The "Currently Playing..." Topic

DJGrenola

2019-06-18 03:53:47 pm

cool ok

Da Dood

Edit history:

Da Dood: 2019-06-18 06:48:15 pm

2019-06-18 06:07:28 pm

Dood Trigger™

Looking forward to reading people's opinions on Bloodstained!

Day 16 - Wave Race: Blue Storm (blind) » Done!

Borrowed my brother's copy.

I feel like I need more experience if I want to be 100% fair about this game, having spent way more time with the N64 version. The controls and water physics are much more comfy to me in the old game. That being said, Blue Storm is a solid (liquid?) sequel with a few interesting changes, and others not so much.

The big feature in this game is weather conditions. Depending on the weather, waves can be extra bumpy or non-existent. The cool part is that you can actually see the week-long weather forecast before the championship begins, and choose the order of races based on which courses you find best suited for each weather condition.

There's also a new free roam mode, where you pick a course and just go anywhere with no pressure. WR64 had the Dolphin Park warm up, yeah, but it's nice being able to pick any course here. Plus there are twice as many pilots as on the N64, and a new turbo boost that can be activated after 5 successfully passed buoys.

Obviously the graphics are quite a few notches above the early 3D days, with shiny water effects and detailed backgrounds. I still prefer the sunny summer atmosphere and lively announcer of the N64 game, though.

I finished Normal mode as Ryota Hayami. Wasn't a massive fan of his controls, but hey. Normal was a lot harder than the same difficulty on N64. CPU racers seem faster here, and the courses are more complex. Nothing too obnoxious, though. I was planning to try the higher mode(s), but I wasn't super smart with my IRL time management today...

Clear time: 35 minutes

Looking forward to reading people's opinions on Bloodstained!

Day 16 - Wave Race: Blue Storm (blind) » [b]Done![/b]

Borrowed my brother's copy.

I feel like I need more experience if I want to be 100% fair about this game, having spent way more time with the N64 version. The controls and water physics are much more comfy to me in the old game. That being said, Blue Storm is a solid (liquid?) sequel with a few interesting changes, and others not so much.

The big feature in this game is weather conditions. Depending on the weather, waves can be extra bumpy or non-existent. The cool part is that you can actually see the week-long weather forecast before the championship begins, and choose the order of races based on which courses you find best suited for each weather condition.

There's also a new free roam mode, where you pick a course and just go anywhere with no pressure. WR64 had the Dolphin Park warm up, yeah, but it's nice being able to pick any course here. Plus there are twice as many pilots as on the N64, and a new turbo boost that can be activated after 5 successfully passed buoys.

Obviously the graphics are quite a few notches above the early 3D days, with shiny water effects and detailed backgrounds. I still prefer the sunny summer atmosphere and lively announcer of the N64 game, though.

I finished Normal mode as Ryota Hayami. Wasn't a massive fan of his controls, but hey. Normal was a lot harder than the same difficulty on N64. CPU racers seem faster here, and the courses are more complex. Nothing too obnoxious, though. I was planning to try the higher mode(s), but I wasn't super smart with my IRL time management today...

[img]https://i.imgtc.ws/qMQAjnC.jpg[/img]

Clear time: 35 minutes

DJGrenola

2019-06-19 07:45:48 am

bloodstained seems just fine although I've only played it for an hour or so, I beat the first boss, it's exactly what you'd expect

have had one crash though which is annoying

Da Dood

2019-06-19 06:25:18 pm

Dood Trigger™

Day 17 - Super Turrican » Done!

Awesome run and gun with some Metroid influences.

Well, it's not too Metroid-y; most levels have multiple paths, but they're self-contained and have a specific exit, and there are no key upgrades to find. But there's an ice beam and a morph ball! And you are certainly encouraged to explore the areas a lot.

I like 2 of the 3 weapons... spread shot is useful in any Contra-like game, and the blue laser is deliciously OP. The bouncy ball, though, eeeh... it has its uses, but it just feels weak IMO. You can also drop bombs in morph ball form (because of course you can), and stomp certain enemies Mario style.

The platforming can be treacherous, especially in later levels, double especially in the final auto-scroller. It almost seems like you missed some sort of Easy Win upgrade, but nah, the game just expects you to start the jump so far off the edge that you're practically floating in the air, haha. Pretty lame, honestly, but you get used to it.

Both times I played Super Turrican I was kinda pressed to finish it fast... I bet it's even better if you take your time to explore levels thoroughly. There are a TON of secret passages and hidden items in this game. They give you a tally at the end of each world and in most of them I missed more than half the secrets.

The music is absolutely fantastic too. I should play this more often.

Clear time: 1 hour

Day 17 - Super Turrican » [b]Done![/b]

Awesome run and gun with some Metroid influences.

