Your all time favorites.

[ST Dragon]

Yeah you're right. I forgot that "Hunter" was also in TFII, which was released a year earlier.

[Bydobasher]

Apidya
Batman (NES)
Faxanadu
Shadow of the Ninja
Strider (Genesis) – Better than the Arcade & PS-1 version imo.

I played Apidya for the first time only recently; guys like Herr Schatten and Shatterhand are always mentioning it, so I figured I needed to see it for myself. It's a beautifully drawn game, with a fantastic soundtrack by Huelsbeck. I love it in stage 4 (?) when your humble creature gets transformed into that mechanical beast, the music jumps three notches in intensity, and the whole theme of the game is altered. I'd say it's more Gradius than R-Type though.

Batman on the NES is excellent; very fine graphics and excellent play, although like so many games on the NES I find it rather difficult. The final stage is a tough enough I remember, and then you have to deal with that blasted Firebug before the Joker himself and his preposterous pistol that takes off three bars of energy! Really should play it again....

Faxanadu -- I love this game! It has an atmosphere unlike anything else I've played. I prefer it to other fine sidescrolling adventure on NES like Zelda2, Battle of Olympus, and Simon's Quest. Also, by some quirk of fate I can still remember my password for the end of the game from the very first time I played it (Mpf?8v?8oJMZjNiEl4). "Don't have negative thoughts. Remember your mantra...."

Shadow of the Ninja is a really fun game, I agree. I especially appreciate the two-player simultaneous option -- that's something there seems to be a great deal of for the NES is two-player games. I really love being able to play stuff with a friend, and I've always felt that the SNES doesn't score as highly in that department.

As for Strider, what do you prefer about the Genesis version?

[ST Dragon]

Batman - I'm ashamed to admit that I've never managed to overcome Joker & his retched long barrelled pistol on my real NES. I had to cheat using save-states on NEsticle emu 7 years ago.
I might try to 1’cc it on the real thing one of these days.

They have the most innovating level design seen in a shooter on any system,

Like, in what way? That's quite a tag.

I've never seen any other vertical shooter with a similar pseudo 3D perspective & some of the effects & Boss animation are incredible at least for 16Bit standards.
Some vertical Shooters on the all mighty NEOGEO, Saturn & even Arcade, look weak compared to Axelay & don't add anything new that has not all ready been used many times before.
[/quote]

Batman - I'm ashamed to to confess that I've never managed to overcome Joker & his retched long barreled pistol on my real NES. I had to use save states on NEsticle emu 7 years ago.

Strider - Well this happens to be the 2nd game I got for my Geny back in 1991, so my opinion on this is bound to be slightly subjective due to sentimental reasons, but I remember the Geny port having 2 extra music tracks that the arcade lacked. Also it looked as if it pushed the good ol' Geny to it's limits back then, so it added a lot to the fan factor.

Nam 1975 is great stuff, and the final boss is just out of control just completely ridiculous -- and he's in a wheelchair! I don't know any other game like that one. "Your operations have been watched..."

That was a funny comment!

Actually the final Boss in Final fight is also on a wheel chair & uses a cross bow to nail you ass. He also has Haggar's Daughter on his lap (dirty old man)
Later on he get's up, so you get a chance to body slam the bastid for good.

I noticed some of these classics mentioned previously:

Bionic Commando (NES) - You get to blow up Hitler's face in the end
Castlevania 3 (NES) - The multiple paths were a great addition, but has this feature ever been used again in a CastleVania game?
Monster World IV (Genesis)
Rygar (Arcade) - I prefer this over the PS-2 version.
Sky Shark (NES) - Does this game actually have an ending, or does it go into an endless loop like most old ATARI 2600/5200 games?


Some not mentioned before:

Cobra Command (NES) - Shooter fans should pay more attention to this. Great combination of shmup, adventure & strategy all in one.
Heavy Barrel (NES) - Like Super C, Contra & Double Dragon II, this is offers better gameplay than the original Arcade version.
Iron Tank (NES) - Nice 8-Way shooter with a tank. Very Distant ancestor of Guardian Force.

[Bydobasher]

Actually the final Boss in Final fight is also on a wheel chair & uses a cross bow to nail you ass. He also has Haggar's Daughter on his lap (dirty old man)

That's right! I'd forgotten about that! It's always satisfying to send that guy flying thru the glass -- at that point the game has always managed to deprive me of a small mountain of change....

