Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[cfx]

.

[NYN]

Gorgeous! So fun to watch. Applaud the maturing to 16-bit. Looks and sounds like another thing to bow to. Excellence achieved.

[Volteccer_Jack]

Tengo Kage remake video is out, and even having played Reshrined Rocky, I'm super impressed by how vibrant it looks in motion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ3BNHj5juk

Looks dope, super hyped. They changed sooo much, but still preserved that unique style of play. Can only hope the game is as good as the trailer makes it look.

I personally don't find the character switching all that fun, but I don't find naked Zangetsu all that fun either.

For me, powered up Zangetsu is the best. Those new abilities are just too much fun to play with in a classicvania context.

It is pretty cool that the game can be played in several ways and that everyone can tailor the experience to what they prefer.

This discussion made me go back and replay Curse of the Moon 1 for comparison to its sequel, and boy howdy does it hold up better than I remembered. Combining locked-trajectory jumping with double jump and dash is wild and so fun. Dashing is deceptively strong in a Classicvania where you're used to having one fixed walk speed. Both the dash and the jumping slash are so unassuming yet make a huge difference, individually but especially together. And the opportunity cost of giving up a teammate to upgrade Zangetsu makes for interesting permutations. If you recruit Miriam and kill Alfred, you can combine Miriam's high jump and Zangetsu's double jump for a triple jump. If you recruit Alfred and kill Gebel, then you can dash behind Frostcalibur to freeze long stretches of enemies in one shot. A Zangetsu/Alfred run has limited vertical movement but plows through horizontal sections with ease, while a Zangetsu/Gebel run has short attack range but total air superiority.

Also Curse 1's final bosses are awesome, which is probably why one of them was copy-pasted directly into Curse 2 with no changes, LOL.

[BIL]

Tengo Kage remake video is out, and even having played Reshrined Rocky, I'm super impressed by how vibrant it looks in motion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ3BNHj5juk

Ah man, I was saving that trailer until today (ACA Day ) and it annihilated expectations, as expected. ^__^

I love the SUPER BUFF/SUPER SEXY aesthetic they've gone with throughout these remakes. Everything at 11. Captain Boxerman McSlidekick was an easy spot, but it took me a second to recognise the ol' shield-rifle dudes, Jesus they've been eating well

Looks like they're emphasising the "Dark Professionals" concept via that onboard arsenal, with what appear to be some trickily situational options... I could think of a few places in the OG where caltrops would come in handy! I'm digging that front ledge pullup, too, complementing the OG hanging grip; instantly making me think of a hellaciously amped-up Stage 4-2.

The FC manual has a charming Makaimura-styled map of the mission, from the freighter through the occupied city into Garuda's fortress... now you can see your destination looming massively over the port. It's nothing that hasn't been done since OG Dracula's iconic glimpse of the keep in stage 3, but it's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect from a true passion project by original creators. Natsume returning to continue their scrolling action legend is one of the more miraculous things I've seen happen in this hobby. It's like proverbial pops coming back home thirty years on with a loaf of bread and shaweet new videogames

[Steven]

I bought the Assault Suit Leynos remake on PC. This seems to have been delisted from the Japanese PSN store, so the only way to get the Japanese version is by paying 25000 yen or more for the ultra-rare physical version.

Does the international PS4 version have Japanese text?

[BIL]

Damn, still not gotten around to unsealing my PS4 copy. Got it half a decade before I ever had a PS4 to play it on. Not that it's going anywhere, it's a little memento to Dracue. Will enjoy playing it when I'm finally back home in a million years or so.

Does the international PS4 version have Japanese text?

Nope - at least not in the EU one. Voices are Japan-only though, I don't think there was ever English/etc VA.

OPUSHONS

Some nice and very thread-relevant goings-on lately!

SHINOBI NON GRATA



R2RKMF-endorsed! AND Saigo-influenced?! That's all I need to know tbh! Released on Steam earlier this year; out now on PS4 (and Switch I think?), too - imma get stuck in 2-NITE

DEVIL WORLD



Konami's long-awaited ACA return! Rando-sama reviewed it thoroughly a while back. It seems pretty cool imo, but that may be my arcade Super Contra PTSD talking; such a luxury, lagless 8way fire. The rampant blasting - and prospect of running around wasting unspeakable horrors as heavily-armed Frilly Skirt-chan - convinced me to hop in! Includes both its very different revs, Devil World (JP) and Dark Adventure (US). EDIT: as Brian pointed out, three revisions, even! Majuu no Okoku (JP), Devil World (INT), and Dark Adventure (US).



