rdrunner

The Tail of Beta Lyrae for Atari 8-bit computers.  Revisiting one of my all-time favorites and just reached a new personal best (388,354), including a rather elusive milestone (beat Loop 4)!

Small miracle, but for the first time in ages, I recorded and published a video, making good on an informal promise to post a complete run of the game, which is something I couldn't do the last time since I didn't keep all of the footage.

Video can be found here.  Hope you enjoy!

Looks interesting, but not enough to run out and buy a new console for.

(yes it's on Steam, no I don't play games on PC)

Never played this, but guessing I might like it someday.  For now I would guess that my experience is much like that of the typical American gamer:

(Marth appears for the first time while playing Smash)

Gamer: "Who is THAT?"

(checks internet)

Gamer: "Hmm ok"

(goes back to Smash)

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.  I just got to 100% after chipping away at 80-something stages over several months.  Not doing Mirror Mode, at least not now.  Need a break!

Speaking of, I hate how the game nags you with "Why don't you take a break?" after you've been playing for roughly 30 minutes.  That was sometimes just one stage, especially on the "K" levels.

And then there's stage 5-8, "Muncher Marathon", which will forever haunt me with nightmare fuel.  Google it only if you're not afraid of being chased by large swarms of spiders.  Seriously, WHAT is this level doing in a game rated "E" for Everyone?

One other thought: I miss the Kremlings.  The Tikis just aren't nearly as interesting.  Not sure why the change was made at all.

Anyway, all gripes aside, this is a really well-made platformer.  It was definitely well worth the playthrough.  Need to finish Tropical Freeze someday as well!

10/10 - This game is directly responsible for my interest in football.  Before this game came out, I knew enough about the sport, but never followed it.  28 undefeated seasons later (1 per team) and I've been a fan ever since!

Donkey Kong 3.  I actually like to play it, but it's the only classic DK game that's not a platformer.

Mario Bros arcade version.  I no longer have the world record, but the only thing stopping me from putting up a ridiculous score is a lack of free time.

I've played in a few arcade tournaments and even won a couple.  My standout favorite was in 2011 when I won Funspot XIII in a photo finish.  4 days of competition on 15 games came down to the final hour, when I finally broke through and doubled my score on a tank game called "Strategy X".  The guy who finished second then almost beat me with a game of "Road Runner" but fell short in the last minute (thanks Wile E).

8/10 - With or without S&K this is my favorite Sonic game because it has my favorite levels (Angel Island, Ice Cap).  Also like that this is the game that introduced the "Collect Blue Spheres" bonus stages.  I'd go higher than an 8 except it's a bit too short and easy, especially with the save feature.

On 1/28/2023 at 3:42 PM, Webhead123 said:

You could be right. I'd forgotten all about Sigma and have still never played it.

From what I gather from internet research (NOT from experience):

Yes, Sigma was built on top of Black.  HOWEVER, Black is considered the best version.

General consensus is that Sigma looks better graphically, but just "feels wrong", whatever that means.

Also for those who care, Black is the only version with the 1980s arcade game as an unlockable.  The original version before Black had the original trilogy as unlockables (SNES versions).  Sigma had neither of these.

8/10 - My personal experiences with the game were less than stellar, so best I can do.

First playthrough was in 2002, so no nostalgia.  I had to quit that first run because I got caught under leveled on the floating continent and couldn't survive or run from any battles.

About a year later (was too annoyed to start over right away) I played through the whole game.  I really liked the first half where the story kept me engaged.  The second half dragged on though.  I ended up using a guide and got all the characters (except Shadow, who I learned about too late).  I think my completion time was about 50 hours, which seemed insane at the time (previous long was Final Fantasy 4 in 20).

It's been 20 years and I have yet to play through this again, even though I've loosely planned on it.  Most of this is I'm not much of an RPG guy though.

Some quick final thoughts:

• Loved the music.  Will always be in my playlist!
• Story was good, though it could have easily been about 10 hours shorter.
• 14 party members is a bit much.
• Hated the Esper system (just auto upgrade my stats when I level for crying out loud).
• On the same vein, hated that I could turn all my characters into whatever I wanted.  It takes away from their personalities when not used as intended.

@Jaden Nothing at all wrong with liking any game ever.  Sounds like your friends are missing out on some good games.

What's your favorite modern Frogger game?  I remember enjoying the first 3D Frogger on PS1 (the one that just says "He's Back"), but haven't tried any others.

Side note: "Frogger 2: Threedeep" for Atari 800 is one of my favorite games of all time!

To have fun!

Also this:

4 is by far my favorite of the NES Dragon Warrior games.  It's the only one of them that actually tells a story while you play, while also requiring the least amount of grinding.  The others mostly just throw an intro at you and off you go, having to level up forever before doing anything at all.

