So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I started FFX on the Vita. I'm not liking it as much as I used to..

Finally coming round to see the truth, it's a load of ****e :pac:

Well I thought it was a load of ****e when it came out, haven't played it since. I doubt my opinion would have changed much since though.

Retr0gamer

Did you beat it? I remember it getting a lot better the further you got into it. However it is very linear and the random battle encounter rate is maddening.

johnny_ultimate

I'd love to see a new Final Fantasy game with the same sort of controlled schizophrenia as VII (and IX). That amazing sense of discovery and fun, where it feels like a genuine adventure on a vast world map full of secrets, one-shots, distractions, wacky asides and worthwhile subplots (forget the main story - it was each character's individual narratives that made that game sing). Each new town felt like an exciting and distinct place, which is something I haven't felt about any of the subsequent games (even the more open-ended XII). Hopefully XV will be more willing to have some fun, and not end up just another sprawling game of near endless fighting and po-faced storytelling (although that sadly seems near inevitable). The trailers so far make it hard to call.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Did you beat it? I remember it getting a lot better the further you got into it. However it is very linear and the random battle encounter rate is maddening.

I gave up at the 3/4 point as the linearity was pissing me off so much. I think by that point, the only thing keeping me interested was Lulu's chest. Unfortunately even that began to bore me.

Absolutely monumentally annoying cast. I didn't think it could be beat in that regard - then FF XIII came along and did the impossible.

Edit - actually you know what, I went off gaming quite a bit during the PS2 generation. Originally I thought it was down to beer and young ones, but now I think it might have also been influenced by the combined huge disappointment that was FF X and MGS2. I think they were released quite close together.

STG.Otaku

Talking of PS Vita, is that Curry God game any good? Thinking of picking up a copy.

megaten

STG.Otaku wrote: »

Talking of PS Vita, is that Curry God game any good? Thinking of picking up a copy.

I like my games on the easy side, but Sorcery Saga was way too easy. Stopped playing it around the second dungeon. I might pick it up again when I need something low stress though.

Retr0gamer

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'd love to see a new Final Fantasy game with the same sort of controlled schizophrenia as VII (and IX). That amazing sense of discovery and fun, where it feels like a genuine adventure on a vast world map full of secrets, one-shots, distractions, wacky asides and worthwhile subplots (forget the main story - it was each character's individual narratives that made that game sing). Each new town felt like an exciting and distinct place, which is something I haven't felt about any of the subsequent games (even the more open-ended XII). Hopefully XV will be more willing to have some fun, and not end up just another sprawling game of near endless fighting and po-faced storytelling (although that sadly seems near inevitable). The trailers so far make it hard to call.

FFVII is anything but controlled, it's a miracle that game came out in a playable state.

Mass effect has a lot to answer for when it comes to making FFXIII bad. Both had a codex filled with boring fluff that was in no way interesting. Mass Effect at least had the decency to make it unnecessary to understand the game. FFXIII on the other hand didn't even make sense if you spent the time reading it.

It would be nice to get that sense of discovery, FFVII and IX were just as linear as FFXIII but the pacing was right and it gave the illusion of discovery and being non linear. Your reward for going through a dungeon was a new town to explore and once you got bored of that you were back in a dungeon again. FFXIII was just a big dungeon. It would also be nice to bring the wacky back. FFVI was a very dark game but it also had Ultros. Sometimes you just need a bit of comedy or bizarreness to break things up.

o1s1n wrote: »

I gave up at the 3/4 point as the linearity was pissing me off so much. I think by that point, the only thing keeping me interested was Lulu's chest. Unfortunately even that began to bore me.

Absolutely monumentally annoying cast. I didn't think it could be beat in that regard - then FF XIII came along and did the impossible.

Edit - actually you know what, I went off gaming quite a bit during the PS2 generation. Originally I thought it was down to beer and young ones, but now I think it might have also been influenced by the combined huge disappointment that was FF X and MGS2. I think they were released quite close together.

FFX actually has an amazing cast. Some real top quality voice actors there. However the direction they were given and the script was so poor that they gave really lousy performances. Tidus and Yuna in particular are voiced by two very talented actors and yet come across as awful, Yuna in particular. Compare Yuna to Hedy Buress's performance as Rosie in Valkyria Chronicles, it's hard to believe it's the same person.