Poster is customarily badass-yet-humorously on the nose late 80s Konami! Not to be confused with Nintendo's spandex-clad Pacmanesque, or indeed other Devil Worlds!

RUNARK



A fiery fin de siecle genre effort from Taito, combining gritty beat em til they can't even bust Technos brutality with the crowd-scything spectacle of Capcom's Tenchi wo Kuraus! Indiana Jones chain combo x2 with Devil World!

The Violence Has Intensified!

Wrote a whole bunch in the ACA thread. Might as well copy/paste it here, even!

Whaddayou jerks think you're doin!

ACA Runark not only includes Growl (no idea what region differences, if any) - it is also indeed uncensored! Boy howdy is it ever, gibs flyin all over the place like a beltscrolling Quake.

So you've been bayonetted? DEAD IS NO ESCAPE (｀w´メ)

Spoiler

Good gravy, I'd forgotten what a riot this is. Last time I played it was forever ago, on Taito Memories; a short 2P credit-feed without any real frame of reference, vaguely recalling the floor-shaking overkill. That Technos-gone-Rambo swagger really leaps out at me, now! Massive explosions tearing through friend and foe alike... deadly environments, devouring punted souls by the truckload... and raucously cathartic ground-pounds, all judiciously punctuated with overkiller setpieces. Altogether an air of rollicking mayhem. Kicked one poor prick into an arriving train, merciless wheels spitting him and his two homies out in counter-ready cuts.

Hey wait toots WTF NAWWWWWW (◎w◎;)

Spoiler

Solid combat engine, too. The raucous shoot/slash/bomb does outshine the mano-a-mano, slightly; the sword and whip are both devastating, particularly as their combos will auto-finish grounded foes. And even out of ammo, the machinegun's bayonet rips through enemies. The unarmed combat is totally solid, though, and would easily support a game with less massive ordnance. It reminds me a little of the brilliant Crime Fighters 2, bridging Final Fight's dominating PPPs and command knockdowns with Technos's visceral "hit 'em til they heave, then do 'em a favour" finishing strikes and stomp-outs.

Particularly well-judged, how you're free to swat or even chest-bump incoming grenades away from your side of the screen; legit lifesaving tech on this merciless battlefield. The physics on fallen bodies are especially satisfying, haymakers sending targets haplessly sprawling through splintering furniture, Raiders barfight-style.

I like the no-frills, stat-based character selection; seems like a basic ATK v DEF choice, but that's all I really need from an arcade game, if the chassis is solid. Having a good time with KING N' YELLA, the glass cannon of the bunch, whose BOMB KICK is certain doom to even the mightiest foes, like GREEN SKIRT and BLUE TURBAN. Even his basic strikes do stinging damage to bosses, but his low HP makes for a deadly-intense, knife-edge run - no bad thing. INDY JONEZ and his counterpart BLUE INDY JONEZ seem like solid middle-of-the-roaders. ACA manual says RALF JONEZ has 1337 special attacks like MACH FIST and UPPERCUTS, but more research needed.

The KEMONOTOMODACHI are wonderful. They're not dedicated Animal Helpers in the sense of, say, Shadow Dancer's Yamato; more like violent uproars of nature, all God's creatures enjoying their own pulpily vengeful, tide-turning setpieces. Functionally, I like the birdies best, with their air support; almost making me feel sorry for the POACHER SCUM, when one's brought to his knees near an asplosionbarrel by deviously-timed BIRBSTRIKE. Love how Mr. Lion just flat-out erases chumps from this mortal coil while escaping to the freedom, scattering gibs left in his bounding wake! Star turn goes to Mr. Elephant, aided by YACK's bloodeningly Morriconesque leitmotif ;-;7

THE RUTHLESS OPPORTUNIST MR. BIRB (｀w´メ)

Spoiler

As in many ACA releases (ImageFight, Crime Fighters, its vastly superior sequel), Hamster astutely give the P+J command its own button, making special attacks far smoother to execute. They're still proximity-triggered, rather strictly, too; mashing outside of range will leave you cold. They're also wickedly punishable, by design (as are the enemies' equivalents). However, leading in with a couple stunning jabs to close distance, then feathering the third button, will reliably unleash Tatsumaki hell; very smooth, on single targets and crowds alike. Versus the vicious bosses, combining [P+J] with good sidestep technique lets you land counter-specials with pinpoint accuracy.

