High School Challenge - Round 7

o1s1n · 13-01-2025 03:31PM #1

Another stone cold classic from the 80s - Rastan.

Will we stick to running these for two weeks? Seems to give folks a bit more of an opportunity to give them a go. (would take us up to the 26th of Jan)

Retr0gamer · 13-01-2025 05:04PM

Nice, was contemplating picking this one myself. Hopefully I'm not so busy for this one.

Musashi_ · 13-01-2025 05:31PM

I'll try my best to make time for this. Arcade version, yeah?

MiSTer/FPGA, MAME or original hardware - does it matter?

I'll try to rope others into this. 😎

o1s1n · 13-01-2025 05:44PM

Any hardware as long as it's the original arcade roms on the standard difficulty and just 1 credit 🙂

Will be giving it a whirl on MiSTer myself.

Musashi_ · 13-01-2025 05:49PM

Good to know - thanks for laying out the house rules. 😎

I'll give it a rattle on MiSTer. I was definitely never known for being the local Rastan wizard so manage your expectations.

unky chop chop · 13-01-2025 11:34PM

God damn yeah , one of my favourite soundtracks ever ...the first level . Think I only got to the second level once . A ruddy classic

Retr0gamer · 14-01-2025 11:38AM

The ropes on stage 2 on the C64 were my downfall. Hopefully I'm a bit better than 8 years old retr0gamer now.

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 11:46AM

Only ever played it in the arcade.

Think it was my 3rd game ever played , after space invaders and arkanoid.

I always died trying to get that bloody flaming sword or the axe😂

I gave it a credit last night and realised the attraction screen showed how to get it !!!

I made level 2, with no life's left and got a miserable 89900. Didn't even make the high score screen,🥳 onwards and upwards

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That first level music had been in my head all day ...love it ,and the way it ratchets up the tension

o1s1n · 14-01-2025 01:00PM

It'd be one of the first games I ever played too. Have memories of play that, Operation Wolf and Bomb Jack before I really even knew what arcade games were.

Great to see a score on the score board, will see if I can give it a bash this evening.

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 01:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123054207#Comment_123054207

I wouldn't call it a score on the score board , since I didn't get good enough to enter my name on it ,😂😂

o1s1n · 14-01-2025 08:14PM

Wow that high score sure feels a million miles away haha.

Managed 91,400 on level 1

Still 20k+ away from the scoreboard!

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 08:18PM

We will get there .. faith.

Gave it another bash there but was a failure ,

I noticed enemies seem to constantly spawn in some places if ya stay still or move a little bit , I got some green pick up also , don't know what it was

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 08:21PM

Ahh ...

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Ive picked up that poison also

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 08:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123055842#Comment_123055842

Ahhh ok this confirms why ya can't spam killing the enemy's that constantly appear in one place ...

"if the game thinks you’re taking it too slow and carefully it will throw a bat swarm at you from both sides of the screen, which is a bitch"

o1s1n · 14-01-2025 08:27PM

Ah that's gas I actually got to level two with two lives and only managed 78,100.

Looks like theres a lot of scoring to be done in level 1!

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 08:30PM

Necklace seems like the winner for points ..don't know if pick ups are random or not.

RNG YOU KNOW ME:)

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 08:37PM

Jayus there are six levels ...

Each level consists of 3 rounds with a boss at end of every third round .

So we haven't even got to end of level one .

o1s1n · 14-01-2025 08:40PM

Right, made the high score table, that's me for now!

unky chop chop · 14-01-2025 08:41PM

Nice

o1s1n · 14-01-2025 08:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123055848#Comment_123055848

Thanks for this! I was hammering all the buttons trying to figure out what the power ups do!

McDermotX · 14-01-2025 10:05PM

Not really taking part lads but have enjoyed the threads made up to now, just happened to have the Steam Deck CoinOps in my hand yesterday as I was reading the thread when it was made.

