What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[dummy]

Playing the snes version of Prince of Persia. Despite some similarities with PoP 1 on dos/mac/literally any non-snes version of PoP 1, and despite being based on PoP 1, the snes ver of PoP is pretty much its own different game because of how drastically different a lot of the levels are, alongside there being lots of new levels (that are mandatory to play through rather than optional, further separating this from PoP 1).

Played till level 15. I'm on level 16 right now and it looks like I might have to draw a map for this level and one of the later levels because of how maze-like and complex the level layout is.

I also played about 1-2 hours of Destroy All Humans 2, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Prototype 1 some days ago. Hated all 3 of them, and I'm starting to realise that open world games are just not for me. I hate the combat system and mechanics in all 3 of those games (especially in Hulk, Hulk's combat is atrocious and it has some of the worst boss fights I've seen in an action game), and I hate the mission designs and objectives (the worst one being once again, Hulk).

I dropped those three games. But I intend on completing PoP snes.

[Sumez]

SNES PoP is one of the most impressive "extended ports" I've ever seen. I think it manages to exist fine alongside the original versions (with pc and Amiga probably being the best) as a notably longer experience for those who want more, rather than something replacing the shorter, snappier and more lean original.

But pretty much all the additions on SNES gel so well with the original concept! The more mythological and stronger arbaian nights themes obviously fit the vision, and the level design of the new stages are very much in the spirit of the game's core gameplay!

[Lander]

B-but Ultimate Destruction is the most Hulktastic game they ever made, before Marvel became a watchword for wasted talent and shite service games!

The one boss I remember was trash, and I can see the argument against open world since the genre tended toward sparse make-your-own-fun playgrounds before homogenizing into the Ubisoft model we know and hate today, but there's a lot to love beneath the trendy structure.

In mechanical terms, it's the most faithful rendition of the character's moveset in the medium. Once the upgrade system starts to open up, you can do all the important stuff; powerbomb hapless Hulkbuster mechs, drag helicopters out of the sky, pound a bus into an emergency skateboard, level a city block with a super move, etcetera.



Or even pull a Hulk Merciful, and pat puny humans on the head instead of comedically flicking them into the middle distance



If nothing else, it's a cracking carthatic sandbox if you just want to smash things for a bit. Plus all those nice grognard-pleasing PS2 accoutrements, like playable Joe Fixit and Regular Size Banner; they don't make 'em like that anymore. Shame too, since destruction and character tech has improved a good bit in the years between.

[ryu]

Ocarina of Time
I don't have time for Tears of the Kingdom so I'm replaying this one. Still holds up and makes me miss when games weren't completely bloated.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Probably the most appalling game I ever played. Feels like Mario meets the Teletubbies. Wowie-zowie indeed... I wouldn't let my kids play this if I had any. Even toddlers deserve higher levels of intellectual stimulation than this.

[NYN]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Probably the most appalling game I ever played. Feels like Mario meets the Teletubbies. Wowie-zowie indeed... I wouldn't let my kids play this if I had any. Even toddlers deserve higher levels of intellectual stimulation than this.

Are you talking about the overhauled aesthetics, or the, uhm, soft 'n cozy welcoming of a new and younger generation by applying very little "old-man challenge" ? I am not even sure were I landed with it. I find it soft, yet it does not offend me. And for the first time there is HI I'AM DAISY playable. Got me suckered, all right.

[ryu]

It's mostly the aesthetics and presentation annoying me so far. And the game throwing me into the badge menu every time I die. The difficulty seems fine, Super Mario World is also incredibly easy after all, but I'm not even out of World 1 yet.

[neorichieb1971]

New adventure island PCE. Its a nice frustrating game with lots of memorization required.

[NYN]

And the game throwing me into the badge menu every time I die.

There is an option for that, I changed it, too.

The difficulty seems fine, Super Mario World is also incredibly easy after all, but I'm not even out of World 1 yet.

Nah, I disagree. I played through SMW last year, I think, and the final Special World, the one with YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER spelled out, and that changes some things to autumn/fall aesthetics, is, by my estimation, a challenge. Played through all of Wonder, and it has nothing like that. Sure, a very own Special World, though nothing steep at the end. I am not disappointed, just under-challenged. I did it all for Daisy's sweet moaning and her yelling 0H YEAH!!.

