Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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BIL
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BIL »

Obscura wrote:Wait, it's possible to consistently kill Dracula's second form without holy water?
Eminently possible! Reposting from here

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Sir Ilpalazzo wrote:(is it totally random whether he does a low or high jump?)
From what I've seen, you can force him to high jump by getting in close. Kneel to Lord DORAKYURA and he'll get all mad at your BERUMONDO insolence. I think it's a failsafe from the designers, to prevent near-certain corner traps. You actually can make it under his low jump, but the timing's cruelly tight. Not something I ever bank on.

Just be careful when he takes off - you need to move quickly enough to get under, but not so early he tiger knees you. This works for me consistently enough that I don't really worry about getting stomped even if low on health.

Obviously you don't want him shooting you while you're setting up the high jump, either. Basic misdirection suffices - the spread is targeted, so either jump over whiffed ground shots, or sync your own attacks to destroy them in the air. I always use Cross, which is great for snuffing out his shots en masse, but the whip totally suffices.

gif:
Spoiler
Image
video: DORAKYURA killed with knife (two high jump setups)

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Obscura
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Obscura »

Huh. Didn't know that.

...Why the hell did Konami think people would figure that out?

It's still kinda lame that you have to metagame Dracula 2 in some way (either by knowing "behind the scenes" manipulation or by using the holy water). One of the game's few stumbling blocks (the others being the Phantom Bat bridge, random weapon drops from enemies that can screw you over, the II/III counter carrying over between lives so you can whip your first candle on a new life and get a useless II instead of a whip upgrade, and items occasionally glitching through the ledge in the caverns).
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Vanguard »

Just recorded a no miss playthrough of TMNT on NES. Strange game. It takes some cheap shots and I wish the camera did a better job of showing where you're going, but overall it's not bad.
Obscura wrote:...Why the hell did Konami think people would figure that out?
Maybe they didn't expect people to figure it out. Maybe they figured that once you got trapped on the edge of the screen you'd go up next to Dracula, hoping for a high jump, and by an amazing coincidence he always does the high jump when you need it.

Not a bad idea in theory, but in practice that bit of extra knowledge helps a lot.
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BIL
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BIL »

Vanguard wrote:Just recorded a no miss playthrough of TMNT on NES. Strange game. It takes some cheap shots and I wish the camera did a better job of showing where you're going, but overall it's not bad.
I think I'd like TMNT1 if it performed better. Inexplicably choppy, flickery game, especially considering the customary Konami smoothness of its forerunner Getsu Fuuma Den (which puts easily as much action onscreen without a hitch). It's not unplayable or anything, but it imbues a tatty Micronics-ness that turns me off from the get-go.
Obscura wrote:...Why the hell did Konami think people would figure that out?
Maybe they didn't expect people to figure it out. Maybe they figured that once you got trapped on the edge of the screen you'd go up next to Dracula, hoping for a high jump, and by an amazing coincidence he always does the high jump when you need it.
Sounds about right to me - that's exactly how I discovered it way back when. Worth noting that he'll also never shoot at you while in the corner trap position shown. At least I don't think he will. ;3

Dracula v2 is more of a final twist/spectacle boss. No comparison with v1's timelessly lethal economy, or Death's dragnet summons, or the juggling act of Frankie & Igor. I distinctly remember being a 9y/o flipperbaby and finally killing his human form, only for my jaw to drop as his lifebar shot back up to max and a batgorilla slaughter ensued. Didn't finish the game on that rental!

Now, as a deranged flipperbaby-punting lunatic, I'd move v2 to st5 (omg! it is GIGABAT, the result of the lab's dark research!), then install a holy water combo-proof Death as the last boss. ¦3

HERES HOW IT GOES DOWN (・`W´・)
Spoiler
*Dorakyura's head flies off, body burns*

Dorakyura's head: "FUUUCK"

Berumondo: "At last, tis truly over. O Death, where is thy sting?"

Death: "Right HERE!" *REAPER W/ BURNING RED EYES EXPLODES THROUGH WINDOW AS THE KEEP DERANGES UNDER DIMENSION-WARPING POWER, CONVENIENTLY REPLICATING ST5's BOSS ROOM*

Berumondo: "What!!!"

Death: "hw cheese banned btw"

Berumondo: "shit is for pussies anyway tbh"

Death & Bermumondo: "LMAO!"
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BrianC
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BrianC »

That reminds me, Dracula's second form in the MSX2 Vampire Killer/Akumajo Dracula is Dracula's head.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Sumez »

That spoiler-tag was probably the most BIL-like post I have seen so far in 2017.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by __SKYe »

So, I've been playing Ninja Gaiden 2 and after much grief, managed to reach Jaquio.