Bionic Commando (NES) - You get to blow up Hitler's face in the end
Castlevania 3 (NES) - The multiple paths were a great addition, but has this feature ever been used again in a CastleVania game?
Monster World IV (Genesis)

Although I've always liked Bionic Commando, I've actually never finished it. I was thinking I should do just that this very evening.

As for multiple paths in Castlevania, the only one I can think of is Dracula X for PC Engine, although not to the same extent. Dracula X for SNES -- which is a rather different game -- may have a few alternate paths, but I'm really not sure about that one as I've only beaten it once.

You're the second person -- after Herr Schatten -- to mention Monster World IV. Such a cool game -- my favourite Monster World game for sure, and my favourite Wonder Boy game, although of course at this point, it isn't even Wonder Boy anymore. What a confused series Wonder Boy / Monster World is! I don't think I ever had it straight in my head until I saw the excellent tribute to both series over at the Classic Gaming Review Archive 2.0 -- which unfortunately seems to be down at the moment.

By the way, you've convinced me to revisit Strider on Genesis.

[ST Dragon]

You’ll love some of the later levels in Bionic Commando. The last fortress is like a labyrinth & if memory serves me right, I did leave some rooms unvisited.
Make sure to fire your bazooka into the cockpit of the heli, right after you jump & before you land… You’ll see Hitler’s face explode!

I still have to complete Monster World 4. I'll start playing the English translated version when I have time. Is it a long game? I hate short games…
My favourite is the original classic, arcade version Wonder Boy in Monster Land.
The PCE version is an excellent port, but I don’t understand why they changed the Bosses?

The ending of Strider (Genesis) is quite good. A nice animated Japanese sequence, which you probably have seen similar ones in other games/anime before, but this one fits perfectly to the game’s theme.
The Grand Master is one Mighty Freckle kicking Dude! You’ll know when you encounter him.

Now, about Dracula XX on the SNES... I really don’t understand why people bash it so much when they compare to the DUO version?
The SNES version has similar game play to the DUO, comparable music to the DUOs Redbook audio soundtrack (If not better in some ways, since some of the tracks were remixed very nicely & the SPC700 sound chip is known for producing some kick as quality soundtracks) & the graphics are arguably better, with more colours, transparency & mode 7 effects.
The DUO does have the cut-scenes, but I don’t think that’s enough to justify it’s superiority over Dracula XX.
I’m not saying that Dracula X on the DUO is a bad game, on the contrary, it’s one of the few PCE/DUO games that pushes the system to it’s limits, but I do believe that it’s very highly overrated & in no way does it deserve the 200$+ price tag some jokers are asking for it, especially when the SNES is of comparable quality (If not better in some ways).
Dracula XX does deserve more attention than it gets imo.


I’m surprised that no one has mentioned these awesome vertical shooters for the PC:

Baryon (PC DOS)
Kamui (PC CD-ROM) By Siterskain
Tyrian (PC DOS)

Baryon has some of the most memorable music themes. Especially Level 4 track (Where you fly over the futuristic UN-NATO buildings) I upgraded my Sound Blaster PRO to a General Midi SB64 just to hear it in full quality.

By the way, has Siterskain finished RefleX - TrialVer4a yet?
Scorpio Bosses Lasers at the end of level 2 Demo, were so cool

[PFG 9000]

Gates of Zendokon (Lynx) – Fighting the Big Mother Brain Boss, under your bed covers at 12:00 in the night, whilst trying to avoid getting spotted by your mom… priceless.

Haha, yup, I can relate to that! It's not the greatest shooter by any stretch, but I'll never forget the summer that game showed up in the mail alongside California Games, Shanghai, Electrocop, and several others. The day I got those games, I told my girlfriend I was feeling tired and was going to get to bed early, and as soon as she left I fired up the ol' Lynx. I played Gates of Zendocon late into the night. Good [geeky] times!

Now, about Dracula XX on the SNES... I really don’t understand why people bash it so much when they compare to the DUO version?
The SNES version has similar game play to the DUO, comparable music to the DUOs Redbook audio soundtrack (If not better in some ways, since some of the tracks were remixed very nicely & the SPC700 sound chip is known for producing some kick as quality soundtracks) & the graphics are arguably better, with more colours, transparency & mode 7 effects.
The DUO does have the cut-scenes, but I don’t think that’s enough to justify it’s superiority over Dracula XX.
I’m not saying that Dracula X on the DUO is a bad game, on the contrary, it’s one of the few PCE/DUO games that pushes the system to it’s limits, but I do believe that it’s very highly overrated & in no way does it deserve the 200$+ price tag some jokers are asking for it, especially when the SNES is of comparable quality (If not better in some ways).
Dracula XX does deserve more attention than it gets imo.