Well, it's not too Metroid-y; most levels have multiple paths, but they're self-contained and have a specific exit, and there are no key upgrades to find. But there's an ice beam and a morph ball! And you are certainly encouraged to explore the areas a lot.

I like 2 of the 3 weapons... spread shot is useful in any Contra-like game, and the blue laser is deliciously OP. The bouncy ball, though, eeeh... it has its uses, but it just feels weak IMO. You can also drop bombs in morph ball form (because of course you can), and stomp certain enemies Mario style.

The platforming can be treacherous, especially in later levels, double especially in the final auto-scroller. It almost seems like you missed some sort of Easy Win upgrade, but nah, the game just expects you to start the jump so far off the edge that you're practically floating in the air, haha. Pretty lame, honestly, but you get used to it.

Both times I played Super Turrican I was kinda pressed to finish it fast... I bet it's even better if you take your time to explore levels thoroughly. There are a TON of secret passages and hidden items in this game. They give you a tally at the end of each world and in most of them I missed more than half the secrets.

The music is absolutely fantastic too. I should play this more often.

[img]https://i.imgtc.ws/gxOALZJ.png[/img]

Clear time: 1 hour

DJGrenola

2019-06-19 09:48:24 pm

yeah chris hülsbeck did the music for most of those games and he's kind of a legend

Da Dood

Edit history:

Da Dood: 2019-06-20 08:21:40 am

2019-06-20 08:20:54 am

Dood Trigger™

It's great stuff, yeah.

I've been reading that Bloodstained is *exactly* a Castlevania game for better or worse. I guess that's fine for the first game, but if there's a sequel I hope they give it some more unique features.

Day 18 - Trampoline Terror » Done!

I beat this thing on my last life of my last continue... my hands are still shaking, so forgive me if I make any dumb spellng miskates. This is a fun top-down puzzle platformer, but it's also brutal.

The goal is to solve each maze by pressing all switches while making use of trampolines. The trampolines have limited durability, and if you end up without a way to cross a gap, it's certain death. The switches are kinda like bombs; their whole tile explodes when you press them. The switches are also color-coded, with nifty bonuses for hitting the same color multiple times in a row. 3 greens recover all trampolines' durability, 4 blues clear the level instantly, etc.

The mazes are actually quite ingenious and they really explore those elements to their fullest. There's one level with no safe ground, just trampolines with minimum durability. Another map forces you to find 3 consecutive green switches to recover the trampolines' durability and gain access to the final switch, which starts the level surrounded by destroyed trampolines. Several levels have only one solution, and if you miss it (say, by hitting a switch that would otherwise serve as a bridge), you die, no questions asked.

But figuring out the solutions is still great fun... or it would be, if there weren't two kajillion enemies chasing you at all times. You do have access to a weapon, a throwable ball thing that must be retrieved to be used again. But guess what? Enemies respawn after they die. And they are relentless. The bullet bills, holy moly, they are so effin' frustrating.

The music is pretty good too. I like this game, but it's one of those once in a blue moon kind of experiences to me.

Clear time: 1:10

It's great stuff, yeah.

I've been reading that Bloodstained is *exactly* a Castlevania game for better or worse. I guess that's fine for the first game, but if there's a sequel I hope they give it some more unique features.

Day 18 - Trampoline Terror » [b]Done![/b]

I beat this thing on my last life of my last continue... my hands are still shaking, so forgive me if I make any dumb spellng miskates. This is a fun top-down puzzle platformer, but it's also brutal.

The goal is to solve each maze by pressing all switches while making use of trampolines. The trampolines have limited durability, and if you end up without a way to cross a gap, it's certain death. The switches are kinda like bombs; their whole tile explodes when you press them. The switches are also color-coded, with nifty bonuses for hitting the same color multiple times in a row. 3 greens recover all trampolines' durability, 4 blues clear the level instantly, etc.

The mazes are actually quite ingenious and they really explore those elements to their fullest. There's one level with no safe ground, just trampolines with minimum durability. Another map forces you to find 3 consecutive green switches to recover the trampolines' durability and gain access to the final switch, which starts the level surrounded by destroyed trampolines. Several levels have only one solution, and if you miss it (say, by hitting a switch that would otherwise serve as a bridge), you die, no questions asked.

But figuring out the solutions is still great fun... or it would be, if there weren't two kajillion enemies chasing you at all times. You do have access to a weapon, a throwable ball thing that must be retrieved to be used again. But guess what? Enemies respawn after they die. And they are relentless. The bullet bills, holy moly, they are so effin' frustrating.

The music is pretty good too. I like this game, but it's one of those once in a blue moon kind of experiences to me.

