Together Retro 2016 Calendar - FINAL

[BoneSnapDeez]

Thoughts on stuff listed so far...

I back Pitfall! If it's not enough material for a month we could do an Activision Atari Month. High scores, patches, could be fun.

R-Type is a great pick.

Diablo and Bard's Tale are both great but I have reservations. Isn't Diablo a Win 95/98 game, or will it run on modern systems? Bard's Tale is dense and cryptic, I dunno if we could get that one off the ground (Mr Popo notwithstanding haha).

007 Goldeneye is a great game.

I prefer EA's NHL series to Madden, though I'm probably in the minority here.

Some games I'm just spitballin' with...

Metal Slug - How have we not done this yet? Maybe the second best-known run n gun among retro fans after Contra. It's on tons of comps so Neo Geo carts aren't needed.

1942 - Game or series. Classic Capcom shmup. This is where it gets tricky, cuz I dunno if some of these were already done in Together Shmup or whatnot.

Commando - Big daddy of top down shooters. We've done Shock Troopers, so let's go back to the roots.

Ghosts 'n Goblins - Obligatory horror pick. NES port is great, though you can also play the arcade original on plenty of ports.

Shinobi - Sega's ninja action-platformer with both NES and SMS ports. Smooth methodical action.

Magician Lord - Bad ass Neo Geo classic. Tough as balls and loads of fun. Who can finish this one?

Elevator Action - Taito classic with some decent ports. Repetitive and additive. Could through the sequel in here too.

Cadash - arcade RPG-ish platformer with multiple character classes and plenty of replay value. On Genesis and TG16 too.

Blaster Master - Well-known but scarcely beaten. One I'd like to get through someday.

Double Dragon - The ol' Technos beat 'em up. Good clean fun. Lotsa punching. Plenty of ports. Even on Atari!

Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Deep, complicated strategy. A break from the action-oriented months.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I have a lot of thoughts on this, so bare with me.

First off, I second the inclusion of Pitfall on the Atari 2600. It was the poster child of the system, includes a lot of challenge and technique and also opens things up for some high score runs for those interested in taking part. I really think that is a great choice and worth playing.

Mega Man Legends - Now that the game is available on playstation Network, PC, N64 and Playstation, I see no reason not to have this game included. It offers a huge world to explore, great open-ended gameplay, craft-able and upgrade-able weapons, tons of mini-games and a great art style and graphics that hold up still to this day. I absolutely adore the title and feel there is a lot that can be discussed about the Legends series versus the other Mega Man series. This series is very divisive and totally worth dissecting and discussing.

Betrayal at Krondor - This is a great Western RPG published by Sierra that a lot of people forget about. It has a great story, open-world exploration and a unique combat system. The game is easily accessible on GoG for cheap and is one of the best Western RPGs out there that people always forget about.

Star Control 2 - This is available on GOG, 3DO as well as a fan remake on PC called the UrQuan Masters, meaning there is a whole lot to discuss among the various iterations. The game features an open world, tons of explorations and dialog and interaction with aliens in this sandbox-style Space shooter. The game is fantastic, tons of fun and worth it. Plus, you can play the fan remake for free and it features the full voice pack that was used on the 3DO version!

Riven: The Sequel to Myst - Hell we can even do the entire Myst franchise if need be, but I feel like Riven is the one that epitomizes the series best for its lush and vivid world crafting and vision. People give Myst a really hard time unnecessarily and I feel like Together Retro would be a great venue for it to be dissected and appreciated. I could talk for an eternity about the beauty of the game, as well as the many design failings this title in particular has. It is available on Saturn, Playstation, Android, iOS and through GoG and Steam. You don't need much backstory from the original Myst to play and appreciate this one and I really feel people need to give the series a chance.

Rocket Knight Adventures (Series) - I think that this is a great series to take a look at. The original on the Genesis was a blast to play and the rocket mechanic offered a lot in the ways of platforming that was incredibly unique and fun. The Sequel, Sparkster, on the SNES really changed things up. Finally, we have the Rocket Knight on X360 PS3 and Steam which again is a very different feeling game from its predecessors.

