Incline Revisiting Old Games (Again)

[Falksi]

play Lagoon next
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagoon_(video_game)

Just started Brain Lord, so will get that tucked in soon. Cheers for the suggestion

 

[Falksi]

Brain Lord

This wasn't released in the UK, so first time playing it. S'alright.

Plays well enough, very responsive, nice mix of action & RPG elements for a game of that era especially the weapon variation. It's quite light hearted and focuses more on making money than saving the world etc. with a real casual vibe to everything.

It's really for folk who like puzzley dungeons though, which I don't mind as part of an RPG, but the dungeons form a massive bulk of this game. Whereas I prefer more of a balance like in say Link To The Past, where the outside world is as big a part of a game as the dungeons.

Worth checking out if you like dungeon crawler-esq games. Neat, but not spectacular.

 

[Falksi]

Lagoon - SNES

^Look at how wank that attack is. Wank

First thing that struck me was how good the music was. Right from the very intro my toe was tapping & I was drawn in by it. However, no sooner had I started to get into it than I was drawn out of it by a few odd annoyances - such as the fact that the screen only scrolls when you get near the edge of it. Sounds weird, but I found it very off putting. Not only that, but the first village offers absolutely nothing of interest at all. "The water is muddy". That's yer lot Sir Wankalot. Not a great start.

So you go back & forth doing a few pointless bits & bobs before you even get equipped, and then into the first dungeon and BOOM! you're hit by the wankness of the wankest weapon ever. Honestly his sword is like a pathetic little letter opener. Yeah you get a few other extra attacks later, but none of it is particularly fun. And then you have the bizarre level design, which gives you the proper route to go, alongside dead ends with little of interest to find if you don't take the "correct" path. It's really fucking weird, because you'd expect said routes to lead to items or enemies or something, but they don't, they're just detours to nothing.

The bosses are probably the highlight of the game, some funky ones in there, but the crap weapon, generic story & overall gameplay just really put me off this all round. I returned to it a couple more times to see if I could be bothered to persist, but I couldn't. sorry rusty_shackleford , not for me this one.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Lagoon - SNES

However, no sooner had I started to get into it than I was drawn out of it by an odd annoyances - such as the fact that the screen only scrolls when you get near the edge of it. Sounds weird, but I found it very off putting.

I recognize this from the Amstrad CPC, as that platform had no hardware support for scrolling, and getting it to scroll properly via coding was a herculean feat that very few discovered during the Amstrad's natural lifespan. But for the life of me I can't remember the proper term for it, but it was something like 'step-scrolling' or 'push-scrolling'.

Obviously it has no purpose being on the SNES which has hardware support for scrolling, so this ranks up there in the "Most peculiar, Mr. Watson!"-levels of WTF.

 

[Falksi]

Alex Kidd in Miracle World - Master System

So yeah, the console stuff is flowing & I guess that's how things have evolved so far, so I thought I'd pop on to the Mater System. Bizarrely, as a kid who was reeled in by the "Plug Me Into a SEGA" advert hook line & sinker, I never actually played this, despite owning many Sega games. I just always thought it looked gay.

Anyway, I really enjoyed playing it. It's bordering on child-like levels on simplicity, but for some reason I kept playing, dying & returning. It's paced very deliberately, and gives you a real nice freedom of choice of how to progress & at what speed. The punch mechanic is nice, even if the collision detection does feel a little off at times, and the levels are well designed to keep you interested & evolve naturally in yourself as you learn with each playthrough.

Ultimately, it's really a kids game which is novel and charming enough to push the right nostalgia buttons. It feels typical of a game of that era, but also leaves some of the more annoying traits from it behind too.

I'm not gonna get carried away, once you've had an hour or so on it you'll leave it for a good while, but it deserves a decent mark for all the positives above.

 

[Falksi]

California Games - Master System

Fuck it, whilst I'm blasting through a few Master System games I'll dig out this old fave. I used to fucking love this as a kid. and be California dreaming about one day actually doing these events for real. I was fucking brilliant on it, and could thrash all my mates hitting nearly perfect scores all the time. Be very interesting to see how both it & I fared now.

Well first of all, I've become pretty wank. Not dire, I could still hold my own against a beginner & I managed a few respectable scores, but I was about 25% of the player I used to be. As for the game itself it's still not bad actually. There are definitely stronger conversions of it that's for sure, the 16-bit Megadrive version for starters, but it still has a nice mix of pick up and play fun plus a good chunk of variety.

