Summer Games Challenge 2018 - begin when ready!

[Nert]

X4 is most definitely rad. Tough though

[lordb0rb4]

So, i discovered this AWESOME Virtua Fighter 4 feature:

For 3k gold (Quest Mode) you can use in Arcade the VF1-based flat 3d polygonal model
In preparation for Carmageddon i'm thinking about watching the movie it was inspired by, Death Race, and i saw it is actually a series of movies, am i better sticking to the original or are some other worthy of my time?

[Ack]

Just stick with Death Race 2000. That's the most fun in my opinion.

[CFFJR]

I've been debating about whether or not I want to participate this year. I've been a slacker extraordinaire the past couple of summers, and besides that, I just don't line up with setting goals. They end up being a source of resentment rather than fun.

But then I had a stupid idea so I'm going to jump in anyway. This will be the summer of Final Fantasy.

The list:

Final Fantasy II - PSP
Final Fantasy III - PSP
Final Fantasy V - GBA
Final Fantasy VIII - PC
Final Fantasty XII - PS4

These are my unfinished FFs. Technically I haven't beaten XIII or XV either, but I'm not too enthused about revisiting the former and the latter is way too new. And also 5 is enough for pete's sake.

Regarding classic status, I submit that the franchise as a whole is classic. It is massive and hugely influential and even the "black sheep" games in the series would definitely count as infamous even if they didn't still have legions of fans, which they do.

Yeah, anyway, we'll see how it goes.

[Xeogred]

In 2013 I played FFII (PSP), FFIII (NES), FFIV (PSP), and FFV (GBA) for that summer and it was amazing. First time beating most of those except for FFIV and it completed my journey of finishing FF1-10 in some form.

Those are definitely some great versions of FFII and FFV (the PSX Anthology release is horrendous).

I think FFXV is the worst. Outside of the main four characters being likeable, it does literally nothing else good.

[pierrot]

X4 is most definitely rad. Tough though

I was playing this not too long ago on the Saturn, and beat it with X. I thought maybe my memories of the game being so solid were slightly unfounded, going in, but no, it's pretty great. I think the original Megaman X is a little bit better, but X4 is a solid second, in my book (I haven't played X2, though). Maybe it was the Saturn pad, but I found it to be way easier than I remembered, too. Sigma was still a fairly massive bitch, but when isn't he.

[lordb0rb4]

I've been debating about whether or not I want to participate this year. I've been a slacker extraordinaire the past couple of summers, and besides that, I just don't line up with setting goals. They end up being a source of resentment rather than fun.

But then I had a stupid idea so I'm going to jump in anyway. This will be the summer of Final Fantasy.

The list:

Final Fantasy II - PSP
Final Fantasy III - PSP
Final Fantasy V - GBA
Final Fantasy VIII - PC
Final Fantasty XII - PS4

These are my unfinished FFs. Technically I haven't beaten XIII or XV either, but I'm not too enthused about revisiting the former and the latter is way too new. And also 5 is enough for pete's sake.

Regarding classic status, I submit that the franchise as a whole is classic. It is massive and hugely influential and even the "black sheep" games in the series would definitely count as infamous even if they didn't still have legions of fans, which they do.

Yeah, anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Go for it!

Today i fired up my 3rd game after watching the highly enjoyable Death Race 2000 (YOU GOT 2 SECONDS TO LIVE!!! ) , Carmageddon, and i'm having a total meltdown of a blast.
The main core of the game is basically motorized mayhem and oh boy if it isn't shy in this aspect from the get-go as the manual warns:
''You may want to think
twice before letting young children, the mentally unstable, or nervous pets see it in action.''

Violence is everywhere despite colorfull graphics and there's an overall comical tone that somehow fits and give the game an unique feeling.
The gameplay is spot on and i've found it far better than others combat racing games such as twisted metal, the enviroments are MASSIVE and very well put together making hard to just complete laps as a common racing game and not wreacking havok on pedestrians and other cars as well.
Got the game patched up easily and i highly recommend it.

Just stick with Death Race 2000. That's the most fun in my opinion.

Thank you, watched and loved it, i was very surprised to see Stallone XD
Gonna save the other movies for future Carmageddon games and Summer Games Challenge for sure

[nullPointer]

The list:

Final Fantasy II - PSP
Final Fantasy III - PSP
Final Fantasy V - GBA
Final Fantasy VIII - PC
Final Fantasty XII - PS4

Awesome list good sir! Several years ago I myself did a Final Fantasy Summer Marathon (I can't quite remember but I think I played through FFV - FFIX although I never did quite finish up with IX which isn't a comment on the quality of that entry, so much as it was the result of FF burnout at that point). I have fond memories of that Summer, but yeah ... it was definitely a lot of Final Fantasy. You're going to have a blast! I notice this list is (slightly) weighted slightly towards the games that implement job systems. It will definitely be an interesting perspective to see how that particular mechanic evolved and developed over the course of the series. I'm also looking forward to your thoughts on VIII. It's one of the more divisive games in the series, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. SFII style inputs during combat segments to score extra damage? Heck yeah, why not! Also Triple Triad is the shizzle. Word. (Kids still say 'shizzle' right? ) At any rate, good luck man, can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Wow, here we are already (more or less) on the cusp of the 'official' begin date for the Summer Games Challenge! Where has the time gone!? I have to admit ... it doesn't feel quite the same without dsheinem making at least an occasional appearance to school everyone on what constitutes a classic though. (Just playin' dsh, you rule)

Will this thread be the 'official' discussion thread (possibly with an alteration to the title) or will there be a separate thread for discussing progress? Not that it really matters, just figured I'd ask.

