Sumez

Is that another Reed filter, or does the game just look like this?

I thought everyone liked Snow Bros, but I've never played the Megadrive version. Is it that much worse?

Both very good games. I think especially for its age, the NES Bionic Commando is really surprisingly good at designing the entire game around easing the player into a mechanic that's likely extremely unfamiliar to them. On the first stage you'll probably faff around clumsily with the grappling hook barely making it over ledges, while on the final stage, you're slinging yourself across chasms like an expert. It's not a favourite of mine, but it's decently high on my NES top list. Also, hurling yourself off that ledge to fire a precisely timed bazooka right into Hitlers face is so god damn satisfying.

Got a shipping notice yesterday. Looking forward to trying this

I have some sort of unexplained affection towards The Message entirely because it's a classic. Everyone knows those cheesy lines and musical hooks, it's just so iconic. Hard to ignore that. But it's also kinda trash, it's not a song I'd ever just sit down and listen to unironically to enjoy it. That other song is incredibly annoying. I guess 4/3

Nah, I was talking about cheap adapters.

Gal Guardians - Beaten 1/3 This game is a spinoff to Inti Creates' own creepy "shooting young girls up their skirts" rail shooter, Gal-Gun. It absolutely didn't have to be, but that's what they did, and as a result you have to put up with some of the most cringeworthy dialogue I've ever seen, as you fight off monsters in a girls-only school transformed into a demonic castle... Gal Guardians is designed as a massive tribute to classic Castlevania games, but the actual gameplay feels a lot closer to the SOTN-offsprings of CV games than the classic ones. Though the action and immediate interaction with enemies still feels very distinctly *Inti Creates*. I don't really know how to explain it, but most of their games, going all the way back to Mega Man Zero even, have a distinct feel to them that I've never been a fan of. The cynic in me would write it off as them not really understanding how to design action games, but I know there are people out there who are fans. The mechanics and controls are fine, some times even great. The enemies themselve have cool ideas. But the stage design and enemy placements feel extremely lackluster, often just pitting you against one enemy at a time, never offering much in the way of creative match-ups or dynamic encounters which typically drive the best 2D action games out there. In this game though, I think the mechanics aren't quite there either. You are always controlling one of two different characters which can be switched out with a DKC style tag-team mechanic. Each has a unique default attack, and up to five different subweapons which can be either a straight-up attack or a utility feature. Switching character always forces you to sit through a small animation as it happens, and feels like an annoying abstraction, especially when it's paired with juggling equipped abilities as well, which is typically your reason for switching in the first place. One character has the classic close-quarters sword attack which kills most enemies in one or two hits, making it the most ideal weapon for swift progress, occasionally requiring satisfying and very precise timing in order to get a hit in on certain enemies before they get a hit in on you. The other character uses a gun, which while it can be initiated mid-air, also prevents any additional movement while it's firing, and it usually takes just enough time to kill any enemy that it stops you dead in your tracks every time you need to kill anything with it. It's the more "strategic" approach, taking everything out from a safe distance whenever possible, instead of risking going into its face, but it's also pretty boring to wait around for stuff to die, and I tried avoiding using this character whenever I could. Nevermind the addition of a reload mechanic, making her defenseless every time she runs out, forcing her to stop and sit still for a while during a reload before she can attack anything again. Another thing I can't imagine anyone finding enjoyable at all. There are definitely traces of Curse of the Moon in this game - one of the few Inti games I actually enjoy greatly. But it feels like an extremely lazy companion, only vaguely touching on the same throughlines. Like COTM you are expected to replay stages with different skillsets to explore new portions and acquire different items. But where COTM seeks to increasingly challenge the player, Gal Guardians seems interested in little outside of wasting your time. After playing through the game once you'll be asked to play through every stage again. Being able to take different routes this time help minimize the feel of repetition slightly, and to entice the players, a few hidden powerups are placed throughout, which were not accessible previously. There is little reason to even look for those however, as they barely change anything, just like they are not necessary for anything outside of one item which skips a part of the final boss to get a better ending. Yet another ending can be unlocked by playing the game through a third time, this time combing through every branching path you've already been down to look for used panties (oh, did I forget to mention this game is horny as fuck?) strewn randomly throughout. Yeah, consider me out...

I paid $294 six years ago, and that was for a cart-only copy. So less than $400 today definitely sounds unlikely.

You're not gonna regret any second spent with Obra Dinn!

I kinda wish you'd just written that post without actually entering the votes in the poll

You got me there. I've never played a game

Most pre-JAMMA games can be converted into jamma with a very simple adapter. There is no uniform standard before ~1986'ish. At least seven of my PCBs are pre-jamma, and none of them have weird unique inputs like trackball.

Not really familiar with Duran Duran outside of the hits. Ordinary World is a really good song I think. I always thought it was an 80s hit, but apparently it's from 1993 lol, shows how much I kept track. I wasn't even aware the other song was a Duran Duran song. Was never a fan. None of these really stack up to Duran Duran Duran of course.

.. or a debate!

Have you ever played a Japanese RPG that manages to stick the landing of its story?

So what you're all saying is I should remove Bravely Default from my backlog?

Oh I thought we were nominating games for playing. Hope someone nominated my favourite games then

I watched it, remember enjoying it quite well, and it was 100% what you'd expect. I think that's about it, nothing out of the ordinary. Could be a 7/10 maybe but it's hard to justify the text description for anything higher than a 6.

Jesus christ. It hasn't even been 100 days yet

I've considered using mozzarella curds, which are of course very easy to come by (and generally what you'll find if you search for it in any store in Europe), but you're probably the first Canadian I've met who would even consider accepting that as a substitute I'd say a big part of the reason why poutine is as notorious as it is, really is that it's as local to Canada as it is. You really won't find it anywhere else. I just found a German webshop selling them (branded with a massive Canadian flag lol), probably the only place in Europe. Not sure if they ship here, but if they do that's really overkill haha. Its not in stock anyway. I'm genuinely interested in trying to make them myself.

Rules against bringing meat and dairy products across continents aren't exactly a new thing lol. Are you just intentionally being stubborn now?

Jeez dudes, sorry for setting my limit at illegal import of dairy products

You guessed wrong. Poutine is awesome, but there is practically no way to procure it elsewhere. And yes, I've looked into how to make those cheese curds before for this same reason Edit: for anyone else interested https://cheesemaking.com/products/cheese-curds-recipe

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