Yes, it can be played in short bursts while leveling.  Dungeons are all short enough to be completed in under an hour.  Note that you can only save at a town/castle, so be prepared to complete each dungeon in a single session.

No need to worry about what order you play the games.  The series has a "lore" that cannot be spoiled, especially 4, which is the start of a second trilogy.

Honestly, they're all great games, but if you had to pick one of them, you can't go wrong with 4.

On 12/26/2022 at 11:34 AM, MagusSmurf said:

IIRC the only bush you actually need to burn was the one leading to Level 8. And while I don't recall any hints towards that, it's so blatantly in the way that I found Level 8 pretty early in the game just trying to make a shortcut through that section.

...and the game intended for you to find Level 8 with the Red Candle that has infinite flames without having to switch screens.

I also found Level 8 before I actually needed to.  That bush was in such an obvious place that it's probably the first place people would burn on that screen.

Level 7?  Now THAT was cryptic!  I think I ended up finishing Level 8 first because I couldn't find it or maybe figure out the maze.

I actually enjoyed searching the overworld map, even with all the limited ammo.  My only real complaint was that there wasn't anything important in the upper left section north of Level 6 (at least in the first quest).

Huge thanks to my Secret Santa, whoever you are!  Got a nice set of NES games and Mario goodies!

10/10 - As I said before when we debated The Adventure of Link, any discussion about the best games of all time starts with the two gold carts on the NES.  Playing through this was the defining gaming moment in my childhood, along with countless others.

Looking back, it's funny how friends play a role in solving these games when there was no internet to help you.  I was once told that the Meat was a necessary item to be used while fighting Ganon, as if laying it out would help you hit him while he's invisible.  Just keep swinging your sword while standing on it and boom!  For the longest time I would do this every time I fought him because it "worked", despite myself.

On 12/18/2022 at 4:02 PM, captmorgandrinker said:

What types of games do you normally like?   Lost Judgment was good and clocks in around 20ish hours even with doing some of the random side quests.

I like almost all kinds of games.  About the only genre I don't really play is fighting games (could never pull off special moves consistently).

I actually own a lot of the games people have mentioned so far.  Just curious what people's favorites were out of everything.

On that note, thanks everyone for posting so far!

I'll add a few of my own games that haven't been mentioned yet:

Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise (nice point and click adventure)

Horace (retro indie platformer with Metroidvania exploration elements).

Human Resource Machine (the programmer's game!)

The Messenger (Ninja Gaiden jumps between 8 and 16-bit)

Pikuniku (platformer/comedy)

Seeing the Elden Ring thread got me thinking: For those of us (like me) who have no realistic way of playing games that demand super-long playthroughs, what are some of your favorite games from recent years that can be finished within a reasonable amount of time?

Obviously the word "reasonable" is subjective here, but for the purposes of this thread, let's say 20 total hours max for a first-time any% completion (including failed attempts).

If the answer is "such games do not exist, stick with your silly NES and arcade games", that's fine too.

Geez, the thread that wouldn't die...

Oh well, I guess "(19 pages) is not great if you compare it to What are you currently playing?..."

4 hours ago, tigerwolf said:

Paw Patrol: On a Roll, sadly. #parentinglife

Thankful that my boys outgrew Paw Patrol before I showed them my Switch.

Wow, first I've heard of this Life Force scoring glitch.  Wonder how far it can be exploited?

Hopefully not too far.  I hate seeing silly things like this factor into a contest (thankfully it looks like it didn't).

It's kinda like scoring 700 points for head-butting people in NES Double Dragon.  The game's weakest move should not also be the highest scoring move.

Only Game A has a kill screen.  B and C allow the game to loop past Round 100 (somewhat) normally.

Fun contest idea.  Congrats to all the winners!

I voted Mini Mushroom, just because I remember not being able to find one when I needed it for unlocking something.

On 10/17/2022 at 8:56 AM, Gaia Gensouki said:

The war is over. 1943 has been beaten!

...this game doesn't support autofire. 

Great job on beating this tough game!  I did want to mention something about autofire since you seemed to struggle with it:

There are actually a few weapons in 1943 that DO support autofire: 3-Way, Auto, and Shell (the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th POW items).  When armed with any of these weapons, you can hold down the button for (almost) continuous fire.  The best part about this is you can charge your laser at the same time, allowing you to alternate between the weapon and the laser.  Note that the 3-Way and Auto weapons will stop the autofire after a short burst, but this happens right at the moment the laser is fully charged.

With this in mind, my favorite early game strategy is to add a skill point to Special Weapon once to enable the 3-Way weapon and sink everything else into the SW Time Limit, so that I can stay with autofire for as long as possible.  I usually try to max this out first, along with the energy level (since the long missions inevitably run you low on HP).

Anyway, I hope this helps you feel better about this game and perhaps makes you want to try it again sometime.  Congrats on the win!

I'm in!