Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[Marc]

Oh, I've had that sat on the HD for ages now (alongside Iconoclasts, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Dragon's Trap and two Shantae games), going to have to give it a spin after reading all this. Oh, I've just added Gato Roboto to that pile, though that may leap to the top purely because of the Spectrum style visuals.

[Sumez]

Momodora is a pretty short game, might as well bump it up.

[Despatche]

RitM is so great precisely because it's not a Metroidvania. Leveling is garbage, this has always been the case.

I played the first 2, of which I would describe the first as "nice but extremely flawed"

No.

Reverie looks like a quantum leap from the first three games, so I got it a little while ago.

Great game, yes. Quantum leap, no. It's a lot like 2 and 3.

[Vanguard]

-Basic melee attacks are really satisfying and fun, very reminiscent of Megaman Zero. Hopefully I can rip into bosses like Zero.

With the leaf and bow alone you won't shred bosses anywhere near as well as in Megaman Zero. There's an active item called the tainted missive that does a bit of damage to you in exchange for temporarily doubling your attack power. With that and some strong offensive passive items you can come pretty close to MMZ levels of damage output. Most bosses can be taken down in a few seconds with consumable attack items, but that's not really the same thing.

Great game, yes. Quantum leap, no. It's a lot like 2 and 3.

RUtM's distinct art style vs the first three's Cave Story graphics, committed attacks vs near-instant attacks, heavy emphasis on invincibility frames vs conventional dodging, estus-like regenerating consumables vs no consumables. Nah, the're pretty different. Setting aside things they do differently, RUtM is simply better-made than its predecessors, especially in terms of enemy and level design.

[Stevens]

Hey kids,

https://www.play-asia.com/search/THE+NI ... eted+Email

Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is available for pre order.

[Durandal]

Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors

I still maintain they should've stuck with The Ninja Warriors Again... Again!

[Stevens]

Yeah the name caught me off guard.

[kitten]

pretty sure that's only the name for the asia region version of the game?

[Stevens]

pretty sure that's only the name for the asia region version of the game?

Might be.

Definitely a game I tried, understand why peeps love it, but ultimately could not get into. Kung Fu Master is my gold standard for RNRKMF'S. Even if you move left more:D

Picked up Assault Suit Leynos for the PS 4. Never played it as a kid and Metal Warriors last summer gave me an appreciation for the mech arm of the genre. It is what I expected (awesome) and

I'm going to guess pretty influential on the ones that came after it (Metal Warriors, Gigantic Army, the Valkans), is there a game of this type that precedes Target Earth/ASL?

[Stevens]

Katana Zero hard mode.

10 stages in - 578 deaths, two more stages to go. Better than I thought:D

[WelshMegalodon]

I did it!

[__SKYe]

Congrats, very well done!

[WelshMegalodon]

Thank you!

[__SKYe]

So, ready for the no-miss (this was a 1CC, right)?

[WelshMegalodon]

I've no-missed to 6-3 before, but only once. 5-2 and 6-3 are my only real problem spots, so it's definitely feasible.

[__SKYe]

6-3 is tough, especially the final stretch before the bosses, which took me quite a while to be able to go through without taking damage. I don't recall 5-2 right now, though. I will have to check it out again.
You're pretty close, though. Go for it.

EDIT: Just checked 5-2. I'm guessing that the trouble spot is getting over the big wall (in the last section) consistently?

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

No-missed both Pocky and Rocky and Twinkle Tale over the last week or so. Really deepened my appreciation for both games. Pocky and Rocky is an immediately charming game in large part due to its great aesthetics, but I've always been a little put off by its harsh power-down system - if you start taking heavy damage in some parts of the game, recovering can be a tremendous pain in the ass, because a lot of enemies are pretty durable even with upgraded shots. But once you get the game drilled down enough to the point where that stops being a problem, it really is a fantastic action game that flows really well, even if some enemies do have a little too much health and some of the bosses are a little too simple.

I probably do like Twinkle Tale slightly more. I think its boss fights are more interesting and its faster pace more exciting, even if Pocky and Rocky's deflection mechanic and sliding are missed, and the system of having to keep juggling your weapons to keep them from being deleveled at bad times makes for a lot of really great moments.

I also played through Pocky and Rocky 2 and got a 1CC of it. It is a good game, but I definitely don't enjoy it as much as its predecessor. I do actually like that the game has 2 / 3 hit deaths and makes shot powerups less important, but I don't like the tremendous inflation of boss health (which just drastically increases the importance of bombs), nor do I really like all the slow partner-switching, NPC speaking, shopping, and money-gathering. It's still a solid action game, but it's not a stone-cold classic like the first game or Twinkle Tale.

[Vanguard]

Nice job. I agree that Twinkle Tale is overall the better single-player game, though one shouldn't overlook that Kiki Kaikai is perhaps the best co-op game on the SNES.

I've come to see blocking as doing more harm than good. It's too effective and encourages camping. In more half of Kiki Kaikai's encounters, the safest tactic is to stand in place and block or shoot everything before they can hit you. Twinkle Tale, on the other hand, keeps you running around all the time.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Nice job. I agree that Twinkle Tale is overall the better single-player game, though one shouldn't overlook that Kiki Kaikai is perhaps the best co-op game on the SNES.

I've come to see blocking as doing more harm than good. It's too effective and encourages camping. In more half of Kiki Kaikai's encounters, the safest tactic is to stand in place and block or shoot everything before they can hit you. Twinkle Tale, on the other hand, keeps you running around all the time.