GET SHBROOMED TOOTS (｀w´メ)

Spoiler

Invaluably, the extra button also guarantees the crowd-controlling ragdoll finisher... a move with both walloping viscerality, and riotous chaining potential. As ruthlessly cool as those strikes to the grill are, there's nothing like slamming goons face-first into the ground repeatedly, comrades brought low by their associate's flailing body, soon to find the ground hurtling up at their own reeling mugs!

Enemies are a little mild, individually, but it's clearly a deliberate balance; they're alarmingly legion, and making each as ornery as the typical Technos thug would get miserable. It's no cakewalk, either; Stage 3 (riverboat) onwards sees a distinct tune-up, feels like they lose the early game's generous windup delay. The remainder is bracingly intense, those shredding armaments far less of a luxury.

A solidly-built brawler, tuned for blazing-guns blockbusting. Works great with the Indy aesthetic; a B-film run amok, and like any good pulp, sporting a formidable action/runtime ratio; short, tough, packed with black-humoured carnage. Note the hat-tip from the designers for 1CCing each stage, much appreciated gents

EAT LEAD MOTHERFU- Hey come back Mr. Lion! I'm one of the GOOD guys! I think! (;｀w´;)

Spoiler

While the Taito Memories version doesn't have "the human giblets delight" on the menu, I was always about the whip anyway. Since the whip gives free lashings to the enemies (and the bad girls too in the game), and it hits both in front and behind, I like it more than any other weapon in the game. Nothing says back off like whipping enemies in front, and the bastards who think they can sneak in from the rear, taste the sweet savory flavor of the whip as well.

You're not kidding, that thing is devastating in front and back I'm used to games with backlash hitboxes too finicky to rely on; more of a showoff/lucky break. Here it's a legit asset; you can thrash enemies in front, while luring backstabbers into a vicious rebuke, then pivot and demolish them too. The manual points this out, with Hamster's usual attention to detail.

Even better with deadly footing nearby!

Spoiler

Last but not least,



ACA ver arriving August 30th! Taito's coinop action/RPG extravaganza, well-loved by esteemed thread regulars - I've never tried the arcade version, looking forward to it! Vanguard's quick startup guide will appraise you of the four brave souls, and also revision differences! Knowing Hamster, it wouldn't surprise me if at least one JP + World rev apiece is included.

[BrianC]

Interesting that the JP poster for Majū no Ōkoku (Devil World is the World version title, though the Nintendo game was released in Europe too) shows three characters and shows them with melee weapons. Seems the 3p version was planned for Japan at one point.

[BIL]

Interesting that the JP poster for Majū no Ōkoku (Devil World is the World version title, though the Nintendo game was released in Europe too) shows three characters and shows them with melee weapons. Seems the 3p version was planned for Japan at one point.

Excellent point re: the Japan title! Happily, the ACA ver includes all three, and as is Hamster's red ship/blue ship wont, lets you flip the character/controller assignments.

As Expected Of Ham-chans (｀w´メ)

So you can run around whacking minotaurs and dryads as that smooth criminal Belloq, I mean Zorloq!

I'm always surprised I never heard of this one until so recently. I like how they not only did a shameless Raiders lift... they also have Not Indy as the one to gloatingly open the Ark - having invited international press including Not Willie, no less! - while Not Belloq just kinda chills on the scene.

Belongs in a museum, more like BELONGS 2 ME mirite >:3

Much more equitable distribution of blame. They all got off pretty lightly compared to the film, even with the Ark now looking decidedly evil! Reminds me of AC Super Contra's knack for horribly leering visages. Oof, me PTSD's kicking in again! Good to hear Salamander Announcer Bro back in action! Use The Dynamite to blow them up!

