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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe

Yeah I'm about halfway through the Rolling Thunder 2. I keep getting distracted with other stuff to finish it. But yeah, I agree it's much improved game over the first. Scenery, music, it's all good.
 

Timu

Member
Just did and beaten the 1st level of RKA on Hard for the 1st time...I have a long ways to go, lol.

I still need Rolling Thunder 2.
 
... And just after I post that, I went back to Rolling Thunder 2... and beat the game! Yes! Such a great game, I love it... I do still like Rolling Thunder 1 even more (I love that game!), but they are both outstanding, A-grade games for certain. I got kind of lucky there, and somehow managed to dodge all of the lasers the final boss's second form shoots at you. I thought I'd mess up again and one would hit me, but this time I got through! The ending was nice, too.

Now, there is still a second loop that I haven't beaten, but in Rolling Thunders 2 and 3, the second loop is the same thing as the first one, just a bit harder. It's basically just a higher difficulty option. In Rolling Thunder 1, in contrast, the "second loop" has some new very hard level segments, altered level layouts, new enemy setups, and more... and the boss of the game is only at the end of loop 2, Geldra doesn't appear in loop 1. So, I think you need to beat both loops to have actually beatend the first game, since that's the only way to fight Geldra, while in the second and third games, it's just an optional harder setting you unlock via a password the game gives you at the end.

Anyway though, even if it's "just" on Normal, beating Rolling Thunder 2 was pretty great, that took a lot of retries. I'd actually started the game months ago, but put it on hold te play Rolling Thunder 1, then after finishing that game I didn't want to play Rolling Thunder games for a while... but I picked the second game up again recently, and now I beat it! I'll have to work on loop two now, I want to get a least partway through it. I wonder if it makes those bosses even harder...

I'm playing Vampire Killer (Castlevania: Bloodlines JP ver.) -- it's pretty generous with the game over condition. You get a number of lives but even if you Game Over and use a continue you go back to the sub-stage that you were at. It's only when you run out of continues that you get booted to the password screen / title screen and have to start a full stage all over again.

Was the American version like this? I heard it was made significantly more difficult, but I assumed that was just health + damage dealt.

Also it's is a really fun game so far. I just finished the German Munitions Factory, which had some pretty clever elements like the pistons mid-stage. The boss also looked pretty cool, very mid-90s 2D CG.

So, I just checked.

Japanese version:

- Game gives you a password when you run out of continues and reach Game Over, or choose to not continue after getting Game Over when you can continue.

-Passwords start you from the beginning of the level with a full load of 2 continues and 2 lives.


US version:

- Game gives you a password when you beat a level. This password saves the number of continues and lives you have into the password, so you have a limited stock of continues to beat the game with for the only time ever in the Castlevania franchise. I really hate this, it kind of ruins the game.

- Upon Game Over that's it, you are returned to the main menu, the game does not give you a password and there is no way to replenish lost continues.

Keep this in mind when you read the below.


... Woah, the Japanese version's actually kind of fair? I guess I should have expected that, what with how they nearly wrecked Contra: Hard Corps when bringing it over here (the continue limit being the worst problem, more so than the one-hit-deaths), but I didn't know this... and it makes me want the Japanese version.

You see, in the US version of the game, when you run out of continues, that's it. Sure, you do continue from the last stage section when you use one, but you only have a few and they don't last long. Once you are out, it's Game Over, you're sent back to the title screen. They didn't even have the decency of having the game auto-remember the last password used, so you have to fully re-enter the password again, and start the level over from scratch.

The key here is that because the US version saves the number of lives and continues you have left in your password, the game becomes obnoxiously difficult and frustrating. Sure, with massive repetition it's possible to beat it I'm sure, but it makes game stop being fun several levels in, thanks to the save system above everything. Now, in my opinion Bloodlines in general isn't as good as SCIV or RoB, but the busted save system in the US version makes it look even worse than it is. Because the game saves the number of lives and continues you have in the passwords (which you get after each level), and when you run out of continues you are sent back to the title screen to load your last password, if you use a continue it's gone forever, or until you start the whole game over from scratch. That's just unforgivably bad stuff, particularly in a game with levels as long as those in Bloodlines. Konami liked to often make its Genesis games have a small number of long levels, and Bloodlines is no exception.

