bootleg (I originally asked the shopkeeper for a Mario game and he game me this. Fortunately the game was quite good). :lol:

Also learned how unwieldy it is to play the original Pokemon Pinball on a GBA SP. :lol:
Last edited by __SKYe on Tue May 29, 2018 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BrianC
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BrianC »

Sumez wrote:Much cheaper than new SNES games ever were, and only half of what of what iam8bit is selling those overpriced Mega Man carts for.
Not to mention that a few of the iam8bit carts (not sure about the latest ones) had warnings that they could set fire to the system.
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BareKnuckleRoo
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Okay, so I don't know if I've ever gushed about what might be my fave Metal Slug/Contra style sidescrolling run 'n gun, but here goes:

Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
is amazing. Here's a 2-ALL clear of it I got in the AA version (presumably the JP/World revision). It's one of the few Konami games that wasn't badly butchered in the western release and changed to have quarter munching shenanigans like health draining over time. They did change the default settings in the western version to remove level select oddly enough, but that can be fixed in the menu options, and the only other major change is an adjustment to one particular enemy's hitbox which makes it tougher (though not much). It's basically a spiritual successor to Sunset Riders and is based on an old kids show franchise (made by one of the artists from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I think). I was introduced to it and became obsessed with it, clearing both loops on each of the released versions. Here's the 2-Loop clear of the North American UA version. It's also the first time I cleared loop 1 deathless. This version has endless looping by default; I didn't bother playing past loop 2 as I was tired and the loop doesn't seem to increase in difficulty or change substantially in loop 3 onward.

What's really cool is it has a kind of universal dodge (as in full i-frames) that's done by using a dash attack and immediately cancelling it to do this kind of spin jump in the opposite direction. (I refer to it as Dash Cancelling in the walkthrough below.) It makes it relatively easy for an arcade clear compared to Sunset Riders, while still being fun thanks to how satisfying Dash Cancelling to dodge is, and there's also a fair number of health items in the game too, and a final boss who uses a friggin SHORYUKEN on you. It's badass and it's actually pretty reasonable in difficulty if you're looking for something not too brutal (easier than some of the console versions of Contra to 1CC I'd argue), though the final boss is a definite difficulty spike over the rest of the game.

I even got obsessed enough to make a damn walkthrough of the thing, so no excuses not to see more folks give this a whirl, right? It might actually be the best of any of Konami's franchise/licensed games (Simpsons, X-Men, and TMNT beat em ups all had really wonky hit detection and boss mechanics compared to this). The bosses are fair and actually telegraph their attacks here, and don't magically break out of stagger/stun unpredictably at random.

EDIT: because GameFAQs is kinda obnoxious, here's the full walkthrough I wrote for the game reposted here:

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (Arcade)
Game Guide/Walkthrough
By: BareKnuckleRoo
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Contents:

1.*** Foreword
2.*** Version Differences
3.*** Controls
4.*** Items
5.*** Walkthrough
5.a*** Stage 1: Cowtown
5.b*** Stage 2: Niagara Desert
5.c*** Stage 3: Sheeza Butte
5.d*** Stage 4: Ghost Town
5.e*** Stage 5: Mine
5.f*** Stage 6: Jane Meadow
5.g*** Stage 7: Cowtown Bank to Skull Mountain
6.*** Afterword

•••••••••• 1.*** Foreword ••••••••••

Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa, often referred to as Moo Mesa for short, is an arcade game based on a kids television series of the same name. It was made by Ryan Brown, who did a lot of work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Konami was well known for making a lot of games based off of licensed franchises, such as beat 'em up games based on X-Men, The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more. Many of Konami's arcade releases are also infamous for making their North American releases considerably different than the original Japanese version, namely for the worse to make them more of a credit feeder with unfair mechanic changes. Life bars turned into continuously draining numbered health bars, health items removed or rendered useless, additional enemies added, etc. Generally speaking, if you want to play an arcade game that's difficult, but still remains fair, play the original Japanese version. Some companies such as Capcom had fewer regional gameplay tweaks in their games, and the differences vary from game to game, but Konami tended to be one of the worst offenders for regional tweaks.

Moo Mesa however is an unusual rarity; it's a run and gun game that could be considered a spiritual successor to their earlier game Sunset Riders. Unlike Sunset Riders which had different arcade boards for 2 and 4 player versions, Moo Mesa allows you to set 2, 3, or 4 player based on a dip switch setting. It also features relatively minor regional tweaks, so regardless of what version you play, the game is very enjoyable. Sadly, it has never had an official port to console or PC, and only the arcade version remains playable.


•••••••••• 2.*** Version Differences ••••••••••

Four known versions of the arcade game exist, identified on the boot screen and board markings: AAB, EAB, UAB and UAC. The AAB and EAB appear to be identical in gameplay as far as I can tell (input replays synchronize perfectly). Based on naming conventions for other Konami arcade games, the AAB version presumably is the original Japanese version of the game, and the EAB is probably the European release. UAB and UAC are presumably the USA releases. Unlike other Konami releases, the USA versions aren't too drastically altered, although there are some silly changes. This guide applies to all versions of the game, and differences will be noted where applicable. Specifically, these are the differences to be aware of:

* AAB/EAB start you with 2 extra lives, UAB/UAC start with 1 extra life.
* AAB/EAB have level select enabled, so after the first level you can play the levels in the order you like. UAB/UAC have a fixed level order.
* AAB/EAB are set to a 2-loop game. After beating the game once, you play through the game again in a slightly harder second loop. UAB/UAC loop endlessly and never ends until you game over. The difficulty appears to max out at the second loop though.

These changes can actually be adjusted under the test menu's options. You can adjust the lives, level select, and the looping in the UAB/UAC version to be like the AAB/EAB version.

There are two changes that CANNOT be adjusted under the options though:

* AAB/EAB allows you to use the joystick to select your character in 4 player, UAB/UAC version forces you to use the character associated with the joystick slot (1 = Buffalo Bull, 2 = Marshal Moo Montana, etc).
* AAB/EAB have a few less enemies in the first level than the UAB/UAC version.
* The enemies that crawl on the ground and roll bombs at you can be hit by simply ducking and shooting in the AAB/EAB versions. In the UAB/UAC versions, your shots will pass over them if you duck and shoot. To hit them, you need to jump (or be close to them) and fire downwards at them.

That last change is significant enough to change how you approach certain segments, but it doesn't change the difficulty of those sections considerably, so for all intents and purposes, the UAB/UAC version isn't too much harder to beat on a single credit.

Under the test menu for the game, you can find the dip switch settings which show you what they do, as well as an option menu for the Game Options where you can change settings. These are the default settings for AAB/EAB version and the recommended settings if you're playing the UAB/UAC version:

Player's Life: 1 credit=3 lives
Stage Selection: Available
Loop Setting: Game over after second round

There's also a Difficulty Level setting in here but I'm honestly not sure what this adjusts. Enemies may perhaps be a bit more aggressive? But for the most part I haven't noticed anything significant in terms of changes when I tried setting it to the hardest setting. The 4/Medium setting is the default on all versions. The number of players you play with also doesn't seem to adjust the difficulty/number of enemies.


•••••••••• 3.*** Controls ••••••••••

Joystick: Aim and move in 8 directions! Press down to duck and avoid attacks, or when you're near a detonator to set off dynamite.

Button 1: Shoot. Tap this to fire rapidly. When you get a Rapid Fire powerup you can hold this to shoot, but you fire faster if you tap manually, so plan on mashing shoot during boss fights.

Button 2: Jump. You can't control your jump height and will always jump at the same height. Hold up while jumping to grab onto higher ledges. Hold down and jump to drop from a ledge to the ground.

Hold Up + Shoot + Jump (while standing on ground): Close-range jumping attack. It's not documented in the game manual, or in-game. It's a melee spinning jump attack that instantly kills weak enemies and does a small amount of damage to bosses. It's an amusing novelty that's never worth using.

Shoot + Jump (while standing on ground): Dash attack. You'll start running forward, ramming into enemies until you bounce off a solid barrel or enemy. You need this to destroy certain stationary barrels. If you tap the joystick in the opposite direction you're running, you will immediately cancel the dash attack and go into the spinning animation as if you hit something. While you're in the spinning animation, holding
left or right on the joystick will adjust where you land. Dash attacks generally do not do much damage to bosses and will simply momentarily stun a boss.

