T-Pac Arcade

[T-Pac | 7,576]

@RH @GPX recommending that I expand forward into the 32-bit generation? Blasphemy!

And here I thought you knew me better than that haha...

[T-Pac]

[RH | 4,932]

6 minutes ago, T-Pac said:

@RH @GPX recommending that I expand forward into the 32-bit generation? Blasphemy!

And here I thought you knew me better than that haha...

[T-Pac]

I mean, yes, but unlike @GPX, I'm NOT suggesting you breach the 3D barrier.  But if you're willing to play Axeley, you can play a sprite-game one generation up.

However, the day I see a T-Pac Arcade on Panzer Dragoon, then I think the world will be coming to an end. Lol.

[GPX | 1,371]

9 hours ago, T-Pac said:

@RH @GPX recommending that I expand forward into the 32-bit generation? Blasphemy!

And here I thought you knew me better than that haha...

[T-Pac]

Life’s short mate..

Get drunk, break your own rules, play some 32-bit 3D-shooters!

 

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Adventure Island [Nintendo Entertainment System - 1988]

@Khromak - I'm in awe that you tore through this one for the NES Completions thread this year. I wanted to beat it legit sooo bad, but it broke me at the end and I save-scummed to the finish haha. Still a fantastic game, though.

[T-Pac]

[Khromak | 769]

Yeah it's a tough one for sure. I spent HOURS on the last couple worlds, there were a few levels in there that were brutal. At the end of the day with the fairly generous checkpoints and infinite continues, it's pretty close to save-state scumming, except you have to string more successes together at once rather than just doing each thing once(ish).

Glad you enjoyed it, I agree with your caveman review.

[T-Pac | 7,576]

3 minutes ago, Khromak said:

Yeah it's a tough one for sure. I spent HOURS on the last couple worlds, there were a few levels in there that were brutal. At the end of the day with the fairly generous checkpoints and infinite continues, it's pretty close to save-state scumming, except you have to string more successes together at once rather than just doing each thing once(ish).

Glad you enjoyed it, I agree with your caveman review.

True - I think it took me almost 3 hours to clear 8-2. So by the next round, I was so burnt out on the game that I started making my own checkpoints - namely for the falling platforms and bats section of 8-3.

Also - did you go through the whole thing in just one sitting? I technically used save states to "keep the game on overnight", too - because it took me a whole week to finish.
I can't imaging how exhausting it would be to grind through the entire game in a single session.

[T-Pac]

[Khromak | 769]

I think I left the game on and paused for a couple hours while I was distracted with something else, then went back and finished the last level or two.

I was trying to finish it all in one sitting, but I had some scheduled thing or other to do IIRC.

Not gonna lie, I was screaming at my TV for that one bat jump in world 7. Then I got to world 8 and the same damn jump was there...I had to look up a video of someone else doing it to get an idea of how to do it, it was brutal. Euphoric once you get it though!

[T-Pac | 7,576]

1 minute ago, Khromak said:

I think I left the game on and paused for a couple hours while I was distracted with something else, then went back and finished the last level or two.

I was trying to finish it all in one sitting, but I had some scheduled thing or other to do IIRC.

Not gonna lie, I was screaming at my TV for that one bat jump in world 7. Then I got to world 8 and the same damn jump was there...I had to look up a video of someone else doing it to get an idea of how to do it, it was brutal. Euphoric once you get it though!

Wow - well congrats on the clear, dude!
I saw that you actually took down the whole trilogy in just a few days - so props on that, too.

[T-Pac]

[Gloves | 11,803]

I got all the achievements on RetroAchievements for both Adventure Island and Adventure Island II back in October, which had me a bit too burnt out to do the 3rd game. I left my PC on overnight for the first game since as I was a bit out of practice and it was getting late, though I've done it in one sitting before.

@BeaIank is the reigning champ forever though.

[T-Pac | 7,576]

2 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I got all the achievements on RetroAchievements for both Adventure Island and Adventure Island II back in October, which had me a bit too burnt out to do the 3rd game. I left my PC on overnight for the first game since as I was a bit out of practice and it was getting late, though I've done it in one sitting before.

@BeaIank is the reigning champ forever though.

Wow - I never ceased to be amazed at the stuff you (and Bea) pull off. And you're not even much of a platformer guy, from what I gather - which makes it even crazier.

[T-Pac]

[BeaIank | 1,628]

No deathing Adventure Island is on my bucket list once I get used to the bionic arm and the arcade stick once more.

Don't think I will be able to pacifist that ever again, though. That requires a precision I just won't be able to achieve ever again due to the lack of haptic feedback.

[T-Pac | 7,576]

1 minute ago, BeaIank said:

No deathing Adventure Island is on my bucket list once I get used to the bionic arm and the arcade stick once more.

Don't think I will be able to pacifist that ever again, though. That requires a precision I just won't be able to achieve ever again due to the lack of haptic feedback.

You're insane haha - I wouldn't have even thought a pacifist run was possible.

You might be surprised with how well an arcade stick can handle for a game like this - that's what I used, and I actually found it preferable to a control pad.

And I doubt the bionic hand will slow you down much - it'll just make you 50% cooler.

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Sonic the Hedgehog [Sega Genesis - 1991]

Time to spend the rest of my life drawing "Sonic OC"s and eating disfigured Sonic ice cream...

[T-Pac]

[Dr. Morbis | 2,091]

On 1/19/2024 at 8:07 AM, T-Pac said:

I can't imaging how exhausting it would be to grind through the entire game in a single session.