Only had ten minutes or so with Shinobi non Grata, but that's plenty with stage + boss design this tight Handles amazingly. Outstandingly good 8way slashing, they nailed Saigo's elusive balance of raining zako and zen control. The Alien Soldier boss carnival is vividly apparent, three hyper-mobile duels right from the outset. Love what seems like a Ninja Scroll reference, bzz bzzz! Really digging the katana + subweapon setup, and being able to run and attack simultaneously; goddamn, I'm gonna get back to this hard tonight. Killer BGM too

Men vs WRAITH (｀w´メ)

^ something Saigo could've always used - death animations (looking conspicuously like Tsukikage's own midair downfall, even!) So fast-moving I didn't even notice the blood until giffing that.

Because it's something I always wonder about, can confirm the Japanese PSN version includes English text, as well as Japanese.

[Steven]

Damn, still not gotten around to unsealing my PS4 copy. Got it half a decade before I ever had a PS4 to play it on. Not that it's going anywhere, it's a little memento to Dracue. Will enjoy playing it when I'm finally back home in a million years or so.

Does the international PS4 version have Japanese text?

Nope - at least not in the EU one. Voices are Japan-only though, I don't think there was ever English/etc VA.

Yeah, Japanese PS4 copies are worth a lot of cash now. As far as I know, it's one of the most valuable Japanese PS4 games. Not really sure how it compares to stuff abroad since I've been here for the entire duration of the PS4's lifetime, but it's on the high end here. With it being removed from Japanese PSN and with the lack of Japanese text in the overseas one, Japanese players are officially fucked unless they want to pay the 20000~30000 yen for a physical copy or have a PC.

I haven't played it yet, sadly. Been too busy with other stuff to really do anything at all recently. Even Zero Fire hasn't really been played since it released, which is something I need to fix. I really want those Hellfire 1P and Horror Story A/B clears.

[BIL]

God damn, Shinobi non Grata is good. Studiously informed by but never derivative of masterworks.

Very, very happy to see more Ninja Scroll references. ^__^ The government has falsified an epidemic to scare away curious passerby, you say?!

The Official & LEGIT Anime of R2RKMF Scrolling Hard Corps (｀w´メ)

Jeezus it's a good time to be a ninja.

Indeed. This has been a great generation-and-a-half (or whatever it is) for sidescrolling action in general, tbh. SnG, Tanuki Justice, Steel Assault, Blazing Chrome, Huntdown, Blaster Master Zero 2, Leynos, and a comeback of biblical proportions in GNG Resurrection... and I've no doubt Kage will deliver, too, with three neoclassiques already under Natsume's belt. I'd put all this stuff on par with anything from the 8/16/32bit glory days. I'm sure there's more too, it's just tricky to keep up with home arcade translations also going full-blast via Hamster and M2. Good times.

[BrianC]

Excellent point re: the Japan title! Happily, the ACA ver includes all three, and as is Hamster's red ship/blue ship wont, lets you flip the character/controller assignments.

Yes, I'm glad it includes them, though I was hoping a prototype JP version exists that plays like a better balanced version of the US version, which has some interesting differences, but drains health way too fast. Definitely like the JP and EU versions so far, though. It's definitely telling when the US version tells you can get more lives with more coins off the bat and has unlimited continues until a certain point when the JP and EU versions don't allow for extra lives via coin insert and have limited continues.

I picked up that Xiaomei game from the switch. Mixed feelings so far. Definitely a homage to Kung Fu with some excellent music but seems to be a bit kitschy with some questionable hit detection.

[copy-paster]

This weekend there will be annual Shmup Slam 6 by MarkMSX/The Electric Underground's youtube channel featuring live demos of shmups and shmup-adjacent ones (rail shooter and run and guns). Looks like there will be Contra: Shattered Soldier run on the sunday schedule with Aquas (any% best ending WR holder) as commentator, of course because it would be played by yours truly.

Here's also Saturday schedule where I also do head on 1CC duel of RayStorm with someone else, there's also lots of good submissions too.