[linko9]

Just started Void Stranger. Strong Eggerland resonance, very nice.

[Marc]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Probably the most appalling game I ever played. Feels like Mario meets the Teletubbies. Wowie-zowie indeed... I wouldn't let my kids play this if I had any. Even toddlers deserve higher levels of intellectual stimulation than this.

That's quite the take.
I think it's a platform equivalent of SotN - something that just feels so fucking good to control that you're compelled. Playing it slowly with my daughter but it's only the same level as 3/World.

We're also playing Sonic Superstars. It's great fun, you miserable cunts

[Lander]

Intellectual stimulation eh? I guess there's always Dr. Mario

[null1024]

Pochi and Nyaa. Apparently this was made by some of the Puyo Puyo developers.
It's pretty fun, but I'm definitely no good. You make big chains with lots of splits and crosses, and then you set 'em off to attack your opponent.
I'm getting flooded by way more garbage than I can ever make with my chains, and often I just can't set 'em off when I need to.
[edit]
I also decided to spend some time with the single-player time attack courses. I'm struggling a lot, my best run was to level 12 [of 15] on the beginner course so far. I'm making some gigantic chains too, I feel like my issue is now just that I'm not going fast enough.
I've apparently put in three solid hours into this game so far, which is a bloody lot considering all my credits end in like 3 minutes.

Pooyan. Does this count as a shmup?
It actually might, but I'm putting it here anyway. Wolves with balloons are trying to take your family, so shoot 'em down.
I have very vague memories of playing this on a Famiclone 20 years ago, but I'm playing the arcade version now. Very fun, with one annoying exception -- the last enemy on the rising up stages is really obnoxious if you don't have the meat to throw at him, and there's a point where the meat stops spawning. I lost 3 lives in a row after missing a toss. I had to try and pop his balloon the hard way, but had all of my shots deflected. I've managed to kill the last enemy on those stages without the meat throw once, and I really do wonder if it's pure luck or if I have to time something.
[edit] apparently I have to hit it 4 times, but I wish it showed you that visually, bleh. It looks like your attack is getting blocked, but nope.
I do like how the game shows you how long your credit lasted. Very nice touch.

Gain Ground on Genesis. Finally sat down with Hard mode and this 100% feels like the canonical way to play. Made it to 3-2, there are a few really rough levels that absolutely did me in and I know that once I solve them, I'll go much further.
It feels bad how the characters with floating area attacks [like the guy with the orbs floating around] characters are just kind of bad since the attacks disappear on screen edges and walls. It's just easier to shoot everyone the normal way with a different character that's also more useful.
The guy who shoots like 8 missiles ahead is obscene and I wanted to scream when I lost him. He's so cool. Also, shoutout to the guy who shoots a missile that goes fullscreen and hits any high-ground enemy.

[edit]
I'm also back to playing Panikuru Panekuru.
Just got a 265555 clear on the second course, absolutely my best score so far. I'm certain I should be a lot higher, and I know that I had a really dumb life loss very late in the run that cost me a bit with the clear bonus. I really do want to hit 350k if I can, but I'd need much better chaining. I had some fairly long ones, but movement errors killed a few that I know I could have kept going.

[dummy]

PoP snes has 20 levels, but I'm still stuck on level 19. It's a wee bit too hard for my tastes. I'm dropping this.
As a matter of fact, level 16 wasn't maze-like and did not require drawing maps, levels 17-19 also did not have a particularly complex layout and did not require drawing maps.

However, I eventually plan on playing Metroid 1 for the first time at some point, and i plan on playing without using guides, and that's a game that would def. require drawing maps for it if one doesn't wish to use guides or online maps.

Aside from Metroid 1, I think the only game in my backlog/list of games I'm interested in that would require drawing maps is Cosmo Police Galivan nes ver and mayyybeee Metroid 2 (the og gameboy game, not the 3ds reboot). can anyone who has played Metroid 2 without using guides tell me whether or not it was necessary to draw maps for it? Does the game itself have a map system?

