NES Completions thread 2020 - 677/677 (All Clear!)

[nerdynebraskan | 345]

Stanley and the Search for Dr. Livingston is done.

@Gaia Gensouki

I have a love/hate relationship with Golgo-13. I totally agree with you that the game is unpolished. I have found that most NES games that dabble in multiple genres, and pretty much all of them that aren't from an A-list developer, don't seem to nail any of the genres that they play with. But it is also some of the best storytelling in an NES game. Since you mentioned the swastika, I'm assuming you played the Famicom version. The U.S. version is moderately censored; Duke still gets laid, but there are no 8-bitty titties. And the final boss is not re-animated Hitler. I never understood why Nintendo of America censored Nazi imagery, since I don't see any endorsement of Nazism in making them the villains and killing them in the course of gameplay.

I also mainly share your opinions of Faxanadu. Great music, cool world, some clunky enemy design, and I hated how they managed the keys. It's always annoying to play a game where you get cheap-shotted just after entering a new screen and get pushed off and have to re-enter. I actually just suffered that about a dozen times playing Stanley... blah.

But Rocket Ranger? I couldn't get into that one, and I really wanted to. I like the storytelling there, too, but I found the gameplay much weaker than Golgo-13. But maybe I was too hard on it considering that I obviously didn't grasp the strategic elements that you described.

@scaryice

I'm surprised that Just Breed didn't grab you. You seem to have a taste for J-RPGs, and I really had a ball with Just Breed.

@NESfiend

Have you been trying at Karate Champ or Swamp Thing? I thought I saw those carts in the frame of your picture on one of your recent completions, but you haven't mentioned them in your posts.

Edited March 28, 2020 by nerdynebraskan

[NESfiend | 1,514]

@nerdynebraskan

I have a small stack of carts that haven't been beat that I have played here and there to see how difficult/annoying it would be to complete it. I haven't been able to get anywhere significant in karate champ. Swamp thing I was probably going to get to before long. I have gotten through a decent chunk of it. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by NESfiend

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

@nerdynebraskan Yeah, the story and the atmosphere kept me going even when the gameplay was frustrating here and there. It might be one of the best espionage games I have played so far, or at least in terms of how well they realized the story or the fantasy of playing a spy.

As for the swastika, I played the US rom of the game and saw it on a notebook that you collect in one of the dungeons. The developers or Nintendo might have missed that one. Look below on the pic I have attached.

The gameplay in Rocket Ranger is indeed even weaker than in Golgo-13. I think the main draw of the game is the simulation aspect and its strategic elements. It's basically one huge campaign interspersed with small action segments, not unlike Star Fox 2. And even though I had fun with it, I still realize that it's objectively not a good game. But that doesn't mean that it can't be at last somewhat fun. Maybe you could call it a guilty pleasure, similar to King's Knight?

Btw. today I have been playing Legacy of the Wizard. This is one tough game. I had nothing more than an online scan of the manual and just tried to make it through. But it's so strange at first and hard to get into. It's basically one giant Metroidvania game combined with several characters that each have their individual advantages and disadvantages, amybe similar to Donkey Kong 64. It's way ahead of its time, but also really frustrating. I don't know where the power ups are and I don't know either which characters I need to have in order to get them. So I'm constantly backtracking with each and every character to see if I can advance with someone. After a few hours of trying I at least had a short look at a wiki to find out that certain areas are designated for certain characters. Otherwise I would probably have been stuck for days, if not weeks. But even now that I know in which general direction I have to go, it's still incredibly difficult. The block moving segments with the husband were horrible. If you don't watch out you can get stuck and may have to reset your game (unless you have a certain very expensive item that lets you escape). I even had to reset the game a few times since I got stuck. So I'm not quite sure if I really like the game or if it's some kind of love/hate relationship. I would have loved a sequel on a 16 bit platform since they could have improved upon the formula and ironed out some of the frustrating elements.

[NESfiend | 1,514]

Lee Trevino is done. Though I finished 1 stroke worse overall, the Nassau game is a skins contest. At hole 7, I was down 2, took the option to press and won the hole. Lost 8, won 9 and tie is broken by winning the long drive contest. Neither of us qualified for closest to the pin because it's impossible to stick greens from 220. 

I will say it got a lot more enjoyable when I switched to playing as Trevino. Hes only the second longest player, but the first has such a fast backswing it's too hard to get consistently. And its only 10 yards extra with driver. The game is hard, but playable with Trevino, who isnt listed under his own name, but under "Super Mex." The putting is by far the worst aspect. The rest resembles a golf game with a very hard course and low level player.

