What are you playing?

[samsonlonghair]

I've been playing Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero for WiiU lately. This game is gorgeous - 2D platforming with beautiful animation. Fans of Warioland: Shake It or Cup Head would dig this game a lot.

[Markies]

I started Faxanadu on the NES this evening!

You know, Faxanadu is not too bad. Not too bad at all.

The controls are not the best as it feels a little stiff and it took me a long time to figure out basic stuff like equipping weapons and armor along with using items.

However, the combat is surprisingly interesting. The music is absolutely fantastic and I love the leveling system. The story is fairly simple as you mostly move from town to town with dungeons in between, but that it is not too terrible.

It is very much like Zelda II, but not as deep nor as hard. If you want a lighter romp compared to Zelda II, then this is a good game to play!

[Segata]

I never played the NES version. Just Xanadu on other systems. I don't know why they changed the name. It is just a Xanadu game I believe.

[Exhuminator]

You know, Faxanadu is not too bad. Not too bad at all.

My unpopular opinion is Faxanadu is funner than Zelda II.* It's one of those great action-RPG-platformer hybrids, which are so fun when they are done well. Faxanadu has some killer atmosphere. I need to replay the whole thing myself, it's been a LONG time since I beat it. Faxanadu really excels at giving its player a palpable sense of exploration.

*I didn't say better.**
**But Castlevania II is better than Zelda II.

I don't know why they changed the name.

The title Faxanadu is a portmanteau from the names Famicom and Xanadu. It's not a NES port of Xanadu, but rather a unique game in and of itself. Faxanadu is a spin-off of Xanadu yes, but rather than having been developed by Falcom, it was developed by Hudson Soft.

[marurun]

Faxanadu is also mechanically a bit different. Hudson's Faxanadu has a distinct feel to character movement and attacks and magic and whatnot.

I both enjoy Zelda II more than Faxanadu and Castlevania II and think it is a better game, but I also think all 3 games are fun and of good quality, and I think enjoyment of each title is going to come down a lot to personal preference.

And now I wish I had more time to learn HuC, because the two genres I want to see more of on the PC Engine are these exploration side-scrollers and run n' guns. And I know nobody else is going to make them if I don't.

Maybe we should get several people here on the forums together to learn to program HuC, generate art assets (there's software that's free and good for doing pixel art with palette management), and create platform-appropriate music using Deflemask. It could be a fun bonding experience for Turbo/PC Engine owners!

[Markies]

I both enjoy Zelda II more than Faxanadu and Castlevania II and think it is a better game, but I also think all 3 games are fun and of good quality, and I think enjoyment of each title is going to come down a lot to personal preference.

I'll be very curious to see which of the three games I like the most after I am done with Faxanadu. The similarities are easy to see, but they all offer different variations as well.

I liked the challenge in Zelda II along with the lore of the series. Once I understood what to do in Castlevania II, the game became very enjoyable. And Faxanadu, I like the more simpler style of the gameplay and exploration as well.

So, like you said, personal preference will be key. I am just happy to be able to enjoy all of them as Faxanadu will complete my trilogy of these games.

[Exhuminator]

I am just happy to be able to enjoy all of them as Faxanadu will complete my trilogy of these games.

As far as domestically released NES games in this style go, don't forget about:

To a lesser, though not entirely dissimilar extent, you may enjoy Gargoyle's Quest II (play it for Halloween!).

[Sarge]

I think Faxanadu, Zelda II, and Simon's Quest are all great games. I beat Faxanadu earlier this year, and it has aged better than I thought. I actually enjoyed it more than when I was younger. As Exhuminator mentioned, it's got atmosphere to spare, something many NES games struggled to achieve. Tonally and thematically, it is remarkably consistent, probably more than Zelda II. However, I enjoy the moment-to-moment play of Zelda II more, and that game is also markedly more ambitious (which, of course, makes it more uneven). Simon's Quest might have the best gameplay feel, but it also suffers from some really obtuse puzzles that drag it down a bit.

If I had to choose just one, it'd be Zelda II, but they're all worth a go.

Battle of Olympus I think resides on a slightly lower tier, but it's still a solid side-scrolling adventure for the system. Some folks like it better than Zelda II. More power to 'em!

[pierrot]

Maybe we should get several people here on the forums together to learn to program HuC, generate art assets (there's software that's free and good for doing pixel art with palette management), and create platform-appropriate music using Deflemask. It could be a fun bonding experience for Turbo/PC Engine owners!

I can program the intel 8051/2. That's definitely the same thing!

[Exhuminator]

Also Markies, if you like to play fan translated imports, you might find these side scrolling action-RPGs interesting:

http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1264/


http://www.romhacking.net/translations/545/


http://www.romhacking.net/translations/662/


https://www.romhacking.net/translations/109/


https://www.romhacking.net/translations/100/