First 50:51. Ys: The Vanished Omens (Sega Master System)
52. Code of Princess (3DS)
53. Ys (PSP - Ys I & II Chronicles)
54. Ys II (PSP - Ys I & II Chronicles)
55. Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (PSP - Sega Genesis Collection)First Shinobi game I completed. I don't own too many classic Genesis titles (I didn't get the console until 2010 or so) so I'm very thankful for all these Sega compilations.
I'm not sure how this compares to the other Shinobi games, but Shadow Dancer actually reminds me of a much less frantic Metal Slug as you:
- die in one hit
- can't get damaged simply from touching enemies, you must get hit by a blade or projectile
- launch projectiles when far away from enemies (throwing stars) and slash them with a blade while up close
Another gimmick here is that your ninja man has a dog he can sic on enemies. This is especially useful when taking down bad guys with guns. If your dog gets damaged he reverts back into a puppy which is actually a pretty humorous animation.
Shadow Dancer is tough, but short enough to effectively memorize, so it becomes significantly easier on every subsequent playthrough.
I enjoyed this game quite a bit, so maybe I'll get to some of the other series titles later in the year.
Violent By Design wrote:Why ya like the Turbo Duo version over the new ones?
A few reasons.
For starters, this difficulty is most balanced in the Turbo Duo game. The 8-bit originals are kind of clumsy and there's way too much grinding involved (the SMS version of Book I is especially ridiculous). The newer iterations are almost a bit too easy (at least on Normal) as Adol moves at light speed and it's very easy to "juggle" your enemies or trap them in a corner and hump them to death.
I prefer the Turbo Duo visuals over all others. It's clean and colorful and quite breathtaking in parts. The character portraits have that distinct late 80s anime style that I adore. For contrast, here's Feena on the Turbo Duo:
vs. the PSP:
Lastly: the music. It's beautiful on any port, of course. But while the 8-bit versions use the traditional chiptunes and the newer games use "orchestrated" type remixes, the Turbo Duo game utilizes glorious redbook CD audio. It's amazing, and what I'd consider the "definitive" version of the game's OST. If you have a few minutes to kill take a listen to some of these tracks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yELuvkU3 ... 816C294B8B
First 2014 playthrough of Ys II though. The PSP ports are so smooth and fluid compared to the 8-bit originals. I absolutely flew through these games, with Ys I completed in just under 4 hours and part II in just under 6. While I'll always consider the Turbo Duo version to be the best, this is the one I'd recommend to newcomers given its wide availability and accessibility. If you have never played Ys I & II DO IT NOW.
The story is pretty basic at first (stop the baddies from destroying the world) but the characters and their development just sucks me in :3 Plus it's world has an interesting history, the alchemy-like system is quite fun to get into, and it has music with vocals from my favourite singer, Shikata Akiko. (the other pieces and songs are good too) It's really easy (for the most part) and it is VERY text heavy, which I know most people wouldn't like, but I didn't mind that. Really the only difficulty I had with it was how I ended up being way under-leveled for the final boss. And since the battles can be pretty slow at times... it really made the grind a pain >< I normally quite like the battles (mostly because they are quite different from most RPGs)... just not when I have to do a ton of them in a row ><
