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#31
Off-Topic / Re: (Negative) Lasting Through...
Last post by Princess Rescuer - February 23, 2022, 05:28:46 PMFor me, it's less about the general consensus of "quality" and more about ownable, finished games for cheap that won't rely on things like Cloud Saves, at least a few of which will be good and up your alley.
I've found that it's not even classic games, or even hidden gems, that are preferable to the prices and rigors of modern gaming- even games with bad reputations and few defenders are preferable. For me, at least. I'm also FANTASTIC at coming up with new challenges and techniques to REALLY stretch a game out. I don't even NEED "long JRPGS". Though there are quite a few good ones that don't get enough attention and should be more than enough.
One HUGE problem, especially closing out with Nintendo, is the increasing reliance on "online" and subscriptions. The newly announced game in what is in my opinion the PREMEIRE Nintendo franchise, Wii Sports, will focus more on the online. In fact, the online option on the main menu is the biggest. It's a subtle change, but a bigger emphasis on the online mode hints at the desire for more subscriptions and less ownership. It's the perfect planned obsolescence where they can pull the plug on it as soon as the next console's been out for a while and enough people have bought it, like what they're doing for the Wii U's eShop (which I LOVED). The Switch VC is invariably the worse service and it's unlikely many of my favorites will make it back. It may not even have Turbografx-16. And then there's the fact that Nintendo's online is slow, laggy, and full of disconnects, and they expect you to pay for Cloud Saves which are more volatile and less ownable. Why bother?
When they announced that Mothers 1 and 2 were coming to VC, I ordered a Mother 1 cartridge. I own it and I will do the same for the other two on reproduction carts. I have it for when I'm interested.
I've found that it's not even classic games, or even hidden gems, that are preferable to the prices and rigors of modern gaming- even games with bad reputations and few defenders are preferable. For me, at least. I'm also FANTASTIC at coming up with new challenges and techniques to REALLY stretch a game out. I don't even NEED "long JRPGS". Though there are quite a few good ones that don't get enough attention and should be more than enough.
One HUGE problem, especially closing out with Nintendo, is the increasing reliance on "online" and subscriptions. The newly announced game in what is in my opinion the PREMEIRE Nintendo franchise, Wii Sports, will focus more on the online. In fact, the online option on the main menu is the biggest. It's a subtle change, but a bigger emphasis on the online mode hints at the desire for more subscriptions and less ownership. It's the perfect planned obsolescence where they can pull the plug on it as soon as the next console's been out for a while and enough people have bought it, like what they're doing for the Wii U's eShop (which I LOVED). The Switch VC is invariably the worse service and it's unlikely many of my favorites will make it back. It may not even have Turbografx-16. And then there's the fact that Nintendo's online is slow, laggy, and full of disconnects, and they expect you to pay for Cloud Saves which are more volatile and less ownable. Why bother?
When they announced that Mothers 1 and 2 were coming to VC, I ordered a Mother 1 cartridge. I own it and I will do the same for the other two on reproduction carts. I have it for when I'm interested.
#32
Off-Topic / Hydlide Special Permadeath%
Last post by Princess Rescuer - February 23, 2022, 04:55:26 PMHydlide. Ugh, HYDLIDE! It sounds so wretched and foul, like you're puking as you say it. HYDLIDE!
At least that's the impression one would get from the general consensus of Hydlide on the internet. This comes from a lot of it being from vocal Western gamers who got the game in 1989 rather than 1986, when it was already greatly dated compared to its contemporaries, especially The Legend Of Zelda 1 and 2.
There's a rumor going on around this small forum that I am hard to please. Not really. I've actually stuck up for some of the most maligned games ever in the past. It's not that my standards are high, it's that my tastes do not match most other people. Case in point, the Famicom game Hydlide Special. In North America on the NES, the game is just "Hydlide", though the Famicom version is Hydlide Special in order to differentiate it from the MSX version. I will be referring to this one specifically, using the "Special" title, the way modern Zelda fans add the subtitle "The Hyrule Fantasy" to Zelda 1 to make it more specific, or add "64" to the titles of N64 games.
One serious issue I have is not living up to my name enough with my tastes. I'm guessing it's because plenty of these games are already so popular as to not need my input. Hydlide Special is... still a popular game. Popular enough for NES cartridges to be cheap and Famicom cartridges to be dirt cheap. It's mainstream by my standards anyway. Probably one of the most mainstream (in East Asia at least) games I like, surpassed only by the likes of Wii Sports. It is not a "Zelda clone" but rather the entire Zelda series is a "Hydlide clone".