[BIL]

Excellent, I can actually watch live this time! Best of luck.

[Hazuki]

Oh my god, the KAGE remake looks so beautiful! Modern pixel art done right as usual of Tengo.

By the way, Dragon Fighter was released on the same day in Japan back then (1990/08/10). Imagine how cool it'd be if they were to remake that as well.

[BIL]

Man, I always considered Dragon Fighter/Kage/ShatterBrain their FC sidescrolling triple crown, but I'd no idea the former two shared a release date! That's even more impressive, given how differently the two play.

Got me coffee and crackers all set for CPS's Shattered Soldier run Let's all pray to our deities of choice that there'll be no Rolling Ball Lance, or if there is, that the rude fucker behaves himself and dies quick

EDIT: Congrats CPS, that Lance fight ended in the best way imaginable. ^__^

[copy-paster]

or if there is, that the rude fucker behaves himself and dies quick

LMAO it ended EXACTLY like what you said there holy shiet.

Very good run with the WR holder Aquas as commentator, and viewers also peaked in this run too. I'm more embarrassed with the double KO on the TLB, had it been at S-rank pace I'd obviously flip the table right away.

I might do Neo Contra on next Slam if it ever happen, although not sure if I'd go with default loadouts as they're way trickier to get quick S-rank.

[BryanM]

Tried Zombie Hunter out. I guess it's the kind of thing I deserve. Punished Bryan.

Hah....

The combat has no knockback, and really feels more like a number pushfest, the kind of combat in primitive RPG's back in the day, like Hydlide. The efficient way to get started is by walking back and forth until you have a large cache of healing items in your inventory. And your numbers get big enough to kill mobs in a hit or two.

I guess that's not necessarily completely disqualifying; I have a soft spot for Search For Eden after all. Even with the copy+paste monsters that all act the same.

What can not be forgiven is the incredibly annoying music that bounces for a few seconds, and cuts off when you pick up a treasure chest. Constantly. It's like someone tapping you in the temple at random intervals; THIS IS VERY ANTI-LIMINAL. You know flow, where you can just get lost in an activity or your inner thoughts? Good luck doing any of that here, buddy. Fussing with the inventory often doesn't help with that, either.

As a bonus, there's apparently a bug that causes your defense stat to be overwritten every time you level up. So your equipped armor pieces are useless until you can equip a new item and it re-runs through the equip armor subroutine.

Plain text alone doesn't really make this kind of stuff "real", if you're just using your imagination here. Try putting on a no-commentary playthrough from youtube on, and try listening to the sound while doing something else. Only then can you share in my pain.

Why does Zelda 2 have to be so goddamn good? You know all this talk about Baldur's Gate 3 being "too good" and all the other game developers are jealous? It's times like this when I ponder if Nintendo are the only bastards on the planet who know how to make a video game.

There's a reason we simped hard for Cave for so long. 90% of that was they were the only people still making games in that genre (hell, I think their mobile gothic horror shm'up thing is still alive somehow??), but also they were, like, playable.

[BIL]

Shinobi non Grata is Saigo+Alien Soldier/Taromaru-good. My only complaint is a couple of tolerable-yet-jarring bugs that give a couple bosses King Crimson timeskip power; dunno if they're PS4/NSW-exclusive, will be posting videos later... very consistently triggerable (st2-2, and st4 final). I really hope they get fixed; it'd be a shame to see a formally nigh-flawless game like this marred by technical issues. Will write more later, I gotta finish muh first 1cc

or if there is, that the rude fucker behaves himself and dies quick

LMAO it ended EXACTLY like what you said there holy shiet.

Pure R2R live theatre

BEHOLD MY TRUE POWWA *spinspinspin* (｀ω´メ)
(■｀W´■) SPIN ON THIS *womp*
>>>>>>>>>> NANIIIIII (◎ω◎;)

Tried Zombie Hunter out. I guess it's the kind of thing I deserve. Punished Bryan.

Crikey, never heard of that one! Marked for index!

