Lost and forgotten (except by us)

[Durandal]

Summer Carnival '92: Recca
A NES SHMUP nobody cared about because everybody stopped caring about the NES in 1992.
What's amazing about this SHMUP is how it runs so goddamn fast, at an amazing 90 sprites per second. Enemies pop out damn fast, and there are MANY.
The people who programmed Gradius III should look at this game and commit sudoku. The music is pretty baller too, you're unlikely to find dark techno like this anywhere else on the NES, although some songs tend to drag on for too long.
You get a button for firing your primary weapon, and another for secondary weapons. You have a variety of weapons to pick from, and they can all be upgraded as well if you pick the same one you already have. Not firing your primary weapons will charge up a powerful bomb that destroys nearly anything it touches, but you will need to evade enemy fire in the mean time, since your secondary weapons can't handle everything by themselves. You also get to adjust your own speed, which was fairly uncomon for most NES SHMUPs (Gradius had you collect orbs before being able to SPEED UP, and you couldn't turn your speed down in the first game either).
The unofficial title for this game is 'Super Hard Shooting Game', and you'll understand why after playing it.

P.S. If you manage to beat the game, try soft resetting it.

Play it here: http://www.letsplaysnes.com/play-summer-carnival-92-recca-online-nes/

 

[Coyote]

Why were this and spekkio's unofficial patch thread unstickied? They're both threads full of interesting and useful information that covers a variety of genres and tastes, which IMO makes them at least as suitable for the top of General Gaming as the Thief-specific threads that always manage to remain when things get shuffled around. (And I say that as an unabashed Thief fanboy.) Plus, unlike the screenshot thread where there's a continuous stream of new posts that keeps it bumped anyway, activity comes in fits and starts, so stickying them actually serves a useful purpose by keeping them from falling into obscurity during lulls.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo. (Firebird, 1988)
Side scrolling action adventure for c64.

The game tracked Usagis karma, which could be gained or lost depending on players actions. If karma goes to 0 then Usagi takes honourable way out.
This game was originally planned to be much larger.
From Wiki:

Spoiler

The game was originally envisoned as a much larger, open world experience, but due to the hardware and memory limitations of the Commodore 64, for which it was originally developed, numerous features had to be cut from the final product.

Paul Kidd and Russel Comte originally wrote a much larger script for the game, which would see Usagi be able to traverse through many multiple paths and lead to entirely different adventures and endings. In the design documents for the game, characters and situations are detailed such as mole ninjas surfacing out of the soil, a side quest rescuing an innocent villager being dragged by a stampeding horse and numerous activities such as gambling and dialogue sequences in the town sections of the game.

Likewise, the karma system was downscaled into a simplistic numeric system which acted as an onscreen counter that led Usagi to commit suicide if it fell under 0. In the original game design documents, karma was envisioned as a more fulfilled reputation system, which would affect the NPCs' views and actions towards Usagi

B-17 Flying Fortress (MicroProse, 1992)

Flight simulation that focuses on crew and system management of B-17 flying fortress bomber.
All subsystems from navigation to bombing and all gun positions could be controlled manually, or given to AI control (though AI was bad at bombing.)

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I remember both of those games, though I only ever read magazine coverage of both of them, and only a review for B-17. It was well-liked back then, getting reviews in the 75% range.

Speaking of B-17, one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) game I recovered from my floppies recently was The Dambusters. This 1984 CGA-graphics flight simulator put you aboard a bomber that's about to go off on a bombing run to blow up a dam. I simply have no idea if it's actually related to the eponymous film, or merely based on the story. I recall there being an Easy mode (that started you in air en route to your destination) and then a Normal mode where you had to take off and fly to your destination.

While the game seemed to accurately simulate a bomber and all its stations, the simplistic graphics and dire need for the manual made the game very unappealing to me. The machine gun nests had infinite ammo, but the bombing run had to be done by hand - and I don't think I ever managed to successfully blow up anything.

That's the cockpit. It makes Rescue on Fractalus look amazing by comparison.