In Hydlide Special, you control Jim, one of the weakest characters in any action-adventure game. While he is a weakling (and a coward who's bad at fighting, which we'll get into), I find him far more compelling to play as compared to the overwrought power fantasies of today, and even ones that would come soon after. Having a main character who dies easily, even at max level, and doesn't have the most game-breaking abilities ever is REFRESHING. And completing the Permadeath challenge with such a vulnerable character, which I'll get into, is immensely empowering in ways that the game-breaking abilities in so many other games could only fantasize of being.
Jim's main weakness comes from the fact that he is terrible at face-to-face conflicts. Facing enemies head-on will most likely result in them biting off a large chunk of Jim's small, oh-so-precious amount of health, which he needs to stand in grass to slowly regenerate. The best way to deal with every enemy is to stab them in the back. I'm guessing that before Varalys's invasion of Hydlide, Jim was probably not a noble hero and more likely part of a craven criminal gang, which is where he learned such cheap and dishonorable battle tactics. When running behind an enemy and attacking, they are defenseless to counter him and will go down quick. You don't even need the back, you can just attack from the side. This is the strategy for every enemy in the game, regardless of strength, and given how tight some of the environments are, it's not always simple to do.
In addition to that, Jim also has five magic abilities, unlocked when he has enough magic power to use them. The most useful ability, by far, is Turn, which spins enemies around and sends them in the opposite direction. It sounds like the most useless ability in gaming history, but in this game, making enemies face the back so you can easily attack them unhindered is very important. It's the first magic ability you unlock and it's the least costly by far, which adds to its usefulness. The others are purely situational and there are two, Wave and Fire, that only need to be used once in an entire playthrough.
Despite the aforementioned problems, Hydlide is actually quite an easy game to beat normally. You have the greatest power of all: in-game savestates. Not only that, they're BETTER than normal savestates because they can reset enemy and item positions. They're quick and easy, and you can use them an unlimited amount of times. The only danger is hitting "Save" when you meant to hit "Load" or in reverse. Other than that, they're a potent tool for greatly reducing the game's overall difficulty.
That's why the new challenge, Permadeath%, which I'm not sure has been completed by anyone, is so compelling.
In Permadeath%, there is only one rule- no use of the Save command and no Passwords. No other changes than that, except that trivial challenges have now become sources of grave danger. Your health drains shockingly fast in battles, so one careless mistake can end your run. The game has suddenly gone from Agent to Dark License to Kill. It can be outright unfair sometimes as you can go into a cave, or a screen transition in a cave, and be cornered by monsters that eat you for breakfast. This can even happen with the final boss.
First off, un-plug your Audio cables and leave nothing except the Video cable in. Play the music or podcasts of your choice. If you are streaming the game, now's the opportunity for your viewers to Song Request.
Princess Ann of Hydlide has been turned into three fairies, rendering her ability to rid Hydlide of Varalys's armies of monsters completely useless. It's up to you to rescue all three. The first one can be gotten within seconds of starting, provided you search the correct tree. You should wait until you're at a high enough level to use Flash though. Also, you need to find a Cross in a treasure chest, which you will need later. It's out of the way, but out in the open and unguarded. You can now begin fighting slimes. I recommend grinding on the strip to the right of the screen where the Fairy 1 Trees are. It's small and manageable, with no rocks or Kobolds, not to mention there is only healing grass and no trees. Now, you're not completely restricted in what you can do. You do have the option to make the grinding much faster if you're capable of going into the Wisp Cave, collecting the Sword upgrade, and getting back out. Problem is, you'll need to be quick and have memorized the layout of the underground sub-area, as it's completely dark except for you and the enemies. I personally find it safer for players new to this game (and this challenge, basically everyone) to grind to Level 3 before battling the Vampire and then getting the Sword from the Wisp Cave.
As far as the Vampire goes, he's pretty simple. You should have the Cross by now, making him possible to defeat. Just wait and bait, and have a Turn at the ready to make him vulnerable. He should go down in a few hits. You'll have the Lamp, one of the most useful items. Before the Wisp Cave, you might want to go to the Armor Cave and get the Shield. You will need to kill 3 Lady Armors to get a Shield, which will make the Wisp Cave (and the rest of the game) much easier. You don't have to get them all in one go- you can kill one, go back out the bottom right exit you came in, and regenerate your health. If you're boxed in on the bottom right by a Gold Armor, you can leave the screen with the Armor Cave hole and come back to reset it. Make sure you kill 3 Lady Armors in a row- killing one other enemy will make you have to start over. Now for the Wisp cave. You have a tight and linear labyrinth to go through, meaning your dodging options are limited. In general, run in and out as quickly as possible and regenerate enough magic for a Turn in case you need it.
