So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

Andrew76 · 13-04-2022 6:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118920477#Comment_118920477

Just had a look and it was lvl94 I got to. I'm in the middle about to die. 😂

I forgot how good the music is in that game.

Mr.Saturn · 24-04-2022 5:09pm

Playing the original Crash Bandicoot for the first time and finding it strangely compelling. I mean in the sense that, even with context, it commits just about every sin a platformer could and is still decently playable in spite of it. The physics are fucked, he maintains no momentum, you could die without having the slightest idea what hit you or what you did wrong and the levels are so absurdly long that you can feel yourself age, but I'm still tipping away at it, saying I'll have another go. Maddeningly hard, though and don't even start me on the issue with the controls.

Also finishing up the 2nd GBA Klonoa on the side, just to make sure I rip out whatever hair survived the above.

Retr0gamer · 25-04-2022 9:13am

It's not a bad game but the fact that the playstation generation seem to hold it in such high regard is baffling when they had Tomba and Klonoa. The first game has some absolutely rotten levels later on that are complete horseshit and the bridge levels barely even work. It is however a major technical achievement on the PS1, it still looks great.

Crash 2 and 3 are much better but still hardly amazing.

CiDeRmAn · 25-04-2022 9:34am

Some of the visual effects in the second and third games are very impressive.

The franchise did become pointless once it moved on from the original Playstation though, with so much choice of better games, why waste your time with it?

Mr.Saturn · 25-04-2022 11:46am

Finished it there this morning. Was alright enough, even pretty good fun at various stretches. I think I benefited from going in with low expectations and kind of expecting it to be another Gen 5 era, early console 3D nostalgia-trap and it did, for the most part, clear that pretty low bar.

Going to dust off Klonoa Dream Champ Tournament having put it off for a couple of days. The puzzles toward the end of the game swing wildly back-and-forth between genius and just obnoxious, so we'll see how it goes. Might give Crash 2 a crack after that, if it's supposed to be that marked an improvement over the first.

Retr0gamer · 25-04-2022 11:51am

Finished GG Shinobi at the weekend. Fantastic handheld action game that's pure Sega at their action game best. Really surprised me how good it is.

Started Kirby's Dreamland 2 and I'm not really feeling it.

o1s1n · 25-04-2022 12:40pm

Having a good chunk of my games on shelves in the sitting room is turning out to be absolutely amazing.

I sat down yesterday for a bit of gaming time and had more fun with my Megadrive than I've had in a long time - no Everdrive in sight, just pulling original boxed Megadrive games from the shelves and sticking them into the console.

You really do spend so much more time on each game that way. No more hopping between random roms and not settling on anything.

I ended up playing through my original copy of Alisa Dragoon, 30 years old and still going strong!

Retr0gamer · 25-04-2022 1:19pm

I find it insane how that games price just sky rocketed.

o1s1n · 25-04-2022 1:22pm

Yeah it was always a 10-15 quid game, nothing spectacular. The Japanese version was a little harder to find but sat around 30-40 for years.

I see the Jap release is now hitting in and around 250!

I wonder did it feature in a youtube video as a hidden gem?

Retr0gamer · 25-04-2022 1:53pm

Yeah was just thinking that, like when Jeremy Parish covers a game I'm after!

CiDeRmAn · 26-04-2022 9:15am

I traded in a bunch of stuff to CEX, nothing to eye-watering, Silent Hill Trilogy for the PS2, and a few others that just gathered a lot of dust.

And I came away with €912 in credit.

Some stuff, like ports of shooters on the PS2, make mad mad money, bought for a fiver and selling for over a hundred now, and they are only ports of the likes of Dragon Blaze or Sol Divide, which are emulated on everything these days.

Retr0gamer · 26-04-2022 9:15am

Finished Dracula X on the SNES last night. A rare stumble by Konami. It's absolutely infuriating in parts and the final boss is the worst in the series history. It manages to be infuriatingly tough as well as excruciatingly boring.

Retr0gamer · 28-04-2022 2:57pm

Quite enjoyed Maken X on Dreamcast. It's a clunky melee first person game that is batshit insane and the experience of how weird it is compensates for the combat being a bit basic.

DaveyDave · 28-04-2022 4:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118977588#Comment_118977588

I need the trilogy and Shattered Memories to complete my PlayStation PAL collection but feck paying €130 for the original games just in a new box. I only want it for dumb collectable reasons so I'll wait!

Retr0gamer · 04-05-2022 1:27pm

Gave Ace Combat 2 a go. Massive improvement over Air Combat. Levels are fully textured now so it's a massive step up visually. Presentation is much slicker as well. And the analogue controls make a massive difference.

CiDeRmAn · 04-05-2022 2:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119014351#Comment_119014351

When I first got my PAL launch PS, Air Combat was one of the games I got around then.

