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Post by Fryguy64 on Sept 1, 2011 4:49:52 GMT -5
I've been ticking off games from my "I never totally finished this" list lately, and I thought a retro edition of the popular Currently Playing thread would hopefully wake up the classic forum a tad.
While I'm using emulation (despite owning the games several times over) this is purely for the ability to record my progress. Maybe I'll make videos or reviews at some point, but I wish I'd done this earlier. It would make getting screenshots for the site a hell of a lot easier...
Despite this, I'm not playing with savestates or cheats or anything. I'm playing these games as they were meant to be played - blood, sweat, and palm-sized blisters. My intention is to finish the games I wish I'd finished, not simply to get to the end as quick as possible. Hardcore gamer challenge!!
A couple weeks ago I finally made it through Zelda II. I mentioned this elsewhere as well, and I must say the game grew on me a lot. Sure, the combat is a pain in the ass, and the lives system could do with being tidied up a bit, but by the end I was fond of this black sheep of the Zelda family.
Then yesterday I finally beat a game I've been stuck on for 16 years. I finally cleared the Toxic Tower in Donkey Kong Country 2, and thereafter defeated K.Rool. There's a long way to go before I get the fabled complete percentage, but I'm not that fussed right now... It was hard enough just getting to the end...
I've also been playing Donkey Kong Country & Donkey Kong Country 3, although I did beat those games 100% (or 101+%...) back in the day.
Finally is Mario's Super Picross. I've gotten far in this, but never cleared the whole game (particularly the Wario puzzles). I've come across quite a number of cameos now actually... There's a load of Wario Land enemies as well as a Tetris cameo. I'm currently up to Level 10 with both the Mario and Wario puzzles, so hopefully will be all done with this very soon!
Is anyone else playing through any classic Nintendo games?
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Post by ville10 on Sept 1, 2011 7:17:39 GMT -5
Well, I'm currently unemployed, so I have spent quite some time on my older games (that is before I got Xenoblade, I wont be leaving that game anytime soon!) I finally finished the GBA version of SMB3. I was stuck on the third to last level before, but as it turned out, NSMBW have improved my Mario skills a lot. I also made sure to beat every level. Playing it again made me remember how much I love that game, and reassured me that I prefer it to SMW. I also beat the GBA version of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I have no idea why I never finished it, I don't even think I reached the Dark World last time. Good game, but I was kinda annoyed that the dungeon items don't play the significant role in their dungeons that they do in the newer games. I have gotten far to used to the Zelda formula Also, while it isn't a retro game, I beat Twilight Princess this summer. I got it with my Wii back in 2006, but I hated the Wolf part in the beginning, so I just put it away. Bad decision, but at least I had a great game to play this summer.
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Post by nocturnal YL on Sept 1, 2011 9:06:26 GMT -5
Currently playing Zelda II on 3DS. It's more addicting than I thought.
It's a shame that these second-in-the-series games (DKJr, SMB2U (although not really the second in the line), Zelda II, FE2, whatever else are there...) don't see the entirety of their system reviving in other games.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Sept 1, 2011 10:19:31 GMT -5
I'm not so sure about that. The 16-bit era seemed to be when the templates were set in stone for many series that are still going strong today, while the 8-bit games, whether the first or second in the series, helped to build those templates.
For example, A Link to the Past may appear top-down like Zelda 1, but it's more rigid in structure and has a higher reliance on magic, combat and upgrades, plus interaction with NPCs, like Zelda 2. Arguably, the combat in Ocarina of Time borrows even more from Zelda 2 (and was at least inspired by it, based on a recent Iwata Asks). The amount of Zelda 2 fanservice in Ocarina of Time is testament to it as well.
Super Metroid took the basics of the original, combined them with the atmosphere and improved mechanics of the GB sequel, refined them further and produced a game that has been used as the basis for every sequel since.
