Summer Games Challenge 2018 - begin when ready!

[Xeogred]

Castlevania Chronicles [PS1/PS3] - One of the few 2D Castlevania games i haven't played yet, and one of MANY in my list of shame.

I quite like this game, but not everyone feels the same way. I think it was last year sometime about half of the forums coincidentally played this around the same time. I might have been the only one who really liked it, but hopefully that won't discourage you from giving it a shot.

Castlevania Chronicles is great and I always try to recommend it when people talk about the 16bit Classicvania's. It shouldn't be so overlooked.

The Arranged OST is literally insane too.

[lordb0rb4]

Castlevania Chronicles [PS1/PS3] - One of the few 2D Castlevania games i haven't played yet, and one of MANY in my list of shame.

I quite like this game, but not everyone feels the same way. I think it was last year sometime about half of the forums coincidentally played this around the same time. I might have been the only one who really liked it, but hopefully that won't discourage you from giving it a shot.

Castlevania Chronicles is great and I always try to recommend it when people talk about the 16bit Classicvania's. It shouldn't be so overlooked.

The Arranged OST is literally insane too.

Ow, nice, i saw it has 2 modes, arranged and original IIRC, should i go through both of them?

When can we actually start playing our games?

[BoneSnapDeez]

Arcade Shinobi is probably best, but if you want to go the console route, the PC Engine version isn't bad.

My good man, while you're probably correct about all this, you do know that only three or four regular members here have a PC Engine (*sniffle*).

[Key-Glyph]

These lists are too good. Seriously. I can't wait to see you all get started! Actually... when are we starting? I think I've traditionally gotten underway in the latter half of May, when college typically would have gotten out. How about the rest of you?

lordb0rb4, welcome to the Winter Games Challenge! Glad to have you!

null, I really loved Metroid II: Return of Samus. It was an emotional journey for me. I hope you enjoy it too. And Kirby's Adventure? Ahh! You're going to have such a time! Also, how are you playing MOTHER? I've wanted to play that forever, but I haven't emulated anything for a Challenge yet.

pierrot, I was seriously considering picking up Streets of Rage this summer. As a lifelong Sega boy, beat 'em up lover, and VGM fan, I feel like my not having played any Streets of Rage title is practically a bannable offense. I even looked it up on ebay a few days ago. These current-day Genesis prices are killing me! Maybe next summer. In the meantime I'll be happy to live it vicariously through you.

prfsnl_gmr, I'm not very familiar with any of your games, so I'll be learnin' off ya this year!

AJ, so excited about your foray into old-school Resident Evil. Don't believe people when they say it's not scary. It's scary. But you're gonna laugh your butt off too, so it's basically the best kind of horror experience you can have. Get ready to be quoting those lines for the rest of your life.

[Markies]

I added my list in the interest check thread but here it is again:

Batman nes (got to second boss I think)
DuckTales (haven't touched)
Ninja turtles nes (haven't touched)
Life force (made it through first level)
Ocarina of Time (haven't touched)
Banjo Kazooie (haven't touched)
Chrono Trigger (haven't touched)
Earthbound (first town)
Super Metroid (haven't touched)
Super Mario Sunshine (haven't touched)

I'm thinking about making some revisions, it's very Nintendo heavy, I do have Genesis, Dreamcast, PlayStation and TurboGrafx stuff I need to get to as well. Not sure what I'd even get rid of though

Holy Dang.

Ocarina, Banjo, Chrono and Metroid are some of the greatest games of all time.

I wish you luck on TMNT on the NES. EVERYBODY had that game, but almost nobody has actually beat it. That game is tough.

Either that or Life Force might be interchangeable. They are stretching the classic definition and they are also extremely brutal, so it might save you from some pain down the line.

[Nert]

Holy Dang.

Ocarina, Banjo, Chrono and Metroid are some of the greatest games of all time.

I wish you luck on TMNT on the NES. EVERYBODY had that game, but almost nobody has actually beat it. That game is tough.

Either that or Life Force might be interchangeable. They are stretching the classic definition and they are also extremely brutal, so it might save you from some pain down the line.

Yeah I did want to throw at least one curve ball in there while maybe TMNT isn't the best game, I feel like the fact that many have experienced it makes it notorious in a way. I want to know the struggle of the electric seaweed first hand, and I'm always up for a challenge.

I am a bit surprised at life force being called out, I've played the first level or two of the majority of the gradius series and love the power up mechanics, just haven't dedicated the time to finish any of them. But I do think they should be considered classics among shooters, heck if for no other reason than making "Gradius Syndrome" a thing.