Fired up Rastan Saga as I'd not played it for a while and came out with this. Used to play it back in the day (even had a sofa spot for the awful C64 version) and while rock hard it's still great stuff. Not a bad run on first go but still hit the level 2 wall.

I would like to have a go of the MiSTer but may not have the time. Chiefly because there could be quite a few differences between the versions out there. Think the emulated one I played is the Japanese version due to the intro and 'Saga' name so there are differences (could also be the EU version due to the name, but don't think the arcade over here had the intro). Different characters I think as well, also I think the US game had more bats around the rope sections.

Definitely understanding the power ups is the key, especially the posion etc but one thing I always remembered from way back when is that the jump and slash does double the damage so those aerial foes and bosses should be getting that treatment.

McDermotX · 14-01-2025 10:18PM

Del

unky chop chop · 15-01-2025 02:22AM

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That'll do me , beat the boss on first go ever crossing swords with him , just rushed in and hammered him...kinda Robocop boss style :)

Then on the 2nd level just did a jump for the first platform and straight into the water :(

Ill put the loin cloth on an eco wash get the whetstone to the broadsword , oil myself up and then off to bed

Retr0gamer · 15-01-2025 02:26AM

Some Taito RNG bullshit going on here. I got to the boss but only had 80k ish. Sometimes on the first stage I've 80k but of course always on a bad run.

Also, worst bats than ninja Gaiden.

unky chop chop · 15-01-2025 02:31AM

Yeah seems a bit random . I noticed ( I think ) that sometimes when ya die ya then get a necklace pickup next few enemies , which doubles your score with every hit I think .which makes me wonder is it better to die for the reward . Tis a bit of an haphazard score with every run.

Them bats...your hanging around too long, that's when a bunch of them appear

They aren't as bad as those feckin ropes though ..Grrrrr

unky chop chop · 15-01-2025 02:38AM

In that last run i just steamed through the levels , didn't wait to kill enemies at all for the points, didn't want to see those bats.

I died just at a checkpoint and when i started again I got a necklace ,which I didn't a same enemy on previous life ...so that doubled my points for 10-20 secs or so with every kill

Lemming · 18-01-2025 01:00PM

75700; not gotten past end of level 1 yet. Lots of dying, but seem to have retrieving the flaming sword down well enough; it's just the whole jumping from platform and not landing among a bunch of enemies for instant collision-detetection damage that I need to work on. That and maybe getting past level 1 … or making it onto the bottom of the leaderboard :P

o1s1n · 18-01-2025 06:05PM

Made it to the level 2 boss, literally had zero idea what was going on and died after much fumbling and 'waaaahhhhh wtf??!' being yelled at the screen.

The scoring really is all over the place. Got 75k on that run but then 120k on an earlier one where I only got half way through level 2.

unky chop chop · 18-01-2025 06:54PM

Yeah. I can't get near my last score …it's just random

I found a site that shows below points so now I know why I think . I picked up 2 poisons in a row on level 2, literally within 5 seconds .

Those poisons give ya 10/20 grand a throw !!!!

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unky chop chop · 21-01-2025 05:02PM

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just gave this another few runs …bettered my score , not by much, which don't make much sense as I got way further , to the second boss. However I was not offered one poison potion on my travels ,!!!

I did get the ring for double points on every kill and got a golden fleece for full health on round two off those weird blue things that I haven't seen attack .

Pickups really seem to be in the lap of the gods with this game

o1s1n · 22-01-2025 10:59AM

Nice score!

It's a great game but I think the scoring is a bit all over the place alright.

If you can make it to the second level boss (which isn't easy!) and can have a much lower score than some runs you did where you didn't even finish level 1, something is definitely up with the game.

My highest scores were all on level 1. I went through a period there where I was getting into level 2 fairly handy and up to the boss a few times, but the scores were nowhere near close.

Still, been great to give it a bash. How did you find that level 2 boss? I hadn't a clue what was going on 😂

High School Challenge - Round 7

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