Glen-i Posted March 20 Posted March 20 14 hours ago, Dcubed said: The minigames are all 100% hot fire though. You can’t say it’s the lamest Mario Party when Mario Party Advance and Mario Party 8 exist. You know that mingames alone do not a good Mario Party make. Also, Advance doesn't count, and I'd still rather play 8 then 4.
Dcubed Posted March 20 Posted March 20 1 hour ago, Glen-i said: You know that mingames alone do not a good Mario Party make. Also, Advance doesn't count, and I'd still rather play 8 then 4. As someone who has played both games a lot more recently than you? No. No you really wouldn’t… 8 is a complete hot mess from start to finish, there’s a good reason why the series was put on ice not long after it came out…
Cube Posted March 20 Posted March 20 2 hours ago, Glen-i said: You know that mingames alone do not a good Mario Party make. If you ignore minigames, Sonic Shuffle trounces every Mario Party (well, apart from the cheating AI).
Glen-i Posted March 20 Posted March 20 4 hours ago, Cube said: If you ignore minigames, Sonic Shuffle trounces every Mario Party (well, apart from the cheating AI). Don't mistake me. Good mingames are needed. Otherwise, you get Mario Party 1.
lostmario Posted March 26 Posted March 26 Completed Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! today and that is the DKC trilogy done. Graphically, it's the best of the three even though the GBA struggles with some of the water levels, I was struggling at times to see enemies which I didn't with the first two. I thought the music was fantastic, back to the catchy tunes of DKC 1 after the dark tone of DKC2. I was back humming the tunes after my lunch breaks for the rest of the day. Interestingly I discovered while searching for certain tracks on youtube that the GBA soundtrack is completely different to the SNES version which I'm sure everyone on here was already well aware of. I absolutely adore Rockface Rumble, like I couldn't stop smiling and humming along whenever this played. Gameplay, top notch. Level design, felt a bit all over the place at times. Like they used scrapped ideas from 1 & 2. Some of the boss battles were very random. I think DKC 2 is the more complete game but this one runs it close. Oh and I hate Kiddy Kong, that incredibly annoying cry when he dies... hate him. When I've finished Spider-man: Miles Morales, Donkey Kong Country Returns is next up Not sure what my next lunch time GBA game is, maybe the Super Mario Advance series... 3 1
Hero-of-Time Posted March 26 Posted March 26 Yeah, most people hate Kiddy Kong. I didn't mind the little guy.
WackerJr Posted March 26 Posted March 26 2 hours ago, lostmario said: Not sure what my next lunch time GBA game is, maybe the Super Mario Advance series... They probably really good as lunch time games. If you get the chance to play the version of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 (or SMA4:SMB3 for short....) on Switch instead then of course you get the added advantage of the bonus eReader levels. Certainly not compulsory to play, but a nice bonus for those overly familiar with Mario 3.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 27 Posted March 27 Took some time off work to extended the Easter weekend and so done some gaming this morning. Just finished up playing Robocop: Rogue City. A lot of people gave the game praise when it released last year and I can see why. The game is very much a love letter to the original movies and the developers have done a cracking job recreating the feel of those movies. It's the same guys who made Terminator: Resistance, which I loved and played back in 2019, so I shouldn't be surprised by the quality of the game. What's great about both this game and Terminator is that not only do they both respect the source material but also add to it in a meaningful way. Arguably they do a better job than some of the movie sequels in these franchises. Gameplay wise, it's a tightly packed 10-12 hour game. Again, just like Terminator: Resistance. You have a very small open world area to explore (downtown Detroit) in between missions that allow for side quests and then the main missions themselves are very action based FPS sections. The gunplay is excellent. Murphy feels weighty (as he should) but never sluggish, and using his signature gun, the Auto 9, is stupidly satisfying. It's very powerful and you will be popping heads off criminals very easily with it. They aren't shy about the blood and gore. Love it. This right here is a great example of the type of game that we need to see more of. It's a well crafted, not bloated and very fun AA experience, that doesn't waste your time and just gets down to business straight away. Certainly one for you to buy, @lostmario if you were to ever pick up a PS5. 4 2
