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Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
I have just wrapped up Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, and I understand why the game is so highly praised among Star Trek games. It's also not a bad FPS, but it's a definite love letter to Star Trek. I'm happy to have beaten it, and that's one more game done!
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Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
Hi everyone, I’ve been enjoying reading this forum for quite some time now, finding inspiration for my gaming from the Together Retro threads for example. Now I was finally motivated to join and post by this great summer challenge.
To give some background to my choices, as many of you, I grew up with video games and they were a massive part of my life in my childhood and teenage years. I used to be a massive Nintendo fanboy which led to me having pretty big gaps in my knowledge in games on other platforms. My favourite genre was definitely platformers, with Super Mario being hugely important. In RPGs and fighting games I was very much into Pokémon and Super Smash Bros., but didn’t discover other games in the genres at all. Many genres, like FPS, survival horror or beat’em’up I didn’t touch at all. Wii was the last home console I owned and by the eighth generation I was fully checked out from gaming.
Now at an older age I have found again my passion for gaming, and I have simultaneously enjoyed reliving my childhood favourites and discovering new titles and genres I had slept on. I have realised that my Nintendo elitism was totally unjustified, and that my preference is rather for Japanese games in general than Nintendo only. I have really been enjoying discovering the Sega and Playstation libraries. When it comes to genres, JRPGs have probably become my favourite, and I’m enjoying beat’em’ups a ton too. As a different kind of an example, I just recently completed Metal Gear Solid for the first time, which on paper sounded very much not like my cup of tea with the plot featuring terrorists and nuclear weapons, very grey colour palette and stealth game play. Yet that ended up being one of my greatest gaming experiences of all time.
Having said all that, what I’m looking for in new gaming experiences these days is focused on the Japanese titles that seem to be catering to my taste, and I’m not trying to play through every classic game in the world if they don’t seem that interesting to me. However, I do occasionally want to challenge myself with genres and titles that are remarkable but not that directly appealing to me, especially if they have had an impact on the development of the gaming industry.
Without any further ado, here’s my current list of five titles that I’ve chosen. I’m not sure how many I’ll be able to beat, so I want to add some wiggle room to add more if I’ll feel like that:
1. Power Stone (DC)
This one I actually managed to already beat once last week. This is a fighting game on the Dreamcast, so very much a combination of two things that I’ve been ignoring earlier. And I don’t think my younger self understood how many great titles Capcom has put out either.
With fighting games I often feel overwhelmed with all the moves and other technicalities to learn. This, however, clicked from the very beginning. Playing this I felt like I was learning all the time, applying strategy and so on. Having that "one more try" mentality from the very beginning and getting totally sucked in. And I really love the characters, visuals, audio, the whole Japanese vibe. Definitely coming back to this.
2. Half-Life (PC)
I still don’t have much interest in FPS games, but Half-Life has seemed one of the most interesting ones, and obviously it’s historically very important as well. I’ve spent a couple of hours playing this now and I have liked it quite a bit so far. It has actually felt to me a bit like a survival horror game played from the 1st person view with some platforming mixed in. Not a lot of mindless shooting so far, which is great.
3. Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne (PS2)
As I mentioned, JRPGs have become one of my favourite genres now. I have absolutely no recollection of this game from back in the day, but Shin Magami Tensei is one of the biggest franchises that I haven’t played so far, and I thought this could be a good one to start with.
4. Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (PC)
The original Alex Kidd game on the Master System is fun with a lot of interesting ideas, but it’s just too tough and frustrating for me to finish without resorting to save states. I bought this DX version hoping to be actually able to beat it (that’s literally how they market it as well).
5. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1)
Finally coming to a game that I actually remember from back in the day, not having much interest in it as it wasn’t a Nintendo title. However this game actually looks great, and I’ve heard comments from other people describing it as ”too Japanese”, so I’m very curious to see how I’ll feel about it.
To give some background to my choices, as many of you, I grew up with video games and they were a massive part of my life in my childhood and teenage years. I used to be a massive Nintendo fanboy which led to me having pretty big gaps in my knowledge in games on other platforms. My favourite genre was definitely platformers, with Super Mario being hugely important. In RPGs and fighting games I was very much into Pokémon and Super Smash Bros., but didn’t discover other games in the genres at all. Many genres, like FPS, survival horror or beat’em’up I didn’t touch at all. Wii was the last home console I owned and by the eighth generation I was fully checked out from gaming.
