Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024

[MrPopo]

This will be the one time that learning humility is the opposite of failing the game.

[Key-Glyph]

Okay folks, I'd like to try something different for my challenge this year. I've been super burnt out lately and want to participate as always, but I'm hitting a block when it comes to choosing the games. I've played almost everything I own that would be considered a classic, and I don't have it in me to think about purchases.

But, I do have some Everdrives. And one of my favorite things about the Summer Games Challenge has always been bonding with everyone over shared experiences.

So what I'm going to do is ask the willing among you for two video game recommendations -- just two -- and I'll pick my titles from the resulting pool for the summer. I won't be able to get to many of them, and I can't promise I'll finish what I start. I just want to dabble a bit and enjoy everyone's encouragement and enthusiasm as you share some stories and live vicariously through me.

If you're into this, here are the requirements for recommendations. They must be:

• Sega Genesis or NES games;
• Games that were important to you when you were a kid;
• Not a heavy mental load (e.g. no deep RPGs, submarine battle sims, etctera);
• Not intentionally frustrating or tedious (no Deadly Towers, full seasons of Bases Loaded... you get the idea).

And remember, only two. This limit may seem excruciating but is going to result in a powerful list.

Give me your games.

[MrPopo]

Alright, here's my suggestions for you Key:

Metroid - NES - This, alongside Zelda, was the game that really showed me what was possible with the medium of video games, and I've been in love with its style of exploration platforming ever since

Shining Force II - Genesis - The game that took the RPG genre I was enjoying and added in the strategy element of maneuvering all my units vs. the enemy army. Unlike Fire Emblem there's no perma death and no weapon triangle, so this shouldn't be too much of a cognitive load.

[marurun]

Key, I know you were streaming Apple II games for a while. It's outside your request, but I'm wondering if you would consider other Apple II game suggestions, on the off chance you don't already have them?

As for NES recommendations, I'd say give Super C a go. Quick action with a rockin' soundtrack. Definitely hard, but masterable in a reasonable amount of time.

Okay folks, I'd like to try something different for my challenge this year. I've been super burnt out lately and want to participate as always, but I'm hitting a block when it comes to choosing the games. I've played almost everything I own that would be considered a classic, and I don't have it in me to think about purchases.

But, I do have some Everdrives. And one of my favorite things about the Summer Games Challenge has always been bonding with everyone over shared experiences.

So what I'm going to do is ask the willing among you for two video game recommendations -- just two -- and I'll pick my titles from the resulting pool for the summer. I won't be able to get to many of them, and I can't promise I'll finish what I start. I just want to dabble a bit and enjoy everyone's encouragement and enthusiasm as you share some stories and live vicariously through me.

If you're into this, here are the requirements for recommendations. They must be:

• Sega Genesis or NES games;
• Games that were important to you when you were a kid;
• Not a heavy mental load (e.g. no deep RPGs, submarine battle sims, etctera);
• Not intentionally frustrating or tedious (no Deadly Towers, full seasons of Bases Loaded... you get the idea).

And remember, only two. This limit may seem excruciating but is going to result in a powerful list.

Give me your games.

[Ack]

I like the idea of focusing not on the console classics but our childhood classics. It's an interesting way to refocus on the challenge even after you've played through all the big names a console may have to offer.

One childhood classic for me on the NES:

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

While it released late in the console's lifespan, it's a run and gun that I absolutely loved, both as a fan of run and guns and of the property. You have to select a squad of soldiers for each level, which you can swap between on the fly for their different abilities, health, and combat styles. If someone dies, they're done for good, so be sparing. You're also up against a timer, as Cobra isn't letting up.

Yes, the game has flickering issues, but some of the levels have such memorable design I hardly noticed. Running along a route full of enemy troops while Cobra is busy launching missiles at you in the distance? Awesome.

I hope you get to play it, but more importantly, I hope it brings you the joy it brought six-year-old Ack as he took down a terrorist organization for America and the world. Yo Joe!

[prfsnl_gmr]

G.I. Joe is very solid on the NES. A few others to consider:

All of Capcom’s “Disney Afternoon” games are fun, breezy adventures (especially if they have the word “duck” in the title!).

Clash at Demonhead is awesome. It’s not too hard, but you’ll need to do some reading to figure out what to do. That wasn’t an issue in the ‘80s and ‘90s when games just kind of assumed you’d be reading about them in magazines and talking about them with your friends.

I’ll try to think of a few more!

[marurun]

I’m gonna throw Faxanadu into the hat. It was supposed to be Hudson porting Falcom’s Xanadu from PC to NES (Famicom Xanadu = Faxanadu) but Hudson decided to run with it. Very exploration and luzzle item-focused, as was the vibe of the time. Good soundtrack by Jun Chikuma. Irritated Falcom to no end that it was basically an entirely new, original game. Hudson had to hit their next pitch (Ys I & II on PCE CD) out of the park to get Falcom to agree to it.

