Summer Games Challenge 2025 - GET EQUIPPED

[marurun]

Phantasy Star is definitely not the most mechanically complex 8-bit RPG, but the story is on the better side and the graphics are unmatched and music is pretty top tier for that generation.

[SpaceBooger]

I'm a bit late for an update:

1. Phantasy Star (SMS)
2. Uncharted 2 (PS3)
3. Teranigma (SNES)
4. StarTropics (NES)
5. MGS 2 (PS1 via Switch)
6. Dark Forces (PC - Force Engine Mod)
Bonus
Dragon Quest 5 (NDS)

I started in May with Phantasy Star. I loved it! I am one who loves mindless grinding since during the school year most of my video game time is from 6-6:45 am. I get up get ready, wake the kids up and play before I head off to school. This made Phantasy Star a perfect game to start out with especially since our school year went 2 weeks longer than normal after starting late waiting for the new buildings to be finished. I loved the grinding and becasue of that I had the time to find my way through most dungeons. I did have to use a guide to figure out the last two dungeons.

After Phantasy Star I played Uncharted 2... I was hooked by the story. I was suprised on how short it was but this was the first game in a while I would play for hours at a time. I had to restart the firt Uncharted game so many times and restart for whatever reason, this second one I could not put down for one minute.

Today I just finished Teranigma... uggg. I did not like this one. At first I blame it on the bad translation but I just couldn't get into it. I loved SoulBlazer - really loved it. I think the simplicity behind it hooked me and then I was surprised by how deep the story went. Illusion of Gaia tried too hard with the story and that specific theme, and Teranigma went too far that the story took me right out of it. All three of the Quintet Trillogy have that LOZ feel but this one really had that backtracking aspect and it was cool, it was just vague and not easy to figure out. I never needed to look up a map for this but I did have to look up what specific items were for. I enjoyed the gameplay but just could not get into it because of the story and the fact that it tried to be heavy story and ended up being vague on what to do next.

I think tomorrow I will start MGS2. I have been playing Dark Forces a level here or there and have put in a ton of hours into DQ5. I am loving DQ5 and I don't think this will be a bonus game at this point... I do worry that if I play MGS2 on my Switch that may interfear with my DQ5 portable time. I do have the PS2 version of MGS2, so maybe I will pay it there instead of the Switch. Anyone play both ports... is there a real advantage to me playing one port over the other?

[BoneSnapDeez]

I liked Terranigma but it sure is undercooked in some spots, like the magic system.

Clash at Demonhead fun so far. Kind of a nontraditional Metroidvania. Still cracking up at how the skeleton has a normal man name ("Tom Guycot") plus "Talking Time" lmao.

[Note]

Started Super Metroid last night. I made some good progress this evening, getting the first two Energy Tanks, the Super Missiles, the High Jump, and the Spazer beam. I made it to the Kraid boss battle and unfortunately died there and lost most of my progress for the night! Think I only had a few Super Missiles, and I missed with one or two of them, so that lengthened the battle.

I really should have back tracked to a save point before taking on Kraid's Hideout. I'll have to give it another go tomorrow.

[o.pwuaioc]

Started Super Metroid last night. I made some good progress this evening, getting the first two Energy Tanks, the Super Missiles, the High Jump, and the Spazer beam. I made it to the Kraid boss battle and unfortunately died there and lost most of my progress for the night! Think I only had a few Super Missiles, and I missed with one or two of them, so that lengthened the battle.

I really should have back tracked to a save point before taking on Kraid's Hideout. I'll have to give it another go tomorrow.

The silver lining in losing your progress in Super Metroid is getting to play more Super Metroid.

[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)

I'm going to say that I've finished Capcom Fighting Collection. I played every game in this compilation and beat almost all of them. I kind of wish that I had a Sega Saturn-like gamepad to play this with but I made do with a Switch pro controller. Let's go through them one by one.

Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (US) - Vampire: The Night Warriors (JP)
This game was pretty tough to beat even on lower difficulties. The cpu opponent unapologetically reads your inputs and counters frequently. Some special abilities and even normals do absurd damage. I played through it with John Talbain. Lord Raptor gave me the most trouble since teleports all the freaking time. However the game is gorgeous and the cast of characters are a lot of fun. I probably won't revisit this one much though unless it is against human opponents.

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (US) - Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge (JP)
I've played this one before on the Saturn but I don't recall if I beat it. I stuck with John Talbain and powered through this much more quickly than the first game. The cpu opponent is much more forgiving and the damage is tuned better. There are more playable characters this time around. The two bosses from the first game (Huitzil and Pyron) are playable and two new characters (Donovan Blaine and Hsien-Ko) make their debut as well. Mechanically, it is very similar to the first game with some tweaks to the special meter. You have ES specials that require a portion of your meter and EX specials that require a full stock. You are also able to save your meter between rounds.

Vampire Savior (US) - Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire (JP)
This game is sometimes referred to Darkstalkers 3 in some home ports (if it wasn't hard enough to keep track of the naming scheme between regions). I'm almost certain that I've beaten this one before on the Saturn but I did another playthrough since I've never played it in English or the arcade version. I played as Lilith and got through this one very quickly since I retained a little muscle memory. The lineup in this game changes quite a bit. Donovan, Huitzil, and Pyron are gone and four new characters replace them (Jedah, Lilith, Q-Bee, and BB Hood). The Saturn port (not in this compilation) includes the omitted characters which makes it better in my opinion.