Honestly, I thought his forms in NG1 were hard, but f***ing hell, he's even harder now.
I've never hated the damn Jaquio as much as I do now.

So far, for me, this game stands right up there with NG1 in terms of difficulty.

It is nice that the bosses are (slightly) more challenging, and more interesting than the ones in NG1.

The 1st boss, for example, altough it is a walk in the park, actually rams you, and will inflict some damage on the unwary player, as opposed to NG1 1st and 2nd bosses, which are basically walk+slash (and repeat).

The 2nd boss (the spiders guy) is also pretty though, at least the first time one encounters him, for a 2nd stage boss.
Though after a while, you learn to deal with him, it's much more satistying to beat than, again, NG1's initial bosses.

The waterfall boss (don't remember the Act) is one of the few that is so-so. It looks kinda cool, and the room itself is hazardous, but it's patterns are quite easily learned, and beatable.

One that positively surprised me, were the twin demons/dogs.
This time, they actually pose a nice threat, due to the slightly smaller pillars they can stand on, but also because they can actually shoot low fireballs.
I lost a few times against them, by trying to rush slash them (at this point, I was already pissed off, by having died so many times :lol: ), but this is a perfect example of one boss that you can beat quite nicely by playing calmly (masterfully alternate slashing the demons and they're fireballs).
I really thought they were a nice rehash from NG1.

The first version of Ashtar (on Act 5, I think) was also pretty nice, though the challenge really, is trying to not get hit by the fireballs spawning randomly (sometimes on top of you, leaving you no chance to evade).
By the way, is the way he teleports random, or does he follow a set path?

Then of course, there's Jaquio v2.0, which is harder than all of the previous bosses together.

Haven't reached Ashtar yet, of course, but I need to muster the patience to play through the game again, and try o beat the damn Jaquio. :)

It is a pretty good follow-up to NG1, though having just graduated from NG1, it still feels weird that you climb non-stair walls.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Sumez »

I don't remember NG2's bosses much, but I remember the end boss(es) being far easier than in NG1, you're probably just missing something. :) Try watching a video of someone playing who knows what they are doing. Or does that count as cheating in your book?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by __SKYe »

Sumez wrote:I don't remember NG2's bosses much, but I remember the end boss(es) being far easier than in NG1, you're probably just missing something. :)
I wouldn't consider them much easier than NG1 bosses, but I'd say they're about equally hard.
It's not that they're particularly hard or anything, more like they are more varied.
Take for example NG1 first 2 bosses. They are essentially the same (walk towards you and stop to slash/stab, and repeat).
Comparing them to NG2's bosses, thought NG2's 1st boss is essentially similar (he rams at you instead of stopping to slash/stab), the 2nd boss is defenitely more envolved.
Now, I'm not saying the spiders' boss is that hard to beat, but especially on one's first playthrough, it poses a unique threat, instead of the standard walk towards you and slash. The windy stage helps a lot too, to provide that slightly more hazardous boss fight.

Also, if you compare the twin demons' fight from both games, NG2's fight is decidedly harder.
In NG1 you only need to hid under one of the pillars, and every so often, avoid getting hit by the demons. Their fireballs will never hit you if you stay on the ground.
In NG2 though, they will throw low fireballs (that, of course, you can destroy), and altough the fight's not that much harder (after you know what to do), if one is accustomed to NG1's fight, one will have a bit of trouble (again, until you know what to do).

Ashtar's first form (on Act 6) is also not hard.
He essentialy keeps teleporting, and spawns a number of fireballs in a circular formation around him (which always has the same radius).
Avoiding the fireballs, and even hitting him is easy.
The only beef I have, is that he seems to appear in a random spot every time, and sometimes he spawns in such a location that his fireballs will spawn in top of you, giving you no chance to dodge.

Of course, there might be a stategy to beat him (or a safe spot), such that you won't take damage, but for now, I don't know of any.
Not that it matters though, as I can consistently beat him.

Jaquio on the other hand, is damn hard, and I do think he is harder in NG2 than both his forms in NG1.
But then again, it may just be the lack of experience speaking.