Now at an older age I have found again my passion for gaming, and I have simultaneously enjoyed reliving my childhood favourites and discovering new titles and genres I had slept on. I have realised that my Nintendo elitism was totally unjustified, and that my preference is rather for Japanese games in general than Nintendo only. I have really been enjoying discovering the Sega and Playstation libraries. When it comes to genres, JRPGs have probably become my favourite, and I’m enjoying beat’em’ups a ton too. As a different kind of an example, I just recently completed Metal Gear Solid for the first time, which on paper sounded very much not like my cup of tea with the plot featuring terrorists and nuclear weapons, very grey colour palette and stealth game play. Yet that ended up being one of my greatest gaming experiences of all time.
Having said all that, what I’m looking for in new gaming experiences these days is focused on the Japanese titles that seem to be catering to my taste, and I’m not trying to play through every classic game in the world if they don’t seem that interesting to me. However, I do occasionally want to challenge myself with genres and titles that are remarkable but not that directly appealing to me, especially if they have had an impact on the development of the gaming industry.
Without any further ado, here’s my current list of five titles that I’ve chosen. I’m not sure how many I’ll be able to beat, so I want to add some wiggle room to add more if I’ll feel like that:
1. Power Stone (DC)
This one I actually managed to already beat once last week. This is a fighting game on the Dreamcast, so very much a combination of two things that I’ve been ignoring earlier. And I don’t think my younger self understood how many great titles Capcom has put out either.
With fighting games I often feel overwhelmed with all the moves and other technicalities to learn. This, however, clicked from the very beginning. Playing this I felt like I was learning all the time, applying strategy and so on. Having that "one more try" mentality from the very beginning and getting totally sucked in. And I really love the characters, visuals, audio, the whole Japanese vibe. Definitely coming back to this.
2. Half-Life (PC)
I still don’t have much interest in FPS games, but Half-Life has seemed one of the most interesting ones, and obviously it’s historically very important as well. I’ve spent a couple of hours playing this now and I have liked it quite a bit so far. It has actually felt to me a bit like a survival horror game played from the 1st person view with some platforming mixed in. Not a lot of mindless shooting so far, which is great.
3. Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne (PS2)
As I mentioned, JRPGs have become one of my favourite genres now. I have absolutely no recollection of this game from back in the day, but Shin Magami Tensei is one of the biggest franchises that I haven’t played so far, and I thought this could be a good one to start with.
4. Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (PC)
The original Alex Kidd game on the Master System is fun with a lot of interesting ideas, but it’s just too tough and frustrating for me to finish without resorting to save states. I bought this DX version hoping to be actually able to beat it (that’s literally how they market it as well).
5. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1)
Finally coming to a game that I actually remember from back in the day, not having much interest in it as it wasn’t a Nintendo title. However this game actually looks great, and I’ve heard comments from other people describing it as ”too Japanese”, so I’m very curious to see how I’ll feel about it.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
Hey Hardwired, first of all, welcome to the forums! That's a great selection of games listed for the Summer Challenge.
I just wanted to specifically chime in on Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1). I finally checked it out last year, after totally missing out on it around the time of release and I really enjoyed it!
I think if you're a fan of platformers, you're going to dig it. It has some unique mechanics and boss fights, a fun atmosphere, cool character designs, and it's challenging. Also, it has a nice mix of 2D gameplay with 3D graphics.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it! I'm currently playing through Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil on the PS2, and liking that entry as well.
I just wanted to specifically chime in on Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1). I finally checked it out last year, after totally missing out on it around the time of release and I really enjoyed it!
I think if you're a fan of platformers, you're going to dig it. It has some unique mechanics and boss fights, a fun atmosphere, cool character designs, and it's challenging. Also, it has a nice mix of 2D gameplay with 3D graphics.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it! I'm currently playing through Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil on the PS2, and liking that entry as well.
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alienjesus
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- Location: London, UK.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
I started up LittleBigPlanet tonight and worked through the first 2 main worlds. I intended to play a little more than I did but I encountered the issues I always encounter during any of the infrequent times I boot up my PS3. The controller is always out of charge and needs plugged in for a while because for some dumb reason the console doesn't charge it whilst in sleep mode, and then there's always at least 30 minutes of updates for whatever game I try to play. Joy of joys!