Oh and maybe Ephemeral Fantasia as well. There are apparently a good amount of shops that sell maps, but the game is very non-linear/openworld-ish and doesn't start you off with a map I think, and the mere act of discovering the location of the shops alone would supposedly take some time depending on how lucky or unlucky the player might be because of how large the world is and how many buildings there are.

Although I won't be able to play anything at all for the coming week (and maybe even the week after) because of my work. When I do finally get some free time, I'll probs start playing the Assassin's Creed games for the first time. I only plan on playing 1, 2, bro, rev, 3 and 4. Have no interest in any of the games after 4 (Unity and onward). Though i might play Rogue since its similar to 4. Although.....I plan on playing these games in a rather unusual way because of how easy they supposedly are (assuming it's even possible to play them the way I intend to). I'll post thoughts on it once I start my playthrough.

[Steven]

I beat Metroid II with no map and no internet when I was 12. You don't need to make a map for it or for Metroid. BTW don't play the NES version. Play the FDS version because it's better.

[Sumez]

I just played the FDS and NES versions of Metroid back to back, and the difference between them isn't really notable. Some enemies behave more interesting on FDS, but a few I think are also worse (like the things on the ground spraying rocks).

Ultimately I think I prefer the NES version for one reason alone - it recognizes beating the game in under 1 hour, which imo is a perfect balance for a casual optimized run! The FDS's lowest barrier is 2 hours which is extremely lax.

You absolutely *need* to go into both Metroid 1 and 2 without any external guidance at all, it really is the only way to truly understand and appreciate them.

And you of course really do need to draw a map for the first game, but I don't think the second one needs that at all.
It's split into distinctly separate sections that you never need to backtrack to, and each of them is individually not too tough to map out in your head IMO. But you still need to be on the lookout for hidden passages and make sure you explored everywhere before moving on, so you don't miss upgrades!

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I'm a big fan of Metroid II (played it a lot as a kid) and I've also played through both the NES and FDS versions of Metroid (tried a few FDS games on a whim to see the differences a while back) and I agree with everything Sumez has said. Don't use a map unless you absolutely get stuck for a while.

[Sumez]

Even if you do get stuck, I'd say just rely on your own map and keep searching. The only passage that was too obscure for me to find on my own was a totally optional one that leads to a superfluous E-tank.

Everything else is fairly straightforward due to the way rooms get reused. Once you know where the bombable floor is, you know where to look every time you see the same room

Oh, music and sfx are a little better on FDS as well of course, but the difference is subtle

[Volteccer_Jack]

When I do finally get some free time, I'll probs start playing the Assassin's Creed games for the first time. I only plan on playing 1, 2, bro, rev, 3 and 4. Have no interest in any of the games after 4 (Unity and onward). Though i might play Rogue since its similar to 4. Although.....I plan on playing these games in a rather unusual way because of how easy they supposedly are (assuming it's even possible to play them the way I intend to). I'll post thoughts on it once I start my playthrough.

So, as much as I'm a fan of Assassin's Creed, the reason the series is mostly very easy is because the game mechanics don't hold up under stress and the devs are aware of this. The simple act of controlling your character is convoluted and messy, in large part because AC1 was designed to be a sim rather than a sharp action game. In addition to the controls there is a lot of general jank in both stealth and combat. So doing some self-imposed challenge is likely to just frustrate and annoy you. Unity heavily revamped the mechanics and is the most solid game in the series (also the one with the best difficulty) but even Unity has a lot of annoyances that will make a high-level player tear their hair out.

AC1 in particular was designed to be played with no HUD and no map markers, and I recommend playing it that way as much as possible for the best experience.

[null1024]

Okay, I think I'm getting the hang of Pochi and Nyaa to an extent.
I managed to complete the beginner course once in 4:15:98, not too bad. I definitely need to play faster, and I need to make more crosses instead of T-shapes. I still can't do it remotely consistently, and I usually end up dying 3:30 in, around level 11. [edit -- I probably wasn't playing that fast, it might have been more like lv9/10, because I should have more time available at that level] Bleh.
Still getting murdered in the main vs CPU mode too, but I'm putting up a fight now. It's more of a drawn-out battle than me just dying, but I still lose in the end.

