Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BrianC]

I didn't get Mercs Genesis at Too Many Games (the only one I found was complete and slightly higher than I wanted, 20 dollars. Not all that bad, but I think I may be able to find one slightly cheaper), but I did pick up Ranger X Genesis, Shatterhand NES, and Legendary Axe TG-16 for my action game fix.

[BIL]

As much as I like MD Mercs's Original Mode, if I had to choose between it and Ranger X there'd be no question. Fantastic, unique and stylish mecha sidescroller.

[CIT]

On Raf World vs Journey to Silius, I distinctly prefer the FC's armoured soldier

It just occured to me: He is the 8-Bit version of the Master Chief.


Interestingly, Europe and Australia also got the Japanese look. The cover art (featuring a screenshot) was even changed.

[BrianC]

On Raf World vs Journey to Silius, I distinctly prefer the FC's armoured soldier

It just occured to me: He is the 8-Bit version of the Master Chief.

No this is the 8-bit version of Master Chief.

[BrianC]

I ordered Vice Project Doom for NES and Mercs for the Genesis, the latter complete. I almost got a JP Senjou no Ookami II since I saw it complete at Japangamestock for a good price and it plays in English on US system, but I decided on the US one instead since it's the exact same game on cart and I found one complete for around 10 dollars. I like the JP art better, but I'm also nostalgic towards cheesy US box art.

As far as I could tell in videos, Vice Project Doom is mostly the same as the JP version, though it is slightly censored (though less than you would expect). I also found out that, telling from videos, that the bottom change (spolier warning) on this page doesn't seem to be in the final Japanese version (unless it's an alternate cutscene that can be triggered).

[BIL]

Been playing the hell out of Strider Hiryuu this weekend (PS1 port of the AC version). Initially I just wanted to compare some things between the port and MAME, but I ended up... well, playing the hell out of it. This game may be the best interactive action movie ever. Its controls feel a little dated in the sense that Hiryuu handles more like a stocky vampire killer than an agile ninja, but in the game's context they work perfectly. Outmaneuvering Tong-Poo ( ) and co is something for the sequel, here you want to nullify their attacks with spacing and good positioning. The somersaulting and downhill running both feel great, it's just a matter of learning to set up for them (instead of tiptoeing into Balrog's gravity-reverse hallway, charge down the slope, shear open the door and somersault over that drill in one go, ready to start shredding gunpods).

I've rabbited on enough about how spectacular this game's level flow is, but crucially the stages are also gripping challenges as well as being amazing to look at. That double running jump across the ceiling chasm in Stage 5's gravity chamber never feels any less suicidal, nor does nailing it before scrambling up the drill array while shredding pursuing gunpods ever feel any less vindicating of Hiryuu's future-ninja credentials.

The PS1 port seems pretty goddamn solid. I cleared the AC version and the port back-to-back and didn't run into a single instance of a trick not working or something not behaving as expected. I'm sure there's something different (the game's item appearance has a bit of the usual Capcom opacity also seen in Daimakaimura) but from a casual 1CCer standpoint it's the same game.

Judging by the Capcom Game Syndrome Laserdisc 1CC, the PS1 version is 100% free of both the PCB's slowdown and sprite breakup. Only the very short load times keep this from being the ultimate iteration of this game, it seems (only the first one, after the Grand Master's bellowing laughter, really bothers me - hampers the shot-out-of-a-cannon effect of starting a new credit).

CMoon, I'm still not entirely sure about Sky Thunder mkII's bombing being affected by survival time in the port - sometimes it does seem that way, but even in the AC version it can be a total pain in the ass. Both versions seem just as likely to kill me if I'm at all unaware of both the bombs' and the hover platform's movement. More testing needed - I wonder if it's just a random behaviour that the port handles a bit differently.

Also found out something completely unexpected, a panda hidden behind some cannon shells! No, actually, a hidden song. Get to the top of the building in stage 1, where you can see the moon and a bunch of Mosquemen swoop down. Instead of proceeding right, backtrack left as far as you can. The BGM will change to a simple, intense percussion loop I'd not heard before. Upon resuming progress the BGM will switch the stage 1 boss theme ahead of schedule. This happens in both the port and MAME.

