Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[Randorama]

The Psychic 5 squib is now up. I wish that real life (TM) would stop bothering me; new releases are suffering because of this.

[Lethe]

There's a way to unlock the higher difficulties on a first playthrough. I don't remember what I did but I started on hell and then moved up to bunny extinction after that. I thought the game straight up offered to unlock those two modes for you when choosing a difficulty.

Hmm, you're right, it's combined with force-unlocking speedrun mode, which I must have not even looked at before. I guess I can try playing it again on Hell though I doubt my opinion's going to change dramatically.

The problem with the IGO-UGO thing is that it's not just the big choreographed attacks. I distinctly remember attacking into bosses when they're in neutral to be very unreliable because they could attack semi-spontaneously, or could fall out of hitstun arbitrarily and pointblank blast me. The disappointment is, you're given all the feedback for an offensive game - you have a melee combo, attacks that move around, you even get touch cancels, various types of coverage and setup, there's the DMC style gauge, the invincible cool-off after enemy hitstun ends which should be a clear marker for your pace of attack - and then the system is actually set up to be wait and see first. Imagine you're playing a fighting game: you're both in neutral, there's lots of options to consider, but your opponent mashes buttons and is guaranteed to do something punishable every few seconds. Taking the initiative just means you have a chance of losing, so why would you do it? You don't think to win, you just hold block and wait for them to kill themselves. (Obviously Rabi-Ribi bosses aren't that bad, there are definite tactical elements to managing their facing and movement, but I think the illustration holds)

[Vanguard]

Sometimes bosses get a buff called quick reflex, I think it's based on either doing enough damage or a long enough combo, but that drastically reduces stun time while it lasts. It's probably the cause of your inconsistent stun problems. You can see all the boss's buffs on the opposite side of the screen from your buffs.

I agree that it's annoying to be ready to start a combo and then suddenly eat a point blank bullet with no warning.

[Steven]

Started playing Horror Story again yesterday. I forgot how cool and great this game is. Still need to get better at the China start version, unfortunately, although I'm kind of liking that version more than I did before. Not sure what to think of it in comparison to the USA start version, but it's probably better to think of them as different games, as they are different enough to consider them such.

[Sumez]

The most important difference is the addition of the final stage which is honestly where the entire game comes together. It's not a hard 1CC, but it would be hell a lot easier if just ended after the second dragon.

[Steven]

What I dislike about the China start version is that so many of the weapons are weak enough to be useless, so you are stuck with bomb for most of the game. The other version has places where cutter, laser, 3-way, and bomb are all useful enough to justify switching to them because they aren't all super weak. Missile is still not very good, though.

[Sumez]

I use the spreadshot most of the game, and only switch to bombs for a couple of spots, as well as the final portion of the game. There are plenty of places which are much easier with the spreadshot, especially that part of the castle where you jump between rooftops.

My recorded run for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KROoR8ZwStQ

[velo]

Later sequels sure, different games entirely. But 1943 and 42 are similar enough. What mechanics were introduced in 1943 that makes you like it less than '42? Maybe you're thinking of the Kai version? Which is kind of rare to come across anyway.

Sure I'm not the best authority on these games, as I haven't dedicated myself too much to them. But I did use to spend quite a few credits on 1943 in the arcade back when hanging out with a guy who'd consistenly 1CC the game at a +3 mil score(!), so I eventually learned to appreciate it - and at the same time figured out why the most die-hard fans don't really regard Kai as an improvement at all.
1942 to me is just a very similar game, that feels waaaaay too drawn out for what it is, still rooted in the early arcade philosophy of endless repetition (which I appreciate more in most other genres). And 1943 is already drawn out as it is

But I'm super open to hear what makes you appreciate 1942 more. I'm not opposed to going back with a fresh perspective.

I'm definitely not an expert, but to me they're really very different: 1942 is a golden age shooter with a glow up, 1943 is in the late 80s/90s mold.

1942 is basically an iteration on Galaxian/Galaga gallery shooters that does away with enemy formations and randomizes the zako spawns. The heavy use of rng and improv-friendliness is what makes it unique. Conventional wisdom is that rng and shmups don't mix, but for weaving through zako and aiming at diving enemies with a vertical shot, it really fits very well. I haven't seen anything else build on that formula.

1943 is a more standard late 80s style game: static enemy placements, screen-wiping firepower, and a full-length campaign of unique stages. Common ground with gallery shooters is pretty much gone. I find most of the gameplay changes fiddly and crufty: lifebar, shoot-to-select power-ups, etc. It's not so much that it's a step back from '42 exactly. It's more that I see '42 as like a better Gaplus, one of the best of its type, whereas '43 is a stumble compared to contemporaries like K Tiger (or the later 1941, which made a lot of its quirks work better).

