[24]: Golden Sun The Lost Age
I’ve only played this once before to my shame. It’s such an amazing game with really clever puzzles and all the charm I expect from my favorite developers. It’s a bit open ended though and I felt like I just had to explore to figure out what to do next but I guess that helps build the sense of adventure. I would give so much money to have Camelot make new RPGs again.
[13]: Vice: Project Doom.
An interesting NES action game grab-bag of sorts, because of its combination of play styles (platform, shooter, driving) and superb visuals which have clearly drawn inspiration from Ninja Gaiden.
I think it could have done with more enemy variety, at times it felt a little too breezy to play through because I knew exactly how to deal with its hazards and enemies without even needing to switch weapons most of the time. That may, however, speak for my experience playing other games in the genre more than the game itself.
[14]: Vs Excitebike.
I had a lot of fun with this upgraded version of Excitebike, which speaks plenty to the appeal of a tightly designed and focused game. You see, the game only has seven tracks - tiny by modern standards - but just the right number for the game to justify demanding your mastery of its mechanics to see it to its conclusion. With just seven courses, it often asks what feels like the impossible, combining strict time limits with wild course designs, but there’s just the right number of tracks such that you’ll want to spend a few hours mastering it all.
An unexpected highlight is Soyo Oka’s soundtrack, which predates her work on Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart, and introduces her unique approach in composing for these arcade-style games. It’s a treat.
[15]: Operation Logic Bomb.
Loved this game. At its core its a rather simple top-down shooter, with a small range of enemies and easily-dodgable bullets but it continuously introduces new weapons while upping the ante. I particularly loved the laser gun whose bullets bounce off walls, and the cloning device which distracts enemies.
It’s about forty minutes long - if you’re good and don’t get a game over. Took me just over two hours to see it to the end. The final two bosses were superb, too, the last being impossible to beat without fundamental understanding of your weapon arsenal.
I’ve been meaning to check out its two predecessors on the Game Boy since finishing Avenging Spirit last year, think I’ll pick them up later this week on 3DS Virtual Console.
huh, so Vs Excite Bike is pretty different then?
[25] Popful Mail (PC98) - I’ve played this a few times on the Sega CD (Japanese because Working Designs) and love everything Falcom so I decided it was time to play the original (higher end) PC version. This is VERY different than the Sega CD. It looks pretty close to the PC Engine version but even that has a lot of changes. For one, Mail’s attack uses a bump system similar to Ys. Skimming through the PC Engine release, which is closer, they added a whole new area to that one and as well as some weapons which make the bosses a bit easier. Overall, once I got past the awkwardness of platforming with a keyboard, I grew to love it. I think I’ll play this over the Sega CD going forward. The biggest issue is with the last boss who is a straight up fucker. They dramatically changed the end area in the rereleases and I can see why.
[26] Monster World IV - I’ve only played this once before although I don’t know why. I tend to go for III. This game has everything. It’s one of the best looking and animated games of the sixteen bit era. The mechanics are tight with a lot of variety between areas. Tons of charm. I guess it’s shorter and I would prefer a bit more exploration focus a la III but that’s hardly a complaint. I wish we go ta whole series of games starring Asha. She’s the best.
Monster World IV is still on my list, I hope it gets a Sega Ages release on Switch though. I only own the Wii VC release but Sega releasing it only in 50hz in Europe did admittedly put me off from playing it over Other Games. I need to see if it’s at least optimised 50hz. I’m glad it lives up to expectation.
Yeah, the setup resembles more of a Grand Prix mode, you have to do a one-lap time trial on each circuit before advancing to the two lap races, and there are more courses than the original release, with bonus minigames between them. The all-new soundtrack feels like a precursor to titles like Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart in its design and implementation too. Apparently the FDS version added even more features and refinements from the Arcade version.
[16]: Star Fox 2
As in the other thread, I finally got round to properly playing Star Fox 2, always been meaning to give it more attention.
My first playthrough on normal underwhelmed me a bit. The premise of having a real time battle unfold, where time moves even while you’re in missions, is a good one. But the missions themselves seemed shallow and short, which was a shame because the game is mechanically very well designed.