The dash attack is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL to playing well, because you are 100% invulnerable to damage when you're in the spinning recovery animation. You can be hit/shot out of the dashing animation, but what you can do is dash in the opposite direction you want to move, and immediately cancel the dash to dodge. So, to dash cancel to the left, dash right, then push the joystick left to cancel the dash and dodge
through anything to the left. Any bullets you touch will disappear harmlessly, and no enemies can touch you. This technique will be referred to as a "Dash Cancel".

Dash cancels are an essential technique to learn for dodging since you can evade everything with it, and will be referred to extensively in this guide.

Shoot + Jump (while carrying an item): Use item. If you want to use a dash attack, you have to first use up whatever item you're carrying.

NOTE: The majority of the levels are standard run and gun levels, however there are two flying segments where a bird inexplicably carries you, and it plays more like a shmup. Moving and shooting is fairly intuitive, but your regular jump becomes a flipkick attack, and your dash attack becomes a mostly useless forward dash attack that can't be used for dodging since you can't cancel it.


•••••••••• 4.*** Items ••••••••••

Money Bag: Gives you points depending on the size of the bag.

Detonator with Explosives (barrels with skulls wired to a detonator): These can be found in a few stages. Press down when you're standing next to the detonator to cause all the barrels to explode, damaging nearby enemies.

Every so often you'll encounter flying chickens who can be shot to drop an item. These items are NOT randomized and as long as you successfully shoot the chicken that appears you will find the same items in each stage every time you play:

PowerUp (egg with a red P): Your shot changes from one bullet to three bullets. It makes it wider and easier to hit with, but doesn't seem to actually increase the damage you do. Lasts until you lose a life.

Rapid Fire (egg with a blue R): You can hold down shoot to fire rapidly. You can still shoot more quickly if you tap the button yourself, which is recommended during boss fights. Lasts until you lose a life.

Sarsparilla Soda (green bottle): Recover 1 unit of health. If you are at full health when you shoot a chicken carrying one of these, it'll instead drop a large money bag for points. Note: your health is fully recovered between levels.

Horseshoe (a blue horseshoe): Flies around you for a short period of time, damaging enemies it hits while making THE MOST ANNOYING SOUND IMAGINABLE.

Star Shield (light blue star): You are invulnerable to damage while this is in effect. Be aggressive until this runs out!

1UP: Gives you an extra life! Only 1 to be found per loop in the Ghost Town.

The following items are ATTACK ITEMS; when you grab one it'll float above you, and you can use it when you like by pressing shoot + jump.

Punch (a boxing glove with a spring): Fires a giant boxing gloves left or right.

Axe: Throws an axe that then boomerangs back towards you. Pretty useful.

TNT (stick of dynamite): Throws a stick of dynamite that explodes when it hits the ground. It's hard to use effectively, fairly rare though.

Lightning Bomb (blue orb): Looks cool and pulsates while carrying it. Instantly hits everything on screen for a fair bit of damage. You are NOT invulnerable while using it, and it makes it difficult to see for a few seconds, so careful when using it if there's a bullet about to hit you!


•••••••••• 5.*** Walkthrough ••••••••••

Unlike Konami's earlier arcade game "Sunset Riders", all the characters in the game play the same. The only differences are their appearances. Also, Marshal Moo Montana fires star badges as opposed to bullets.

This guide will follow the same stage order as the default setting on the UAB/UAC version. The order you play the stages in slightly affects the difficulty of the levels, generally in terms of the number of enemies that appear. Bosses also are slightly more aggressive if you select a level later.

The goal of this guide is to teach you strategies for beating the game with a single credit, as opposed to pumping credit after credit into the game. The game is difficult, but fair, and is entirely reasonable to beat on a single credit (the game's actually relatively easy compared to other run and gun style games thanks to the ability to dodge with the dashcancel).

Generally speaking, you can safely touch enemies without taking damage. You'll only take damage if the enemy actually shoots or attacks you, except in cases where touching the enemy is the hazard itself (like the barrels that are rolled at you in some levels).

If level select is disabled, the stage order is:

Cowtown

[five selectable stages]
Niagara Desert
Sheeza Butte
Ghost Town (there's a 1UP located here every loop)
Mine
Jane Meadow

[final level]
Cowtown & Skull Mountain -> proceed to loop 2

The second loop is similar enough to the first loop that I'll simply make a note at the end of each stage about what changes in the second loop.

Insert credits. Hit start. Pick a character. Let's rodeo!


•••••••••• 5.a*** Stage 1: Cowtown ••••••••••

If you haven't played before, take the time to get used to the controls. If you dawdle for too long in one spot you'll get a Hurry Up warning. A few seconds after it appears for the 4th time a bull-tornado (inexplicably with the letters "Andrew" flying around it) will appear and kill you. It's
the only thing that technically can hit you during the invulnerable spinning recovery on your dash attack, but the time limit is extremely forgiving in this game, so you should never have to worry about it.

Proceed right, grab the PowerUp, dash attack the barrels. Watch out for the wanted poster here as it will actually attack you. Grab the axe item, use it if you like.

UAB/UAC versions have a cactus enemy here as well as an extra wanted poster to the left of the explosives in front of the building. Set off the explosives, grab the cash for points. Points don't give you extra lives or anything though, so you can ignore the money bags if you want.

Shoot the chickens that appear; an invulnerability Star Shield shows up along with another powerup. None of the black bull enemies are particularly difficult and if necessary you can duck under their shots, or dash cancel across the screen. In front of the church a chicken will drop
a sarsparilla soda or a money bag depending on if you're hurt or need health. Watch out! As you walk in front of the church the bell will drop and bounce off the ground. Avoid it, collect the Rapid Fire item from the chicken, quickly shoot the larger bull with the giant mace. He'll take a
swing if he gets close. The large bull takes a lot of hits, but if he gets close you can dash cancel to get some distance from it.

BOSS: Sheriff Terrorbull

He has a lot of health, but is very slow. His two fastest attacks can be avoided by simply ducking (his basic punch and the gun he fires). When he pulls out a knife and starts spinning, he'll fly up off-screen; simply watch for the shadow on the ground to see where he'll land. If he makes
a jumps straight up he'll use a slide kick when he lands which is easily avoided by jumping or dash cancelling through him.

If he taunts you by punching his palm (makes a clapping sound), he'll use a really fast punch that travels across the screen. This is his most dangerous attack, but it can easily be avoided by timing a jump, or by dash cancelling behind him. Just keep shooting and he'll drop without
much difficulty.

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

In the second loop, lots more enemies appear. In particular, the end of the stage is quite tough, as bomb-rolling enemies appear in a swarm, as well as several large bulls at the same time. Saving the Axe you can get near the start of the level can help deal with this.


•••••••••• 5.b*** Stage 2: Niagara Desert ••••••••••

Flying levels are a nuisance, and not as much fun in my opinion. You can jump to do a flipkick, and your dash attach is a short-ranged bull charge that boomerangs back to the bird that's carrying you. Simply shooting away is usually the best way to deal with the flying levels though.

Remember; you can safely touch the enemies without taking damage here, so be aggressive and shoot down all the bulls being carried by bats. If you're playing multiplayer give the Rapid Fire powerup that appears to someone who hasn't got it yet. Next, a Lightning Bomb will
appear (the blue orb). Grab this and DO NOT USE IT UNTIL THE BOSS. Do not accidentally do a dash attack or you'll use the bomb instead. Saving this until the boss will make the boss much easier.

Your hitbox is pretty big; when the missiles appear, if you're worried you can't shoot one in front of you down in time simply move out of the way. The missiles go down in one hit though, so even though they move quick they're pretty easy to deal with.

Stay low as the train appears so that you can deal with the enemies on the track that appear in front and behind you. Keep firing so that your bullets will score a hit as soon as they're onscreen! Next, bees will appear onscreen. The bee swarms take a surprising number of hits to go
down; you'll have to be aggressive to deal with them quickly, but you can evade them if necessary. Just watch for the bees that are launched at you from the swarm.

