ecmyers

OMG, YOU GUYS! I figured out the code!!!

I've been meaning to experiment with it more for a while, and when I just saw another copy of the game has emerged on eBay, I was inspired to try again. The thing is, I had forgotten the code we were using, so out of habit I just entered the regular Konami code.

That's right... Even though the code we found in the manual doesn't include B and A at the end, as far as I can tell, that is in fact the complete code.  Perhaps the manual was just meant to lead us in that direction. So yeah, here's how it works:

On the TITLE SCREEN, enter the good old Konami code: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. You will hear a short jingle when the game starts. (Normally it is silent when you press start.) Now when the game begins, you start with 35 lives!

I can't believe we hadn't tried this before, but hey, mystery finally solved! After more than two freaking years.

Unfortunately, it looks like once you use up all the extra lives, if you continue you start again with just the standard 3 lives. (I only tested this on stage 1.) But this should still many of us get farther in the game!

Have fun!

This is great news! Looks like it's the "Dangerous Trap" updated version, which was previously only available on Famicom carts from Columbus Circle and has some rebalanced difficulty and additional content.

This looks fantastic! And I'm always up for beta testing if you need more people.

This is not a drill! The Great Gatsby for NES is here! https://greatgatsbygame.com/

13 minutes ago, Scrobins said:

Witch 'n Wiz for the NES now available for pre-order through Limited Run Games, with regular and limited editions available!

You can also buy the ROM right now!

There is now an NES port of L’Abbaye des Morts, made by Parisoft Games and published by Broke Studio (45,00€): https://www.brokestudio.fr/product/labbaye-des-morts-nes/

I've picked up a couple of their NES games (Mall Brawl and Dead Tomb), as well as some of their NES-style collector's editions for modern games, and their packaging is impeccable. I missed their limited release of GALF, but since they switched to open pre-orders I haven't had any trouble getting the games that I want from them. Although they have their detractors, they seem like genuine fans of games and retro releases, particularly with their recent reissues of Natsume titles and Shantae on Game Boy, so I'm happy to support them, and Jeremy Parish (Retronauts) works with them too. He loves the NES and has shown some interest in homebrew releases; I believe he was a big reason, if not the main reason, they sold those Famicom homebrew music games recently.

The only problem I have had with LRG and homebrew is the fact that my copy of Mall Brawl does not work on the RetroUSB AVS, since they only tested it on the stock firmware; but that may as much be an issue with the AVS than them, and it works fine on my frontloader NES. Aside from wanting to make sure any game I bought from them will work on my AVS, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new homebrew game from them. They also might be a good avenue for getting your game on Switch as well, since they seem to be involved with getting Spoony Bard's Alfonso's Arctic Adventure on the platform (today!).

2 hours ago, Generic said:

For those who have numbers 21-100, is your number shown on the title screen? I know 1-20 have the number listed on the title screen. 

I have #42, and it's on the title screen.

Oh no @RetroX85! I guess leaving it on for so long, you were really pressing your luck. But great effort!

Some of us have been trying to crack that code for a while, so any insights would be great. We don't even really know what the code does at this point, so maybe that's the problem—maybe we're activating it and the effect isn't obvious. Anyway, there's a separate thread for that here: 

Edited to Add: But I see you have already been all over it there!   Sorry, it's been a while since I checked in on the thread.

Here's a new one that just popped on my radar, Slow Mole: http://patreon.com/erikrosenlund. Free beta now available, cartridge and ROM release planned.

I enjoyed the whole contest though I'm in favor of having the whole month to post a score. It's probably just me, but there are times when I am just too busy in the  designated two-week period to put much time into playing and practicing the game, and having more time increases the chances that I'll be able to participate. I was so busy once I misjudged the dates and totally missed a whole game! Maybe the scores you can get for each game could decrease as the month goes on. Full points at the two-week deadline, one less point for three weeks, another point lost for the end of the month. Too complicated?

While I liked the idea of the immunity game, it seems like it is always going to go to the person who can stay up the night the challenge goes live (and of course has the time to practice the game). Maybe there could be bonus challenges that everyone was eligible for by a certain date, or something like that? Or yeah, the immunity could come with a cost, like Red suggested.

But really, overall I thought this was well thought out and well managed, and I fully appreciate that it is run a certain way for a reason, so don't change anything on my count! Life gets in the way of gaming sometimes. (Often.)

Thank you so much for organizing all this! It was a blast and it's always nice to have an excuse to spend some time with great games and share the love of homebrews. Looking forward to the next one!

From the description it sounds like they slapped a new label over some other NES game, which is what the "mystery" is. What an odd idea.

Well done, @Deadeye! I had a solid final run going just before the deadline, but then I choked and lost a lot of time making stupid mistakes where I never had before. It might have come down to a hundredth of a second otherwise

It's been a blast playing with all of you! I look forward to seeing you duke it out in the final challenge. From my limited time playing that game, getting knocked out in this round may be a mixed blessing...

Time updated for Streemerz! If I'd been able to fit in one more run tonight I think I could have hit sub 10. Ah well! It's been fun.

10:58:52
49:29:89

De-rusting in Streemerz. Haven't played this in a couple of years but it's starting to come back to me. Hope I can do a lot better than this!

GG! I started working on the game too but had practically zero time this weekend and figured you would beat us to it. The fact that the game doesn't save carrots with your stage passwords was a little intimidating and some of these levels are real puzzlers. It's so good though, so I'll at least finish it if I can.

On 10/31/2020 at 7:57 AM, JamesRobot said:

Damn!  Can't believe I was edged out by a hundredth of a second by @ecmyers.  Good game everyone. 

Yeah, I can't believe it either! It was a literally last-minute score (and the only one where I was able to abuse turbo without flying off the track and exploding), and I was so anxious I wouldn't get it posted in time. Then I figured I wasn't going to place anyway. What a game! What a contest. Great job, all.

Score updated. Sorry for the formatting, I was in a hurry since I just got it!

01.44.33

01.53.32

Just clearing the track feels like a victory here! I like this so far.

54 minutes ago, Red said:

209,450

 

There it is! Knew that was coming. Nice work

Here's the back of Batman: Return of the Joker, showing "Manufactured by Sunsoft" — I knew I had seen one of these publisher-manufactured carts before this!

Final score update, as I won't have time to play this after tonight. I really like this game and it's been fun "mastering" it! I know I could probably do at least three no death runs and improve my score if I stuck with it, but that fourth loop gets challenging with the fuel demands.  

Score updated!

143,950
121,050
74,850