So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

Retr0gamer · 09-01-2023 05:19PM

Snatcher is pretty damn short so well worth fitting in somewhere. Mega CD did have a lot of good stuff worth playing unlike the 32X. I'm very fond of the version of Popful Mail on the system, especially with a hack that removes Working Designs gameplay changes. It's an interesting system as well when you look at how new CD tech was and the evolutionary dead ends that were trialed on the system. PC Engine CD in comparison plays it very safe. Early Saturn and PS1 games are a bit like that as well but you really only see that in 1994 and 1995, by 1996 developers started to understand what worked on the CD system.

tonyotonyo · 10-01-2023 06:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086442#Comment_120086442

There's a policenauts English hack for the saturn, there's something really funky about having the light gun for the shooting sections. And this strangely familiar intro music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mx4RE3jrTs

Inviere · 11-01-2023 03:44PM

Broke out a USB PC Joystick and started to play through Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (GoG). I played through this way way back in the day when it released (big box x5 cd release). It's FMV choice based custscenes, mixed with 3d rendered action scenes for the bridge simulation parts. Being a bit of a Trek fan, I've always loved any bridge based simulation games, and this is no different. Even though it has aged a lot, my nostalgic love for the game has softened the blow. It's also quite cool to use an old school joystick on a pc game again, keyboard to the left, mouse in the middle, and joystick on the right....it's like a baby-version of Steel Battalion here 😊

I'm swapping that around with Max Payne (Steam), about half way through the game now. Obviously quite dated, but again, another absolute gem I played on release, and have found no problem going back to. The widescreen mod and high res texture mod helps a bit too.

Inviere · 11-01-2023 03:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120091104#Comment_120091104

I absolutely LOVED the below piece when it played during my playthrough (Kenzo Hojo's house, part of his cd collection....and then the end credits too.) Such a wail to the guitar, beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oy09otRYwU

tonyotonyo · 11-01-2023 08:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120094573#Comment_120094573

Bladerunner vibes

Retr0gamer · 14-01-2023 01:52AM

Bit more Punchout tonight. Got to Mr Sandman once who vaporised me. It wasn't even funny. Then I had a series of howlers again Bald bull and Don Flamenco and Couldn't get back to Mr. Sandman again.

ketchupmessi63 · 14-01-2023 09:27AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120106107#Comment_120106107

Story of my life lol

Retr0gamer · 15-01-2023 01:32PM

Figured out I've a 3 not two second delay on my monitor a d it's made the world of difference. I finally beat Mr. Sandman and progressed to Super Macho Man, the fate keeper before Mike Tyson but more importantly a password. I got him do to one punch away from a TKO in the first round. The AI was such a ballocks here. He usually throws punches constantly but he just waited out the last 5 seconds.

Got to round 2 and got super unlucky with his super move. It lasts 3 to 9 spins and he did the spin close to the maximum amount of times. If you aren't using quick dodges the. It will hit you eventually and I haven't been using them. Guess I really need to as they are supposedly required for Mike. Anyway I was so low on health that one badly dodged uppercut put me down. C'est la vie.

Inviere · 15-01-2023 02:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120111124#Comment_120111124

I assume that's 3 frame delay, not 3 seconds?? 3 frame delay is quite significant

Retr0gamer · 15-01-2023 03:07PM

Yep meant 3 frames!

Retr0gamer · 17-01-2023 02:13PM

Ugh, Punch-out!! is really kicking my ass. The first 3 fights I basically have down pat. Don Flamenco really should be easier but he is so annoying to fight that sometimes I lose my cool and end up totally screwing up and he gets flukey win against me. I can't even complain about it either as the whole gimmick of that fight and character is to frustrate the player into making a mistake, it's begrudgingly great game design.