Respect to the MD port for, besides being one of the all-time great arcade conversions (I used to think "if this is the home version, the original will melt my face" only to be a bit let down by the PS1 port - nope, Sega's port was just that good), actually giving the songs names. AFAIK from soundtrack releases the arcade version just goes with generic "stage 1" etc titles, though I'd love to be wrong. I grew up calling this stuff by name, dammit! In MD-speak, the hidden song replaces "Beasts" and is itself then replaced by "Ouroboros, The Iron Ruler."

[Ed Oscuro]

Speaking of fun things in the arcade version, you can switch the music back and forth by ascending and descending the tunnel past the two mine bucket wheels (the area right before the slope run). Just after the slope run, you can notice the new cloudy backdrop transition and start sweeping past (and looking broken, because the tile seams over) at the left side of the area.

The slope run must've been maddening to figure out for people who were used to the Super Mario school of platforming, i.e. "dodge the mines." There isn't really a clue here about what to do, and just pressing the stick forward to build speed seems like a desperate act (unless you were forewarned that it's what you need to do). Unnatural, against-the-grain touches like this help tamp down my appreciation of the game a bit.

[stryc9]

I don't know one person back in the day, including myself, that didn't naturally and intuitively just push the stick right to run down the mountain face when we first saw Strider in the arcades, Ed.

And you can do the music switch thing on the MD version too

[Ed Oscuro]

OK.

[BIL]

Yeah, little things like the BGM flipping back and forth in the transition between the wheels and Solo being in the MD version too are quite impressive in their own way. I always try to avoid this happening to keep the groove going!

See also the way the game briefly takes control when you move from stage 1's X-shaped walkway to Ouroborus's chamber. In both versions I've always had the habit of starting a somersault into the room so Hiryu get yanked down as the new area scrolls in. There's really very little difference in how the game actually plays, and actually the MD version is about as tough (or about as easy) as the PCB. The only real concession is the scattering of hidden health items around the stages.

The main compromise of the MD port is the AC's luxuriant enemy death animation frames. You generally don't see metal shear and bodies shred in detail, making it distinctly less visceral. However, Sega handled this quite well. There's little untoward in the way dead enemies vanish into a blast of flames, the more massive sprites like the Tyrannosaurs aside. It would've been interesting to see this port in 1994... actually, this goes for all of Sega's excellent CPS1 to MD ports. OTOH, part of its charm is it appearing just a year after the arcade version.

There's definitely a degree of Memoriser Bullshit™ in the game's course (I've already aired my grievance with the stage 5 Shadow Bullet Gunner), but given none of the big setpieces are very hard to learn and their being so enduringly satisfying to nail without a hitch, I don't mind too much. Works out about average for coin-op action gaming.

As a small token, it's worth noting the mountainside minefield death sprint is shown in the attract mode, as is the similar "killer buckshot tomatoes -> collapsing bridge of doom" setpiece that opens stage 4, and there are plenty of sharp downward slopes in the first stage to clue the player in to how Hiryu's speed works. Cannon Dancer does the same, although it also includes a massive warning/how-to sign at its corresponding death sprint slope which TBH I'm glad Strider doesn't.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ah yeah, forgot about the attract mode. And yeah I have to agree about Cannon Dancer as well - you'd think that certainly by that time Strider fans would know how this works, although I'm guessing the lead developer must've decided it was an issue to include that. But it's really a bit overbearing to basically add a tutorial like they did.

Edit: You know, nothing brings home how absurd things are as noting that I don't have patience to play through Strider, but I happily played through that Time Trax prototype, as Louis from Pet Sematary. Unfinished game, collectathon elements with items and areas hidden in strange ways, rather strange combat (ranged attacks that mainly stun but do some respectable damage later on when powered up), melee combat when in range that often gets in the way (I will kick this bat out of the air! Wait, doesn't work. I will do a flying kick against this guy on the ledge above me! Wait, doesn't work.) and a paucity of designs.

