The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

[evil_ash_xero]

Since i always love a good platformer, I'll have to check out Magical Pop'n and DoReMi Fantasy.

Very wise decision. They're both top notch.

Also, if you're ever near a PS1 emulator, get your mits on Little Ralph. I still think that's the best one we never got.

[CIT]

Little Ralph. I still think that's the best one we never got.

Pretty much!

Little Ralph wipes the floor with most action games on SFC.

[EmperorIng]

A bump!

My brother picked up The First Samurai and Kendo Rage at a local used game shop the other day (I picked up PS1 Alundra).

I am not so sure about The First Samurai, but I admit I like the cartoony goofiness of Kendo Rage (an unfitting title if there ever was one?), and it looks to be like a nice, arcadey action platformer. You have to love a gal who burns with the fire of her own justice.

Does anyone have any impressions on either?

[drauch]

Kendo Rage is aces stuff. Pretty damn bizarre, and actually part of a series, but each game is different. One of the many enigmatic localizations that I'll never understand how we got it. Can't really say it's a great game, but I enjoy it quite a bit, mainly for its bizarre nature and anime babe lead.

[BrianC]

Some of the name changes in Kendo Rage make me wonder if the people doing the localization were fans of Doctor Who.

[Wyrmnus]

When it comes to SNES platformers, I always think of Jerry boy.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Is Spectre on the SNES any good? Played Spectre Supreme a lot back in the day.

[BrianC]

Is Spectre on the SNES any good? Played Spectre Supreme a lot back in the day.

I'm not sure if it's good, but from what I remember, it probably doesn't hold a candle to the PC version.

[EmperorIng]

My brother has started to get SFC Japanese games, mainly to escape the sting of amazon price-gougers.

One such is Hamlin no Violin. It is a pretty neat game; it looks like some licensed anime game, but it has some very nice sprite-work and is cute.

He picked up a PAL Terranigma retrofitted into a NTSC-U cart, and it plays like a dream. The game is one of my personal favorite SNES RPGs, probably only for the aesthetics and music. He never liked Illusion of Gaia (I never played it enough to form a solid judgment, but I felt like he was a bit quick to dismiss it).

Some shady-ass cell-phone store has a video-game selection where he's currently staying. It looks like a place where drugs are dealt. However, it did have Sunset Riders and Turtles in Time. Perhaps those items were pawned for drug money, but they're ours all the same.

[evil_ash_xero]

You know, I never understood the hype for King of Demons. It's always listed in the same ranks as Do Re Mi Fantasy and Magical Pop'n, which I think isn't very accurate at all.

It's dark...yes. It's all demonic and whatnot... But it looks so cruddy. And the gameplay is just "OK". I mean, it's not bad, but it's nothing special. If it was really spectacular, or was more original, it would make up for the bad visuals.
I don't get it.

Maybe people just really dig the demonic theme? But it's not a "great" game at all. Certainly not as good as the two other games I mentioned.
It reminds me a little of Dahna, which I know a few forum members really like. But TO ME, it looks really bad, and plays pretty bad too.

[Skykid]

I like Majuuyo (or whatever it's called). It's got flaws for sure: it's stupendously easy, I 1cc'd it on my second or third attempt, the difficulty is all over the place with stage 2 being one of the trickiest sections, and it's just too short.

But graphically I quite like it and I think it has a decent amount of variety. The monster making options are entertaining and figuring out what works best on what stage is a relevant feature. Not the best game ever but a decent little action platform adventure with a thick streak of evil.

[evil_ash_xero]

Yeah, it's not a bad game. But I just don't like how it's mentioned with those other two as the "big three".

It was quite a let down for me, after playing the other two, and expecting a higher quality.
Then again, I didn't have to pay to play it, so I guess I should just shut up.

[Skykid]

Yeah, it's not a bad game. But I just don't like how it's mentioned with those other two as the "big three".

Probably because it's also prohibitively expensive. Do Re Mi is a pretty platformer but also not the greatest thing since sliced bread: people overplay its virtues too. It's pleasant, well made, but a little empty and thin all things considered. I enjoyed playing it through, but it's only necessary once.

[BrianC]

I'm a bit skeptical of Magical Pop'n. It sounds like a good game, from what I read about it, but Pack in Video's track record is a bit iffy.

[Skykid]

I'm a bit skeptical of Magical Pop'n. It sounds like a good game, from what I read about it, but Pack in Video's track record is a bit iffy.

I still need to sit down with the cart and play through it properly. I always seem to just play the first stage and then not go back to it. It does seem very nice though.

