Summer Games Challenge 2017 - Begin when ready!

[alienjesus]

1. Bionic Commando (NES)
2. Blaster Master (NES)
3. Life Force (NES)
4. Bonk's Revenge (PCE)
5. Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1)
7. Mario Golf (N64)
8. Pilotwings 64 (N64)
9. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GC)
10. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GC)
11. Devil May Cry (PS3)


It took a lot of time (I've basically been playing it all day) but I finally managed to Master the Blaster and take down my 8th game from my summer list.

It took me 6 attempts (and well over 12 hours) to take out the game, 4 of which ended at the zone 6 boss, the Ice Crabulus, and one of which ended at the world 7 boss, a fire spitting toad thing. I almost lost on my 6th attempt too, I was running low on lives in zone 8. There's one room in the overworld map of zone 8 that slaughtered me over and over, full of tiny spike jumps that are hard to clear because your stupid wall power up keeps making you drive into them instead of letting you jump. Luckily, after I cleared that room it was smooth sailing from there - I found an easy indoor area to grind my gun up to max, and the last boss is one of the easiest in the game. The first form is super easy, and on the 2nd form I found the safe spot to hit him by accident - I knew it existed, but I didn't know where it was. And thus it was, one hit from death, that I defeated that dude from the label of the cartridge and saved my pet frog. Very Thanks..!!


My next game to beat should be Twin Snakes, which I'm still playing through at the minute. After that, it's time for some Mario Golf!

[alienjesus]

1. Bionic Commando (NES)
2. Blaster Master (NES)
3. Life Force (NES)
4. Bonk's Revenge (PCE)
5. Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1)
7. Mario Golf (N64)
8. Pilotwings 64 (N64)
9. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GC)
10. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GC)
11. Devil May Cry (PS3)

It's me again!

I finished Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes last night. so that's 9 of my 11 summer games finished.

Twin Snakes is generally a great version of the original, and despite being easier, I liked how the features from MGS2 could be used to refine your strategy. The controls were bad though - not unusable, but basically all mapped to the wrong buttons and not at all intuitive. Y should not be needed to open lockers.

The new cutscenes were really dumb, but not exactly unfitting for the already dumb series. I preferred the slightly dialled back original versions though.

Mario Golf is next up, but as I'm away from the 24th-28th, I probably won't finish it in time for the end of summer. I'll be going into overtime though, because I'm determined to finish this list!

[Key-Glyph]

Omigosh, Michi made a graphic of me. I have officially succeeded at life, and will be retiring.

Yes, the reason for the Japanese version of Super Metroid is because it is roughly $15 cheaper. I also like the cartridge art a lot more. I'm still waiting on its arrival! It's coming from Japan, so, we know how that is.

Congratulations, AJ! Go for the gold! I also see you're playing Wario Blast right now, which I happen to love. It was my first Game Boy game, the music is really great, and the bosses are super fun.

[alienjesus]

Omigosh, Michi made a graphic of me. I have officially succeeded at life, and will be retiring.

Yes, the reason for the Japanese version of Super Metroid is because it is roughly $15 cheaper. I also like the cartridge art a lot more. I'm still waiting on its arrival! It's coming from Japan, so, we know how that is.

Congratulations, AJ! Go for the gold! I also see you're playing Wario Blast right now, which I happen to love. It was my first Game Boy game, the music is really great, and the bosses are super fun.

It just arrived yesterday! I've been in a super game boy mood and I splashed out on a whole bunch to play.

Wario Blast was by far the cheapest...

[prfsnl_gmr]

Ecco the Dolphin (GEN)
RBI Baseball (NES)
Clash at Demonhead (NES)
Banjo Kazooie (N64)
Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Gate of Thunder / Lords of Thunder (TG16)
Day of the Tentacle (iOS)
Guardian Legend (NES)
Landstalker (GEN)
Perfect Dark (N64)

Finally! Here's an update on my progress. I don't think I'm doing too bad, and I am most of the way through Banjo Kazooie. Accordingly, I will complete at least six games this year. I might also push to get through Perfect Dark or Landstalker before the end of September, but once again, Ecco goes on the list and remains unbeaten...maybe next year...

[Key-Glyph]

Samus Key Aran
Bounty log
Stardate 41827.7...

I am only just now allowing myself to pause for a moment and process the events of the past 24 hours. I record this log from a cavern within the mantle of a place I had hoped never to see again: the planet Zebes. I thought nothing could bring me back here. But then they stole my hatchling.

Let me explain. When I was deployed to the planet SR388 to exterminate the metroids -- a species of alien creature that had only become a threat when exploited and unleashed as a bioweapon by pirates years before -- my heart was not behind the Galactic Federation's decision. But I followed orders. That was the type of soldier I used to be.

SR388 itself shook and bled as I thinned the metroid's numbers, driving home the magnitude of this unethical destruction. My stoicism and resolve eroded in tandem. When I finally faced down the Mother Metroid, I spoke to her in a language she could not understand -- that I had to kill her to finish my mission, that there was no way out for me now, I had come too far to change our course... but that I would carry my hatred for myself and my responsibility in this murder forever.

And then, on my way back to the surface, I found the hatchling. And I wept.

