Haven't played that one at all... sure looks like classic deranged DECO from that pic in Macaw's thread, though!BrianC wrote:Which version of Werewolf/Warwolf should I go for? JP version came later and has some odd differences in level design, but the US version seems has the cooler ending.
"Let's go for a burger! Ha Ha Ha!"
Edmans pls. Kusoplay Theatre Vol.1: Ninja Gaiden II!Edmond Dantes wrote:BIL, when you do Ninja Gaiden II, include the cutscenes, please?
Misc. observations from this run:
-Keep either the invincible firewheel or updraft for 5-1's spiked dungeon area, the mini Bomberheads will have a field day with your lack of wriggle-room otherwise. Mini Basaquers take only one hit, so get in there and cut them down before they get airborne and cause trouble. Mini Malths can be taken out after one return of their bolas if you're quick with the sword.
-Besides the OTG/landing sword timing being stricter, another engine change is the increased hit knockback on Ryu. This makes any scenario involving a mobile enemy and a nearby pit a potential instant death. I spend most of 6-1 paranoid about the constant pits and failing to deal properly with the rushing + flying enemy types, who benefit greatly from the obscured view. Ultimately if you're going to screw up it's better to take a few hits on safe ground than get wiped out by a pit. I don't know if Act VI has any life restores whatsoever, which was interesting to realise when I reached the pit-free 6-2 with half my health gone. Didn't take any hits from that point until the boss where I took a couple, iirc. I can play serious when my ass is on the line! I refuse to die by beatdown in a game with this much firepower.
-AFAIK there's only one life restore per stage in Act VII, which makes death by attrition a concern with the heavy enemy presence. Rush Boss #1 is easy if you apply the basic shooter principle of herding bullets. #2's acid drops are tricky to avoid but do only 1hp damage. It's the disgorged fireballs you've got to be wary of, 3hp a hit. #3 is fairly harmless unless you're low on health when you decapitate it AND don't know how to minimise exposure to the fallout's trajectory.
-7-2 is much more intense when you get "The Parasprinter" as its BGM. Approaching explosive climax! I got "Going Gets Tough" which makes it feel like things are winding down instead. :/
I respect these games even more after recording playthroughs. It's not too hard to no-miss them with experience, but it's still so easy to get slapped about, whiff attacks, and miss long jumps leaving you ungracefully clinging to a ledge if you're not totally concentrating. Particularly if you like to have your cake and eat it too by killing everything in sight at maximum speed while remaining unscathed. I need to work on my skill with the sword in NGII. NG1's addictive OTG slashing is still in there, just a lot trickier to execute consistently.
I'd like to give NES NGIII a shot, but I'd have to emulate it and I tend to not play in-depth there. I find the US one far preferable... it's not so much that it's outrageously harder than the previous two, more that the JP one is overly easier (even ignoring the unlimited continues and password). There are a number of dead spots in the FC game where more enemies were needed, and the US release added them. Austin is dead-on with his comparison of the two versions. I've 1CCd both but no-missed neither, as even the much easier JP version's last stage has a nasty way of killing by timeout unless you've managed to keep the invincible firewheel and enough ammo to blow through the spike rooms.
I like Shatterhand better than Solbrain too. And Jackal is Disk System-only on FC. And all those Taxan sidescrollers Shou listed in Macaw's thread never got released in Japan. I'll probably be referencing this post in a year's time when I decide to start picking up NES stuff.