Happenstance Posted March 27 Posted March 27 17 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Took some time off work to extended the Easter weekend and so done some gaming this morning. Just finished up playing Robocop: Rogue City. A lot of people gave the game praise when it released last year and I can see why. The game is very much a love letter to the original movies and the developers have done a cracking job recreating the feel of those movies. It's the same guys who made Terminator: Resistance, which I loved and played back in 2019, so I shouldn't be surprised by the quality of the game. What's great about both this game and Terminator is that not only do they both respect the source material but also add to it in a meaningful way. Arguably they do a better job than some of the movie sequels in these franchises. Gameplay wise, it's a tightly packed 10-12 hour game. Again, just like Terminator: Resistance. You have a very small open world area to explore (downtown Detroit) in between missions that allow for side quests and then the main missions themselves are very action based FPS sections. The gunplay is excellent. Murphy feels weighty (as he should) but never sluggish, and using his signature gun, the Auto 9, is stupidly satisfying. It's very powerful and you will be popping heads off criminals very easily with it. They aren't shy about the blood and gore. Love it. This right here is a great example of the type of game that we need to see more of. It's a well crafted, not bloated and very fun AA experience, that doesn't waste your time and just gets down to business straight away. Certainly one for you to buy, @lostmario if you were to ever pick up a PS5. Ooh nice, I was thinking about buying this on PC the other day so I might have to get it next time I see a discount
lostmario Posted March 28 Posted March 28 On 3/26/2024 at 10:45 PM, WackerJr said: They probably really good as lunch time games. If you get the chance to play the version of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 (or SMA4:SMB3 for short....) on Switch instead then of course you get the added advantage of the bonus eReader levels. Certainly not compulsory to play, but a nice bonus for those overly familiar with Mario 3. Went with Rock & Roll Racing as my next game. Didn't realise it got a GBA port. Put so many hours into it on the SNES. Got an everdrive so I've got the modded rom for SMB3 with all the eReader levels 1
lostmario Posted March 28 Posted March 28 On 3/27/2024 at 10:28 AM, Hero-of-Time said: Certainly one for you to buy, @lostmario if you were to ever pick up a PS5. It's one of the few reasons for me to get a PS5. Annoyed it didn't get a current gen version like so many others did. Holding off on PS5 for now until they reveal the PS5 pro.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 29 Posted March 29 Finished this hidden gem this evening. Spoiler I first heard about this when listening to Brad's first show working for the Last Stand Media crew. Colin said that both this and Gravity Circuit were two games that he loved last year and that very few people knew/talked about them, probably due to them being lost in sheer amount releases that happen on a weekly basis. Given that Colin also loves Shovel Knight and Megaman, much like myself, I added it to my wishlist. It recently went on sale and so snapped it up. The game starts off with you and your crime fighting buddies, all of which are rocking outfits that represent a different sport, being confront by the antagonist of the story. All of your friends get captured and turned evil and its up to you and your trusty baseball bat to save the day. It plays very much like Megaman/Shovel Knight/Duck Tales. The game is very platform heavy and using your bat to bounce off things, just like Duck Tales and Shovel Knight, plays a huge part of the traversal in the game. It's also your main form of attack. Pretty much every enemy will throw things at you, which can send right back at them. Like Megaman, defeating bosses will award you with a move that will make getting through the levels a little easier and also be representative of sport they were associated with. There are a handful that are very useful but a couple are quite forgettable. The ones you get for basketball and tennis bosses I never really used. There are seeds scattered about each level and these can be used in conjunction with the currency in the game to power up Bat Boy. This was something I didn't realise until 4 stages in. I was wondering why I was struggling when fighting the bosses. I only had 3 pieces of health! The game has a nice difficulty curve and by the end of the game you will need to chain together some quick thinking platforming skills and utilise a lot of the moves you've learnt. On the harder stages the platforming feels really good to pull off. Very happy with this and definitely an indie game that has gone under the radar for many. If you enjoy the games that inspired this, then I do recommend you give it a look. Ironic that I'm typing this out whilst watching the softball episode of The Simpsons. 2