Now that you have the Sword, you can relax a bit more. Gain a few more levels on Zombies and use the Key to get the Jewel. Go into the Roper maze and make it into the cave with Gold Armors and Lady Armors. Defeat enough Gold Armors to make the Ring appear- one of the three items to make Varalys appear. You need more levels, in fact now is your opportunity to reach Level 9, which you will do by battling Eels. Wait in the water until an Eel comes up. And remember Turn is your friend. Once you're at the max level, you should have a Cross, a Lamp, a Sword, a Pot, a Key, a Jewel, a Ring, and a Shield. They Key will be in one of several chests, and you can't load savestates until the key is in the chest you start right next to, so save that one for later.
Now that you're nearly done, it's time to collect the Fairies. Fairy 1 is south of the starting screen. Search the trees and use Flash if the Wasps get too much. Fairy 2 is trapped in a random moving tree on one screen. It's obviously much safer to get it when you're this powerful. Fairy 3 is only obtained by defeating both Wizards on one screen with a single Wave, which shouldn't be too hard. You can stand in the canal or the land to the right of the canal to aim uninhibited. If you miss, you can just regenerate. Now you will fight the Dragon, one of the most surprisingly chill moments of the run. Run up, hit him, retreat, regenerate, repeat. After that, use Fire to burn the tree next to Varalys's Castle and go inside to break the Grave, which will drain the water in the water corridors. One more item to collect, a Ruby, and you're ready to battle Varalys.
Varalys is definitely intense in a Permadeath run, but not insurmountable. Even though you're probably desperate for this run to be over, take it slow and steady. Flash the enemies away, hit him a few times in defense mode, then go to back through the upper left enterance to regenerate health. This is a safe zone where no enemies can reach you. You are completely safe here because the enemies are so dumb. The Dragon gave you a Medicine, but try as hard as you can to keep it. Don't go into attack mode to get the battle done faster. Be as risk-averse as possible until you win.
After that, leave the TV and the Famicom on and don't press any button. Leave the game on the Congratulations screen with the reformed Princess Ann of Hydlide giving you congratulatory bows of gratitude for as many days as you like to remind yourself of your magnificent achievement.
At least that's the impression one would get from the general consensus of Hydlide on the internet. This comes from a lot of it being from vocal Western gamers who got the game in 1989 rather than 1986, when it was already greatly dated compared to its contemporaries, especially The Legend Of Zelda 1 and 2.
There's a rumor going on around this small forum that I am hard to please. Not really. I've actually stuck up for some of the most maligned games ever in the past. It's not that my standards are high, it's that my tastes do not match most other people. Case in point, the Famicom game Hydlide Special. In North America on the NES, the game is just "Hydlide", though the Famicom version is Hydlide Special in order to differentiate it from the MSX version. I will be referring to this one specifically, using the "Special" title, the way modern Zelda fans add the subtitle "The Hyrule Fantasy" to Zelda 1 to make it more specific, or add "64" to the titles of N64 games.
One serious issue I have is not living up to my name enough with my tastes. I'm guessing it's because plenty of these games are already so popular as to not need my input. Hydlide Special is... still a popular game. Popular enough for NES cartridges to be cheap and Famicom cartridges to be dirt cheap. It's mainstream by my standards anyway. Probably one of the most mainstream (in East Asia at least) games I like, surpassed only by the likes of Wii Sports. It is not a "Zelda clone" but rather the entire Zelda series is a "Hydlide clone".
In Hydlide Special, you control Jim, one of the weakest characters in any action-adventure game. While he is a weakling (and a coward who's bad at fighting, which we'll get into), I find him far more compelling to play as compared to the overwrought power fantasies of today, and even ones that would come soon after. Having a main character who dies easily, even at max level, and doesn't have the most game-breaking abilities ever is REFRESHING. And completing the Permadeath challenge with such a vulnerable character, which I'll get into, is immensely empowering in ways that the game-breaking abilities in so many other games could only fantasize of being.
Jim's main weakness comes from the fact that he is terrible at face-to-face conflicts. Facing enemies head-on will most likely result in them biting off a large chunk of Jim's small, oh-so-precious amount of health, which he needs to stand in grass to slowly regenerate. The best way to deal with every enemy is to stab them in the back. I'm guessing that before Varalys's invasion of Hydlide, Jim was probably not a noble hero and more likely part of a craven criminal gang, which is where he learned such cheap and dishonorable battle tactics. When running behind an enemy and attacking, they are defenseless to counter him and will go down quick. You don't even need the back, you can just attack from the side. This is the strategy for every enemy in the game, regardless of strength, and given how tight some of the environments are, it's not always simple to do.