As with most games of this ilk, certain events are obviously more fun than others, and a lot of the time it's down to personal preference. It also contains the Frisbee events, which some conversions don't.

I don't know why anyone would choose this version over one of the better ones, but even if you did you'd still have a decent giggle.

 

[Falksi]

Crusader of Centy (a.k.a. Soleil) - Megadrive

I remember seeing this game doing the rounds back in t'day, but never once being remotely interested in it. It was released just as I was switching my focus from games to fanny as puberty hit full bore, so that might have been one of the reasons why it just didn't grab me.

It's got a lot of Zelda-esq qualities to it, but it's also far more linear & more gameplay orientated than puzzle orientated. I love the ideas behind the story. After playing around an hour I really connected with the game, and couldn't wait to see through the adventure. Graphics are nice, controls well enough, and the foundations for what should be a great game are there.

Sadly, it's execution lets it down. The two main issues being the area designs & slightly obscure "quests". The areas you explore feel empty & lacking, whereas Zelda was Super-Mario esq with a whole host of neat little things hiding away everywhere, this attempts that but doesn't pull it off half as well. When you play Zelda you push/pull/search everything knowing the world is absolutely riddled with mysteries & secrets waiting to be discovered. This doesn't manage to convey or do that half as well. And yes you are told what your next objective is, but often in a round-about way which still leaves a fair bit open to interpretation. It can result in wandering round for hours with no real purpose. Hours in a world which doesn't have anything of note to discover in the process.

I'd say check it out because it may have enough for some to really enjoy, but in the end it fell a bit short for me.

 

[Falksi]

Brawl Brother (Rival Turf 2) - SNES

^ It's M Bison. Again. Yawn.

Ugggh. I remember seeing this kicking about, but was well put off by it's wank cover. And what is it with the M Bison obsession of that era? You could find clones of him everywhere, in this game for one.

Is it serviceable? yes. From an era where there's a fuck load of Beat Em Ups to play is it worth your time? No. Simply put it hasn't got the charm, satisfaction, or excitement to warrant it. It's a bit like going to work. You do it, some of you may enjoy it, but ultimately it's pretty empty and Sat night is what you're really looking forward to.

It doesn't play that great either tbh. There's a lot of time with some of the characters where the action feels behind your button inputs.

Not woeful, but not worth playing much either.

 

[Falksi]

Chase HQ 2 - Megadrive

The original Chase HQ was something of an iconic game amongst me & my mates. It was well known, but quite rare to find. Gimmicky? Yes, but that small little spin of having car-combat really made it stand out at the time.

And with this game, it still does. The racing sections are ropey. Not awful, but the civilian cars are all over the place, and some of the track layouts are frankly bullshit. A fair few times you'll encounter sections where hitting something - be it a car, lampost, barrier, whatever - is unavoidable. The way the road moves underneath you slightly feels off too. But then it gets really exciting when you go into "chase" mode and start smashing the shit out the boss. It's incredibly satisfying when you land 3 or 4 hits on them in quick succession.

You can finish the game in 15-20 min, and there's nothing to see after that. So I'd have it down as OK for a quick blast. Won't rock your world, but will get you a rush on for a few min.

 

[Falksi]

Double Dragon - Master System

^That's it, punch her right in the fucking tit the slag

Another iconic game from my youth, Double D's were legendary amongst us then youth, and we're not just talking about big tits . The arcade version was where it was at, but when this came to the Master System it was one of the games which sold me into getting one.

Returning to it now and, after 30 odd years of quality gaming I shouldn't be enjoying it as much as I am. But I am. Despite sprite flicker being very offputting at times, and there being very little variation in enemy attacks, it does more right than a lot of beat 'em ups 10-20 years later. It's got a surprisingly large array of moves for such an early beat em up, and I was actually more satisfied with them than when playing the recently reviewed Brawl Bros on the SNES. That said, the flying kick is clearly the stand out move, and it's one most folk will end up spamming at some point.

Now it's rare that things such as infinite continues help a game out, but in this game it does. See the action is very "messy", in that you really do just button bash away, a more tactical/thoughtful approach does little, and the opposition often get blows in to you between your blows. It goes against gaming logic, but I guess in a weird way it's more realistic. Real fights are scrappy. So because you've infinite continues you don't really care or get frustrated, you just keep bashing the shit out of things. And here that's fun, and it works.