So yeah, a version of the game with a reasonable continue system sure would be nice to have. It might actually make the game fun to play, instead of a frustrating endurance test as I have to try to replay levels over and over, trying to beat them without dying so the next password will have more lives and continues left. I lost patience with this fairly quickly, and never did get out of level 3, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I'm sure I'd get much farther in the Japanese version! To compare this to the Rolling Thunder games above, if those games didn't have passwords and infinite continues, as much as I like them I doubt that I'd have beaten all three games, that's for sure. But they do, so with patience you can get through the games without needing inordinate amounts of replaying levels you've beaten before.

And using a password consumes a continue.
Not quite; I describe how it works above. It's almost as bad as you say or worse, just a bit different.

How so? The games is still doable even with all of that.
For masochists maybe. I'm not enough of one to want to deal with replaying levels over and over because someone who hates game players decided to mess up the US version of the game by wrecking the password and continue system.

Are there any solid Genny racers worth checking out these days?

Criteria:
Not top down/isometric
Not arcade ports that feel slow as molasses compared to the real deal (Super Hang-On)
Not being slow applies for any game really
Not super easy
"Are there any solid Genesis racing games? Here are some random conditions that rule out most of the best racing games on the Genesis."

Seriously, Outrun 2019 and Micro Machines are the two best racing games I've played for genesis. Who cares if one is topdown and the other is easy, they're amazing! And I'm sure the European-only sequels to Micro Machines are just as great, too; Micro Machines 2 is fantastic on PC, and the Genesis version looks just about as good from what I've seen. As for Outrun 2019, it's my second favorite racing game of the generation, after only F-Zero on the SNES. Incredible game, and it's got some of the best software scaling and visuals of any Genesis racing game, too.

As for other stuff, check out the two Lotus games, and also the Genesis version of Top Gear 2. These three games are a lot like the SNES Top Gear games, except the Lotus games are harder than any of the Top Gear titles. They are good linescroll racers with a serious difficulty level to them. Lotus 2 is particularly unforgiving, because you get few or no continues during a circuit and circuits can be quite long. The game has passwords... but only for custom track layouts, not for game progress. Argh. Sure, you can start any circuit from the menu, but the harder ones get quite long. It's still a good game, though. I do dislike that all three of the Genesis games force you to choose between music or sound effects, though, there is no reason for that! The SNES Top Gear games have both, and the Genesis is fully capable of doing the same as many other racing games show.

Roadblasters is also great. The game is one of the better-looking racing games on the ssytem, and it's an earlier release, too! Roadblasters looks and plays far better than games like the Genesis version of Outrun -- it's smoother and the software scaling looks better. It's a really good port of a great arcade driving/shooting game.

As for the Genesis/SCD Road Rash games, never liked those myself; the framerates are almost unplayably low, and the gameplay isn't that fun for me.
 
Even though I can and have beaten the US version of Contra HC and Bloodlines I'm with Black Falcon. I hate the changes made to them and they made the games more annoying to me then fun when playing the first time.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Not sure which retro thread Irish wants me to post this in, but I guess this'll do. :p

BTYNcXA.jpg

Found it at a local transmission shop. I feel a little buyer's remorse, but damn it's just so cool to have.

On the Genesis, definitely Road Rash 2. Refined Road Rash 1, didn't feel as stale as Road Rash 3.

Though Sega CD version of Road Rash is my true favorite.

The FMV game overs are so good. I want to get that now.
 

Fatnick

Member
Second vote here for Outrun 2019 and Micro Machines! Though OR2019is easy in the sense of making it to the end of the course, its the sort of racer you'll return to in order to beat yoir best times (it was originally going to have battery backup to save them.) there are a ton of shortcuts to find.

For Micro Machines, i recommend Micro Machines '96. It's lightening fast, came on a j-cart (which means 8-player multiplayer!) and even had its own track editor. Its absolutely brilliant. Im not sure how it runs at 60hz, mind.

Other 'solid' (though not necessarily spectacular racers:)

Chase HQ 2 is worth a look. Its not exactly a racing game. Arguably a straight port of CHQ would have been better, but it's still reasonably fun to play. You can bump up the difficulty if it's too easy for you.