Anyway, once I got into the game proper, I have to say I haven't been wowed so far. The game is way too keen on long winded tutorials, and whilst I love Stephen Fry, I must say I was ready for him to shut his trap and let me get on with it on several occasions. The actual platforming too, I find to be pretty bad. Sackboy is very floaty and imprecise when he jumps and the grabbing mechanics have weird wonky physics. The game also allows you to move back and forth between 3 different depths of 2D platforming, but this is done by pressing up or down rather than a button press, and I found I did it accidentally a lot because this is a 2D game that forces you to use the analogue stick to move. The game also often moves you back or forward automatically which has caused me issues when trying to grab collectibles on multiple occasions, and yet on occasions where I want to move back and forward it often doesnt work at all.
The level design has been enjoyable enough so far, and the music is pretty great, but I can't say I'm devastated to not have access to the community levels of the game now the servers are down. I can't imagine I'd want to play tons and tons of stages with these controls, regardless of the quality.
Anyway, once I got into the game proper, I have to say I haven't been wowed so far. The game is way too keen on long winded tutorials, and whilst I love Stephen Fry, I must say I was ready for him to shut his trap and let me get on with it on several occasions. The actual platforming too, I find to be pretty bad. Sackboy is very floaty and imprecise when he jumps and the grabbing mechanics have weird wonky physics. The game also allows you to move back and forth between 3 different depths of 2D platforming, but this is done by pressing up or down rather than a button press, and I found I did it accidentally a lot because this is a 2D game that forces you to use the analogue stick to move. The game also often moves you back or forward automatically which has caused me issues when trying to grab collectibles on multiple occasions, and yet on occasions where I want to move back and forward it often doesnt work at all.
The level design has been enjoyable enough so far, and the music is pretty great, but I can't say I'm devastated to not have access to the community levels of the game now the servers are down. I can't imagine I'd want to play tons and tons of stages with these controls, regardless of the quality.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
Hi Note, thank you so much!Note wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 9:51 am Hey Hardwired, first of all, welcome to the forums! That's a great selection of games listed for the Summer Challenge.
I just wanted to specifically chime in on Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1). I finally checked it out last year, after totally missing out on it around the time of release and I really enjoyed it!
I think if you're a fan of platformers, you're going to dig it. It has some unique mechanics and boss fights, a fun atmosphere, cool character designs, and it's challenging. Also, it has a nice mix of 2D gameplay with 3D graphics.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it! I'm currently playing through Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil on the PS2, and liking that entry as well.
I have high expectations for Klonoa indeed, and I will share my thoughts for sure!
Currently playing Half-Life, and feeling a bit conflicted. On one hand, it is a very immersive game and I've felt quite hooked, always wanting to get to the next area and see what's there. On the other hand, it's just not clicking with me 100 %. I'm not really enjoying the vibes, and also the save system is giving me a weird need to seek perfection that breaks the immersion. If I clear a passage but take "too much" damage, I feel the need to load a quick save and do it again. And shooting enemies in an FPS game still isn't one of my favourite activities.
Despite all that, this has still been a very positive experience so far. Great game, just not going to end up in my all time favourites list or make FPS one of my preferred genres all of a sudden.
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
How far are you into the game? I’m not a great FPS player, but I still enjoyed Half Life quite a bit. Don’t worry too much about getting a “perfect” run through a section. I found the game gave me just enough healing items to get through tough sections, even if I played a previous section pretty poorly. In fact, I think not playing perfectly enhances the experience somewhat by making me feel more like I was in constant danger. (Gordon Freeman is in a pretty tight spot, after all!)
Despite really enjoying Half Life, I’ve never picked up the sequels. I really should remedy that someday…
Despite really enjoying Half Life, I’ve never picked up the sequels. I really should remedy that someday…
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
ALL HAIL ROME!
As summer continues on, I am now moving on to another game on my list, Rome: Total War. I completed the tutorial tonight to get the hang of the game and then started a campaign as the House of Brutii. Why pick Brutii? Because they start the game with control of two regions on the southeastern coast of modern day Italy. This means I have my back to the ocean, and while naval battles are a thing, my territory is not split up by geography.
Of course, the Roman Senate immediately tasked me with taking a Grecian city, so I starved it out in a siege and conquered it, giving me a foothold further along the Mediterranean. They now want me battling foes in Sicily, where the House of Scipii holds territory. I could blockade the ports of non-Roman barbarians, try to take the rest of Sicily, and then invade the Scipii territory to claim it fory own and consolidate power in the Roman Senate though...