It looks good, the enemy HP is absolutely spot on so that they feel noteable, but aren't bloated so you get bored, and the short sharp nature of the game (4 levels, taking about 15-25 min to finish) mean it's still a superb dumb button masher to this day. It's as dumb and mashing as these games get, but if you're looking for a way to kill 20min with a mate it's perfect.

 

[Falksi]

Breath of Fire - SNES

It's easy to romanticize about this era of gaming. There were some definite classic RPG's that were birthed throughout it, but there were also a shit load of games which had 1 or 2 key elements drag them down & made them a fail.

BOF is definitely the latter to me. It's got a fair few nifty things going for it, but ultimately it's the same generic hero tale told via countless random battles which bog the game down heavily. Not only do you encounter a scrap every few steps, but the scraps themselves aren't short either, they can usually last for a few min at least.

There's not really much more to say about it because that's all this game really boils down to. Nice graphics, nice setup, generic plot & too many battles which are too long.

 

[Falksi]

F-Zero - SNES

MODE FUCKING 7!! Oh the jizm we spilled as kids over the magic of Mode 7. I remember first seeing this and being totally blown away by it, no chance it can still do that now Shirley?

Well, not quite, but it comes very close. And it does that because it has this wonderful balance of elements all dancing around your senses as you play. The dynamic graphics are very colourful draw you in big time, the game feels fast & exciting with excellent controls responding to your inputs superbly, and the music grabs you right from the off too. Real great example of that 16-bit "Pow!" factor which made it such incline.

Additional more unique racing elements such as ramps, energy pit stops, exploding cars, a track exterior which drains power, each vehicle having a very distinguished character etc. all add up to make for a very exciting, very different & very fun little racer. You're always on a knife edge because you can be having the perfect game, and clipping another car sightly or judging a jump wrong can send everything into chaos, and end it in seconds. It can make you quick to anger, but it rarely feels cheap or skanky, and creates a great sense of tension.

I've only a few gripes with the game, firstly no matter how well you do the opposition is always right behind you. It just makes the game feel a little bit artificial. They're also fairly invulnerable, and never seem to get destroyed by energy drains, or being knocked off the track. Again, just adds to that artificial-ness.

But the gameplay is so sweet and so good, that it still remains a classic, and a game everyone should own. It's short lived, and there's not much to return to once completed, but what's done is just done so well that you've got to play it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Lagoon - SNES

^Look at how wank that attack is. Wank

First thing that struck me was how good the music was. Right from the very intro my toe was tapping & I was drawn in by it. However, no sooner had I started to get into it than I was drawn out of it by an odd annoyances - such as the fact that the screen only scrolls when you get near the edge of it. Sounds weird, but I found it very off putting. Not only that, but the first village offers absolutely nothing of interest at all. "The water is muddy". That's yer lot Sir Wankalot. Not a great start.

So you go back & forth doing a few pointless bits & bobs before you even get equipped, and then into the first dungeon and BOOM! you're hit by the wankness of the wankest weapon ever. Honestly his sword is like a letter opener. Yeah you get a few other extra attacks later, but none of it is particularly fun. And then you have the bizarre level design, which gives you the route to go & dead ends with little of interest to find if you don't take the "correct" path. The bosses are probably the highlight of the game. Some funky ones in there.

But the crap weapon, generic story & overall gameplay just really put me off this all round. I returned to it a couple more times to see if I could be bothered to persist, but I couldn't. sorry rusty_shackleford , not for me this one.

Just realized you actually played it. I remember beating it when I was younger, the game had a few interesting bits but it was pretty bad.
As for a good suggestion, try Lufia 2 — it's one of the SNES jrpg gems but barely gets anywhere near as much recognition as e.g., FF6, chrono trigger, etc.,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufia_II:_Rise_of_the_Sinistrals

 

[Falksi]

Lagoon - SNES

^Look at how wank that attack is. Wank

First thing that struck me was how good the music was. Right from the very intro my toe was tapping & I was drawn in by it. However, no sooner had I started to get into it than I was drawn out of it by an odd annoyances - such as the fact that the screen only scrolls when you get near the edge of it. Sounds weird, but I found it very off putting. Not only that, but the first village offers absolutely nothing of interest at all. "The water is muddy". That's yer lot Sir Wankalot. Not a great start.