I've yet to reach any boss after Jaquio, so I can't yet comment on them. :mrgreen:
Sumez wrote: Try watching a video of someone playing who knows what they are doing. Or does that count as cheating in your book?
Nah, it's not that I consider cheating or anything, it's just that, in any game I've yet to clear, I always try to beat it on my own first, and only after I achieve the clear, do I check others' videos to see how they do things.
I find it more fun that way, especially because, once you see/know the proper way to do it, you can't unsee it, so I try to avoid as much as I can for maximum enjoyment. :lol:
It is also pretty enjoyable to learn of how others beat such challenges, as often times they use very different tactics than oneself.

EDIT: Oh crap, I just noticed you wrote "the end boss(es)" and not just "the boss(es)", so please ignore the ranting on the earlier ones. :oops:
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Obscura »

I agree with NG2 Jaquio being far more difficult than NG1 Jaquio. I've never beaten NG2 Jaquio; his unpredictable flying around the room always bodies me.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Sumez »

Sorry, I just meant the bosses of the final boss rush, not the regular stage bosses.
Those are definitely more involved than the rather lackluster ones in NG1.

I just remember not having mich trouble with the NG2 final boss fights, while NG a Jaquio took me a real good bit of training to do without subweapons.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Sumez »

I need to get back into NG2 now...
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Vanguard »

I think the NG2 boss rush is way harder just because you don't get health refills in between fights.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BIL »

There are two key techniques to mastering NGII Jaquio. The first is classic bullet-herding. When his flame salvos launch, try to misdirect them into empty space, and don't get chased into a corner (or into Jaquio himself).

The second is a bit more esoteric, and works best with a couple shadows in tow. Basically you want to force him into an orbiting motion, circling him so he can't ram into you. Trailed appopriately, the shadows will help you score hits from safe distance while doing this.

Like a lot of more groove-oriented techniques, it's simpler in motion than on paper - here's a video of it in a no-hit kill. Unfortunately YT compression makes at least one shadow invisible at all times (when he's seemingly bleeding HP, that's a shadow connecting). Hopefully gets the gist across though!
Vanguard wrote:I think the NG2 boss rush is way harder just because you don't get health refills in between fights.
I so love them for doing that in NG2+3. Image
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Obscura »

Just played a quick credit of NG2, and it was a nice reminder of why I never liked that game. Stage 2 wind is fucking awful, and the tiny sword hitbox makes even hitting candles a challenge. And why did they stop doing what NG1 did where the "weapon" candles are a different color? Ugh.

Tried NG3 briefly. Meh. The new jump physics blow, and that game's stage 2 gimmick is just as bad as the wind. Also, not enough hearts to actually use the subweapons.

A good reminder of why Castlevania and Castlevania III retain their primacy among the NES melee action platformers.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by __SKYe »

Obscura wrote:Just played a quick credit of NG2, and it was a nice reminder of why I never liked that game. Stage 2 wind is fucking awful, and the tiny sword hitbox makes even hitting candles a challenge.
Ah, so the sword's hitbox is smaller.
I wasn't really sure, to be honest, but on some of the slashes where I missed the enemy, it felt like they'd connect in NG1.

One thing I really wish Ninja Gaiden games had is the ability to slash while hanging from a wall, instead of using a subweapon.

And maybe, that Ryu didn't grab the wall everytime you get hit close to one. This is particularly noticeable in, for example, in tight sections such as this:

Image

Sometimes I'll get hit and the knockback will make Ryu grab the wall, and when I dismount the wall, I often get hit again making him grab the wall again.
On some runs I lose quite a bit of health in situations like these.

It'n no game breaker though, one just has to be careful and accurate in situations like these.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Ed Oscuro »

Some quick impressions of 2D games, all on Steam except for one:

La-Mulana: Definitely a worthy purchase, apparently improved beyond the console versions, which were already quite different from the original game. There's some oddities here - with the design focused on being an adventure (puzzle) game most of the time, the stage designs are very forgiving. Some design choices are mystifying. Bosses still aggravating; I'll have to up my game if I'll have a chance at no subweapons in Hard Mode. Amusingly, I've gotten through walls at least twice now (though not in a manner that allowed any sequence breaking, alas). Some Achievements are crazy, as expected of Nigoro.

Gunmetal Arcadia Zero: A very middle-of-the-road NES-styled game using the developer's previously developed CRT emulation graphics system, it's not exceptional, but rarely is it below average. There are some strange choices - there is the item shop system which seems to be useless throughout most of the game; grinding money/xp/items sucks; there is an entire wing of a later level which apparently leads to nothing but some cheap treasure box, despite asking you to navigate terrain that's trickier than most of the rest of the game. Also, you gotta select a "class" (roughly soldier/mystic, I guess) and you gotta buy an upgrade to jump higher.

