Summer Games Challenge 2025 - GET EQUIPPED

[Key-Glyph]

Yay Syndicate!

I too am super interested in the Phantasy Star situation we've got shaping up this year

[QUAG BOI]

sounds fun i will give it try

my list of 3

Ninja Gaiden 1 NES
mado monogatari 1 GENASIS
ECCO the dolphin (welcome to the machine)

i have beaten every level in Ecco 1 without cheating except welcome to the machine and the final boss

wish me luck

[Ack]

Well, since it's after Memorial Day, I have gotten started on my 5 games for this summer.

Gunboat

This is a simulator for a Patrol Boat, River class ship which released in 1990. You engage in missions in Vietnam, Honduras, and Panama. The controls are complicated in that early PC-gaming kind of way, so I had to track down a set of the Amiga controls and translate to DOS; thankfully they pare up pretty well.

Before getting into the meat of the campaign though, the game offers individual training for each of the gunboat's three stations. So last night I fired it up and spent a good while in the forward Gunner's position as we ran through rivers in Vietnam while I laid waste to NVA troops, tanks, helicopters, and so forth. In training, you can't die or wrack up a score, but it does showcase the visual appearance of battle damage and warning messages as you take fire. I had several dents appear from enemy fire bouncing off my front armor, and apparently my spotlights got shot to shit. I'll have to check out the grenade and pilot trainings next to build a cohesive system.


Command & Conquer: Red Alert

I installed the game, and for laughs I tried the first of the It Came from Red Alert missions, which are based on the movie THEM. In short, you fight giant ants. Got my butt kicked. It was a good time. I'm thinking I will try out the Soviet campaign for this playthrough.


Medieval II: Total War

I installed and tried out the battle training to refamiliarize myself with the series. Combat has changed a little from Rome: Total War, with the cavalry wedge now a special offensive ability of specific units. Shame, I love the wedge formation. I'll have to build plenty of heavy cavalry for my armies.

I then jumped into a campaign to get my bearings down. I chose the Spanish initially and marched my army against another town...and got slaughtered. That town was protected by El Cid. This is what I get for not studying my opponent, though at least I can say it was El Cid.

Medieval: Total War II is a massive game, and it features the ability to play "short" and "long" campaigns. Short ca.paigns focus on conquering around 20 territories and eliminating one or two enemy factions. Long requires capturing around 45 and usually conquering a specific area, such as Jerusalem or Rome, depending on that nation's religion. Initially there are only five playable faction (England, France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Venice), though as you conquer enemy factions, they become playable choices. Since the game focuses on Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, eventually groups like the Mongols also show up.

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For starting my real campaign, I selected a short campaign as England. Generic, I know, but it also starts with a harder position to invade. The short campaign requires England conquer Scotland and France, so those are my goals. As soon as I started, the AI advisor recommended I take York. So I marched my first army up there and did it, this further solidifying my hold of modern day England and putting me in direct contact with the Scottish forces.

But across the English channel, I also held territory. I rushed an army out to the west to take an unaffiliated city, this giving me more control of the far side of the channel and insulating my capitol from foreign invasion. I am now up next to the northern end of the French, but I am engaging in diplomacy and trade deals for now.

My intention is to go after Scotland first and take control of Great Britain, then consider moving on Ireland. However, Wales is currently free, so I will need to crush them first. The French can wait, but protecting the Channel cannot, so I must also send an army to sack Bruges and further protect myself from mainland invasion.

[MrPopo]

Fun fact about the Ant missions: you play as GDI. The first mission is definitely the hardest; your super restricted tech and lack of construction yard requires a pretty specific plan to make it through.

[Ack]

Fun. I guess I will skip the ants for now and come back when I know the game better. But in the meantime....

________MEDIEVAL II: TOTAL WAR__________

I had wanted to crush Wales, but first the Pope had a few tasks for me. Nothing too bad, just bringing up a couple of new priests, building churches, that kind of thing. I really don't like the Pope giving me orders though. I should go do something like form my own religion, one with like...I don't know, divorce and stuff.

