Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BrianC]

Same flyer artist as Surprise Attack, I believe?

Bloody RAWR

I wonder how popular MacGyver was in Japan, or if that character was just aimed at western audiences. He's even named "Max" in game (and I thought the voice said "Mac" when I first heard it).

[BIL]

I wonder how popular MacGyver was in Japan, or if that character was just aimed at western audiences.

Well-spotted! Indeed, that's who he's reminding me of.

I always wondered if those Western SatAM properties - X Men, GI Joe, TMNT, Bucky O'Hare, Moo Mesa - rubbed off on Konami's art teams, and/or their marketing division. There's a decided early 90s comicbook aesthetic running through Vendetta and Sunset Riders (western geddit ), which really ramped up for Metamorphic Force, Mystic Warriors, and Violent Storm. I could believe Metamorphic Force, in particular, was the ghost of some forgotten Captain Planet-inspired IP.

Would make good business sense - why license when you can make your own? - but I always detected a lot of passion in those games too, like the teams wanted to compete with the licensed stuff. Everybody loves Mystic Warriors and Violent Storm's boss taunts.

[1KMS]

雷軋斗 ライアット RIOT
YOU'LL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FALL.

Master Contra kommanderHZK just delivered the ultimate Riot run, a full no damage clear.
https://youtu.be/xzZClGHZW9k

Additional SHOOTout to the OG rep of this deep cut, LordBBH.
http://lordbbh.rustedlogic.net/riot/
https://youtu.be/PGlvPP1Az-s

The Strong Team vibes of this game are unmistakable, and it's essentially the final game of the trilogy with Ninja Ryuukenden and Wild Fang.

Also, by watching LordBBH's non-autofire run, you can clearly tell that the game was designed with autofire in mind by how spastic the player sprite behaves without it. Don't worry about following Walter Day's Treehouse rules with this one, I'm officially overruling him.

[BIL]

Hell yeah. Couldn't have said it better. (how was I not subscribed to Kommander )

I'd actually forgotten BBH's customarily bloodening coverage, having enjoyed it long ago. As usual he was first through the breach.

Instantly thought of Strong Shima and co with this one too, glad I'm not alone. Funny to think back to the "PLDT" (Pledator?) poster feat. Dutch in Ninja Ryukenden, haha. I think the commando spirit was always waiting to erupt! It's a shame there's no staff roll, but I'm really just glad the game made it out.



Now I look at it, the Attract's near-parodic hardcore seems like a nod to the game system; raging fire in front and back, player in middle. Could believe it, with the consistent good humour of Tecmo's arcade canon.

Good motivation to finally write up my Ninja Gaiden and Wild Fang runs from earlier this year. Got quite the ACA backlog too, between Riot, Metamorphic Force, Crime City, and VS Quest Of Ki. Hell, Lead Angle too. It's so easy to take your eye off Hamster for a couple months and come back to a motherlode.

[Steven]

Anyone get the new Snow Bros yet? Aside from the one Famitsu reviewer who trashed it, it seems that everyone that's played it says it's good. I'm kind of hesitant, given that I'm trying to save money and also because it's Tatsujin's first game, but...

[BIL]

I've been totally out of the loop the last three months, had no idea it was even out.

Hm. On one hand, I want to say it reminds me of Bomberman 64. On the other, that makes me sound like an asshole, because everyone hates the N64. >_> It's not a slight, I love that machine unconditionally. Its exclusive possession of S&P (more like Alien Soldier 2) and Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 (more like 4.5) alone would suffice! But I got like two dozen other good games too!

Genuinely something I could've imagined coming out around then.

I would be lying if I said I'm not mostly interested in the LE's SB1 Mikadao superplay, though! Mr. Imaeda makes the commentary sound substantial. ("They discuss the game in an adult tone" )

[Udderdude]

We got this "NINJA KAMUI: SHINOBI ORIGINS" thing, too. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2586 ... I_ORIGINS/

Honestly from the footage it looks pretty mediocre. Great music, though.

[BIL]

Ohshi, I was trying to remember the name of its source anime, the other day. Had a pretty badass trailer as I recall.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

On one hand, I want to say it reminds me of Bomberman 64. On the other, that makes me sound like an asshole, because everyone hates the N64. >_>

I remember playing the hell out of Bomberman 64, great game! Whenever we did multiplayer I had to play with a steering wheel because I only had 3 controllers and as the host I played with the handicap. I got pretty good at it (and the novelty of playing N64 racing games with a steering wheel wore off because I never really had a good desk or sitdown setup for it).