Aban Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes: Uneven game design. The basic game design requires some nearly frame-accurate timing in areas, and often accurately gauged height jumps too. Trap cycles mean that it can be simpler to plan to attack everything as fast as possible, but unfortunately this means requirements get even stiffer and there are fewer moments for slacking off. Players could choose to tackle levels at a slower pace but this often just leads to more time exposed to deadly traps. Putting aside the timing, I found myself annoyed by the trap designs; some fire off on an independent cycle, while others react shortly after you are within their reaction space, which can lead to unexpected timing issues (which takes some getting used to since early player interactions with traps don't allow much freedom).

One thing worth remarking upon is the life system design. Anybody should be able to figure out that you can actually gain some lives by exiting a stage back to the world map; unfortunately there's currently a FAQ on Steam suggesting players do this. This is a terrible recommendation because grinding stages for lives is no more fun than it sounds. Instead, the developers expected players would survive a bit longer without a life refill, and then unlock Conseil's Duty Free and some bonus modes, so you can earn coins to buy stuff. In theory it works; in practice, it still seems very grindy to do and will lead to some forced breaks in action. Best way to get lives is probably using the (SNK) Angry Soldier in Tower of Nannar to loop the second tower with (relative) ease.

Overall the game seems like a lot of wasted potential thus far. The secondary characters show that more interesting play styles (air dashing, ledge grabbing) could be achieved in the engine, yet Aban has the minimum of moves: High Jump, Low Jump makes Jack a dull boy. A lot of the rest of the developer's attention seems to have gone into adding a bunch of useless characters, heedless of whether they play well or break the game, and also adding in stupid jokes around them. One particular issue stands out to me: Characters with a submachine gun (Master Chef and the Angry Soldier) will try to dry-fire it after shooting repeatedly; it's not a shots onscreen limitation, and the player sprite and the gun appear to be firing, including a muzzle flash - but no bullets or sound come out. Just as annoying, the bullets spray, so you can't rely on the weapon to kill things at long distances.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China: UPlay freebie from some time ago. It's a much tighter stealth game than I had anticipated. Occasionally timing gets screwy with a bunch of enemies about when you're going for ghost trophies, but generally it plays smoothly. Many places look quite good too, once you get out of the lackluster caves. Occasionally the 2.5D climbing is confusing. It's also not very difficult so far.

Mark of the Ninja: It's okay, sub-Samurai Jack standard story / presentation aside. The line of sight system and long distances are annoying, though, and I feel that ghosting through stages is likely to be somewhat more work than it would be in AC China. We'll see, though - it seems like you need to stay more mobile and can't just always rely on a planned dash to the next hiding spot. Overall it seems like the design decision is attempting to more closely replicate the sense limitations of a person actually sneaking, rather than the distant view of AC China.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Vanguard »

Obscura wrote:Just played a quick credit of NG2, and it was a nice reminder of why I never liked that game. Stage 2 wind is fucking awful, and the tiny sword hitbox makes even hitting candles a challenge. And why did they stop doing what NG1 did where the "weapon" candles are a different color? Ugh.

Tried NG3 briefly. Meh. The new jump physics blow, and that game's stage 2 gimmick is just as bad as the wind. Also, not enough hearts to actually use the subweapons.
That's mostly how I feel about NG2 and 3 too. Though I still consider NG2 a good game despite being inferior to the first one. And I've spent so little time with NG3 that my opinion is worthless.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Sumez »

Obscura wrote:what NG1 did where the "weapon" candles are a different color?
Huh what?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by dojo_b »

Counterpoint: 1001 Spikes is one of my favorite PC pure-platformers. It's all about learning/memorizing action sequences to get through ridiculous dangers. (No way to improv your way through those levels, but the memorization should come readily with a few play-throughs and the variations in trap behaviors are a natural and welcome source of challenge.)

The gameplay is tightly scripted around impressive set-piece levels, many of which are clear labors of love by the designers (don't neglect the Antarctic levels). Aban's fairly low agility and restrictive move-set, along with frequent narrow passages, reinforce the sense of danger and enforce choreographed play. His choice between low/high jumps has a fair learning curve and can be annoying, but makes sense in the context of play conceived as a discrete sequence of deliberate choices.

