They really are on another level. The thing about being that high level though, is you're kinda locked into it....you have to commit massive amounts of time to keep that level up, and the moment you take a few days/weeks off, you're falling backwards quickly. To reach those levels, you kinda need to be obsessive about it, and that type of mentality can be very tough on people too.
I think a lot of people can get good at a few games they grew up with. I'm pretty great at contra hard corp, Megaman 2 and rocket knight adventures but it's because I played them so much. Even then looking at speedrunners play them and they are on another level.
AGDQ is fantastic, seeing people speed run without glitches just by absolutely main lining it through is impressive on its own but the glitched runs are even more impressive. I think it was Silent Hill Homecoming where someone glitches through a door in a house and skipped like half the game. How people find that stuff is mental, sure we're seeing more of it now with people finding secrets or new cheats for games that are 20+ years old.
Even those long play videos, people obviously have impressive skills and know the games well. It's mad seeing them played where people barely get hit, barely use ammo/attacks and just dance around enemies.
It makes me realise I'm not that good :D
There's an agdq video of a speedrun were the speedrunner had to teach someone to beat the game in 20 minutes. I'd give that a watch.
Been playing Strider on the NES. Trying to complete it using the speed runner glitch of level skipping by getting the sprite to move out of bounds into a wall. Haven't managed it yet.
N64 this evening.
My OSSC hadn’t seen much love but using it this evening with the worst RGB modded N64 ever.
This machine needs some tlc.
Still love Pilotwings 64 so much.
Not played enough of 3 to comment.
VC2 is designed around handheld so your mileage may vary. It's structure is similar to monster hunter or crisis core with loads of little missions sprinkled on between the main campaign. It means you can get over levelled very quickly and maps are repeated a lot. I did really enjoy it and played it for 120 hours but I also played it every night while writing my PhD thesis to keep my sanity in check. (It's a very long game if you do all the optional stuff which the game pushes you to do).
Anyway the VC gameplay in 2 is still in tact and just as much fun with some really great new classes added to it.
One place where game utterly fails is the story which is total anime bullshit. One of the big main character story climaxes might be the dumbest thing I've seen in a videogame since illusion of Gaia's infamous pig scene, although it was so bad I was laughing through it.
So yes, I liked it but it's a game more suited to playing an hour or so a night as it can get repetitive.
I really loved the first game but couldn't quite get into 4. Might have been somewhat jaded as I went straight into it after finishing the first. 2 and 3 worth checking out then I take it?
In a similar style of game, I'm still dipping in an out of Front Mission 5. Always forget how much I enjoy mech based games.
Really enjoying valkyria Chronicles 3. It's a lot more structured than VC2 which felt more like monster hunter but still retains all the content of that game. Also the game so far provides a challenge whereas I found VC2 way too easy as you end up over levelled quite quickly. Still early days though but the VC combat loop is as strong as ever with some fun new class types.
Finished two sort for retro games at the weekend. The system shock remake which was incredible. It's mostly just tightens up the original game to bring it up to modern standards but it looks great, the gunplay really feels good as well. There's a little too much back tracking and the game also expects you to figure out your objective by yourself which might be a bit old school for some people. It's an absolute delight though and there's really not enough immersive Sims.
I was a little disappointed by the final area of the game.
It the remake this is a cold sterile almost server room type area. In the original it's covered in a bio organic material radiating from shodan servers to signify how she is growing and becoming more creature than machine. It's incredibly creepy. The final battle is cyberspace is also disappointing. The original battle wasn't amazing but had a great premise where you battles SHODAN in cyberspace and try to take her down. All the whole she is hacking you and your controls and vision deteriorate as the battle goes on and if you fail your vision is just shodans face.
Apparently this final area and battle will be totally updated for the eventual console release.
I also finished Weapon Shop de Omasse so I've now beaten all the Guild games on 3DS. This one was a disparate mix of genres that don't quite work together but the charm of the whole thing pulls it through and I ended up really enjoying it. It's a game where you run a rpg weapon shop and Smith new weapons I'm a rhythm action game.
Since I've hacked my Vita Ive started a game I've wanted to play for a long time, Valkyria Chronicles 3. Quite nostalgic hearing the soundtrack to this one as I adore the first game. The fan translation of this on seems good although there are some text overflow issues and they haven't translated the newspapers which I enjoyed reading in all the other games.
I always loved the chunky visuals and the grippy feel of the vehicles in the first two games, plus the different secrets to find
Beetle Adventure Racing feels like it started as a Need for Speed title and ended up as something a little different, but it was still a fun title.
MRC is pants.
But Top Gear Overdrive with its expansion cart support isn't bad.
Both Rush games were in the pile. I thought Rush 2, although the usual blurry N64 mess was very playable. Easily the most playable of the pile. F-Zero... amazing. Going to give the Gamecube version a shot at the weekend, been about 20 years since I saw it in motion, but I do remember being very impressed with it back then. I played or owned nearly all of these back in the day but testing this bundle has shattered my rose tinted specs.
Beetle Racing keeps showing up highly on N64 best of lists, gonna have to pick that one up too. Never owned it. Looks a fair bit smoother than most. Certainly better than the first cart I pulled out of the pile : MRC, Multi Racing Championship which seems to have been reviewed ok at the time but to me it looks like a parody skit of the worst of N64 jank.
I adore that game. I also love that it's a 80-120 hour build up to one of the best jokes in a videogame. The 3DS version just felt so good. I remember finding the PS2 version a little slow going, I didn't realise they sped it up.