Bomberman 64 is really weird to get 100% on. You have to memorize some really silly jumps and if you take too long, you can't get 100% on the file because some unlocks are tied to beating it under a certain time. The game doesn't add up the total time for all levels either, it increments your playtime each time you beat a level, so you can't go back and beat levels you were slow on to lower your overall time, you have to remake a new file. I've never 100%'d it, especially not on Hard. I worked out very early on Hard is impossible to 100% unless you do Normal first, and unlock the max power bomb option. There's a level (the first city/water themed level) that has an impossible to beat time limit unless you use a red bomb to blow open a door, which can only be done if you played enough Normal difficulty to unlock this option. Weird design choices here!

Fortunately the hardest to obtain rewards for 100% completion are purely cosmetic parts to use in multiplayer.

[Steven]

I would be lying if I said I'm not mostly interested in the LE's SB1 Mikadao superplay, though! Mr. Imaeda makes the commentary sound substantial. ("They discuss the game in an adult tone" )

I am pretty interested in that as well, as I don't think I've ever seen Uemura-san do commentary on a game before, so to do it on something that he didn't make is especially unusual.

I am not sure if I want to get a console LE for double the price of the PC version (which launched at 20% off) just to get a superplay for one of my least favourite Toaplan games, so I'm still not really sure what to do. I'll probably get the PC version now because it's the cheapest one, and then depending on if it runs like shit on Steam Deck or not, pick up either a Switch or PS5 LE, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch version runs worse than the PC version on Steam Deck. Steam Deck's a weird machine, though, and it sometimes seems to go out of its way to disappoint in the most unexpected ways.

Anyway, I'll maybe get it. I checked the Steam player count on steamdb and I'm not really surprised to see that only 14 people were playing it at its highest point. Only 4 are playing it as of the time of this post... they did kind of shit out the PC version with little advertising and not much of an advance notice, though.

I did also notice when searching for Snow Bros Wonderland on Steam that the super weird Switch-only Snow Bros 1 remake from a few years ago suddenly got a Steam page that I didn't see advertised anywhere at all. Still not sure what to think about that one. At least they added autofire to the Snow Bros 2 remake so you don't get fucking carpal tunnel syndrome from playing it.

Speaking of Uemura-san, I forgot that a few months ago I went to hang out with him at a restaurant where we... uh... ate the severed heads of the Snow Bros.

[BIL]

On one hand, I want to say it reminds me of Bomberman 64. On the other, that makes me sound like an asshole, because everyone hates the N64. >_>

I remember playing the hell out of Bomberman 64, great game! Whenever we did multiplayer I had to play with a steering wheel because I only had 3 controllers and as the host I played with the handicap. I got pretty good at it (and the novelty of playing N64 racing games with a steering wheel wore off because I never really had a good desk or sitdown setup for it).

Faaack Thought I was hardcore using the 6button pad with dead X and Y buttons @ Genesis SFII, haha. Exceptionally good manners! So many fond memories of that Pyramid stage with the timeout water hazard. And the odd "inflatable bomb" mechanic... damn, this makes me want to chase up a copy.

I'll probably get the PC version now because it's the cheapest one, and then depending on if it runs like shit on Steam Deck or not, pick up either a Switch or PS5 LE, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch version runs worse than the PC version on Steam Deck. Steam Deck's a weird machine, though, and it sometimes seems to go out of its way to disappoint in the most unexpected ways.

Yeah, I have to admit the performance is a concern I have. I'm limited to PS4 and PS5 currently, so I hope at least one is a Chosen Platform™, ala Raiden III Mikado running beautifully on PS4 and uh, not so much elsewhere!

Speaking of Uemura-san, I forgot that a few months ago I went to hang out with him at a restaurant where we... uh... ate the severed heads of the Snow Bros.

I'm sure it's what they'd have wanted, snowbro life as fleeting as it is! ;w;7 Toaplan presents ALIVE 2: NICK & TOM

...Raymond Briggs' The Snowman coming to mind all of a sudden. Some say its ending traumatised them but I think it's a helpful memento mori. I remembering looking at my parents like "Did Snowbro just fuck up? He's the main dude!"

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Exceptionally good manners! So many fond memories of that Pyramid stage with the timeout water hazard. And the odd "inflatable bomb" mechanic... damn, this makes me want to chase up a copy.