So far, the world map reminds me more of the later Civilization series. I kind of miss the drawn map of Shogun: Total War. It always rinded me more of Nobunaga's Ambition.
Either way, I will conquer, and Rome and the world will be mine.
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As summer continues on, I am now moving on to another game on my list, Rome: Total War. I completed the tutorial tonight to get the hang of the game and then started a campaign as the House of Brutii. Why pick Brutii? Because they start the game with control of two regions on the southeastern coast of modern day Italy. This means I have my back to the ocean, and while naval battles are a thing, my territory is not split up by geography.
Of course, the Roman Senate immediately tasked me with taking a Grecian city, so I starved it out in a siege and conquered it, giving me a foothold further along the Mediterranean. They now want me battling foes in Sicily, where the House of Scipii holds territory. I could blockade the ports of non-Roman barbarians, try to take the rest of Sicily, and then invade the Scipii territory to claim it fory own and consolidate power in the Roman Senate though...
So far, the world map reminds me more of the later Civilization series. I kind of miss the drawn map of Shogun: Total War. It always rinded me more of Nobunaga's Ambition.
Either way, I will conquer, and Rome and the world will be mine.
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alienjesus
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- Location: London, UK.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
1. Faxanadu (NES)
2. Phantasy Star Online (GC)
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
4. Mario Golf (GBC)
5. Dragon Quest V (DS)
6. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Switch)
7. Spyro the Dragon (PS1)
8. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
9. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
10. Star Control 2 (3DO)
Yesterday morning I finished up Little Big Planet, which was my second summer game finished. Honestly, I didn't really enjoy my time with it much.
LittleBigPlanet was a big deal at the time for the unprecedented level of control it's stage builder feature gave you and the amazing stuff people built with it. These user created stages are now unavailable without modding your PS3 and messing with DNS settings, so I have just focused on the games built in story mode. Unfortunately, regardless of the quality of the user generated levels, I can't imagine wanting to play any of them because I just cannot stand the controls in this game. I don't like the games use of the analogue stick to move both left and right and back and forth in the games 3 lanes. I also hate the way the game snaps Sackboy to background layers if he jumps high enough to clear an obstacle on a layer behind him - this caused me issues almost as much as it helped me. And most of all, I really hate the physics elements built in to the game that often result in Sackboy jumping at different heights or sliding off of a platform because this time it wobbled a little and sloped 3 degrees lower than last time.
There's some charm to LittleBigPlanet - I quite enjoyed the games soundtrack which is an eclectic mix of more traditional global music and modern dance, electronic and hip hop music - and the crafted nature of the stages is nice too. But ultimately for me, the games biggest issues are on what I consider to be the most fundamental elements of a game to get right, and so I personally must say that I don't rate LittleBigPlanet very highly. It's style over substance for me.
I intend to start game number 3 today with Faxanadu. My mission is to try and finish at least 4 before I move house on July 2nd, so better keep cracking on!
2. Phantasy Star Online (GC)
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
4. Mario Golf (GBC)
5. Dragon Quest V (DS)
6. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Switch)
7. Spyro the Dragon (PS1)
8. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
9. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
10. Star Control 2 (3DO)
Yesterday morning I finished up Little Big Planet, which was my second summer game finished. Honestly, I didn't really enjoy my time with it much.
LittleBigPlanet was a big deal at the time for the unprecedented level of control it's stage builder feature gave you and the amazing stuff people built with it. These user created stages are now unavailable without modding your PS3 and messing with DNS settings, so I have just focused on the games built in story mode. Unfortunately, regardless of the quality of the user generated levels, I can't imagine wanting to play any of them because I just cannot stand the controls in this game. I don't like the games use of the analogue stick to move both left and right and back and forth in the games 3 lanes. I also hate the way the game snaps Sackboy to background layers if he jumps high enough to clear an obstacle on a layer behind him - this caused me issues almost as much as it helped me. And most of all, I really hate the physics elements built in to the game that often result in Sackboy jumping at different heights or sliding off of a platform because this time it wobbled a little and sloped 3 degrees lower than last time.
There's some charm to LittleBigPlanet - I quite enjoyed the games soundtrack which is an eclectic mix of more traditional global music and modern dance, electronic and hip hop music - and the crafted nature of the stages is nice too. But ultimately for me, the games biggest issues are on what I consider to be the most fundamental elements of a game to get right, and so I personally must say that I don't rate LittleBigPlanet very highly. It's style over substance for me.