In addition to that, Jim also has five magic abilities, unlocked when he has enough magic power to use them. The most useful ability, by far, is Turn, which spins enemies around and sends them in the opposite direction. It sounds like the most useless ability in gaming history, but in this game, making enemies face the back so you can easily attack them unhindered is very important. It's the first magic ability you unlock and it's the least costly by far, which adds to its usefulness. The others are purely situational and there are two, Wave and Fire, that only need to be used once in an entire playthrough.
Despite the aforementioned problems, Hydlide is actually quite an easy game to beat normally. You have the greatest power of all: in-game savestates. Not only that, they're BETTER than normal savestates because they can reset enemy and item positions. They're quick and easy, and you can use them an unlimited amount of times. The only danger is hitting "Save" when you meant to hit "Load" or in reverse. Other than that, they're a potent tool for greatly reducing the game's overall difficulty.
That's why the new challenge, Permadeath%, which I'm not sure has been completed by anyone, is so compelling.
In Permadeath%, there is only one rule- no use of the Save command and no Passwords. No other changes than that, except that trivial challenges have now become sources of grave danger. Your health drains shockingly fast in battles, so one careless mistake can end your run. The game has suddenly gone from Agent to Dark License to Kill. It can be outright unfair sometimes as you can go into a cave, or a screen transition in a cave, and be cornered by monsters that eat you for breakfast. This can even happen with the final boss.
First off, un-plug your Audio cables and leave nothing except the Video cable in. Play the music or podcasts of your choice. If you are streaming the game, now's the opportunity for your viewers to Song Request.
Princess Ann of Hydlide has been turned into three fairies, rendering her ability to rid Hydlide of Varalys's armies of monsters completely useless. It's up to you to rescue all three. The first one can be gotten within seconds of starting, provided you search the correct tree. You should wait until you're at a high enough level to use Flash though. Also, you need to find a Cross in a treasure chest, which you will need later. It's out of the way, but out in the open and unguarded. You can now begin fighting slimes. I recommend grinding on the strip to the right of the screen where the Fairy 1 Trees are. It's small and manageable, with no rocks or Kobolds, not to mention there is only healing grass and no trees. Now, you're not completely restricted in what you can do. You do have the option to make the grinding much faster if you're capable of going into the Wisp Cave, collecting the Sword upgrade, and getting back out. Problem is, you'll need to be quick and have memorized the layout of the underground sub-area, as it's completely dark except for you and the enemies. I personally find it safer for players new to this game (and this challenge, basically everyone) to grind to Level 3 before battling the Vampire and then getting the Sword from the Wisp Cave.
As far as the Vampire goes, he's pretty simple. You should have the Cross by now, making him possible to defeat. Just wait and bait, and have a Turn at the ready to make him vulnerable. He should go down in a few hits. You'll have the Lamp, one of the most useful items. Before the Wisp Cave, you might want to go to the Armor Cave and get the Shield. You will need to kill 3 Lady Armors to get a Shield, which will make the Wisp Cave (and the rest of the game) much easier. You don't have to get them all in one go- you can kill one, go back out the bottom right exit you came in, and regenerate your health. If you're boxed in on the bottom right by a Gold Armor, you can leave the screen with the Armor Cave hole and come back to reset it. Make sure you kill 3 Lady Armors in a row- killing one other enemy will make you have to start over. Now for the Wisp cave. You have a tight and linear labyrinth to go through, meaning your dodging options are limited. In general, run in and out as quickly as possible and regenerate enough magic for a Turn in case you need it.
Now that you have the Sword, you can relax a bit more. Gain a few more levels on Zombies and use the Key to get the Jewel. Go into the Roper maze and make it into the cave with Gold Armors and Lady Armors. Defeat enough Gold Armors to make the Ring appear- one of the three items to make Varalys appear. You need more levels, in fact now is your opportunity to reach Level 9, which you will do by battling Eels. Wait in the water until an Eel comes up. And remember Turn is your friend. Once you're at the max level, you should have a Cross, a Lamp, a Sword, a Pot, a Key, a Jewel, a Ring, and a Shield. They Key will be in one of several chests, and you can't load savestates until the key is in the chest you start right next to, so save that one for later.