Street Racer's another interesting one. The original SNES version was quite the...homage...to mario kart, and they did a pretty good of translating across to a console that lacked the fancy scaling and rotation stuff (the battle mode sucks though.)
 

Voliko

Member
"Are there any solid Genesis racing games? Here are some random conditions that rule out most of the best racing games on the Genesis."

Seriously, Outrun 2019 and Micro Machines are the two best racing games I've played for genesis. Who cares if one is topdown and the other is easy, they're amazing! And I'm sure the European-only sequels to Micro Machines are just as great, too; Micro Machines 2 is fantastic on PC, and the Genesis version looks just about as good from what I've seen. As for Outrun 2019, it's my second favorite racing game of the generation, after only F-Zero on the SNES. Incredible game, and it's got some of the best software scaling and visuals of any Genesis racing game, too.

As for other stuff, check out the two Lotus games, and also the Genesis version of Top Gear 2. These three games are a lot like the SNES Top Gear games, except the Lotus games are harder than any of the Top Gear titles. They are good linescroll racers with a serious difficulty level to them. Lotus 2 is particularly unforgiving, because you get few or no continues during a circuit and circuits can be quite long. The game has passwords... but only for custom track layouts, not for game progress. Argh. Sure, you can start any circuit from the menu, but the harder ones get quite long. It's still a good game, though. I do dislike that all three of the Genesis games force you to choose between music or sound effects, though, there is no reason for that! The SNES Top Gear games have both, and the Genesis is fully capable of doing the same as many other racing games show.

Roadblasters is also great. The game is one of the better-looking racing games on the ssytem, and it's an earlier release, too! Roadblasters looks and plays far better than games like the Genesis version of Outrun -- it's smoother and the software scaling looks better. It's a really good port of a great arcade driving/shooting game.

As for the Genesis/SCD Road Rash games, never liked those myself; the framerates are almost unplayably low, and the gameplay isn't that fun for me.
Ayyy, we all have our preferences. I found Outrun 2019 and Turbo Lotus the other day. Outrun 2019 was pretty great, it was easy but it was fun while it lasted. Great looking game. Some of the backdrops were really slick. The multiple paths in some routes and suspended roads were standouts. The tunes are solid. I don't see myself playing it again though.

Lotus Turbo Challenge has pretty much fits the bill for me. Checkpoints that aren't overly generous, and a couple twists on the formula like the slippery turning on the snow stage, occasional jumps, random shit on the road like rocks and oil spills, and the interstate stage where semis are trying to run you off the road. I like/hate some of the sections with time bonuses on the road. You pretty much need to get them all or else you are screwed and won't be finishing. I'm stuck on the Marsh stage right now, failed at least 10 times. This is more like it :)

I may check out Micro Machines and a few other recommendations after this one. Thanks everyone.

I think NA Castlevania Bloodlines is fair. I would not have liked it as much if it had unlimited continues. I don't recall it being too tough at all. Call me a masochist, but I usually prefer these kind of changes. I think NA Hard Corps and Ninja Gaiden 3 are great too.
 
Beat Vampire Killer. Was a really nice challenge, the bosh rush at the end + death + lady's 2 forms + Dracula's 3 forms took me a while but eventually I got to Drac's last form without taking a single hit.
 

Timu

Member
I think NA Castlevania Bloodlines is fair. I would not have liked it as much if it had unlimited continues. I don't recall it being too tough at all. Call me a masochist, but I usually prefer these kind of changes. I think NA Hard Corps and Ninja Gaiden 3 are great too.
Ninja Gaiden 3's changes are for the worse. I don't mind limited continues but increased damaged from enemies, no password(for those who care for it), increased enemies to cause more flicker(and probably slowdown) and restarting the whole level upon a continue is stupid as the game wasn't designed around it. Not to mention it's virtually impossible to no death the game due to the time limit not resetting on the last stage until you die.

I don't mind challenge, challenge is always a good thing, but it's for the best to have the game designed around it rather than just doing odd choices for no reason.

Everyone knows NG3's changes are for the worse besides maybe a few things. I still like it quite a bit though for the challenge and gameplay, just not as much as the 1st 2(which are made better).