But with the Pope happy at me proving England is still (currently) Catholic, he backed off, and suddenly my English nobles announced they wanted me to take Wales! That's funny, I could have sworn I had a similar idea... So I raised an army of mostly cavalry and archers and marched myself across the way to lay siege. For some reason, this game likes giving my siege warfare gear to my archers, but looking at the walls, I handed it off to my spearmen and set my archers to shoot at the Welsh bowmen firing at my army. I broke down the doors, launched a raid, and discovered cavalry don't do so well navigating into narrow entrances, but despite heavy losses, I was successful: Wales was now mine, giving me control of 3/4 of Great Britain.

Only Edinburgh and Inverness lie to the north, and Scotland only holds Edinburgh, but they have a couple of armies in the field. I sent a merchant to take their resources and a spy to monitor their troops, but even as I got an invasion army prepared, the English nobles decided in their infinite wisdom that they wanted a different target: Ireland. It was my eventual plan, yes, but still, ugh. These guys are gonna Magna Carta my ass though if I'm not careful, so I diverted my forces to Dublin.

While Wales was a tough fight, Ireland proved far easier; Dublin lacked walls, and the Irish forces were initially spread out. I used my archers to drain a large chunk of their heavy infantry before moving in with my own infantry and cavalry, keeping my eye on using my range to counter theirs. It didn't take long for the whole of Ireland to fall. Only Edinburgh and Inverness remain outside of my control in the British Isles.

Yet my nobles are idiots. I had sent ships to map the coastline of Europe and provide transport across the English Channel, uncovering an array of kingdoms I may wish to conquer. Now, my nobles wanted Antwerp. Why Antwerp? I don't know. At the moment, it provides little strategic value; Bruges would be a better bet, since it's on the way to Antwerp and oversees the western entrance to the Channel. But no, my nobles demand I go full Operation Market Garden and launch an invasion on a city surrounded by hostile forces. Bloody brilliant.

I do have a force garrisoned not too far though, admittedly. Perhaps I will launch from there and drive directly for my goal, while I make sure to rebuild my military on the isles to sack Edinburgh. It seems the best choice for the moment. Stupid nobles.

[Note]

I've been debating this list for a few days now and could probably continue to debate it, so I'm moving forward with it in its current state. I might end up switching a game later on. Awesome to see a few others pick Phantasy Star as well!

Also, I saw SB picked Terranigma! I really want to play that as well. I think I played through Soul Blazer in the same summer, but I don't have a copy of Terranigma just yet, so I'm going for a different 16-bit action adventure on my list.

1. Phantasy Star (SMS) - I was in the mood for another RPG recently and have wanted to give this one a shot for a while now. I've put a good amount of time into it already and just cleared the Naula Cave. Really liking it so far! The visuals are amazing for 1987/1988 and have aged well, IMO.

2. Super Metroid (SNES)* - Putting an asterisk on this one, because I have played this game before and got deep into it twice, but managed to get stuck both times and never beat it. I want to finally beat this one! Also, when I was young I got this game in the summer, a few months after the initial release, so I always associate it with this time of year.

3. Yoshi’s Story (N64) - Enjoyed Yoshi's Island on the SNES. I've heard mixed things about this one, but I'd like to give it a go for myself. Also, haven't shown the N64 much love this year, so it'll be fun to spend some with it.

4. Crusader of Centy (GEN) - One of my goals has been to collect and finish the smaller RPG and action adventure library on the Genesis, and this is one of the games I've been interested in for a long while. Can't wait to give it a go.

5. Resident Evil: Code Veronica (DC) - This is another series I tend to associate with the summer, mostly because I played the first release a ton during that time of year. Well, I've never beat this one before, so I'm hoping to finally get to it!

Bonus: Radiant Silvergun (SAT) - If I'm able to finish my list with time to spare, I'd also like to give Radiant Silvergun a go. I've spent a little time with it, but never a serious sit down to try to beat it. I might decide to go with the Saturn mode, so I can build up my ship a bit.

[bmoc]

After that, I still wanted to play Vagrant Story and Xenogears. Being realistic, I'm almost certainly not going to get through more than one of these, so I'd probably rather go with Vagrant Story.

As much as I love Xenogears, picking Vagrant Story is probably for the best since it is much shorter. Xenogears is about 60-70 hour game on the first playthrough. It will take much longer than that if you are looking up all the philosophical and psychological reference it makes. Of course, you could always watch Resonant Arc's 21-part story analysis instead.