Me when I post about the index and someone asks me when it's gonna be done ;3

Zelda II does something not many ARPGs of its time ever chanced to: it puts the martial - the art of killing without being killed - front and center, pride of place. If you're not good at handling Link's short yet deadly-accurate blade, and keeping his big fuckin head safely behind the shield, and watching your footing and general vicinity, you're gonna get ping-ponged from one big dogman dick to the next! Straight into the nearest burning lava pit, or pond! WAAAA! BIDEOGAME KILL MEH1!1

You know what that takes? It takes... BRASS BALLS DESU (｀w´メ) Many decades later, Miyazaki-san @ FUROMUSOFTU would ascend from Janitor to PREZIDENTE on such august ideals! You're not a legendary knight/hunter/etc, you're a fuckin noob and I'VE got your sixty bucks bitch! Now learn the ropes and earn your stripes POUSYBOI

Of course doing all that stuff is basic for your typical Castlevania/Ninja Gaiden etc, but it's quite rare in Look Around And Kill Motherfuckers of Zelda II's time. It sure as shit isn't part of DRAGON BUSTER, Namco's lovable, utterly hardcore, but bent-to-balls dungeon blitzkrieger!

Economy of world+dungeon design's a big part of it too - just right for a long dark evening ferreting out half-recalled secrets. That one Heart Piece out in teh sea, aw mayne There are a couple other FC ARPGs I put in Zelda II's distant orbit - Battle of Olympus and Faxanadu - but neither match its excellence on either count. Legacy of the Wizard/Dragon Slayer IV is ineffably wonderful - I am so pleased it got a surprise PS4 M2 release! - but not a hardcore slasher. Castlevania II doesn't come close; the dungeons lose all the cunning pressure that made the original's stages special, and the overworld is just as blah (killer atmosphere & historical cachet though).

I tried so hard to like Wing of Madoola but goddamn that is a flat-out kusoge, what kinda ARPG has inescapable pits forcing a restart? Not really in the same genre either, admittedly, with the discrete sequential stages. Worst of both worlds lmao 3;

Only caveat I have with Zelda II is, I strongly prefer the JP ver's XP system nowadays - lets you build up a nice glass cannon fast, an agile/fragile stabber ala US Castlevania III Grant. Trouble is, to avoid teh FDS's disk-swap/loadtime bullshit, you either gotta emulate, or use a virtual drive, or play the smooshed-res GBA ver; but if that's not an issue it's all good.

One of those household names that is naw-for-real actually a subgenre leader.

[cfx]

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[Lander]

Me when I post about the index and someone asks me when it's gonna be done ;3

For what it's worth, I have a backgrounded SQL database eating up system resources every day solely to hold a 75% done, exhaustively GIFed and cross-referenced, Taromaru ST.

Which will certainly be finished next time I get around to picking the game back up.

[BIL]

My only problem with Shinobi non Grata is I hate how it looks. I really wish indie developers would move on from the ugly gaudy NES-like 8-bit color palettes in particular and do 16-bit-style graphics instead. 8-bit was often ugly even at the time and it just seems like some kind of fetish now in my opinion. This game seems inspired largely by Ninja Spirit, but certainly not graphically.

The overly-cartoony art style is SnG's weakest front, absolutely; it's no Huntdown nor Steel Assault. The flat shading reminds me of Kick Master, but without KID's KoNatsume-tough compact proportions. Dragon Fighter also comes to mind, again balancing its Peanuts-esque shading with flawlessly rugged GI Joe proportions.

Ninja Spirit uses similar proportions, but - as expected of a team featuring Akio himself - the shading puts it leagues ahead. I'm much more fond of SnG in motion than stills, with the rich parallax and smooth animation; doubljumping between the kites in st3.2 against that vast nightscape feels - moreso than looks - great. st2's zombie hordes emerging from the immediate BG as a uniform black mass, before each individual's sprite and hitbox trigger, is something straight out of my designer armchair, too... I love how they imparted that sense of encroaching, crushing pandemonium, without causing an unplayable clusterfuck.

One thing it actually outdoes NS (and a few other classics) on is enemies having death animations. It's a small edge - particularly in a game that's not much slower-moving than NS itself, where fixating on any one target will see you flanked by five others - but erupting out of would-be dogpiles and scything through checkpoints with scads of shredded foes in my wake is a welcome bit of viscerality.

