What are you playing?

[NotLuke]

I played Heist and In Time in the same weekend, on hard difficulty to receive the best endings.Maybe I feel a bit more unfamiliar with Heist, and that's why I give it the edge in difficulty, and while not difficult, I struggle with it more than I do In Time.

Speaking of turtles, everyone check out this article by the wonderful Chris Even Hayner. It's about TMNT action figures written by the guy who wrote and filmed the Out Of Their Shells Documentary.

[BoneSnapDeez]

New Super Mario Bros. (DS), getting close to the end.

This game -- along with the sequels -- is odd in a very specific way. I recognize it as a "good Mario game" and it mechanically performs just fine and I "have fun" playing it. But once the game wraps up I remember nothing about it. The graphics are "good" but super clean and generic. The music is pleasant enough, but lacks the iconic tracks seen in the older games. It's really easy and I kind of just mindlessly float through it. It's the type of game you play with the TV on in the background.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I just started up Landstalker, which is OK so far. I’m also playing a few arcade games, specifically Burger Time and Kung Fu Master. I’m getting better at each, but I’m still nowhere near good enough to beat them.

[o.pwuaioc]

I just started up Landstalker, which is OK so far. I’m also playing a few arcade games, specifically Burger Time and Kung Fu Master. I’m getting better at each, but I’m still nowhere near good enough to beat them.

How do you beat Burger Time? It just loops. Fun game though. Are you playing on Mame?

Landstalker I couldn't get into, and partly it's because I don't enjoy isometric platforming.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I just started up Landstalker, which is OK so far. I’m also playing a few arcade games, specifically Burger Time and Kung Fu Master. I’m getting better at each, but I’m still nowhere near good enough to beat them.

How do you beat Burger Time? It just loops. Fun game though. Are you playing on Mame?

Landstalker I couldn't get into, and partly it's because I don't enjoy isometric platforming.

That’s it. I just want to be able to loop it. That counts as “beating” the game for me. (Also, I’m playing it on my Switch. It’s a recent Arcade Archives release.)

And, yeah, the isometric platforming is ROUGH in Landstalker. That aside, though, I just haven’t found the rest of the gameplay that compelling.

[pook99]

@notluke: yeah, familiarity always makes a huge difference, I replay both of them annually so I am very familiar with both.

@Bone: your critique of NSMB is pretty standard, the general consensus among those games is that they are fun, well made games, but are not as memorable as other games in the series, I do really enjoy the series but I think I have to agree with that as I can't really remember any specific stages. I disagree about the music though, I think the happy theme that plays in the first world that goombas and Koopas stop to dance to is amazing and, IMO, the most memorable mario track out there.

@prfnsl_gamer: I played landstalker once, it was weird because I played it for 3-4 hours straight and found myself enjoying it but I never turned it on again and have little desire to go back and finish it. I couldn't tell you why, just a general blah feeling about it.

[Markies]

I just started up Landstalker, which is OK so far. I’m also playing a few arcade games, specifically Burger Time and Kung Fu Master. I’m getting better at each, but I’m still nowhere near good enough to beat them.

How do you beat Burger Time? It just loops. Fun game though. Are you playing on Mame?

Landstalker I couldn't get into, and partly it's because I don't enjoy isometric platforming.

And, yeah, the isometric platforming is ROUGH in Landstalker. That aside, though, I just haven’t found the rest of the gameplay that compelling.

Let me just tell you right now: The isometric platforming does not get any better. It just gets worse.

I beat it a few years ago. There was never a point that made me quit the game at any time. I never had that anger filled moment. It was just this slow downward spiral towards pain and misery.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Man...you guys are down on Landstalker! It was listed in Electronic Gaming Monthly #150 as one of the greatest games of all time, and its been on my “to beat” list for ages. Apparently, the esteem in which it is held by the gaming community has dropped somewhat in the last 19 years.

For my TR in November, I may make “isometric” games one of my categories. Thinking about it this morning, that perspective was used for years, and to greatly varying degrees of success, by different developers (but primarily Rare and Sega) to approximate 3D space in a 2D game. Certainly, games like Sonic 3D Blast (and, maybe, Landstalker?) are pretty weak, but games like Cobra Triangle, Congo Bongo, RC Pro Am, Zaxxon, etc. are pretty awesome. It might be interesting to discuss why some of these games are so fun and others so frustrating.

[alienjesus]

I played through all 51 games on the Sega collection for Switch last year. At the end of playing through them, I ranked them in order of best to worst.

Landstalker was number 44/51, only beaten out by dirge like Sword of Vermilion, Galaxy Force 2 and Kid Chameleon.

Believe me when I say that it starts to throw precision movement at you in ridiculous amounts later on. I took an hour to beat one specific room which required specific movement, even abusing the rewind function of the collection.

Personally, I'm yet to find an isometric game I really like. Sonic 3D is probably the best I've played, but it's still not great. I don't even enjoy Mario RPG's use of the perspective.

[o.pwuaioc]

Personally, I'm yet to find an isometric game I really like. Sonic 3D is probably the best I've played, but it's still not great. I don't even enjoy Mario RPG's use of the perspective.

I almost posted this comment (I don't care for Sonic 3D or Mario RPG either), but there are a handful of games that have successfully implemented it. It works well for computer games (Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, Diablo II), for example, though I wonder if that's only because they use a mouse to move about.