nekunando Posted March 29 Posted March 29 Just a little update since my last round of posts from X.. 2 3
Glen-i Posted March 29 Posted March 29 (edited) Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is an "interactive animated adventure" game developed by Seedy Eye Software and released on all modern platforms in Feburary this year. It's a spiritual successor to the infamous Zelda games that were made for the Phillips CD-i system. The key difference here is that Arzette aims to change one major aspect about those games. That is, to not have atrocious gameplay. Everything else? Nah, Arzette embraces the crummy production values that made the Zelda CD-i games so infamous by hiring some of the original animators of those cutscenes as well as a couple of cameos from the Link and Zelda voice actors. The Kingdom of Faramore has recently sealed away the evil demon Daimur in a magic book. Afterwards, the traitourous Duke Nodelki is sentenced to scrub all the floors in Faramore. Yes, it's literally the plot of The Wand of Gamelon with character names changed, and it's really funny! However, Duke Nodelki manages to use the Jewel of Faramore to free Daimur, forcing Princess Arzette to set off on a journey to gather the shards of the Jewel of Faramore, and seal Daimur away again. The structure of the game is very similar to Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. The world is split up into selectable levels that contain a whole bunch of secrets and upgrades to find to eventually unlock more levels and find more secrets and upgrades. Progress is normally made by helping various NPC's find things they need, you're meant to be doing it because you're a good person and all that, but secretly, you're doing it to see more cutscenes. The concept of "Personal Space" doesn't exist in Faramore The aesthetic is pretty much spot on. Characters contort in that unmistakable CD-i way. It could be so easy to be mean-spirited about this, but there is a genuine feeling that the creators have a fondness for these games, and it shows in the little details. For example, there'll be a noticable pause after cutscenes, as if the game was reading from a disc quite slowly, because that's how the CD-i works. The actual gameplay is really solid, it's somewhat similar to Zelda 2, but with a focus on finding upgrades, a lot like a Metroid game. These upgrades make up a huge part on how the game avoids a lot of the irritating aspects of the CD-i Zelda games, as well as just good game design in general. The game took me 4 and a half hours to get everything, and it was an utter joy from start to finish. I hope this gets a sequel, would love to see more disturbing charming cutscenes. I mentioned this before, but Arzette's face here looks a lot like... Spoiler Sea of Stars Chained EchoesArzette: The Jewel of Faramore Edited March 29 by Glen-i 4 3
WackerJr Posted March 31 Posted March 31 I’d never heard of that one before, so thanks for the heads-up on it. It sounds delightful and hilarious!
Hero-of-Time Posted March 31 Posted March 31 I enjoyed Bat Boy so much that I went for the double platinum and ended up playing through it again. Also played through Panorama Cotton. I played one of the Cotton games last year and enjoyed my time with it. While that one was a 2D side scrolling game, this is more like Space Harrier. The game is totally wacky and half the time I didn't have a clue at what I was shooting at. The devs were certainly smoking something when creating these games. Kinda reminds me of the craziness in the Parodius/Pop'n Twinbee games. There are several more in the series that are available to purchase. I bought both of the ones that I've played last year when they were on deep sale and will keep an eye out for the others being discounted. 1 2
Dcubed Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) Panorama Cotton is an incredible technological achievement for the Mega Drive and probably the best rail shooter on the console... but there's not exactly much competition there (Space Harrier 2 is a bit of a dud, and the various Super Scaler ports just don't crunch down well to a system that has no support for hardware scaling). The other Cotton games are better overall though, being more traditional horizontal shmups that are much better suited to the hardware of the day; and solid entries in the genre to boot. Not that PC is bad or anything, it's just that the MD hardware was really ill suited for this kind of game and it makes the action very difficult to follow. I respect the technical achievement on display though! Edited March 31 by Dcubed 1
Hero-of-Time Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Never realised it was originally on the Mega Drive. I thought it was on the Saturn but a quick Google shows that was Cotton 2.
