Summer Games Challenge 2014

[noiseredux]

Anyway, what I meant to type, how are you liking it so far? I just beat the PS2 version of this about a week ago. Loved it to death.

bugginess of the PC port aside, I think it's fantastic. I just finished up another level. Crystal Dymaics is awesome. I mean, TRA and 2013 are so totally different, yet both excellently solid games. This one is a lot more elemental puzzles than 2013. But I'm having a hell of a good time with it.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Alien Syndrome
Dragon's Curse
Exile
Fantasy Zone
Final Fight
Mega Man
Metroid
Ristar
Super C
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Exile
What a kick ass game.

Exile is the second title in the XZR action-RPG trilogy, and the first to be released in America. I played it on Sega Genesis, though a Turbo CD version was also developed (and localized by Working Designs). The game was also released on 8/16-bit computers in Japan.

The player takes the role of Sadler, a Syrian (anti-)hero who travels through time, space, and to the ancient kingdoms of Greece, India, Cambodia, Japan, and God knows where else. Various party members tag along with Sadler, none of whom are actually controllable - they exist solely for dialogue/plot purposes. Among the cast are a Buddhist (former) prisoner, a kawaii redhead anime girl, a sorcerer whose face remains hidden, and a Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Other NPCs include folks like Pythagoras. Yes, the Pythagoras.

The game is completely insane and I love it.

Exile is heavy on both plot and dialogue. The game's story is obtuse as hell, and likely butchered by localization. Essentially, Sadler and co. are living in the era of the Christian Crusades, and attempting to unite the various world religions under one God to achieve world peace. Apparently achieving world peace involves killing a lot of people. The character dialogue is all over the place and tough to follow, though you're greeted with a surprisingly poignant and emotional ending upon Exile's completion.

Exile's gameplay alternates between two different modes. While exploring towns and the outsides of dungeons/ruins an overhead viewpoint is used. Once a dungeon is entered the game switches to 2D sidescrolling combat, very similar to Ys III. Exile's controls are impeccable and Sadler has skill with both a sword and a wide array of spells. Enemies and bosses are pulled straight from the game's religious references - demons, harpies, and the like. The game caps your experience level (at level 17) - I found it easy to max Sadler out at about 1/3 of the way through the game, making everything else, even the final boss, an absolute breeze.

The music is good, with a subdued ambient Middle Eastern vibe. It looks just fine for a Sega Genesis game, and if screenshots are to be trusted the Turbo CD port looks about identical. Anime face portraits appear when characters interact - something I expect (and love) to see in Genesis RPGs.

There are couple of bothersome quirks in Exile, but nothing game-breaking. Like a classic Dragon Warrior game, there's absolutely no indication what items do or what weapons/armor are more powerful than what you currently have equipped. The menus are also very twitchy - even more sensitive than those found in the Shining Force games. It makes it far too easy to skip over important dialogue, making an already confusing game even more cryptic.

Exile isn't a particularly difficult game. In addition to the ability to power-level early on, Sadler also automatically regains health whenever he emerges out of a dungeon. It's virtually impossible to get lost due to the extreme linearity, in fact once you make it past certain plot points it becomes impossible to backtrack.

I highly recommend this. Anyone looking for a solid action-RPG, or simply a game that's unabashedly out-there, needs to check this out. Now if only the other two series entries weren't so hard to find...

[Cronozilla]

I took a bit of a break from Metroid Prime. Popped in Nightmare on Elm Street. I can consistently get to the final stage (the school), but the game goes from "Not that bad, pretty fun" to "bullshit". It introduces a lot of "hit then pit" areas. And the jumping seems to be even more wonky than in the rest of the game here. I lost five lives (an entire continue) because the jump wasn't responding.

I'll probably get it tonight or something. But, I don't know. I kind of just want to get something crossed off at this point, there are other much longer games I plan on playing this summer, it'd be nice if this list didn't take up all that play-time.