A couple of hot-air balloons appear after the bees. Stay at the top of the stage and simply keep shooting the bulls that try to drop bombs. As long as you're not hit by a bomb you can fly safely in front of the balloons. There's a horseshoe item that appears after the first balloon, and a
couple cannons dangle from the back of each balloon. You can totally ignore the cannons as if you're high enough they're totally harmless.

There's a mini-boss here, the IDA 1. DO NOT USE THE LIGHTNING BOMB YET. Stay at the left hand side of the screen and fire away at the body. When the gun winds up, get out of the way! As long as you're at the left side of the screen, you're safe. You'll have to shoot down the exploding
balloons it launches at you, but that's not too hard. At one point a chicken will appear with a health soda - it's easier to grab if you let the chicken float halfway across the screen.

Don't be too aggressive; as long as you're patient and wait for an opening to take shots, this boss is pretty trivial.

BOSS: Saddle Sore

A scorpion cowboy appearing with an even bigger scorpion cowboy! You can jump onto the scorpion claws as ledges, but this usually isn't that helpful.

Start shooting directly up at him; as soon as he's done taunting and your bullets start making contact with him, fire off the Lightning Bomb you've been saving. It will damage him as well as destroy the giant scorpion's stinger, taking out something that could have attacked you as well as
giving you an item at the same time. Unusually, the item the stinger drops appears to be randomized; I've seen PowerUps drop as well as Star Shields.

When Saddle Sore launches giant poison orbs, they only hurt when they actually explode. The smaller pellets he fires as a spreadshot are more dangerous; carefully maneuver through the gaps or dash cancel through them.

When you deal enough damage, Saddle Sore will jump to the ground. Keep away from him as he can do a quick melee swipe on landing. Dash cancelling can avoid the pellets he fires, and ducking will avoid his claw when he fires it like a boomerang. If it goes a short distance stay
ducking; if it travels a long distance, the claw will stretch out and hit you on the way back even while ducking. You have to be ready to jump over it or dash cancel through it.

Saddle Sore's somewhat tricky until you become comfortable with dash cancelling, but he's still among the easier bosses. The next two bosses we'll face are probably the toughest ones aside from the final boss.

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

The mini-boss is much more aggressive and uses its attacks much more frequently. You have to be very patient with how you attack it so you don't accidentally get hit. Over-aggressiveness on your part is the real danger here. Other than that, the level appears to be more or less the
same in loop 2.


•••••••••• 5.c*** Stage 3: Sheeza Butte ••••••••••

The bull enemies here can hide in the plants on the ground. If they point their guns they can't be hit; you have to wait for their head to poke out or for them to jump out. In the UA versions or if you pick this stage later on in the rotation, a large enemy with an axe can appear at the start.
Shoot it rapidly or, stay away from it by jumping up to the ledge when he drops down.

Watch the barrels in front of the wall. Just behind the wall, there are bomb-rolling bulls you need to deal with here. It's easiest to stay on the ledge and jump up, firing diagonally down at them. Be careful of the bomb explosions!

Past the conveyor belt are red barrels that get thrown at you. Shoot them while advancing slowly. If you're having trouble getting an opening to get on the ramp, do a dash cancel on the ramp. At the broken section of the ramp you can jump and fire down at the enemies
below. Once you get to the waterfall, get ready; this is probably the hardest part of the level aside from the boss. To get up the waterfall you have to alternate between mashing the shoot and jump keys (don't tap them together, doesn't seem to work as well). Avoid the debris! My
recommendation is to stay low, and then when the log at the top of the screen appears, quickly get up to the top. The debris comes down pretty quickly, so be careful.

Carefully inch forward to the right, shooting the three barrels that appear. Just past the barrel at the bottom of the screen a chicken will come from the left of the screen. He's got a health item if you're hurt. Keep going right, enter the skull cave.

There's snake mini-boss here. It telegraphs its attacks by yelling and opening its mouth, which are easily dodged by dash cancelling. It has one fairly quick bite attack that it alerts you to with a different sounding hiss; if you have trouble, simply get ready to dash cancel when it stops
moving. At the start of the fight if you run underneath its head and shoot up you can do a lot of damage, speeding up the fight significantly.

Note that jumping on top of the snake's head lets you ride it (until it attacks again!).

After the boss, another wall you have to shoot through. Chicken drops a Rapid Fire here if you need one. The bomb-rolling bulls are the big threat here, but there's platforms you can jump up onto a fire at them from above. The platforms are also the perfect height to fire across at
the gatling gun bulls in the towers.

Past the three barrels to knock down is an enemy shooting at you from a barrel. You can jump straight up and fire at him to safely hit him without getting near. Another gatling gun, and then there's a set of sand bags here. As you approach the sand bags be ready to deal with bomb-rollers coming from behind you on the left. After, quickly fire up at the gatling
gun in the next tower and take out the barrel gunner. Dash cancel out of the way if you're fired at! One last gatling gunner before the boss (make sure you deal with it before the boss fight starts or it'll be able to fire at you during the boss).

BOSS: ??? (Strangely, the pre-level screen doesn't identify him, unlike the other levels, and I don't recognize him from the TV show, though a similar spider named Sid shooting webs does show up in episode 4)

This spider boss is pretty tough. It jumps between two platforms (which you can't reach) while either firing webs in a spreadshot, or throwing knives directly down. Do NOT stand underneath the platforms! The knives come out super fast, so keep firing diagonally up at it when it
jumps around. If you have to evade its shots, you can dash cancel through them, just make sure to get back to the middle of the screen.

When the spider boss decides to drop to the ground it uses two attacks. The first is a high jump where it tries to land on you. This simply requires walking or dashing out of the way. The much more dangerous one is where it makes a short hop and rolls in your direction, bouncing off the
screen. DO NOT dash cancel here! If you dash cancel, you're likely to be hit after you land as the spider boss bounces off the edge of the screen. The easiest way to dodge it is to jump straight up or towards whatever side of the screen you're closest to. In between its attacks the spider
boss is very vulnerable when it's on the ground, so keep firing away!

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

An axe-wielding large bull shows up at the start of the level, and the various red barrels that bounce and roll at you contain bull enemies that you need to shoot after breaking each barrel. The waterfall might be a bit more aggressive about debris too? The mini-boss and boss are both
unchanged from what I can tell.


•••••••••• 5.d*** Stage 4: Ghost Town ••••••••••

If you do this level later on (or in loop 2), enemies will show up in the coffins at the start of the level. If you start firing up right away you can deal with a couple of them, or you can simply go right and ignore them altogether. Watch out for ghosts - they take a couple shots to kill, and
will grab you if they touch you (quickly wiggle the stick to break free).

Around the corner of a building is a wagon in the background with barrels. Be careful here! When you approach, the barrels will fall off the wagon, hitting you if you're in front. The hitbox for this is pretty sizeable, so either approach carefully or dash cancel past it. One of the chickens
here drops a TNT which is helpful for the mini-boss coming up. Watch out for the pink buzzard enemies that fly past and dive down at you around here.

In front of the horror house is a ghost mini-boss. If you have the TNT, stay on the left side of the screen and throw it at the boss as it appears; the blast should detonate on the pedestal in front of the horror house, doing a bit of damage. The boss has only a couple means of attacking.
The first is it will float up and down, and try to stretch out to attack you. As long as you're on the opposite side of the screen, the stretch will just barely miss you.

The other way it attacks is by flying at you. It'll go offscreen and back onscreen a total of three times before it stops again, each time it appears onscreen it'll pick either high, medium, or low to fly in at you. You can eliminate the guessing by simply dash cancelling through it as
it flies at you, so you're as far away as possible each time it appears on screen.

Just past the mini-boss is a chicken with a punching glove, and more coffins with bulls inside. The coffin lids block your shots, but if you jump up and fire the glove, it'll go right through all the enemies. Or simply run or dash cancel past them. Once you're at the flaming crate, make
absolutely sure to shoot the chicken down here as it drops a 1UP item!

