Summer Games Challenge 2015

[Key-Glyph]

Finished DKC! Need time to compose my thoughts, though.

Off to a good start for the summer challenge. Next is Metroid!

[BoneSnapDeez]

Ikari Warriors is not fun at all. Commando and Heavy Barrel absolutely destroy it. Now that I think of it, Guerrilla War is no gem either. SNK didn't seem to get things right until Shock Troopers.

To make matters worse, the emulated arcade version of Ikari Warriors found on SNK Arcade Classics 0 has the continue feature removed. At least this is true of the Korean version. I don't get it at all. No other games seem to have been altered in this way and it feels almost like a glitch.

Guess I will try out my C64 port after all. The one that uses the space bar for grenades. Ugh.

So, Bonk is boring and Ikari Warriors is bad. Not off to a good start so far.

Since I have the PSP charged I may as well check out Ghosts 'n Goblins next, as it's part of Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded.

I won't be swapping out games or changing my list up this year. I'll finish some, and some I won't. 5/10 would be decent.

[Key-Glyph]

Verdict on Donkey Kong: I enjoyed it, and can definitely see myself replaying it until I've mastered the individual levels.

This must have been the perfect game for kids back in the day. Back when we only got games through the kindness of paying adults on special occasions, here's a title that could keep a young'un entertained for months before they started dreaming about their next wishlist item. It's the kind of game that probably made parents feel proud about having bought. Everybody gets their mileage out of it, both financially and entertain...edly.

I admit I had a love-hate relationship with the difficulty. On the one hand, I liked that progression was hard-earned and that I wasn't exactly blowing through every level. The game's demand for skill in certain areas practically taunts you into becoming a wiz, too -- I felt compelled to utterly conquer some areas I'd barely escaped by the skin of my teeth the first time, just because. It's a challenge to inspire that sentiment in a game, I think.

On the other hand, throwing fifteen lives out the window on one stupid jump or because you can't switch Donkey to the front of your party to take out heavier enemies is really discouraging -- especially when the long stretches between star barrel continue markers require you to re-do a bunch of junk before you even get to practice your one problem area again.

My frustration would have been incredibly diminished if two things were changed: the save system and the lives issue. Getting stuck on one level is really stressful when you haven't gotten to Candy's latest Save Point, and I often delayed much-needed relaxation breaks because I felt I couldn't bear abandoning my progress. Couple this with the fact that lives don't save on the cart, and I sometimes pressured myself to continue when my enjoyment was being outweighed by my annoyance.

Also, why are there next to no covers of Candy's Love Theme out there? Madness!

All that said, the game generally threw in a visit to Cranky Kong right when I was about to lose my cool, which always made me laugh out loud. Something about Cranky bragging about how much harder games were in his day just after I'd gotten ticked enough to start torquing the controller never failed to reel me back in.

Now that I'm done and the pressure is off, I really look forward to going back and improving that end-game percentage... whatever it is. I'm still waiting for the manual to arrive, so there are a lot of things I'm probably still in the dark about!

[darsparx]

Played some more chrono....and by some more I'm now in the future area after running from the Chancellor and guards. Not only that but now trying to get into the storage area at the dome past lab 16...a night well spent even if I didn't get my room clean like I meant to do.... now the real test is to see if I can beat the Guardian this should be interesting

[Ack]

I beat the one game keeping me from starting this, Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader. I suppose it is time to begin, though I admit it is a bit earlier than I was planning to start. I thought Lionheart would take longer.

I now have Loom, 7th Guest, and Ultima installed on my computer. I guess it's time to begin.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I started Blaster Master last night. I am in the second zone, and the game has turned up the difficulty...but I will beat it soon.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I started Blaster Master last night. I am in the second zone, and the game has turned up the difficulty...but I will beat it soon.

Nice!

I actually have that one penciled in as part of my Year Challenge (1988) so I may get to it before the year is out.

I played a little GnG and OutRun last night.

How would you guys define OutRun as being beaten? Once every "goal" is reached or just one?

By any definition, I have yet to finish it though I have come close. Is there any trick to the game besides "go fast and don't hit things"? And is there any reason to ever downshift once you're in the higher gear?

[prfsnl_gmr]

How would you guys define OutRun as being beaten? Once every "goal" is reached or just one?

By any definition, I have yet to finish it though I have come close. Is there any trick to the game besides "go fast and don't hit things"? And is there any reason to ever downshift once you're in the higher gear?

When I "beat" Outrun last year, I reached three of the five endings. You could call it at one, but I don't think you would see some of the cooler routes if you did that. At the same time, you don't have to reach all of the ending to see the overwhelming majority of the game.

"Go fast and don't crash" is pretty much the strategy for beating the game. You will need to slow down a lot on some of the later sections; so, it is best to get really, really good at the early sections so that you have some extra time when you get to the end.

Also, you won't do it much, but in some of the later sections, you wil have to slow down a lot. When yo do that, downshift so that you can get back up to speed faster.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I'm getting a bit better at OutRun. I'm still pretty crappy, but better.

I have the game on Genesis, Sega Master System, and Commodore 64 - in other words, the three-button, two-button, and one-button versions.

I played a little of the C64 port about an hour ago. I am terrible at it.

[Sarge]

Played some more chrono....and by some more I'm now in the future area after running from the Chancellor and guards. Not only that but now trying to get into the storage area at the dome past lab 16...a night well spent even if I didn't get my room clean like I meant to do.... now the real test is to see if I can beat the Guardian this should be interesting

Is this your first time through the game? If so, I envy you so much. There are some games I'd love to go back and experience again for the very first time. That's one of them. Absolutely fantastic game, and it still holds up against the best RPGs today.