Another helpful hint is the Nassau game is 9 holes, not 18. I could have done this much faster. I was training for 18 and the back 9 is much tougher. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by NESfiend

[bronzeshield | 293]

Karate Champ is done:

No ending screen in this game, but that screenshot is right after the loop point, with a score earned by going through the first 10 fights.

The graphics started glitching on me in Level 10 (the third CMP fight), where the background tiles became totally corrupt after my first knockdown, but temporarily went back to normal after I won the fight (and then glitched again later in Level 11 and on the title screen).

Come to think of it, the whole thing seems glitchy -- for some reason my emulator doesn't play the music, and bugs in the sound started showing up after a while -- maybe it doesn't get along with Nestopia.

@NESfiendThe trick to Karate Champ seems to be standing still, waiting for the CPU to approach, then hitting Down+A+B for a ducking punch. At least 50% of the time the CPU will walk right into it (more often with earlier opponents). If it doesn't work, you can jump over the CPU (Right+A+B) and then jump back for another try. TMR had a totally different strat, but this one -- which I found myself -- was quick and easy and worked well for me.

Or, you can get a lead in the score, and then run down the clock by repeatedly jumping over the CPU, which is what I did in my last fight just to be safe.

Edited March 28, 2020 by bronzeshield

[Kid Dracula | 126]

First time playing through 3D Worldrunner and it took quite a while! I enjoyed the space harrier-esque boss battles and the super long jumps. Surprisingly enjoyable! 

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

Oops, I forgot to add the photo.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

Legacy of the Wizard is done. What a difficult and sometimes even frustrating game. I enjoyed Faxanadu much more, even if the concept and ideas behind LotW were amazing.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

I have finished the RPG mode of Pinball Quest. I really wanted to like this combination of RPG and pinball, but the pinball mechanics just don't feel right or particularly fun. There's also very little on the boards to make them stand out or visually interesting. It's mostly just drab and boring, imho. Also, there are way too many parts on the boards where you're just sitting there and watching your ball do it's thing and hope for the RNG to be in your favor. Having to do levels over and over again if you happened to fail dragged the poor experience out even more. The music is serviceable, but nothing special either. On the contrary, the stage 5 music is probably one of the poorest NES tracks I have heard so far with it's bone-piercing screeches and wailing. Maybe it's worse due to the emulation. Maybe I'm also a bit harsh on this game overall, I don't know.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

Took one for the team. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is done.

This game is just unapologetically awful. I also encountered a weird bug(?) during the final boss battle. Harry and Marv seem to usually appear one after another. But after beating the first one he re-appeared and I had to fight against both of them at the same time. I lost and only beat them on my last life with one hit point remaining or so. Good thing I didn't have to start over again. Btw. doesn't Kevin look pretty creepy in this picture with his bloodshot eyes? Like straight out of a zombie movie.

[scaryice | 582]

3 hours ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

I have finished the RPG mode of Pinball Quest. I really wanted to like this combination of RPG and pinball, but the pinball mechanics just don't feel right or particularly fun. There's also very little on the boards to make them stand out or visually interesting. It's mostly just drab and boring, imho. Also, there are way too many parts on the boards where you're just sitting there and watching your ball do it's thing and hope for the RNG to be in your favor. Having to do levels over and over again if you happened to fail dragged the poor experience out even more. The music is serviceable, but nothing special either. On the contrary, the stage 5 music is probably one of the poorest NES tracks I have heard so far with it's bone-piercing screeches and wailing. Maybe it's worse due to the emulation. Maybe I'm also a bit harsh on this game overall, I don't know.

No, it definitely sucks. It seems to be a common thing in Jaleco games for the controls to feel a bit off. I know they weren't all developed by the same companies, but I've noticed it in Pinball Quest, Totally Rad, Metal Mech, and more Famicom only stuff. Seems like they just didn't have the quality standards of a Capcom or Konami.

Edited March 29, 2020 by scaryice

[NESfiend | 1,514]

While Kevin is demonic, what really stands out in that photo to me is the dad. The mom and Kevin look just like the actors who played them. They didnt even try with the dad. That's a different person all together

[nerdynebraskan | 345]

Legends of the Diamond is done.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

The Last Ninja is done. What a wretched game. It could have been a somewhat decent game if it wasn't for the terrible controls and the awful jumps every now and then. And considering that this is another Jaleco game this seems par for the course. The only good things about this game were the varied backgrounds and the decent level 5 music. Everything else is average  or worse. And good that I'm not the only one who thinks so, @scaryice. Because I already had a bad conscience for disliking and criticizing Pinball Quest so much, when the reviewers on Gamefaqs seemed to really dig this game.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Gaia Gensouki

[NESfiend | 1,514]

6 hours ago, nerdynebraskan said:

Legends of the Diamond is done.

