T-Pac

I've always wanted to start collecting vinyl records, but it seems like most of my favorite music isn't available in the format. That's probably for the best, though. I really don't need another collection to encroach on my limited space and budget haha. [T-Pac]

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]

If they're leaning American for "Western-style" games, I'd imagine Hollywood movie tie-ins might rank pretty high. But as a general observation - it seems like people abroad gravitate to "cowboy" stuff when they think of America (at least in the NES era). Not that there are many cowboy games for the NES... [T-Pac]

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]

Haha don't congratulate me so readily - I cheated my way to the end after 8-2. I'm always impressed that anyone can properly beat games like this. You must have some seriously good reflexes! [T-Pac]

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]

For some reason, my brain can't latch onto games that have a property tie-in I don't like. If Batman [NES] was, like, a Power Rangers game or something - I'd probably love it. But I just don't care for the Batman license, and it sours the experience for me. I actually purged this game and a few others from my collection for that exact reason (like TMNT - I'm just not into the Ninja Turtles, either). But it's also worth noting that Sunsoft games have never really clicked with me in general. I can recognize why they're so highly-regarded, but for some reason I can't get anywhere in them. [T-Pac]

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]

03/40 - Adventure Island [Nintendo Entertainment System - 1988] Finished: 2024/01/18 Caveats: I used save-states on the last 2 rounds of Area 8 (and to pause the game between play-sessions throughout). [T-Pac]

I don't doubt it - the grappling hook seems like it would be really fun if I got the hang of it. My real problem was that I expected something more linear / straightforward. I didn't like the idea of hunting for communication units and potentially backtracking and getting lost. [T-Pac]

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]

Oof I'm the wrong guy to ask. It's super fun and I played through most of it over the holidays, but I had to abuse save-states because it was waaay too tough for me. I turned the game off when it stopped me from going to the final level - since apparently you have to pick up a bunch of hidden green scrolls throughout the game or you can't finish it. I'm gonna look-up where to find the scrolls and try to save-scum my way through it again. No chance of a legit clear for me on this one haha. [T-Pac]

I love seeing what the competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee scene is up to every once in a while. Top tier players have been dissecting that game for years and finding techniques the developers never would've imagined. Plus, I think there's been a shakeup fairly recently in the roster of which characters are considered "best for high-level play". [T-Pac]

Personal list update: I briefly tried out Bionic Commando [NES] and realized that it's probably not the kind of game I want to devote my time to. So I sold it to my local game store yesterday, and I'm going to replace it on my list with The Ninja [SMS]. I just got a handful of Master System games last week and I want to finish-off at least one of them this year. [T-Pac]

Such a great game - I finished it for the first time a few months ago. Had to cheat on the last level because it was a bit too tough for me, but that didn't detract much from how much fun it was otherwise. "Transforming dragons and shmups" is what video games were meant for haha. [T-Pac]

@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]

Ah - that makes sense. I've only ever played the NES version, so my frame of reference isn't relative. I will say, though - the game was already starting to drag at 50 levels, so I appreciate that this port was truncated. [T-Pac]

You're the reason I gave that song a chance! I'm not a Sleep Token fan, but I gave this one a listen when you posted it to the Metalhead Thread, and it won me over haha. [T-Pac]

For Christmas my sister asked if I wanted to go half-and-half on a gift for my Grandma. I said sure, and she ended up buying a water bottle for like $40. I was so confused - like, why would Grandma want a water bottle? And why in the world does it cost so much? Now it all makes sense - I bet it was one of these Stanley cups and my sister bought into the hype. (And I guess I inadvertently contributed to the madness by pitching-in to buy one.) [T-Pac]

02/40 - Axelay [Nintendo Super Famicom - 1992] Finished: 2024/01/07 Caveats: I practiced with save-states, then managed to 1CC easy mode. [T-Pac]

Aw, really? I actually liked Ice Climber once I got used to the jumping, although I'll agree that it was never very intuitive or reliable haha. I'm also itching to play Wrecking Crew after you mentioned it. Didn't know it had 100 levels, though. Maybe that'll make next year's backlog for me. [T-Pac]

Axelay [Nintendo Super Famicom - 1992] Some real eye-candy here. This might sound blasphemous, but the SFC might be my favorite system for shoot-em-ups. Even over the Genesis and PC Engine. [T-Pac]

Wow - we had very different opinions on this one haha. Lode Runner is definitely one of those "hit-or-miss" games for sure. Also - your list is making me want to get into Atari 8-bit. Looks like a ton of great titles in there! [T-Pac]

Another update to this - P1xelAndy is now the 3rd person to crash the game (if I'm not mistaken). Seems to be a case of that psychological barrier effect where a single person overcomes a previously "unattainable" achievement, then the floodgates open and a swath of others manage to replicate it. Seriously cool stuff. [T-Pac]

Well he has no mouth, but I tried... [T-Pac]