2023 VGS NES Weekly Contest - Isolated Warrior!

[Gloves | 11,776]

4 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

@Gloves  I ain’t making up 60k nice score

The fuckin 2k bonuses I swear it was like God himself came down and blessed the run. Ask my wife I was bouncing at the end of the run, just "no fuckin way" left and right. On top of that I managed to do the last level and boss without giving up my level 5 bomb score, nor taking damage. Blessed by Odin himself. 

[G-type | 2,480]

I put up a score

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

I accidentally used the bomb on stage 5 but  that ain’t closing the gap that much. I got a full bonus on every other stage. Hard to see I fell behind by 60k I been killing nearly everything. Must be missing a strat somewhere. GG ti-83

@Gloves

Edited April 24, 2023 by docile tapeworm

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

4 hours ago, PII said:

Sa more Great/Good ones:

The Last Ninja

You're officially the first guy on planet earth to ever mention the steaming pile of shit that is The Last Ninja on NES as a "great" or even "good" game.  As a result, I seriously question your judgement and deem the rest of your list entirely null and void...

[Gloves | 11,776]

3 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

I accidentally used the bomb on stage 5 but  that ain’t closing the gap that much. I got a full bonus on every other stage. Hard to see I fell behind by 60k I been killing nearly everything. Must be missing a strat somewhere. GG ti-83

@Gloves

The biggest change for me is I've stopped saving my bombs and started using them. My previous high score run I wasn't using bombs basically at all, so I memorized where all the bomb drops are so I know when to stop using bombs in each level to retain that score. I use them now at specific spots pre-firing in anticipation of groups so I can pick up all the bonuses (especially on the motorcycle level, a lot of potential point loss there if not picking those up as the fly by so fast). A few other micro adjustments, like ignoring certain enemies in favor of the hedgehoggy guys on level 1 since they're worth 1k a piece. 

Some enemies you also don't want to kill right away. If you're intentional about it level 2 and 6 have a fair few extra points you'd miss out on by just killing everything quickly. The level 2 guys that come up from the bottom spit bombs out which 100% of the time drop health orbs, and are themselves worth points, on top of still being able to kill the enemy that shoots those bombs. 

I spent a couple hours doing runs just looking for extra bonus levels, too. I'm not entirely convinced that the ones in level 1 and 2 are the only ones that exist. I found an extra bonus in stage 6 that I don't see listed anywhere in videos or text online. They're really picky about having to hit them dead on, so there's a good chance there are more out there. 

[mbd39 | 2,020]

You two's scores are insane lol. Skinny had to burn lives in 2016 to get 2,400,000.

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by mbd39

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

2 minutes ago, Gloves said:

The biggest change for me is I've stopped saving my bombs and started using them. My previous high score run I wasn't using bombs basically at all, so I memorized where all the bomb drops are so I know when to stop using bombs in each level to retain that score. I use them now at specific spots pre-firing in anticipation of groups so I can pick up all the bonuses (especially on the motorcycle level, a lot of potential point loss there if not picking those up as the fly by so fast). A few other micro adjustments, like ignoring certain enemies in favor of the hedgehoggy guys on level 1 since they're worth 1k a piece. 

Some enemies you also don't want to kill right away. If you're intentional about it level 2 and 6 have a fair few extra points you'd miss out on by just killing everything quickly. The level 2 guys that come up from the bottom spit bombs out which 100% of the time drop health orbs, and are themselves worth points, on top of still being able to kill the enemy that shoots those bombs. 

I spent a couple hours doing runs just looking for extra bonus levels, too. I'm not entirely convinced that the ones in level 1 and 2 are the only ones that exist. I found an extra bonus in stage 6 that I don't see listed anywhere in videos or text online. They're really picky about having to hit them dead on, so there's a good chance there are more out there. 

I was strategizing my bomb use as well and I was also taking advantage of the 1k hedgehoggys on stage 1. I did notice the enemies that throw the (3) heath orbs on stage 2 but wasn’t able to pull that strat off consistently. I also noticed the 3 green enemies that spit goo. I realized you can wait them out and take advantage of more points there but honestly I just didn’t make the effort lol *hand shake for going the extra mile there.

Ya there are definitely secrets I found (the two bracelets) that I didn’t see documented anywhere. I wonder if there is one of those secret rooms (almost like you get warped to another dimension) on each stage.

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

6 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

You two's scores are insane lol. Skinny had to burn lives in 2016 to get 2,400,000.

 

 

 

I was trying to hit that 2.4 on one life this time…..tI-83 said “hold my beer” 

[Gloves | 11,776]

It'll be an uphill battle for me on 1943. That said it's NOT the game I thought it was, this one's more fun for sure. I always get the 194x games mixed up. I just hope I'll have my stuff at my house in time, otherwise I'll have no way to play. 

[PII | 1,884]

24 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

You're officially the first guy on planet earth to ever mention the steaming pile of shit that is The Last Ninja on NES as a "great" or even "good" game.  As a result, I seriously question your judgement and deem the rest of your list entirely null and void...

I admit I like last ninja in spite of its very bad hit detection.  I consider it "good" in spite of its short comings because I just like it anyway.  Paperboy is another good example of a game with pretty bad hit detection, but its still a good game.  