[edit]
Still brutal. I've cleared beginner one other time [and slower by a lot -- 5:10:42], and I have a few near misses. Best pattern to make is full of crosses, but actually building that structure quickly and in the given space is a real trial. The game wants you to be really fast.

So, as much as I'm a fan of Assassin's Creed, the reason the series is mostly very easy is because the game mechanics don't hold up under stress and the devs are aware of this.

I very much remember playing Brotherhood like ten years ago via OnLive's game streaming service since I didn't have anything to play it on. The game being very easy and loose ensured that it was the only thing on the service I'd tried that was worth playing through the latency.
Felt like magic too, seeing graphics like that on my garbage $250 netbook.

I probably should give the series a go again too, I just dunno if I'll ever get around to doing it.

[XoPachi]

https://youtu.be/VZpm6pU8jfE

[To Far Away Times]

I was checking out some of the Final Fight games on SNES.

I started with Final Fight 2. That game just sucks ass. That's all there is to it.

Final Fight 3, however, is cool. Final Fight 3 lets you run and has street fighter style special inputs. It also has branching paths and secret rooms. Good stuff. It also has a co-op AI partner mode which really should be a standard option in beat 'em ups.

There are some drawbacks though. The game can only handle three unique enemies on screen at once (or four if they are all share the same sprites) and there's a good bit of slowdown.

This is also a pretty easy game, no need to save state practice it to 1CC it.

There are four tricks that make the game very easy.
1. Guy's special move is incredible and has insane range and crowd control, use it as much as you can.
2. Enemies will not attack you off screen, but you can attack them.
3. Unlike Streets of Rage, non boss enemies will not attack you when they are standing up.
4. The easiest route through the game is to destroy the bus sign in stage three and go through the destroyed door in stage five. This routes you around two of the hardest segments of the game.

Overall, this game isn't up to the level of Streets of Rage 2, but I think it's better than Streets of Rage 1 and 3.

[null1024]

Rang in the new year by playing some Aqua Rush. Still feels bad that this was never ported anywhere.
Doing the third course will cause me to get carpal tunnel.

I ended up with a nice, blistering time of 570.10 seconds overall on the second course, best so far. Looking through the individual stage rankings, I could do much better, but I want my wrist to stay in one piece. Tempted to just set up autofire buttons, but the game definitely wasn't designed around 'em. Being able to mash fast makes every situation easily escapable and lets you be really, really fast.

Had an earlier run that I can't remember the time on, but was a fairly quick pace before I had to continue like thrice on the last stage. Ow.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Regarding the Metroid discussion from earlier: I don't think you strictly need to draw a map for Metroid 1, but in my case it did help to take down very basic notes of the general structure of each area. My method of dealing with the dogshit start-with-30-health-on-death system was just to stop playing the game on death and come back the next day to start over, so taking down some very general notes about the locations of things helped me internalize the layout and shape of each stage (mainly Brinstar and Norfair), and get into the swing of things quicker with each attempt. If you have a stronger memory than mine, even that's not really necessary. I think completely mapping out the game world would be overkill in any case.

I also agree that the ultimate fun in the first Metroid is working your way up to the 1-hour clear. The game does have its flaws but I love that it builds up to this fun kind of casual speedrun in its "endgame"; none of the other games really have that feel to them.

Metroid 2 doesn't need a map at all, whether external, personally made, or internal (as the remakes have). It's a testament to that game's thoughtful design how shockingly intuitive its map is; it's very clearly carefully laid out to be navigable via memorable landmarks even with the limited GB screen size.

Overall, this game isn't up to the level of Streets of Rage 2, but I think it's better than Streets of Rage 1 and 3.