Things get really bad once I hit Mr. Sandman. His attacks are super quick and you have a tiny window to dodge them. I can dodge his attacks pretty consistently now. The big issue is his special Dreamland Express. In the first round he will delay a long time and you have to watch for him to flash and then dodge three punches. I don't know what the timing is to dodge after the flash but it's can't be more than 2 frames. Unfortunately dodging this attack is the only way to do decent damage to him. In Round 2 you can expect the Dreamland express every time he or you go down. You also can't just keep dodging and hope to get lucky, he seems to wait for you to come out of a dodge before initiating it if you dodge too early. I seen some one in a video dodge it with constant dodges. Maybe they were doing quick dodges. Worth a try.

Anyway the odd time I beat that guy and get to Super Macho Man. Super Macho Man is fine, his attacks are much slower than Mr. Sandman and way easier to dodge. The issue is his super spinning move which I don't have the timing for. I think in this case I need to actually slow my dodges down and listen to the sound each punch makes and dodge then but hard to do under pressure. One time I got to him without losing a fight and on the third loss the game punts you back to Don Flamenco.

Retr0gamer · 19-01-2023 12:01AM

Eat **** super Macho man!

Retr0gamer · 19-01-2023 12:34AM

First Tyson fight.

Didn't go so well.

tonyotonyo · 19-01-2023 12:48AM

If any kind of meet up or show ever happens I'll bring that punchout cabinet and you can kill Mike Bison standing up

Retr0gamer · 19-01-2023 02:19AM

**** yes!

I don't know how the **** I did it. It was a pretty slow second round. Was doing well, knocked Tyson out in the first 10 seconds but nowhere near doing the damage for two more knockdowns so 1:30 hits, he does the wiggle eyebrows signifying a flurry of punches coming and a chance at a star, I'm a bit late so throw a punch hoping for a star and he goes straight down. WTF that never happens.

So he got back up. Holding my own but don't have the time to put him down. Gets ready near the end of the round wiggling the eyebrows again. Again a bit late I throw a punch. And he goes straight down again TKO. What the hell!

I was following you can beat videogames tips, he was saying throw a uppercut at the eyebrow wiggle but i could never carry the uppercut to that stage as I'd always take at least one hit. Looking it up on line with stupidly good timing you can put him down with a punch. So I fluked it but **** it I'll take it!

Anyone wanted to give it a try it's all about surviving the first 1:30 in round one. After that it becomes an extremely tough but fair fight. Don't be too put off if you go down twice in that first 1:30. If you can survive it you have a very good chance and you get a few more knockdown recoveries than most other fights give.

Mr.Saturn · 19-01-2023 03:24AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120127504#Comment_120127504

Fair ****, have really enjoyed following your journey to decking Tyson.

Retr0gamer · 19-01-2023 08:34AM

I can give up videogames now. I've peaked.

Retr0gamer · 20-01-2023 04:52PM

I think I might take another stab at beating TMNT now....

o1s1n · 21-01-2023 10:07PM

Finished Shenmue III this evening. I started playing the trilogy back in 2014 and its taken me nearly 9 years to get through all three!

Mr.Saturn · 21-01-2023 10:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120139992#Comment_120139992

How did you find it in the end? I'm still kinda surprised how Shenmue 3 has apparently killed pretty much any impact that series seemed to have had in that nobody talks about anymore in the same reverential way.

o1s1n · 21-01-2023 10:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120140016#Comment_120140016

I found it to be an enjoyable experience if you put your mind into a space as if you're playing a Dreamcast game. You can't approach it as a modern game at all.

What's particularly weird about it upon reflection is that Shenmue experience was to be cutting edge and a vision of what videogames might be in the future - 3 is the complete opposite of that. Its entirely a nostalgia trip, but I think it captures games of that era beautifully.

Great point about it killing any hype or impact it had as a series though, you are completely right there. Folks spending years wanting a third game was far more of a thing than the game itself. Now that it's happened a bit of the magic has died.

Does make you wonder if Half-Life 3 being released would have a similar result on that franchise.

johnny_ultimate · 21-01-2023 10:56PM

The funny thing is Half-Life Alyx came out, was a medium-defining masterpiece, and barely anyone played it relatively speaking (understandably, because of costly hardware requirements)! We got our full-fledged new Half-Life game and it only barely exists in the popular consciousness!