[scarper]

Anyway, what I meant to type, how are you liking it so far? I just beat the PS2 version of this about a week ago. Loved it to death.

bugginess of the PC port aside, I think it's fantastic. I just finished up another level. Crystal Dymaics is awesome. I mean, TRA and 2013 are so totally different, yet both excellently solid games. This one is a lot more elemental puzzles than 2013. But I'm having a hell of a good time with it.

Good to hear! You're gonna love it more as the game goes by, it only gets better. Plenty of surprises to keep you on your toes.

[alienjesus]

Working on Wave Race 64.

I beat the game on Normal difficulty (Came 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st in the races) and on Hard (placed 1st, 1st, 1st, 4th, 2nd, 1st, 1st). No credits have shown up. After looking it up, apparently credits don't seem to be shown anywhere in game.

There's one difficulty left (Expert) and it has a unique course not in the other difficulties. I'll probably try and qualify in Expert mode (not necessarily 1st, but you still need enough points per race to not game over) before marking this one as done.

I've been using Ayumi Stewart as my racer of choice. Here's my thought on the 7 courses I've played so far:

Sunny Beach: This one's a bit dull, 5 laps of it gets a bit tiresome when there's little of interest happening. It's fairly easy to win though, even on harder modes.

Sunset Bay: I like this one. It's curvy enough to be interesting and it's also pretty easy to win.

Drake Lake: I really liked this one on easy, but I hate it on harder modes - weaving through the poles sticking out of the water right at the end of the lap is torture - screw up and there goes the race.

Marine Fortress - Undoubtedly my least favourite, simply because the computer players seem to be really good at this course - they seem to zoom off ahead far more than any other track.

Port Blue - This is quite a fun course, although I hate the 'short cut' - it's really tricky to do, and of course the computer characters take it perfectly.

Twilight City - This is probably the most fun course so far - lots of jumps, and weaving tracks, but nice and wide and easy to hit bouys, so it feels pretty fair.

Southern Island - This one is a fun course, but I really suck at taking the jump over the pirate ship.

The computer are cheating bastards in this game though. They have fairly extreme rubber banding, and it doesnt seem to matter if they miss buoys. Luckily, when you have max speed, you seem to go a bit faster than they do.

[CFFJR]

Working on Wave Race 64.

I played a little bit of this myself yesterday. Its more fun than I expected.

Nice to know there's no credits roll though. I was wondering about that. In its absence I'll set the same goal as you for completion.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Wave Race 64 is a great game. I never attempted to actually beat it, I should try to sometime. Jet Moto too.

I'm about halfway through Ristar. It's okay... not digging this stretchy-arm control/attack scheme though.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I have two-and-half hours play time in R-Type Delta. I can make it through the first level without dying; I can make it through the second level with only one continue; however, I cannot make it through the third level...yet.

I love the R-Type series. Every game in the series is incredibly difficult but incredibly fair. Moreover, each level is like a puzzle in that the enemies always appear in the same locations regardless of your actions and, therefore, it is possible to devise strategies for getting through each level unscathed.

In any event, I am enjoying the game quite a bit, and I can't wait to make another run at it tonight!

[alienjesus]

Played an hour and a half of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night this evening. I'm climbing the outer wall.

I'm level 9, and I've found the Cube of Zoe and the Spirit Orb relics. It's been pretty awesome so far. I've taken down the first (minor) boss I think (a demon and a bird lizard thing with a spear). I adored the remake of the final stage of Rondo of Blood (even down to the level title! Attention to detail for sure!

I'm using the Basilard dagger as my main weapon - the short swords are way better than the basic swords with their faster attack rate. My favoured subweapon so far is a little hand icon. I think it might be salt? It's good for the big, tougher static enemies though.

My set up:
Alucard, level 9.
Weapons: Basilard, Leather Shield
Armour: No helm, Hide Cuirass, Cloth cape, Zircon ring

EDIT: Beat the 2nd boss too. In spoilers for those who are playing this one:

The doppelganger. He can turn into a bat though. I was hoping he'd give me that power, but no such luck.

[prfsnl_gmr]

That game is so, so awesome. I have been through it four of five times, and I envy you playing it for the first time.