Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[evil_ash_xero]

Dracular kinda lost his mojo after the first game, imo. Glammed up with awesomer monster transformations but forgot his fundamentals.

You better watch that talk. He'll toss his glass at you!

[BIL]

The booze definitely explains why he couldn't be arsed to even get off his couch for SOTN's finale, never mind splatter the slow-witted with a phantasmic beatdown. ^_~ Sadly he was no longer a young killer with something to prove and had clearly settled into "greatest hits" mode by that point.

[BIL]

Oof, Dahna didn't work out for me. Ultimately not something I'll be keeping around. Shoddy melee combat is an obvious issue, but much worse is the lack of design sense to keep it marginalised, as the strikingly directed initial four stages do. On the contrary, as if making up for lost time, the endgame ditches all flair and piles on the flatland crowd battling for a dreary excercise in safe tactics and bomb budgeting. I'm all for working through an initial learning curve, but having babysat the laggy, weak character for several evenings, I'm pretty sure the game is simply bad and entirely deserving of its obscurity. If anyone knows of a high level replay/discussion, do link me please!

As a cinematic action/adventure with coin-op running time, this could've worked had standards kept up. Unfortunately as a standard-issue sidescrolling action game it's borderline unplayable, and that's inexplicably what it settles on being. Not recommended, to either sidescroller or MD fans - obscure, unique and not very good at all.

Besides - huh? OH NOEZ, ANIME TEARZ ;w;



Quite liking El Viento! It's easily my favourite Sonic on the MD. I like that instead of making you drop all your stuff when something nicks you, it just gives you a jumbo lifebar so you can keep speeding along twatting things with your boomerangs and magics. A rather easy and frequently very goofy sidescroller, at points conspicuously heavy on undodgeable yet inconsequential Eurospam. But the mechanics are sound, and its stages are well designed around the zippy crouch-dashing and gratifyingly destructive charge shots. It's no Ex-Ranza, but if you have that and Granada this is a safe way to up your MD library's Wolfteam quotient.

[BrianC]

Oof, Dahna didn't work out for me. Ultimately not something I'll be keeping around. Shoddy melee combat is an obvious issue, but much worse is the lack of design sense to keep it marginalised, as the strikingly directed initial four stages do. On the contrary, as if making up for lost time, the endgame ditches all flair and piles on the flatland crowd battling for a dreary excercise in safe tactics and bomb budgeting. I'm all for working through an initial learning curve, but having babysat the laggy, weak character for several evenings, I'm pretty sure the game is simply bad and entirely deserving of its obscurity. If anyone knows of a high level replay/discussion, do link me please!

As a cinematic action/adventure with coin-op running time, this could've worked had standards kept up. Unfortunately as a standard-issue sidescrolling action game it's borderline unplayable, and that's inexplicably what it settles on being. Not recommended, to either sidescroller or MD fans - obscure, unique and not very good at all.

Besides - huh? OH NOEZ, ANIME TEARZ ;w;



Quite liking El Viento! It's easily my favourite Sonic on the MD. I like that instead of making you drop all your stuff when something nicks you, it just gives you a jumbo lifebar so you can keep speeding along twatting things with your boomerangs and magics. A rather easy and frequently very goofy sidescroller, at points conspicuously heavy on undodgeable yet inconsequential Eurospam. But the mechanics are sound, and its stages are well designed around the zippy crouch-dashing and gratifyingly destructive charge shots. It's no Ex-Ranza, but if you have that and Granada this is a safe way to up your MD library's Wolfteam quotient.

Too bad Dahna didn't work out. I was on the fence, but now it doesn't sound that good. I definitely plan to pick up El Viento. Is that cutscene also in the US version?

[BIL]

Yeah, I really don't recommend Dahna at all. I bought it assuming it'd only keep getting grander from stage 4 onward, and I was dead FN wrong. Oh wellz!

Good question re: El Viento! Had a glance at The Cutting Room Floor, seems the only censoring was tobacky-related. Anime cheezecaeks and violence seem good to go.

http://tcrf.net/El_Viento

[BrianC]

yeah. I know SEGA wasn't as big on censorship, but there were a few. And Mystic Defender is one of those odd cases where the full JP Peacock King 2 version (which actually has some graphical and cutscene differences) is on the cart. I also heard the US version kept some of the nudity intact in earlier builds, but later builds are censored. I'm guessing that the JP version on the cart is probably untouched either way.