[blackoak]

I loved DoReMi despite how easy it was. The use of ambient sound and music is unique for a game of that period I think (certainly within the genre). The art design is just fantastic all around. Great use of color. If I was a kid, no doubt I'd have loved it all the more, and I really enjoy things that are made well for children.

Magical Pop'n was fun too, though I haven't finished it either. Made it to the last level where it starts to get a little harder. If I recall, there's no save/password feature? I just haven't had the urge to do it all in one go yet.

[evil_ash_xero]

Yeah, it's not a bad game. But I just don't like how it's mentioned with those other two as the "big three".

Probably because it's also prohibitively expensive. Do Re Mi is a pretty platformer but also not the greatest thing since sliced bread: people overplay its virtues too. It's pleasant, well made, but a little empty and thin all things considered. I enjoyed playing it through, but it's only necessary once.

DoReMi and Magical Pop'n are both very good, but they're not OMG Amazing. They're just two really good hidden gems. I'm glad that DoReMi got to make it to Virtual Console.
I always crack up that Magical Pop'n's lead character is voiced by a porn actress.

I demand that Sasha Grey do the voice of Peach.

[Ruldra]

Anyone here ever managed to finish Metal Warriors? It's been ages since I last played it but I recall being really tough. Even with savestates I had a lot of trouble beating the last mission. On a single credit the farthest I ever got was stage 6 (you had to go underground and steal a flying mech IIRC).

[Mortificator]

I managed it, back in the day, and remember being irritated that the game didn't have a password feature. The final boss was one of those finesse-free slugfests, or at least, I didn't find a more elegant way of winning than toughing it out in a Prometheus. There are a few memorable moments, like trying to destroy those huge burrowing worms before they reach your base, but the campaign isn't up to the level of Valken or Gun Hazard. I spent lots of time on Metal Warriors' multiplayer, though, and I think its mech designs are the best of the three.

[Damocles]

I've been playing a ton of Front Mission: Gun Hazard. Good stuff, once I found the translated version. Gotta love mech games.

[NTSC-J]

I always crack up that Magical Pop'n's lead character is voiced by a porn actress.

Ai Ijima was raped in her early teens and had an abortion, then ran away from home and lived on the streets. Eventually she found work in porn. Then she died when she was 36.

Enjoy your Magical Pop'n now!

[evil_ash_xero]

Well, she'll always be my chirpy little protagonist.

[BIL]

Finished KONTORA SPIRITS Hard difficulty with three misses. That's three too many for Contra regulations.



Konami definitely erred on the side of caution with this game's extend rate, it's not hard at all to bullshit your way through. Tough as nails where it counts though, in authoritative play - harder than the more publicly feared Hard Corps and Shin Contra for sure. It's also the best of the three, having none of their intermittent dead spots, a more volatile twitch/pattern ratio, and a more perfect zako/midboss balance. That's not to say the latter two Nakazato-helmed sidescrollers aren't damn good times, Spirits is simply a rare masterpiece of action game design.

Biggest flaws are cosmetic; it occasionally looks a bit day-glo compared to the two console entries on either side of it (SKITTLES BOMB), and the machine/alien designs likewise don't always excel (JUMBO ANTS CAME FROM THE DESERT). In such an intense and perfectly calibrated ride it ultimately doesn't matter much. Still packs some pretty fierce explosions, if not quite HC's carnivals of fire, shrapnel and dismembered boss parts. More importantly it runs as smooth as the FC and MD games, outside of the most immense boss sendoffs (or during bombs, and you should cut down on those anyway!).



Love the shoutout here with respect 2 GB KONTORA. Factory standard autofire! And homing, even if it kinda sucks outside of overhead stages! Also the last stage's endboss reunion special that brings together AC and FC Super Contra is hyperconcentrated geek porn.

[evil_ash_xero]

I love Contra III/Spirits. But I never did like those overhead stages.

[BIL]

I'm okay with them - quite like the strafing, and stage 2's really short once you know a route, as is its boss. I could see stage 5 being a pain in the ass with all those pits and the screwy spinner tiles, took me a while to figure out a good route. I do think the countering of its Hard mode boss's spin is pretty clever and fun to execute, far from the dated tech demo it might appear.

Something neat I noticed in stage 5 is, nothing can spawn directly behind you. So on Hard, where shooting while on a bridge is suicide, instead of painstakingly scouting ahead and then praying nothing's waiting on the other side, just run across backwards. Looks pretty funny if something's chasing you onto the bridge as you haul ass in reverse.