So you go back & forth doing a few pointless bits & bobs before you even get equipped, and then into the first dungeon and BOOM! you're hit by the wankness of the wankest weapon ever. Honestly his sword is like a letter opener. Yeah you get a few other extra attacks later, but none of it is particularly fun. And then you have the bizarre level design, which gives you the route to go & dead ends with little of interest to find if you don't take the "correct" path. The bosses are probably the highlight of the game. Some funky ones in there.

But the crap weapon, generic story & overall gameplay just really put me off this all round. I returned to it a couple more times to see if I could be bothered to persist, but I couldn't. sorry rusty_shackleford , not for me this one.

Just realized you actually played it. I remember beating it when I was younger, the game had a few interesting bits but it was pretty bad.
As for a good suggestion, try Lufia 2 — it's one of the SNES jrpg gems but barely gets anywhere near as much recognition as e.g., FF6, chrono trigger, etc.,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufia_II:_Rise_of_the_Sinistrals

Aye, it was wank indeed.

Lufia 2 is one I played back in the day, but I don't remember that much about it. It's definitely on the list to indulge in

 

[Modron]

After Lufia 2 play Front Mission 1 the best game to land on the SNES.

 

[Falksi]

After Lufia 2 play Front Mission 1 the best game to land on the SNES.

Is that different from Front Mission Gun Hazard, or the same game?

 

[Modron]

After Lufia 2 play Front Mission 1 the best game to land on the SNES.

Is that different from Front Mission Gun Hazard, or the same game?

Different, strategy rpg with lots of mech customization and this cool in game internet. Good music as well. Was fan translated on the SNES, then later redone and translated commercially for the Nintendo DS update.

 

[Falksi]

Captain Commando - SNES

^"Hi, we're generic none-threatening bad guys. Hit us slowly"

A conversion of the arcade game, Captain Commando was released in the arcades 2 years after Capcom's successful Final Fight, and it's most memorable feature were the more outlandish selectable characters which were a slight departure from the normal Beat Em Up characters at the time. I vaguely remember playing it in the arcade, but never had a go on the SNES port.

And having played it now, I'm glad I saved my money. Before Streets of Rage 2, most BEU's of this ilk relied on very few moves, and a fairly simple selection, which in turn meant the other external elements such as graphics, enemies, speed, satisfaction etc. played a bigger part in the appeal & keeping you interested. Sadly, Captain Commando is pretty shit in all said departments.

It looks lacklustre, has a-typical baddies ripped from every other BEU, feels sluggish as fuck, and knocking the fuck out the bad guys isn't satisfying in the least. It all feels so far behind your button presses, and you don't get any remote pump on when twatting the enemy. There's simply no "Pow!" or "Wow!" there.

It's not unplayable and those who warm to the original main characters may find some appeal in it, but I couldn't even be bothered to finish it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Turtles in Time and Simpsons both predate Streets of Rage 2

 

[Falksi]

Turtles in Time and Simpsons both predate Streets of Rage 2

Both similar styles to Captain Commando, attack + jump getting you through. No double taps, no variation on grappling moves, no special move power meter etc. Both done far better because the speed & impact elements hit home.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Turtles in Time and Simpsons both predate Streets of Rage 2

Both similar styles to Captain Commando, attack + jump getting you through. No double taps, no variation on grappling moves, no special move power meter etc. Both done far better because the speed & impact elements hit home.

I was never big into those types of games but I remember playing those two a ton at arcades.
The Simpsons has had a lot of good games TBH, probably way more than any other cartoon. There was a fun SNES one, Bart's Nightmare.

 

[Falksi]

Turtles in Time and Simpsons both predate Streets of Rage 2

Both similar styles to Captain Commando, attack + jump getting you through. No double taps, no variation on grappling moves, no special move power meter etc. Both done far better because the speed & impact elements hit home.

I was never big into those types of games but I remember playing those two a ton at arcades.
The Simpsons has had a lot of good games TBH, probably way more than any other cartoon. There was a fun SNES one, Bart's Nightmare.

Will defo be reviewing Bart's Nightmare. Remember it being very original, with some hit & miss levels.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Different, strategy rpg with lots of mech customization

You know, I like the game and all ..

..but the constant need to upgrade your many mechs in several different compartments takes up so much fucking time, it actually becomes tedious pretty fast, particularly as there is little thought involved because outside of very few other considerations the newest shit is usually the best shit. So each time after combat I know I have to go into this tedious upgrade phase for what feels like forever, I turn off the console.