[BIL]

Kujaku Oh 2 even has noodz on the back cover.

Speaking of... Kujaku Oh 2, Jewel Master, Alisia Dragoon and El Viento make a solid quartet of magic themed sidescrolling action games for the MD. I think I'll try to finish JM's Hard setting next weekend.

[drauch]

Such a bummer with Dahna. I gave it a shot as well and definitely feel the same way. So much potential! Quite the fantasy cock tease, especially with that downhill horse and rock slaughter segment. Kinda reminiscent to the instant boner The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy gave me, and upon playing it, promptly went flaccid. Will I ever find true love?

[BIL]

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.

Finally got a nice copy of Sparkster MD. God damn, seems it's harder to track down than the first game.

I'm really liking it so far! The exploitable limited flight reminds me a bit of ActRaiser 2's - it's fun seeing how long I can go without touching the ground, especially with the meter recharging so quickly. Spent a long time in the opening area just divebombing enemies and bouncing back into the air, like a sword-wielding jet-fuelled SMB3 1-2. Game's got a nice solid sense of impact to it. I'm a lover of that certain loud, lightning quick sprite shifting style Hard Corps, Vampire Killer and RKA all share, and this instantly recalled them - parallax & multi-sprite enemies everywhere, and dead obvious Yamane + Yamaoka are on sound duty. So I'll probably put up with any flaws... but I do hope it proves a solid game. That jet boost mechanic is great fun.

Oh hey, I knew that lovely fast-building meter was reminding me of something good I'd been playing recently! One of the Greatest VG Flamethrowers of All Time in Kujaku Oh 2.



Everything about it's so good. Chargeable in a split second while mobile. Freely aimable. Roasts away on auto while you move around. Can be cancelled immediately if need be. LOOKS AWESOME (both the flamethrower itself and the "praying hands, engulfed in flames, robe fluttering" player sprite - eat blazing Shinto, bitches!) FFFu... if ever there was a weapon that made a whole game. Not that KO2 isn't damn fine anyway, fine enough that the monstrous burner isn't always the best choice even if it's consistently the coolest.

[null1024]

Ah, that weapon is probably my favorite thing about that game. You really nailed all the good things about it with that description.

and damn, I keep forgetting the game exists, haven't played any MD stuff in a bit [other than screwing around with some friends playing Sonic 2 today, and that sure as hell doesn't go in this thread]

[BIL]

Sonic doesn't, but for cutesier MD sidescrollers Ristar and Dynamite Headdy do. ^_^ Brutal grab n' headbutt sidescrolling combat! Headbutt small animals, repeatedly!

I recently made one of my periodic earnest attempts to get into the MD Sonics... I always end up a bit bored, though, a soft spot for Sonic 1's total simplicity and charming atmosphere aside. I used to feel a bit weird not owning any of the machine's flagship series, but tbh I identify the MD more with consolised arcade gaming like its action sidescrollers, beltscrollers and shooters these days.

[BrianC]

What do you think of Decapattack? Its Japanese counterpart, Magical Hat Turbo Adventure, feels more Mario-ish (or more specifically, more Psycho Fox-ish), but the action was kicked up a notch for the western version. The bosses especially are more aggressive in Decapattack. Decapattack is missing some of the Alex Kidd like vehicle power ups, but some of these almost felt like cheating when you used them. The funny thing is that I liked the music better in Magical Hat at first, but I later found Decapattack's music to be of better quality with some very slick tunes and a more advanced sound engine.

[BIL]

Neither version has ever been on my radar - found their East/West aesthetic divide quite interesting, though. I sometimes think Headdy could make quite the badass ninja game if you swapped the title character out for a masked killer with a grappling hook and moved the show to creepy noh theatre world, haha.

[trap15]

Just looked back in this thread for info on 2010SF since I just picked up a cart. Sadly, I can't get into it... the controls just plain frustrate me, and I can't get over them :/

I guess they really liked Rising in particular!

You fucker! That's... probably where Raizing got their name They did love heavy metal..... fuck!

[BIL]

Don't feel bad, 2010SF's controls are willfully unhelpful and in some aspects just not good. Lack of crouch or basic low attack, delay on movement and attacks, and a generally narrow attack range are trying enough. Add random, aggressive enemies, a small lifebar and a long powerup build that degrades with damage, and you've got a nasty initial learning curve. I love the boss rush pace and variety, and I do think it plays well with some adjusting, but were it a more typical Ryukenden-style game I'd be a lot less charmed. It's on the line between idiosyncratic and exasperating.