We almost vanished together. I know now that we should have. For when I arrived back at Ceres Station, charging the scientists with the care of the only creature in the universe who trusted me out of love, they sealed it up and ran experiments. A bounty hunter has no say in these matters. I demanded they keep it comfortable and safe, but I could not ensure it. They failed on the former point; I could hear it crying, confused, in its empty room. And 24 hours ago, they failed on the latter.

And now I am back on Zebes, viewing this familiar territory through new and unfamiliar feelings. I am not here to protect the galaxy. I am done with following the self-serving and immoral orders of my superiors. I am here to retrieve my creature, and make its kidnappers pay.

Samus Key Aran, end log.

[marurun]

I will wait patiently for Key's next update.
I will wait patiently for Key's next update.
I will wait patiently for Key's next update.


I will try, anyway.

[Key-Glyph]

Samus Key Aran
Bounty log
Stardate 41828.3...

Zebes is changed.

As I barrel through the planet's defenses I find myself pausing to stare. The beautiful flora, the incredible geology -- was the landscape this breathtaking all those years ago? It feels so new, so undisturbed... but then, like jolts from a walking nightmare, realizations: this is where I first entered Brinstar. This is the chasm from which I escaped. This is the path to Kraid.

I should have descended again after my initial escape. I should have been thorough and made sure these monsters were truly dead. There is no time to reflect as I stare down my old foes, but in these quiet moments afterwards, my mind wanders. Was that the same Ripley? Was this the same Kraid? How is this possible?

More and more the nightmares and the real combine. A Chozo statue come literally to life; the bones of a fallen denizen lunging at me in death. I push on with my purpose, but sometimes as I wake from what little sleep I find, I truly cannot get my bearings.

Samus Key Aran, end log.

[Key-Glyph]

Samus Key Aran
Bounty log
Stardate 41829.1...

I record this log on the eve of my final assault.

I've chosen to spend the night sheltered in my spacecraft. There are many reasons for this. I can rest in relative comfort and security, for one. But for another, it's also my home. Its familiarity provides an illusion of normalcy amid my constant obsessive ruminations.

I have blasted a circuit through Zebes three or four times now, methodically uncovering new techniques and paths on each pass. (Note to my engineers: this auto-mapping technology has been indispensable. If I don't see you again in person... thank you.)

My sights have been permanently locked on Ridley's lifesigns, but on no orbit have I had the tools necessary to storm his lair. Until now.

Ridley, Kraid -- I've had empathy for them in the past. The space pirates, with no limit to their depravity, threw all this planet's fauna between themselves and me on my first mission here, stacking them like living shields. Their hope was that I would fall neatly to these predators. Instead, I slaughtered my way through them. Big or small, aggressive or defensive... how intelligent are they? What agency do they have? These are some of the questions that have kept me awake at night.

But tonight I cannot sleep for thoughts of my hatchling, and I realize my capacity to care for other beings is shifting. My purpose is focusing like a laser, honing to a deadly point. If Ridley were a pawn in this, could I alter course? Or would I deal him the same fate as the Mother Metroid -- another unspeakable extinction -- but this time so blinded by vendetta as to feel no remorse?

What won't I do for that one baby alien? Is there a limit to my depravity? What does this mean for me? And do I care?

My objectivity is gone. As I plunged into the depths of Maridia I caught a fleeting glimpse, and that was all it took. And then... my god, what are they doing here? There are more again -- more metroid larva -- and as they pursued me, sluggishly, the fear again and again that I might not recognize my own --

Why, why are there more? What are they doing to my little one? Can it sense me here? Does it know I'm coming to save it?

I must try to doze here, in preparation for tomorrow. Familiarity. Clouds. Acid rain. Wind. And Ridley, Ridley, Ridley.

[alienjesus]

1. Bionic Commando (NES)
2. Blaster Master (NES)
3. Life Force (NES)
4. Bonk's Revenge (TGCD)
5. Final Fantasy III (SNES)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1)
7. Mario Golf (N64)
8. Pilotwings 64 (N64)
9. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GC)
10. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GC)
11. Devil May Cry (PS3)

So I spent my Sunday afternoon on the greens playing some Mario Golf. I'd started the game previously for Together Retro, but never got very far, so I figured I would carry on with my original file (keeping the characters I had unlocked and the points I had earned towards new tournaments) but replay the tournaments from the beginning.

It took a bit of work, but I came first in the first 3 tournaments, and unlocked the 4th to boot. I've been playing as Yoshi, but I'm not sure if he's going to be good enough in the long run - he hits a nice straight shot, but his distance is lacking. He's also the last character I unlocked though, so he's the best I have for now.

I'm not a fan of the bizarre inclusion of human characters other than the mario crew, but I might end up using them, as 2 of the human guys are basically just better versions of Yoshi.

My putting needs some work (I always brush the edge of the hole and miss...) but I'm getting pretty good at chip ins. I've salvaged holes where I should have finished with a bogey with some pretty great chip-ins - sometimes even getting a birdie instead.

My only concern is that the difficulty is already pretty high, and the tournaments are getting exponentially harder to unlock (they require points from playing various modes - you get the msot for winning tournaments). Maybe once I finish a tournament without earning enough points for the next cup then I will spend some time in the other modes unlocking characters to mix things up when earning more points.