The flaming crate launches spooking flaming jack-o-lanterns at you. Dash cancelling them will cause them to vanish midair and is recommended to avoid them to give yourself breathing room. When they touch the ground the jack-o-lanterns take a second to fade away,
and are safe to walk through. Depending on if you're playing this stage later in the game or not, you will have to deal with skeletal bulls here, who take several hits to destroy and eventually respawn.

As soon as the screen lets you go right, make a run for it. Keep firing like crazy, diagonally up as you pass two barrel-gunners by (who can be killed before they shoot at you). Grab the Lightning Bomb that appears if you can and save it for the boss. When you reach the third wooden
pedestal, jump on top of it so that you can then hop over the red barrels below! Several chickens appear before the boss, and at least one drops a Sarsparilla Soda item if you need health.

BOSS: Boot Hill Buzzard

This boss has two forms it alternates between. First, it starts the fight off by flying, or rather being carried by a bunch of vultures. The goal here is to quickly shoot up at the vultures as soon as possible. When flying, Boot Hill Buzzard either will drop bombs directly below him (so never
ever get below him while he's in the air!), or he'll throw feathers at you. You can shoot these feathers down, but there's a lot of them. My recommendation is to fire away at the buzzards, and when he throws feathers, use the Lightning Bomb which will damage the boss as well as
get rid of any feathers!

When he's on the ground he has several attacks:

* He'll try to roll bombs at you which you can either hop carefully over or simply dash cancel behind him. The number of bombs rolled depends on how early or late in the game you are and can be as few as 2-3 bombs or up to 6 bombs! Yes, they roll uphill.

* Boot Hill Buzzard will pull a pistol out and fire erratically at you. The shots are slow, and you can block them with short dash cancels.

* He'll lift his rifle-shovel and fire a huge blast. This can be ducked under if you're standing at the same height as him, otherwise you have to dash cancel or jump over the shot.

* On rare occasion he'll try to swing the shovel at you. Be careful not to use your dash attack on him! If you hit him with a dash he'll be knocked back slightly, and there's a small chance he'll immediately retaliate with an incredibly fast, nearly unavoidable flurry of shovel swipes where he
slams left and right. The hitbox on this is massive, but the only way to trigger this flurry is at random when you accidentally dash attack him. There's never any point in the game to using the dash attack for offense against any of the game's bosses, so don't waste time hitting him with dashes.

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

Difficulty is always maxed out here, so the coffins at the start of the enemies always have enemies, even if you play this stage as the second stage of loop 2. Yes, the 1UP appears in the loop, but the green crate where the 1UP appears fires two to three times the flaming jack-o
lanterns as in the first loop! It's pretty dangerous and requires dash cancelling to deal with the spooky pumpkins. The boss of the level, Boot Hill Buzzard, rolls 6 bombs at a time towards you, making it a pretty lengthy attack; you could dash cancel behind him and fire away if you want!


•••••••••• 5.e*** Stage 5: Mine ••••••••••

Jump from mine cart to mine cart, firing away at enemies. Be careful not to fall from a cart to the bottom of the screen or you'll take damage! Occasionally, a boulder will fly down and destroy a cart; be careful if it's headed for a cart you're standing on. This level's actually pretty trivial
though, as there's tons of chickens that drop health sodas, as well as bonus weapons such as TNT and Punches.

At one point there's a miniboss train cart that appears above. It has a small turret that fires at you, it can make a giant read ball that bounces a few times before popping (you can shoot this) and it has a set of spikes it uses to ram through a boulder that appears now and then on the
tracks. The debris from the boulder can hit you, and is probably the most dangerous attack here. Be aggressive and quickly fire up at it, using dash cancels to dodge either the giant red ball or the boulder debris as necessary. It doesn't take too many hits to go down though.

After the mini-boss, there's about 3 health items before the actual stage boss. Nothing difficult about this segment, just keep shooting everything as it appears onscreen. Then enjoy the show as the mine cart flies off the tracks, sending you crashing into the bar and the boss fight.

BOSS: Five Card Stud

My favourite boss. He's pretty easy, but a lot of fun to fight nevertheless. He stands on a platform above you, and you're on a chandelier sort of thing that will swing more and more as the boss takes damage. Five Card Stud will throw cards at you constantly, which you can shoot down.
Stay below the boss and shoot upwards, focusing on any cards he produces while being careful not to fall off the platform as it starts to swing. When the boss is up there, do NOT jump up to that platform or you'll get hit by cards!

Occasionally, Five Card Stud with don a red cape and vanish, only to reappear as a gigantic playing card that drops down. Don't let the card touch you, and simply move out of the way as it appears. Five Card Stud can also jump down and do a handstand on the lower platform, firing
cards left and right. Avoid this easily by jumping up to the upper platform and back down again when the boss comes up. Or, you can walk over to where the boss handstands - if you're standing immediately next to him his cards won't hit you and you can fire at him point-blank.

Five Card Stud's a very flashy, cool boss, but he's really not too tough with a bit of practicing.

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

Nothing really noticeable in the stage. I think Five Card Stud launches more cards at you, meaning you have to shoot down more cards with each attack during the boss fight, but that's about it. Still just as easy as the first loop.


•••••••••• 5.f*** Stage 6: Jane Meadow ••••••••••

The level starts with a lower ledge and a train track above you. Immediately jump up to the train tracks; it's far, far safer up here than it is below. Keep moving right, while firing away. You'll eventually encounter a couple large bulls (one with an axe, one with a flaming
torch). You can either rapidly shoot them down, but it's actually probably best to avoid them by simply dash cancelling past them.

Keep going right, shooting through the barrels. Health drops before the explosives you can set off here. There's no need to set the explosives off though as, shortly after you reach them, you'll be carried off by an eagle for the game's second flying stage segment.

Stay near the bottom of the screen. Fire away at the bats. When the screen shifts and the train tracks are at the bottom of the screen, two biker enemies appear from the left - shoot them. Another wave of bats, and then bikers approach from the right. You CAN'T shoot the ones
from the right; the seats deflect the shots. What you can do is dash attack them as they appear onscreen, which will score a hit on them! Dash attack the three bikers on the right, then go back to shooting down bats until you reach the mini-boss.

It's... a duck plane balloon thing...? Do NOT get directly in front of it because the bombs it spits out tend to go at awkward, unpredictable trajectories, especially in the second loop of the game. Instead, get directly above the spinning propellor. Here, you only need to worry
about one attack: the missiles it fires up from behind. They slowly float up at you, and then travel left when they're lined up with you. Get used to having to fake these out (jumping as they approach can help you avoid them as you move out of the way). Keep shooting downwards
when there's an opening between missiles, and the mini-boss will go down. It's arguably the hardest mini-boss in the game, particularly in the second loop where it fires more frequently! Then, it's straight on to the boss of the level.

BOSS: Wagon Train

Easiest boss in the game. Shoot off the bucket and canvas roof to reveal the barrel gatling gun. Move to the right of the screen behind it and pound away with shots as it fires snakes harmlessly.

Stay on the right side of the screen as the rest of the train comes in view. When you're on the right here the only bit that can attack you is the bit on the body that launches the pink balloons (you can shoot them down). Once all three segments are shot down, QUICKLY move to the top left corner of the screen as the train's chimney starts spinning like a top. This
is where it actually gets dangerous.

The chimney will fly towards you as every so often a bouncy gold spikeball will be launched from the center of the train. Staying at the top of the screen helps avoid the spikeball. To dodge the spinning chimney while shooting it down, you have to fake it out. Move down as it
approaches, then quickly move up and out of the way. You can also jump as you move past it, which helps to go above it and avoid touching the chimney. The chimney takes a fair number of hits, but with a bit of practise it's really not difficult to deal with it. Be careful, you can get hit
by a spikeball before the stage ends, so stay at the top of the screen even after destroying the chimney!

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

The mini-boss here is incredibly dangerous in loop 2, attacking much faster and firing two missiles instead of just one. You have to stay directly above the propellor, firing down when it's safe while luring the missiles that float up into attacking and missing you. Don't get in front
of the duck plane - the grenades it launches fly at wildly unpredictable trajectories and it's way too easy to get hit.

There's also a few more enemies at the start of the level, but they're easily avoided if you keep to the train tracks higher up.


