What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Yeah, I think I like my beat 'em ups to be belt scroll not side scroll. I think VJ games do have a cool look though and I like the character.

[Formless God]

Bioshock Infinite

I don't like the excessive looting. You don't really have any reason to not loot everything, so might as well make the process automatic or at least reduce it to one key press.
I don't like that nearly every fight boils down to Bucking Bronko + shotgun, and open areas are either balls to wall hard (if you want to get close to the enemies) or a complete joke (Sniper Rifle).
I don't like that I can't electrocute skylines.
I don't like that it isn't at all like what the trailer advertised.
I thought the health system worked pretty well on the higher modes.
The game overall felt more like Singularity than the previous two 'Shocks. Kinda mediocre.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Time to invite a bit of hate: I've had Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2 for the GC sitting around awhile, since I (drumroll) wasn't particularly taken with them back when I first tried them. Tossed the first one in again yesterday, and while I honestly do like a lot of things about it, a handful of infuriating issues (most notably the camera, which makes some boss battles a much bigger pain than they need to be) are still making it something of a "gotta force myself to keep going" affair. As of now I'm still hoping to see the end, but time will tell if I make it...

Viewtiful Joe and F-Zero GX are games better known for being on GameCube than their genuine qualities. Actually neither is very accessible (although I suppose VJ on Kids/Normal is easy to crawl through). It was my third attempt to play VJ when I started to enjoy the actual gameplay (which is really rather unlike everything known to me that was before).
My advices: play on Adults/Hard with a DualShock 2. Better placed d-pad (although it took me a while to figure out waggling analogue stick is stil needed to shake off the Gran Bruce's chomping on attack).
Not that I finished it. When I got to fight Fire Leo... Typical story I guess.

[Marc]

Hotline Miami. Really not seeing what the fuss is about. Playing on PS3, and can tell that controls were designed with a mouse in mind but even so.. It's a top down Lemmings that calls game over first mistake you make.

[BulletMagnet]

It was my third attempt to play VJ when I started to enjoy the actual gameplay (which is really rather unlike everything known to me that was before).

I could see that happening, as the game becomes a ways less frustrating once you've seen everything and have some idea what's coming and what's expected of you (if nothing else you'll get better time bonuses at stage's end, and more points to buy stuff with). I always felt stupid at certain points trying to figure out which power the thing wanted you to use to proceed and how (so to get that bus over that gap you have to slow it down, not speed it up?), and knowing I was losing points as a result made it worse.

My advices: play on Adults/Hard with a DualShock 2.

I'm no fan of the GC pad, but in this case it's not the problem: I can generally get Joe to do what I want him to, but not being able to see what's coming my way because the screen's zoomed in too close (and if you use the "zoom in" power it obviously gets even worse) or trying in vain to ride missiles because you missed a cracked floor with a remote control in it have made it rough going.

Long story short, I played a bit further in, and got (I think) near the end...to the part where you have to fight all the bosses (and their cameras) again. That's probably about all I've got the willpower for here, especially seeing how badly I need to whittle down my backlog. Really too bad though, as when things clicked I did enjoy myself quite a bit.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Yeah, sometimes the camera doesn't make much sense (it's like Resident Evil, except it really isn't). Used to drive me nuts during the second Gran Bruce battle, when I had no idea how to defend Joe against a seemingly unavoidable attack. The camera too zoomed in to dodge, the slowdown doesn't protect against this particular attack. The answer was plain and simple (stick waggling), but playing on d-pad, I didn't find out by myself.

[lilmanjs]

Last game I played that wasn't a shmup was Forza Motorsports III: Ultimate Collection. Enjoying this quite a lot and noticing that I win far too often because after watch 3 replays of races, I've found the other drivers try really hard to actually win and will crash other cars into the wall.

[Ed Oscuro]

Werewolf: The Last Warrior on NES steals at least one sprite (slightly modified so he has a kind of techno-Noh mask on now) from Rolling Thunder - the blue guy who rushes in after you when you enter the first mechanized-looking orange area (very early in the game). For some reason there is text permanently floating in front of his face, which reads "!HO"
It's very easy to spot because all the actions in Rolling Thunder (enemy falling, jumping down, recoiling from damage) are very distinctive.