That's a long play and a good one to get off the list. The bases loaded series is daunting to look at.

If you, or anyone else, wants to play swamp thing, have at it. Its mind numbing how slow it is. The list is thin, but I can find something I'll enjoy doing runs on more than that. Probably Galaxy 5000. 

[bronzeshield | 293]

Working on Solomon's Key. I've reached the Level 41 continue point (after initially warping to Level 45 and getting a GAME OVER), and have more or less mastered Levels 41-43, but I haven't been able to complete 44 yet. I'm on course for the least-good ending, but hey, it's still a "good" ending.

[Kid Dracula | 126]

Finished off Digger T Rock.

Thinking about trying 8 Eyes next. What is everyone else playing or planning to play?

[NESfiend | 1,514]

I'm playing galaxy 5000 and it's going to take a lot of time. It will be fun to play through though

Edited March 30, 2020 by NESfiend

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

Blues Brothers is done. And so am I. This may just be the worst pile of garbage I have yet played.

I am hoping to cleanse my palate with Robin Hood next. I tried Galaxy 5000 previously too and thought it was pretty good, but the difficulty turned me off a bit. Good luck to you NESfiend!

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is done. A pretty decent game and quite good for a licensed game. It's pretty faithful to the movie, too. Unfortunately it drags a bit too much and becomes quite the ordeal to finish in a single sitting since you can neither save the game nor get a password. It's also a bit cheap of the developers to only give you two additional lives. Imagine playing any other Action RPG without saves and only a few lives. But I got through by grinding in the first level for about an hour until I got to level 7. After that I was strong enough to get through the game quite comfortably.

[NESfiend | 1,514]

@Gaia Gensouki

I played through a level of blues bros. Short game time and high points made it tempting, but it was too atrocious to continue. Galaxy 5000 is way harder than I had thought. I'm going to give it some time though. 

[nerdynebraskan | 345]

Y'all are killing it right now! Especially Gaia and KD! I've spent the past several hours on Bart vs. the Space Mutants, and I've seen twice as much of the game as I ever did playing it growing up, but I fell apart on my way to the dinosaur mini-boss in the museum (which is supposed to be the hardest point in the game). This game has a lot of good ideas, but its execution is so sloppy that I'm just frustrated as hell and have nothing to show for it.

@NESfiend

Actually, the "tournament" mode of Legends of the Diamond is only four games long, with a password after each win. I only procrastinated it this long because I didn't feel up to building my team from the available pool of players. But when I got to it on Saturday night and built my team, and this time I actually typed it all out so I don't have to worry about it the next time I pick the game up. It's harder than most of the RBI clones on the NES, and a little clunkier to play, but it was a steal for 10 points. Bo Jackson and Tecmo Baseball are also relatively short, but just kinda blah to play. I'm still thinking about doing both again soon. And Bases Loaded 3 apparently has some option for a single-game finish. But I've always hated the layout of the Bases Loaded series; I really doubt I'll ever finish those (but especially not the ones that require 80-some games for the credits). Roger Clemens MVP is also a long one, but it's a pleasantly competent RBI clone. It's just a 15 hour commitment, so I haven't picked it up yet.

I'm also thinking of starting up Play Action Football here soon, unless someone has already started it. It's easy, if monotonous, and takes about six hours. If anyone is itching to start it up, speak now. Otherwise, I still have two teams in the game I haven't won the Power Bowl with and it'll be time for Dan Marino to finally win a championship ring.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

I managed to beat another Simpsons game, i.e. The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man. The game seemed a bit crappy at first and had some overly long, repetitive and boring levels with lots of blind jumps and other not so fun stuff. But in the second part of the first level I managed to find a spot where I could get two extra lives. So I would just get these, get myself killed and then do this over and over again until I had about 20 lives. I finished the game with around 13 lives, but it was still worth the effort since, well, I managed to beat the game. To make this farming less tedious I just turned the audio off and turned on some Youtube videos. Haha. After that the game became more relaxed and enjoyable. It's still not a great game, but not all that bad either.

I might take on Bart vs. the World tomorrow, unless someone else wants to do it.

[Tablew/chairs | 242]

Wizardry is done, decent design but kind of a pain

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,067]

I've got an ending in The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World. However, it seems like there are two endings and apparently I didn't get the good ending because I didn't collect all Krusty treasures. There seems do be another stage in level 4 if you get all plus a slightly longer ending. Do I have to collect them or does any ending count?