I do agree with Contra Hard Corps though since it's a Contra game.
 

D.Lo

Member
NA Contra HC is stupid, wrecks the game IMO.

Though I'm not a huge fan of the game anyway, it's the original 'too many cutscenes' game, and the gameplay turns Contra into a Gunstar clone. And has poochie as a character.
 

Mzo

Member
Being able to take 3 hits must make Hard Corps a joke. It felt perfectly fine to play through the NA one. The bosses have very defined patterns that weren't hard to learn.
 

Beartruck

Member
Being able to take 3 hits must make Hard Corps a joke. It felt perfectly fine to play through the NA one. The bosses have very defined patterns that weren't hard to learn.

When you learn the boss patterns its easy enough, the problems are the other moments when you're just running through the level and enemies are randomly spawning and leaping at you from every direction. There's no pattern for that.
 

Timu

Member
Being able to take 3 hits must make Hard Corps a joke. It felt perfectly fine to play through the NA one. The bosses have very defined patterns that weren't hard to learn.
I'm learning them more, in fact I can beat some of the bosses by just standing in one spot.

I want to do a playthrough on this in 2016.
 

D.Lo

Member
ya'll can't be pissing on a classic like contra HC in here

can't be
It throws away Contra gameplay and replaces it with Gunstar Heroes gameplay, all chaos, explosions and non-stop set pieces and bosses. Not necessarily bad, but not Contra. It's a spin off though, so I guess that's okay, at least it's better than Contra Force.

It has a terrible cheap repetitive techno soundtrack (Contra is supposed to have Jerry Goldsmith type orchestral theme tunes, not 'crunching beats)'. And bad 'crunching static' sound effects, everything bad about the Mega Drive sound chip. It has fancy effects but poor pallette choices, lots of greys and browns.

It's 40% in game cutscenes instead of gameplay.

It has a dog with sunglasses as a character.
 

Khaz

Member
Found my Mega Drive collection:
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=c9a6ba8417cabbdb06d775075d34f46c&oe=56884249

So which one of these would work on a US Genesis again?

I checked with my Everdrive. None of these games are optimised, which mean they play slower than intended on a PAL console, but play nicely on a 60Hz console.

Jurassic park doesn't want to play on a US console, but isn't optimised either. You can force it if your console has a switch: start in EU mode then switch to US right after boot to play it at 60Hz.

The other carts aren't region protected.

You may want to rebuy Jurassic Park if you intend to play on an unmodded American console, but I would strongly suggest to just have a switch installed on your PAL console; It would give you exactly the same result for cheaper than importing and would allow you to play games from all regions.

(solid collection btw, plenty of good games you have in here.)
 

cj_iwakura

Member
It throws away Contra gameplay and replaces it with Gunstar Heroes gameplay, all chaos, explosions and non-stop set pieces and bosses. Not necessarily bad, but not Contra. It's a spin off though, so I guess that's okay, at least it's better than Contra Force.

It has a terrible cheap repetitive techno soundtrack (Contra is supposed to have Jerry Goldsmith type orchestral theme tunes, not 'crunching beats)'. And bad 'crunching static' sound effects, everything bad about the Mega Drive sound chip. It has fancy effects but poor pallette choices, lots of greys and browns.

It's 40% in game cutscenes instead of gameplay.

It has a dog with sunglasses as a character.

I'm not seeing the downsides here...
 
I'm on a big action-platformer kick lately. What are some of the Genesis's best offerings in the genre?

The Genesis action-platformers I've played are:

Gunstar Heroes (solid)
Alien Soldier (really great)
Contra: Hard Corps (great)
Rocket Knight Adventures (great)
Revenge of Shinobi (really good)
Shinobi III (good)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (great)

I know Ranger X looks good, so I'm definitely going to play that soon.

It throws away Contra gameplay and replaces it with Gunstar Heroes gameplay, all chaos, explosions and non-stop set pieces and bosses. Not necessarily bad, but not Contra. It's a spin off though, so I guess that's okay, at least it's better than Contra Force.

It has a terrible cheap repetitive techno soundtrack (Contra is supposed to have Jerry Goldsmith type orchestral theme tunes, not 'crunching beats)'. And bad 'crunching static' sound effects, everything bad about the Mega Drive sound chip. It has fancy effects but poor pallette choices, lots of greys and browns.