Now that you're nearly done, it's time to collect the Fairies. Fairy 1 is south of the starting screen. Search the trees and use Flash if the Wasps get too much. Fairy 2 is trapped in a random moving tree on one screen. It's obviously much safer to get it when you're this powerful. Fairy 3 is only obtained by defeating both Wizards on one screen with a single Wave, which shouldn't be too hard. You can stand in the canal or the land to the right of the canal to aim uninhibited. If you miss, you can just regenerate. Now you will fight the Dragon, one of the most surprisingly chill moments of the run. Run up, hit him, retreat, regenerate, repeat. After that, use Fire to burn the tree next to Varalys's Castle and go inside to break the Grave, which will drain the water in the water corridors. One more item to collect, a Ruby, and you're ready to battle Varalys.
Varalys is definitely intense in a Permadeath run, but not insurmountable. Even though you're probably desperate for this run to be over, take it slow and steady. Flash the enemies away, hit him a few times in defense mode, then go to back through the upper left enterance to regenerate health. This is a safe zone where no enemies can reach you. You are completely safe here because the enemies are so dumb. The Dragon gave you a Medicine, but try as hard as you can to keep it. Don't go into attack mode to get the battle done faster. Be as risk-averse as possible until you win.
After that, leave the TV and the Famicom on and don't press any button. Leave the game on the Congratulations screen with the reformed Princess Ann of Hydlide giving you congratulatory bows of gratitude for as many days as you like to remind yourself of your magnificent achievement.
#33
General Umihara Kawase Discussion / Re: Umihara Kawase: The True S...
Last post by KawaseFan - February 23, 2022, 11:15:01 AMHere's a Wayback Machine link to the Degica article, since the original link seems to be dead.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190922154639/http://blog.degigames.com/story/umihara-kawase-story/
https://web.archive.org/web/20190922154639/http://blog.degigames.com/story/umihara-kawase-story/
#34
Off-Topic / Re: (Negative) Lasting Through...
Last post by Alc - February 06, 2022, 10:44:43 PMQuote from: Canvas on February 03, 2022, 01:11:11 PMIf you want to go original hardware, unless you are intent on being a collector, flashcarts are the best.Yep. Sadly the prices on (legit) retro games are just getting higher and higher. Princess Rescuer is right, it's generally wise to get a Japanese console as the cart prices tend to be much more manageable and the games are all 60Hz, no PAL slowdown. The language barrier can be a problem, of course, particularly with JRPGs.
QuoteI don't think there will be a crash because development is so accessible now that there will always be more names like Hollow Knight, Deep Rock Galactic, Risk of Rain 2, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin, and so on. If anything I am oversaturated in good gamesAgreed! For as long as I've been discussing games online there have been doom and gloom threads, predicting another market crash and so on. I really don't think there's any significant cause for alarm - gaming is more diverse and multifaceted than ever before, and consequently I can't imagine we'll see another '83-style "bottom dropping out of the whole market" situation, because there just isn't one single market in that way. That crash was the result of a very particular confluence of factors, tied to the fate of one particular company (Atari), and if we ever see anything like it again I suspect it'll be a part of a serious global economic downturn and we'll all have bigger concerns on our plate.
QuoteI think a lot of great games still come out, several not even indie.As far as I'm concerned, retro prices aside there has never been a better time to be alive and gaming than right now. As you mention, emulation has reached a really solid place, and devices like the MiSTer are fast closing the gap between real hardware and emulation. Modern AAA games aren't to everyone's taste but that's the beauty of the market right now - if you like 2D platformers (for instance) you have a vast array to choose from, with more seeing release every day. Nothing's stopping you from carrying on enjoying the SNES back catalogue if that's your jam.
QuoteDeath Stranding has an interesting focus on movement, though the start of the game must be intentionally annoying with drawn out story videos because they are so long and frequent that I cannot even call them cutscenes anymore.I got a reasonable amount of play out of Death Stranding. It has the usual caveats that come with a Kojima game - ridiculous narrative, inscrutable design choices, general auteur nonsense - but I got more out of it than I ever did out of any of the Metal Gear Solid games. Looks nice, too.
QuoteI actually just bought Metroid Dread yesterday and haven't opened it yet so would have to update on that, but to tie back into emulation, to my understanding if you bought the game, you can emulate your rip of the game, legally.Depends. If you're in America, you'd be guilty of circumventing a copy protection mechanism, which was explicitly banned by the DMCA (with some caveats for libraries and educational institutions, as I recall). Who gives a toss, though - you paid for the game so play it however you like. I can confirm that it looks significantly nicer running under emulation than it does on the original hardware, which unfortunately is really starting to show its age. I do wish Nintendo would get on with the New Switch Pro+ or whatever they wind up calling it. Even just a new model with a modest clock boost would be great, thanks to the Switch hacking scene we do now know that it's possible to significantly overclock the Switch and not have it burst into flames, and most games work just fine, with improved framerates and so on.