Had I just played it on normal I would have written it off, I’m glad I didn’t! Thankfully the game is the perfect length for replaying, being from a time when the quality of being a shout but replayable game was lauded rather than shamed.
Normal probably just exists just for players to get their bearings with the controls, the setup, and mechanics. When I played it again on Hard I feel it really came into its own, the strategy elements are tighter, levels are longer and more complex, and you’re generally tested a lot more, which is a big deal since you’re ranked at the end of each playthrough on a number of factors. I almost lost my first ship three times in that playthrough - had I lost it once I wouldn’t have just scraped a B rank.
Despite the consistently low framerate, I wasn’t expecting to be positively surprised by the game’s technical aspects either. The 2D sprites and menus are beautiful, the camera is impressively programmed for its time, and the variety of locales is impressive. In Fortuna you have to land on these little carrier ships to activate switches, and there’s a whole underwater segment where the music even switches to match.
I definitely plan on replaying on Hard until I unlock Expert difficulty. Star Fox 2 is an ambitious game - as ambitious than many of the other 3D games from the era - that just about manages to execute well on what it’s trying to do. I can see why it was cancelled, as a lot of its interesting ideas made it into games in development for the N64 at the time, like Super Mario 64, Wave Race 64, and Star Fox 64, but Star Fox 2 was more fascinating to visit than I expected it to be.
[17] Zelda II: Adventure of Link: What an intense finale, on my first attempt Dark Link literally just cut me up before I even managed to damage him. I enjoyed Zelda II a lot, it’s interesting to read that it was by a different team, because despite the game’s differences it still very much feels like it’s in the spirit of Zelda from the era, since it really did feel like a quest you conquer. The star of the show for me was its vague world, which effortlessly communicates a need to be wary of upcoming dangers, while also encouraging you to be intrigued by what’s up ahead. You actually want to speak to every townsperson. The dialogue made me chuckle as well, particularly as you really do have to use fire later on. If all else fails…
[27] Golden Sun - Dark Dawn
I’ve played the other games a few times since they released but for whatever reason I haven’t played this one since I bought it brand new. This one continues to feel like a true Shining game so I love it of course. I guess this one was controversial because it has a lot of missables but I actually like that. It forces me to not worry about bullshit and keep moving. This has pretty good pacing but at times it felt a bit too wordy. I wish we had gotten the sequel they very obviously planned. Alex is like Galm. I need to know what he has planned.
I enjoyed this one overall, but it did feel like Camelot had gotten rusty after years of not making anything like it. Something didn’t sit quite right with me with the balancing - I thought it was much easier than The Lost Age. Only the three post-game bosses provided a challenge on par with The Lost Age’s tough boss fights. The puzzles and level design were at their usual high standards though.
Would love to see Camelot work on another RPG, though they really are too good at sports games as well…Mario Tennis Aces was very good.
[18] Freshly Picked: Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland: I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this game so quickly, let alone be enthralled by it to the point of completing its 30 hour or so adventure within days of receiving it in the mail.
What makes the game so compelling is not only its unique mechanics, which all carefully feed into the idea that you must spend little and extort large to fulfil Tingle’s dreams, but how it’s absolutely its own game, despite technically being part of the Zelda series. You’ll find no cheap references or name-drops to other Zelda games, instead the game relies on utilising its wry sense of humour to either subvert video game convention. No surprise given director Taro Kudo designed Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, and wrote the Wii U Paper Mario. Where there are direct references to Zelda it’s still done in an indirect, subtle way - for example one bodyguard will dig out a boombox to play a Zelda sound effect after clearing puzzles, and this only happens twice in the entire game, maximising its impact.
So it’s a really unique game with an intriguing world, mechanics that still feel fresh in 2020, and an entertainingly wry sense of humour. There’s a lot more variety to the game than you’d expect - even the boss fights don’t see it rest on its laurels. Simply put: You never quite know what’s coming next.
