Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BrianC]

I think I also lean towards the first OST as my favorite, but BK3's ost is often wrongly maligned. At its best it's great, brutal, hardcore stuff.

BIL's constant praise of Shinobi X makes me want to try it again... Grr, I bet only to be frustrated and disappointed at its lame, lame elevator stage (lacking the coolness and flow of Super Shinobi 2's elevator stage) and finicky platforming.

Too bad that the Japanese soundtrack is so muted and unmemorable. The PAL ost, composed in like a month by Richard Jacques, is an improvement in every sense.

Stage 1 JPN - tonally fitting, but boring!

Stage 1 PAL - Hell yeah, fits perfectly in the Shinobi theme of ancient Japanese ninjitsu + modern-day aesthetic

Wow. It's the opposite of what happened with Sonic CD (original soundtrack in EU, new soundtrack for US).

[Vludi]

What do you guys think of Mystic Warriors? cleared the first loop recently, fun game and relatively challenging (especially a couple spots) but I have the impression that it's a bit more "static" compared to something like Contra 3, loop 2 is tough however. Still, the presentation is fantastic and I think I prefer it over Sunset Riders.

Also as usual with Konami games the japanese version is easier, bosses have less health and the patterns are somewhat less dangerous.

[Skykid]

Bare Knuckle isn't debatable. Don't be a fool.

Oh boy, I've heard this one before. Let's just nip that in the bud: Beat Ambience is awesome, Super Mix is a hackneyed imitation of the original theme, and both Poets are better than anything that plays in the second game.

You're not nipping anything in the bud except sparing us an account of tonal incompetence, which is fine. BK3's experimental score has some outstanding moments that I'd happily listen to outside of the game, but on the whole it's just that: experimental. Some of it pays off, but the majority doesn't work so well with the material. For every track that hits the right tempo, syncing with that beautiful moveset and upping the ante for your battery antics, there are a handful that fall off-kilter and don't meet the required drive.

There's very little if nothing I don't care for in BK1's OST, it's got grit that supersedes the second on the whole and everything about it is engaging bar the jazzier notes - but even then gloomy trash strewn beaches are well complimented by them. I think the only shortcoming of the first's soundtrack is that the tracks are shorter and less detailed, which can get repetitive on longer stages (like the ship/factory).

Ultimately I consider consensus and cliche to often be bedfellows for the right reason; and the fact that BK2's OST is considered the best by consensus is definitely for the right reasons. It's broader in number and therefore has a handful of less memorable tracks, but those that shine are plentiful and magnificent, a selection of tunes to murder by - which is exactly what most violence based games require and don't have. Max Man and Shiva's theme are about as vicious as you can get, and so beautifully assembled they stand the test of time as dance tracks.

I'm happy to say I stand alongside Koshiro, the author, in saying BK2 is his most comprehensively successful work, while Legend of Oasis is definitively the worst thing he ever concocted.

[Skykid]

What do you guys think of Mystic Warriors? cleared the first loop recently, fun game and relatively challenging (especially a couple spots) but I have the impression that it's a bit more "static" compared to something like Contra 3, loop 2 is tough however. Still, the presentation is fantastic and I think I prefer it over Sunset Riders.

Mystic Warriors is wonderful, the Sunset Riders sequel most people never knew. I disagree the presentation is better than Sunset Riders, I actually think it's the other way around - but it could be a question of taste. I think they nailed the western theme beautifully whereas MW is closer to generic saturday morning kids cartoons (albeit one that doesn't exist, which makes it all the more fun).

MW is easier than SR on the whole and the last few stages are nicely climatic. I think it's great!

[CIT]

I second pretty much everything SkyKid just said about Mystic Warriors. The style is cheesy as hell, and I love it!

From the way it plays I'd actually compare it more to Metal Slug than Contra or Sunset Riders. A bit slower and more methodical (with the added melee attack).

And the game has an amazing soundtrack! Truly excellent for an arcade game from 1993. "Udooon!!!" "Tempuraaah!!!"

[Ghegs]

I worked on 1CCing Mystic Warriors a few years back, but just couldn't get past one of the bosses...stage 6, was it? The one where you're on a mine cart, and fight against a train with a skull in the middle. Seemed like that part was balanced for more than one simultaneous players.

My PCB is some weird revision too, it doesn't have the fight against the saw-wielding car in stage one.

[Vludi]

The presentation is debatable. However I like it better than Sunset Riders because the levels are a bit more varied imo, especially with the melee.

And the game has an amazing soundtrack! Truly excellent for an arcade game from 1993. "Udooon!!!" "Tempuraaah!!!"

Sukiyaki!, indeed a good mix of cheesy voices and great music.

I worked on 1CCing Mystic Warriors a few years back, but just couldn't get past one of the bosses...stage 6, was it? The one where you're on a mine cart, and fight against a train with a skull in the middle. Seemed like that part was balanced for more than one simultaneous players

The train boss is exactly one of the rough spots I was talking about (the other being the elevator on the final level). I just try to speedkill most of the time but you can also take out the turrets (5 per side).