Anybody going in JUST to get a clear is probably going to get annoyed with its length, but that's kind of anachronistic. 1942 is really an endless game in spirit, it just happens to kick the player off after about an hour. Look at it as a saner alternative to score play that involves marathoning for hours. Ironically, in that sense, it might have been the shortest and least-repetitive shmup of its day, just because it DOES end. If you look at each boss fight as a "loop" it's not that different from what other games were doing at the time. It just has a hard 4-loop limit.

[Sumez]

stuff

Ok this definitely helps me see 1942 in a totally different light than I did before.
Thanks for sharing your insight, truly.

[Steven]

I use the spreadshot most of the game, and only switch to bombs for a couple of spots, as well as the final portion of the game. There are plenty of places which are much easier with the spreadshot, especially that part of the castle where you jump between rooftops.

My recorded run for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KROoR8ZwStQ

Alright, I'll check it out during GW, as I won't have anything better to do aside from the location test for Sonic Wings.

What do you think of the PC Engine version?

[Sumez]

I haven't played it. Also I have no idea what "GW" is.

[Steven]

Oh yeah, it's Golden Week.

PC Engine version has different physics for player movement, choice of either instant respawn or checkpoints, and the weapons have been changed a little, like how bomb's trajectory is now different. It's based on the China start version, but actually now has distinct, separate stages instead of flowing seamlessly like the arcade versions. There's also a new boss, a cowboy skeleton dude in the USA part at the end of the town section before you go into the desert.

[Sumez]

Oh yeah, it's Golden Week.

I can't believe I couldn't figure that out on my own

[it290]

Sega released a new Shinobi gameplay trailer a few days ago. IMO the game is looking really solid, can't wait to give it a go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lLxNxbmRX0

[1KMS]

I wonder if Horror Story would be more acclaimed if it had Ogiwara style graphics instead of being in the Wardnerverse. Nevertheless, Toaplan did an excellent job with the enemy patterns and pacing. Better than SNK accomplished with Cyber-Lip, which usually has a little too much idle time in its auto-scrolling segments once you know what you're doing (stage 4 is solid though).

[Daytime Waitress]

Sega released a new Shinobi gameplay trailer a few days ago. IMO the game is looking really solid, can't wait to give it a go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lLxNxbmRX0

The particle effects are a bit much for mine, but the animation looks smooth, the upwards strikes in the combos are rad, and it appears to run at a decent clip.
I guess I'll go ahead and add it to the GabeSoft wishli-

>denuvo

Switch wishlist, then.

[Randorama]

I had to go home, or at least one of my possible homes, to feel in a better mood. The squib on Cadash is conceived as a journey to the city of Deerzar. Please be sure to pay a visit to this wonderful place, when you can.

[Sumez]

I took a blind gamble on the GladMort Kickstarter because I actually wanted to support more people doing Neo Geo games, not really expecting the game to be particularly good. And the MVS cartridge finally arrived today.

The old demo was so-so, basically mildly enjoyable, but also having that uncanny feeling of something that looks like a classic arcade game without really managing to feel like it, and it was extremely non-challenging. Because I'd already invested money in the game up-front, I sent the devs some pointers for how I'd hope the full game fixes that. I'm honestly not sure what I wrote even reached them, but I was pleased to see that those things were ultimately accounted for in the full game.

In fact, GladMort is surprisingly not bad. I was prepared for eurojank but got classic 80s arcade jank instead - which I think if you're already a fan of games like Magician Lord and so on, you can't really complain about.
Very refreshingly, it does the Daimakaimura thing, where enemy spawns are randomized just enough that you can never just memorize a stage, but have to adjust your strategy to counter anything that comes at you whenever it does. I'm not sure the game manages to avoid unavoidable scenarios unfortunately, but at the same time I couldn't say that for sure either, since I've only played the game this afternoon. There are definitely several times where an enemy will just come at you from off-screen which can feel cheap, but I don't think it drags the game down. It's definitely much better than a too predictable and easy game.

The game has two difficulties, and normal mode isn't particularly hard once you figure out a few tight spots. A 1CC comes easy mostly just because it gives you way too many score extends however. But you can also adjust how many lives you start with, which might be a good idea.
The Hard Mode difficulty is a really sensible tweak of the game as well! Instead of just adding more or stronger enemies, they are mostly made faster and more aggressive instead, which makes a few sections quite challenging, and generally makes the game feel much more fast paced and fun! Any member of this thread would probably get the most enjoyment from just jumping straight into this mode, although Normal Mode serves as a fine training run.



Game is also available on all other platforms, btw, and I think you can buy a Neo Geo ROM as well.
EDIT: You can't buy a Neo Geo ROM, only the demo had one. Maybe it can be extracted from the Steam release?