I really hope they sort out the loading hitches, and especially boss animation timewarps; those are tragically tatty-feeling, in a game that's formally more than worthy of its forebears.

For what it's worth, I have a backgrounded SQL database eating up system resources every day solely to hold a 75% done, exhaustively GIFed and cross-referenced, Taromaru ST.

Which will certainly be finished next time I get around to picking the game back up.

Careful out there! Nobody wants to see you trade your av in for Dead Randar! At the edge of character limits, and better judgment - thar be the farm's deadliest game

[BryanM]

I haven't tried Rambo out, but will have to sometime. Obligated. Opinions?

One of the neat things about leveling up your player skill and leveling up your character stats, is they both offer an accelerating rate of rewards (progress, or EXP) as they increase, in properly designed games. The increasing movement speed in Search for Eden, how it resets you back to zero after clearing a world.. it's similar to the Vampire Survivor thing of constant acceleration, constantly powering up.

A completely different ethos from E-Swat's rigid toe-tapping.

It's also cute the normies were re-introduced to the Robotron strain of the concept of pressure, through Survivor having the bumluck of going viral. Looking at video of the Luv Muv Alternative game gave me awful Hellgate London flashbacks: where the optimal tactic is to backpedal while shooting forward. Hellgate is the worst at this, since it was 99.9998% sewer tunnels, so it was like constantly moonwalking on a road, re-treading the same ground instead of constantly moving forward.

As opposed to Robotron where the optimal move is very often to move forward while shooting, to carve out a safe zone.

I tried so hard to like Wing of Madoola but goddamn that is a flat-out kusoge, what kinda ARPG has inescapable pits forcing a restart?

I tolds ya you just need to pick up the booots man. Just hit reset, use the continue command (select+start, obviously!), select the stage you skipped, and pick'em up this time!

It wasn't exactly my favorite game either, but compared to Zombie Hunter... it's a masterpiece by every metric.

One of those household names that is naw-for-real actually a subgenre leader.

Which is extremely sad, to be frank. Here we are in 2023, and I'm actually a little excited for the Zelda 2 graphical overlay project. That's about the same as being interested in a 16-bit touchup of a hypothetical Super Mario game that's somewhere between Mario 1 and Mario 3 in content.

There should be more games to point to. A lot more. But like 98% of the genre are indie games.




(Am I the only person going nuts over the new forum putting an entire URL link text on its own line? Empty space is very annoying!)

[BIL]

I tried so hard to like Wing of Madoola but goddamn that is a flat-out kusoge, what kinda ARPG has inescapable pits forcing a restart?

I tolds ya you just need to pick up the booots man. Just hit reset, use the continue command (select+start, obviously!), select the stage you skipped, and pick'em up this time!

This was the first thing I thought of when that happened. It's not just kusoge, it's Canadian-style kusoge

It's the kind of thing I'd tolerate from a likeably sadistic contemporary RPG where you're already busting out the graphing paper. In something purportedly arcade-bred... imagine the poor old dude behind the counter having to unplug the machine, every time little Taro ventured down a pit he wasn't supposed to! I wouldn't mind if it was like Genpei Toumaden, where if you reach the last boss without the three special herbs, he just melts your face off with undodgeable Jigoku no Force Lightning. 3; Or like Druaga and Ishtar, which are flat-out unintelligible without mass graphing paper efforts from your entire homeroom! But it's aight, if you get stuck there, YOU DEAD

In Madoola's defense, the boxart's contrast of scurreh red/black apocalypse skies with the ice-white cartridge is very alluring! And the game's motoring pace is quite enjoyable, when it's not dunking you into Reset Pits! I must resist. >w<

(I was surprised, just then - not only did I not hallucinate that room, but it's since become... internet famous! I religiously rented every R rated movie-licensed NES game as a kid 3; AFAIK, there aren't any great ones, which annoys me as a grown-ass mayne eager to avenge childhood traumas! Batman, Gremlins 2, zzzzz... yes, they're great games, but the movies are for poofs! I want the sweary ultraviolence w/boobs! Holy fuck, I hope not too many kids sought out Sudden Impact, expecting the NES game of the same cover's wacky RC car hijinks! They'd only have discovered A World Of Rape