I dig how Hard mode genuinely changes things up, going beyond merely fiddling with parameters. Several bosses have nasty little twists that'll blow a hole right through effective Normal strategies, like the stage 3 wall-rammer no longer bouncing cleanly away but skidding perilously after you, or the fourth boss's much trickier initial missile pattern. The increased spawning/firing rates and faster projectiles do make an impact (stage 6's hive onslaught will simply flatten the unwary or hesitant), but as with any action game it's good that they're peripheral to inherently tougher stage/boss designs.

[Skykid]

God like action game. Ultra cinematic, and the greatest stage three known to mortals. DAT music too.

Signifies why the 16bit deity reigns supreme.

Still haven't got my hard mode 1cc stripes. I am fail.

[BIL]

DAT music too.

Boss rush suite "The Showdown" is an immortally effective endgame soundtrack. Double Dragon Theme-calibre.

Spirits is also the only action game that could nick PREDATOR BGM for its climax with total MFN impunity. Funereal and seething. Ultimate human soldiers VS a godawful hellhole full of big ugly motherfuckers for the fate of the planet. The fighting of the infernally random TLB to only the reverbrating sounds of the battle itself is the best possible progression.

[BIL]

Finished Hard with two misses. That's two too many for the Contras. One was self-inflicted* and reduced the rest to a practice run, so I'm quite happy. Changes I've noticed in hard mode, besides way more shooting enemies and faster+more numerous projectiles (slowpoke.jpg, yes, with this being one of the most universally acclaimed 2D action games ever - but this is exactly what I meant the other day! And I still need a hardware capture method before I can start working on BILRZR_0471's goodtime replay shack...) :

-game will let you dig your own grave* (as above) on the second boss, by leaving pods undestroyed. Damage it too much and disable its Hard-exclusive laser cannon, and it'll begin its pancaking phase immediately with survival down to luck if pods remain intact (destroyed pods are harmless to touch, meaning pancake can be nullified simply by walking backwards).

-as noted above, stage 3 wall smoosher can hit multiple times per slam, while following you, making positioning critically important. Insufficient wriggle room means self-impalement or a giant drill in the face. This is such an awesome boss, among the most convincingly "alive" I've ever seen.

-3rd boss's fire breath is now too fast to outrun without leaping from the floor to wall, and from the wall to ceiling (diagonal up + jump). Even with optimal movement it's a close one.

-stage 4 battleship's road-sweeping lasers cannot be destroyed.

-gaps between friendly missile barrages during the 4th boss are longer, allowing much less room for error.

-5th boss's carousel phase spins extra fast and can only be countered with quick (double-tapped) rotation. Once you've locked in a good line of fire, don't worry if you're forced to duck by a flame blast. Keep the shoulder button depressed and you'll still be in quick spin mode. Let the target rotate back into range and let go of the duck button to resume the lock.

I don't think anything actually changes in the stage 6 other than the obvious dick steroid injection to zako numbers. But I did finally put two and two together and notice the TLB is restricted to alternating arms for his claw attacks, making the escape a lot less nerve-wracking (edit: uh, I think? edit2: AWW YEAAA, ITS WORKIN).

I also find it's a lot simpler to instant-kill Battlantis Guy's left snake and leave the other alive while smashing up his face, provided you know how to fake them out (another of those almost-organic enemy AIs).

-if I could ask the devs one thing, I'd like to know if the brain's bouncing blue balls pattern is a reference to Salamander's infamous third boss.

[Skykid]

Ok you inspired me. SFC went on and I just did a quick and dirty Normal 1cc in three or four attempts, and then followed the hard loop to 2-3.

Not hard enough for the hard clear right now, I don't have the time, but goddamn, what a piece of work this game is. One day I'll try to earn the stripes proper.

Oh and what's the strategy for the TLB? I couldn't remember jack and he took me out in pinch. Had 8 lives and he claimed 2 and I panic bombed to get his ass gone. Nerve wracking indeed.

[BIL]

Ok you inspired me.

ITS WHAT I DO This is why I love this hobby in AD2014. What a legacy. Masterpiece theatre all up in here.

TLB/escape is pretty much pure twitch. He telegraphs his three attacks (left claw, headbutt, right claw) with windups, and he can't use the same arm twice in a row - beyond that he's free to mix up as he pleases. Basically jump/sidestep the headbutts and don't get too comfy on the sides, the claws can get you anywhere outside the middle of the platform. He can throw out some pretty nasty mixups but as long as you're quick about it the air control will see you through.

As with every boss, C+C with the weapon-switching trick to bypass shot limit (tap X while firing) will take him out in short order, though you might obviously be missing one or both weapons after the preceding fight. Even single C is handy since you can fire, then concentrate on dodging while the explosion hangs around doing damage.