My momma raised me right! ;3

Playing the multiplayer with a time limit is a must, because the timeout mechanics are hilariously fun to deal with. Sadly, at the time we played, I hadn't unlocked the extra stages and didn't know where was a code to activate them, so I never got to experience them with friends.

My copy didn't come with a user manual, but I did see CPU opponents inflating their bombs; it was a lifechanging event to discover how to do it, lemme tell ya (especially since it's super useful for making bomb bridges in single player too).

[BIL]

Hell yeah, long overdue GIF. Always loved the innocent - yet faintly brazen! - good cheer after a round of raucously booting treachery.



Bs up Cs down! "This one's called Dancing On Your Grave!"

Spoiler

"Hudson City detectives have noted a distinctive pattern of bobble shoeprints at the dusty scenes of military-grade destruction, which they've dubbed The B-Walk..."

[Steven]

I'll probably get the PC version now because it's the cheapest one, and then depending on if it runs like shit on Steam Deck or not, pick up either a Switch or PS5 LE, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch version runs worse than the PC version on Steam Deck. Steam Deck's a weird machine, though, and it sometimes seems to go out of its way to disappoint in the most unexpected ways.

Yeah, I have to admit the performance is a concern I have. I'm limited to PS4 and PS5 currently, so I hope at least one is a Chosen Platform™, ala Raiden III Mikado running beautifully on PS4 and uh, not so much elsewhere!

I played the PS5 demo at Tokyo Game Show last year. A lot can happen in a year, but the PS5 demo was flawless, so PS5 at least should be safe. I did some digging and found one review that was done on Steam Deck and apparently it's good on Steam Deck, so PS4 should also be safe.

Speaking of Uemura-san, I forgot that a few months ago I went to hang out with him at a restaurant where we... uh... ate the severed heads of the Snow Bros.

I'm sure it's what they'd have wanted, snowbro life as fleeting as it is! ;w;7 Toaplan presents ALIVE 2: NICK & TOM

...Raymond Briggs' The Snowman coming to mind all of a sudden. Some say its ending traumatised them but I think it's a helpful memento mori. I remembering looking at my parents like "Did Snowbro just fuck up? He's the main dude!"

Can't wait for Snow Bros. IV: The Search for Nick & Tom

Now that I think about it, this game should really be called Snow Cousins because they aren't Bros. this time, but it's definitely a more awkward title. I will say that their decapitated heads did taste pretty great, though...

[velo]

I noticed Wayforward's got something out called "RetroRealms Arcade": https://store.steampowered.com/app/2158 ... ms_Arcade/

Apparently the idea is to make "arcade" games based on horror movie IPs and combine them under a single launcher, kind of like Capcom Arcade Stadium or something, but with original titles. So far they've done one for Halloween and one for Evil Dead, both sidescrolling action platformers, presumably with more to come. I haven't played either of them yet, and I've had mixed experiences with Wayforward, but the Steam user reviews make them sound like must-plays:

Imagine a game designed specifically to tell the player "F*** you for playing this, SUCKER!" That's the experience. I don't want to diminish the art direction, music or overall intent. It's as good as it is frustrating, but frustrating wins out. It's also way overpriced.

"Retro inspired" can be a failing. In this case, it often means "horrible f***ing game design." The platforming is absolute dog sh*t. You'll struggle and fail, countless times, only to arrive at the same impassable, cheating, cheap-as-f***, bullsh*t knockback enemy that robs you of any and all progress.

Inevitably, you'll be sent back to the beginning of the game. This is an exercise in anger management. It's a weird experience, because it's as good as it is punishing. The team really made something appealing to LOOK at, but playing it feels like suffering. F*** you, RetroRealms.

[Sima Tuna]

I heard the retrorealms arcade games are shit. No idea if it's true but I decided not to spend the money. I generally dislike Wayforward games as a rule (even when others like them), so I didn't want to tempt fate.

The wayforward game I like the most is probably the original shantae, which is still extremely flawed. I just like it because of the ambition.

[Steven]

I bought Snow Bros on Steam. Will go get some food and maybe (re)watch Star Trek for a while, but I'll check it out tonight and give impressions. I have a basically neutral opinion of Snow Bros 1 and 2, but this is a somewhat different type of game. Kind of know what to expect going in because of the demo last year and I do not expect it to deviate from that. Will probably get the opportunity to try multiplayer on Monday. Not sure if that will make the game better or the same, but I'm guessing better.