An instrument panel. It doesn't get more basic than this, does it?

The game is 65 Kb in size, BTW. For comparison's sake, those two screenshots above are about 10 Kb each.

My copy of this game was one of a four-game compilation that came included with various Amstrad-brand PCs released around 1987. The other three games were PSI-5 Trading Company, Bruce Lee and Tag Team Wrestling, and the compilation came in a binder with a giant poster serving as the "manual" for all four games. While I'm supposed to still have the poster, and the binder itself (sans everything else) is still serving a good role, I could only find the disk containing The Dambusters and Tag Team Wrestling, and of those only The Dambusters was still present and working.

 

[Outlander]

Holy shite, 13 pages and still no mention of the game without which there would be no S.T.A.L.K.E.R.?



And it's available on GOG.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Holy shite, 13 pages and still no mention of the game without which there would be no S.T.A.L.K.E.R.?



And it's available on GOG.

I played that one twice, always abandoned in the 3rd or 4th mission in the lab, hangar or whatever it was.
First - AI of my teammate just died.
Second - bugged objective.

Hope GOG version will be fixed, like they fixed Anachronox (particulary one gamebreaking bug).

Same thing might go to the Firestarter - arena shooter with things that ended in STALKER (assault rifles, suits, some monsters and artifacts). I only liked music here (yeah, I'm into this kind of electronic Unreal-esque stuff).

Wow, that game is nowhere to be found and only video found is on MarphitimusBlackimus's channel, who is the best in the obscure FPS stuff.

 

[Dreaad]

Heart of Darkness (1998)

Fun little platformer, nice variety in environment/challenge/puzzles. Looks great and plays smooth to this day.
Level 1

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Titans of Steel (1999. Vicious Byte)
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Titans_of_Steel
(hmmm. Doesn't have wikipedia article written in english.)

Turn based giant robot fighting game inspired by Battletech. (And yes i remembered about this because of recent HBS Battletech game announcement.)
This game models damage to both to titans (this games mechs) and Jocks (pilots). Heat management among other things must be taken into account during battles. There is RPG elements in pilot creation and titan loadouts are customizable.


e.fixed image (i hope) Forgot to check it.
e2. added video about sequel Titans of Steel Warring Suns.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I get a "NO HOTLINK" error on that image.

 

[:Flash:]

Rocket Jockey

IMO the best "futuristic sports" game ever made. You ride rockets with almost no steering capabilities, relying on the possibility of tying cables to posts in order to turn. But you can also use the cables to throw enemies off their rockets, tie them to posts, grab the balls / pucks in the Rocket Ball events, etc. The game offers three types of events: Rocket Racing (a standard racing game), Rocket War and Rocket Ball.
Combined with a superb soundtrack this game is simply great, and a modern-day remake with better graphics but everything else untouched would be greatly appreciated.
I don't think a video can do justice to how much fun this game really is, but still:

 

[4249]

Although they have no connection, other than having mechs, Titans of Steel made me remember Metal Fatigue.

It was a 3D RTS from 2000 and I can't remember seeing it being mentioned anywhere ever since. I also have no memory of whether it was good or bad, so it might've just been bad

Along with the basic RTS base building etc. there were a few fun features to it at the time. As it was fully 3D, the terrain could be used to block projectiles. You could build your mechs from 3 part types. You had arms, legs and a torso. At first you only had a few parts, but you could scavenge more from enemies you defeated to expand the selection. I had to read up the wikipedia article a bit to refresh my memory, and apparently it also featured 3 layers of combat; surface, orbital and underground. Mechs with flight capabilities could traverse between orbital and surface freely and some vehicles could traverse underground.




edit:

Apparently it was developed by the same company that developed Demon Stone and this masterpiece:

 

[Baron Dupek]

Yeah I played it some time but that was before I learned to play RTS games with Dawn of War.
I still suck at them tho.

the terrain could be used to block projectiles.

IIRC it's a thing in Myth series, before MF was released.