It's 40% in game cutscenes instead of gameplay.

It has a dog with sunglasses as a character.

Chaos, explosions, bosses, the soundtrack (how can you hate on Last Springsteen? Do you not like Genesis music?), and Fang are all badass. The bosses are, largely, just as good as Contra 3's best (which is great) and many are better.

The game is different, sure. But it's only as different from 3 as 3 was from its predecessors, and the next mainline Contra was structured similarly to Hard Corps anyway. (And make no mistake, Hard Corps is every bit as mainline as 3 - remember that 3 isn't actually a numbered game either.)

I do think that the jungle boss and the frequent, long cutscenes suck. Not enough to seriously hurt the game though.
 
I'm on a big action-platformer kick lately. What are some of the Genesis's best offerings in the genre?

The Genesis action-platformers I've played are:

Gunstar Heroes (solid)
Alien Soldier (really great)
Contra: Hard Corps (great)
Rocket Knight Adventures (great)
Revenge of Shinobi (really good)
Shinobi III (good)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (great)

I know Ranger X looks good, so I'm definitely going to play that soon.

Get a 6-button controller for Ranger-X. Looking at my shelf, don't miss:

Alisia Dragoon
Mega Turrican
Vectorman
 

Tain

Member
It throws away Contra gameplay and replaces it with Gunstar Heroes gameplay, all chaos, explosions and non-stop set pieces and bosses. Not necessarily bad, but not Contra. It's a spin off though, so I guess that's okay, at least it's better than Contra Force.

It's certainly more of a boss rush than Spirits was (for the better, if you ask me), but comparing Hard Corps to Gunstar Heroes is pretty insulting to Hard Corps. GH has these terrible nonsense-without-consequence stages that you just kinda dash and toss enemies through. The Hard Corps non-boss areas aren't the best but they're certainly a couple steps above that.
 
Hard Corps being a glorified game long boss rush isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely keeps it from being the best entry in my eyes since I play Contra for the platforming and the bosses.

For my money, I think Super C is probably the most consistent in quality the whole way through.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
I checked with my Everdrive. None of these games are optimised, which mean they play slower than intended on a PAL console, but play nicely on a 60Hz console.

Jurassic park doesn't want to play on a US console, but isn't optimised either. You can force it if your console has a switch: start in EU mode then switch to US right after boot to play it at 60Hz.

The other carts aren't region protected.

You may want to rebuy Jurassic Park if you intend to play on an unmodded American console, but I would strongly suggest to just have a switch installed on your PAL console; It would give you exactly the same result for cheaper than importing and would allow you to play games from all regions.

(solid collection btw, plenty of good games you have in here.)

Is there an online list for games that are not pal-optimised?
 

Khaz

Member
Is there an online list for games that are not pal-optimised?

Not that I know of. You could check the name of the ROM, if it's World or Eu and another region, then it's not optimised and you're good. but many Eu ROMs weren't optimised either, so you would have to compare two regions ROMs in an emulator to see if they play the same at the same framerate.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Not that I know of. You could check the name of the ROM, if it's World or Eu and another region, then it's not optimised and you're good. but many Eu ROMs weren't optimised either, so you would have to compare two regions ROMs in an emulator to see if they play the same at the same framerate.

Ok, thanks!
 

MikeMyers

Member
I checked with my Everdrive. None of these games are optimised, which mean they play slower than intended on a PAL console, but play nicely on a 60Hz console.

Jurassic park doesn't want to play on a US console, but isn't optimised either. You can force it if your console has a switch: start in EU mode then switch to US right after boot to play it at 60Hz.

The other carts aren't region protected.

You may want to rebuy Jurassic Park if you intend to play on an unmodded American console, but I would strongly suggest to just have a switch installed on your PAL console; It would give you exactly the same result for cheaper than importing and would allow you to play games from all regions.

(solid collection btw, plenty of good games you have in here.)
Everdrive?