•••••••••• 5.g*** Stage 7: Cowtown Bank to Skull Mountain ••••••••••

The last stage in the game, and fittingly the most difficult one. The last portion of the stage is pretty tricky even when you know what you're doing. The bank's been robbed by The Masked Bull! Proceed across the rooftops, firing away. Grab the cash on the rooftops, then do a dash off
the rooftops which should destroy the first three red barrels. A couple more dashes will destroy the remaining barrels, just watch for any bombs thrown by the bulls here.

Shoot the barrel-gunner on the next building, grab more cash, take out the second barrel-gunner. Drop down and stay low, firing away like crazy to take out the brown barrels and enemies here. Be careful - if they fire the pink wall may make it hard to see their shots, in which case jump back up to the roof here.

At the next building you have a choice of an Axe, TNT, or a Lightning Bomb. Doesn't matter which you get, you'll want to use it immediately to get rid of it so we can dash in the next building. In the next area, jump over the tables; they block you from moving. A chicken will appear,
baiting you into grabbing a Horseshoe item. See the chandeliers? They drop down to do damage. Dash under them, and cancel the dash as soon as they drop to spin harmlessly through them. There are two chandeliers and a large bull with a mace, followed by a large bull on the
left. Dash off the second table and cancel when the chandelier falls, be ready to deal with two more large bulls. As long as you fire aggressively on them and dash cancel (or dash at them to bounce off them) when they get close you shouldn't take any damage here.

As soon as the scene shifts back outside, immediately duck and start firing to hit as many of the enemies in the plants as possible. Jump or dash cancel to avoid any shots. As soon as you jump up the steps into the building, a large bull appears with an axe. You may need to get back
outside to get enough distance to shoot him safely. Don't go in too far before the first large bull's dead or a second one will appear from the left. The one from the left can be dealt with from in the building by ducking and shooting.

As soon as you pass a doorway, a large axe bull appears along with a chicken carrying health soda. Don't miss the chicken if you're injured! Duck and fire away on the axe bull (if he throws the axe you'll avoid it as long as you duck). One more large axe bull to shoot as you see a few
explosive barrels. Once the detonator's clear, move to it and WAIT a split-second before using it. If you use it immediately, it won't hit all the large axe bulls that appear, whereas you can clear them all with the detonator if you wait a second to use it when they appear.

Down the secret staircase! Careful, the perspective is weird here. You're on a slope, and the enemies on either side are harder to hit because your shots still go straight forward. Do NOT attempt to walk or dash under the cactus trap - you can simply shoot it to blow it to bits! Aim
your shots up diagonally when it's raised to kill it quicker.

Move forward, firing up to the right to kill the bat that appears on screen, then either fire at the second bat, or dash cancel through it when it swoops. Another cactus pillar, shoot it, then again, fire up to the right. A black bat appears as you're surrounded by barrels. If you hit the
bat you can try and rapidly shoot the barrel on the left, then dash cancel through the ones on the right. Otherwise, dash cancel through the left barrel, then though the barrels on the right. This is a very tough wave of enemies because you have to react quickly to avoid damage.

Soon after as you walk right, three barrels appear from the left with a bat, and one barrel appears from the right. Jump over the right hand barrel, wait for the left barrels to move near the middle of the screen, and dash cancel through them (making sure you don't land on the first
barrel you jumped over!). Careful - the bull enemies here through bombs at you, so you'll need to keep an eye on them and keep firing away and dodging if a bomb is thrown.

One last set of barrels to avoid here, these ones don't bounce and can be jumped over or shot. As you reach the end of the slope and walk past the chair pay attention to the ground. In front of the jail cell door, one of the stones on the ground will glow yellow before a trap launches two
stones at you! Dash cancel through the stones to avoid damage. When you reach the second cell door, barrels appear on either side as another spring trap activates. Dash cancel to the right so you land on the spring that just triggered, and fire on the barrel approaching you. Quickly get
to the left as the large axe bulls appear from the jail cells. The order they appear in is right, left, left. Dash cancel through them if they get close enough to take a swing, but with rapid button mashing it should be no trouble.

Two more spring traps appear very quickly, along with more barrels. Dash cancel through the traps while firing on the barrels (or dash cancel through those too). The next set of cells let out large fire-breathing bulls. Again, one on the right, then two on the left. Duck while firing as
they are aggressive about breathing fireballs (if they're close they'll use a melee fire attack that can hit you while ducking).

As soon as you're done with them, another barrel comes from the right, and a wall appears with a living door knocker. It randomly breathes a fire ball that will hit you if you jump up into it, or a bomb (the same the bomb-rolling bulls use). There's an easy way to beat it without worrying
about dodging its attacks: simply run underneath it and fire straight up into it. Every time it growls, dash cancel to the right (so you're hugging the wall). Time it so your spin is touching the door-knocker as it opens its mouth, and you'll either cancel the fireball harmlessly, or detonate
the bomb in midair, which will explode too high up to hit you when you land. No need to guess which attacks it uses, either way you easily avoid both, although you'll have to get the learn timing for when it attacks (which isn't too hard). Deal with it quickly, as the last cell door gets
knocked down, and two large mace bulls appear. If they appear while the door-knocker is still alive you're in trouble!

After you take care of the large mace bulls, inch to the right slowly, firing like crazy. A bunch of barrels appear (four in total in the group) along with a bomb rolling bull. Either shoot out as many barrels as you can, moving to the left to give yourself space to run or dash cancel
through any that you haven't destroyed, or simply dash cancel through the group and quickly shoot down at the bomb roller. Another door knocker is here as well, but the same strategy as before applies: dash cancel into it every time it opens its mouth to block its attacks. The
group immediately before the door-knocker is the real threat.

As you finally reach the stolen gold and the kidnapped Lily Bovine, several black bull enemies appear, but they're trivial to deal with. Shoot, dash through them, whatever. On to Skull Mountain to fight The Masked Bull!

BOSS: The Masked Bull

This boss is extremely difficult, far more than any other bosses in the game. This is the make-or-break fight here if you want to beat the game in a single credit. He takes a lot of hits to defeat, and his attacks are all fast and unpredictable! There's two pillars you can hop onto, but generally speaking I recommend staying on the ground.

The Masked Bull hops around frequently, and can use these attacks:

Shoryuken - He uses a Street Fighter style jumping uppercut. Comes out extremely fast. He'll use it at melee range or when you're up on a pillar. One of his more dangerous attacks.

Knife Throw - The Masked Bull tosses a wide spread of knifes. Very dangerous, and among his fastest attacks. You can shoot the knives to avoid being damaged. Careful, they hit the upper platforms if he's far enough when he throws them.

Flying Dash - Flies forward headfirst, going across to the far side of the screen. He can jump up and use this if you're on one of the pillars. Dodge by jumping over or doing a dash cancel.

Cactus Guns - Lifts a pair of guns that fire spiky cactus bullets. You can duck under these.

Grenade Launcher - He only uses this when he's at the far right or left of the screen. He winds up for a second, then launches an orange projectile that makes multiple explosions (same as the bombs bomb rollers use). Stay near the middle of the screen to avoid the blasts. Only the blasts can hit you, not the orange projectile he fires initially.

The Masked Bull appears to be unpredictable. Every time he jumps he'll turn to face you after landing and either jump again or attack. And after every attack, he'll do the same thing, turning to face you and jumping or using an attack. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to what attacks he uses, and the trick to beating him is to stay as close as possible
(touching him won't hurt you when he's not attacking). There's a sweet spot where if you are close, you can bait him into attacking one direction and have time to run past him while shooting, safely avoiding the attack. You want to time it so you're always walking past him as he attacks, not too soon or he'll turn to attack you, and moving just past him in time to
avoid the hit. If he jumps, or uses a shoryuken uppercut, reposition and be ready to move past him when he lands. Learning the spacing for this technique is tricky, but when you get reliable at it it's entirely possible to beat him only taking a few hits.

Don't move past him too quickly; you want to time your movement so he tries to attack in one direction just as you move past him and behind him, all while firing away point blank. The only time this doesn't work is if he reaches the edge of the screen. When this happens, you have to be
prepared to dodge and wait for him to leave the edge of the screen in order to be able to safely bait him into attacking. All of his attacks can be dodged by staying close to him and walking past as he starts the attack, but the hardest ones to avoid are his shoryuken and his knives. They come out the fastest.