Yeah, I think it does serve to oversimplify too many encounters. Is there even another valid way to beat the stage 4 boss other than standing in place and deflecting the whole fight? I'd also point to bombs as something I think Twinkle Tale handles much more artfully. Because of how difficult some of the bosses can get if you get powered down (and how dangerous the vampire boss is period given how badly you need to not be powered down for the final stage), there's basically no reason to use bombs as anything but a skip button in certain problematic encounters. Twinkle Tale's weaker, yet more numerous and versatile bombs, do a better job of encouraging more tactical play. That said, Pocky and Rocky is still an excellent game; I just think Twinkle Tale feels slightly better thought out.

[Ghegs]

Forgot to mention this during the Prince of Persia discussion a little while ago, but I really enjoyed Deadlight: Director's Cut, which is more or less Prince of Persia: The Zombie Edition. Currently on -75% sale on GOG, definitely recommended at that price.

[Marc]

Forgot to mention this during the Prince of Persia discussion a little while ago, but I really enjoyed Deadlight: Director's Cut, which is more or less Prince of Persia: The Zombie Edition. Currently on -75% sale on GOG, definitely recommended at that price.

I remember it leaving me a bit cold on X360 - wasn't there a sewer bit with some cheap instant-kill scenarios?

[Ghegs]

Forgot to mention this during the Prince of Persia discussion a little while ago, but I really enjoyed Deadlight: Director's Cut, which is more or less Prince of Persia: The Zombie Edition. Currently on -75% sale on GOG, definitely recommended at that price.

I remember it leaving me a bit cold on X360 - wasn't there a sewer bit with some cheap instant-kill scenarios?

There's a sewer bit, but I don't recall being particularly frustrated by it. It's also possible this was one of the parts improved in the Director's Cut, which I don't think was released on 360.

[BurlyHeart]

So I finally finished the Messenger. Superb. Loved almost every minute of it. It's not very difficult, but I imagine the challenge comes in the form of speedrunning or no deaths.
Not sure which was your favorite level, Stevens, but mine was probably...

Spoiler

...the Tower of Time. Loved the whole aesthetic and puzzles. The Skylands would be second with the cool mini-shmup thing going on

Had plans to tackle Katana Zero next, but I unexpectedly purchased the Dragon's Trap and Shovel Knight in a sale, so I'll probably opt for one of those.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Contra: Rogue Corps.

Official site.

CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS is a twin stick, third-person action game drawing upon its roots in fast and focused combat developed for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC (STEAM). From the director of CONTRA III: THE ALIEN WARS and CONTRA: HARD CORPS, Nobuya Nakazato instills more than 25 years of franchise pedigree into CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS with enormous crazed enemies, over-the-top violence, and a cast of diverse playable characters that add to the irreverent tone of the game.

Several years after the events of the Alien Wars, CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS follows a former military group living on the fringes as bounty hunters and treasure finders in the Damned City. Survival requires fast reactions, powerful weapons and the occasional organ and cybernetic augmentation. Players will complete missions in PVE campaigns, gathering resources to upgrade their guns to stay alive in the Damned City. If all else fails… bring in a friend and mow-down enemies together in online and local multiplayer modes!

Not really sure about this.

[Vanguard]

Trailer looks pretty bad. That Nakazato namedrop is the only reason to care even a little bit.

[Sumez]

The Nakazato namedrop is new, and it makes me genuinely excited. I thought the trailer looked fun, but was unsure if it'd be made by people who knew who they are doing. If it were, I'd probably enjoy it. After the announcement I Googled like a madman to find out who the devs were (mostly interested in knowing if they were Japanese), but couldn't find anything at the time.

Knowing Nakazato is involved, is a huge relief.

[Sumez]

Oops, looks like I spoke a little too soon.



Oh nooo.

[Stevens]

So I finally finished the Messenger. Superb. Loved almost every minute of it. It's not very difficult, but I imagine the challenge comes in the form of speedrunning or no deaths.
Not sure which was your favorite level, Stevens, but mine was probably...

Spoiler

...the Tower of Time. Loved the whole aesthetic and puzzles. The Skylands would be second with the cool mini-shmup thing going on

Had plans to tackle Katana Zero next, but I unexpectedly purchased the Dragon's Trap and Shovel Knight in a sale, so I'll probably opt for one of those.

I'm glad you liked it as much as you did. It would have lost points if you couldn't

Spoiler

pay the shop keeper to mark your map

, but I'm glad they included that. Speaking of the map I thought

Spoiler

the reveal of the scroll being a map was genuinely one of the funniest moments of the game

and the shop keeper is in the running for one of the best NPCs of all time.

Favorite level was the

Spoiler

Sea Shrine

with

Spoiler

Tower of Time

a close second.

Might be good you're waiting on KZ. I've played through it a 4th time (hard mode with story off) and have started a 5th run (hard mode, story on), but there might be more to sink your teeth into by the time you get around to it.

I did finish it on hard to the grand total of 1180 deaths, with almost 400 of those being the TLB.

The story is honestly pretty nebulous, but in a good way and it was totally unexpected. When I first started it and hard the title ost (rain on brick - you can listen here https://wicrecordings.bandcamp.com/albu ... soundtrack) I started to get the inkling I might be in for something special.

[it290]

Oops, looks like I spoke a little too soon.
Oh nooo.

Eh, idk, if they make it in the style of Neo Contra (it seems to have a similar sense of humor), I'll be down.

[Durandal]

Oops, looks like I spoke a little too soon.
Oh nooo.

Eh, idk, if they make it in the style of Neo Contra (it seems to have a similar sense of humor), I'll be down.

I lost all hope the exact moment I saw the curse "upgrades" etched into the description of the game.