Summer Games Challenge 2014

[prfsnl_gmr]

Well I thought I was some kind of Metroid badass because I made it all the way to Mother Brain without dying.

And then I died.

I respawn with 30 life and 1 missile. Balls. Really don't feel like playing right now.

That is actually pretty badass. Zelda II must have hardened you up!

[BoneSnapDeez]

Well I did end up finishing it. Got the ending where Samus takes off the helmet but leaves the suit on. I guess that means it took somewhere between 3-5 hours to finish.

I did get to see Samus' face. SAMUS IS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[noiseredux]

Woah woah, spoilers bro.

[ExedExes]

pick Cabal and spam the Hard punch button and QCF HP and when your meter fills just use QCF HP+LP its cheap as hell but you will easily beat the game.

Pick Cabal? That game's a bit harder than MvC2, as you may know (your avatar), but just as fun

yeah I know what he meant

[prfsnl_gmr]

I think he meant this guy:

To my knowledge - and despite its extensive roster - he does not appear in MvC2, however.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Until I saw the credits roll I had forgotten that Gunpei Yokoi was the man behind Metroid. He died 1997 - is this why we didn't see a Metroid game on N64 or GBC? There was an 8 year gap between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Until I saw the credits roll I had forgotten that Gunpei Yokoi was the man behind Metroid. He died 1997 - is this why we didn't see a Metroid game on N64 or GBC? There was an 8 year gap between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

I noticed the same thing when I wrapped up Super Metroid a few days ago. I had no idea who he was the last time I played through the game, but the name caught my attention this time. (I am just a bigger nerd now, I guess...)

[Sload Soap]

There was a (unsubstantiated) rumor that Jet Force Gemini started off as a Metroid title. I seem to remember that Nintendo were open to the idea of Metroid 64 but didn't want to do it 2D but couldn't think of a good way to do it in 3D.

[alienjesus]

1. Double Dragon (NES)
2. Super Aleste (SNES)
3. Perfect Dark (N64)
4. Wave Race 64 (N64)
5. Shantae (GBC via 3DS VC)
6. Ristar (MD via Wii VC)
7. Bangai-O (DC)
8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSP)
9. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)
10. Metal Gear Solid 2 (Vita)

3rd game down.

So, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - it's pretty great.

The gameplay is simple but fun. I felt like the 1sst half had a good sense of progression with a nice (if slighly shallow) difficulty curve and good progression with abilities. Exploring the castle was a lot of fun, and a lot of the bosses were fun (if often way too easy) to fight. Granfaloon and Beelzebub were highlights design-wise. Unfortunately, the bosses did tend to be way too easy (Medusa died in seconds) with the sole exception of Galamoth who was ridiculously hard. Way harder than Dracula in fact, who was also a pushover.

The music of the game is atmospheric, action packed and awesome, and the games graphics have a style that's aged wonderfully - it feels a little more grizzly than the Nintendo Castlevania games, more akin to Rondo of Blood and Bloodlines, but it still has a lot of charm. The 2d spritework looks gorgeous, and there are a few flourishes that show of the PS1's power, such as the shadow trails as Alucard moves about.

The story is dumb. It's castlevania. I liked the references to old castlevania games, particularly Rondo of Blood (one of the only other ones I've played) and Castlevania III (Alucards first appearance).

The 2nd half of the game I was conflicted on - it was fun being so powered up and exploring freely, but the lack of a sense of progression made it feel aimless and reduced the motivation for exploring. The lack od direction meant that I'd fight bosses way out of order, resulting in the aforementioned 3 second Medusa boss fight as my final encounter.

Still, whilst I think I prefered Order of Ecclesia overall (the only other metroidvania CV game I've played) more, I thought this one was great and everyone should give it a go.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Well I guess I better start SotN tomorrow!

Alien Syndrome
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Dragon's Curse
Exile
Final Fight
Mega Man
Metroid
Ristar
Super C
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Metroid
Wow this game is so much easier when you have maps to consult.

I could never beat this as a kid. I always got lost and gave up. Guess I didn't have the patience or the right issue of Nintendo Power. Sometimes I would enter the JUSTIN BAILEY code to play as a powered-up and super-sexy Samus, but I'd still inevitably get lost or I'd die in the final area. Turns out you need the ice beam.

Anyway, I love Metroid. The graphics, music, and overall ambiance are amazing for an 8-bit game. I played it on GBA, which was essentially a direct port of the NES version with a slightly better save feature.

There are some little annoyances here and there. I wish there was a map, and the difficulty is somewhat uneven. But those are the types of traits I expect, and sometimes even welcome, in older games.

One more thing: dat title screen theme. Astonishing.