What largely got it to click for me, after accepting K̶e̶n̶ Kevin's limitations, was the backflip (neutral jump, then [away]). Since evasion is everything, you want to abuse the hell out of its invincible frames to pass through nearby threats and regain a favourable position. And once you get used to its timing, it becomes second nature to take out intruding zako with its downward shot (those same zako that like to saunter past a standing Kevin's abundant blind spots). It's no exaggeration to say it's the equivalent of Alien Soldier's Zero Teleport dash in importance. It opens up the otherwise stiff game a lot, especially once you get the Option and Flashkick upgrades and are able to do serious damage with it. (of course you lose those if you die >_< but eventually you'll survive way longer! ^_~)

[Squire Grooktook]

Hey Bil, what do you think of Magician Lord? I tried it out again recently, and was curious if you have any analysis on it.

[BIL]

Only played it very briefly, years and years ago. I was still at the "arcade games r impossible" stage then, so I don't have much of value to contribute. ;] Would be interested to hear how you get on with it!

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't know what this is but it definitely seems like a sidescrolling action misc:
http://www.romhacking.net/translations/ ... nshot2.png

[CIT]

So back on the topic of Dahna: Megami Tanjou, I had been looking for a copy of this game for a long time, but for some reason it always slipped past me. Now BIL was kind enough to offload his copy onto me.
Never having played it before, my expectation (based on screenshots and videos) was a kind of mix between Strider's cinematic vignettes and Rastan's tight barbarian action. Unfortunately nothing prepared me for how sluggish and "sticky" the controls really are. The whole standing/crouching/lying down trichotomy and useless three-hit combo (of which only two hits connect) is extremely messy and completely superfluous. I have to say though, that I didn't find the final two stages quite as tedious as BIL did. Once you get some solid tactics for the enemy types (there are only three anyway) going, you can pretty much zip through. There are some really cool ideas there, like the downhill horse chase, the escape from the crumbling castle or the Monty-Python-esque knight who loses his limbs during battle and spurts fountains of blood (can just hear him exclaiming "'tis but a flesh wound!", lol), but you really get the sense that the developers just didn't have the means to make their vision come together into a coherent game. Which is a shame, because I really like the atmosphere and the 16-Bit systems could've really used a good Rastan-update.

Continuing on my quest for awesome ninja action I'm now playing Musashi Ganryu-ki (Ganryu) for Neo Geo. First impression: Technically it fails to impress, but so far the action is very solid.

[BIL]

I don't know what this is but it definitely seems like a sidescrolling action misc:
http://www.romhacking.net/translations/ ... nshot2.png

Unnerving paedo-dungeon overtone miscs!

I wonder how it compares to Chojin Sentai Jetman and Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain, Natsume's respectively mediocre and fckin awesome sentai sidescrollers also published for FC by Bandai subsidiary Angel? ^_~ Perhaps it'd move Jetman up a little in my estimation...

you really get the sense that the developers just didn't have the means to make their vision come together into a coherent game. Which is a shame, because I really like the atmosphere and the 16-Bit systems could've really used a good Rastan-update.

What ultimately killed Dahna for me, beyond the laggy and weak swordplay, was the stage 5 Ogre tunnel. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't find any consistent way to avoid at least three or four hits from the mob. It felt like the devs just couldn't be bothered to design a fair challenge, instead assuming the huge L3 lifebar would soak it up (or the player would have continues left over). Even though it's easy to take those hits and still carry on to the end, that really rubbed me the wrong way. Did you have any more luck with that bit?

Glad it went to a good home, anyway.

[CIT]

In the ogre tunnel my tactic is to just hold right and jump from the beginning and he'll simply auto-hop through the stage insta-killing anything that comes into the screen (or works its way up from behind). Sometimes you take a hit or two, but nothing that ever aggravated me or anything. I dunno, only part that gave me some trouble was the halberd-wielding barbarian chick right before the final boss.

[evil_ash_xero]

BIL got me interested in trying out Mystic Defender. I think I may have owned this as a kid. I'm not sure.

I'm not sure what I think of it. It's fun, but it seems like it's lacking something. But it's not bad at all.

I'm down with the U.S. version of this. I usually go JP for a lot of these games, but I don't like his outfit in those. Looks like he's wearing a dress.