They even put in the "searching back and forth" animation sequence, which triggers at a time that would be inappropriate for Rolling Thunder (i.e. going idle when your character, here the Warwolf, is right in front of the enemy); I don't know why they wasted so much animation on this guy because all he does is show up and get sliced to death in half a second, and that animation makes him even less likely to be threatening to you. Killing him and picking up the weapon gives you one bullet. Hooray!

Also, the strange stretching neck of the first enemy reminds me of something you'd see in Trio The Punch. (The floating text on the enemy described above is also Trio The Punch-esque.)

This game also has weird and unintuitive controls, and it's quite unfortunate that Mr. Warwolf always grabs onto walls when you jump into them.
Do 1-ups do anything in this game? I just got a bunch of them and they seem to do nothing - I still get a "continue?" screen if I run out of life bars. Also, I just died repeatedly in an apparently impassable shock emitter corridor...very nasty stuff. Can't see any way to jump and squeeze into the space above them.

GameFAQs: "More games with stolen sprites and incomprehensible and plodding gameplay elements, please! Knocking off one star because of the rather sloppy animation of the warwolf transformation sequence. Yes I called him Warwolf, the original game calls him that, I always go to the original sources. You gotta problem with that?!"

Star Trek V: The really, truly, we-sure-mean-it FINAL Frontier snap judgment: Whoa, I never knew Scotty could jump so high. The number one cause of death in trackless deserts: inappropriately upbeat music. Bad guy report: "I've just been shot! But I've already started jumping, pray let me continue before I crumple into a ragged heap." The developer of this game was thoughtful enough to make the non-violence against living creatures (set phasers to stun) even less non-violent against horses, who immediately run offscreen away from you after being hit with a stun blast. We wouldn't want any of the children to think we'd just punched a horse in the face, now would we? But we definitely want the children to know that the best way of making use of stun weapons is to jump over your enemy and shoot them in the back. Being a bastard in the Federation takes creativity.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Werewolf: The Last Warrior on NES steals at least one sprite (slightly modified so he has a kind of techno-Noh mask on now) from Rolling Thunder

Not sure why this comes as a surprise to me, it's a pretty bad platformer after all... this is the one where you can abuse the backflip for invulnerability frames, right? I actually remember beating this I think. It wasn't very rewarding though, it was mostly just unpolished and messy gameplay.

[null1024]

Ys I&II Chronicles [PSP].
Started Ys 1. Took a while for me to realize what the hell I'm even doing.

why is there absolutely nothing of worth in the first town
Like seriously, as soon as I get control, there is no reason to stay in town. Just go to the next town, where you can actually buy armor and crap and get some actual quest details.

At least I was bright enough to buy the ring and give it to that guy, so I could have enough money to get a sword, shield, and armor.
And then I realized that it's really satisfying to brutally murder things by just running into them, gibs everywhere. Once you get the sword, everything dies superfast.

I remember trying Ys 1 on the Master System and was lost as hell, but I think that's probably since I didn't even know to go to the second town... blah.

I'm at the shrine, and doing fuck-all damage to whatever that boss is with the fire.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm still trying to figure out the regular gameplay. I didn't notice any backflip. There IS a super jump, activated at any time by holding up before you jump. The game has an odd issue with stopping the character if you happen to try moving while holding the up direction, or something along those lines. They also felt the need to have two levels of crouching - at least you can move while crouched, but then this gets used to punch the first enemy (a sub-boss) in the belt repeatedly, and to crawl at a snail's pace through sub-basements. Great gameplay ideas!

If the game feels very spartan and bare, I guess that's because they wasted so much ROM space on completely useless stuff that wouldn't impress anybody or make the game fun.

@ null1024: I didn't play that version, but on the PC version there's a pretty decent sword you can get in the first town, I think...

[KAI]

Shin Kohime†Musou ~ Otome Taisen ☆ Sangokushi Engi ~ [PC]
Best animu fightan everr!
Horrible pre-rendered character
Awesome music by S.S.H. (I'll be ripping the soundtrack soon)
The rules are very simple: If you attack, you lose!
Playing this broken shit with friends is fun as fuck.

[BrianC]

Yes I called him Warwolf, the original game calls him that, I always go to the original sources.

The US version came first, though. I wouldn't be surprised if the JP version was a little more polished since it came later, though it still has the same controls. The first stage in the JP version has a drastically different layout, but some of the others seem to be the same.

Edit: I was a bit confused and I wouldn't sure if you meant that the original US version referred to him as Warwolf. I checked and it doesn't.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yes I called him Warwolf, the original game calls him that, I always go to the original sources.