The the battles and the story and the combat system are all great particularly for a game of that era. But the mech customization should've been either way more complex or much simpler.

Edit: Cool thread, btw, Falksi !

 

[Falksi]

The Chaos Engine - PC/Amiga/SNES

^This dude bums kids and the game makes no apologies for it.

This is one I used to see, hear & read about ALL the time, but it always eluded me. I think I played it pissed up one night on my mates Amiga, but was too hammered to retain any lasting impression from it.

So the first pleasant surprise are the inclusion of stats & RPG elements. Quality. No wonder the Incliners loved this back in t'day. Not to mention the great steampunk vibe and great selection of characters too. These little details really add to the flavour of a game, esp from that era, and count for a lot. Not only are the characters a very original slant on your usual character selections, not only does each feel unique, but every single one is a prestigious white Alpha male. It would drive SJW's mad if released now, 6 characters and not 1 "diverse" one amongst them. Hell even the Priest is played perfectly with his description containing the advice "His perverse nature is not to be trusted" as pictured above.

Getting down to the nitty gritty of the gameplay and it's good. Plenty of action in there yet, enough elements to prod the grey matter & keep you thinking a bit too. It's certainly a game which requires forethought, and sees you survive longer if you think ahead, rather than just relying on reactions that's for sure. It controls well enough, enemy respawn rates keep you on your toes but don't bog you down, and the way the 2nd character influences the game is significant enough to make it more than a gimmick.

There are a few kickers in there though. Firstly, it does suffer significantly from hidden attacks often hitting you from out of nowhere. Yeah you can memorize stuff, but unless you play super-cautious you'll take a fair amount of damage which it's hard to see coming. Also, the chaotic nature of the levels works really well to a point, but it can get a bit too confusing & tedious at times too. Not a major issue & in keeping with the game, but I did have to stop to take a breather here & there. Finally, it's no major thing, but I personally miss the sound of any protagonist gunfire. It doesn't really harm the game per say, it just makes things feel a little less satisfying, in fact the sound FX on the whole are a tad weak.

So a very good game & which is also full of flavour. Not quite everything it's hyped up to be, but a damn fine blast, with enough character & uniqueness to stand out from the crowd.

 

[Falksi]

Ghostbusters - Master System

Massive on the nostalgia factor this one. Xmas 1988 and I'd spent 3 months spunking my pants in anticipation of the Master System arriving to upgrade my BBC Micro. Bundled with the system was Hang On, Safari Hunt, and a wank hidden little snail maze game. All fun enough, but the main game I got with it as a separate purchase was Ghostbusters. I spent pretty much all day from opening the pressie until bed time playing the hell out of all the games, but with Ghostbusters seeing a good 70% of that gaming time. It drove mi mam fucking mad. See the game opens with the Master System's best effort at recreating the Ghostbusters theme tune, but that's it, that's the only track you get, and It's played over & over & over & over. The perfect game to drive your parents nuts.

So how does it fare now? I don't know how much the nostalgia factor is influencing me, but I still enjoyed it. It's a strange game that's for sure, simply because it combines so many unusual gameplay elements, and doesn't do any of them particularly well tbh. It's a racer with crap racing sections, it's a shooter where the shooting sections are really simple, it's even got strategic elements regards slowing ghosts down + navigating the map & planning routes. Individually most are a bit pap in all honesty, but the strange mix of elements all blend together well enough to create something greater than the sum of it's parts, because you're constantly engaged & feeling pressured to stay on top of things.

It is a relief when you finally just get to zap some ghosts in the last 2 stages, and it's a big shame that those 2 levels couldn't have seen an inclusion in the main game. I'd have loved for there to have been that extra bit of variety when busting ghosts & seeing it switch from trapping them to just blasting them much like the stairway level. But it manages to create a real nice sense of pressure as you race against time & ghosts to build & keep enough money to enter the final stages. It's actually a very clever game for an 8-bit console, and it's no wonder a 10 year old kid would think it good.

There's not much to return to, and it's weird because as mentioned the actual gameplay is a bit pap & very basic really. But constantly having to be on your toes and having ghosts to chase is just great fun. Bit of a crappy game which manages to still be a fun experience. Like watching your favourite B-movie which has an edge of cleverness.