If you're having trouble with the stay close trick, you can either keep your distance and fight the hard way (duck to avoid the cactus shots, keep firing to deflect knives, and be ready to dash cancel or jump if he uses his own dash attack). It's also possible to hide on one of the pillars and fight him from up there by jumping to avoid his shoryuken, but I've found both these less reliable than simply keeping close to The Masked Bull.

After you beat him, gasp! He was Sheriff Terrorbull all along (something they never discover in the TV series in spite of how obvious it is...). On to the next loop (unless you're on the last loop, in which case you win!).

LOOP 2 CHANGES:

There's an extra barrel that comes from behind after the last set of cactus traps, but that's about it I think. The stage and final boss both seem to be more or less the same in both loops.


•••••••••• 6.*** Afterword ••••••••••

I hope this guide was an informative, interesting read, or at least helpful if you were just looking for a specific piece of information. It was originally intended to go on GameFAQs, but you have my full permission to post this guide whereever you want, as long as you don't go posting it
without doing the right thing and, y'know, crediting me as the author. If you're looking for me you can send a private message on GameFAQs to user account BareKnuckleRoo, or to: bareknuckleroo [at sign] gmail.com

Thank you for reading this.

- BKR


------------


Also, this is a really late reply and off topic but:
WelshMegalodon wrote:Funny you should bring up Edmond again, because I came across some Wizardry posts he made on Digitpress just last year.

I seem to recall a few individuals claiming that the level "bug" in question was in fact real, caused by a misunderstanding of the Apple Pascal RANDOM function when porting to DOS, but I can't provide any sources because they all link to warez.
The bug is real. There was a period where I was seriously obsessed with the game and played and beat the Apple II, MS-DOS, NES, SNES, and PS1 versions to see what they were like. For the MS-DOS saw some other people mention the bug on GameFAQs if I recall and I know with testing I experienced it for myself. Was using DOSBox and playing with a reasonable number of cycles (2000 or 3000), and DOSBox is very reliable and accurate as far as emulation goes, so I am positive it wasn't a bug related to gamespeed or emulation (especially given there are other reports of this issue). As you gained levels in other versions, the stat calculations inevitably trended upwards. Sure, you could go down in stats occasionally, but eventually with enough levels, you would reliably max out with 18s in all stats and maybe a few 17s. Unique to the MS-DOS version, class change was nearly impossible to achieve because stat growth was ridiculously unreliable. I remember going BELOW a 0 stat score and it wrapped around to like 31 or something stupid. See this post from 6 years ago. I've played the various other versions of Wizardry extensively since then and none of them have the MS-DOS version's wonky unreliable stat growths. I am 100% convinced the MS-DOS version is worth avoiding for this reason and the PS1 release is possibly one of the best for the first three games.
Last edited by BareKnuckleRoo on Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:25 pm, edited 10 times in total.
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BIL
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Interesting, I knew of Moo Mesa but never really looked into it (admittedly this is how I am with way too much arcade-only stuff...) Sounds excellent.
BareKnuckleRoo wrote:I even got obsessed enough to make a damn walkthrough of the thing, so no excuses not to see more folks give this a whirl, right?
Nicely done, gave it a skim and can tell you really made an effort! I've mulled over writing a few guides to go with my landmark study in FC Little Nemo ( :lol: ).
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Thanks! Weirdly, instead of a shmup or beat em up, the only other FAQ I've bothered to write so far was for an obscure RPG called Iffermoon made by the dude who made "Five Nights at Freddy's", back when he was in his phase of packaging up bad Christian religious allegorical tales and awkward anti-abortion messaging in otherwise interesting and unique sci-fi RPGs.
Spoiler
Neat realtime combat system and art style, astonishingly shit story though once he pulls the reveal on you. God shows up in a blatant Mary Sue character who's an asshole and unceremoniously tells you how important he is for having made everything then lets your father figure get killed for no particular reason and then after you kill the big bad guy he gives a speech about how your whole planet is doomed and you should be happy with this and that's like literally how the game ends (leaving you to go fight superbosses, woo). Also, heaven is where God resurrects dead people in robotic bodies and fucks with them by forcing them to live underground in exile with no contact with the living ever, cause he's a huge asshole. And God is a playable character, seriously. His special ability's one of the shittier ones too, laughably enough.
It was actually intended as a passive-aggressive "fuck you" to the author for having bait and switched me, with the game I enjoyed in my youth suddenly turning into really badly written religious proselytization shoehorned into the plot out of nowhere. I went back years later and played it enough to loop the game 4 times and fight the stupid superboss that shows on the hardest difficulty mode. Now Iffermoon has the distinction of having the only detailed walkthrough available being one that was written by someone who finds the game's plot utterly loathsome and trite. ;3
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

From what you've said and having looked up a few screenshots, I think Iffermoon might just be a good candidate for this thread's Last Post Ever - my other current pick being sidescrolling zombie rape riot Parasite In City Image
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

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BIL wrote:zombie rape riot Parasite In City Image
I knew I'd regret looking this up. SO WHY DID I DO IT ANYWAYS?!
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

It's the title imo, got just the right unassuming Engrish. Image Parasite? In my city?!

Actually I just had a thought... the Parasite Eve angle is obvious enough, but maybe it's meant to be riffing on Sex In The City? :lol: But yes, it's pretty incorrigible stuff! Although I do like those vengeful shotgun blasts. :cool:

In total seriousness, I like the idea of a sidescrolling survival horror/action game. Fearful, nervous, but amicable to (and demanding of!) skilled input over damage sponging. Actually, I'm sure there's something out there, somewhere, that fits the bill... but for now, the nearest I've found is Alien 3 MD - which got the broad strokes right but completely bungled the execution. (what an odd coincidence, Dracula II GB just came up in the CV thread. I think the universe is telling me to play some new games. >_> Happily I have a friggin boatload of FC stuff to write up, I'm just being a bit lazy)
__SKYe wrote:My Ninja Crusaders cart, which I can only assume is a bootleg because the JP cart pics I can find are nothing like it. It does have a different case than the other bootleg carts I own, though it is quite beat up and the stickers are long gone (in fact, I think they were already gone by the time I came into its possession).
NC is one of those FC carts that looks kinda bootleggy to begin with, tbh. :mrgreen: Got the same seafoam-green thing going on as Chuuka Taisen.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by EmperorIng »

Scott Cawthon is an interesting guy... In a way I'm glad someone so thoroughly weird has found some measure of success, even if it's from youtuber bait like FNAF.

I mean, what can you say about a guy who makes an RPG out of that ancient Protestant moralist tale, Pilgrim's Progress - and stuffs it full of heavy-metal death-dealing motherfuckers?
Spoiler
Image
Image
You can repent all you want, but SOULDOZER is coming in/for your ass!!!

Methinks that his penchant for hyper-detailed, gnarly robot murder machines didn't have much of an outlet in his 'traditional' social community. Hence why his early games meld overt Christian moralizing with imagery straight out of thrash metal album covers. That's all more or less gone by the time he found his niche with his pizza guy simulations. :mrgreen:

I can give a shoutout to the charming mess of a game Desolate Hope, as it is also a wonky platformer, part-adventure game with batshit insane RPG sequences starring a sentient coffee-pot on a derelict space station trying to save the station from decay and computer viruses. How often do you see a game play so fast and loose with genre rules and conventions and throw everything into a blender? :mrgreen: Inelegant, but it's free and you'd never play anything like it, even if only for a little while.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

It may be a full-on religious game, a bizarre subject for an RPG, and among the weaker of his RPGs due to how relatively dull the combat and grinding is, Pilgrim's Progress has by far the best enemy designs out of his RPG era creations. Some of them look damn cool and imposing.

I actually thought that The Desolate Room was better than the sequel. It was shorter, but had a better thought out combat system IMO. The Desolate Hope's platforming was never remotely difficult (your average Mega Man game is at least several times more challenging), and the RPG battles felt too manic with them being spaced far apart, meaning it was impossible to get a proper feel for the game's difficulty curve. There's also that dull CPU minigame which ends up being the best way to grind since no in-game time passes there... A lot of different ideas all badly mashed together basically. Nice art though.