Conseil's Duty Free shop, lives-grubbing tactics, and the unlockable characters, are all options you can indulge in or safely ignore. None of those characters break the more challenging levels, but it opens up easier difficulty settings along with fun times with double-jump etc. (I love a good double-jump, but stop short of asking for it on every single platformer.)

The game makes for a good contrast with Spelunky, which while thematically similar features opposite choices: open, expansive playstyle; unscripted procedurally gen'd levels; permadeath and major kickback. I'm going to repeat my earlier suggestion of a grand tour to complete the major Indy-alike spelunking games: Spelunky, 1001 Spikes, La-Mulana, Rick Dangerous.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BIL »

Obscura wrote:And why did they stop doing what NG1 did where the "weapon" candles are a different color? Ugh.
Image

Nah, NG1 gives no clues. NGIII is the only game among those you mentioned that lets you know what's in candles. You may be thinking of Bloodlines/Vampire Killer's fatty candles.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Obscura »

...huh, I had remembered NG1 having blue candles for weapons and red for everything else.

Now I have no idea what I was thinking of?!?!

(Also, judging from Ryu's speech bubble, did he manage to find an XX Key? :lol: )
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BIL »

Obscura wrote:...huh, I had remembered NG1 having blue candles for weapons and red for everything else.

Now I have no idea what I was thinking of?!?!
I actually went on quick recon of the FC/NES originals, plus the SFC/SNES comps - didn't see anything though. Maybe it was a hack? A sensible one, at that. NG1's level/enemy layout is pretty tight as-is, didn't need the additional stricture of collateral candle mishaps. At least enemies don't drop 'em though!
(Also, judging from Ryu's speech bubble, did he manage to find an XX Key? :lol: )
Needs more pyro. :wink: With the unstoppable carnage it lets glorified altar boy Richter unleash, can you imagine the XX Key of Hardship and Extreme Misfortune in the hands of an accredited ninja master? :o
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Ed Oscuro »

dojo_b wrote:Counterpoint: 1001 Spikes is one of my favorite PC pure-platformers. It's all about learning/memorizing action sequences to get through ridiculous dangers. (No way to improv your way through those levels, but the memorization should come readily with a few play-throughs and the variations in trap behaviors are a natural and welcome source of challenge.)
I have to agree with all this. I suppose my comments are more negative-sounding than I had intended; it would be fairly stupid of me to argue that the traps shouldn't offer variation; my main point there should be that I'd have expected some more clear training on some issues. I'm mostly disapproving of the fact that many traps don't stand out at all - though, as you say in practice it's really not an issue. Aside from this, there's some grinding issues showing up if you don't use the store and don't want to edit the save file.

The main point to hit on is that it's indeed pretty brutal, on first look, but memorization makes it manageable. Nice adrenaline rush when you close in on the exit, too.

BTW, I find Conseil's Duty Free to be a good idea to use in playthroughs, especially as saving up your pennies can unlock infinite lives - bam, done, no more worrying ever. An expensive and grindy option, but it removes one source of frustration, ultimately.
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by dingsbums »

Finally got a few new Famicom games :P.
First off is Chou Wakusei Senki Metafight (Blaster Master):
I have a feeling that I would have loved the game way more if it was a straight action game. I mean don't get me wrong, I like the exploration part of the game also but I love to drive (and jump around) in the tank and wreckin shit up :D . Controls are tight, music is awesome. The overhead stages add a lot of variety to the game. Not your typical sidescoller but a really well made game.

Next up is Dead Fox (Codename Viper):
A nice Rolling Thunder clone. It gets tough in later levels. Controls are tight, Graphics are nice and the music is ok. Nice addition to the FC library :) .

@BIL (and everybody really)
What are your thoughts on Moon Crystal and Sword Master ?
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by __SKYe »

Just wanted to do a quick follow-up to my previous Yie-Ar Kung Fu (Famicom) post.

Played Level-2 for the first time, and managed to get a 5-ALL (reached Stage 29).

Image

And without surprise Lang, the shuriken girl, did me in again. :cry:
I'll re-instate, on the later loops, she gets absolutely merciless.

I was curious as to what the differences between Level-2 and Level-1 where, and honestly I just expected it to simply start at a higher loop. It does indeed start at a higher loop, though I'm not sure how high.
I can tell that the loop at where I lost this time (6th loop) is pretty much as hard as where I previously lost when playing Level-1 (11th loop).
I'm not sure if it simply starts at around loop 4~5 and goes as normal, or it just starts at a lower one (like loop 3) but increments faster (something like jumping 2 loops in difficulty compared to Level-1).
If any of you guys is interested, play around with this level a bit, and you'll see just how crazy this game can get. :lol:
It does get pretty hectic, pretty fast.