People often make the Zelda judgement based on the fact Zelda 2 is the only side-scrolling Zelda (ignoring the CDi games). But after finally sticking with the NES Zelda games through their old-school difficulty, I see equal amounts of inspiration from both in the later games. Zelda 1 broke new ground, sure, but it's very basic when put up against even the SNES game.
Similarly, I like the fact the single/double climbing mechanics in Donkey Kong Jr. made their way into DK94, Mario vs. Donkey Kong and even Donkey Kong Country 2.
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Post by Volray on Sept 1, 2011 10:32:31 GMT -5
I've decided to finally play through the entire Final Fantasy series for the first time. Previously I've only ever beaten the first Final Fantasy (via Dawn of Souls on the GBA). Besides that I came pretty close to finishing IV, but gave up right near the end, and made it about half way through VI.
I'm not sure how far I'll get before giving up, I've heard only bad things about VIII, but I'll see when I get there.
So far I've finished I, II, III, IV, and V. All using the GBA versions and the DS version of III.
So now it's time for me to restart the best Final Fantasy eveeeeeeer (according to the internet).
...Or at least I will when I head home at the end of September and can pick up my copy of FFVI Advance.
I will say this though, I was definitely too hard on these games before. I might not think there as good as some Final Fantasy fanatics on the internet claim they are, but there are a lot better than I made them out to be. Well maybe not II, II just plain sucks, but I probably should have given III and V more than one hour before I decided never to play again.
Dragon Quest is still better, though.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 1, 2011 10:57:45 GMT -5
It's been a few weeks at this point, but I downloaded Kid Icarus and Kirby's Adventure on the Virtual Console.
Kid Icarus was a lot easier than I expected it to be given how hard everyone says it is. I even made it thru all the labyrinths without using maps, and got the best ending on the second loop. ;D
I feel like I should appreciate the Kirby games more than I do, but I suppose that I feel that Sakurai's "messy" designs work better for fighting games like Smash Bros or puzzle games like Meteos than for straightforward platform games. Still a good game, tho.
As for non-Nintendo games, I also downloaded Wonder Boy 1 and 3 for the Master System (I got Monster Land earlier this year), and I love them all! I'm looking forward to getting the rest, including the localized version of Monster World IV that Sega is supposed to be releasing on the VC either later this year or early next year.
I've also been playing a lot of classic arcade games via collections like Namco Museum, as well as a few Dreamcast games. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I only beat Space Channel 5 for the first time last Saturday.)
And that about does it.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Sept 3, 2011 17:18:22 GMT -5
Kid Icarus was a lot easier than I expected it to be given how hard everyone says it is. I even made it thru all the labyrinths without using maps, and got the best ending on the second loop. ;D There's one part of the game that I regularly got stuck on. It's early on (second level?) and near the top of the stage. You're attacked from all sides by enemies and you don't have any of the power ups you get later. Once I reached the first dungeon, the rest of the game was a bit of a breeze. I understand this one section is what everyone refers to as the "hard" bit. As for me, I've just ticked another game off my list. The original NES Metroid has been beaten! I never thought I'd manage this one as I always seemed to do so spectacularly badly at it in previous attempts. As with the Zelda games, I had maps handy (as I would have done in the 80's, albeit via a Nintendo magazine rather than laptop/smartphone) I made sure to power up before facing any of the bosses and then rocketed through them all. As with many games considered "NES Hard", the difficulty comes from the things wrong with it - poor design or programming decisions. Always starting with 30 energy and with no fast way of replenishing energy or missiles when they're such an integral part of the game is a flaw, and it makes the game a chore. You only get 2 missiles and 5 energy per pickup, and when you can max out in figures in the hundreds, shooting the respawning enemies over and over is soooo painful! What happens is you end up not wanting to die - not because you have to reach the same spot again, or because you simply don't want to lose - but because you will have to go grind for a ridiculous amount of time. Dying on Mother Brain the first time was horrible for this very reason. Dropped off in Tourian with 30 energy and diminished missile supplies is not a good way to try again. In all honesty, I wanted to beat it just to say I had. I'm not sure I'm that fussed about beating it again, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone. It's a classic in the sense that it broke new ground and impressed people at the time... But when you have a wonderful reimagining available in Zero Mission that is informed entirely by the refined gameplay of the superior Super Metroid, I would say start there. Oddly, even Metroid 2 has aged better. In other news... these 3DS Ambassador NES titles are the originals. They are not the slightly revised versions we've been getting in compilations over the years. In Super Mario Bros., you can visit the Minus World or get trapped above the underwater pipes, and having 10 Extra Lives means Crown-1 Lives.... and The Legend of Zelda features the original insane translations. It's interesting, to say the least, and I wonder why Nintendo chose to do this now...