The other thing that surprised me is just how well designed it is around the DS’s hardware, it reminds us that the DS really did seek answers to the question ‘what should a portable system be?’ in the sense that what it brings to the table could have only worked in that form factor. Tingle RPG is entirely played with the D-Pad and touch-screen, and it just works at bringing what is a hybrid adventure game to life. You control your bodyguards by tapping and dragging while walking with the D-Pad, the two displays are used to make the environments feel rather humbling to Tingle, there’s a wonderfully tactile mapping system on the touch-screen…I could easily double this list.
The audiovisual design also floored me, the art direction is clearly rather abstract by the standards of video games from its time, but it’s really brought to life by the character designs and animations, with Tingle being the star of the show. The range of expressions continued to surprise me well into the game’s finale.
At the end of the day, this is a game whose qualities are really hard to market, but it’s well worth seeking out and playing. It’s not without friction - bartering in particular is highly prone to trial and error, and I’d recommend using a negotiation guide - but I feel given the tone of the adventure coasting would count against the game, so I didn’t mind it. And there’s nothing else quite like it out there. Really! And because the game was released in 2006 - before the advent of social media - the impact of its wry tone is maximised. It’s very genuine.
[19] Ring Fit Adventure: Cleared the adventure mode just before day 80! I have been exercising with it for about five days a week, so I guess that’s about sixteen weeks of playing. I hoped to get back into the game in quarantine, but wasn’t expecting to stick with it to the end though!
That last pic is accurate, haha. I still intend to keep playing, but only for exercise like I was originally doing so. Only in the last few worlds was I solely focused on progressing to the end, since the game has 23(!) worlds before the credits.
[20] Xanadu Next Superb action RPG that’s more forward-thinking its Guantlet/Diablo style controls would have you assume. Wrote more about it in the screenshot thread!
I never thought about the Tingle game being decent but I guess it makes sense. Nintendo doesn’t release garbage. I’m intrigued. Also interested in Xanadu, I’ve been interested in the whole Dragon Slayer series and Falcom in general but their newer stuff has escaped me. Xanadu’s a pretty hard to get into get so I feel like Xanadu Next would be a better way to get into it.
[28] Castlevania - Rondo of Blood
I like this game, of course, but I’m not as into it as 1, 4, or Bloodlines. It’s main draw is in its presentation. Even today it’s still extremely impressive. I’d love to see them make a newer game like this.
[29] Shining the Holy Ark
All this Camelot made me skip Shining Force 2, CD, and Gaiden 3 and jump straight into this. This is my favorite Golden Sun title. Short, fantastic audio, engaging. Great experience all around. I like the fairy system more than Djinn but I can see why people might prefer the latter. I’ve had dreams about the upside dungeon ever since I first played this game. Each dungeon is a showpiece. If I had to complain about something it’d be that there’s some technical issues like slowdown and occasional audio issues but nothing that really detracts too much.
Glad to hear Shining the Holy Ark is fantastic because it’s been on my list for too long and probably the Camelot game I’m most interested in playing for its first person dungeon exploration alone alone. Been thinking about picking up Stranger of Sword City Revisited for my next dungeon crawler but I shall prioritise this over it.
Does its length make it more akin to the likes of a Madou Monogatari game? I’ve been a tad disappointed how the genre has been pushing excessive game lengths of 80 hours or more these days, often without good reason to (i.e. Zerodiv’s titles tend to stagnate mechanically and in level design after a few dungeons, leaving the allure of levelling up/progression to take over).
I regret passing it back in the day, but I’m not sure I would have appreciated it back then. It’s very unconventional, but the way it turned out certainly makes sense given the developers’ pedigree with games like Moon, Endonesia and Coloball 2002. It really was cool how supportive Nintendo was of games like this and the likes of Chibi Robo, Hotel Dusk, Ouendan, Polarium and MaBoShi etc.
[21]: Burnout Paradise Remastered
The Switch port making one of my favourite applications of the open world portable made for one heck of an engrossing game.