1. Phantasy Star (SMS) - I was in the mood for another RPG recently and have wanted to give this one a shot for a while now. I've put a good amount of time into it already and just cleared the Naula Cave. Really liking it so far! The visuals are amazing for 1987/1988 and have aged well, IMO.

2. Super Metroid (SNES)* - Putting an asterisk on this one, because I have played this game before and got deep into it twice, but managed to get stuck both times and never beat it. I want to finally beat this one! Also, when I was young I got this game in the summer, a few months after the initial release, so I always associate it with this time of year.

3. Yoshi’s Story (N64) - Enjoyed Yoshi's Island on the SNES. I've heard mixed things about this one, but I'd like to give it a go for myself. Also, haven't shown the N64 much love this year, so it'll be fun to spend some with it.

4. Crusader of Centy (GEN) - One of my goals has been to collect and finish the smaller RPG and action adventure library on the Genesis, and this is one of the games I've been interested in for a long while. Can't wait to give it a go.

5. Resident Evil: Code Veronica (DC) - This is another series I tend to associate with the summer, mostly because I played the first release a ton during that time of year. Well, I've never beat this one before, so I'm hoping to finally get to it!

Bonus: Radiant Silvergun (SAT) - If I'm able to finish my list with time to spare, I'd also like to give Radiant Silvergun a go. I've spent a little time with it, but never a serious sit down to try to beat it. I might decided to go with the Saturn mode, so I can build up my ship a bit.

A solid list. Code Veronica really needs a remake on the RE Engine. Summer Game Fest is right around the corner and it has been 2 years since RE4 Remake. Could this be the year?

[SpaceBooger]

I've been debating this list for a few days now and could probably continue to debate it, so I'm moving forward with it in its current state. I might end up switching a game later on. Awesome to see a few others pick Phantasy Star as well!

Also, I saw SB picked Terranigma! I really want to play that as well. I think I played through Soul Blazer in the same summer, but I don't have a copy of Terranigma just yet, so I'm going for a differnt 16-bit action adventure on my list.

1. Phantasy Star (SMS) - I was in the mood for another RPG recently and have wanted to give this one a shot for a while now. I've put a good amount of time into it already and just cleared the Naula Cave. Really liking it so far! The visuals are amazing for 1987/1988 and have aged well, IMO.

To be honest, I do not have a copy of either of these, but I do have an Everdrive for my Genesis and a knock off one for my NES, SMS, and SNES. So I am playing on the original console even though I do not have the official cartridge.

Since I am playing on an Everdrive... I am tempted to use the double XP & money patch for Phantasy Star... the grinding is fun, but sooooo slow.

I am playing PS and DQ5 at the same time, I am enjoying the play style of PS more (don't get me wrong DQ is my favorite RPG franchise) but DQ5 is so much more rewarding.

[bmoc]

Clock Tower Rewind (PS5)
Alien Isolation (PS4)
Capcom Fighting Collection (Switch)
Nier (PS3)
Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Luigi's Mansion (GameCube)
Fire Emblem Path of Radiance (GameCube)
F-Zero GX (GameCube)
Convention Pickup 1 (TBD)
Convention Pickup 2 (TBD)

Clock Tower Rewind
I briefly played this during a previous Summer Games Challenge and never finished it. I think I got stuck and didn't bother looking up what to do next. This time, I wasn't afraid to look things up when I got stuck and breezed through it pretty quick. For those unaware, Clock Tower Rewind is an official port of the original Clock Tower that never left Japan for the Super Famicom. It is probably more accurate to say that it is a port of Clock Tower: The First Fear for the Japanese PS1 which is a slightly enhanced port of the SFC game. EDIT: This statement is incorrect. Some features of The First Fear were brought over but not all. Clock Tower Rewind has (as the name would imply) a rewind feature where you can rollback several seconds of gameplay. It also has a new animated intro and a few other quality of life improvements.

Clock Tower is a point and click survival horror game. The layout of items changes with each playthrough but there aren't a ton of items. The game has a stamina system which is indicated by the color of the portrait of the player character (Jennifer). Running and escaping Scissorman depletes your stamina. If your stamina gets too low, you slow down and become more prone to tripping. I struggled a bit at first figuring out how to effectively evade Scissorman but I eventually found the hiding spots. One I know where they were, having a map handy made avoiding him fairly easy as long and I maintained my stamina.