His older library of obscure stuff is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfr ... s_will_be/

A lot of it is highly questionable or amusing yet mediocre, but there's a few in there that aren't too shabby either. M.O.O.N. is a full on Metroid style platformer that's 2-3 hours long. The art assets for the terrain kinda suck sadly (instead of complex tiles, he just uses the same rocks laid out beside each other to make up rooms). Video here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kyudGmhKWb0

There's a lot of playthrough footage on this guy's Youtube channel. Another amusing one to look up is the Bogart games he made - they're hilariously low quality attempts at a Castlevania style platformer and manage to be just, just barely playable: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ME9ZbITCuqY
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

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Speaking of GameFAQS - Oi Jonny! You wrote the Downtown Nekketsu Koushinkyoku FAQ right? Cheers bud, much appreciated. Image

For a long time it was just Monogatari, Special and Dodgeball I was into, but I'm gradually exploring the others (Famicom only for now). I was subconsciously dreading a Hyper Olympic button-masher in Koushinkyoku, but it seems to play pretty smoothly. Killer art design too, the chibi cityscape is just as charming as Monogatari's. As soon as the course sent me barreling through a hapless couple's dining room I was charmed. Image
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Obscura »

I never thought that "Dismember album cover or christian RPG" could be such a difficult question to answer.
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BareKnuckleRoo
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Obscura wrote:I never thought that "Dismember album cover or christian RPG" could be such a difficult question to answer.
and don't forget the enemy you encounter in a literal dungeon that makes you wonder if he has some kind of hardcore furry bdsm fetish

cause this is one seriously kinky elephant, jesus
BIL wrote:As soon as the course sent me barreling through a hapless couple's dining room I was charmed. Image
The dodgeball games were fantastic. I'm actually ashamed to say I've not had a chance to play any of the other major games in the Kunio-Kun series that were made. Any recommendations where to start or what the best ones were? River City Ransom obviously always seems to get top marks.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:The dodgeball games were fantastic. I'm actually ashamed to say I've not had a chance to play any of the other major games in the Kunio-Kun series that were made. Any recommendations where to start or what the best ones were? River City Ransom obviously always seems to get top marks.
Other than RCR/Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, I'm really only experienced with its FC-exclusive sequel, the jidaigeki-themed Downtown Special. I was playing the hell out of it last fall and meant to do a writeup actually, but got distracted and ended up posting on Hebereke instead. :smile:

Special is a pretty safe recommendation if you like RCR - it basically takes that game's ARPG concept and applies it to a truly open world. Just like RCR, you progress by taking down bosses... only, instead of your path moving routinely to the right with regular boss encounters, you have a spawling interconnected map which they move freely about. Each location is basically an arena, with varying environmental features/dangers - although bosses are fought in set order, they can appear anywhere, adding a bit of variety and strategy. If they're in a place you find a pain, you can just wait a bit and track 'em down elsewhere.

Having said all this, the combat engine isn't much more complex than RCR's. Some neat special moves including a teleport punch that's brutally satisfying to connect, some punishing hits previously exclusive to RCR bosses like the Dragon Bros' spinkick and Ivan's headbutt, and the expected sense of cartoony yet bone-jarring violence. But no matter the enemy, if you can get a good whack in with a Grand Slam-powered weapon, they're probably not getting back up (I recommend the wagon/cart, great range and knocks motherfuckers out). Just like RCR, this simplicity cuts both ways... the highest difficulty setting is pretty unforgiving, so it's not without some tension.

Ultimately neither game's combat has the focused excellence of something like FC DDII, but that's not what I play 'em for anyway. I enjoy the relaxing combo of no-stress roaming, comically painful violence and just a bit of ARPG grindan.

Koushinkyoku is a departure from both the street fighting and dodgeball formats - it's a four-man athletics competition with a focus on racing, climbing and general mobility (though tactical violence does still figure heavily). I've only just started with it, but I'm very impressed - the parkour city race is full of treacherous fun. There's a translation patch for both it and Downtown Special, which you'll probably need with the amount of text in both games.

The remaining FC Kunios are 1] arcade sports, basically spiritual sequels to Dodgeball (ice hockey, basketball and two soccer games, the earlier of which was localised as Nintendo World Cup) 2] another athletics competition (localised as Crash n' The Boys Street Challenge), and 3] the arena fighting game Kakuto Densetsu... which felt to me like RCR/Special minus their charming little worlds. I need to properly check all these out, but tbh, even arcadey sports was never my thing so I've put it off. :mrgreen:

That said, as a fan of raucous brawler violence it's hard to dislike any of these games; such lovably belligerent style. <333 Technos on FC. I was messing about with Monogatari last night and laughed out loud when, as I hauled ass back to town to buy my usual fave Army Boots, a would-be interceptor flung his brass knuckles at me only to clock his pursuing buddy square in the face. :lol: That *BWAP* sound effect and the stunned, bug-eyed reaction - slapstick perfection. Image

RCR, Dodgeball, Koushinkyoku and the first soccer also got PCE ports, and I think an MD port of the last, and there are scattered Game Boy versions too, plus an original Kunio brawler that was rebranded for overseas as Double Dragon II GB... haven't even scratched the surface of those. It's a pretty sprawling series, even before taking these into account. There's also a fair few SFC originals (two brawlers, plus even more arcade sports), and the Neo Geo's own Super Dodgeball, sadly among the last Technos releases before they went bankrupt. Jonny and others' experience with these almost certainly dwarfs mine so will leave it there for now! I'm most interested in the GBA's Monogatari EX, by Million (ex-Technos staff) which makes some intriguing changes towards a more "gang war" style. There's a ton of other GBA/DS releases but I've not even glanced at 'em. It's my habit to check stuff out a couple generations later at minimum. ;3

Predating all this, of course there's also the original game and innovator of beltscrolling violence Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun, which got a pretty nice FC port (both AC and FC got US/EU releases as Renegade). Skye has posted in detail on the FC port in this thread. I'm very fond of it (recently picked up a copy myself actually), but I wouldn't really include it in the same series as the Dodgeball/onward Kunios. Much more in line with its immediate successor Double Dragon's deadly-serious arcade brawling.

If there is one Technos release you absolutely must play imo, it's Double Dragon Advance (again by ex-staff at Million). Foot of this post for elaboration. Judicious love letter to classic Technos brawling. Easily makes my desert island list just for its no-nonsense survival mode. Image
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by __SKYe »

Yeah, the first Kunio-kun is a more arcadey game compared to RCR. From all the other games in the series, the one that is the most similar to it, is Shin Nekketsu Kunio-kun SFC, whereas the other SFC game, Shodai Nekketsu Kouhai: Kunio-kun, has more in common with RCR (levels, unlockable moves, etc).
Another one that feels like it could be a sequel to it, gameplay-wise, is Combatribes.

I haven't played the FC's dodgeball game, but I have played the GBA remake and it is pretty neat.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by mycophobia »

did a 2-miss hardest fast bullets run on Shinobi and I think after 10 years of on-and-offing this game I'm officially sick of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpZ3RwdGtA4

dies twice on 4-2 and features a no-glitch first pass kill of stage 3 boss Mandara.

i wanted to do a no miss run but fuckin fuck it man :p
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Formidable, you must be on par with the board's longtime AC Shinobi authorities Ex_Mosquito and ben_shinobi!

No-missing in general has to be bad for blood pressure and/or sanity tbh. Like a lot of good things in life. :wink:
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by mycophobia »

BIL wrote:Formidable, you must be on par with the board's longtime AC Shinobi authorities Ex_Mosquito and ben_shinobi!
hail naw. exmosquito actually got the no miss (albeit on normal I believe) and ben shinobi holds the friggin world record:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iPyXyHdzMU

absolutely encourage everyone to watch that vid btw, the execution required for that kind of run is insane, I could never do it.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BIL »

Haha, I did wonder whether I should invoke Mr. Mosquito and ben_sama's names so brashly... :mrgreen: Still, max DIP setting runs are super cool in my book! edit: Maybe it's the PTSD from Metal Slug 3 Level 8 Angry Gold Needles talking. :oops:
Last edited by BIL on Thu May 31, 2018 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote: Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa is amazing.
Only just skimmed your video, but it makes me want to give the game another try.