I intend to start game number 3 today with Faxanadu. My mission is to try and finish at least 4 before I move house on July 2nd, so better keep cracking on!
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SpaceBooger
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Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
Nice job!alienjesus wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 4:12 am I intend to start game number 3 today with Faxanadu. My mission is to try and finish at least 4 before I move house on July 2nd, so better keep cracking on!
I have 3 quests left (one side and two main) in Fable and then I'm going to start Faxanadu. Once you start if you have any tips please post them.
Re: Racketboy Summer Games Challenge 2024
Rome: Total War
Conquest never goes as planned. I thought I would be pushing into Sicily to take territory there, but fate had other plans. Instead, I simply laid siege to ports while the blasted Scipii took the island and divided it and much of the western Mediterranean islands with the Carthigians. But ambition must be sated while opportunities seized, so I turned my attention eastward: the Balkans.
I now control the eastern and southern seaboard of the Adriatic Sea. Greece continued to be a thorn in my side as well as that of my allies, the Macedonians, so I swept out into the Mediterranean and conquered their islands. Crete and now Rhodes are mine, as is Sparta. The Greek are reduced to a single province in modern Turkey, where they throw troops away endlessly at the Kingdom of Pontus and cower behind the walls of their last city, while I once again lay siege to their final port. Meanwhile, my diplomats move in to bribe their armies to disband...
Not to be finished or kept away, I slipped my navies along the western coast of the Black Sea to deposit troops. The lands of the Thracians are now conquered, their peoples now forcibly citizens of Rome under my legions' Brutii boot heels. What was once a proud people is now a memory, and I control vast swathes of coastline.
But there are enemies further afield. I noticed in my explorations a rogue city-state in North Africa. With no allies to aid it, I crushed it and now hold modern Libya, my entrance point to the continent. Egypt is a massive foe, and while I would love to take Cyprus from their empire, I do not yet possess the desire to tangle with what is likely to be my greatest rival. So I turned my attention west.
My scout ships now explore the coast of Ireland, and there are rogue city states in Denmark. However, the journey is long, and my troop transports take too long for me to truly consider this a worthy prize at this moment. Yet Spain and Portugal sit divided between the Gauls, Carthigians, and Spanish, while the southern side of the Strait of Gibraltar is a battle between the Carthigians and Numidians. I want both sides of the strait, and while Spain would give me coastal access to Western Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, Numidia would serve as a ripe prize to strike from.
Decisions, decisions...
Ack's List:
Conquest never goes as planned. I thought I would be pushing into Sicily to take territory there, but fate had other plans. Instead, I simply laid siege to ports while the blasted Scipii took the island and divided it and much of the western Mediterranean islands with the Carthigians. But ambition must be sated while opportunities seized, so I turned my attention eastward: the Balkans.
I now control the eastern and southern seaboard of the Adriatic Sea. Greece continued to be a thorn in my side as well as that of my allies, the Macedonians, so I swept out into the Mediterranean and conquered their islands. Crete and now Rhodes are mine, as is Sparta. The Greek are reduced to a single province in modern Turkey, where they throw troops away endlessly at the Kingdom of Pontus and cower behind the walls of their last city, while I once again lay siege to their final port. Meanwhile, my diplomats move in to bribe their armies to disband...
Not to be finished or kept away, I slipped my navies along the western coast of the Black Sea to deposit troops. The lands of the Thracians are now conquered, their peoples now forcibly citizens of Rome under my legions' Brutii boot heels. What was once a proud people is now a memory, and I control vast swathes of coastline.
But there are enemies further afield. I noticed in my explorations a rogue city-state in North Africa. With no allies to aid it, I crushed it and now hold modern Libya, my entrance point to the continent. Egypt is a massive foe, and while I would love to take Cyprus from their empire, I do not yet possess the desire to tangle with what is likely to be my greatest rival. So I turned my attention west.
My scout ships now explore the coast of Ireland, and there are rogue city states in Denmark. However, the journey is long, and my troop transports take too long for me to truly consider this a worthy prize at this moment. Yet Spain and Portugal sit divided between the Gauls, Carthigians, and Spanish, while the southern side of the Strait of Gibraltar is a battle between the Carthigians and Numidians. I want both sides of the strait, and while Spain would give me coastal access to Western Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, Numidia would serve as a ripe prize to strike from.
Decisions, decisions...
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