[BIL]

Guess who hit the big three-o today! That's right, it's BONEY-KUN. Spooking those short-pantsed Berumondo fuckboys since September 1986!



Good job Boney and pals, and here's to many more! (ta trap for GIF!)

[wiNteR]

Something I was thinking was that in Tiger Road you can choose multiple points for the starting stage (for example, second stage or third stage).

I haven't seen a 1CC in the case of starting from later stages. But what happens in that case to the hp increases and the power-up chances you get between stages? If I am not mistaken then this would make the game harder because you would have to tackle the later stages with less hp/power-ups.

If multiple starting points were included, then I am assuming that it would be possible to 1CC from each of them (not necessarily a no-miss but at least a 1CC). In-case the way hp/power-ups are gained doesn't change from stage to stage, certainly it seems it would make the game more difficult and provide a more varied experience.

My Dear D, good god what a synergy of the articulate and the primally violent. Crystalline cybermelodic stardust over bone-jarring bass, the whole assemblage moving with an eccentric yet relentless force. And aww sheeeit, just segued into the sinister bounce of Trap Boogie. What an OST.

Also don't forget the stage that this track plays on! It suits the stage it plays on very well. Reminds me of 15 years ago coming back from school and relaxing while playing this.

I did wish at that time that the last stage was harder to get through with a no-hit (mostly because it was so fun playing it) -- even though I play videogames better now as compared to then.

[Sumez]

Finally finished Contra 4 for the first time.
The biggest barrier in this game is definitely its length. Once you got it all down, it's really a fairly easy game, much like the NES titles (when I finally got it down, I died only a few times, finishing with 18 extra lives).
However, since working your way to the later areas of the game can be quite a project, learning them well enough to play without mistakes can take a while.

Definitely a game for fans of the first two NES games, lacking almost everything that the sequels added to the series, aside from the ability to carry two weapons at the same time, and with a greater focus on the run'n'grun sections as opposed to bosses. It's still highly creative though, and no area overstays its welcome. Very recommended.

I'm not sure about Hard mode. It does make the game a bit more frantic, but not that much harder. I feel like it would be more fun to go for a no-miss run on Normal before trying to get into Hard mode.

[BIL]

Also don't forget the stage that this track plays on! It suits the stage it plays on very well. Reminds me of 15 years ago coming back from school and relaxing while playing this.

I did wish at that time that the last stage was harder to get through with a no-hit (mostly because it was so fun playing it) -- even though I play videogames better now as compared to then.

The final stage's superhumanly gymnastic obstacle course is some seriously good stuff. Also reminds me of another neat thing you can do with 6-button mode, besides much more aggressive projectile swatting: walljump momentum cancelling. Basically, execute an aerial melee attack during rebound, and you're free to get back on the wall ad infinitum.

Animated GIF: 1 WALL ONRY

Spoiler

There's a huge vertical climb in the ninja house (with breakable crate "platforms" adjacent) that you can absolutely rocket up with this technique (I like killing the flying ninjas and my momentum in one stroke). The waterfront and factory stages can be taken down a lot more aggressively too. It's a shame the level design doesn't stress the gymnastic maneuvering more often... st2.2 would've been a prime spot. Makes me appreciate how my gold-standard walljumper Batman (FC) relies on calibrated stage design as much as its ultra-smooth take on the mechanic. SS2's walljump is just as good, and looking at that GIF, I just remembered how it too has the character crouch before exploding into a jump. Cool touch.

[Shoryukev]

Wow. It's the opposite of what happened with Sonic CD (original soundtrack in EU, new soundtrack for US).

I've been thinking about burning a CD-R of a modified version of Sonic CD with the other soundtrack. I like the soundtrack for my US copy enough, but I'm curious about the other one.

[Volteccer_Jack]

When I first played Sonic CD, I heard that the US soundtrack was the bad one, and it's so good that I didn't believe them. But it turns out the original is even better.

[Sumez]

I've been thinking about burning a CD-R of a modified version of Sonic CD with the other soundtrack. I like the soundtrack for my US copy enough, but I'm curious about the other one.

Probably easier just to get a legit one. It's the one MegaCD game everybody has that's not Road Avenger.

[BrianC]

Wow. It's the opposite of what happened with Sonic CD (original soundtrack in EU, new soundtrack for US).

I've been thinking about burning a CD-R of a modified version of Sonic CD with the other soundtrack. I like the soundtrack for my US copy enough, but I'm curious about the other one.

I put the JP version on CD-R to test the everdrive's alternate region bios booting. The test was a success, but I was thrown off by the Dr. Robotnik screen with text in Japanese. Turn's out it was just telling me to intialize the RAM.

[BIL]

I have to say, the Game Boy incarnation of Spartan X (a totally original sequel, despite the re-used title) is a bit better than I'd given it credit for. Not quite worthy of the full 2ND OPINON treatment, but making it past the the train reveals a couple of mildly interesting, fully-fledged action platformer stages.