[img]https://i.imgtc.ws/S5lMFLn.png[/img]

Clear time: 1:10

arkarian

2019-06-20 11:28:50 am

red chamber dream

Quote from DJGrenola:

yeah chris hülsbeck did the music for most of those games and he's kind of a legend

what else has he done? never heard of turrican

DJGrenola

2019-06-20 11:36:20 am

I'm not actually sure, I think much of his stuff was done on the commodore machines (C64 & amiga, maybe the atari ST as well) so I don't think he was particularly well known outside europe, but I know a lot of UK people who held him in very high regard

arkarian

2019-06-20 12:31:04 pm

red chamber dream

cool, i'll check out some of stuff when i get home

DJGrenola

2019-06-21 02:19:03 pm

yeah bloodstained is Symphony of the Night 2, pretty much as literally as it could possibly be, I'm almost expecting an inverted castle at this point

it's great though

Idkbutlike2

2019-06-21 02:48:13 pm

I've been playing the hell out of it. Really great game.

Idkbutlike2

2019-06-21 02:49:04 pm

In other news, I also recently beat Banjo Kazooie for the first time. Also a great game, although the swimming and flying controls can piss right the fuck off. Fortunately, Tooie seems to have improved those quit a bit.

arkarian

2019-06-21 03:28:36 pm

red chamber dream

lol completely agreed. glad you enjoyed it overall!

Da Dood

2019-06-21 11:19:52 pm

Dood Trigger™

Day 19 - Super Mario Galaxy 2 » Done!

Bad news: I think my Wii disc reader is really dying. :( It gave me an error message earlier this year with Darkside Chronicles, and now Galaxy 2 as well. It seems to read GameCube discs fine, at least, and that's what matters the most right now.

So I played Galaxy 2 on my Wii U. Kind of a bummer to see all the empty files but hey, more reason to 100% the game again some other time.

Anyway, damn, the Galaxy games are still epic and crazy imaginative. I wonder if Odyssey manages to top them, and if so... just how? O_O They are kind of slow paced, though, as far as 3D platformers go, and looong af. I mean, 6 hours for minimum %? Hell, I'll probably go back to Banjo-Kazooie a few times before revisiting Galaxy 1-2 again.

Still, fantastic game!

Clear time: 6 hours

ryu

2019-06-22 01:31:51 am

Odyssey doesn't top the galaxy games, although it's great in its own way.

Bloodstained is starting to feel rough. Had a crash, the FPS tank surprisingly fast, the rooms feel huge with the same enemies over and over again. When you get hit Miriam just stands there, so when an enemy walks into you you have to awkwardly walk out of their model. Were the games always like this? It's been years since I played an Igavania.

Da Dood

2019-06-22 07:54:24 am

Dood Trigger™

Day 20 - Little Samson » Done!

What a cool little game.

It basically plays like Mega Man, controls and mechanics-wise. There are four characters that you can switch at any time after you rescue them/if they're alive:

- Little Samson is the Mario guy with average everything and the ability to climb walls;
- Dragon can fly for a few seconds and has a powerful charge shot;
- Golem walks on spikes and has a multi-directional stretchy arm;
- Mouse can plant bombs à la Samus, climb walls and enter narrow passages.

Most levels have sections that are best suited for different abilities, so you're basically switching back and forth. Also, with the exception of Samson, when a character dies they're gone until you beat the level (or game over). This is the hardest part of the game, because you don't want to be facing a tough boss without firepower. The bombs are especially OP.

The enemy placement is a bit spammy and amateurish, though. The first or second level after the tutorials is a cave filled with blobs and randomly spawning skull things, and it's almost impossible to be methodical here because you're being attacked from every angle. And that's early in the game.

Another kind of annoying thing is that each character has their own theme, and that's all you'll hear 90% of the time.

Overall, though, this is a great game.

Clear time: 1:10

Day 20 - Little Samson » [b]Done![/b]

What a cool little game.

It basically plays like Mega Man, controls and mechanics-wise. There are four characters that you can switch at any time after you rescue them/if they're alive:

- Little Samson is the Mario guy with average everything and the ability to climb walls;
- Dragon can fly for a few seconds and has a powerful charge shot;
- Golem walks on spikes and has a multi-directional stretchy arm;
- Mouse can plant bombs à la Samus, climb walls and enter narrow passages.

Most levels have sections that are best suited for different abilities, so you're basically switching back and forth. Also, with the exception of Samson, when a character dies they're gone until you beat the level (or game over). This is the hardest part of the game, because you don't want to be facing a tough boss without firepower. The bombs are especially OP.

The enemy placement is a bit spammy and amateurish, though. The first or second level after the tutorials is a cave filled with blobs and randomly spawning skull things, and it's almost impossible to be methodical here because you're being attacked from every angle. And that's early in the game.

Another kind of annoying thing is that each character has their own theme, and that's all you'll hear 90% of the time.

Overall, though, this is a great game.

[img]https://i.imgtc.ws/QGKrZOk.png[/img]

Clear time: 1:10

Da Dood

2019-06-23 12:58:51 pm

Dood Trigger™

Day 21 - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon » Done!

