So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

o1s1n

Have you gone back into Metroid after closing it?

There's no option to save, but when you open the game it up resumes where you left off! I think Zelda does the same.

Retr0gamer

Metroid uses passwords. I think if you end the game instead of continuing you get a password.

valleyoftheunos

I've been spending a bit of time playing NES stuff on my Dingoo recently and I agree with the above, most of the games are as frustrating and annoying as I found them as a 10 year old the first time around. Having said that Bionic Commando is a game I am determined to crack and Bubble Bobble is the genius it always was.

If anything those two games represent the two extremes of NES gaming (in my eyes at least) one is a simple single screen arcade challenge, basic but excellent also. BC on the other hand is expansive and ambitious in scope, and it pulls it off.

I guess its because it was because I was a little bit older but the jump to 16 bit and the Snes was massive for me, I played that thing into the ground and got volumes more out of it than I ever did the NES.

Mr Vengeance

o1s1n wrote: »

Have you gone back into Metroid after closing it?

There's no option to save, but when you open the game it up resumes where you left off! I think Zelda does the same.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Metroid uses passwords. I think if you end the game instead of continuing you get a password.

Interesting.... but the thing is I was quite a bit into the game and then a bat put paid to Samus' adventure.... and I ended up back at the start Its like there is no checkpoints or something? Maybe that's how the original game was, I don't know, my only experience of it was on the GameCube after unlocking it with GBA Fusion linked up to it.

valleyoftheunos wrote: »

I've been spending a bit of time playing NES stuff on my Dingoo recently and I agree with the above, most of the games are as frustrating and annoying as I found them as a 10 year old the first time around. Having said that Bionic Commando is a game I am determined to crack and Bubble Bobble is the genius it always was.

If anything those two games represent the two extremes of NES gaming (in my eyes at least) one is a simple single screen arcade challenge, basic but excellent also. BC on the other hand is expansive and ambitious in scope, and it pulls it off.

I guess its because it was because I was a little bit older but the jump to 16 bit and the Snes was massive for me, I played that thing into the ground and got volumes more out of it than I ever did the NES.

I agree. Even though I thought back then that the only different between 8 and 16-bit was the shinier, more colourful visuals, it was also a lot to do with user-friendliness and technical accomplishment applied to things like collision detection and artificial intelligence.

While I'm not the world's biggest 8-bit fan, there are many 8-bit games that I can't get enough of. The likes of Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt and 8-bit Game Boy games such as Tetris and Zelda: Link's Awakening are some of the best games I have ever played, and still stand the test of time easily.

16-bit though was some jump, and the 32/64 -bit generation after another huge leap.

Retr0gamer

Mr Vengeance wrote: »

Interesting.... but the thing is I was quite a bit into the game and then a bat put paid to Samus' adventure.... and I ended up back at the start Its like there is no checkpoints or something? Maybe that's how the original game was, I don't know, my only experience of it was on the GameCube after unlocking it with GBA Fusion linked up to it.

Yep this is how the original is. If you die you go straight back to the start but keep all the upgrades you find.

The even more annoying thing is that you will always start at 30 health no matter how many energy tanks you find so you have to spend ages farming health.

I hope you remembered to bring your graph paper

o1s1n

That sounds really punishing! I guess back in the day you really got your moneys worth for lastability.

Spent some more time with Metal Slug First mission this morning. Was really enjoying it until I got to a night time level.

Seriously, a night time level on a console with no backlight? It was really sunny earlier and I STILL couldn't see a thing. Madness!

Andrew76

Was playing Guwange last night for a bit, pretty cool game. Tis funny, it's so much easier to dodge a screen full of bullets in that game than it is to dodge a few bullets in Raiden. I guess having a health bar makes it easier too.

o1s1n

You know bullet hell shmups are made to look harder than they are when one bullet out of tank in Raiden poses as much risk as a screen full in something like Deathsmiles!

Andrew76

o1s1n wrote: »

You know bullet hell shmups are made to look harder than they are when one bullet out of tank in Raiden poses as much risk as a screen full in something like Deathsmiles!

I'm only a novice at the bullet hell type shmups but find you can kind of get into a trance and see how the patterns are moving without looking at them in detail. Raiden's single bullets seem to home in on yer ass, they're harder to keep track of. Very rewarding surviving a difficult section though. More often than not it's cursing at myself as I notice a bullet too late to dodge. :pac:

Have a couple more 360 shmups incoming soon so looking forward to them.

Retr0gamer

In bullet hell games the bullets look big but the hit box is only a few pixels in the centre, same with te players craft. The bullets also move a hell of a lot slower. It's more to do with the speed of the bullets and the large hit boxes. I know the non bullet hell Image Fight is far tougher than any bullet hell I've ever played.

o1s1n

Andrew76 wrote: »

More often than not it's cursing at myself as I notice a bullet too late to dodge. :pac:
.