Thanks for letting me know, but to just make sure, you do know the 6-Pack I have is different from the regular 6-Pak? The usual one is Colums/Sonic/Golden Axe/Revenge of Shinobi/Streets of Rage/Super Hang-on, mine is Cloumns/Sonic/Streets of Rage/Sega Soccer/Super Monaco GP/Revenge of Shinobi.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
(Contra is supposed to have Jerry Goldsmith type orchestral theme tunes, not 'crunching beats)'.

Orchestral..??? Is this a joke?

Oh, it's a troll post. Okay.

I'm on a big action-platformer kick lately. What are some of the Genesis's best offerings in the genre?

The Genesis action-platformers I've played are:

Gunstar Heroes (solid)
Alien Soldier (really great)
Contra: Hard Corps (great)
Rocket Knight Adventures (great)
Revenge of Shinobi (really good)
Shinobi III (good)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (great)

I know Ranger X looks good, so I'm definitely going to play that soon.
Ristar (kind of "pure" platformer though I guess)
Vectorman
Alisia Dragoon

smh @ Shinobi 3 being just "good" though...
 

D.Lo

Member
Is there an online list for games that are not pal-optimised?
On the Mega Drive, very few are PAL optimised, so you're best to look for s list of those that are, and assuming all the rest are not.

Hard Corps being a glorified game long boss rush isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely keeps it from being the best entry in my eyes since I play Contra for the platforming and the bosses.

For my money, I think Super C is probably the most consistent in quality the whole way through.
Yep Super Contra is overall the most solid, Contra a close second. Operation C is re-trodden but also solid classic Contra, and Spirits is good but uneven (weak overhead stages). And that's all the classic games with classic Contra gameplay really, until Contra 4. The PS1 games and second PS2 game were garbage and the first PS2 game was in the HC style, a techno nu-metal lame weapon ugly boss rush.

Orchestral..??? Is this a joke?

Oh, it's a troll post. Okay.
No, orchestral style themes/melodies. Like the Rambo movies (and Alien, and Predator) which clearly inspired them. This was realised into actual synth on the Super Fami, but before then it was realised in chip tune form on more primitive hardware.

And calling me a troll poster is extremely disrespectful when I laid out my case with examples of my personal opinion. You can disagree with it, as others here have, but dismissive insults are rude.
 
smh @ Shinobi 3 being just "good" though...

Great visuals and I really love the controls and moveset - but the game is just too easy for something in that genre; it's not engaging enough. I still like it though.

I've played Vectorman and Strider (the arcade version of the latter, anyway). I may have to check out Alisia Dragoon and Mega Turrican, thanks.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
No, orchestral style themes/melodies. Like the Rambo movies (and Alien, and Predator) which clearly inspired them. This was realised into actual synth on the Super Fami, but before then it was realised in chip tune form on more primitive hardware.

And calling me a troll poster is extremely disrespectful when I laid out my case with examples of my personal opinion. You can disagree with it, as others here have, but dismissive insults are rude.
There is nothing orchestral about the original Contra's music. It's pure rock just like Castlevania's music. There's a reason it's been constantly turned into metal versions. Contra 3 does have Predator-like atmospheric music at some point but it's still pretty rock and synth-driven.

I called it a troll post because calling the music "orchestral" is so far off the mark I just had to laugh. I mean, really, what? What.
 

Teknoman

Member
Great visuals and I really love the controls and moveset - but the game is just too easy for something in that genre; it's not engaging enough. I still like it though.

I've played Vectorman and Strider (the arcade version of the latter, anyway). I may have to check out Alisia Dragoon and Mega Turrican, thanks.

You really REALLY need to play Mega Turrican.
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
I'm on a big action-platformer kick lately. What are some of the Genesis's best offerings in the genre?

The Genesis action-platformers I've played are:

Gunstar Heroes (solid)
Alien Soldier (really great)
Contra: Hard Corps (great)
Rocket Knight Adventures (great)
Revenge of Shinobi (really good)
Shinobi III (good)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (great)

I know Ranger X looks good, so I'm definitely going to play that soon.

The MD versions of Shadow Dancer/E-SWAT are based on arcade games of the same name but are not ports, so if you want something authentically arcade-like I suggest those two. (I'm not much for E-SWAT myself but Shadow Dancer is good fun.)