[BIL]

Much appreciated, and for the PS5 performance info too! I'm snowed under (bwaaa!) with ACA stuff, million things to post this weekend.

[Steven]

Sure, no problem. I have played the game for about 40 minutes now, half on my normal PC and half on Steam Deck, and here are my initial impressions:

• Game is good! This is the most important thing, of course.

• Game is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too easy on normal.

• You can absolutely play this for score, although perhaps only on a per-stage basis.

• On first boot, the game launches you directly into the opening cutscene and then into the game, bypassing the main menu, settings (of which there are almost none, and NO graphics options at all beyond resolution and vsync), etc., which is kind of annoying.

• PC version defaults to English everything with no way to change it without viewing or skipping the intro and exiting the first stage to go to the menu.

• Judging by their accents in the English version, the Bros. are apparently from Crumpetland?!? That's not what I expected at all, but okay!

• PS5 controller disconnected from my PC mid-game, and then it worked fine for a while, then something weird happened and it thought I was playing in multiplayer, so it spawned another player and I was able to control both simultaneously. That's not supposed to happen, but I've had this controller disconnect itself from my computer like this before despite only using wired, so that's on the controller. I suppose I should say beware using a PS5 controller, as you may unintentionally clone yourself...

• Never thought I'd make this comparison, but like Crimzon Clover, this game has special Steam Deck button icons, which is an extreme rarity; they clearly knew people would play this on Steam Deck.

• If you try to play this on Steam Deck at native resolution at above 60 FPS, it will kick the Steam Deck's ass handily despite the PS3~Wii U level graphics, so don't bother trying. It can do 60, but it will use almost all of the GPU to do so; battery life will probably not be great without a lower framerate cap. Will attempt it at 1920x1080 on my monitor in a while just to see how it performs, but I'm expecting a catastrophe because that's what happens when you try to use the Steam Deck for 3D games at resolutions above its screen's 1280x800 native resolution.

So yeah, it's good. So far, anyway, aside from the super easy difficulty. No promises for how good it is later in the game, but I'm probably going to increase it to hard.

[Randorama]

I admit that I like spamming, but there is a limit to how much TL; DR material I like to post outside "my" threads. This revision of my old Thunder Fox impressions might be of interest to R2RKMF aficionados, I believe (and hope).

[BIL]

Splendid timing! I finally gave ACA Crime City a go last night; appreciating anew Thunder Fox's Shin Roly Poly Ansatsuken. If they'd made CC's devastatingly potent Blanka-ism some badass knee drop / double leg takedown, it would be the most seamlessly martial Rolling Thunderesque yet. Unexpectedly sleek, busting it out to flatten the crims mid-gunfight. These chumps shouldn't have let me close distance!

As-is, a rather literally Rolling Thunder. Raucously scrambling Buster Keaton x Lethal Weapon caper; no bad thing. Bad guy's got a sawed-off? Not any more he don't! *spinspinspin* Genuinely impressive how lantern-jawed, CANNON FILMS serious Thunder Fox's take comes off, ensconced with that Hokuto no Ken-worthy flashkick, and sternum-staving flying boot!

Will look forward to reading!

Sure, no problem. I have played the game for about 40 minutes now, half on my normal PC and half on Steam Deck, and here are my initial impressions:

• Game is good! This is the most important thing, of course.

Cheers again, that does sound promising! Here's hoping for Tatsujin, game and devs alike!

[Randorama]

Birru-dono, all is very good thank you very much etc.

Re: CC.

Please do not forget that the two Miami Vice reject characters in CC are fighting in casual dressing and suit, so fancier kicks would have been trouser-ripping affairs. Saving the world via jumping kicks is fine as long as you wear oversized cargo trousers, boot, and... nothing else, really. Those cop dudes probably had to skip donuts and coffee breaks to perform all those rolling attacks of doom. Maybe Taito designers did not want to draw protagonists regurgitating their lunch after one special attack too many.

Awful jokes aside, please do not forget to post any further comments once you have enjoyed the new squib.

Steven: a minor tangent, if I may. The TV series thread had a few posts about Star Trek, so if you would like to discuss the franchise in that thread, there would probably be a few interested users (including myself, eh). All opinions are welcome especially if you would never define yourself a *gasp* trekkie, I daresay

[Sumez]

Hm. On one hand, I want to say it reminds me of Bomberman 64. On the other, that makes me sound like an asshole, because everyone hates the N64. >_> It's not a slight, I love that machine unconditionally.