The most interesting things in the game, aside from the music, are the boss stages against a helicopter and some kind of flying thing which looks like a cross between Boba Fett's Slave 1 and a scout speeder. These take fire bit by bit, and the helicopter reminds me strongly of the first boss from the arcade version of Super Contra - except with even more damage locations. It's also difficult to beat and the player's lousy arsenal doesn't help either. You only get special shot types during these stages (rapid fire, useless missiles, useless lasers, and even a three-way spread - awarded randomly) which disappear immediately after. You're riding a vehicle during these confrontations - a motorcycle and a jetski, which control identically. Go back and forth, and pop a wheelie to shoot diagonally upwards. There's not much fun in these stages, unfortunately.

There are a number of cool ideas on offer, like being chased by the spike rack in the Smithsonian (?!) but it's all completely overshadowed by the plodding and grinding nature of the actual gameplay. It's also a very tough game with lots of enemies and damage dropping out of the sky without warning - everything from punji stake beds, tiny spiders, and falling boulders will happily fall or roll into you, and take away some of your precious health bars (I played most of the game through with about eight of them). On top of that, I often found that the flashing hidden chests, which are only available for a short moment, often triggered when I couldn't get to them in time - like appearing when they were on the other side of a solid wall I couldn't shoot or jump through. Without savestates, playing this through would be a hardship!

But the other problem is the game doesn't give the feeling of much of an adventure. Despite the name and the franchise, "Time Trax" the game simply is content to take you through some kind of version of Washington DC - being vague about whether this is Neo Washington or just the modern day - sewers, nondescript hallways filled with bashable busts of Honest Abe and a White House back lawn view through the windows to fill in for the Smithsonian (which is actually a collection of museums, and not just one, as everybody knows); a construction site that wouldn't look too far out of place in the SMS version of Robocop vs. The Terminator, or maybe The Cyber Shinobi. That group of levels caps off with the helicopter chase, which would be cool except that it's finger torture and not very interesting. Then there was some other I've already forgotten about, with another boss over the waves, and then Hawaii! A couple level segments filled with dropping bugs and Southeastern Asian dudes in orange fatigues. Then some boss, a dude in a mech suit who I had to dance around to punch to death. Hooray! You've saved the world yet again! Thanks for the adventure through time, guys! Oh yeah, we had boss fights against a laser (jump up from the temporary platform to shoot the laser repeatedly, whee, instead of stunning the idiot manning the laser in plain sight) and against some fish tank filter which was between me and a guy wielding a giant crane hook against me. Naturally this was an incredibly durable fish tank filter / toaster thing, and again we couldn't just roll a grenade past it to take out the bad guy at the crane controls behind it, because in the future people are merciful ("good is dumb").

You don't actually take out the big bad - a dapper looking fellow whose only crimes appear to be winning the Nobel Prize and liberating prison inmates - just the goofy power lifter suit guy. Immediately after that your totally not creepy digital assistant woman (the hero here has the strangest sense of what's not scary I can think of) tells you that the main guy was "easily captured" after your random goose chase. Hey, if you guys aren't motivated to do it, I'm not gonna worry about it.

Say what you will about games like Daikatana, but that game delivers. When time travel is actually in the name, you'd expect them to make good on it. The one thing that got my hopes up early in the game was jumping and finding a random hidden area - and later there was a kind of weak adventure puzzle element, when there is one breakable drum in the game that gets pushed onto a spike bed, and which can be blown up to reveal another path. The later levels basically gave up and didn't bother trying to be interesting like this. There are quite a few items hidden at ground level, so be sure to jump everywhere and shoot randomly down empty corridors! Argh.

[BIL]

These take fire bit by bit, and the helicopter reminds me strongly of the first boss from the arcade version of Super Contra - except with even more damage locations.

Just had to look this up on Youtube. AC Super Contra's GREAT HELI (guardian of the RUINED BASE) is my benchmark "smash up reaaal good" boss. Even if it's easy enough for the powered-up MG to punch right through to its 26th century fusion engine for the kill, I always let it waft around long enough to accumulate the damages before sending it down in that glorious floor-shaking explosm.

I like the mall security casually jogging along with the speeding bike and heli lobbing grenades your way in Time Trax.

But the other problem is the game doesn't give the feeling of much of an adventure. Despite the name and the franchise, "Time Trax" the game simply is content to take you through some kind of version of Washington DC...