[22]: Death Come True
Came away ultimately disappointed by this one. It’s a visual novel/adventure game from Kazutaka Kodaka, the creator of Danganronpa, but unlike those games he made with Spike Chunsoft Death Come True plays it rather safe with a predictable plot and predictable outcomes to any incorrect choices you choose. The switch to live action movies for its storytelling does tie in with the premise of its plot, but that’s about as far as it goes.
[30] Shantae
I really enjoyed Half Genie Half Hero when I got it and love Monster World inspired games so I’ve wanted to play this for a while. Overall, it has a lot of charm and I’m glad the series continued because it’s clear they had a lot of good ideas but it wasn’t very engaging and could be frustrating at times. The tiny screen of the GBC detracted in my view. I found myself blind jumping onto hazards pretty often and had to play a lot more carefully than I would like. I think I’d recommend to anyone who’s a fan of this genre but with caveats. Personally, I’d rather play the newer entries.
[31] Paper Mario
It’s been years since I’ve played this one. I play TTYD about once a year but rarely go back to this one. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with this but TTYD is just my preferred title. One thing that bugs me about these two games is that TTYD repeated a lot of the tropes that are found here which is why I think a lot of people prefer one over the other. What bugs me most about this is the limitation on badges. I’d like to play with minimal HP and teched out but you can’t really do that here. I think the characters are a bit more engaging in the sequel as well. Still, this is a stellar RPG and I’m really excited to see what Nintendo has in store for us soon.
Interesting that the tiny screen on Shantae was an issue despite the game being designed for GBC, guessing they really wanted impressive sprites instead. But I guess Wario Land pulled it off by splitting areas into chunks either with doors or the screen scrolling up or down in segments. While I’m at it - what did you make of the DSiWare Shantae? I’ve still got it but I never managed to get into it. I’ve got it and Monster World IV to eventually play - Im guessing MWIV is the game to prioritise?
[23] GTI Club: Supermini Festa
You can never really be finished with an arcade port the credits have rolled and I’ve unlocked Advanced difficulty which is mercilessly difficult - still yet to beat a single event there. It has its flaws but it’s hard to think of many other arcade racers like it - its car roster quite literally inspired a new type of racing game that’s highly compelling in its own way.
[24] Mr Driller Encore (Drill Land port)
The credits have rolled, but let’s be honest, this is a superb ‘forever’ game that you are never quite finished with.
[25] Metroid: Federation Force
Enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting, it’s a smartly designed portable shooter with level designs that make the most of its co-op focus.
One of my favourite levels asks you to guide a piece of cargo to a drop-off point, but there’s a storm which engulfs the map, destroying the cargo and heavily damaging you. You’ve got to move it to cover stations while teammates take down enemies and shoot switches to change its direction. The designers generally comes up with situations as clever as this one, though it’s also just as happy to rest on its laurels and bore you with tried and tested tropes as well.
There are a lot of neat touches in the game as well - bullets are properly modelled in 3D space so you often have to use gyro controls to take into consideration enemy movement while aiming. And in levels where you exit your mech you can enter other players’ mechs, taking their ammo loadout with you. Makes the game less predictable.
The visuals also have nice touches despite the rather generic sci-fi trappings to the art direction. For example, hologram light turns on inside your mech suit to shine the gyro-aim icon at the top right of the screen. It’s a treat in stereoscopic 3D with fun use of dust particles inside the temple levels and the inside of your mech suit modelled.
Its association with the Metroid series of course hurt its reception, it would have been better off as something else with sci-fi trappings.
[26] Touhou: Spell Bubble
Taito making console games again has certainly turned in a few surprises, I wasn’t expecting my favourite Puzzle Bobble game to be this, but it’s a wonderful little action puzzler with AI that doesn’t pull back any punches and music and rhythm mechanics that generally fit the pacing of a game like this. Touhou’s creator previously worked at Taito so them making a Touhou fan-game is almost like seeing everything coming full circle. Looking forward to tackling Lunatic difficulty, which must be as tough as the game’s challenge mode.
[27] Wario Land 3
Nintendo R&D1 at the top of their platforming game…if they didn’t outdo themselves again with Wario Land 4.