Unfortunately Bomberman 64 is a really awful game. There are bits of it I appreciate though, and if the new Snow Bros manages to tap into that without trying to do too much or feeling like a slog, it might still be a cool thing.

[Steven]

Sure, no problem. I have played the game for about 40 minutes now, half on my normal PC and half on Steam Deck, and here are my initial impressions:

• Game is good! This is the most important thing, of course.

Cheers again, that does sound promising! Here's hoping for Tatsujin, game and devs alike!

I'm just glad that Tatsujin managed to come out and hit a home run on their first swing. The game gets better as you go, which is good. Found some random glitches, but nothing game-ruining, like how when you go to unlock stuff with the text language set to Japanese it asks you if you want to delete your save file but doesn't actually delete it if, and how the game won't let you remap controls if you try to play with a Switch controller. I did indeed get to play it in multiplayer last night and it's good in multiplayer, too. Turns out that my PS5 controller was disconnecting because the USB cable I was using was bad; new cable = no problems at all, although I did still get cloned somehow yet again.

Still has 100% positive reviews on Steam, too. Probably helps that very few people bought it, but it's still nice to see.

Snow Bros Special, that weird remake from a while ago, suddenly released on Steam today, and they added some stuff to it, namely the ability to jump downwards through floors like what Snow Bros 2 has, thus making the game way less annoying to play, and they added the original arcade game, which probably should have been there from the start. I really don't like that remake enough to want to play it again, let alone actually spend money on it, so I'm probably going to pass for now. I wonder if they will add this new stuff to the existing Switch version...

Steven: a minor tangent, if I may. The TV series thread had a few posts about Star Trek, so if you would like to discuss the franchise in that thread, there would probably be a few interested users (including myself, eh). All opinions are welcome especially if you would never define yourself a *gasp* trekkie, I daresay

I was thinking about reviewing Star Trek as a mostly collective whole: every series, every episode, every movie, and some other random stuff. Then I decided that I do not relish the idea of rewatching the entirety of Discovery, Picard season 2 (the worst season of Star Trek ever created, even worse than the worst of Discovery!), and the first half of Voyager lol. I'm also waiting for the final season of Lower Decks to release on BD so I can finally buy and watch that series... and I also have to get Prodigy and watch the rest of the original animated series, which I've only seen part of. Unfortunately, Star Trek is expensive to buy as it is and the exchange rate makes it ~50% more expensive. Not a good combination. Still might do it and tolerate the bad parts, but it won't be for a while.

[Randorama]

Steven: we are in the “slow burn” business. I plan on leaving this mortal soil as late as possible, so I will be there when you will post your impressions

Short on-topic comment: the Thunder Fox scoring gimmick is *hard* to pull off. No miss, no hit runs are quite demanding in games like this

[XoPachi]

I think a sidescrolling search action was among the last things I needed from a new Ninja Gaiden. When I heard a new one was announced, I thought it was going to be a new 3D entry and I dont think thats terribly unreasonable an expectation.

I think I'll pass. Burnt out on these kinda games.

[mycophobia]

tryna play Shinobi, but For Score. basically i'll go for the no shuriken on a given stage for the 20k bonus, ninja magicking if i have to (as it's still a net gain), and if i die i complete it normally instead. repeat for next stage until the game is over one way or the other. it's a pretty generous game in terms of extends so i can still get pretty far this way. a fun time for anyone who has run survival play into the ground by now

[BEAMLORD]

I think a sidescrolling search action was among the last things I needed from a new Ninja Gaiden. When I heard a new one was announced, I thought it was going to be a new 3D entry and I dont think thats terribly unreasonable an expectation.

I think I'll pass. Burnt out on these kinda games.

Wow, this is an unexpected surprise. As long as it avoids the Metroidvania-style trappings many modern side-scrollers fall prey to, I'll remain cautiously optimistic for now. Couldn't see any evidence of a sprawling map from the trailer, at least.

[Sumez]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVZXr1jVoLo



Ugh this sounds like the dumbest idea. It's gonna miss the point of both the 3D and 2D Ninja Gaiden games, instead of tapping into what makes either of them good. I feel pretty confident already saying that these devs don't understand either game

As long as it avoids the Metroidvania-style trappings many modern side-scrollers fall prey to, I'll remain cautiously optimistic for now.

Good luck with that one

[Air Master Burst]

I can only assume this means they'll release like 7 versions of it with minor revisions that make it worse each time.