Los Lobos

Picked up another gba sp today with a few games, still no ags 101 but sure feck it.

Realised i have two copies of supermario advance, and a link cable, so first time to play some two player gba original mario bros! Good craic

Mr.Saturn

Los Lobos wrote: »

so first time to play some two player gba original mario bros! Good craic

Would love to give that a crack at some stage. Ninty went through a mad phase by plopping it on every Mario Advance entry, so it goes 3 times unloved in my case.

Los Lobos

I have a dedicated mario bros cab i bought a while back, remake of course, running mame, mario bros is great fun when ya get a few levels in!

Andrew76

After seeing o1s1n's posts about his monitor handywork, I fired up my AWSD Friday. Swapped out Strikers 1945 II for Raiden DX - very rusty and not able to get any of the secret bonuses on the first play.

CiDeRmAn

Those winking medals, it's hard to swoop in at the right moment, before they go dull, and snatch maximum points!
According to O1s the PS version is pretty spot on as conversions go, and that's the one I have, an amazingly fun game.

Andrew76

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Those winking medals, it's hard to swoop in at the right moment, before they go dull, and snatch maximum points!
According to O1s the PS version is pretty spot on as conversions go, and that's the one I have, an amazingly fun game.

Ah I usually leave trying to time the medal grabs, usually end up dead otherwise. I was talking about the gold radars in the training level - I can usually get 3 out of 7 of them on a good day.

Aye the PS1 port is very good, nabbed that myself. Might be a little be speedier but has the added bonus of saving your replays.

BGOllie

Never played it properly so decided to give Megaman 2 a run...



my wife is learning a lot of new french words at the moment

Shapey Fiend

Road Redemption, aka Rogue Rash. It's still in Alpha so a bit rough around the edges. They've got the feel spot on anyway. The whole Rogue style XP structure is nice. Also the huge car accidents. Sticky bombs are class. The guns feel a tiny bit too much but they don't have a ton of ammo so I suppose it isn't that big a deal. Not really feeling the rooftop levels either gets it a bit far away from the core Road Rash experience.

o1s1n

Just finished Mother 3. I'm absolutely blown away. Everything about it is perfect. From the incredible, hilarious dialogue (some of the best I've read in a game) to the utterly amazing soundtrack and out there character design - but to top it all off, the pure emotion conveyed in the game, far surpasses anything else I think I've played.

And it's not contrived 'oh here's when a main character dies, time to feel sad' emotion, it's far more mature and genuine.

Just to note, the translation is really something else. I believe one of the guys involved is a professional localizer and the care put into it resulted in something probably far better than Nintendo could have put out.

Retr0gamer

Yeah it's an incredible game. I found it spelt out it's themes more than earthbound but was no less great. Even one thing that kind of annoyed me was handled really well in the end,

one of the bad guys identities being very obvious but right near the end you ask the dad and he says he knew who it was all along, just like the player did, but just refused to accept it.

Ultimately I feel the whole thing is about accepting the past and moving on with your life and not letting it dictate your life. Most of the problems stem from that and it fits nicely in with the ending

the destruction of the world but ultimately for it to be rebuilt anew.

I loved that ending so much I can't put my finger on why but I choke up thinking about it.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Ultimately I feel the whole thing is about accepting the past and moving on with your life and not letting it dictate your life. Most of the problems stem from that and it fits nicely in with the ending

the destruction of the world but ultimately for it to be rebuilt anew.

The post ending part (where it literally says 'end?' and you can walk around in darkness, only to discover all the characters are still alive) sums up exactly what you mean about moving on with your life and I think you're spot on. All the characters are wishing you well (as in YOU, the player) you don't want to let go of them and finish the game (and 'move on' with your life) but they help you along and reassure you... it's really not something I've witnessed before in a game and would definitely leave you with a lump in your manly throat!

Spoiler alerts aside, I was really pleasantly surprised with the battle system in the game. It's a huge improvement on Earthbound's. Some of the boss battles were quite tricky!

CiDeRmAn

My son is playing Earthbound now and loving it.