It’s not so much that the screen is small I guess. More like the resolution. Like there’s not enough to go by to know what hazards are below you. The other Shantae games don’t have this issue and I think it could have been made less frustrating with slightly redesigned areas.
[32] Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2
This is still an extremely impressive looking game. I can’t get over it. Air combat is a ton of fun and some of the missions can be pretty brutal if you don’t approach them correctly. That’s not to say it’s unfair though. This has the right amount of challenge and replay value. Great stuff. I wish they made something like this today.
[33] Pikmin 3:
Pikmin is such a fantastic series. Overall it’s really relaxing with bits here and there that get your blood flowing. The third game is my favorite. The ability to send three captains around to work on tasks independently runs the risk of too much micromanaging but they implemented it really intelligently. This is a perfect Wii U title.
[24(Redux)] Mr Driller: Drill Land - Level 2
After another ten hours of play across the last couple of weeks I managed to clear all attractions on level 2 difficulty, great arcade-like difficulty structure to a superb and varied puzzler.
Game Boy Madness:
[28] Kirby’s Dream Land
Played through this leisurely, and then with razor-sharp focus for Extra Mode. This is another case of the Game Boy bringing a less-is-more approach to game to design through to the late 90s, I was astounded by how much they get out of what is now a comparably tiny amount of content compared with later Kirby games. And I wouldn’t have wanted any more - it’s the definition of a fully formed game.
[29] Trip World
Short but sweet journey through a surreal world of nature and, er, cake.
[30] Balloon Kid
[31] Ikari no Yousai (Fortified Zone)
[32] Ikari no Yousai 2
[33] Bomberman GB 3
I was wrong to think single player Bomberman couldn’t intrigue me again, this is a wonderful game.
[34] Gargoyle’s Quest
I’m fond of its mix of flying, ledge-grabbing and platforming and the presentation is impressive, but Gargoyle’s Quest is perhaps a bit too limited in scope, with the jumps/gaps/enemies/levels becoming more precise, narrower, more plentiful and longer. Since you’ll have mastered the game a fair bit before it ends the final boss was like watching paint dry! I’m excited about playing the sequel on NES further down the line, though.
Metroid came up in Discord and I decided it’s been ages since I’ve played the GBA games. I typically just play Super and ignore the rest of the series so I decided to correct this.
[34] Metroid Zero Mission
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The original metroid is a really interesting title but it gets really frustrating at times. This being a remake really makes it a lot more accessible. I really dislike that it tells me where I need to go. I feel like they take a lot of what makes Metroid Metroid away by doing this. The jumping is slightly awkward. I can’t explain it but I really disliked the way jumping worked in this. The “surprise” Zero Suit section is pretty cool. To throw this after what you would expect to be the end of the game really shakes up the game quite a bit. Overall, this is solid but I’d rather play Super Metroid (but that could be said about most games).
[35] Metroid Fusion
I didn’t really like this much. Jumping’s better than Zero Mission but it feels like they took everything I like about Metroid. This feels more like a horror title than a Metroid title. I hate what they did with Samus and there’s basically no free-form explanation at all. Metroid is like Doom in that it needs like 2 sentences of story to get you going and this goes on and on and on. I hate Adam. I don’t really know who he is (beyond what was here) or care. The whole thing sucks. It plays nice at least but I really dislike the direction this takes the series. I can only imagine how much I’d hate Other M after this.
Yeah, I don’t think it needed that considering how it already added a good map and redesigned the flow of the game anyway.
I really like Fusion, while was the last original game in the series to be developed by R&D1 (their last ever game was Zero Mission!) I’m also glad they tried something new with it even if it’s not wholly faithful to its roots. R&D 1 does love challenging convention after all, reinventing Wario Land before (rightly) calling it quits and moving on to WarioWare, and they probably realised they couldn’t top Super Metroid anyway, probably why they did a remake after Fusion.
It’s a shame you didn’t get on with it - but remember, contextually at the time of release it was the perfect complement to Metroid Prime, releasing on the same day.