[Sumez]

Alright, unexpectedly got the Hard Mode 1CC last night, finishing with 7 lives in stock even though I died ten times throughout the run. Again, all the score extends you get is completely insane and removes any pressure from a clear that's not going for a 1LC. I got three 1UPs just from beating the first boss, wtf. (1 from the kill, and 2 from the time bonus)

Still really enjoying the game otherwise, and I'm going to try to record another clear in a few days, preferably performing better and with better audio than my current Twitch recording.

[Steven]

Today I went to a friend's house and she had never played Dracula before and wanted to try it despite never playing action games at all. Naturally, there is only one correct place to start with, and it also happened to be the most convenient given the hardware we had on hand (a PS2): the PS1 version of X68000 Dracula. The result was as expected: game over on stage 1 -> えぇぇ何これ？！難しすぎるわ！ -> *evil laughter*

What a great game, even if it isn't a perfect recreation of the X68000 version. She did like it and thought it was a really cool game, but next time I'll be nice and let her play the FC or SFC version instead.

[copy-paster]

This weekend there will be annual Shmup Slam 6 by MarkMSX/The Electric Underground's youtube channel featuring live demos of shmups and shmup-adjacent ones (rail shooter and run and guns). Looks like there will be Contra: Shattered Soldier run on the sunday schedule with Aquas (any% best ending WR holder) as commentator, of course because it would be played by yours truly.

With its absence for a year last time. Slam 7 is back and as promised I said on the last stream, I'm going to play Neo Contra this time with 1CC S-Rank goal and cutscene intact for maximum entertainment, really hard to pass this one. I've asked Aquas and EmperorING/ec2151 this time for the commentary because the latter said he's going to cook a gag story in make up for the an hour long timeframe, should be fun.

The schedule is Sunday on the very first slot.

[Stevens]

Zenovia Interactive (loved studio behind Steel Assault) did an interview at Pax East.

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

tl:dr - Neon Inferno drops sometime in the fall.

[it290]

Didn't realize it was the same dev. I played the demo and loved the art style, but the gameplay fell flat for me because I felt the bullet visibility was very poor. Hoping they improve that for the final release. TBH I had the same problem with Steel Assault where I felt I was often being hit by things I couldn't see.

[BIL]

Alright, unexpectedly got the Hard Mode 1CC last night, finishing with 7 lives in stock even though I died ten times throughout the run. Again, all the score extends you get is completely insane and removes any pressure from a clear that's not going for a 1LC. I got three 1UPs just from beating the first boss, wtf. (1 from the kill, and 2 from the time bonus)

Still really enjoying the game otherwise, and I'm going to try to record another clear in a few days, preferably performing better and with better audio than my current Twitch recording.

Excellent writeup, marked for index! Interesting look to that one, wouldn't have taken it for a Neo game in stills.

This weekend there will be annual Shmup Slam 6 by MarkMSX/The Electric Underground's youtube channel featuring live demos of shmups and shmup-adjacent ones (rail shooter and run and guns). Looks like there will be Contra: Shattered Soldier run on the sunday schedule with Aquas (any% best ending WR holder) as commentator, of course because it would be played by yours truly.

With its absence for a year last time. Slam 7 is back and as promised I said on the last stream, I'm going to play Neo Contra this time with 1CC S-Rank goal and cutscene intact for maximum entertainment, really hard to pass this one. I've asked Aquas and EmperorING/ec2151 this time for the commentary because the latter said he's going to cook a gag story in make up for the an hour long timeframe, should be fun.

The schedule is Sunday on the very first slot.

Fuck! >w< I'm so sorry I missed this live, CPS. I actually have a PC that can watch Twitch now too. >w< I'll catch any VODs you upload bro. Glad you repped Neo, I liked it BITD and have grown more fond of it over time. I was surprised, figured all the arcade run/guns I'd played since might've dimmed it, but I think they were within touching distance of their own bonafide classic.

Oh wait it was on YT, nice, will catch up tonight :O

[Sumez]

Excellent writeup, marked for index! Interesting look to that one, wouldn't have taken it for a Neo game in stills.

Although some of the graphics look a little awkward, I think it does a good job at replicating the Neo Geo style background artwork, made of massive sprites, similar to Metal Slug stages. Unlike something like Krautbuster, I'm pretty sure this is just a straight up Neo Geo ROM capable of running without any extra hardware on the cartridge. But unfortunately a ROM image isn't available for purchase.

First time trying the video-to-gif thing. Not sure how to make it not play at half speed, but anyway, when GladMort is at its absolute best, you're dodging and murdering randomly respawning zakos left and right as you're busy doing other things, completely GNG Resurrection style


(this is some high quality hitboxes)

Honestly, the game is really close to being completely on point for me. It has several really stupid oversights and bugs which give the impression of a game that wasn't properly tested - but the one thing that really stands out for me is the same thing I already complained about. If any single person used to playing arcade games had tested this game they would immediately have gone "what the hell r u doing m8". Why do you get so many extra lives? It's absurd.