Mr.Saturn

As much as I love Mother 3,

it always bothered me that they went and buried Hinawa whilst Flint was still locked up. Still, I love how casually the game confronts the player with most likely fighting the reanimated corpse of your mother; it's just a random encounter like any other

.

Retr0gamer

Well what I got from that was

as Leder explained the villagers were all brainwashed and never had to deal with such a violent event before.

Mr.Saturn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well what I got from that was

as Leder explained the villagers were all brainwashed and never had to deal with such a violent event before.

Aye, I've heard that one before, but it still niggles at me slightly. As you know, barely even tints, let alone taints, the story.

Kinda adding to your point about closure and letting go, I like how they frame the Earthbound/Eagleland references into Pokey's characterisation; the obscuring view of nostalgia and the not all too subtle hint at it being a run-off of full-on mentalism, like 'Tunnel of Earthbound' near the closing of the game and Pokey outright jettisoning any reference to what he put the Eagleland crew through.

Mr.Saturn

Anybody a survivor of the original Rayman? I'm playing the GBA version, which is not the best from the off, but wow, for something so consistently cheap (unforeseeable pitfalls, wonky hit-detection and whatnot), it still manages to stay playable throughout.

CiDeRmAn

The Playstation and Saturn originals were just as cheap.
For a game that looked like a kids cartoon it s incredibly hard.

Mr.Saturn

Hmm, just finished it there a couple hour ago. Wasn't sorry I played it, nor that it ended. It's dogged by a lot of those token statements that get thrown at slightly iffy platformers; trial-and-error, left-field difficulty spikes and an engine that sometimes can't even abide by its own physics. Are the 3D sequels worth a bash? Yanno, personal recommendation? Origins and Legends seem like the series zenith thus far. I'm probably trolling someone with that sentence, I'm guessing.

Moved onto a GBA game called Lady Sia, which is a nifty action-platformer. Seemingly there's a 90s/Early 00s European gaming theme going on at the moment.

CiDeRmAn

Rayman 2 is probably my favourite 3d platformer after Mario 64, and though it appears originally on the N64 it also is available on the DS and in spectacular form on the 3DS.
Really is well worth picking it up.

Retr0gamer

Rayman 2 is best on the dreamcast and PC. Rayman 3 is great as well.

o1s1n

Jaysus my right arm is killing me this morning (oooh errr Matron etc :pac:)

Yesterday I loaded loads of PS2 lightgun games onto the HDD and spent a few hours playing them all.

Time Crisis 2
Time Crisis 3
Crisis Zone
End Game
Gunvari Collection (Point Blank Jap release, also comes with the original Time Crisis!)

In the meantime, also got my hands on;

Biohazard: Gun Survivor 2
Virtua Cop Elite Edition
Death Crimson OX
Gunfighter II - Revenge of Jesse James

I didn't realize the PS2 had so many lightgun games! There are still a few more I haven't got yet.

TechnoFreek

Check out Vampire Night

o1s1n

Thank you sir will get it now.

TechnoFreek

And Ninja Assault.

Think you've pretty much covered all the major ps2 light gun games then

Retr0gamer

Resident Evil Dead Aim is surprisingly great and a canon resi game.

The PS2 version of Virtual Cop and the sequel is a thing of beauty.

CiDeRmAn

Ghoul Patrol
A point blank reskin for Halloween

Mr.Saturn

Any Legend of Kage 2(NDS) fans up in the shop?

Controls can be a pain in the bollocks, but I imagine it'd go down well in these parts. It's hard, but unlimited continues and well check-pointed. Muncho action-platformer goodness.

The Last Bandit

Recently played thru `Brothers` on PS3, nice little indy title. Now playing Arkham Asylum for the first time, can't beat the PS+ freebies

CiDeRmAn

I have yet to play Arkham City, only ever played the court room scene, after that I move on to something else.
Must go back and get into it sometime.

Retr0gamer

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Any Legend of Kage 2(NDS) fans up in the shop?

Controls can be a pain in the bollocks, but I imagine it'd go down well in these parts. It's hard, but unlimited continues and well check-pointed. Muncho action-platformer goodness.