Those are some thoughts right now. More to come!

[prfsnl_gmr]

I back Pitfall! If it's not enough material for a month we could do an Activision Atari Month. High scores, patches, could be fun.

This is a great idea. Picking a few of Activision's best 2600 games and then competing for badges, scores, bragging rights, etc. would be awesome. Games like Chopper Command, H.E.R.O., River Raid and Kaboom! are just as much classics as Pitfall!, and I think that having some variety that month would make it more fun.

[noiseredux]

thoughts...


I only nominated 007 to be nice. I'd rather play all the other games I mentioned instead.

I played Bonk's Adventure this past Summer. It was not nearly as fun as I remembered it being.

Pitfall is a great idea. Whoever nominated it is handsome and cool.

Diablo definitely runs on Windows 7. I installed it from disc over the Summer to test it. I haven't tried it on Windows 10 yet, but I can if it'll make everyone feel better? I am pretty sure I have an extra disc copy as well if it gets picked and somebody needs one.

Madden I just think is fascinating historically. Just sampling some of the games from its history can really paint an interesting picture of how AI has improved. And it's on like every known platform.

Ghosts N Goblins is a good idea.

I don't personally care for "Activision Month." I feel like Pitfall is pretty substantive to try to beat. I just feel like if we do a bunch of Activision games it sort of takes away from putting the spotlight on one really good game and getting folks to spend time on it. Instead it creates an illusion of like "these games were just short timekillers."

[fastbilly1]

Old, complicated, well regarded, and most people here have never played it? Master of Orion 2 - PC.

Considered the best 4x empire game until recently, MOO2 legacy is felt in every empire building game released since 1996. You can chose one of the thirteen existing races, or make your own, and then you start taking over the galaxy. You can follow the plot, but most people will spend the first dozen games trying to grasp the immense complexity of systems and will die so many times they will just feel bad about it.


Want something more accessible? Fine, Fire Pro Wrestling.

Released on everything from the PC Engine to the Wii, Fire Pro is a very deep wrestling game that has alittle bit of everything. The last retail release, Returns PS2 - 2007, has 327 wrestlers based on real ones from around the world, thousands of moves, and the deepest Create a Wrestler (CAW) mode of all time. You can play it as it is presented, or spend years creating custom content to your liking. Best of all Returns is one of the few 8 player PS2 games.

Or how about Trials of Battle - OS/2.

Stardocks response to Quake is a 3d hovercraft arena battle simulator. The real fun will be seeing if anyone can build an OS/2 Compatible PC, then find a copy of this game...

Or you know:

Warcraft 2 - PC, Saturn, PSX

[noiseredux]

Double Dragon - The ol' Technos beat 'em up. Good clean fun. Lotsa punching. Plenty of ports. Even on Atari!

did you mean to say the title of a really good game? Like did you intend to type out "Streets Of Rage" or something?

[MrPopo]

Star Control 2 - This is available on GOG, 3DO as well as a fan remake on PC called the UrQuan Masters, meaning there is a whole lot to discuss among the various iterations. The game features an open world, tons of explorations and dialog and interaction with aliens in this sandbox-style Space shooter. The game is fantastic, tons of fun and worth it. Plus, you can play the fan remake for free and it features the full voice pack that was used on the 3DO version!

Omg, this. This this this. This. So much this. It even lets the computer take over for you in combat if you suck (and is quite good, so as long as you can match counter ships up you'll be fine).

FRUNGY FRUNGY FRUNGY!

[fastbilly1]

I could have sworn we did Star Control 2 already. Seeing that we havent, it has to be one.

[noiseredux]

I've never played any Warfcraft. What's II like, and why would you suggest it over the first or 3rd?

I'm not familiar with Star Control 2, but it does sound intriguing and the enthusiasm is infectious.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am not a PC gamer, but even I will concede that Star Control II is rad as sh*t.