Heh, I hate those ones. You can see the bullet incoming but your brain just can't get the signal to your hand to move your ship in time.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

In bullet hell games the bullets look big but the hit box is only a few pixels in the centre, same with te players craft. The bullets also move a hell of a lot slower. It's more to do with the speed of the bullets and the large hit boxes. I know the non bullet hell Image Fight is far tougher than any bullet hell I've ever played.

I've never heard of image fight. I see it's made by Irem. Will check it out now as a matter of interest

edit - woah, definitely not a game for keyboard controls!

Mr Vengeance

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Yep this is how the original is. If you die you go straight back to the start but keep all the upgrades you find.

The even more annoying thing is that you will always start at 30 health no matter how many energy tanks you find so you have to spend ages farming health.

I hope you remembered to bring your graph paper

:eek:

Retr0gamer wrote: »

In bullet hell games the bullets look big but the hit box is only a few pixels in the centre, same with te players craft. The bullets also move a hell of a lot slower. It's more to do with the speed of the bullets and the large hit boxes. I know the non bullet hell Image Fight is far tougher than any bullet hell I've ever played.

Also the bullets move in a pattern. Mars Matrix is a bullet curtain title too, but its bullets often move independantly which makes its screen full o death a right pain to navigate if your sheild is recharging... Huge hitbox, huge amounts of randomly moving bullets makes this one of the toughest shooters out there in my view.... still haven't clocked it yet. Great fun though - love the piercing shot, so satisfying!


Anyway, they may not be retro, but I've been busy playing Espgaluda II and Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 on my 360. I effing love these games. I was gripped my Mushi the second I got it, and then got stuck into Esp II, which has been taking up a lot of my time over the last few nights in particular. I love playing it in Novice mode as its so fun and enjoyable and staidfying, but there's a time to move on and play the real deal, which is what I've been at and its is fricking difficult! Going to keep at it anyway....

Was playing Futari last night at length, and managed to 1CC Maniac on Novice mode last night easily. Its funny how you get better at all shooters when you are playing others too. Again, having enjoyed the game to buggery on Novice, its time to move on to Normal and that's what I'm ging to be doing from now on.

I'm aiming to get three shooters over the next month or so. Zero Gunner 2, which I've mentioned before - the graphics in that are so good, and I've heard its a super-enjoyable experience. At the same time, I'm saving up coins (!) to pay for Batsugun. That sounds daft but its a good way to save up for a game - I've a little Space Invaders "piggy bank" cab that I throw change into - once I've got €70 I'll have the money to get the game and pay for the postage.

Lastly I'm planning on importing Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets. Has anyone on the boards got this, and what do you think? Worth the considerable outlay?

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

I've never heard of image fight. I see it's made by Irem. Will check it out now as a matter of interest

I have the PC Engine edition. It's seriously difficult, but it was well known for this.

Great game though, definitely one to put some time in to.

Pyongyang

Its funny how you get better at all shooters when you are playing others too.

Odd. I had the same thought when I played Darius Burst last night. Playing endless Danmaku or difficult traditional shooting games really gives you a better grip on the slower scrollers. Even with the dodgy PSP controls.

I've a little Space Invaders "piggy bank" cab that I throw change into

Not that yolk that came with Space Invaders Anniversary is it? I have the game, not the piggy bank!

Lastly I'm planning on importing Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets. Has anyone on the boards got this, and what do you think? Worth the considerable outlay?

Not played it, don't own it. Would love to own it though. It's definitely worth the outlay if you are a shooting game fan though, two Cave titles for the price one usually retails at plus it has a limited run in all editions. Grab it while you can!

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

I've never heard of image fight. I see it's made by Irem. Will check it out now as a matter of interest

edit - woah, definitely not a game for keyboard controls!

The guy that produced Radiant Silvergun says it's a big inspiration for that game. He reckons it's the hardest shmup ever made. I reckon he could be right.

johnny_ultimate

I read somewhere that Muchi Muchi Pork / Pink Sweets are 'easy' Cave games. Think another software house had a hand in them too?

I'd like to own them too, but boy they're expensive. They're out of print already, and go for pretty crazy prices on Ebay.

Mr Vengeance

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I read somewhere that Muchi Muchi Pork / Pink Sweets are 'easy' Cave games. Think another software house had a hand in them too?

I'd like to own them too, but boy they're expensive. They're out of print already, and go for pretty crazy prices on Ebay.

Cave games seem to retail for quite a lot in Japan when they launch.

I was delighted to get the reprints of Espgaluga II and Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 brand new, €80 for the pair. Platinum boxes actually look pretty damn good too.

I'll have to get the Muchi double pack shortly before it goes up even higher.

johnny_ultimate

It's funny, when I had more disposable income I didn't mind paying full whack for the original prints of Mushi and Espgaluda (latter with a free soundtrack, too). Looking back now, I do see it's more than a bit ridiculous paying 60-80 euro for a shooter. But I've played enough of each of those games to have made it worth every yen!