Regardless, I won't sway an Anti-Isometric-ite as far as either of those two games are concerned so I won't try.

[SuperJimtendo | 1,121]

Snuck in a participation score right at the end. Phew

[mbd39 | 2,020]

24 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

I was trying to hit that 2.4 on one life this time…..tI-83 said “hold my beer” 

I was just wondering if you've ever played Barbie on your Barbie TV.

[PII | 1,884]

Here's what I found for secret spots:

1) Xtra Life

Bonus Stage

Weapon Max

 

2) Life Max

Bonus Stage

Life Max

 

3) Life Max

Weapon Max

Life Max

 

4) Weapon Max

Life Max

Life Max

 

5) Weapon Max

Xtra Life

Life Max

 

6) Weapon Max

Life Max

 

7) Life Max

 

I also have been wondering if there are any further Bonus Stages beyond level 2....

[PII | 1,884]

Last couple of runs I could've hit 2.25 mil. if my luck had been just slightly better.  Feel like I could approach 2.3 mil with a few more tries, but matching @docile tapeworm or @Gloves would def. take another 2-3 days of running and tuning.  Glad I cracked 2.2 anyway.  ¡Well Done Sages!

Edited April 24, 2023 by PII

[Gloves | 11,776]

3 minutes ago, PII said:

Last couple of runs I could've hit 2.25 mil. if my luck had been just slightly better.  Feel like I could approach 2.3 mil with a few more tries, but matching @docile tapeworm or @Gloves would def. take another 2-3 days of running and tuning.  Glad I cracked 2.2 anyway.  ¡Well Done Sages!

Cracking 2.2m is nuts, well done!

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

1 hour ago, PII said:

Last couple of runs I could've hit 2.25 mil. if my luck had been just slightly better.  Feel like I could approach 2.3 mil with a few more tries, but matching @docile tapeworm or @Gloves would def. take another 2-3 days of running and tuning.  Glad I cracked 2.2 anyway.  ¡Well Done Sages!

Thanks dude! Ti-83 is on another level with that 2.4

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

2 hours ago, mbd39 said:

I was just wondering if you've ever played Barbie on your Barbie TV.

I have the cartridge on the shelf. It’s one that hits the nostalgia bone personally. 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

3 hours ago, PII said:

I admit I like last ninja in spite of its very bad hit detection.  I consider it "good" in spite of its short comings because I just like it anyway.  Paperboy is another good example of a game with pretty bad hit detection, but its still a good game.  

Regardless, I won't sway an Anti-Isometric-ite as far as either of those two games are concerned so I won't try.

I actually really like the first Paperboy and Marble Madness, but the list of isometric games I enjoy is pretty thin, and when I see that viewpoint in a screenshot, it's almost always a hard pass for whether or not I'm going to dive into the game...

[RH | 4,903]

3 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I actually really like the first Paperboy and Marble Madness, but the list of isometric games I enjoy is pretty thin, and when I see that viewpoint in a screenshot, it's almost always a hard pass for whether or not I'm going to dive into the game...

Is Q*bert on the NES? That’s another iso game.

Anyway, congrats to all of you who played and worked real hard to get past 2m.  I’m not just impressed with the scores but also the number of you guys that did it.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

2 hours ago, RH said:

Is Q*bert on the NES? That’s another iso game.

Anyway, congrats to all of you who played and worked real hard to get past 2m.  I’m not just impressed with the scores but also the number of you guys that did it.

Only three people got over two million when we played this last time, and it wasn't one life rules.

https://archive.nes.science/nintendoage-forums/nintendoage.com/forum/messageviewf73f.html?catid=31&threadid=165073

[mbd39 | 2,020]

7 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I actually really like the first Paperboy and Marble Madness, but the list of isometric games I enjoy is pretty thin, and when I see that viewpoint in a screenshot, it's almost always a hard pass for whether or not I'm going to dive into the game...

I recommend putting some effort into beating Snake, Rattle n Roll. It's much harder than Marble Madness but so much fun when you get the hang of it.

 

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

6 hours ago, mbd39 said:

Only three people got over two million when we played this last time, and it wasn't one life rules.

https://archive.nes.science/nintendoage-forums/nintendoage.com/forum/messageviewf73f.html?catid=31&threadid=165073

Dude erizisto was really good. I wonder what happened to him?

[NESfiend | 1,515]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:33 PM, docile tapeworm said:

Dude erizisto was really good. I wonder what happened to him?

Remember @Kid Dracula? That dude broke some games. 

 

[RH | 4,903]

8 hours ago, NESfiend said:

Remember @Kid Dracula? That dude broke some games. 

 

Well, interestingly enough, the guy last visited this site 9 hours ago, but you posted your comment 8 hours ago.  He was just here!

He appears to be a lurker.  He signs in, reacts on rare occasions but hasn’t posted since 2020.

So, eh, @Kid Dracula, not trying to be creepy but if you see this, I would mind seeing someone rejoin these comps that can break some games! And if your not interested, then Hi! I think we might have made a trade or sale once or twice in the past.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

There was also Red, tablew/chairs and SwiftFrost. Those guys were good too.