I went with Fighter mode because you don't have to grind for cards, and Nathan already begins the game as a freaking tank. You just whip everything, it's awesome. The only item I farmed was the Strength Ring from Were-bear, two of 'em actually, to pretty much double my attack.

I skipped two major areas in the game by crossing the sewer without cleaning the poisoned waters. Pretty cool that they allow this. Hardest part of the game, no doubt... even Fighter feels underleveled there. CotM's castle design is kind of zig-zaggy sometimes, but there are useful shortcuts after each area. I think I remembered most of them.

This game is great, if a little clunky and unrefined. I'm still impressed by how much content they crammed into this tiny cartridge. The extra modes are also a good idea because there's basically no new assets used, just different stats, and it works so well for replay value.

Clear time: 1:13

Day 21 - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon » [b]Done![/b]

I went with Fighter mode because you don't have to grind for cards, and Nathan already begins the game as a freaking tank. You just whip everything, it's awesome. The only item I farmed was the Strength Ring from Were-bear, two of 'em actually, to pretty much double my attack.

I skipped two major areas in the game by crossing the sewer without cleaning the poisoned waters. Pretty cool that they allow this. Hardest part of the game, no doubt... even Fighter feels underleveled there. CotM's castle design is kind of zig-zaggy sometimes, but there are useful shortcuts after each area. I think I remembered most of them.

This game is great, if a little clunky and unrefined. I'm still impressed by how much content they crammed into this tiny cartridge. The extra modes are also a good idea because there's basically no new assets used, just different stats, and it works so well for replay value.

[img]https://i.imgtc.ws/p2kFzVf.png[/img]

Clear time: 1:13

Da Dood

2019-06-24 12:49:12 pm

Dood Trigger™

Day 22 - Rolling Thunder 2 » Done!

I guess the best way to describe this game is Shinobi with a gun. The action is pretty arcade-y, with enemies appearing left and right and the ability to enter doors in the background to take cover from fire. Most enemies die in 1-2 shots and your ammo is finite (sort of... if you run out, the gun fires a wimpy slow bullet).

Your guy or gal has one major handicap that IMO makes this game way less fun than Shinobi: they can't shoot in the air. Being aware of ground level differences is extra important when you're only able to hit enemies while standing or crouching. And of course there's an elevator stage with enemies firing at you from every possible height...

This is one of those games that feel like they were designed with a rental protection barrier so people wouldn't beat it in a single weekend. About halfway through, they kick the difficulty up about a dozen notches. It's in that threshold where technically everything has a cue, but the volume of tricky spawns and shots coming your way is pretty dang infuriating.

It's good fun overall, but I greatly prefer something like Shadow Dancer.

Clear time: 1:45

Day 22 - Rolling Thunder 2 » [b]Done![/b]

I guess the best way to describe this game is Shinobi with a gun. The action is pretty arcade-y, with enemies appearing left and right and the ability to enter doors in the background to take cover from fire. Most enemies die in 1-2 shots and your ammo is finite (sort of... if you run out, the gun fires a wimpy slow bullet).

Your guy or gal has one major handicap that IMO makes this game way less fun than Shinobi: they can't shoot in the air. Being aware of ground level differences is extra important when you're only able to hit enemies while standing or crouching. And of course there's an elevator stage with enemies firing at you from every possible height...

This is one of those games that feel like they were designed with a rental protection barrier so people wouldn't beat it in a single weekend. About halfway through, they kick the difficulty up about a dozen notches. It's in that threshold where technically everything has a cue, but the volume of tricky spawns and shots coming your way is pretty dang infuriating.

It's good fun overall, but I greatly prefer something like Shadow Dancer.

[img]https://i.imgtc.ws/y1HQu3P.png[/img]

Clear time: 1:45

Idkbutlike2

2019-06-24 01:36:08 pm

Finished up Bloostained: Ritual of the Night. Yep. It's an Igavania alright! I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes SotN or any of Iga's games after that one. I'll look into some of the post-game content eventually.

ryu

2019-06-24 04:43:37 pm

I'm getting tired of it but always happens when I play these games. This one seems even worse with the backtracking. Making you replay the whole water cave later on to open chests for example...

arkarian

2019-06-24 05:32:28 pm

red chamber dream

that's....... what makes metroidlikes fun... right?

ryu

2019-06-24 05:40:49 pm

it is for a while but the gameplay is so repetitive it kinda falls apart in late game

at least for me

Idkbutlike2

2019-06-24 05:42:51 pm

I think the Forbidden Waterway is overused as a transit point between various locales, but that's about it.

arkarian

2019-06-24 05:54:09 pm

red chamber dream

something something urmom something something forbidden waterway

ryu

2019-06-24 06:18:11 pm

ark's having a bad day lol