I liked Dread, anyway. Something of a return to form. It doesn't outstay its welcome and it doesn't attempt anything beyond its remit. There's something to be said for that.
#35
Off-Topic / Re: Super Mario Bros. 1 and Lo...
Last post by Alc - February 06, 2022, 10:11:24 PMThe one huge tip that I wish I'd had when picking up NES SMB1 for the first time is that you can press "A" and "Start" at Game Over to continue. Without that it's pretty brutal, you will be hurting for lives unless you really know the game inside out.
QuoteI am really interested in that and hadn't even considered the possibility but it makes sense.You might be interested to watch SummoningSalt's video on the history of SMB1 speedrun records - as I recall he goes into some depth about controlling enemy spawns, frame rules, and so on. What appears quite random at first glance is actually all deterministic and predictable.
#36
Off-Topic / Re: Super Mario Bros. 1 and Lo...
Last post by Canvas - February 03, 2022, 02:57:18 PMSuper Mario Bros really is hard, I tried again not too long ago. I get to world 8-3 and fumble every time. I think once I got to the castle but then there were more hammer bros waiting for me. Still haven't beaten it, or tried Lost Levels because I feel like I SHOULD beat the original first.
Quotescrolling things onto the screen at a certain time affects position and timingI am really interested in that and hadn't even considered the possibility but it makes sense. To think those assholes might even jump or throw at specific times too is crazy. I think this is the key I need to beat the hammer bros. I don't know when I will feel like trying again but I will keep this in mind, thanks
#37
Off-Topic / Re: (Negative) Lasting Through...
Last post by Canvas - February 03, 2022, 01:11:11 PMI agree with Alc. If you want to go original hardware, unless you are intent on being a collector, flashcarts are the best. However I am going to be 'that guy' and namedrop emulation. Something like RetroArch is easy enough to figure out and supports a ton of games and systems. To me the value of a game is directly supporting it's development and not necessarily to get something tangible. I will never pay scalper prices, because I don't want to support their 'development', but if an enthusiast offers me a good deal and I intended to play it I would snag it
This said I think a lot of great games still come out, several not even indie. Half Life Alyx is insane and getting a lot of mod support. Death Stranding has an interesting focus on movement, though the start of the game must be intentionally annoying with drawn out story videos because they are so long and frequent that I cannot even call them cutscenes anymore. Doom Eternal satisfies the autism of completing a situation as 'clean' as possible, with a BUNCH of fun movement options. I actually just bought Metroid Dread yesterday and haven't opened it yet so would have to update on that, but to tie back into emulation, to my understanding if you bought the game, you can emulate your rip of the game, legally.
Fuck I even preordered the System Shock remake because the recent demo sold me so well, which I normally don't do, but I just have not been very financially responsible in general
I don't think there will be a crash because development is so accessible now that there will always be more names like Hollow Knight, Deep Rock Galactic, Risk of Rain 2, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin, and so on. If anything I am oversaturated in good games
This said I think a lot of great games still come out, several not even indie. Half Life Alyx is insane and getting a lot of mod support. Death Stranding has an interesting focus on movement, though the start of the game must be intentionally annoying with drawn out story videos because they are so long and frequent that I cannot even call them cutscenes anymore. Doom Eternal satisfies the autism of completing a situation as 'clean' as possible, with a BUNCH of fun movement options. I actually just bought Metroid Dread yesterday and haven't opened it yet so would have to update on that, but to tie back into emulation, to my understanding if you bought the game, you can emulate your rip of the game, legally.
Fuck I even preordered the System Shock remake because the recent demo sold me so well, which I normally don't do, but I just have not been very financially responsible in general
I don't think there will be a crash because development is so accessible now that there will always be more names like Hollow Knight, Deep Rock Galactic, Risk of Rain 2, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin, and so on. If anything I am oversaturated in good games
#38
Off-Topic / Re: (Negative) Lasting Through...
Last post by Alc - January 19, 2022, 06:34:39 PMThe grind on SNES-era JRPGs is no fucking joke. If you're going to master a JRPG, I hope you like grinding.
Also take issue with your recommendations of sports games and shovelware. If you buy a console with a bunch of games you will be guaranteed a load of that shit. I don't know why you'd recommend it - shovelware is mediocre games by definition. Why would you want games that play badly and look like shit?
Get an Everdrive, play the best games on the system, and experiment from there, would be my advice. But I think if people have made it to this site it's safe to assume they're au fait with retro console, to be honest.
Also take issue with your recommendations of sports games and shovelware. If you buy a console with a bunch of games you will be guaranteed a load of that shit. I don't know why you'd recommend it - shovelware is mediocre games by definition. Why would you want games that play badly and look like shit?
