Together Retro: Eighties' Ladies' Night

[Xeogred]

Can I emulate the FDS version easily?

Yes. Most NES emulators will run FDS games, though you will need to seek out a FDS BIOS and place it in the proper directory.

Have you ever played a FDS game? Disks need to be flipped on occasion -- with emulation this is done in menus or configured keys.

Also, don't be surprised to find FDS ROMs (disk images, really) with save files already on them. Just delete 'em before you start.

I played a bit of Metroid this evening. About to go into Kraid's Hideout. There are lots of little tricks to get items "early" that I like to employ, just as freezing flying enemies to reach great heights before the boots are obtained.

Love the game. Love having the save files on the FDS version. Sound effects are ass though.

Nope! Never have. Love some of those FDS soundtracks though, so it would be cool to revisit some games this way. Looks like FCEUX supports them so I'll have to look into this.

Does it save your health/missile count though?

The Ice Beam can definitely break some areas haha. Easy to get the Varia Suit early with it. As a kid I always got lost in Norfair.

I've already beaten Metroid, and since I'm not hot on re-beating games I've already beaten, I won't be replaying it. However I found a way to revisit Metroid and beat it once more for this ELN, without retracing the steps I've already taken before. As such it'll be the last game I beat for this particular TR.

Justin Bailey?

[MrPopo]

He strikes me as a NARPAS SWORD man.

[Exhuminator]

Layla is WAY harder. I'd have gladly stabbed a NARPAS SWORD all up in that shit.

-

Anyway, tonight I put three hours into War of the Dead for PCE (via its English fan translation). I thought I was having fun at first, until I realized this game is built upon stupid amounts of backtracking. I'm talking ludicrous, extreme, obscene amounts of backtracking folks. Checking a walkthrough revealed the entire game is predicated upon this concept to an exponential degree. Do you know what Ex doesn't like to do? Backtrack. Ugh. Great idea, terrible execution. We're done here, moving along.

-

Having only about an hour left of prime gaming time, I decided to play through something short and simple; the arcade version of Time Gal. I did finish it, but I'm too tired to write a proper review right now. I'll do so tomorrow if time permits. I'll probably give Madoola another try tomorrow as my next ELN game. It's a Sunsoft jam, there's got to be something good in there.

[ElkinFencer10]

I finally finished my replay of Phantasy Star with SMS Power's retranslation and FM Sound patch. I had played Phantasy Star through about a decade ago, and at the time, I remember thinking what an incredible game it was. Tastes change over time, though, so I wanted to go back to it (this time with FM sound and what I'd read was a great retranslation) and see if it holds up as well as I remember. The verdict? Well...mostly. It's not quite as flawless as my remember, but it definitely still stands as my pick for greatest 8-bit JRPG.

My full review can be read in the Games Beaten thread here.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Nope! Never have. Love some of those FDS soundtracks though, so it would be cool to revisit some games this way. Looks like FCEUX supports them so I'll have to look into this.

Does it save your health/missile count though?

The Ice Beam can definitely break some areas haha. Easy to get the Varia Suit early with it. As a kid I always got lost in Norfair.

Yes, FCEUX plays FDS games quite well.
http://www.fceux.com/web/help/fceux.htm ... Sytem.html

I don't think you get a "full" save with Metriod. More of what I call a "location save" -- I'll know for sure when I boot the game up again. Most of these FDS games have a save system similar to that of NES Zelda -- the save option is triggered upon death, or at any time by pressing up+A on controller 2 (remember, Fami controllers are hardwired so the second controller is always present). Of course, there's always save states.

FDS soundtracks are interesting indeed. I always find these games to have crap sound effects though. Playing any of the classics on FDS is a surreal experience in some ways. Load times when you enter a Zelda dungeon? A three-slot save system in the original Castlevania? Whhaaaat?

Having only about an hour left of prime gaming time, I decided to play through something short and simple; the arcade version of Time Gal.