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Post by kirbychu on Sept 3, 2011 17:21:39 GMT -5
Well, they're supposedly going to be updated when the actual Virtual Console ones go up later on... Maybe they'll be more edited versions then.
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Post by Arcadenik on Sept 3, 2011 23:39:04 GMT -5
I am currently playing with my 3DS Virtual Console games... all 14 of them. The 10 NES Ambassador games plus Super Mario Land, Donkey Kong, Kirby and Zelda DX. I have beaten all 4 GB games (but not Kirby's Extra Mode yet)... as for the 10 NES games...
- Super Mario Bros., beaten the game using Warp Pipes and still working on beating the game without using Warp Pipes (I almost did it but I had to get a Game Over in World 8-4) - Zelda, just cleared the 2nd dungeon - Zelda 2, just cleared the 1st palace - Metroid, just beaten Ridley with Ice Beam (ran out of missiles) and still looking for Kraid - Balloon Fight, still working on clearing the first level with the flipper and the lowest number I can get in Balloon Trip is 13 but the lightning are everywhere! - Ice Climber, still struggling with the 6th mountain... the clouds are too fast and the Topis are constantly fixing the floors and the game have horrible jumping physics - Donkey Kong Jr., got to the 3rd loop but died at the 2nd level - NES Open Tournament Golf, I hated it at first but once I figured out the controls... it's somewhat enjoyable... needs to practice more and learn to use the different golf clubs properly. - Wrecking Crew, I wasn't thrilled about the game at first but it's quite addicting and I am still struggling to get past level 17. - Yoshi, my favorite of the bunch. The highest amount of eggs I could make in Game A is like 60 or so... and the highest level I can reach in Game B is 8.
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Post by nocturnal YL on Sept 4, 2011 2:48:51 GMT -5
Yeah, every time I saw you online you were playing Yoshi! My, you're a far better gamer than I can ever hope to be. I'm still struggling with Zelda II (for the others, I'm either not interested or have already played via emulation), and I'm still trying to reach the hammer without getting a game over. I'm not so sure about that. The 16-bit era seemed to be when the templates were set in stone for many series that are still going strong today, while the 8-bit games, whether the first or second in the series, helped to build those templates. I guess those second-in-series contributed to the refinement that are less visible (charcter moves, game system) while straying from the main series in the more visible aspects (characters, playstyle, look-and-feel) and is therefore easily seen as the "weird" entires of the series.
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Post by Prince~Of~Light on Sept 4, 2011 4:51:37 GMT -5
Spoilers ahead--
My most brain-damaging feat: Cleared Kid Icarus at ONE GO this summer at Virtual Console. I started at 8pm, and finished it at 1am. I had to clear it last summer actually, but after all the hype that was Kid Icarus Uprising, I forgot all about the game.
Took me 5 hours to clear it. Well, the game was that hard. (->_<-) (Trials = Game Overs.) Did you know that 3-4 can be so bad for your mind, brain and such. Gah, I still have nightmares of that dungeon. At least hiking up Skyworld was fun (with all painfully hard-earned Zeus's Challenges, I kept dying to just get those weapons... though I usually lost em quickly.)
Now I know why they composed Underworld like that in Brawl, the FREAKING. GRIM REAPER. And then back to the start. Get it?
Then came Stafy 2. It's a great improvement on first Stafy, being much more longer (maybe too much longer, 11 worlds? C'mon), and has more content to keep you playing. The abilities are also well established in this game.