Definitely looking forward to the four you mentioned at the start, heard nothing but great things for all of them. Particularly banjo, I grew up playing Donkey Kong 64, so this will be familiar territory in a way.

Arcade Shinobi is probably best, but if you want to go the console route, the PC Engine version isn't bad.

My good man, while you're probably correct about all this, you do know that only three or four regular members here have a PC Engine (*sniffle*).

I have a TG16, that's almost the same right

[nullPointer]

• ICO [PS2]: Another game whose legend might well outpace its actual quality. I need to find out for myself. - I will always love this game. It's so moody, and often serene.
  
  Okami [PS2]: I've never even started this game, but like a lot of folks I've always been blown away by the beauty of it. Not sure what kind of time sink we'd be talking here. - Pretty substantial. I think I put 70-something hours into in when it came out. I was pretty much going for completion, though.
  
  Shinobi [???]: Not at all sure what version would be preferable here, though I suspect the MAME version might be the way to go. How close does the SMS version come to capturing the arcade quality? - They're kind of different. I think the Arcade version is ultimately preferable, but I'm not positive.

Thanks so much for your input Pierrot! In terms of setting achievable goals for the purposes of the Summer Games Challenge, I think this means Okami is out. I'll save it for when I can play at a more leisurely pace (I'd likely be playing for completion as well). ICO is sure seeming a strong contender though. Based on everyone's input on Shinobi I most likely will opt for the MAME version (unless ... hmm I wonder if one of the many Sega compilations contains an arcade perfect port? I'll need to research that.)

null, I really loved Metroid II: Return of Samus. It was an emotional journey for me. I hope you enjoy it too. And Kirby's Adventure? Ahh! You're going to have such a time! Also, how are you playing MOTHER? I've wanted to play that forever, but I haven't emulated anything for a Challenge yet.

I have to admit I'm pretty excited for Metroid II! I think that's one of my firm choices. As far as Mother goes I considered two options. One is the official localized version released for Wii U on virtual console (Earthbound Beginnings). My understanding is that this version is more or less an unaltered port of the original version intended for North American release in 1991 (but never quite made it). The thing is ... I've heard that this localized version (again from 1991) is actually somewhat inferior to the fan translation by Jeffman and Tomato (seen here). The fan translation preserves content that was removed and/or censored in the offical localization. Furthermore the translation is for the GBA release of Mother 1 + 2 (although only Mother 1 has an English translation). Long story short, I'll be playing the fan translation. I actually already have it installed to my 3DS and will be playing through the Virtual Console (it was slightly convoluted getting the various pieces to cooperate, but it's been highly worth it - I'm currently playing a translated version of Kyūyaku Megami Tensei on my 3DS via the same process). Wow ... that might have been more explanation than you really wanted, lol.

So I think that means my list is shaping up a bit like so:

Alex Kidd in Miracle World [SMS]
BattleToads [NES]
Ecco the Dolphin [SCD]
ICO [PS2]
Kirby's Adventure [NES]
Metroid II: Return of Samus [GB]
Mother [GBA]
Shinobi [MAME] (or possibly a compilation)

Only two more selections to make! Still considering the following as good options for the remaining two slots:

Crash Bandicoot [PSX]
Crystalis [NES]
Final Fight [SNES]
God of War [PS2]
Half-Life: Opposing Force [PC/Steam]
Mike Tyson's Punchout [NES]
Rayman [PSX]

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yes, null, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection has the arcade Shinobi. It's an unlockable, but very easy to unlock.

[nullPointer]

Yes, null, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection has the arcade Shinobi. It's an unlockable, but very easy to unlock.

Awesome, thanks Bone! Ordered and on the way.

[lordb0rb4]

Researching and Studying is trully part of the joy of the challenge, i've tweaked my list enough but i'm leaving two blank slots for now.

01.Virtua Racing (1994)
02.Carmageddon (1997) - Played the hell out of the Demo back in 1998, got it on steam for ages, actually one of my most anticipated games of the list.
03.Diablo II (2000)
04.Castlevania Chronicles (2001)
05.Max Payne (2001)
06.Contra: Shattered Soldier (2002) - Just bought on PSN dirty cheap, bad contra games on ps1/sat got me away from the series so i never really paid attention to this one, for what i learned it is a very solid game.
07.Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003) - Never touched, same reason as above, gow clone by the looks of it.
08.Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (2005)
09.
10.

I'm pretty satisfied with it but at the same time it feels...i don't know...modern?...
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia crossed my mind as well as Shadow Dancer/Shinobi series, what do you guys think overall?
Unto downloading, patching and setting up consoles and games now!