Games General

[Nichi]

Mmm :[

So, I found myself distracted from Phantasy Star IV by an urge to revisit Vectorman; another classic Genesis game. It's a solid action platform game, with pre-rendered graphics similar to those seen in the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, and a kickass soundtrack. It's also pretty difficult, although given it was tied into a contest they were running, it's understandable they'd make the game difficult ^^;

I'm actually closer to beating it now than I was before, although admittedly I'm making use of my emulator's save state feature as a crutch; since I did get to the final boss years ago on legitimate hardware with no cheats, but ran out of lives before I could defeat him.

[Chocofreak13]

interesting. good luck, bro, and post screencaps if you can. :0

played some games with/around Steve yesterday. trying (in vain?) to show him the epicness that is .hack but idk how well it's going. but we're only like, 5 minutes into the plot thus far, so it's a bit early to tell, i suppose. :0

[Nichi]

Here's a clip from the first level (via GameFAQs)


Anyway, I finally made it back to the final boss; last time I got this far was back in...2009, I think? Anyway, here's a glimpse at WarHead; whom has merged with a tornado because "fuck it; it looks cool"


I finally managed to beat him, after having to reload my save a few times while I attempted to get the pattern down (I was on my last life, and had I attempted this without save states, I'd have to start over from level 1 >_>; )


But, yeah; I finally beat it. Still a pretty good game, although sadly, its sequel wasn't quite as good (I remember trying it ages ago, and it never really clicked with me like the first one did), and the planned reboot of the series on PlayStation 2 was cancelled; leaving this, along with Clockwork Knight, as nearly forgotten relics of Sega's past (Granted, it feels like every franchise of theirs besides Sonic the Hedgehog qualifies; I think if Shenmue III ever happens, it'll be in a bundle with Half-Life 3 and a new Guns 'N' Roses album, packaged in a box depicting Bigfoot riding on the Loch Ness Monster).

[Chocofreak13]

#i'dbuyit

cool on beating the boss, but sucks that the sequel sucks. at least there was the first thrill ride. :0

[Nichi]

Indeed.

Since I'm not quite finished, but this post in the works is getting kinda big, I decided to go ahead and post Penti Tries MegaDrive: Part 1; in which I play random Genesis games and share my thoughts. Now, we begin with the first 4 games

1: Ecco the Dolphin

I remember when I was first introduced to the Genesis, one of the earlier games I tried out was this game's sequel (Ecco: The Tides of Time)...and I remember I found it agonizingly boring as a kid, as I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do. Feeling I didn't really give the game a fair chance, I decided to download the very first one and give it a shot. I did get a couple of levels in, but honestly, I found myself so frustrated that I was unable to get much further in; I have to keep an eye on my air meter, while also making sure I don't get killed by the jellyfish, eels, and other such things. I can see why some people do love this game, as it is very unique, but honestly it's not my kind of game.

2: Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master

I rememebr trying Revenge of Shinobi many years back, and honestly found it a letdown; it played nothing like what I was expecting, based off what I had seen of the PS2 reboot (Which was a stylish, fast-paced hack & slash, while the original on Genesis was a slow, clunky game that failed to grab my interest). Hearing the 3rd game was "different" in some way, I decided to try it out. In all honesty, it was ok; not one I'd likely buy, as it felt about like the other one I played, but for what its worth, I did have some enjoyment out of it (The horseback segment of the second level was fun as hell, for instance).

3: Virtua Racing Deluxe (32X)

I remember enjoying the original Genesis version of Virtua Racing; a game noteworthy for it having a processor in the cartridge to help with rendering the 3D (Much like StarFox did for the SNES). However, the original version is kinda hard to go back to; it's impressive from a technical standpoint, but the gameplay felt a bit choppy, like it was too much of a strain on the system. Thus, enter the 32X, which received an enhanced version of the game that had some extra tracks, an extra car, and a much smoother framerate; which honestly helped to push this game into the "I should track this down" list. Gameplay wise, it feels like it could almost be considered a spiritual predecessor to Cruis'n USA; it has that very unrealistic, arcade-y feel to it that nobody really attempts anymore. Honestly, if you have a 32X, this is worth picking up.