Get an Everdrive, play the best games on the system, and experiment from there, would be my advice. But I think if people have made it to this site it's safe to assume they're au fait with retro console, to be honest.
#39
Off-Topic / Super Mario Bros. 1 and Lost L...
Last post by Princess Rescuer - December 04, 2021, 12:39:15 AMThe first two console 2D Mario games, 1 and 2 (Lost Levels) are very similar and challenging. It seems you are limited on options and can only run to the right and react to enemies. You have more options than that though- the game isn't exactly The Legend of Zelda, but it is more open than it seems. Despite being Baby's First Game, these old 2D titles are still too difficult for many people. These tactics will greatly leverage the games in your favor, giving you plenty of chances and benefits. Be patient in utilizing them to your favor, but don't hesitate to learn them- Peach is lonely and has nobody to kiss.
In any level with extra lives found in visible blocks, it's important to collect them, collect some coins in that attempt as well, and lose a life to repeat the level. The 1-Up will cancel out the death and you will have gained some coins to put towards your next life. As long as you're consistent and gaining faster than you're losing, you'll be slowly but surely gaining lives. This will also give you amazing practice as well.
In LL, backwards warp zones aren't the worst- you can use them to repeat easy early levels you've already mastered for numerous life gain. You will also have more opportunities to keep Fire Flowers as well.
Within the same level, some pipes might warp you backwards. You can use these to go into the bonus rooms over and over again. You can also go the wrong way in a looping castle and hit the invisible blocks over and over again for more coins.
You have a time limit, but not a strict one. Especially when visiting a level for the first time, you can take it slow. Levels are short and you have minutes to beat them. It's not as urgent as it seems.
In a level in the final worlds (8 or D) it's fine to forgo entering/completing them if you didn't keep the Fire Flower.
Be sure to study how scrolling things onto the screen at a certain time affects position and timing. Use this to your optimal advantage.
In any level with extra lives found in visible blocks, it's important to collect them, collect some coins in that attempt as well, and lose a life to repeat the level. The 1-Up will cancel out the death and you will have gained some coins to put towards your next life. As long as you're consistent and gaining faster than you're losing, you'll be slowly but surely gaining lives. This will also give you amazing practice as well.
In LL, backwards warp zones aren't the worst- you can use them to repeat easy early levels you've already mastered for numerous life gain. You will also have more opportunities to keep Fire Flowers as well.
Within the same level, some pipes might warp you backwards. You can use these to go into the bonus rooms over and over again. You can also go the wrong way in a looping castle and hit the invisible blocks over and over again for more coins.
You have a time limit, but not a strict one. Especially when visiting a level for the first time, you can take it slow. Levels are short and you have minutes to beat them. It's not as urgent as it seems.
In a level in the final worlds (8 or D) it's fine to forgo entering/completing them if you didn't keep the Fire Flower.
Be sure to study how scrolling things onto the screen at a certain time affects position and timing. Use this to your optimal advantage.
#40
Off-Topic / Mega Man 1 Pro Tips
Last post by Princess Rescuer - December 04, 2021, 12:08:03 AMMega Man 1 is my favorite Mega Man game. It isn't most people's though- the game is very rough around the edges and is brutally unforgiving. There's more of an emphasis on precision platforming than any other Classic Mega Man game, and there are no E-Tanks or items to help you. You also have the fewest Weapons of any installment by far- only seven, not counting your lemon-shooting Plasma Cannon (that's what it was called before it being the Mega Buster). And while bosses in later games would execute predictable and repetitive patterns with little to no changes in tactics, Mega Man 1's bosses want you dead. In order to clear all ten levels in this short, but difficult game, you'll need to fight as dirty as possible. This will help if you're inexperienced at platform games.
This assumes you're playing the original version with no savestates. The Select Glitch will not be included as it is overpowered cheating.
A well-known tactic is to farm energy power-ups by exiting and re-entering a screen, commonly used in Wily 1 level to have enough Magnet Beam energy to reach the boss. This is useful in other areas of the game too- you can scroll the small health off of the screen in Wily 2, walk back to the left, and throw a Hyper Bomb at the enemy guarding it until you're at full health and can challenge Elec Man. And if there are no power ups laying around, you can walk back and forth or climb up and down to make enemies re-appear for unlimited chances at health and energy drops as well as the rare extra lives if you make careless mistakes easily. If you're more patient, you can repeat the same level over and over again, being sure to collect the pre-placed extra life in it. In the original version, the maximum is "09" lives (instead of 99 in Legacy) so you won't have to do this much. In addition to that, whenever you're low on lives (you have 00 or 01), game overs are your friend. Weapon energy (restored in a Game Over) is as important as lives, so you can decide whether you would rather have more or less.
