Together Retro: Licensed to Thrill (Licensed 2D Platformers)

[Xeogred]

Now for a negative update!

I hated this game as a kid.

I still hate it.

This game SUCKS!

This is for one character of four and after scrolling some. Entire screen is filled. You think 5-6 year old me wanted to read ANY of this?

How long can your ears last?

[Sload Soap]

Beat two versions of Ducktales today, with the NES (via Afternoon Collection) and the Game Boy going down. The GB port is pretty cool and manages to keep all the levels albeit with some areas of the Mines and Transylvania pared back a bit. The sprites are big and chunky and the music makes the transition surprisingly well.

This playthrough kind of confirmed for me that while Ducktales is a quality game that still holds up well today, I don't put it in that top-tier of NES games. There are some niggles I have with the controls, some cheap enemy placement and it's pretty short.

I also gave Ducktales 2 a go. Didn't get very far but it seemed a bit more laid back than the first and I like the added uses for the cane. I'll try and knock it out tomorrow then move onto the Aladdin trilogy.

[ESauced]

Now for a negative update!

I hated this game as a kid.

I still hate it.

This game SUCKS!

This is for one character of four and after scrolling some. Entire screen is filled. You think 5-6 year old me wanted to read ANY of this?

How long can your ears last?

Oh man listening to that “music” just now triggered PTSD. That really is an awful game.

I recommend the second one to wash the taste out of your mouth.

[Xeogred]

Haha, I'll check out the sequel then.

The one thing I'll give the first, is that the sprite work is top notch.

[Exhuminator]

Beat another one!



Hyper Speed GranDoll is a licensed platformer, based on the 1997 anime of the same name.
The anime was localized in the USA by Central Park Media. Alas the game itself never left Japan.
Hyper Speed GranDoll's a lot like if you took Turrican and Mega Man ZX and put 'em in a blender.
And... Hyper Speed GranDoll is also hard as heckfire. FIRE from HECK.
Overall pretty good though. Full review here.

[Ack]

You guys should try out Violinist de Hamlin for Super Famicom if you haven't yet. It's another licensed anime platformer worth trying.

[Sarge]

Oh, really? I've needed an excuse to play through that, so I might give it a go.

[pierrot]

Hyper Speed GranDoll is a licensed platformer, based on the 1997 anime of the same name.

That's a weird one. It looks like technically the video game predates all the other media (OVA, Drama CD, Comics) that were released around the same time. I've always thought it looked like an interesting game, though.

On an unrelated note, while looking up info on Grandoll, I found a Japanese blog that acts as something of a database for anime, comics, and to a much lesser extent video games, that have scenes with topless girls. The Grandoll OVA meets that criteria, if you were interested. >_>

--

I ended up actually beating Buster Busts Loose. I understand that I look like a bit of a crazy person in doing so, but I realized that after the train segment, the game is mostly playable. Hardly what I would consider fun, but it only took me about two hours to finish the game, anyway. I was actually a little impressed by the Furball's Squash mini game. Somehow that seemed really advanced for both the game, and the console.

--

Oh, really? I've needed an excuse to play through that, so I might give it a go.

I played it a while ago, and scrounged up my thoughts on the game from when I beat it: here.

This game is based on a fairly successful, serialized manga series, which managed to pump out 12 volumes. Apparently, the story here only really accounts for the first two volumes of the manga. The importance of that is only really that the ending is quite abrupt, and strange. The game doesn't really do much to try to tie things up, at all. It's a fairly fun game, for the most part, though. It's a little bit like a mix of Mickey Mousecapade and Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, with the overall quality lingering somewhere between the two. Basically, you take control of Hamel, the violinist, who "recruits" Flute (a girl from the town where the game starts) to basically be his human battering ram. Flute's movement is mainly controlled through 'call' and 'wait' commands. She can also be picked up and hurled at enemies for massive damage, and is practically invulnerable while in flight. Along the way, a bunch of different animal suits can be picked up, which allow Flute to transform into things that help Hamel traverse various sections of the levels. There are 16 transformations in total, but there's a lot of overlap in the abilities, two are completely useless outside of progressing the story, and a few I only ever used once, if at all. Other than that, Hamel is equipped with his violin that can fire magical, music-note projectiles, and a movement speed that could make molasses blush. The difficulty in this one is pretty low, aside from the second boss, who is just the worst.

I was expecting something a little bit better than what I got out of this game, but it's still pretty good. I enjoyed a lot of the level design, and I think it's worth playing, overall.

[Exhuminator]

It looks like technically the video game predates all the other media (OVA, Drama CD, Comics) that were released around the same time.

Weird. All I can say is the game uses a lot of clips from the OVAs, but not all of the OVA material of course. Which leads me to believe the game was at least produced after the OVAs, even if strangely it released before the OVAs. I don't know, I see conflicting information on the internet.

topless girls. The Grandoll OVA meets that criteria, if you were interested.

Unfortunately(?) the PS1 game itself has no such shenanigans.

-

I spent some time with Inspector Gadget on SNES last night, beat a few stages. It's OK, but not so good I feel like finishing it. (There's quite a few Inspector Gadget platformer games out there actually.) I haven't touched SNES Aladdin since getting about halfway through it a week ago. SNES Aladdin is competent, yes, but a bit bland for my tastes (and IMO inferior to the Genesis iteration). At this point I've finished five games for this TR in a short amount of time. I will beat one or two more games for this TR, but I'm starting to burn out. I may come back later in the month renewed, who knows.

[Omerta]

Now for a negative update!

I hated this game as a kid.

I still hate it.

This game SUCKS!

This is for one character of four and after scrolling some. Entire screen is filled. You think 5-6 year old me wanted to read ANY of this?

How long can your ears last?

Not sure if I've ever played that one. Put a couple of hours into Clone Wars last night for TR though. I'm going to echo the comment above - play that one instead. It's fantastic.

I love how you're in the game right when it boots up and waits until the first level is over before showing any title screens. Feels theatrical. The controls are very responsive and the levels are pretty linear, but well-designed. Probably going to log a few more hours tonight.