There are lots of "ok" and "kinda good" ones, though. KLON's Predator is pretty amusing! Clearly Genpei Toumaden-influenced, now I think back, with the juxtaposition of terrifyingly slippery Treachery Platformer and BIGGU MODO. Legit haunting BGM too, sonorously plaintive. DECO's Robocop isn't entirely bad either, and the boxart is admirably blatant; just the iconic "Peter Weller steppin outta he whip" w/ logo, cropped to lovable FC box dimensions! That last point is why Terminator World can only ever be an "almost," no matter how astute your Sunsoft trivia game. 3; Great box, no Ahnuld - close, but no Winston!

I can't remember if Rambo even got Japanese release tbh. I remember the BGM from those old How To Beat Nintendo VHS tapes, very cod-patriotic just like the movie it's based on ;-;7 Did you know it's called THE IKARI RESCUE in Japan? That's why Ralf looks exactly like Sly! Deal fell through, blimey. Then again, Micronics wiped their ass with the FC port, so it'd be just another log on the pyre of lame R-Rated FC movie licenses.

I suppose FC Guevara, SNK's bravura conversion of the trve + honest Ikari III, joins Terminator World in the "woulda been the great R-Rated FC Movie License Game" stakes. Actually, holy moly, FC Ikari III is great too, unlike its AC counterpart! That's two woulda-beens from the same dev!)

[Lander]

You might call it...

KusogEH

A kusodub in tribute.

Careful out there! Nobody wants to see you trade your av in for Dead Randar!

Saved to the archive! I'm going to have to do something with that eventually

[BryanM]

Druaga really was a relic of an age we'll never get to go back to again outside of retro AI LARPing. "If you look something up, that's cheating. But if you work toward a goal with your friends, that's teamwork!" It's like being on an archaeology team together.

Milon's Secret Castle and all that. The difference between actual secrets, and a giant crack in the wall screaming "place bomb here".

I can't remember if Rambo even got Japanese release tbh.

It totally did. It looks like the most Japanese game ever.

That line mentioned in the Nerd video is classic: "What do you think of me?" Who asks that?! Why would you do that to someone!

One youtuber lady mentioned she was on a date with a guy when he laid that bombshell of a question at her feet. She was still beginning to learn english at the time, and thought "like" would be inappropriate to say to humans. So she went with "love", not having been warned of the most dangerous four letter word. The guy was like "oh. wow..."

Years later she read an email he sent to a buddy laughing about it: "Tomoko said she loved me lol" etc. There was one fella sleeping on a couch that night, I tell you what.

A tragedy that could have been avoided if only everyone involved hadn't decided to collectively fuck up. As how most apocalypses go.

[BIL]

Holy shit, indeed it did grace the FC! Box is that good ol' polaroid of Sly firing his M6! O_O That's tempting >w<

A tragedy that could have been avoided if only everyone involved hadn't decided to collectively fuck up. As how most apocalypses go.

Human history = Babel senki 3;

Druaga is like a metaphor Imagine a bunch of different nationalities stranded on an island, the only escape being to produce a Druaga superplay First they'd have to get over the innate despair one experiences at Gilgamesh's attack animation! The fuckers would've invented their own Esperanto by the time it was over.

(it's also a MAD $TACKS GENERATOR ofc )

[BrianC]

Rambo NES actually mistranslates the movie ending.

[BryanM]

"Familiarity is a heuristic for understanding."

Watching video of Metal Slug: Awakening definitely gives me a deep sense of wrongness. Like trying to stuff my brain into a sardine can. Damage numbers? Wide screen? HP? Recharge timers on grenades? ... Cutscenes??

[Lander]

...For understanding the depths of corruption that have taken root in that which was once Good

- Strongest comeback of the legendary arcade IP -
- Legendary arcade game Metal Slug: Awakening launches on mobile -
- *Nice high-res app icon that somehow still manages to look cheap as fuck* -

The horse is a skeleton at this point, but man. You can see the slime ten paces before any of the stuff that makes it recognizable.

[Udderdude]

Blasphemous 2 released today. Seems like a bit of a stealth release, hadn't heard anything about it.