And I see that resources management is like the one from Total Anihillation and Sup Commander.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Azrael's Tear
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/azraels-tear
I'm pretty surprised that this wasn't mentioned yet. Unusual and really underrated game that deserves a longer write-up from someone whose command of words is far, far better than mine.
Anyways, AT is a fantastic, unique, highly immersive and atmospheric 3D adventure game with just a wee dash of shotan. You take a role of archaeologist/treasure hunter equipped with this fancy high-tech suit, exploring mysterious complex of ancient ruins and caverns in search of Holly Grail. You'll solve puzzles, avoid a deadly trap from time to time, collect and read various old texts, encounter few pieces of (more or less hostile) local fauna, and interact with various (more or less insane) characters. Locales are really well-detailed, with superb use of lighting, and atmosphere is even more enhanced with appropriate ambient sound effects. Music is also pretty lovely at times, tho you might want to mute it in order to accentuate the atmosphere.
Writing is fucking excellent, with way more depth than it seems at (already unique) start, and various NPCs you can interact with would be right at home in a From Software RPG.
That high-tech suit I mentioned earlier is not just for show: it will constantly update you with info about your environments and objects you examine. Also, stuff like sound adjustment or even saving the game is presented as one of the functions of your suit. Pretty nice touch that improves the immersion even more.

 

[likaq]

Mods, stick this thread for fuck's sake!

 

[zool]

101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy (Interactive Simulations Inc, 1998)

A quite obscure top down turn-based squad tactics game, 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy is probably the most in-depth simulation of managing a 18-man stick of paratroopers during D-Day.

The game is divided in two parts : the first one, where the game is at its best, has you preparing your squad for the mission. You're offered a lot of options in selecting the men you want to take on your squad, equipping them (while keeping in mind that the more you overburden them with equipment, the more likely it is they will suffer from a injury when landing) and even individually assigning their seats on the plane. Once you're ready, you hit the "Launch" button and see the semi-randomly generated jump results, with paratroopers status ranging from "Landed safely" to "Hurt on landing", "Separated from group", "Went down with plane" and a lot of other statuses (on the highest difficulty level, it's not uncommon to only have 20-30% of you stick landing safely with you)

The second part is the squad-based tactics game itself, which unfortunately is quite slow and cumbersome. It's still not so bad but hard as hell, with a realistic injury system where one bullet is often enough to kill or incapacitate any of your soldier. You move from map to map in search of your designated objective and can sometimes stumble about prisoners or French peasants who can provide you with intelligence on German forces.

All in all, a must-try for any WW2 fan with a taste for squad tactics, if only for the first part of the game.

Your base in England

The briefing screen

Handpicking your soldiers

Choosing your weapons

Assign equipment individually

The seating plan has its importance

The dreaded jump result screen

You're in Normandy now, better get rid of your parachute

En route toward the bridge

You won't see this screen very often

 

[Toxic Masculinity]

Inca.

A shitty mixture of space combat and adventure game. I loved tho.

Normality.

Prerendered 3D adventure.

Spoiler

 

[Naraya]

Sorry for going a bit OT but I think I just had a nostalgia overload http://zxds.raxoft.cz/games.html

Never forget my first and only beloved 8-bit machine, ZX Spectrum + !

 

[Astral Rag]

Normality is an awesome game but it's not a "Prerendered 3D adventure.", it runs on the "True 3D Engine" which was later used for another good and IMO great-looking Gremlin Interactive game called Realms of the Haunting. The cut-scenes are the only parts of these games that are pre-rendered.

There are two versions of Normality, Gog is selling the original UK version but you can use this fan-made patch if you want the Corey Feldman VA.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Sorry for going a bit OT but I think I just had a nostalgia overload http://zxds.raxoft.cz/games.html

Nice find. It has a simple purpose and does its job quite well, point out the good games and then referring to other similar ones.

There's just one problem: It's the Spectrum. Most of the games he's listing can be found on other platforms - only better.