The game had also it's good parts:
- Some good music (it became much better near end of the game, though, 9nth and 10nth world had the best music in my opinion)
-Old Man Lobber became sucha BADASS MOFO at the final boss. Just when I confronted Ogura in his boss room, he was seemingly invicible and unbeatable. Starfy of course losed at him, and Ogura just tried to finish him, but then Kyorosuke comes in to protect the little guy (after all these times I thought he's little of a jerk on Starfy)
Then... Old Man Lobber. He had an awesome forcefield around him and he started to battle against Ogura. (Okay, more like bumping to him fiercely).
Really, it was awesome. He better be made into an Assist Trophy, or at least have a mention of him being much more powerful than he looks.
- I'd loved that Dragon helper. His music fitted with the sections where I used him. Him using Stafy as a shield was also quite cute.
-Going on with Kyorosuke/Moe, h's sometimes sucha hilarious comic relief. He seems to have things for women: at the last world, he and Stafy had to see a video about Ogura's schemes.Kyorosuke dropped a video which was colored pink, and when Stafy looked at it, I died.
It contained some pictures of ecchi fish. XDDDD
Kyorosuke of course was blushing angrily like there was no tomorrow.
- The ending... man. Stafy finally got back to his mom. When I thought that by Starfy's 7-year old's eyes, it became 10000x cuter and heartwarming.
Also, For The Frog The Bell Tolls was cleared this summer too, I loved that game so much. Sable's just too endearingly cute and funny in the way he acts in the game, sucha impetious, but good-natured prince, just saying. The game had great storybook-style progression in plot. It's kinda easy and simple to clear, but the quirky and very expressive characters make up for the game's easu difficulty.
I'm waiting now for the import of Golden Sun, since last one fell into sewers. (damn you lil brother for doing that)
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Post by Fryguy64 on Sept 12, 2011 8:49:08 GMT -5
Currently playing through Zelda 1 again. Just working my way through the fifth dungeon and got me a Flute.
It's amazing how unplayable this game is with the 3DS's slidepad... Link just flails all over the place. So I have to use the uncomfortable D-Pad. Honestly... Why is it so uncomfortable to use this!?
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Post by kirbychu on Sept 12, 2011 9:28:33 GMT -5
It's amazing how unplayable this game is with the 3DS's slidepad... Link just flails all over the place. So I have to use the uncomfortable D-Pad. Honestly... Why is it so uncomfortable to use this!? Same reason I find using the Playstation's analog sticks uncomfortable... it's tucked away under the thumb. It's probably perfectly comfortable to people with tiny, tiny hands. Do the Japanese have tiny, tiny hands? That would explain it.
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Post by Wildcat on Sept 12, 2011 11:33:18 GMT -5
I was playing Yoshi's Island for the first time before I got into Dead Space. I was really digging the look of the game - a stunner for sure. I had fun with it, but it'll need to wait for me to beat DS before I go back.
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Post by Shadrio on Sept 12, 2011 15:53:50 GMT -5
I've been playing the Ambassador games (surprise, surprise) as of late. The one I've played the most has been Legend of Zelda II: Adventure of Link. Every time I get a game over I rage, not because of dying or loosing experience points, but because of I've got to walk all the way back from Hell the starting point. The combat's pretty meh and once you take even the slightest hit, it's a real pain since you loose your ranged attack and there's virtually no other way to recover other than going all the way back to a town or into a Fairy Pouch of Life. Despite all it's short comings... I can't stop playing, since I can't allow a game to beat Me. Damn "NES Hard" difficulty and my elevated ego.
Other than that, I play Super Mario Bros. Out of all the games in the 10 NES games we got, it's the only one that doesn't feel dated at all, especially when compared to Donkey Kong Jr. (Walk off platform, Fall straight down. You can't explain that!). These newfangled games have spoiled me, I expect decent physics in my games! /end rant
Yoshi is also surprisingly fun. It's better than what others give it credit for.
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