Unfortunately the much greater terrain variety seems to work against the classic flatland simplicity... it's all rather easy with none of the AC/FC original's deadly pincer mixups. Just like the similarly promising yet ultimately weak Spartan X2 (FC), a lack of serious pressure saw me hit the no-miss in little over an hour. Cool games, certainly, but I'm not compelled to pick either up with the leaner, meaner Spartan X (FC/SS) and Vigilante (PCE) bagged.

One thing I really like about this chequered series - all the games maintain the classic "whiplash" mechanic on punches and kicks, allowing you to deftly pivot a fist or foot into a would-be backstabber's face. Like this:

Animated GIF: Bidirectional Asswhoopin'

Spoiler

It's a small but critical handling characteristic, vital to the original game's feel; despite XGB and X2's lukewarm stage designs, I do respect them for this.

[EmperorIng]

Speaking of handheld IREM, the Gameboy iterations of Daiku no Gensan (aka Hammerin' Harry) are surprisingly fun and varied action platformers - and tough too! But maybe that's just on account of my bad abilities. Despite some turgid "shmup" stages (only 2 though), the games throw a lot of neat surprises at you (zooming out the field to make Gen a few pixels tall while fighting a huge boss, for one). Both are very pleasant games.

[BIL]

Gawd, I've been putting those (and the FC Gen-Sans) off for ages. I know Ghegs likes them too. I'll get around to 'em eventually... I'm always slow to try out cuter action games, despite several becoming firm favourites (Nemo FC, Tonma PCE) and a handful occupying my Ultime Classifed Sidescroller Shortlist (Gimmick!).

I'm too in love with Castlevania/Ninja Gaiden et al's tuff, compact action man sprites, on both aesthetic and purely practical (lots of screen space) levels.

Come to think of it, Irem's own Metal Storm could've easily gone cutesy ala Gen-San/Tonma, instead of channeling its stout sprites into colourful yet unmistakably cruel murder machinery. I'd like to think my esteem would go undiminished had it starred a blueberry muffin braving a genocidal bakery and its array of deadly baking gear, but it's such a personal feel.

[Sumez]

Compact action man sprite is the best term for this style I've seen so far. It's so difficult to define what makes it unique, but it's almost exclusive to the NES, and was completely gone on 16 bit hardware. My heart skipped a beat when I played the early parts of Majyuuou which actually looks and plays a lot like one of these up until the point where you get to transform for the first time. I wish there was much more like this on the SNES or MegaDrive.

[Shoryukev]

I've been thinking about burning a CD-R of a modified version of Sonic CD with the other soundtrack. I like the soundtrack for my US copy enough, but I'm curious about the other one.

Probably easier just to get a legit one. It's the one MegaCD game everybody has that's not Road Avenger.

Wouldn't I still have to rip it to an ISO and manually change the region to NTSC-U, then burn it onto a new disc? I have a legitimate american copy of Sonic-CD already, it is extremely common here as well.

Probably worth noting that I'm playing on all NTSC-U hardware and I don't own an everdrive, so I can't do the BIOS tricks I see people doing here.

[BIL]

I dislike dwelling on roads not taken, particularly ones I could theoretically aid the forging of were I not a lazy bugger, so I don't discuss dream hacks much. However it's always difficult not to imagine with Hard Corps. So many places to stick your neck out, not in search of banzai bravura gamshara performance, but simply a little otherwise non-existent pressure.

Animated GIF 2.8mb "TRAVEL SAFETY 4 ALL"

Spoiler

^ with a bit of tweaking I could see that otherwise completely disposable little vignette conjuring Nam-style flashbacks of III/Hard st4. WTB some buzzy electric railings and popup turrets for Jungle Bawse. Also get those Junkyard bikers popping up en route through the run FFS!

I love this game but lawd it's such a goddamn tease.

[Sumez]

Afaik all MegaCD/SegaCD games are region free?

[Shoryukev]

Afaik all MegaCD/SegaCD games are region free?

Oh okay, that makes more sense now. I thought I saw someone on this forum installing a japan NTSC bios on their everdrive so they could play imports on their Sega CD in a thread here....so I assumed they were region locked. If it's region free that would definitely be the easiest route, not like Sonic CD is rare or expensive anyways LOL.

[BIL]

Not my area of expertise, but I always had the impression Sega CD games were indeed region locked. I might be wrong though.

[Sumez]

Oh I won't try to teach anyone then, I just thought I remember playing SegaCD games on my Multimega.

[soprano1]

Oh I won't try to teach anyone then, I just thought I remember playing SegaCD games on my Multimega.

No, it's region locked, unless you mod it.

[BrianC]

I read somewhere that the US X'Eye (Wondermega is region locked) and a couple of the JP region bios boot multiple region CDs. The US Sega CD 2 is definitely region locked. In JP mode on my system, it gives a disclaimer screen instead of booting up, even without a CD in it.

[Skykid]

JP Wondermega is also region locked.

[BrianC]

JP Wondermega is also region locked.

yeah, That's what I referring to in the last post. Here is a compatibility list for Sega CD. I'm not sure how accurate it is.

[mycophobia]

Metal Storm owns and might be the first game I even attempt to 2-ALL. As it stands I've reached the stage 6 boss on the first loop.