Summer Games Challenge 2017 - Begin when ready!

[Key-Glyph]

I have finally recuperated from the soul-searching and spirit-scorching experience of Ultima IV to move on to my second summer challenge game. I settled on something decidedly fluffier: Tecmo Bowl!

This is a game I loved as a young child for many reasons... none of which had anything to do with actually playing the game. For one, its title theme holds the distinction of being the first piece of VGM I was enthralled by. For another, I have wonderful memories of my brother putting me into hysterical laughter over the voice samples and diving animations. But beyond that, I never actually gave this game a serious go.

I've picked Seattle as my team in honor of a few Racketboys who especially put up with my gaming excitements and meltdowns in the Slack chat, and my crew has already won two games. Aw yeh.

I'll say this, though: I'm not sure the mechanics in this game make complete sense? I was kind of expecting to try it as an adult and suddenly understand the underlying logic and be an unstoppable quarterbackin' mastermind. Yet it seems that the "plays" are much simpler/arbitrary than the complicated magic they appeared to be in my childhood, and also, my characters frequently seem to dive in a totally random direction. But I've only been playing in earnest for about an hour, so I have yet to get a real feel for what's what.

Kind of tempted to write further Tecmo updates in Ultima style, though.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Yes Key!!! Write them! Coach Key needs to be heard!

[Sarge]

If you're playing the original, it is indeed quite simple. And never, ever, ever throw to a covered receiver (unless it's Jerry Rice, from what I hear), 'cause you will get intercepted really easily in this game.

Tecmo Super Bowl is far, far superior. I almost never touch the original anymore, even if it does contribute a lot of the DNA to my favorite football game of all time.

[Key-Glyph]

And lo, Avatar Key's next steps on the path of righteousness led her to the valorous battles of American football. The Seattle Seahawks were coming off a strong season... but could they win the championship? Key thought yes, so long as they meditated on the virtues before their games. /ultimaiv

Really though, about Tecmo Bowl.

The gameplay mechanic is way, way simpler than I'd thought as a child. The plays look so complicated, but all that's happening is that you have four options for a play to run and your opponent (CPU or otherwise) tries to predict your choice by choosing it too. It's like a "which hand behind my back holds the prize?" guessing game, except you're playing it with Goro and his four arms. If an opponent successfully predicts a play, they sack you (or intercept your pass). If they don't, you'll have an opening to push through -- and that's when your fancy dodging footwork (read: running diagonally) comes in.

I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Fast, fun, very uncomplicated, but could be an excitingly stressful nailbiter at times. And despite its simplicity, you did have to get good at certain things -- having a skillful eye to quickly assess uncovered receivers for passes or nab interceptions comes to mind.

I also beat Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge SE last night -- that is, the special remastered edition for Xbox Live Arcade. I'm sorry to say I was really disappointed. And that's coming from someone who absolutely adores the original, and really enjoyed the third installment. I'll probably post more thoughts in the Games Beaten thread, but until then:

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (ApplII)
Tecmo Bowl (NES)
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (XBLA)

[Key-Glyph]

How's everybody doing with this? It's so quiet!

I started X-Men for the Genesis last night. Or, rather, started it once again, as I'd given it a go a few summers earlier and put it away fairly quickly. One reason for this is that everything one plays after X-Men 2: Clone Wars is going to be a disappointment and I couldn't manage my feelings properly. But I realized another reason might have been a faulty C button on a bargain bin controller I was testing out at the time. I also hate giving up so easily. So off we go.

I've heard many people describe this as a classic or a game they loved growing up, and I have to say I'm kind of confused. Are we talking about the same game? I must not grasp the impact this title had at the time, because although it's not terrible, it does suffer from some pretty standard issues with licensed games. For example, it's not clear what needs to be done to defeat bosses, or even if you're dealing damage to them, so I just spam my allies to push through.

As another example, you need to know to punch or destroy objects that are not obvious in order to trigger... something... which then allows you to progress through a door that led nowhere before? Maybe? It just feels like the pieces aren't connected. It's not obvious that A led to B led to C. In fact, in some cases I'm not even convinced that there is a connection. I might just be making up a sensible chain to make my gameplay feel more deliberate.

But anyway. It's always fun to be in X-Man, so this remains a fun experience. A nice touch is that the dialog between levels differs depending on the character you're currently controlling (i.e. Gambit says "sacre bleu" a lot). The concept of being trapped in a haywire Danger Room is neat too. It'll be cool to get through this -- it just takes some adjusting to the game's logic.

[Ack]

To be honest I pretty much just gave up. I've gotten absorbed in a lot of other stuff I am doing, so when I do play, it tends to be either relatively mindless stuff or stuff with friends.

[Xeogred]

I never really signed the paperwork here this year for this, but I beat System Shock 1 and that makes me fully content on any potential goals I had.

System Shock
King's Field
Castlevania 2 (last main one I need to beat, might do a floor hack version. Fuck those floors)
Dragon Quest
Viewtiful Joe
Mega Man Legends

I'm excited to hit up Mega Man Legends so that will be next sometime.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I never really signed the paperwork here this year for this, but I beat System Shock 1 and that makes me fully content on any potential goals I had.

System Shock
King's Field
Castlevania 2 (last main one I need to beat, might do a floor hack version. Fuck those floors)
Dragon Quest
Viewtiful Joe
Mega Man Legends

I'm excited to hit up Mega Man Legends so that will be next sometime.

Play DQ. It's like 8 hours, tops.

[MrPopo]

Depends on if he's playing on cart or on emulator.

[Xeogred]

I plan to emulate the GBC version.