It's hard to believe such a great game was spawned by such a ****ty one.

Mr.Saturn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's hard to believe such a great game was spawned by such a ****ty one.

I'm guessing that means I shouldn't bother going near it afterwards? I'm already 2/3rds the way through 2 and itching to line up something else.

Retr0gamer

Nope, the original Legend of Kage is a pile of Poo. Legend of Kage 2 however is great. I did however quite like demon sword on the NES which is a sort of Kage sequel.

o1s1n

I'm rewatching Twin Peaks at the moment for the first time in what must me about 15 years (almost at the end now) and although I remember Deadly Premonition had lots of homages, wow, the sheer number!

Was reading up on it a bit more this morning and apparently the original ideas in the game were just so similar that they had to make a lot of changes.

Which is pretty mental considering the amount of similarities which still remain. In fact, if you changed the title to 'Twin Peaks the videogame' there's not much else you'd need to do really.

Saying that, it's reminded me how much I loved Deadly Premonition. I think I might give it another playthrough in the coming months.

johnny_ultimate

Yeah I'd argue it's pretty shameless at times, bordering on outright theft occasionally!

I really enjoyed Deadly Premonition and it has enough delightful ideas and quotes of its own (Twin Peaks doesn't have The Whistle Song - so says Mr Stewart), but the fact that so many ideas, images and even characters were so derivative of Twin Peaks took away from the experience at least a little bit.

o1s1n

Thankfully as I played Deadly Premonition so many years after watching Twin Peaks, I didn't realize that it lifted so much. Maybe a replay might be best avoided... :pac:

For example I thought the whole Zach thing was just a bit of oddness out of nowhere but it's clearly Twin Peak's Agent Cooper speaking into his dictaphone - minus the dictaphone.

I'd say the original version of Deadly Premonition had a dictaphone, but they just decided to remove it for fear of rip off accusations. (but didn't want to remove the monologues).

So I've a feeling Zach stems less from premeditated weirdness/wanting to make the main character seem a bit schizophrenic to actually being just an interesting side effect at avoiding plagiarism. (which they decided to run with)

Mr.Saturn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Nope, the original Legend of Kage is a pile of Poo.

Just wondering if you've any opinions on the remake that popped up on that PSP Taito comp? I'm finding nothing online about it.

LoganRice

I was playing Spyro the Dragon yesterday for half an hour, great game

Retr0gamer

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Just wondering if you've any opinions on the remake that popped up on that PSP Taito comp? I'm finding nothing online about it.

First I even heard of it existing.

Mr.Saturn

Goddamnit, Retr0. Info is thin on the ground, beyond a tidbit on Wiki and a couple of let's-plays that I can't summon the patience to watch.

Andrew76

Little bit of an arcade vibe with the office/gamesroom this afternoon - the eldest was playing Injustice on the PC, the youngest playing Sonic & Comix Zone on the MD while I toiled away at Image Fight on the Saturn. Such a hard game that is, Jedi reflexes are needed. Has that 'one more go' appeal to it though. I was playing it on the vert B&O with the HHS-0136 which is damn sweet, but I was thinking it would be even sweeter to play it on the cab with The Last Bandit's jamma yokey-bob.

Retr0gamer

Image Fight was apparently the inspiration for Radiant Silvergun.

Not retro but more late to the party but I've been playing a lot of Fallout New Vegas recently. It's amazing and is pretty much the game Fallout 3 should have been. The quest design is so good and so much fun.

o1s1n

Image fight is touted as one of the hardest classic type shmups ever made. It's hard as balls. I can't get anywhere in it at all :pac:

Yeah Fallout NV is far more like the original Fallout games than 3 was. I cannot wait until the next installment in the series. Would prompt me to buy a new console/new PC/something new and expensive

Cantstandsya

Playing Chip n Dale on the NES at the minute, shockingly I've never played it. It's a simple little game but really fun and the music is good too, takes me back to watching the cartoon as a kid.

I just bought an Everdrive N8 so I'm looking forward to trying out some of those NES titles that I'll never get my hands on - Little Samson etc. Just hope having access to that doesn't ruin my appreciation of the original carts, I put off buying one for that very reason but decided to bite the bullet in the end.