It's not that Dracula XX for the SNES is a bad game at all (though some do rip on it undeservingly). It's just that it lacks so much that was in Dracula X: RoB. Where Rondo had five alternate stages, Dracula XX has one. Rondo has four chickies to rescue, Dracula XX has two (and they're frustratingly difficult to get to, since you need to replace your subweapon with the Key, and hold onto it through one frustratingly difficult battle). Rondo had a few problems that nobody seems to remember, i.e. almost no invincibility time after taking a hit, and somewhat stiff controls. These problems are even more noticeable in Dracula XX, though people seem ten times more quick to point them out. I actually prefer some of the BGM versions in Dracula XX, namely Vampire Killer and Cemetary, but the quality of Rondo's music tracks is certainly higher.

I agree completely that Rondo of Blood is overrated. I wouldn't value the game anywhere over $50, if even that. But for me the biggest thing that distinguishes Rondo from Dracula XX is all the "cheap deaths" I get in the latter. When I died in Rondo, it was usually my own fault. In Dracula XX, it seems all too often that enemies are placed thoughtlessly and they appear just at the wrong time to bump you cheaply into a Bottomless Pit of Doom (TM). But that's just my take on things.

[Bydobasher]

Well, I only got about halfway thru Bionic Commando, but I'm enjoying it very much -- savestate at that point, so I could go to bed. It's been years since I'd really put more than a few minutes into it. The arm is so unintuitive at first, but once you get the hang of it it's amazing what you can do.

I actually can't say whether Monster World IV is long or not. I was playing it early this year when my life kind of got sidetracked and I haven't played it since. I would say it's long enough; I put several hours into it and I didn't feel like I was anywhere near the end....

Dracula XX does get bashed a lot, mostly for not being a perfect port, although it does create some problems for itself, as described by PFG 9000. I'm not a big fan of its source material though; as far as "traditional" Castlevanias are concerned -- i.e. omitting "adventures" like Simon's Quest, SotN, etc. -- I think Castlevania, Castlevania 3, Castlevania 4, Bloodlines, and the x68000 update on PSX are all better games. The graphics are beautiful of course, and drawn in a different style as compared to the games mentioned above. But I don't think the music really gains all that much by being on a CD -- I'm just as happy to listen to (the Japanese) C3, C4, or indeeed XX as both of you have pointed out. Branching paths and alternate characters are definitely done better in C3.

It's kind of a holy grail for Castlevania fans, since it remained in Japan, but I really don't think we missed out on all that much -- relatively speaking ... it's still Castlevania, I'm still a fan, and it's still a good game. Just not as good as most of the others.

Also, I'm writing this as someone that actually played it back in 1993, as opposed to someone that only came to it recently after a decade of overly heightened expectations. Even then I felt that C3 was better.

[ST Dragon]

You actually got to play it back in 1993? That’s cool! How did you get hold it back then?

I've been reading about CastleVania X since 2000, that's supposed to be the best CastleVania ever, (even better than SOTN), etc... But after I managed to put together the scattered puzzles & successfully burn one of those retched ISO+mp3 compilations (2002), I realized that it was just another overly hyped-up game.

I enjoyed CastleVania 2, 3 & SOTN more, but I still have to finish Rondo & XX.

Another highly overrated game, with an obscure price tag, is Radiant Silvergun.

I’ve read some wild stuff since 2000, that it’s supposed to be the best shooter ever, if not best game ever! Mother of all shmups, etc…

I do agree that it introduced some nice innovations, very accurate gameplay and collision detection & utilizes the best Saturn programming to date, while pushing the system to its limits.
But I don’t agree with the “Best Ever” tag & its ridiculous price.

[Bydobasher]

A good friend of mine had a PC Engine way back in the day and made trips to Japan fairly regularly -- his family is from Japan. He would always come back with a bagful of games, and in 1993 he came back with, among other things, Dracula X. Initially it blew me away, because I didn't even know such a thing existed at the time, but after playing it a bit and having time to reflect I realized that I liked C3 better; that discrepancy has only widened with time.

I still haven't played RS, so I can't comment on that one.

[ST Dragon]

RS, was one of the main reasons I installed a mod chip in my Saturn, personally.

I haven't regretted it of course.

[Ganelon]

Please don't call it Castlevania X. It's Chi no Rondo or Rondo of Blood. SOTN is also an Akumajo Dracula X game so it really makes little sense to only refer to the PCE version as Dracula X.