Little known fact: one of the bosses, Cut Man, has multiple weaknesses. One of them is blocks thrown by the Super Arm. Problem is, you don't have any in the Wily 2 rematch. You do have the next best thing though- the Fire Storm, which does 3 damage and makes Cut Man easier to hit and his incessant high jumps more manageable.
One of the most challenging bosses, for many players, is Copy Mega Man. There is an easy method to beating him though- switch to either the Super Arm or Magnet Beam so Copy will walk away from you. Then attack him at a safe distance. If he gets close, just switch again. Tedious but effective.
The tipping platforms in the beginning of Guts Man's level give new players plenty of problems. They can be traversed effortlessly with the Magnet Beam- which is in Elec Man's level and is hidden behind blocks that can only be lifted with the Super Arm you get from Guts Man. Not to worry- if you don't feel like mastering them right then, you can simply beat Elec Man and use the Thunder Beam against the blocks on the second go. Once you collect the Magnet Beam, it won't be necessary to beat Elec Man again- you can simply Game Over then go to Guts Man or any other level you haven't completed yet.
In general, find uses for the useless weapons so you can save the good ones for later. When confronted with blocks, use the Super Arm so you have the Thunder Beam for later. When there's the ground enemies, try seeing if you can hit them with the Hyper Bomb instead of anything more useful. It takes practice and ingenuity, but it's worth it.
One last thing- learn how to risk it for every health power-up you can find (such as the alcove in Elec Man's level). Do so while using the reloading trick mentioned above to fully refill and be as safe as possible. Mega Man 1 is much easier than it seems.
Mega Man 1 is a cheap and frustrating game with many tricks up its sleeve, so you need your own tricks to trounce it. Master these methods, and little will faze you.
This assumes you're playing the original version with no savestates. The Select Glitch will not be included as it is overpowered cheating.
A well-known tactic is to farm energy power-ups by exiting and re-entering a screen, commonly used in Wily 1 level to have enough Magnet Beam energy to reach the boss. This is useful in other areas of the game too- you can scroll the small health off of the screen in Wily 2, walk back to the left, and throw a Hyper Bomb at the enemy guarding it until you're at full health and can challenge Elec Man. And if there are no power ups laying around, you can walk back and forth or climb up and down to make enemies re-appear for unlimited chances at health and energy drops as well as the rare extra lives if you make careless mistakes easily. If you're more patient, you can repeat the same level over and over again, being sure to collect the pre-placed extra life in it. In the original version, the maximum is "09" lives (instead of 99 in Legacy) so you won't have to do this much. In addition to that, whenever you're low on lives (you have 00 or 01), game overs are your friend. Weapon energy (restored in a Game Over) is as important as lives, so you can decide whether you would rather have more or less.
Little known fact: one of the bosses, Cut Man, has multiple weaknesses. One of them is blocks thrown by the Super Arm. Problem is, you don't have any in the Wily 2 rematch. You do have the next best thing though- the Fire Storm, which does 3 damage and makes Cut Man easier to hit and his incessant high jumps more manageable.
One of the most challenging bosses, for many players, is Copy Mega Man. There is an easy method to beating him though- switch to either the Super Arm or Magnet Beam so Copy will walk away from you. Then attack him at a safe distance. If he gets close, just switch again. Tedious but effective.
The tipping platforms in the beginning of Guts Man's level give new players plenty of problems. They can be traversed effortlessly with the Magnet Beam- which is in Elec Man's level and is hidden behind blocks that can only be lifted with the Super Arm you get from Guts Man. Not to worry- if you don't feel like mastering them right then, you can simply beat Elec Man and use the Thunder Beam against the blocks on the second go. Once you collect the Magnet Beam, it won't be necessary to beat Elec Man again- you can simply Game Over then go to Guts Man or any other level you haven't completed yet.
In general, find uses for the useless weapons so you can save the good ones for later. When confronted with blocks, use the Super Arm so you have the Thunder Beam for later. When there's the ground enemies, try seeing if you can hit them with the Hyper Bomb instead of anything more useful. It takes practice and ingenuity, but it's worth it.
One last thing- learn how to risk it for every health power-up you can find (such as the alcove in Elec Man's level). Do so while using the reloading trick mentioned above to fully refill and be as safe as possible. Mega Man 1 is much easier than it seems.
Mega Man 1 is a cheap and frustrating game with many tricks up its sleeve, so you need your own tricks to trounce it. Master these methods, and little will faze you.