[T-Pac]

I just want to say, this sounds like a ridiculous feat only because you wanted to beat it on your "first pass," so to speak.  The idea at the time these old NES games were released was that you would play the game over and  over from the start over weeks or months and slowly build the muscle memory and skills needed to beat each level, all the while memorizing the layout of difficult parts so that you knew exactly what to do and when.  If you're save-scumming through a game, then every difficult section seems nigh impossible only because you're always getting through it just by the skin of your teeth rather than putting in the time to learn each area thoroughly.  All of this is to say that I don't think Adventure Island really is that hard when it gives you unlimited continues so that you can play the levels over and over ad infinitum until you've learned them really well.

I know the thought of replaying games until you're really proficient at them is totally passe in our modern gaming world, but there is something really satisfying about putting in the effort and bettering your skills and then stomping all over a game that at first glance appeared to be nigh impossible.

My best game of Adventure Island is a first death on 8-2, but I also hope to one day pull off a no-death run...

[T-Pac | 7,576]

14 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I just want to say, this sounds like a ridiculous feat only because you wanted to beat it on your "first pass," so to speak.  The idea at the time these old NES games were released was that you would play the game over and  over from the start over weeks or months and slowly build the muscle memory and skills needed to beat each level, all the while memorizing the layout of difficult parts so that you knew exactly what to do and when. 

This definitely wasn't my first pass at playing Adventure Island haha - but I get what you mean. 

That being said - playing each round over and over until I memorized it is exactly how I went through the game. I just did it with breaks in-between when I got tired - hence my admiration for clearing it in a single sitting, no matter how familiar you might be with the game.

14 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

If you're save-scumming through a game, then every difficult section seems nigh impossible only because you're always getting through it just by the skin of your teeth rather than putting in the time to learn each area thoroughly.

Yeah - when I use save-states, I generally try to implement them in a way that still forces me to "learn the game" rather than just brute-force through it. That way I get a relatively genuine feel for it, as well as the satisfaction of learning its ins-and-outs, but without spending months on a single game like you mentioned.

14 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I know the thought of replaying games until you're really proficient at them is totally passe in our modern gaming world, but there is something really satisfying about putting in the effort and bettering your skills and then stomping all over a game that at first glance appeared to be nigh impossible.

This is definitely a compromise I've had to make with myself...

To me - the satisfaction of having experienced / finished more of the games in my library, but with less time devoted to each ... outweighs the satisfaction of mastering just a small handful by spending so much time with them that I don't get around to the rest.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with either approach - it's just a matter of what your own goals are.

14 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

All of this is to say that I don't think Adventure Island really is that hard when it gives you unlimited continues so that you can play the levels over and over ad infinitum until you've learned them really well.

My best game of Adventure Island is a first death on 8-2, but I also hope to one day pull off a no-death run...

I don't care if you wouldn't consider that impressive or difficult - I think it's incredible and you should be proud of the accomplishment, dude!

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Ordyne [NEC PC Engine - 1989]

For whatever reason, I wanted to mimic those chapter-page illustrations from Dragon Ball with this one.
Also - I wonder if Ordyne could be considered a proto cute-em-up (although Twinbee predates it by a few years...).

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Pitfall [Atari 2600 - 1982]

I didn't get the hype for this game when I first tried it a few years ago. But now that I sunk my teeth into it - I love it.

[T-Pac]

[G-type | 2,486]

I never really got into pitfall...for Jungle adventures, I found the vine swinging in Jungle Hunt more satisfying and when it came to mapping routes and racing against the clock, I was much more partial to Private Eye.

[T-Pac | 7,576]

10 hours ago, G-type said:

I never really got into pitfall...for Jungle adventures, I found the vine swinging in Jungle Hunt more satisfying and when it came to mapping routes and racing against the clock, I was much more partial to Private Eye.

I can see your point with Jungle Hunt. I prefer the vine swinging controls in Pitfall, but I like how you get to chain-swing in Jungle Hunt.

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Terra Cresta [Nintendo Entertainment System - 1990]

This was my least favorite shoot-em-up that I've covered so far, but at least it inspired one of my favorite drawings of the series...

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Super Bomberman 1 [Nintendo Super Famicom - 1993]

The Bomberman series is like my video game "comfort food". I've yet to play an entry that I didn't like.

[T-Pac]

[DarkTone | 987]

Great job

[T-Pac | 7,576]

Metroid [Nintendo Entertainment System - 1987]

This is one of those NES classics that I have more fun looking at than actually playing, but I still enjoyed it way more than I was expecting.

Also a fun opportunity to draw my own rendition of Samus's armor suit, since I've never been a big fan of Nintendo's official design.

[T-Pac]

[RH | 4,932]

I'll be honest to say that when I saw this drop in my YouTube feed... I got nervous.

You are generally a positive guy, but your reviews are honest and I didn't know how this would land since it's both more complex than a 2600 title but it's also very much a product of it's time and they systems limitations.  It turns out that your honesty was perfect. I don't see everything the way you do but, in my opinion, your way of presenting your opinions is so genuine, honest and fun that it's even easy to disagree with your perspective but also enjoy the video.   To be clear, I did agree with about 90% of what you said so I didn't feel like a critically important game from my childhood was torn apart.  Regardless, even if I have, I feel like your presentation was excellent and welcoming.

Also, that picture is sick, man!  Samus has a been around long enough that we can easily project on the old 8-bit version of her what we'd expect her to look like from modern adaptations.  But your interpretation is perfect for a fresh perspective on something that's only a handful of pixels.  I especially like the helmet detail.

Thanks for making these and I hope with time your short segments get picked up by the algorithm.  This type of content is perfect for what they try to push-short and unique.  Keep up the good work and I know I'll keep watching!

[G-type | 2,486]

1 hour ago, RH said:

You are generally a positive guy, but your reviews are honest and I didn't know how this would land since it's both more complex than a 2600 title but it's also very much a product of it's time and they systems limitations.

I'm not that surprised since I'm also a 2600 & a NES Metroid fan