The US version came first, though.

I thought it did call him Warwolf. Anyway, take that post with a big grain of
I'm just trying to parody the doofuses at GameFAQs.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I'm still trying to figure out the regular gameplay. I didn't notice any backflip.

Protip: hit Jump + Attack at the same time while standing. You actually do two backflips (a short one then a higher one) but you seem to be invulnerable the whole time. Once you know this, the game is so much easier (use it to dodge attacks, jump through stages, etc). When I played this a few years ago I remember abusing the backflip constantly.

[BIL]

"I got a can opener."

Hell yeah. Let's rock baby - Oh shi...





12 years hit & away, stab the in your lonely heart. Silent Hill 2, I look forward to growing old with you. ;-;

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm still trying to figure out the regular gameplay. I didn't notice any backflip.

Protip: hit Jump + Attack at the same time while standing. You actually do two backflips (a short one then a higher one) but you seem to be invulnerable the whole time. Once you know this, the game is so much easier (use it to dodge attacks, jump through stages, etc). When I played this a few years ago I remember abusing the backflip constantly.

Aha, now it's starting to interfere with usual gameplay.

I like some of the ideas in this game, but very reliant on memorizing where the blue Ws are going to sprout up, and making long jumps when you must start by holding the up arrow only is a real pain. The Flash boss (fire + fast running) was a real problem for a moment until I realized I just needed to stand on top of the right box closest to the middle of the screen, and just swing and then jump. Have to admit I'm not super thrilled about that either - there's enough platforming and fast enemies that having your character stand still while attacking on the ground is a problem.

[CMoon]

12 years hit & away, stab the in your lonely heart. Silent Hill 2, I look forward to growing old with you. ;-;

I hear all the arguments that SH1 might be as good a game or better somehow than SH2...
...
...
...but jesus christ, SH2. Fuck.

[BIL]

Honestly, SH1 and SH2 are both indispensable to me. Not saying that as a concession to anyone - every couple of years I replay all four KCET games in release order, and often finish SH1 wondering if SH2 can still match its fury. What the first lacks in substance it makes up for with sheer intensity, what the second concedes in intensity it gains in intimacy. I do ultimately give SH2 the edge for dealing more in mundane human experience than SH1's outright atrocity, but I see the tradeoff. Both are underlaid by fantastic production and attention to detail throughout.

The third and fourth games are unfortunately saddled with production issues (SH3's blatant recycling of SH2's town, SH4's obvious unfinished-ness) and nowhere near as narratively strong, but they both still have that fantastic surreal style and detail that I love from the original two. None of these four will ever leave my shelf.

[trap15]

SH1 is fucking fantastic. I think the PS was probably one of the best systems for survival horror if just for how insanely gritty and murky everything looks with the early 3D. SH1 plays off the early 3D so extremely well, I don't think "better" graphics could improve the game in any way.

I liked SH2, but I do think I prefer SH1.

[BIL]

SH1 plays off the early 3D so extremely well, I don't think "better" graphics could improve the game in any way.

That's something I particularly love, going directly from SH1 to SH2. Experiencing KCET's transmuting of hardware limitation into a decapitating razor edge on the PS1, then seeing their potential for grimy detail and craft unleashed on the PS2. You can tell the same hands are at work in both, despite the radical difference in hardware power. There's a certain street in SH1, ending in one of the game's many yawning chasms, where it looks like the house at the edge was abruptly cleaved in half by the hand of a god. If you get close enough you can actually see through the window, into the destroyed front room and out into the grey void. The effect is mirrored in SH2, where a part-obliterated garage's skeletal rods jut from broken concrete towards the abyss. Details like that never fail to impress me, and SH1 is loaded with them. It actually set the bar for the PS2 games' environmental detail.

Then there's the use of two strong, completely distinct stories set within the same otherworldly echo chamber, with both games cumulatively fleshing out the geography, history and nature of the town itself. I consider this pair among gaming's best double acts.

[Moniker]

Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

I believe Skykid already addressed this, but: Best Mario Kart yet, and a damn fine racer to boot. The blue shell remains stupid and annoying, but everything else about this game is win. Fantastic track layouts, and kickass additions such as the glider and coin-boosting.

I can see how folks might be displeased at the lack of innovation (NSMB series: listen well), but the refinement and pure fun factor outweigh other concerns (NSMB series: kudos).