I think I like SoR1 a little more, but FF3 is really solid still. I'd probably take it over SoR3. My biggest complaint about it is that its encounter design kind of stinks. SoR2 (which is a masterclass in this specific regard, to be fair, so it's almost an unreasonable comparison) is incredibly smart about pacing out what enemies you will fight and when - there's a really good flow between going from fighting lower-tier guys to higher-tier guys, and every stage mixes up which types of enemies you'll be fighting constantly, so you're constantly dealing with enemy types in new, novel situations and formations that force you to evaluate them differently each time. FF3 has great mechanics and overall strong enemy design, but I feel like you can pick out any two back-to-back encounters in its lategame stretch and they will include basically the entire enemy lineup. There's not enough variety and thoughtful level design to do its otherwise great core systems justice.

[Sima Tuna]

Streets of Rage 1 is slept on. The super mechanic is trash, yes, and the game is too long, but every other aspect is finely crafted. I'd much rather play SoR1 than most other beat em ups. Sure, the upper echelon of the genre are better than Streets of Rage 1, but it's rock-solid. SoR 2 is just so amazing in all respects that it eclipses the first game. SoR 1 is still a top-20 beat em up for me though.

[Sumez]

My method of dealing with the dogshit start-with-30-health-on-death system was just to stop playing the game on death and come back the next day to start over

The best way of dealing with it is just to not bother "farming health" at all! You rarely need to have your health completely filled in the game. Only situation where I can think of that being a relevant advantage is when going into a new boss fight while you're still new at the game (and it only has 3 of those).

Those enemy spawners is probably the biggest misdirection in the game. Everyone today still seems to assume they exist for players to sit around and refill their ressources, and for all I know that might at least partly have been the intent for some of their locations - but trying to do that is such a slog I wouldn't recommend anyone trying it ever - it's probably the biggest reason a lot of people dislike the game, so trying to do that just gives you a worse experience that isn't really necessary.
Just... don't bother. Go on playing the game and pick up health drops from enemies you kill as you move along. As long as you don't get hit more than you hit other stuff you should be fine. By the time things start doing more serious damage you should also be able to very easily take out all those flying/jumping enemies that very frequently drop 20HP a piece, instead of bothering with slow-ass 5HP enemy spawners.
Also, every E-tank will completely refill your health, and there's more of them in the game than you need, spread out quite evenly. Even on my first blind playthrough that was good enough to frequently keep me healthy at multiple full tanks even though I never grinded for health anywhere. But of course on every replay that means you can just rely on those *entirely* for refilling your health.

I also agree that the ultimate fun in the first Metroid is working your way up to the 1-hour clear. The game does have its flaws but I love that it builds up to this fun kind of casual speedrun in its "endgame"; none of the other games really have that feel to them.

I think Super Metroid absolutely does! It's a bigger undertaking than the first game, but I think once you have a clear, it immediately becomes appealing to try to map out the most effecient route, and seeing how many missiles and energy tanks you can forego, and still come out on top. A lot more fun than 100% for sure. Thanks to the (unintentional) mockball trick, both of the non-mandatory bosses actually do become entirely optional, seeing as you don't need the grapple beam either.

[ryu]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder
I've warmed up to the game, it's mostly completely fine and good fun. Still, not a fan of the elephant power up and those musical sections. They remind me of toddler TV. Really though, is there any meaning to having lives in this one? What is there to lose when you go game over - the twenty seconds it takes to get to a checkpoint?

Armored Core VI
Just got past chapter two. Got to say I'm loving the boss fights, even if they feel a bit messy. I see a lot of criticism against the game's stagger mechanic, but so far it doesn't feel like a problem for me.

[Mortificator]

SNES PoP is one of the most impressive "extended ports" I've ever seen. I think it manages to exist fine alongside the original versions (with pc and Amiga probably being the best) as a notably longer experience for those who want more, rather than something replacing the shorter, snappier and more lean original.

Meanwhile, on the Sega CD, Arabian fusion and the Cuck of Persia

Spoiler

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

My method of dealing with the dogshit start-with-30-health-on-death system was just to stop playing the game on death and come back the next day to start over

The best way of dealing with it is just to not bother "farming health" at all! You rarely need to have your health completely filled in the game. Only situation where I can think of that being a relevant advantage is when going into a new boss fight while you're still new at the game (and it only has 3 of those).