And it also teased Half-Life 3 in the most tantalising way too 😅

The Nal · 22-01-2023 10:45AM

Playing Metal Slug. Arcade version. Good fun.

deadduck · 22-01-2023 11:06AM

Is the Wii considered retro yet?

Started up MadWorld a few days ago. It’s a Platinum game, and one of those, reviewed well, but sold rubbish games. Controls aren’t the best, as it has some ‘waggle’ stuff included, but it’s pretty stylish (mostly black and white, comic book style), and definitely different. Has a DeathRace 2000 feel to it, i.e., the more stylish your kills, the more points you rack up

Seemingly it got a sequel of sorts on PS3/360, Anarchy Reigns

Retr0gamer · 22-01-2023 01:13PM

Mad world annoyingly is one of those Wii games that was released in totally unoptimised 50hz in Europe and ruins the experience. I've been meaning to pick up a ntsc copy.

The Nal · 22-01-2023 01:48PM

Not quite as good as i remember

o1s1n · 23-01-2023 10:45AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120140158#Comment_120140158

It's been tempting me for nearly three years now to buy an Index, have yet to be able to justify a grand for a game. 🤣

It's mad, I was so behind the whole VR thing when it was in prototype stage but now that it's gone 100% commercial I have yet to buy any of it.

Inviere · 23-01-2023 11:20AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120145031#Comment_120145031

I've a boxed Rift up on Adverts if you fancy a cheaper way of playing Alyx....just sayin 😂

johnny_ultimate · 23-01-2023 11:21AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120145031#Comment_120145031

I know it's tempting to hold off to play on the best of the best, but I played on a standard Oculus Rift and thought it was truly magnificent. If you have a VR headset that'll run it, it's worth just diving in IMO - as said, it's a proper full-fat Half-Life game and really still the only proper AAA VR game (although obviously more focused stuff like Beat Saber, Thumper, Rez Infinite etc... are also great).

Retr0gamer · 23-01-2023 11:30AM

So I started TMNT on the NES last night after giving it a go a the day before. I'm pretty much near the end now, I had to save state as it was taking longer than I thought and a big part of the game is grinding health and power-ups.

It's a really strange game. It's very far below the usual quality you expect from Konami. It's definitely rushed. I'd normally expect well thought out and considered platforming in a Konami game but in this a lot of enemy formations are slightly randomised and they are just placed in the level hap hazardly. The turtles are all extremely unbalanced as well. Don is the best with huge reach, the ability to attack above and below him and the highest damage in the game. He attacks slower than the other turtles but it's barely a hinderance. Raphael is second best. He has shorter range than Don but the same damage output. Leonardo has decent range and utility with his sword but becomes mostly useless later on because his damage is so poor. And Michelangelo is totally useless, short range, lowest damage and can't attack above or below.

The whole game feels slap dash and thrown together, like something a western studio would have produced and not Konami. I'd say they had to hit a tight deadline for release and the lack of enemies from the show and the weird place holder enemies highlights this.

So how am I doing so well in the game. It's all thanks to following 'You can beat videogame's' Youtube video. The biggest killer in this game isn't the enemies (although there's some really nasty platforming and enemies in this game) but knowing where to go. Each map screen is littered with stages that lead to dead ends or useless power ups and if you take all of these the game will wear you down until you have no turtles left. It's also nice to know where to farm health, find captured turtles you lose and where to farm the best subweapon in the game.

I fully expect to have this beaten by this evening. It's definitely not the awful game it's made out to be but it's a bafflingly shoddy Konami release.

One funny thing to note about the game is that it was far and away Konami's best selling game for years. As a result the Konami executives and managers would compare every project to this game. Interviews with Konami developers said that they would constantly be told why isn't a game as good as TMNT when their game inevitably didn't sell TMNT numbers. Imagine working for Konami, making some of the best games of the generation and then being asked why isn't it as good as a shoddy release like TMNT!

So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

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