Oh shi- I'd never even heard of the source franchise, looked it up and turns out not only were Lorimar responsible for producing Silverhawks and Thundercasts, but also The Last Starfighter, The Witches and MAMA'S FAMILY. This is amazing, it reminds me of the time I realised Hellfire and Flying Shark were by the same company.

[Ed Oscuro]

I know I recognize the franchise - mainly Selma's Australian voice and actress - just can't really place any episode details.

Spoilers: The first episode of the series plops our guy wiped out in a bathroom stall in "the basement of the Smithsonian Museum of History." The establishing shot at the very beginning appears to show the Smithsonian Institution building (the "Castle"), with a statue out front, the view looking at the Capitol Building off to the east. But a lot of details are wrong; the statue is warped and thin, has a strange base, the building details are all wrong, and the view has always been more cluttered than seen here.

Lorimar can't really be credited with some productions like ThunderCats, which was underway at a Rankin-Bass company for a year before merging with Lorimar. But I suppose they can be credited with giving us the character of Commissar Wapner from the surreal Sliders pilot. Wapner's original run as a TV judge was at Lorimar. The other final show started by Lorimar Productions was another little-known science fiction show called Babylon 5.

[BIL]

Another evening eaten up by Strider - totally geeking out on this game lately. Once you really know the game you can play so audaciously, especially once you get the knack of having two Diplodal Saucers at all times. Those lovably erratic buggers are by far the most devastating weapon in Hiryu's arsenal, if handled right. Robo-Panther kind of sucks since he can't fly or shoot, and getting hit while he's out will screw up a carefully managed red/red/bluex3 lifebar. So I usually leave him folded up wherever he's found. But it's fun deploying him in Siberia's power plant to tear apart those pesky wolves.



That'll teach ya to snap at my feets!

Noticed something about the PS1 port's music. It's well known that there's the earlier arcade version which heavily recycles the stage 1.1 BGM, using it in stages 3 and 5, plus the fourth cutscene and the staff roll... then a newer one shown in the Capcom Game Syndrome LD (Strider footage starts at 28:20), which has unique BGM for those later stages and uses the stage 4 dinosaur area BGM for its ending. It also has different, more ominous music in the third cutscene. The MD port's soundtrack is based on the latter version.

The obviously much later PS1 port has the new stage BGMs, but the old third cutscene music, and reverts to using the stage 1.1 music for its staff roll. Turns out its music is based on a middle (I guess?) revision of the PCB which has the new stage BGMs but is otherwise like the earlier arcade version. Hmm. Guess this is one for the PCB archivists.

-Never noticed until now, you can really hear Meiou's voice actor blowing on the mic on the first "S" of his "All sons of old gods..." speech. Quite like the effect, that dude was really into those lines!

-Also never noticed that far from Meiou being all talk in the game's climax, the Earth is actually being bombarded from orbit as the last fight progresses. I always thought it was some generic evil aura effect. That's some heavy shit! Awesome.

-Reached the fourth boss with a tyrannosaurus, a couple of pteranodons, an Amazon mounted on a triceratops and the brontosaurus all following Hiryuu full-steam over the finish line without a hint of slowdown or sprite breakup. I <3 Capcom's CPS->PS ports. ;_;

Then Lago blew them all to shreds ofc. Being used to the MD's bonus items, was surprised to see the sword powerup hidden at the far edge of the boss area is actually in the arcade version too, not that you'll be able to reach it easily before the dual saucers rip Lago's head off.

[Austin]

The original Strider is excellent. It was one of the only arcade games back in the day I learned to 1cc (hell, fighting games notwithstanding, it may have been the only one).

[BIL]

Found some info about the development of the PlayStation conversion, whose personnel included ex-DECO staff. Nice bit of work from those guys.

[BIL]

(edit: RE NG1 Jaquio)

How am I supposed to learn the ins and outs of the guy I'm trying to beat?