Got the arcade PCB ages ago because the game looked cool, but gave it a scummy 2-player credit feed attempt to see what it had to offer, and the gameplay felt super unbalanced to me, with especially the later stages just coming across like a mess that makes me want to drag out the tired old "created to steal your credits" card. I just dismissed it then and there, and figured that's why no one ever talks about that game
But if a 2-ALL is possible, I guess there might have been something central to the game I've severely misunderstood, or maybe it's just that I didn't know about the dash-cancel you're talking about.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Dash cancelling utterly changes how you can tackle obstacles in Moo Mesa. I wouldn't say the game is perfect and there are some silly elements such as the shmup stages being dull and the swimming UP a waterfall bit being a bit luck based (you get a health item right after though), but honestly I have less trouble with a 2 loop clear of Moo Mesa than I do Gunstar Heroes on expert (1ccing that final stage marathon is really tough).

You also cancel any projectiles during the dash cancel. During the final stage there are several difficult to avoid floor traps that send debris at you that can be trivialized by dash cancelling through it, and a pair of gates that launch fireballs and difficult to avoid bombs. By timing a dash cancel into it every time it attacks, you can block both types of attacks (the bombs will explode harmlessly in midair) allowing you to pump shots into it at point blank range between its attacks.

I think it might be difficult but quite possible to 1cc without ever actively using the dash to dodge (it is required in a couple spots to get rid of obstacles). The boss strategies I use don't require dash cancelling, it just makes it a lot easier, but the final stage is pretty tough... you'd be able to muscle through with extra lives though for at least a first loop clear.

With dash cancelling though, it's probably one of the most fair and reasonable Konami arcade games I have ever played. And that includes the North American version!

Actually, I should have linked to my clear of the North American version. I had better, more refined strategies by then, and it's the more skillful playthrough of the two I uploaded. I get hit several times throughout both loops, but the game is surprisingly fair with full health recovery at the start of each stage and fairly generous mid-stage health items. I actually beat the game with only 1 death on this run, at the end of the second loop (it was my first ever loop 1 deathless clear, too): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RenHMPOtX4Q
Last edited by BareKnuckleRoo on Thu May 31, 2018 12:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

How many versions are there? I think there's a good chance my PCB is European, but I'd assume it's similar to the American one. I'll check your playthrough for strats, and then give it a try myself. I remember the final boss being completely unfeasable when I didn't know about the dash cancel. Seems like a weird mechanic, but from what you are telling, it's gotta be intentional.

Let's rodeo, boys!

EDIT: Wow, it turns out the final boss doesn't even have a hurtbox? :S I've really been playing this game wrong.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Mortificator »

Jonny2x4 wrote:I always questioned the idea whether SFC Dracula/Castlevania IV was really meant to be a remake of the first Castlevania when it's filled with so many references to the NES trilogy (not just the first one), the most obvious being Dracula's tombstone at the opening sequence, which is the similar Simon kneels before in the end of CV2.
I'm doubtful of that too. Super Castlevania IV obviously isn't a remake in terms of design. Stages, bosses, they're as different as can be while remaining within the general bounds of classic-vania. Compare the game to Dracula X68k, which actually is a remake.

I've seen fans lump Haunted Castle in the remake category as well, despite "Dracula stole yo woman!" being in no way the story of the original.
RegalSin wrote:You can't even drive across the country Naked anymore
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

There are four known version codes, but some appear to play identically, so as far as gameplay goes, there appears to be two different versions. I've detailed the differences in the FAQ/Walkthrough:
Spoiler
Four known versions of the arcade game exist, identified on the boot
screen and board markings: AAB, EAB, UAB and UAC. The AAB and EAB
appear to be identical in gameplay as far as I can tell (input replays
synchronize perfectly). Based on naming conventions for other Konami
arcade games, the AAB version presumably is the original Japanese
version of the game, and the EAB is probably the European release. UAB
and UAC are presumably the USA releases. Unlike other Konami
releases, the USA versions aren't too drastically altered, although there
are some silly changes. This guide applies to all versions of the game,
and differences will be noted where applicable. Specifically, these are
the differences to be aware of:

* AAB/EAB start you with 2 extra lives, UAB/UAC start with 1 extra life.
* AAB/EAB have level select enabled, so after the first level you can play
the levels in the order you like. UAB/UAC have a fixed level order.
* AAB/EAB are set to a 2-loop game. After beating the game once, you
play through the game again in a slightly harder second loop. UAB/UAC
loop endlessly and never ends until you game over. The difficulty
appears to max out at the second loop though.

These changes can actually be adjusted under the test menu's options.
You can adjust the lives, level select, and the looping in the UAB/UAC
version to be like the AAB/EAB version.

There are two changes that CANNOT be adjusted under the options
though:

* AAB/EAB allows you to use the joystick to select your character in 4
player, UAB/UAC version forces you to use the character associated with
the joystick slot (1 = Buffalo Bull, 2 = Marshal Moo Montana, etc).
* AAB/EAB have a few less enemies in the first level than the UAB/UAC
version.
* The enemies that crawl on the ground and roll bombs at you can be
hit by simply ducking and shooting in the AAB/EAB versions. In the
AB/UAC versions, your shots will pass over them if you duck and shoot.
To hit them, you need to jump (or be close to them) and fire downwards
at them.

That last change is significant enough to change how you approach
certain segments, but it doesn't change the difficulty of those sections
considerably, so for all intents and purposes, the UAB/UAC version isn't
too much harder to beat on a single credit.

Under the test menu for the game, you can find the dip switch settings
which show you what they do, as well as an option menu for the Game
Options where you can change settings. These are the default settings
for AAB/EAB version and the recommended settings if you're playing the
UAB/UAC version:

Player's Life: 1 credit=3 lives
Stage Selection: Available
Loop Setting: Game over after second round

There's also a Difficulty Level setting in here but I'm honestly not sure
what this adjusts. Enemies may perhaps be a bit more aggressive? But
for the most part I haven't noticed anything significant in terms of
changes when I tried setting it to the hardest setting. The 4/Medium
setting is the default on all versions. The number of players you play
with also doesn't seem to adjust the difficulty/number of enemies.
Sumez wrote:EDIT: Wow, it turns out the final boss doesn't even have a hurtbox? :S I've really been playing this game wrong.
A lot of the enemies in the game don't have hurtboxes actually (including like all the shmup stage bosses). I agree the final boss is brutal if you don't know what you're doing though, he was the major wall of my runs. Really mobile with tons of health, and even if you dodge or dash cancel around him, he's super aggressive. The staying close to him thing I think I discovered by accident. It's possible to react and dodge his attacks or dash cancel through most of them, but he's very, very difficult if you fight him "normally" (instead of at close range).

There's a second way to do it I saw another player clear the game with, but it is much harder to execute. Basically, you stay on top of a pillar shooting down at him and bait him into using shoryukens, jumping to avoid it. You have to react fast to shoot down any daggers he throws and it seemed mechanically very difficult to do reliably...
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

People discussing Castlevania canon is one of my pet peeves.
It's safe to say no one in Konami really cared. They just wanted to make a few more games about Simon whippin' Dracula's butt. :)

RE: BareKnuckleRoo - thanks for the writeup. I'll need to check which I have next time I have time to spend with my cab.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Here's the video of that player with the unusual final boss strategies. No idea if savestates were used or not, but it's definitely not how I'd recommend tackling it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj6AUyzEJa8

You could try to muscle through it by simply firing away like crazy and trying to take it down before it kills you, but I don't remember this working well. He's fast enough that if you just try to trade blows he can easily hit you like 6 times by the time you've taken half his health off.

I hope you enjoy the game more when you go back with some new tricks to use! ;) It really is fantastic and I seriously envy you for owning the PCB.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by Sumez »

The strategy looks a lot easier, but I'll take your word for it.
Also, surprised a loop only takes 13 minutes... for some reason I recall the game being absurdly long :P
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Scrolling Action Monogatari

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Each loop takes about 30 minutes to clear. That video there the player only showed off the boss fights in every level, not the actual level themselves.
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