Summer Games Challenge 2016

[BoneSnapDeez]

Finished Akumajō Dracula!

That infamous stretch with the ax knights and Medusa heads wasn't as hard as James Rolfe led me to believe. In fact, none of the levels themselves were too insane. But holy crap did some of the bosses SUCK. Especially Death and Dracula (both forms). I only seemed to achieve success when I "got lucky."

Surprised to see the goofy English ending in this version.

Anyhow, I'm going to give the NES "port" a whirl now.

[Sarge]

Death is the toughest unless you cheese him with Holy Water. Throw it out where he spawns, and it will stun-lock him into oblivion as long as you keep chuckin'. Otherwise, triple-shot boomerangs, lots of health, and a prayer are the only thing that'll keep you going.

Dracula is actually significantly easier. The key is really good spacing / timing on the fireballs on the first form; you can generally only get one good hit in while being safe. If you have boomerangs, it can help things go a little faster, or use it to protect you from the fireballs (throw as he releases them, then jump and whack him in the head).

The last form is actually shockingly easy. Use holy water (in the room with him), and throw it at him. It'll stun-lock him, whip him in the face, throw another, whip, repeat until dead. If you don't have triple-shot, you might have to dodge a little bit, but it won't be much. I used to dread the final form until I figured this out!

Great job finishing it! That's a badge of honor.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Agreed. Nice work, Bone!

[BoneSnapDeez]

Okay, just beat the NES version. Cheesed Dracula #2 with holy water this time. Still found his first form and Death to be tough. Though Death was a bit easier this time - I basically triple-shot spammed everything on screen and he went down.

Breezed through the levels this time.

Kinda glad to have this one behind me. The sequel looks more like my thing. It's another one I own on both FDS and NES.

Oh, and aside from cosmetic differences like the title and ending screens, the only big difference between Akumajō Dracula and Castlevania is that Akumajō Dracula has a much-appreciated save feature. Sound is the same. And the small amount of text in Akumajō Dracula is in English.

Disk-flipping situation is kinda funny. Title screen, load screen, level one, and ending are on side A while everything else is on B.

[Ack]

System Shock

I successfully cleared out Level 2 last night, reduced the security level to 0% on this floor, shut off robot production, and hit up both cyberspace portions. I also managed to successfully lose the game by blowing up Earth at one point. Turns out I shouldn't yet be firing my lasers. Finally I grabbed isotope X-22. I have no idea what that will be used for, but considering it was stuck under a protective shell in a radioactive room, I'm betting it's important. Oh, and I discovered a locked door I could not figure out how to open that looked like it was chock full of aliens. I wonder how I can get in there so I can poke them with my metal pipe.

With this done, I was given a choice: go to the Reactor level or go to Level 3. I was low on health, so I popped down to the Reactor level and...nope! A Hopper waiting around the corner took me out immediately. I then tried level 3 and discovered the terrible Invisible Mutant. They're hard to see in the dark, they have projectile attacks(though these can thankfully be dodged), they are small targets, and they take a ton of damage before going down. There are also a ton of them in Level 3 apparently. I managed to drop a couple and open up the level a bit though, including finding a cyborg station which I turned into a new spawn point for me. With that done, I explored a little bit more of Level 3, put a huge dent in the security rating, and then decided to head back to the Reactor level.

With more health and knowing the Hopper was there, the Reactor level wasn't nearly so bad. I popped around the corner and blasted it with a fully charged phaser shot, and it slagged pretty quick. Thus I began exploring the Reactor and managed to successfully convert the cyborg station once again into a spawn point for that floor and then track down a surgical bed. I now have established bases of operations on Levels 1, 2, 3, and the Reactor, and SHODAN no longer has a security presence on Levels 1 and 2, while she is hampered a bit on 3 and R.

Something I've noticed about the spawn points is that each one will bring you back with a different level of health. On Level 3, you get about 3/4 of your life back. On Level 2, it's only about half. I need to test the Reactor level's by getting myself killed.

Anyway, that's where I'm currently sitting. I plan to continue exploring the Reactor for now because it seems to all be killer robots down there and not those cheap invisible mutants. I'll keep you posted on my progress the next time I get to play.

[CFFJR]

I actually finished another game for this! Holy hell have I completely slacked off this year. Just awful.

Anyway, Sam and Max Hit the Road is done.

Sam and Max Hit the Road
Thief Gold
Contra
Mega Man 64
Unreal Gold
Ogre Battle 64
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Tomb Raider III
Diablo 2

I really enjoyed this one. I found it hilarious (though I love the comics, so it suits me in the first place), dialogue is great and the game's plot is appropriately batshit. Loved it and I would expect nothing less.

Puzzles didn't throw me too much. The clues are there if you're diligent, and "adventure game logic" is less of an issue in Sam and Max's already absurd universe anyway. Though there are cases where there are no hints and you simply have to experiment with your items. Unless I missed something...

I still had to adjust though. There were many items I missed at first because I didn't realize I could interact with them, but that's my fault. I'm kind of a bumbling idiot when it comes to adventure games as it is, so I consider it minor miracle any time I finish one.

I do still have time beat at least a couple more of these. I am working on it, believe it or not.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Might as well just go balls out. Gonna attempt this tonight:

That's about as far as I can take things. "Unfortunately" I don't own this:

[Exhuminator]

Bone, have you already beaten Castlevania 2 & 3 on NES?

[BoneSnapDeez]

Nope! The only ones I have beaten are Symphony of the Night and (now) the first game.

I do have part II on both FDS and NES. Don't have the third one, sadly.

[Ack]

Nope! The only ones I have beaten are Symphony of the Night and (now) the first game.

Don't feel bad. I actually haven't beaten any of the NES entries in the series. Beaten quite a few of the later ones, but none of the originals.