[BIL]

I consider Kujaku Oh 2, Jewel Master and Rambo III an unofficial MD trilogy of sorts. Unfortunately staff information is patchy but besides a laundry list of aesthetic similarities they share the same distinct style of sharp controls, straightforward design and sparing animation. All three feel like rock-solid 8-bit action games ported over to beefier hardware.

KO2 could've used more ambitious stage design towards the end (intensity peaks around the middle, then it kind of repeats itself). But otherwise it's a great simpler action game for the MD.

I think the original manga character design suits the magic theme better, particularly during that killer flamethrower attack. Not often I get to run and gun as a Buddhist monk. I wish he'd had a cool hat too!

[drauch]

By Crom, I always thought Jewel Master was a bloody puzzle game! I figured it was a Columns Jr. II or something uninteresting. Glad you posted something about it; I'll check this baby out now.

I'm a huuuuge fan of Rambo III. I've obviously got the manly boner for The Stallion, but goddamn, the game is surprisingly solid. Nothing feels better than gutting one of those lil' bastards around the corner with the knife! Meaty stabs. So satisfying. Lot's o' action and shit flyin' everywhere. Burma's a warzone!

[BIL]

<333 Rambo III knifin' - that split-second window between getting into knife range and being shot is hellishly addictive and leads to all sorts of balls-out adrenaline-fuelled extreme danger stabbing action. You can tell the devs knew it too, with the stacking point bonuses and abundant ammo drops of a good knife rampage. The spray n' pray M16 and charge shot arrows rock too! A must for any fan of MERCS/Senjou no Okami II-style running and gunning.

[BrianC]

I'm down with the U.S. version of this. I usually go JP for a lot of these games, but I don't like his outfit in those. Looks like he's wearing a dress.

But if you get the urge to play the JP version, it's on the US cart. I have a region switched Genesis, but it's probably possible to use a Game Genie to access it too.

[CIT]

By Crom, I always thought Jewel Master was a bloody puzzle game! I figured it was a Columns Jr. II or something uninteresting. Glad you posted something about it; I'll check this baby out now.

Dude, where have you been. People have already been fapping all over Jewel Master in this thread — prepare for the grooviest FM sound this side of Super Shinobi.

I think I gotta get me a piece of that Rambo III action. Game can be had for cheap as well, so that's nice (for a change).

So making some headway in Ganryu; up to the final boss now. I'd be really interested to hear what BIL has to say about this one. I think in essence it's a really solid game, but very bare bones and short, without much enemy variation and absolutely none of the graphical prowess we all love the Neo Geo for. Actually it's hard to believe this came out in 1999, the same year as the ultimate ninja action game Strider 2. They could've probably pulled Ganryu off on the Super Famicom, and it might today be a classic of sorts, but as a late Neo Geo title it totally went under. Anyway, I still quite like what's there: The stages are well designed and there's lots of exploring to do to collect all the kidnapped damsels, there's a grappling hook (grappling hooks are always a good thing), albeit somewhat underused, and the multi-pattern and -phase boss battles are really fun. Will be seeing this one through to the 1CC.

[Ghegs]

Oh yeah, Ganryu was fun times. Not terribly hard, but entertaining. I imagine you'll be getting the 1CC soon.

When I was going for my 1LC I discovered a warp glitch in Stage 4. Not sure how easy it is to replicate, but I suppose if somebody wanted to speedrun the game, it'd be something to look into.

[Ed Oscuro]

When I was going for my 1LC I discovered a warp glitch in Stage 4. Not sure how easy it is to replicate, but I suppose if somebody wanted to speedrun the game, it'd be something to look into.

Good shit right there!

The discussion about Dahna makes me want to give it a go again - combat still can't be worse than the Drakan games

[BIL]

Dude, where have you been. People have already been fapping all over Jewel Master in this thread — prepare for the grooviest FM sound this side of Super Shinobi.

I think it was actually the MD topic where JM got some love. Easy to confuse such esteemed threads! ( )

Ganryu does look pretty cool - just finished watching Ghegs's 1LC video. Definitely looks technically lightweight for the Neo, but I like the clean and colourful overall style. Thought the demolished castle backdrop towards stage 4's end was actually quite impressive in its detail and vertical scale. I like that FC-ish ratio of sprite to screen area in my fast-moving sidescrollers, too - tried out Dynamite Batman recently, and was put off by its technically impressive but unwieldy giant sprites. Shame this never got a PS1/SS port.