4: Strider

When I began playing this, I almost immediately realized that this is basically what I expected the Shinobi games to feel like; it was fast-paced, with acrobatic swordfighting action. It's also hard as fuck; I ran out of lives before I even beat the first stage. Still, pretty cool game; might need to play a bit more of it to see if I can get past that first level -w-;

[Chocofreak13]

lookin' cool, bro. who knew games could be that advanced that early (to include a processor IN the game itself). plus some of these just look full of cheese. looking forward to the next ones in line. xD

[stewartsage]

Has anyone else seen this?



Because this is pretty cool.

[winduko]

I've seen something like that for the NES, but I don't recall seeing that particular one.

But yeah, that is cool.

[Chocofreak13]

reminds me of a conversion thing we saw at the game store yesterday allowing SNES games to be played on a Genesis, or something like that. :0

[Nichi]

@Stew: I had something like that. Looked like a giant DS, and ran SNES games. Sadly, it wasn't the best ever (Super Mario RPG would not run, and it was very unstable; it liked to crash), but it was kinda neat.

@Kari: Ah, yes; RetroGen adapter for SNES. I watched a review of it after it came out; neat idea but baffling in how the converter requires its own AV cable :\
(There's also one that lets you play GBA games on SNES, but suffers the same issue)

[Chocofreak13]

i can understand the practicality of it when it was released, but i can't imagine it serving much purpose now other than "rare item!". it honestly seems cheaper just to own both consoles. :0

[Nichi]

Actually, the RetroGen adapter is a new invention; coming out back in late 2013. From what I understand, it's primary intention was to provide Genesis functionality in that company's handheld SNES (Which works without needing the extra A\V cable), while the functionality with legit SNES hardware seems more an afterthought; likely why it requires its own A\V cable :\

[Chocofreak13]

the whole idea still seems weird and hipstery as hell. >>;

[Nichi]

Indeed. For handheld classic gaming, it's much simpler to get a PSP and softmod it to run emulators; which you still have PSP compatibility, so you'll be able to play EarthBound, Phantasy Star IV, and Disgaea from the same system : D

...and now, part 2 of Penti Tries MegaDrive:

5: Spider-Man: Web of Fire (32X)

Released as the last 32X game, Spider-Man: Web of Fire is more than worthy of being the sawn song of the ill-fated 32X add-on. It's leaps and bounds beyond its predecessor (Spider-Man: The Animated Series, a game I honestly can't stand...although maybe I'll give it another shot), with solid gameplay, impressive graphics, and a badass soundtrack. Sadly, only two flaws; it seems to suffer from a lot of slowdown (IDK if it's just my emulator of choice, but the first boss, as shown in the above screenshot, caused the game to slow to a crawl), and also the fact it's the last 32X game ever released, which means it's expensive as fuck. It's good, but it's not worth paying $300+ for.

6: Landstalker

This was a game a coworker of mine, whom grew up on the Genesis and has a love of RPGs, suggested to me. Playing it, I can see why; it's basically an isometric Zelda, with all the puzzle solving one would expect. Aside from the control scheme being a little odd, it's pretty good from what I've played so far; in fact, I actually just bought this one today when I found it fairly cheap, after trying it out last night.

7: Earthworm Jim

I remember as a kid, first discovering the Genesis, I very much despised this game...and I never really could explain why; I just had this irrational hatred of this game from the moment I first played it. Revisiting it ages later, I will admit it's ok; it's not a bad game, but it still doesn't really click with me. It has a sort of "been there done that" vibe to it, like due to the fact that when I was introduced to it back in '02, I was also introduced to Vectorman at the same time; a game that at its core is similar, but was a more polished, enjoyable package.

8: Vectorman 2

Speaking of Vectorman, let's take a look at its sequel. The original game, as I've established before, is a classic that is well worth owning, and is fairly cheap at that. The sequel, though, wasn't quite as good, and the amount of care seems obvious from the front cover; as the "2" feels like it was lazily tacked on (Granted, this came out in 1996; the Saturn was already out by this point, so most of Sega's effort was focused on it). The music isn't that great, the voice clips sound worse, the controls seem a bit more slippery, and the first few levels are very darkly lit (Which, on the TV I used to have, made this game impossible to play. Even now, it's still hard to see, as it's so dark that enemies blend into the darkness unless you're constantly shooting). I heard it get better toward the end, but I doubt I'd ever have the patience to sit through it that long. As it stands, the only reason I own a physical copy of this game is that it was cheaper to buy the first game with this included than it was to get the first game by itself.

[Dr. Kraus]

Got a wiiU a couple days ago. shits rad.