Anyway, I find Chi no Rondo a fantastic game, definitely among the best along with Bloodlines. Not very difficult but it has great variety, well-designed and interesting stages, excellent music, classic Castlevania game control with just the right amount of ease, and exceptional character/enemy design. Easily worth the $100 IMO, although Bloodlines is pretty much just as fantastically designed and at the threshold of innovation between a classic CV game and an amazing sidescroller in its own right while at a bargain price.

[Bydobasher]

[Chi no Rondo] has great variety, well-designed and interesting stages, excellent music, classic Castlevania game control with just the right amount of ease, and exceptional character/enemy design.

I can't disagree with any of this, and yet I don't come back to the game very often at all as compared with the rest of the series.

Upon further reflection, maybe it does have something to do with the control; I really don't like controlling Richter as much as I do Castlevania's other protagonists. PFG9000 mentions how Rondo has "almost no invincibility time after taking a hit, and somewhat stiff controls". Of course, the latter complaint is something that's often levelled against the NES games, but I've never had an issue with them.

I agree that Bloodlines is a great game; it puzzles me that it doesn't get talked up as much as other Castlevania games.

[BrianC]

I like those old NES "ports" that are different from the arcade too. Tecmo Bowl (with a very good port on b/w GB) and Solomon's Key are better than the arcade IMO. Bubble Bobble is also a very sweet port with some cool new hidden levels. On other systems, there is the GB port of Elevator Action that adds some new stuff to the mix and the GBA Double Dragon that keeps everything that made the arcade original so sweet and adds some cool new stuff. Kind of like what the NES Double Dragon 2 and 3 did. I also like the NES port of Rush 'n Attack quite a bit. I love how the Konami Advance version has a code to play the game in arcade style with the two NES exclusive levels.

I like the GB Castlevania II quite a bit. It's the only Castlevania with a megaman style level select. The levels are very well designed and it has some cool bosses like this guy in armor that moves slow and suddenly turns into a speed demon once he loses his armor. I think CV III, SotN, or one of the GBA Castlevanias is my favorite, though.

The Genesis version of Contra rocks. I love the character selection and how it has branching paths like a certain NES Castlevania game. I wonder if some of the same people worked on it.

I also like the GBC Bionic Commando quite a bit. A very good update of the original, IMO. I like how you can play as a female commando in that version.

[Ganelon]

I'm telling you, if Bloodlines/New Generation had remained as a JP-exclusive game, Vampire Killer would likely be worth almost as much as Chi no Rondo now and would be referred to as the other great, low distribution CV that never made it out of Japan.

Import enthusiasts would be gushing with praise over how awesome its tunes were despite the weak MD sound chip, the solid control, remarkably diverse stages, and gameplay that's not afraid to transcend past the standard "CV castle" mold.

But of course, the game was released outside Japan and thus, those importers that always tend to overhype games weren't able to proclaim Vampire Killer as among the best obscure games that never made it to the US.

[Bydobasher]

Very likely!

[Turrican]

I'm telling you, if Bloodlines/New Generation had remained as a JP-exclusive game, Vampire Killer would likely be worth almost as much as Chi no Rondo now and would be referred to as the other great, low distribution CV that never made it out of Japan.

Err, where have you been the last few years. A jpn copy of Vampire Killer MD is already a lot more expensive than Chi no Rondo. Trust me.

[Ganelon]

Err, I'm afraid I haven't been checking its prices for at least 5 years. But at least that proves my original point even more. Gee, it would have been the Taromaru of MD sidescrollers had it not been released here...

[ST Dragon]

Speaking of rarities, I found a shop down town that's selling two brand new copies of Japanese Snow Bros for the Mega Drive for 15 Euros each...

They're both official JPN, brand new, boxed Carts, not pirate clones.

Are they worth anything as a collectibles item?

[Marc]

Fuck, I thought Snow Bros was rare as hell? Get em both if they're the real deal - I'll take one off of you lol

[PFG 9000]

I'm telling you, if Bloodlines/New Generation had remained as a JP-exclusive game, Vampire Killer would likely be worth almost as much as Chi no Rondo now and would be referred to as the other great, low distribution CV that never made it out of Japan.

I have to agree with that. But then, I think Super Castlevania IV would be even more highly regarded if it was as obscure as Rondo. The only weakness I find with the game is its lack of difficulty...though I had plenty of trouble getting through the game when it first came out.