dsheinem wrote:Somewhere between filming a documentary, writing articles, doing home renovations, and enjoying the new pool, I will try my hardest to play through these ten bona-fide classics, none of which I've ever beaten.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 - SNES*
Akalabeth: World of Doom - PC
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II - PC
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast - PC
Marble Madness - NES
Wario Land II - GBC
Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal - PS2*
Doom 64 - PC*
Jungle Strike - Genesis
Virtua Cop 2 - Saturn
*= already started
Edit: HARDCORE MODE, of course
Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
- prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12214
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
Last edited by prfsnl_gmr on Sun May 22, 2022 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12214
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
dsheinem wrote:HARDCORE MODE
Putting Akalabeth: World of Doom on your list makes it hardcore no matter what else you play or how many games you beat.
Remarkably solid list, DSH. I’d perhaps take issue with Kirby’s Dreamland 3 (i.e., not as influential as earlier or later games in the series, not that popular at release, etc.), but the rest are still e-cold classics!
EDIT: Weird double post. Oh well, it gave me the opportunity to put the entirety of DSH’s post at the top of this page!
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
I think I'm finally going to dip my toes in this, now that my last major project is finished. We'll see if I end up moving this summer, which may interrupt the plans. Because of that, I'll stick to five I want to beat that I never fully beat:
Adventure Island (NES)
Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
Operation C (GB)
Darius Gaiden (Saturn)
Vanishing Point (DC)
Adventure Island (NES)
Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
Operation C (GB)
Darius Gaiden (Saturn)
Vanishing Point (DC)
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
prfsnl_gmr wrote:dsheinem wrote:HARDCORE MODE
Putting Akalabeth: World of Doom on your list makes it hardcore no matter what else you play or how many games you beat.
Akalabeth isn't too bad; it's simple enough that it doesn't take long to get through. Ultima 1 and 2 are far grindier.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
How about a Dante Must Die Mode: Make a list of 10+ classic games you've never beaten.
Try to finish all of them before the summer's end.
They must all be RPGs.
Try to finish all of them before the summer's end.
They must all be RPGs.
- prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12214
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
VG_Addict wrote:How about a Dante Must Die Mode: Make a list of 10+ classic games you've never beaten.
Try to finish all of them before the summer's end.
They must all be RPGs.
That would be too easy…They all have to be SPORTS games!
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
prfsnl_gmr wrote:Bionic Commando (Arcade)
Contra (Famicom)
King’s Field a/k/a King’s Field II (PS1)
Metal Gear (NES)
Mysterious Murasame Castle (Famicom)
Shinobi (Arcade)
Summer Carnival ‘92 Recca (Famicom)
Super Baseball 2020 (Neo Geo)
Super Meat Boy (XBLA)
Vampire Killer (MSX)
One more down!
Some trivia…King’s Field is actually the second game in the King’s Field series. The first game was released only in Japan, and in Japan King’s Field is titled King’s Field II. Still, it is the first From Software game released in North America, and it is the first RPG released for the PSX in North America. (Coincidentally, the first game in the series was the first RPG released for the PSX in Japan, and Eternal Ring, another From Software first-person ARPG, was a launch title for the PS2 in both Japan and North America.)
Like it’s predecessor, King’s Field is a first-person ARPG with an oppressive atmosphere and an incredibly steep difficulty curve. You can die within a few steps of your starting location; the most basic enemies can kill you with just a few strike; healing items are rare; and save points are rarer. Moreover, the game doesn’t hold your hand at all. Clues are cryptic at best, and goals are frequently unclear. The game consists, largely, of a labyrinthine series of indistinguishable corridors and bland textures. Accordingly, it’s easy to get lost, even after you’ve played the game for hours, and many of the game’s design choices are infuriating and actively player unfriendly.
Still…there was nothing else quite like it available for consoles in the 1990s, and many of the things people love about From Software games today is on display here. The game delivers its remarkably compelling narrative through environmental cues, gameplay, and a series of unreliable narrators. (In my opinion, this is the best way video games tell stories, since no other medium can do it this way.) Once you get accustomed to the gameplay (and very awkward controls), the game is remarkably immersive, and conquering its challenges and uncovering its secrets is very rewarding. Accordingly, while it’s easy to get literally lost in the game’s roughly textured corridors, it’s also easy to get figuratively lost in the game’s immersive atmosphere and shockingly deep gameplay.
While the first game in the series (and spiritual successors Eternal Ring and Shadow Tower) required some backtracking, King’s Field fully embraces first-person, metroidvania game design (and only 13 months after Super Metroid launched on the SNES!). Over the course of the game, you’ll crisscross Melanat Island dozens of times, hunting down new clues, items, keys, and weapons. Different enemies have different weaknesses; different armor combinations affect your stats in drastic ways; and whether you rely more on physical or magical attacks affects your stat growth. Despite the rough exterior, there’s a lot going on under the hood, and the game’s rough, low-poly graphics do a disservice to the game’s deep, complex gameplay. (So do some of the game’s most baffling design decisions, but that’s another topic…)
King’s Field is definitely not a game for everyone, and it definitely wasn’t the RPG people wanted on the PSX in 1995. With its rough graphics, awkward controls, and baffling design choices, it isn’t the RPG most people will want today. The game had a fierce cult following, however, even before From Software became one of the world’s most popular game developers, and From Software’s recent popularity has contributed to a lot of people discovering this series for the first time. If you enjoy From Software’s recent output, and you can tolerate dated graphics, awkward controls, and a few terrible design choices, you might find one of the era’s most challenging and immersive RPGs.
Last edited by prfsnl_gmr on Tue May 24, 2022 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
prfsnl_gmr wrote:VG_Addict wrote:How about a Dante Must Die Mode: Make a list of 10+ classic games you've never beaten.
Try to finish all of them before the summer's end.
They must all be RPGs.
That would be too easy…They all have to SPORTS games!
RPGs can be pretty long, though.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
VG_Addict wrote:prfsnl_gmr wrote:VG_Addict wrote:How about a Dante Must Die Mode: Make a list of 10+ classic games you've never beaten.
Try to finish all of them before the summer's end.
They must all be RPGs.
That would be too easy…They all have to SPORTS games!
RPGs can be pretty long, though.
Depends on the RPG. Sports games usually require you play an entire season though, so they can also be quite long. It all comes down to the game.
And Akalabeth isn't as bad as Ultima, which is still leagues better than Ultima II.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
Honestly it's amazing that Ultima continued as a franchise given the quality of Ultima II.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2022!
I've started playing my first game for the Summer Challenge this evening, Soul Blazer!
I played for about two hours and just finished up the Leo's Painting dungeon. My initial impression is the game's great! Really enjoying the gameplay and soundtrack. It's got me hooked. It's cool to see what you're going to add to the town after defeating a monster lair.
It's going to take me a while to get used to having the Y button as cancel. I don't know why, but the menu control scheme is throwing me off a bit, but I'm sure I'll get used to it in time.
I played for about two hours and just finished up the Leo's Painting dungeon. My initial impression is the game's great! Really enjoying the gameplay and soundtrack. It's got me hooked. It's cool to see what you're going to add to the town after defeating a monster lair.
It's going to take me a while to get used to having the Y button as cancel. I don't know why, but the menu control scheme is throwing me off a bit, but I'm sure I'll get used to it in time.