The most noticeable gameplay difference from previous entries is the health bar. Instead of separate health bars for each round, fighters get two health bars total. Health is retain between "rounds" much like in Killer Instinct (seems fair since Killer Instinct seemingly borrowed some character ideas from the first Darkstalkers game). The other major gameplay difference is the "Dark Force System" which allows the use of character specific special abilities for a limited time by using special meter.

Vampire Hunter 2 (JP) & Vampire Savior 2 (JP)
I'm including these two Japan exclusive arcade games under one heading because there isn't much to talk about. To be honest, I'm not sure why these got made. They are updated versions of Vampire Savior with puzzling character choices. Vampire Hunter 2 has the cast and soundtrack of Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter. Vampire Savior 2 has the cast and music of Vampire Savior but omits John Talbain, Rikou, and Sasquatch while including Donovan, Huitzil, and Pyron. As far as I can tell, those are the only major differences.

I do love the Darkstalkers franchise and it is criminal that no new entries have been made since 1997. The sprite work across the entire franchise is amazing. Like a lot of people, I really wish Capcom would do something new with this series.

Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
Cyberbots was a pretty fun romp. You can pick from four mech pilots and a lot of mechs. The mechs determine your moveset and the pilots determine the story (which isn't anything to write home about). Otherwise it is a fairly standard Capcom fighting game of the era. I cycled through several mechs to beat the game. The cpu opponent does seem to get used to your mech after a certain amount of time. Switching helped me get past the last few opponents.

Hyper Street Fighter II Anniversary Edition
I had to bow out on this one. I've never been very good at Street Fighter II. I probably beat 3/4 of the roster before losing interest. I'm a lot better with Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter characters in the Marvel series.

Red Earth (US) - Warzard (JP)
I did not like this game at all. I can see why it was never ported to a home console before. I beat it with Leo who is very prominent on the compilation's artwork. I'd describe this game as a boss-only beatem-up that plays like a fighting game with some RPG elements. It just didn't click for me. The good news is that beating the game is easy because the bosses retain their health even after continuing. This thing must have been a real quarter muncher in the arcades. Once again, I'm not likely to revisit this one unless it is in versus mode against a human opponent.

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (US) - Super Puzzle Fighter II X (JP)
I managed to beat the cpu on a lower difficultly level. It isn't my favorite puzzle game by any means but its good for killing a few minutes here and there. I did get a good chuckle when it looked like I was about to square off against Dan only for Akuma to show up as the final boss.

Super Gem Fighter (US) - Pocket Fighter (JP)
This is the other game that I did not beat. Once again, I got about 3/4 through the roster and lost interest due to the difficulty. It was just too different from the other fighters. If I was willing to put more time into it, and really learn the systems, I'm sure I could do it. I just didn't find it engaging.

Overall, this is a great compilation for Darkstalkers fans even if the best version of Vampire Savior isn't included. I wouldn't advise getting this compilation solely for the console exclusive Red Earth. If that one is the main draw for you, I'd give it a go on an emulator first. The other games for me, were just gravy.

[Ack]

I'm now working to wrap up Saints Row: The Third. My completion percentage is 96%. I have the final set of missions to do to complete the storyline. All of Steelport is owned, all activities completed, all assassinations completed. I have one vehicle theft dealer left, and he wants boats. I have three of the 41 challenges left to do, and two of them are simply grinding out base jumps and carjackings.

However, I still have two of the three DLCs left, and I want to wrap them up too before I completely move on. As much fun as Saints Row: The Third has been, I am looking forward to moving on, only coming back at some point in the future to check out co-op. I've sunk a lot of time into this, and it's been a good experience, but I have a lot of other games to get to!

[BoneSnapDeez]

Kind of moseying through Clash at Demonhead. I find the game tough. It's one of those NES titles with the flyin' flickerin' enemies that shoot every which way.

And the "nontraditional Metroidvania" layout with the micro stages is driving me nuts. Feels so random. For instance, if you exit stage 19 on the left you can choose to visit stages 13, 26, or 28. If you exit stage 19 on the right you can visit stages 16 and 18. Oh, okay!

Think I've visited at least half of the environments but I doubt that means I'm actually halfway through the game. Some of the early stages are pretty short.

I did discover that it's incredibly easy to farm in stage 5 (where the shop is) and buy everything for sale. Haven't really worried about money since.

[SpaceBooger]

I loved PS on the SMS. Loved it a lot. One of my favorite, but I still feel that Dragon Warrior 3 on the GBC has the advantage.
Top 3 8-bit RPG
1. Dragon Warriore 3 - GBC
2. Phantasy Star - SMS
3. Crystalis - NES (if you count action RPG if not its DW1 - GBC)

All three of my top 8-bit RPG game were all played as part of the summer challenge at one point (execpt DW1). The Dragon Warrior remakes on the Gameboy Color all are top notch and why I have beat more DQ games than FF.

[Note]

Great to hear your takes on Phantasy Star and 8-bit RPGs in general, SB. Glad to hear you enjoyed Phantasy Star as well.

As someone who hasn't jumped into the Dragon Quest series, are there any major QOL upgrades on the GBC ports? Also, has anyone played the SNES versions of DQ 1-3? If so, any opinions on those versions?