Take advantage of the brand new lifebar the game provides and observe his sole attack pattern instead of blindly attacking. The flames only do one unit of damage per hit and are simple to dodge, so you'll hardly lack the time. And don't blubber like a two year-old if you don't succeed at first. If you have to return, you'll be able to use subweapons which will make the fight much easier, so develop a good strategy for reaching Jaquio with lots of health and ammo (before you file this under "don't die," yes, you'll need to figure this out on your own). There's a life restore and a time stop in the final stretch that will help, in this event. If your health is critically low, suicide in the final stretch to restore it, then move ahead.

For this reason, you'll want to have mastered Act VI before making a serious run at killing Jaquio (if you're unable to do it cleanly). Otherwise you're putting the cart before the horse. Them's the breaks.

(much like a platform segment and a boss segment are different things)

Just like wallclimbing is critical at the Masked Devil, platforming is at the heart of the Jaquio fight. It's all about managing Ryu's position and altitude via deft usage of the pedestals. You want the flames to accelerate towards you and fly offscreen, while striking Jaquio in the interim. If you're bad at this, and just jump about swiping wildly, the homing flames will accumulate and you'll get smacked around. Check out my video! (especially the bit where I get hit, lash out with a wild swing and lose half my lifebar! that's scrubby playing!)

If you stay back and observe him this'll become apparent quite quickly. The flames will fly past Ryu harmlessly while he's on the ground, but linger dangerously if he's midway or higher up the screen. Since being high up is the only way to connect with the sword, you must moderate your attacks appropriately. You will recognise the flames' tracking behaviour and acceleration/momentum from those homing eagles that are all over the game.

edit: fixed video timestamp.

[jepjepjep]

Another evening eaten up by Strider - totally geeking out on this game lately. Once you really know the game you can play so audaciously, especially once you get the knack of having two Diplodal Saucers at all times. Those lovably erratic buggers are by far the most devastating weapon in Hiryu's arsenal, if handled right. Robo-Panther kind of sucks since he can't fly or shoot, and getting hit while he's out will screw up a carefully managed red/red/bluex3 lifebar. So I usually leave him folded up wherever he's found. But it's fun deploying him in Siberia's power plant to tear apart those pesky wolves.

The only thing Robo-Panther is good for is the two-saucer on first lifebar trick. Did that bug/trick make it into the PS1 port?

[BIL]

Good question, I'll have to try it out.

[jepjepjep]

The two-option trick works on the PS1 port. I guess it's a feature rather than a bug. Cool.

The color palette option that unlocks when you beat the game is a nice touch. This is a great port!

[BIL]

TBH I'm not too up on bugs/glitches from the AC version, besides the obvious stuff like the speck of screen garbage near Hiryu's incline-climbing sprite. Interesting that the Option trick is still in, the conversion team clearly thought it should stay!

[CStarFlare]

A while back I heard about a sidescrolling Gundam game for the Super Famicom that was described as being similar to Mega Man X. I thought I even grabbed a ROM of it, but apparently I either didn't or deleted it.

I've been trying to look up what it is, but I'm not having any luck. Thought it was SD Gundam, but maybe it's just a random mech game? I'm hoping someone here has an idea.

[BIL]

Sounds interesting - I always like discovering new mecha sidescrollers (ones that have the quasi-realistic handling approach of Assault Suits etc, not merely a mech-shaped player sprite). After getting owned in this topic I realise my SFC obscurity knowledge ain't great, though. You'd probably have more luck asking in CIT's SFC thread.

[CIT]

A while back I heard about a sidescrolling Gundam game for the Super Famicom that was described as being similar to Mega Man X. I thought I even grabbed a ROM of it, but apparently I either didn't or deleted it.

I've been trying to look up what it is, but I'm not having any luck. Thought it was SD Gundam, but maybe it's just a random mech game? I'm hoping someone here has an idea.

Continue here.

[BIL]

Tried a casual clear of Akumajo Dracula aka CV1 last night, only I was really tired from a couple hours' sleep the previous night and Dracula's first form massacred my credit. Gave it a few continues to refresh my memory of how triggering his second form's high jump works, but that teleporting kept taking chunks of my lifebar for less time with cookie monster. Just couldn't maintain the focus or reaction time to consistently evade those worst-case remateralisings, where an instant's hesitation or the wrong input axes a fifth of your health. Usually a first loop no-miss ain't no thang... and then, I slept an hour and half through my alarm clock. x_x

An iconic final showdown and an enduringly lethal test of skill. I love this judicious use of random enemy behaviour throughout the game, just enough to pressure with the strict controls. Dracula is always dangerous, much like other great FC sidescroller end-bosses Jaquio (NG1) and Joker (OG Batman). I wish they hadn't telegraphed the classic teleport+fireball shuffle quite so obviously in later games.