[Ack]

The Memorial Day weekend is often viewed as the unofficial start of Summer in the United States, so since we are there, it's time I start my challenge!

I have begun with Marathon, specifically the "Classic Marathon" release on Steam. Apparently there were a few small tweaks to navigating saved games, and updates to run the game on modern PCs, but otherwise, it is a relatively pure adaptation of the Mac release from 1994.

Right now it's giving me heavy System Shock vibes, which makes sense considering they share a release year along with numerous gameplay elements (gunning around a space station, using consoles for save/respawn as well as health/oxygen restoration, rogue AI, biotech and mechanical enemies, and so on). But Marathon distinguishes itself in the time period with its verticality as well as its fun array of weapons. There are even alternate fire modes for certain guns, unidentified alien tech, and a precursor to rocket jumping.

There are also some pains where the genre hadn't figured itself out. All preferences must be set from the main menu, so you have to exit an ongoing game to adjust controls or mouse sensitivity. Also, running momentum has some strange quirks. You don't stop on a dime in Marathon, which is ok, but the momentum of running carries the player surprisingly far, and turning will redirect that momentum in weird ways. More than once I have thrown myself off a ledge into a death pit because I hurled myself at a wall and then turned on the ledge, only for my built up momentum to continue carrying me over the precipice. It is a frustrating thing to master.

I am still enjoying the game, even with the quirks and the occasional difficult signposting. The weapons feel good, I'm having a blast getting into firefights with hordes of aliens, and the story is compelling me onwards. I'm genuinely curious what will happen next.

Ack's List:

1. Marathon - IN PROGRESS
2. Command & Conquer
3. Rome: Total War
4. Rage
5. Outlast
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
7. Thief II
8. Ultima IV
9. Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force
10. Tactics Ogre: Reborn

[SpaceBooger]

Yes!
My favorite RB tradition. I have posted 5-6 games each summer and beat at least 5, this year will be tougher since I am going back to school to get my Computer Science Endorsement taking 12 credit hours of class on campus starting June 10th. I will be learning Python... so that may take some time from this challenge, but here goes:

My list:

• Bioshock (PC) Switch
  I have this on PC but the NSW had all three Bioshock games on sale for $10 so I picked it up there. I tried this when it first came out but hated FPS then... I still don't dig them too much but Destiny and playing Metroid Prime last summer eased me in. I started this a couple weeks ago and and am hooked. It keeps scaring the crap out of me and I'm loving it.

• Faxanadu (NES)
  I have always wanted to play through this and since my goal is to have one game from the 8-bit gen on my list each year - tag Faxanadu is it. It also looks like others have this on the list which is always awesome.

• Beyond Oasis (GEN)
  I always play a top down ARPG game and that tradition started with Soul Blazer.Faxanadu

• Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
  I beat this game when it first came out and never played the rest of the series. I have the erge to play through the series and thought I should play the first one again. I did pick up the MGS collection on the Switch so I may play that version, but I think I will stick to the original on a CRT.

• Fable (oXBOX)
  I also got this game when it first came out and played it for a while and then something personal happened that caused chaos in my life and I never picked it back up.

• Final Fantasy Legent 2 (GB)
  I played the first one last year and loved it. Since I try to have a handheld game on my list every year I decided to play the sequel.

I have six games hoping to beat five and as you can tell from my list I like to play on every generation and like to play game series each summer and this year is no different.

[alienjesus]

So what I'm going to do is ask the willing among you for two video game recommendations -- just two -- and I'll pick my titles from the resulting pool for the summer. I won't be able to get to many of them, and I can't promise I'll finish what I start. I just want to dabble a bit and enjoy everyone's encouragement and enthusiasm as you share some stories and live vicariously through me.

I grew up with the Mega Drive but a lot of my classic childhood games I suspect are ones you've played already - Golden Axe, Streets of Rage and Sonic were big ones for me.

Because of that, I'm actually going to suggest 2 Master System games, which should be playable just fine on your Mega Everdrive. They're the first 2 games I ever owned, and they're pretty iconic titles for the system so there's a chance you've played them already as well, but here goes:

Sonic the Hedgehog (SMS) is a totally different game than the Mega Drive one, and although it maybe wasn't as impressive at that time, I think it's held up really well, and dare I say it I think I like it more than the Mega Drive game.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a game that was built into my Master System, but I didn't know about it when I first got it 2nd hand from a friend at my mum's work. One day when me and my cousin were messing about with the console (we must have been like 5) we turned it on with no game in and our mind was blown when this booted up instead. It's a pretty tough game and it can be janky, but it's got a whole host of interesting ideas it plays with that makes it stand out.