The game feature multiple endings depending on the order of your actions or which friends you save (if any). I only got two endings, one of the canonical endings and the one where you drive away in the car with no regards for your friends lives (I didn't know that would end the game lol).

I enjoyed my time with it and I may revisit it in the future to get more endings. It reminded me a lot of the old Sierra point and click adventure PC games but a little more simplistic - probably due to cartridge storage space constraints. If I could change one thing about the game, I would make the rewind feature go back about 10 more seconds. Jennifer is pretty slow and if you pause to think about your next move, you might not to be able to rewind enough to change the outcome of your imminent death. Maybe next summer, I'll play Clock Tower for PS1 (aka Clock Tower 2).

Alien Isolation
I had a really good time with Alien Isolation. I'm a big fan of the Alien franchise even if the movies after Aliens were not that great (with the exception of Romulus which borrows a lot of ideas from this game).

Alien Isolation occurs between the events of Alien and Aliens and features Ripley's daughter Amanda as an adult searching for her mother. When new of the Nostromo's flight recorder reaches Weyland-Yutani, Amanda and the crew of the Torrens are dispatched to retrieve it. When you arrive at the space station Sevastopol where the flight recorder is located, things go awry and Amanda gets cut off from the crew. Eventually you learn that the station has an alien on board.

You start the game with no weapons and your only means of survival is to avoid confrontation. There are also hostile humans and androids to evade. Eventually you gain some weaponry but ammo is very limited. Stealth and evasion are usually the smart moves. Once you gain the flamethrower, you are pitted against the alien more often but the flamethrower allows you to scare it off briefly. In addition to weaponry, you also gain a flashlight (with limited batteries) and a motion tracker. The sound of the motion tracker can alert enemies to your presence you have to use it carefully.

I found Alien Isolation to be a great mix of action and survival horror, effectively combining the best aspects of the first two movies. While the game is not perfect, it is a real treat for Alien fans and one that I should have played much sooner. Save point placement seems a bit off in this game. Sometimes they are way too close together, and other times too far apart. The times that they are too far apart can be frustrating if you are in a section where you can encounter the alien. The alien can act randomly at times so tactics that work one time, may not work the next time. This can result in some brutal difficulty spikes when save points are too far apart.

I understand that an Alien Isolation sequel is in the works. It will likely be a day 1 purchase for me.

[alienjesus]

1. Final Fight CD (MCD)
2. Sonic CD (MCD)
3. Daytona USA (Saturn)
4. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
5. Mega Man Legends (PS1)
6. Suikoden (PS1)
7. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (PS1)
8. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1)
9. Mario Golf (GBC)
10. Pokémon Pinball (GBC)
11. Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)

It's June 1st, so I decided to start the summer challenge today. I figured I'd start with an 'easy win' type of game to get one on the board, so I picked up Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 as I figured it would be short and relatively easy considering I've beaten other games in the series before. However, it turned out to have a little more bite than I expected as I definitely struggled with the older series mechanics. I've 100% completed the first level in the Warehouse and done most of the goals from the School, Marseille and New York levels too. However, I'm still missing the Sick Score and all money goals from School and New York - figuring out how to get to some of the cash icons and landing combos good enough for the sick score are consistently giving me issues. On Marseille, the first competition stage, I also haven't managed a gold medal yet - only managing a silver so far.

I figure I'll do what I can on each stage and loop back to get the missing ones later - I would like to 100% this run before I move on, but improving my character stats and getting some practice in seem like a good idea before revisiting the tougher challenges.

Speaking of characters, in classic THPS2 fashion I created a skater for this run too. It's interesting going back to a character creator this old - it felt revolutionary at the time (my cousins had this game so I've messed around with the tool before) but it's hilariously limited now. only about 8 head options and hair colour, hair style and glasses are all pre-determined - no individual controls for those.

Other than playing a bit of the game with my cousins back in the day, I also had a neighbour who had the THPS2 demo disc, and I remember spending a long evening with him and some others replaying it over and over for high scores. The course included in the demo was Marseille, and we figured out that jumping up and grinding along the lampposts in the level gave a ton of points. I was very pleased earlier today when I pulled off this manoeuvre again. I struggled to do it consistently though, so it's possible we were better at this game then than I am now