I'm saving this in case we do FMV next month (I'd be playing the Sega CD version anyway, which wasn't released until the 90s). If FMV doesn't win it could also fit in to one of my possible themed ideas so it might get put on hold again.

Well...mostly. It's not quite as flawless as my remember, but it definitely still stands as my pick for greatest 8-bit JRPG.

I'm glad you enjoyed Phantasy Star and am sorry to hear you haven't played Dragon Warrior III.

[Exhuminator]

Phantasy Star ... it definitely still stands as my pick for greatest 8-bit JRPG.

You have exceptional taste.

-

So yeah, I beat this last night...



The arcade version of Time Gal.
It's a better short film than a short game.
I mean, QTEs versus lots of little video clips.
Very nice anime / animation though, lovable protagonist.
I wasn't a fan of the "Time Stop" quizzes AT ALL.
I did appreciate the variety each setting offered.
There just wasn't enough of a "game" here for my tastes.

Anyway, full review here.

[Xeogred]

Put in about an hour into Guardian Legend tonight.



Isn't this guy from something?... or he just weirdly looks super familiar.

This game is destroying me though. Are there some things I should know about? I've taken out three bosses in some shmup sections. I wish the regular gun power up was permanent, when it does a triple shot. It just randomly disappears after awhile? The secondary power up I'm liking the most is the one that creates a spinning orb around you, but it drains the chips pretty fast. Grenades seem awesome but are tricky to land. For the shmup parts there's this side wave beam thing that's great.

I like the overhead sections more than the shmup parts, which are the ones destroying me. You can get combo'd to death pretty easily.

Chips are up to 150, but I don't have any Gun/Armor upgrades yet.

[Exhuminator]

Isn't this guy from something?... or he just weirdly looks super familiar.

You're probably thinking of this:

I pitied the Blue Landers when I beat the game. The little capitalist jokers were unknowingly helping Miria to destroy their home. I doubt she felt remorse.

This game is destroying me though. Are there some things I should know about?

Enemy erasers are your best friend in the later levels. They are great for clearing the screen of enemies in an emergency situation. Explore the Labyrinth entirely, it's easy to miss vital currency, upgrades. or information. Many bosses and enemies are weaker to particular weapons. When fighting bosses shoot the bosses' shots, they often leave power-ups. The Difficulty of an enemy is often noticeable by its color. Green = Easy, Blue = Medium, Red = Hard. Use that information to hedge your bets. YOU CAN DO IT

[prfsnl_gmr]

The lander is also in Zanac (which was also developed by Compile). Perhaps you recognize him from that game? The shmup sections can be intense, but by the end of the game, the overhead sections are actually more difficult. Also, it seems like you have a choice in how you upgrade, but really, the upgrade path is pretty well set. If you are having too much difficulty with an area, it is likely you missed an upgrade at something point, I suggest pulling up a map from GameFAQs if you’re struggling too much.

.....

I just finished the first stage of Takahashi Meijin no Bug-tte Honey:



In it, you play as the Hudson Honey Bee Fairy for the first level. (After that, it’s back to Master Higgins.) The gameplay is bizzare. You basically go around finding hidden eggs which, when acquired, make you play a level of Arkanoid. As in Arkanoid, power ups fall from blocks as you break them, and four of the power ups are letters. Three of the letters will kill you instantly, but one of them you need to complete the password required to finish the level. Needless to say, there is a lot of trial and error, and the game is pretty much the definition of a “kusoge” game. I pity these poor save states, because I am going to be abusing them so hard...

[Xeogred]

Huge fan of Lolo, yeah that did come to mind. I guess it's just that.

I did notice it seems best to fight off those boss like encounters in the labyrinth, they seem fairly easy so far and usually drop some item.

I wish there was a different sound effect for hitting stuff that actually registers damage. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm hurting an enemy or not, or like those red blocks seem indestructible but it's hard to tell haha.