I don't think this is true once you reach Norfair. Playing the game with only 30 health from that point is a slog; the jumping enemies do far more damage to you than you get from their health drops, and that's saying nothing of the bouncing ball enemies and the other more dangerous enemy types deeper in the area - and that's before you get down to Ridley's area with its buffed-up versions.

The screw attack makes things extremely manageable, of course - once you have it, maintaining more health than you may lose from occasional slip-ups is trivial, as is recovering from even 30 health - and it also helps to know the location of energy tanks so you can start planning your route around those, but none of that is relevant on a blind playthrough, where you're bumbling around Norfair dying in only three hits from your starting health. Metroid is a great game but I think it's really in spite of its bumpy early stretch.

Super Metroid is a better game overall, but as far as quick revisits go, I do like Metroid 1's shorter length and higher risk more. I might feel differently about quick Super Metroid replays if I knew how to use and properly leverage things like mockball to get big skips or exactly how few energy tanks you can get away with (I always end up collecting a little more than you need since I always forget what the threshold is for surviving Mother Brain's cutscene beam), but outside of that I think it ends up being a way safer and more secure fast-casual run than the original game. Its controls are so excellent that it would probably be worth digging deeper though.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I don't think this is true once you reach Norfair. Playing the game with only 30 health from that point is a slog; the jumping enemies do far more damage to you than you get from their health drops, and that's saying nothing of the bouncing ball enemies and the other more dangerous enemy types deeper in the area - and that's before you get down to Ridley's area with its buffed-up versions.

Even at the start of the game, 30 health goes down real fast given your weapon has incredibly low range and stuff can take down your health quite fast with minimal i-frames between hits. It's a much rougher beginning than the more polished GB and SNES sequels. The game's still great, but it's got a bumpy start for sure.

The screw attack makes things extremely manageable, of course - once you have it, maintaining more health than you may lose from occasional slip-ups is trivial, as is recovering from even 30 health - and it also helps to know the location of energy tanks so you can start planning your route around those, but none of that is relevant on a blind playthrough, where you're bumbling around Norfair dying in only three hits from your starting health. Metroid is a great game but I think it's really in spite of its bumpy early stretch.

I always forget what the threshold is for surviving Mother Brain's cutscene beam

It takes off three energy tanks with the Varia Suit equipped (six if you removed it or never obtained it somehow). It's a bit silly, and I've barely gotten through the fight only to be killed by the beam as a kid, and I remember being a bit confused as to how I was meant to avoid the attack if it bypasses screw attack. So yeah, you gotta win the fight with a 3 tank buffer.

The only other minor gripe I have against Super Metroid is the

Spoiler

breakable glass in Maridia you need to Power Bomb.

You need to do this after you'd normally find the X-Ray Scope which shows breakable blocks, and it's the only instance I can think of where a breakable object is not properly shown. I remember having trouble figuring this one out as a kid.

Spoiler

Yeah, you can find another broken tube, but I was so used to the "rules" established by the scope that I think it took me a while to figure it out and realize there was an exception to the rule. Also, Power Bombs don't feel like they'd have as oomph as the screen shakey Super Missiles.

Hilariously, the solution to this puzzle is spoilered in one of the North American commercials for the game and is shown in a clip.

There's also the slightly weird mechanic where doing a full charge results in a Special Charge Beam Attack, but you have to turn off most of your beams to ever see them which is a bit weird.

[Mortificator]

The only other minor gripe I have against Super Metroid is the

Spoiler

breakable glass in Maridia you need to Power Bomb.

You need to do this after you'd normally find the X-Ray Scope which shows breakable blocks, and it's the only instance I can think of where a breakable object is not properly shown. I remember having trouble figuring this one out as a kid.

Spoiler

Yeah, you can find another broken tube, but I was so used to the "rules" established by the scope that I think it took me a while to figure it out and realize there was an exception to the rule. Also, Power Bombs don't feel like they'd have as oomph as the screen shakey Super Missiles.

This is one of the two parts that was a roadblock to little me. The other might not have stumped as many people, but to me it felt like an unofficial rule that elevator and save rooms were just there for the utility and wouldn't have secrets. Where save rooms were concerned, just once did it get broken in a Metroid-style Castlevania (by freakin Harmony of Dissonance)