One thing quite interesting, is that in Level-2, you can actually face away and attack in the opposite direction of your opponent (as opposed to every standard fighting game, where you're permanently facing them).

Something I love about this game (and each tme I play it, I love it even more) is that, unlike standard fighting games (to be fair, this game does pre-date the genre, like BIL said), where when you do an attack, and regardless if you hit your opponent with the tip of the foot, or hit it with the thigh, they will take damage, in Yie-Ar, you have to time the attack just right, so that the foot actually connects with a specific part of your opponent (like the head/leg/etc) at the right time, otherwise the attack won't connect.
So, it end up feeling more like an action game instead of a tradition fighting game. It's not enough that the sprites overlap when you attack.

This, I'd say, pretty much makes this game button-mashing free, because trying to throw random attacks at your opponent, with no regard to timing and/or proper spacing, will most likely get you KOed.
And, I suspect, this is probably where the people who say the Famicom port has "broken" hit-detection, draw their opinions from.
dingsbums wrote:Next up is Dead Fox (Codename Viper):
A nice Rolling Thunder clone. It gets tough in later levels. Controls are tight, Graphics are nice and the music is ok. Nice addition to the FC library :) .
Ha, I've played that one a bit, it's a pretty nice game.
A little trivia, for whoever's interested, that was one of the first games developed by Arc System Works.
Amusingly enough, they are also responsible for the Famicom port of Rolling Thunder the year before.
One wouldn't guess, judging by their most well known game library (Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, etc. Mostly fighting games).

By the way, how do you guys generally record runs?
Do you use the emulator's input recording, or an external screen-capturing application (like Fraps/etc)?
I've meaning to ask this for awhile.
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Sumez
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Sumez »

Dead Fox / Codename Viper would be really good if the enemies didn't have touch of death. Of all the things it copied from Rolling Thunder, why couldn't it copy the stun-touch in the player's favor? Shinobi did this right.
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Shoryukev
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by Shoryukev »

I've never put much thought into Yie-Ar Kung Fu, but reading these posts makes me want to pick it up and give it a go. Seems pretty interesting!
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BIL
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by BIL »

Lots of games I wanna talk about, Metafight, Dead Fox and Sword Master in particular. Loving the Yie Ar report too, Skye. :mrgreen: I'm rushing atm though, so just a quick referral for now:
__SKYe wrote:By the way, how do you guys generally record runs?
Do you use the emulator's input recording, or an external screen-capturing application (like Fraps/etc)?
I've meaning to ask this for awhile.
Not my area of expertise, but Vanguard had the same question a while back - OBS seemed to work for him. My PC is so ancient I'm forced to rely on in-emulator AVI writing for now. 3:
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__SKYe
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Re: Ninja Gaiden [NES] + Sidescrolling Action Miscs

Post by __SKYe »

God f***ing damn it, it's done! 8)

Reached Stage 121 (that's 24 loops) of Yie-Ar Kung Fu (Famicom) on Level-2 (the harder mode), having quit on Stage 121, because I was already dead tired.

Image

I was kinda curious as what would happen after stage 99, and also how the game would handle scores in the millions.

ImageImage

For the stage counter, after Stage 99, it goes to Stage 0, and then starts counting from Stage 1 again.
The score has a sort of counter-stop.

Here are 2 pics, one right before the counter stop, and the other after:

ImageImage

The Hi-Score counter stops at 999,999, and the Score counter resets and accumulates the excess.

I said the later loops were hard, and they are, but starting at about stage 90, the game goes absolutely bonkers.
By that time, I was not just tired (by that point I'd been playing for maybe 3 hours or so?), but also nervous as f***, because as you can see in the pic above, in Stage 92 I only had 1 life left, and I actually lost it shortly after.
In Stage 99, against my archrival Lang, the shuriken girl, I won with a measly 2HP left.

If you are interested, try to watch a video of the Stages 90~99, and you'll see what I mean.

Man, it does feel good though, never thought I'd reach my goal so soon. :D

And damn it, Konami sure knew how to make fantastic games.
BIL wrote:Not my area of expertise, but Vanguard had the same question a while back - OBS seemed to work for him. My PC is so ancient I'm forced to rely on in-emulator AVI writing for now. 3:
Thanks, I will check it out. My PC is also absolute crap, so I wanted a recording method that won't put much strain on it.
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