It's the perpetual problem with importing from Japan though - RRPs are very high indeed over there for all platforms. It's always worth checking if there's a Hong Kong version - they go for sometimes half the price with Japanese audio anyway! The HK PSN store for example sells the exact same titles as the Japanese one for sometimes considerably less than half the price.

Mr Vengeance

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

It's funny, when I had more disposable income I didn't mind paying full whack for the original prints of Mushi and Espgaluda (latter with a free soundtrack, too). Looking back now, I do see it's more than a bit ridiculous paying 60-80 euro for a shooter. But I've played enough of each of those games to have made it worth every yen!

It's the perpetual problem with importing from Japan though - RRPs are very high indeed over there for all platforms. It's always worth checking if there's a Hong Kong version - they go for sometimes half the price with Japanese audio anyway! The HK PSN store for example sells the exact same titles as the Japanese one for sometimes considerably less than half the price.

Interesting. I only found out about how high Jap RRPs are when I went shopping for 360 shooters. Seeing that we actually get a better deal in Ireland over somewhere else on price for once is a shock it has to be said!

I personally don't mind paying €100 odd for a game if its going to keep me busy for a long time - thats the price for two 360 PAL games new, which might not last all that long, so it can be worth it if the game in question is really good. I know that I'll get my value out of the likes of Battle Garegga, Radiant Silvergun, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 etc in the long term.

Andrew76

Got The Raiden Project running on the cab via ePSXe. Maybe I haven't hit the sweet spot with the video settings yet but even with scanlines turned on both of them look pretty cack compared to proper arcade games. Must spend some more time tinkering.

The first level in Raiden II looks like a carbon copy of the first game? Even the end of level bosses have the same bullet patterns.

Myrddin

Andrew76 wrote: »

Got The Raiden Project running on the cab via ePSXe. Maybe I haven't hit the sweet spot with the video settings yet but even with scanlines turned on both of them look pretty cack compared to proper arcade games. Must spend some more time tinkering.

The first level in Raiden II looks like a carbon copy of the first game? Even the end of level bosses have the same bullet patterns.

PS1 emulation is bolloxed & overcomplicated plugin hell. They aimed at improving the visuals, rather than replicating them. Not my cuppa when it comes to emulation.

Andrew76

EnterNow wrote: »

PS1 emulation is bolloxed & overcomplicated plugin hell. They aimed at improving the visuals, rather than replicating them. Not my cuppa when it comes to emulation.

The sound is crap too compared to the mame version of Raiden I. Just wanted to get some version of my legit copy (:p) of Raiden II running on the cab but tbh the av experience is very meh, and I'm not that picky about asthetics etc.

Retr0gamer

Every time I mention how crap PS1 emulation is on other forums I get shot down. It seems it's another bizarro topic where both me and enternow agree on it

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Every time I mention how crap PS1 emulation is on other forums I get shot down. It seems it's another bizarro topic where both me and enternow agree on it

Seriously? How anyone finds PS1 emulation streamlined is beyond me

Retr0gamer

Yeah I was saying how it's far from accurate and how things like texture filtering can actually be bad for the visuals since many games like MGS use gaps in textures as holes that end up looking blurry instead of sharp. Also was saying as well how hard it is to replicate the fantastic sound hardware and had a few people tell me that it's really accurate. I find it a pain using plugins for specific games and other nonsense.

Pyongyang

Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire and Darius Burst are currently filling my trouser area presently. Fine games!

Might slot in a little Espgaluda II on the iPad or XBOX 360 later (if the good woman stops watching Big Brother, argh!).

Mr Vengeance

Cave has decided that shooting millions of bugs and mythical creatures in a colourful world of wonder is immense fun.

Cave is correct.




Had one of the most fun sessions all year last night whilst continuing my adventures in Mushihimesama Futari. This games has just so much packed into it, and I just love the art direction, both in-game and on the delicious case. Each gameplay mode just feels so fresh and different to the last. Thinking about shelling out the €12 for the Black Label DLC, but haven't a clue what the difference is....

I'll keep rotating this game with the similarly superb Espgaluda II every week until I sort myself out with Muchi Muchi.

Pyongyang

The music on Stage 2 of Mushihimesama Futari is some of the best I ever heard.*






*though not as good as Dick Tracy on the Commodore 64.

Pyongyang

Mr Vengeance wrote: »

Thinking about shelling out the €12 for the Black Label DLC, but haven't a clue what the difference is....

The DLC is available on the UK/Eire Marketplace oddly. I bought it when I bought the game. It's worth it as it opens up the Mega Black Label game mode. Super intense difficulty although some would argue not as difficult or manic as those contained on the disc.

Completist or not, you have to buy it. End of!

Mr Vengeance

I no doubt will! Will exhaust the modes on the disc first though.