Also: New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS). Level design is spotless. Easily one of the best platformers ever, and it gets panned for being too much like the other best platformers ever. Sigh. Amazing game. Keep 'em coming, Ninty.

[Ed Oscuro]

man I don't want to buy a region locked handheld

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Rad Racer 2. I've had it for ages and never beaten it and... I wasn't sure why. I played the hell out of the first one and loved it. Maybe it's because the second one has no engine sound effects if you choose music (!!) or because it has that stupid hold down to powerup at the start of a race (uh 0 to 255 km/h instantly, wtf) or maybe it's because the time limit is brutally unforgiving, moreso than Outrun arcade games are?

Seriously, even on a great run with no crashes (or even touching another car) I frequently cross checkpoints just after running out of time by stage 5. It's like it assumes you'll hit 0s left by the time you get to each checkpoint. And then there's damn red Lamborghinis (Countachs I think) that pop up from there on and appear alone. No other traffic shows up on the road at all when one appears which is actually part of what makes it so difficult (only one opponent car can occupy a lane at a time so the filled ones you know won't suddenly have another car shift into it), and that's so it can move absurdly fast into any of the 3 lanes to block you from passing. The only way to get rid of it is play super risky and managed to gt by it (and there aren't many long straightaways at that point in the game) or slow down so it drives off in the distance and then more 'normal' speed traffic appears for a bit. Very annoying. Not even the last stage of Rad Racer 1 has cars this irritating to get by!

Outrun games tend to be more fun because the traffic is more of a 'passive' obstacle to get around, while in the Rad Racer games, traffic on the road feels like it's outright homicidal at times.

[BIL]

I feel like taking up Rad Racer for a bit now - completely forgot about that game since rediscovering the NES/FC. Seems to have held up really well from a quick spin in emulation. Apparently the Japanese version is called "Highway Star," haha. Love how you can bomb around the desert in an F1 car, that'd look pretty rad irl indeed.

For a while as a little kid, I thought RR actually was OutRun, since After Burner, Shinobi and Fantasy Zone were also on the NES (naughty Tengen!).

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Interestingly, there's no Highway Star 2 - Rad Racer 2 was one of the few NES games that was released American exclusive. It's also not as much fun. The more I play it the more I wish for Rad Racer 1's physics. Car collisions are much more unforgiving and almost always result in a viciously bouncy sideswipe whereas the first one had a nice range where hitting the middle of an enemy car simply slowed you down a bit (unless you hit a really slow car at high speed, resulting in a crash) and increases the speed of the car you hit slightly, so you could push a car in front of you essentially, building up its speed and relying on it staying just in front of you (so you know another car beside you won't come into that lane)..

You can't even force traffic to speed up like you could in the first by ramming them from behind, they seem to simply move at a fixed velocity. I'm stuck on stage 6 using the Up+Right+A cheat to replay that level after losing repeatedly. The 1cc is a long way off I think. :/

Actually, I remember the most annoying part about the sequel - unlike Outrun or Rad Racer, turns in Rad Racer 2 are no longer telegraphed by road signs but a small arrow in the HUD, which doesn't jump out at me as much as a warning as seeing road signs do...

[cj iwakura]

Cleared all of Vanquish's challenges. Probably the most hardcore thing I've ever played.

[Zaarock]

Cleared all of Vanquish's challenges. Probably the most hardcore thing I've ever played.

Now go for God Hard (honestly speedrunning/score attacking normal is more fun but god hard does some hilarious things)

Been playing a lot of Virtual-On OT, VO4 and Chronicles of Mystara recently.

[BrianC]

Apparently the Japanese version is called "Highway Star," haha.

I actually have that version. The major difference (and maybe the only one, aside from the title) is that it supports stereoscopic 3D glasses instead of the cheesy paper ones. The 3D is still optional and still accessed by pressing select. I haven't tried it since I don't have the Famicom 3D glasses, but it's probably much better than the US version's 3D.

[cj iwakura]

Cleared all of Vanquish's challenges. Probably the most hardcore thing I've ever played.

Now go for God Hard (honestly speedrunning/score attacking normal is more fun but god hard does some hilarious things)

Been playing a lot of Virtual-On OT, VO4 and Chronicles of Mystara recently.

Eventually. I spent almost two weeks on Challenge 6. I need a respite.

But one day for sure. I still have some silly trophies left, too.
Never got the 'kill ten bots with three cigarettes' one.