I have a soft spot for Atomic Runner, an auto-scrolling run-and-gun by Data East; the port is much improved over the arcade game (even though it was de-Chelnov'd) and while the controls are still weird it's definitely not a borderline kusoge like most of DECO's games.

Dynamite Headdy never gelled with me but I suppose it's worth mentioning. (I know they fucked with the international release to make it a lot harder but I don't know the specifics.)
 

MikeMyers

Member
I prefer Revenge of Shinobi over Shinobi 3 to be honest.

Speaking of, somewhat off-topic, but ShinobiGAF, what are your thoughts on the Saturn, PS2, and 3DS titles? I never hear anyone talk about the 3DS game.
 

IrishNinja

Member
Legions on Saturn is legit (and i love the cheesey cutscenes), PS2 was not my bag but i dug it, more than Nightshade anyway

3DS one is tough but felt more faithful to the series than anything post-saturn, to me...the thing about shinobi as a series though, is that its kinda splintered like castlevania - there's arcade/classic shinobi (original, shadow dancer) and then revenge (that one, 3, legions) - they're kinda different for me, so you gotta know what you're expecting
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
I remember the Saturn game being mediocre, with cheesy live action cut scenes. I don't remember much else about it, only being disappointed.

PS2 game is hot garbage and a disgrace to the Shinobi name. Boring as hell repetitive button masher with almost non-existent level design.

I have the 3DS one but I haven't played it, 'cause the 3DS and my hands and wrists don't agree.
 

MikeMyers

Member
Yeah I didnt play the PS2 game but from what I saw through lets play I agree about the level design.

The Saturn game I went to play through the PAL version, that OST is goldy.
 
PS2 Shinobi is pretty great; it's a far more focused and demanding take on the 3D action game than games like Devil May Cry and its descendants. Its appeal is very different from previous games in the series, so being interested in them doesn't mean you'll like it - and yeah, the stages are very repetitive visually, with a lot of reused environments. However, I think it's kind of extreme to say it has poor level design - even though its stage geometry is pretty basic, it constantly introduces new and tense combat situations in every level, and its stages make good use of the game's diverse enemy lineup.

Calling it a button-masher is way off base; it really requires more precision than most of the big games in its genre.
 

Khaz

Member
Everdrive?

Thanks for letting me know, but to just make sure, you do know the 6-Pack I have is different from the regular 6-Pak? The usual one is Colums/Sonic/Golden Axe/Revenge of Shinobi/Streets of Rage/Super Hang-on, mine is Cloumns/Sonic/Streets of Rage/Sega Soccer/Super Monaco GP/Revenge of Shinobi.

None of the Mega Games are locked or optimised.
 
I prefer Revenge of Shinobi over Shinobi 3 to be honest.

Speaking of, somewhat off-topic, but ShinobiGAF, what are your thoughts on the Saturn, PS2, and 3DS titles? I never hear anyone talk about the 3DS game.

It should have been released when it was ready back in the early summer of 2011, but was moved to a Nov for the Holidays and was buried by games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. It looks, plays and sounds like Shinobi. So if you're a fan, grab it because it's dirt cheap.
 

Sapiens

Member
PS2 Shinobi is pretty great; it's a far more focused and demanding take on the 3D action game than games like Devil May Cry and its descendants. Its appeal is very different from previous games in the series, so being interested in them doesn't mean you'll like it - and yeah, the stages are very repetitive visually, with a lot of reused environments. However, I think it's kind of extreme to say it has poor level design - even though its stage geometry is pretty basic, it constantly introduces new and tense combat situations in every level, and its stages make good use of the game's diverse enemy lineup.

Calling it a button-masher is way off base; it really requires more precision than most of the big games in its genre.

Plus it feels really nice to play once you get the hang of it. Really polished!
 
I prefer Revenge of Shinobi over Shinobi 3 to be honest.

Speaking of, somewhat off-topic, but ShinobiGAF, what are your thoughts on the Saturn, PS2, and 3DS titles? I never hear anyone talk about the 3DS game.
Saturn game is actually pretty good. Probably the best feeling digitized graphics game I've played, lol. I enjoyed the PS2 game when it came out but the final boss was a nightmare, lol. 3DS game is made by the Volgarr folks. It's actually pretty solid (and cheap!). Get it.
 
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