If you're like me, one of the biggest reasons you're into this style of games is the thrill of completing a challenge at the brink of failure. You finally made it to the final boss, and it's you or him. You are on your last life, and he is the last obstacle between you and your 1CC. Nothing else in video games give me such an experience.
In my newly recorded 1CC of Hard Mode I manage to die four times, including one by foolishly just walking off the edge of a platform while nothing was threatening me.
I set up the game to start with the lowest possible number of starting lives, and I still ended it with a full max stock of 9:

GladMort Hard mode 1CC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRiuswXJFn8

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Great run, really well done! Looks like a very neat game.

In my newly recorded 1CC of Hard Mode I manage to die four times, including one by foolishly just walking off the edge of a platform while nothing was threatening me.

Are you really getting the full platformer experience if you don't have at least one death where you walk off a ledge like a lemming?

First time trying the video-to-gif thing. Not sure how to make it not play at half speed

GIFs can be quite fiddly and a lot of automated tools restrict filesize and thus mess with the framerate to reduce the filesize. It's tricky to get them looking nice in my experience.

[Steven]

Been playing Metroid Dread recently. I find I still like this game as much as I did when it released, which is a lot. A while ago, I accidentally deleted my 0% hard mode save file because I changed my Switch language to Japanese and sometimes I just don't really pay attention to what I'm reading if I get tired and this was the unfortunate result. It's not a huge loss, so I guess I'm going to redo it.

I did this before Dread mode existed and it has been two years since I've played the game, but I'm pretty sure that after a while almost everything kills you instantly on hard mode with no energy tanks, so it's probably not that different. It's also nowhere near as difficult as Zero Mission hard 15% as long as you don't skip both the Spin Boost and the Space Jump, which is good. Even without both of them, it's still not too bad until you get to Experiment Whatever He's Called, and at that point you can't go back to get either item without defeating the boss. It can still be done without them, but it's so much easier to just get the Space Jump and not have to worry about it. I normally don't take Space Jump because it's a waste of time to go get it using the probably very strange route I typically use, but for this instance I will... once I figure out where in my sequence it would be optimal to get the damn thing. My route is so messed up now that I don't even remember the "normal" way to play the game.

I did finally figure out what I was doing wrong with the trick to skip the first EMMI: turns out you have to aim down very slightly in order to get it to work. For years I thought that you have to shoot straight with good timing or something, but nope. Guess I'll never see the first EMMI ever again now.

Not related to anything in particular, but I hope Super Missiles go back to being extremely powerful but limited like they are in Super Metroid and Zero Mission in the future. I don't really like them replacing your regular missiles, and then in both Fusion and Dread you get the annoying Ice Missile immediately after. Does anyone actually like Ice Missiles? Edit a few minutes later: I have just learned that Ice Missile can be skipped, and that this was discovered in launch week and I somehow didn't know about it until now.

[Sumez]

Man I wish Metroid Dread was just 20% as good as some people like to make it sound

[Steven]

Dread is a top 4 Metroid game at worst, and possibly top 2 at best. Admittedly, there's only like 12 Metroid games or something like that, and I'm not counting AM2R in that because I completely forgot it exists until just now, but yeah. Nothing beats Super, but Dread is pretty great at everything except maintaining 60 FPS, which Super also struggles with, and its music is weak by Metroid standards, but that's all I can really complain about unless you try comparing it to the insanity that Zero Mission lets you do or playing almost the entirety of Super Metroid in reverse. It also doesn't have anything as awful as the suitless part of Zero Mission, which is fortunate. The original Gamecube USA version 0-00 of Prime 1 gives Dread some serious competition, but the other revisions of Prime, including the Switch version, are strictly inferior.

I'd probably put that original 0-00 version of Prime over Dread, but it's close and Dread's movement is so much nicer that it feels better to play, for what little that is worth. Dread is also a hell of a lot shorter for a casual playthrough, which is quite nice.

Anyway, Dread is a lot of fun. Do hard mode 0%. Skip the tutorial EMMI because why not. Skip Kraid if you want because it's fun. Skip Drogyga if you want because there's no point in fighting that boss. Or skip Spin Boost and/or Space Jump if you want. Do hard mode 0% no tutorial EMMI no Kraid no Drogyga no Spin Boost no Space Jump. Go get the Flash Shift before Kraid and do the special Flash Shift animation thing against Kraid, which I have never actually done myself. Get early Cross Bomb/early Screw Attack/early Gravity Suit/early Super Missile. Use 30Hz autofire and laugh at the devastation it brings. There's all sorts of fun to be had with this game.

[Sima Tuna]

I like Zero Mission. dealwithit.jpg

Spoiler

The suitless part sucks though.