[soprano1]

On the subject of Rocket Knight Adventure's sequel, Sparkster, what are the differences between the SNES and MD version, besides graphics and music quality? Is it like Aladdin?

[evil_ash_xero]

They're two different games completely.

Sparkster on the SNES is more like Rocket Knight Adventures. Like in mechanics. Sparkster on MD plays pretty differently, and isn't really to my liking. It's considered by most to be inferior.

Sparkster on SNES seems like a sequel, whilst on MD, it seems like some kind of offshoot.

[BIL]

Been revisiting Kenseiden (Mark III / Master System) lately, having finally gotten a nice cart. Game's not without its flaws, or rather its glaring flaw: certain enemies/projectiles pop out of nowhere instead of scrolling in or sticking to the screen edge, mandating memorisation to realistically avoid them. Very shoddy-feeling, and a real shame considering how good the game is for the most part.

But it's only in a handful of spots, and I found the majority of its economical combat far too good to pass up (oldschool Dracula nut). Striking down swarming, hopping baddies with perfectly measured strikes is hugely satisfying, and the controls are super-sharp (the COTM-style "hold to guard" mechanic owns Dracula IV's limp dick). Bizarrely, the game's dpad-driven swordplay is a dead ringer for Sega's own much later Shin Shinobi Den... only it's better here. Animation and collision feel tighter and achieve the same ends with a single button, and although there's no acrobatics or projectiles there's also none of SSD's sillier things like bouncing around on a katana Scrooge McDuck-style.

Handles nonlinearity and character-building superbly, too. What Dracula II should've been. It's actually similar to Demon's Blazon in the former regard, with its map screen. Unlike those two games, there's no money to grind or inventory screens to deal with. You gain abilities by killing bosses, seamlessly added to your repertoire, and items must be found in the field. You also have the option of trekking straight for the last stage on a kamikaze run, or taking time to build up a formidable character, or anything in-between. The last boss is never a pushover even with max upgrades, a nice touch.

Stage settings could use a bit more variety, but they at least have a consistently dark folk-horror mood. Reminds me of an 8-bit Taromaru (SS). Music isn't great but at least doesn't offend. Without that annoying sprite pop-in at certain points, I'd rank this among my favourite action sidescrollers. As is, it's still worth a go for fans of more methodical games, and it displays a lot of good ideas recognisable from later, better-known titles. By far my favourite Mark III game of those I've played.

[Ed Oscuro]

(the COTM-style "hold to guard" mechanic owns Dracula IV's limp dick).

Hell yes. Every game needs this. Floppy whip can get bent (wait, that's all it does - by design. LOL)

Yeah, the ghost thing bothered me.

I also took the longest damn time to figure out how to leave that first stage via the doorway. I'm sure I'll have to figure it out again when I revisit it

I only wish they had a game that was somewhere closer to this level of action while keeping the GG Shinobi theme. Those games are simply too simple and easy to be engaging.

[Squire Grooktook]

A few monthes back I finished doing a no death run of all the stages in They Bleed Pixels on Steam. Can confirm that it it's a very good game.

Stages have a great sense of scale, feeling really huge and varied but ending before they start to feel tiring. The melee combat does a great job of breaking up the pace between platforming segments, and it blends with the platforming well since you can use environmental hazards to your advantage (you can kill enemies on them, and vice versa).

Really brilliant move separating the leaderboards for both score runs and speed runs, as well as making an achievement for no death running the game. It's almost a completely different experience playing the game "seriously" compared to relying on the infinite respawn checkpoints.

Bleed and Rogue Legacy are also really good on Steam. Bleed has some flaws but it's still a great addition to the Run And Gun genre, something I don't think we've seen in a while. Rogue Legacy might not techically be a platformer, but it does scratch that itch and is really, really fun. Especially if you try to speed run or low death run it.