All ports of Golden Axe are awful!
But then, they are ports of an awful game!
Suckage incarnate!
That Dragon Quest 8 remaster on the 3DS just has a way of making like everything in life seem like it's going to be okay. They were real careful with what they changed (aside from the orchestral score, obviously) and it gently updates something that aged real well anyways, like the speed of it, for one. It absolutely zips by a la DQ11 without feeling it's on fast-forward or something.
They do indeed. Honestly the PCE CD is worth it for Rondo alone, it's brilliant. I absolutely love the cut scenes with the CD music, I'd say it gave the whole thing a really premium feel back in the day.
Speaking of Compile, I was playing my way through the Famicom library the other night throwing on some random games and came across Gun Nac.
Went in blind and after about 5 minutes had a 'why does this feel so much like MUSHA Aleste?' moment, had that same extra long level vibe, even some of the weapons were the same. Just felt like I was playing MUSHA on the NES.
Not only was it also made by Compile, it was actually released just two weeks before MUSHA Aleste on the Megadrive. So the development of both games must have had some crossover. Amazing that you can literally 'feel' it just by playing the game if you're familiar with either of them.
I think there's some decent stuff on the PC engine and mega CD. The working design games are fun as long as you use the hacks that remove all the working design gameplay changes. I'm really fond of popular mail. The libraries have just enough good stuff on them to make them worth it.
Also robo aleste is peak Compile!
It sure is!
I next have my eyes on a new Mega Everdrive Pro so I can play through all the crud on the Mega CD 🤣
Tengai Makyou might be worth a look as it got a recent fan translation but Ive also heard it's a bit 8-bit rpg as well.
Also heard about a game you should try from retronauts. Think it's the double dragon game on PC engine but the new soundtrack is.... Well it needs to be experienced.
The tale of the console addon, is an old, and wise one...
I was playing FZero X the other night a bit while testing out my N64 in my AV setup and wow, it sure does hold up well. The PS1 does have a lot more big hitters when it comes to racers but I'd say FZero potentially tops most of them. The handling is amazingly fun.
I spent probably 3 hours last night with PCE CD games. I think it's potentially the most Japanese library I've ever played. I'm no stranger to import games but a lot of these don't seem to have much westernisation in them at all. A lot of what feel like very rushed titles too, almost 32X-esque. (I'm looking at you, Godzilla, Golden Axe and Black Hole Assault)
So far Rondo of Blood has been amazing, I've really enjoyed Dead of the Brain and all the shmup games. But am finding it hard to find anything else. Was quite disappointed to find out that Snatcher on the system doesn't actually have an English fan translation.
The CD quality music can be really jarring sometimes, particularly with games that have very low quality visuals, feels hugely mismatched.
Super Raiden is quite an interesting port though, quite enjoying the updated take on the Raiden chiptune tracks.
Have to say, I'll have to dig out the trusty old XE-1 Micomsoft stick from the attic to continue playing games. The DPad on the standard PCE pad had my thumb destroyed!
There's some great ones.
Beetle adventure racing is a little game. I've a soft spot for the midway Rush series of games although I usually play the Dreamcast ones. Also Fzero X takes a big dump all over the wipeout series in terms of how well it plays. Excitebike 64 is fantastic and always have fun with waverace.
The PS1 definitely had a lot more games and in terms of realistic racing games was way ahead but the N64 had a decent selection of arcade racers with F-zero being an all timer. The sheer volume the ps1 had with R4 and wipeout etc can't really be topped.
I got a box of N64 driving games today (Rush, Cruisin, XG2 and another half dozen or so)... and wow, they have aged like a pint of milk in the sun. But worse than that.. these were up against Ridge Racer, Need for Speed and Gran Turismo on the PS1 at the time and they are so bad that they feel like a generation behind the PS1. I mean, yeah episode 1 racer, Mario Kart.. good but the average driving game was a fairly poor and extremely janky mess on N64 I feel.
While you play arguably one of the greatest games of the 16 bit generation, I'm torturing myself with some of the worst the PCE CD has to offer.
Behold, perhaps the worst Golden Axe port of all time!
With the distraction of Christmas out of the way, I was able to get back into this over the last week or two. I'm nearing the end of Threed now, and absolutely loving it.
It's hard to put into words and be all objective....but the game just oozes, and I mean oozes charm. Played about 90 mins today and it flew. Dying for tomorrow for more!
Same here, @o1s1n! I spent weeks playing through it and still remember how I felt seeing the credits for the first time.
Playing that game in the early 90s is still (and I'm sure will forever) be my favourite gaming memory. Just magical really. Hadn't played a game like that before so went in completely blind. My whole concept of what videogames could be changed instantly.
Got back into my Link to the Past play through last night and got to the Turtle Rock boss to find I’m missing the Ice Rod. Not sure you can kill him without it!
This is the downside of trying to blast through a game when you’ve forgotten important details!
Mega-Lo-Mania was always an amiga game for me. Works so much better there but the megadrive port is a decent effort.
Ah Mega-Lo-Mania!
I think I rememeber getting the cart back in the day as I really liked Powermonger and thought this was gonna be as good and I was disappointed :D
Could have well been that I didn't understand how to play it, but it went to the corner for PowerMonger went right back into the Mega Drive!
The Amiga version is easier to play with the mouse and smoother framerate, now with the Genesis/MD emulators/cores you can overclock them which aids the console experience...honest