Dcubed Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) Yeah, Cotton got around a lot back in the day! It's only very recently these last few years that she's gotten a sudden huge revival out of nowhere! Once Rainbow Cotton gets re-released, every single Cotton game will be available on modern platforms; which is pretty amazing! These are all of the Cotton games in release order and their original platforms that they came out on... Quote 1991 - Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams - SEGA System 16 Arcade 1994 - Cotton 100% - SNES 1994 - Panorama Cotton - Mega Drive 1997 - Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams - SEGA Titan Video Arcade/SEGA Saturn (Titan is essentially a Saturn turned into an arcade PCB, both versions were released at the same time) 1998 - Cotton Boomerang: Magical Night Dreams - SEGA Titan Video Arcade/SEGA Saturn (This is essentially a remixed version of Cotton 2 with altered stage layouts and such) 2000 - Rainbow Cotton - Dreamcast 2021 - Cotton Reboot! - PS4/Switch (This is a remake of the original SEGA System 16 arcade game with HD 2D sprite visuals) 2021 - Cotton Fantasy: Superlative Night Dreams - ALL.Net P-ras MULTI Ver.3 Arcade (This is a brand new game, first released on a PC-based arcade board in Japanese arcades in 2021, before getting a port to PS4 and Switch the following year, and Steam the year after that) Pretty much all of the Cotton games are solid shooters... though I hear that Rainbow Cotton is the odd duck in that it's supposedly a bit naff... still, gotta complete that collection when it gets re-released anyway! Edited March 31 by Dcubed 1
S.C.G Posted March 31 Posted March 31 The Neo Geo Pocket Color version of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams is pretty good as well. Though you probably don't want to shell out for an original boxed copy of it. ...I did, though I don't own it any more. 1 1
Hero-of-Time Posted March 31 Posted March 31 4 minutes ago, S.C.G said: The Neo Geo Pocket Color version of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams is pretty good as well. Though you probably don't want to shell out for an original boxed copy of it. ...I did, though I don't own it any more. Hope you got a pretty penny for it... Ebay Listing
Dcubed Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) I hope SNK do another one of those NGP collections at some point. There's still a good few games on that system I'd like to try out and I'm sure they could scrounge up enough to make for a worthwhile Vol 3... and hey! We've now even got the 8bitdo Neo Geo CD controller! So we can even enjoy the games with their original clicky stick control method! I mean, literally every other version of the original Cotton has been re-released on some sort of modern device (Even the bloody Sharp x68000 version is available on Switch!), might as well finish the job. Edited March 31 by Dcubed 1
S.C.G Posted March 31 Posted March 31 1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said: Hope you got a pretty penny for it... Ebay Listing I did, though I basically got a little bit more than what I paid for it, which wasn't even half of what that listing went for. I'm sure I made back what I put into Neo Geo Pocket Color games at least, and these days I just own the console and a flash cart. I do have an Analogue Pocket, and I'm just waiting for that NGPC core to drop, there is some kind of beta version, but not the "official" core just yet. Or I could just buy the cartridge adapter, but at £50 - £70 + on eBay if someone is selling it on its own, or £200+ for the set... yeah, I might as well wait. The same for the dock at the moment which is nearly £200? I know it's cool and all, and it opens up other accessories and controller to be used, but... damn. The console was around £300 (for the limited edition transparent green model) so I'm reluctant to spend any more on the console at the moment, as it's still great as it is. 1
Dcubed Posted March 31 Posted March 31 10 minutes ago, S.C.G said: I did, though I basically got a little bit more than what I paid for it, which wasn't even half of what that listing went for. I'm sure I made back what I put into Neo Geo Pocket Color games at least, and these days I just own the console and a flash cart. I do have an Analogue Pocket, and I'm just waiting for that NGPC core to drop, there is some kind of beta version, but not the "official" core just yet. Or I could just buy the cartridge adapter, but at £50 - £70 + on eBay if someone is selling it on its own, or £200+ for the set... yeah, I might as well wait. The same for the dock at the moment which is nearly £200? I know it's cool and all, and it opens up other accessories and controller to be used, but... damn. The console was around £300 (for the limited edition transparent green model) so I'm reluctant to spend any more on the console at the moment, as it's still great as it is. Analogue have the Dock in stock right now for the regular RRP of $99...
S.C.G Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Analogue have the Dock in stock right now for the regular RRP of $99... Hmm, that's not too bad... with shipping, plus import fees it'll likely be £150+ but still, not too bad. Or... maybe it'll be closer to £100 with the conversion rate, and maybe there won't be import fees if it's only £100, or at least they might be less than the console would be. Edit - *checks on the website* OK, it'll be £126.69 including shipping... that's reasonable. Update - Analogue don't want my money as the credit card payment won't go through, oh well. Edited March 31 by S.C.G
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