While Wipeout was the coolest game on the planet and everyone was playing it, Air Combat was one of my favourites.

I took some good advice from a games magazine, Maximum, which said don't even try to play it on normal difficulty, just bump it up to difficult and it's a far better game, and they weren't wrong.

And, you are right Retr0, Ace Combat 2 was a great improvement once again, not sure if I liked the sci-fi stylings of the third game, Electrosphere, though.

You've just reminded me that I never gave The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, on the Wii, a decent play through...

Retr0gamer · 04-05-2022 2:36pm

Electrosphere in Japan came on two discs and had a lot of story and cutscenes. That and a couple of missions were all chopped out of it for the butchered western release. There's a fan translation which I'll be playing when I get around to it.

o1s1n · 04-05-2022 2:45pm

Loved Air Combat myself too. Was one of the early platinum range games for £20 rather than the usual £45.

An absolute godsend to a 12 year old with zero income! Think I'd bought the platinum release of Destruction Derby before that.

Was a little before the second hand market really kicked off here, so all you could really buy around where I was were new games.

CiDeRmAn · 04-05-2022 4:11pm

I was working in Gamesworld back then, and they had already gotten a well established business in buying and selling new and pre-owned games, on the cart based consoles.

So, with the advent of the Playstation they were taking in and reselling titles, making more money on pre-owned than they were on the new titles!

The Platinum range were a great marketing tool

While Tekken 3 was great, it was expensive and for a lot less you could get Tekken 2 on Platinum.

Plus, all of those lovely early Namco and Sony releases were quickly brought out for that cheap price, I think I picked up and still own most of them.

There are bragging rights to owning the original releases and not the Platinum Peasant versions!

Retr0gamer · 04-05-2022 4:28pm

Some really solid games on the Platinum range. I was late getting a PS1 but remember one of the best bargains I got was a MGS + VR missions double pack for 20 quid. Seemed to only be a limited release.

CiDeRmAn · 05-05-2022 8:29am

I remember the release of MGS alright, and when the VR Missions came out it was in a box that you could pop your original MGS game into too.

Still remember finishing that game in Japanese, and being stuck because the dodgy copy I had lacked the rear cover so I could get the card/temp solution!

o1s1n · 05-05-2022 10:47am

The release of Metal Gear Solid must be one of the biggest gaming hype experiences I remember. Official UK Playstation magazine were really pushing it heavily, especially with that amazing demo with the whole opening section of the game. I was counting down the days till release.

Was also one of the biggest gaming hype experiences that actually lived up to expectations. Such an incredible game.

o1s1n · 05-05-2022 10:56am

Anyone played the new Dune RTS release, 'Spice Wars'?

Had to pick it up when I saw it was coming out, tapping into that Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis nostalgia.

Only €20 at the moment on CDKeys too.

Retr0gamer · 05-05-2022 11:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018462#Comment_119018462

I never bought OPSM as thought it was a heap of crap but somehow I ended up with that issue. Might be remembering it wrong but they had a massive break down of the japanese release. And that demo was sooooo good.

Retr0gamer · 05-05-2022 11:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018503#Comment_119018503

Nope but have my eye on it. I've never actually played Dune 2. Wouldn't mind going back as the C&C remaster showed that that series is dated but still a massive amount of fun.

o1s1n · 05-05-2022 12:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018529#Comment_119018529

Honestly I'd be surprised if I even read 10% of those magazines, it was all about the demo disc back in those days! Played so many weird little obscure titles via those demos that I'd never have found at all.

Everyone remembers playing the Future Cop LAPD demo for example but nobody actually seems to remember buying it - same with Tombi!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018535#Comment_119018535

We rented out the Megadrive copy of Dune 2 a lot when we were kids, Brilliant stuff but extremely dated now. Worth a play around with just to see where the modern RTS building blocks were really refined after Herzog Zwei.

Retr0gamer · 10-05-2022 8:12pm

Lads, don't sleep on Silent Bomber on the PS1. It's one of the best action games I've ever played. It's insane I've heard so few people talk about it because it's incredible.

CiDeRmAn · 11-05-2022 9:28am

I'm after looking at a video of it and, I have to ask, are you okay Retr0?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmijj6duhwA

Retr0gamer · 11-05-2022 9:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119044769#Comment_119044769

No it's seriously that good. It's like a proto character action game with a ranking system that is reminiscent of something like devil may cry.

And that video doesn't show how the game is best played. The person playing it skipped the tutorial because they don't know you can throw the bombs as projectiles and also you have a dash move with I frames that they never use.

I've always heard it was good but recently the hg101 podcast rated it in their top 20 games and Kim justice had it in her top 10 ps1 games.

o1s1n · 11-05-2022 11:27am

I see it's still relatively cheap on ebay. Should we all be buying a copy before it goes up X10 times in price?

So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

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