Based on the results of the Together Retro voting thread for June (Beat 'em Ups!) I've made the final additions to my Summer Challenge list. Hey, I figure if I can cross-pollinate any of my choices between the two events, that means I'm winning the meta-game. So, obviously Final Fight is my beat 'em up selection. Following that, I was leaning towards Mike Tyson as my final choice, but that would definitively weigh the list both towards NES (with three games) and Nintendo systems in general (with over half the games). Ultimately I decided that Sony needed at least one more representative selection, so I'm going with with Crash Bandicoot as my final (also based on input from AJ)

Here's my final list as it stands:

Alex Kidd in Miracle World [SMS]
BattleToads [NES]
Crash Bandicoot [PSX]
Ecco the Dolphin [SCD]
Final Fight [SNES]
ICO [PS2]
Kirby's Adventure [NES]
Metroid II: Return of Samus [GB]
Mother [GBA]
Shinobi [PS3]

It's not a terribly ambitious list in terms of time requirements (with a couple of outliers), so here's hoping I can power through! Happy Summer gaming y'all!

[Xeogred]

I've been seeing some Metroid II talk. I just finished it recently myself! It took a color hack for me to finally warm up to the game but I'm glad it finally got me hooked, once you get a feel for the game and all it holds up and is a blast. I'm still kind of caught off guard by how much I ended up loving it finally, it was amazing.

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 0#p1130552

[dsheinem]

The list:

Final Fantasy II - PSP
Final Fantasy III - PSP
Final Fantasy V - GBA
Final Fantasy VIII - PC
Final Fantasty XII - PS4

Good list!

Alex Kidd in Miracle World [SMS]
BattleToads [NES]
Crash Bandicoot [PSX]
Ecco the Dolphin [SCD]
Final Fight [SNES]
ICO [PS2]
Kirby's Adventure [NES]
Metroid II: Return of Samus [GB]
Mother [GBA]
Shinobi [PS3]

Good list! Oh, wait, the Shinobi game is the PS2/PS3 title? Lose that one, is received fairly middling reviews (a lot of 7s) and is not even marginally a "classic" in any sense of the word. Replace it with the original.

Virtua Racing (1994)
Mega Man X4 (1997)
Carmageddon (1997)
Diablo II (2000)
Castlevania Chronicles (2001)
Max Payne (2001) - 05/13/2018
Contra: Shattered Soldier (2002)
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (2003)
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003)
Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (2005)

Your list was great until I got to the last four titles. And, actually, I don't know that any/all FF main line game or any/all Castelvania titles, VF game, PSO game, etc. are really "classics" that need to be played. There are much better games to dig into from the early aughts...

1. ActRaiser (SNES)
2. Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
3. GoldenEye 007 (N64)
4. Fire Emblem: Fuuin No Tsurugi (GBA)
5. Mother 3 (GBA)
6. Ecco: The Tides of Time (MD)
7. Shenmue 2 (DC)
8. Jet Set Radio Future (XBox)
9. Mega Man 8 (PS4)
10. Resident Evil (PS4)
Bonus: Crazy Taxi (DC)

Good list!

1. Garou: Mark of the Wolves
2. Sega Rally
3. Killer 7
4. Metroid Prime
5. Super Monkey Ball
6. Streets of Rage
7. Zelda II
8. Uncharted 1
9. Virtua Racing
10. Dragon Quest VI

Lose #3. It is a cult classic at best, and you can probably dig up something that is much more defining of its era without too much effort.

Front Mission: Gun Hazard (SNES)
Rudra No Hihou (SNES)
Samurai Shodown 2 (Xbox One)
Jet Set Radio (Xbox One)
Asterix and the Secret Mission (SMS)
Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES)

Generally a good list...but lose Rudra No Hihou - that's not a even remotely a "classic," it is a random outlier (and comparative turd) from a period of outstanding work by Square.

1. Arkanoid (NES)
2. Karate Champion (NES)
3. Landstalker (Genesis)
4. Perfect Dark (360/N64)
5. Legendary Axe (TG16)
6. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap (SMS)
7. May Together Retro (Shadow Tower)
8. June Together Retro (TBD)
9. July Together Retro (TBD)
10. August Together Retro (TBD)]

This list is just a giant deferral of your responsibility. Karate Champ's inclusion is a joke, right? I think the fact that you listed it as "Karate Champion" is evidence enough that, even for you, this one falls well outside of the "classic" zone. I feel like I have argued against Landstalker in the past. (Oh, yes: here). You're killin' me smalls.

1. Lemmings (GEN)
2. Maniac Mansion (NES)
3. The Last Express (DOS)
4. StarTropics (NES)
5. Metroid Fusion (GBA) <-- acquisition
6. LOOM (ScummVM)
7. Resident Evil: Code Veronica (PS2)
8. Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego? (DOS)
9. Tetris (GB)
10. Ultima III: Exodus (NES)

Good list!

Batman nes
DuckTales
Ninja turtles nes
Life force
Ocarina of Time
Banjo Kazooie
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Super Metroid
Super Mario Sunshine

Lose slow Batman and the worst mainline Mario game. Otherwise this is good.

Y'all are generally doing a very good job this year!