To do this properly he'd have to start with the Spectrum-exclusive or Spectrum-first titles. That would include most of the Ultimate Play the Game catalog for starters, but except for titles like Deathchase there sadly isn't a lot of games that are preferably played on the Spectrum, at least when compared to other platforms.

I'm an Amstrad guy myself, but even I have accepted that the score is very similar for me - there are very few games on the CPC that are worth playing nowadays on an Amstrad emulator.

 

[tormund]

Anyone here remembers Mageslayer?

It was like Heretic, with Hexen's choice of multiple playable characters, only played from top-down perspective. Sadly like bunch of other Raven Software games, it isn't legally available through digital distribution and probably never will be.

 

[4249]

Fuck, I was just trying to remember the name of Mageslayer a few weeks ago. Had a very clear image of the gameplay in my head, but the name eluded me. Kept thinking of Magebane, so I wasn't off by a lot. Thanks!

I remember it being tons of fun and the box art for it was awesome.

Raven Software used the same engine, although with a different angle, for Take No Prisoners. I remember seeing the box art for it as well, but no idea if it was any good. Looks like it could be fun.

 

[Durandal]

Cho Ren Sha 68K
Get it at: http://www2.tky.3web.ne.jp/~yosshin/my_works/download.html
A freeware SHMUP originally released for the Sharp X68000, but later ported to Windows.
Its style is very similar to other Toaplan shooters (they're even referenced in the highscore screen), so you only have movement keys, a button for shooting, and a button for bombing. At first glance it doesn't look like anything special, but it's the level design that keeps this game fresh. Instead of just throwing popcorn enemies at you or having you dodge quintillion bullets like every generic danmaku shooter, enemies come at you from all sides, and it has some of the most original bullet patterns and enemy formation I've seen in any SHMUP. Shooting down a bigger ship will make them drop a constantly rotating circle of three orbs, consisting of a power-up orb (powers up your shots), a bomb orb (extra bomb), and a barrier orb (lets your ship absorb one bullet). However, you can get all three at once if you stay in the middle of the circle for some time, but this is very tricky to pull off, especially with all enemies firing at you. Every million points will turn the next barrier orb you see in an 1-up, so make your choice wisely. Also, you can get the true final boss in the second loop, and killing it triggers the explosion from the first stage.
On top of that, the music is fucking amazing. Seriously, give it a listen:

 

[:Flash:]

Flying Saucer

This game is unique in more than one way. It is one of the few games that was developed by a U.S. company, but only ever released in Germany. For some reason (developer or publisher going bankrupt), it was never released in the U.S.. Years later one of the devs leaked the fully finished original English version to HotU, but boxed copies are all German (I have one).
It is also one of the few games that combines 3d graphics during missions with comic style fmv sequences.
And of course it is unique in the flight model of the flying saucer, that you steal from Area 51 and which gives the game its name. The flight model is radically different from all other flight and space games (there are ground and space missions): The flying saucer can turn around its middle axis, and tilt up and down, but none of this has any effect on the direction of the saucer. The saucer just goes straight into a single direction until you hit a specific button, at which point it immediately changes the flight direction into whatever direction you are currently facing. Thus the saucer trajectory is a series of straight lines during which you can turn at random.

Spoiler

 

[LennyFromMotorbread]

Lost and forgotten except by me. Way back in 1996 when Escape From L.A. came out and no one liked it, Flash (or was it Shockwave) on the World Wide Web was the most fascinating plug-in ever, and a browser-based game was made for the movie. I only remember bits and pieces, but I'd say it was largely an adventure game where you walked around and talked to characters from the movie and engaged in a few action segments based on the basketball and surfing scenes. It was fun if you were about thirteen and half-retarded, which I was and I was.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

It is one of the few games that was developed by a U.S. company, but only ever released in Germany. For some reason (developer or publisher going bankrupt), it was never released in the U.S.

Isn't that the same story with the Duckman game? Only 5000 copies made, only released in Germany/Europe? Box in German, game in English?