(Retro) What have you been playing this week? Vol.2

[gunrock]

Been playing Sid Meier's Pirates on PSP. Really good, enjoying it massively.

[Leon Retro]

I played 'Super Magnetic Neo' on the Dreamcast this morning. A great looking Crash Bandicoot sort of platformer that's full of charm. The graphics really pop off the screen using VGA.

[wakka]

Yeah, Super Magnetic Neo is a fun game. You’re right that it is very similar to Crash. You rarely hear about that game but it’s a decent little platformer.

[Leon Retro]

You rarely hear about that game but it’s a decent little platformer.

I have a Pal copy that I bought a while back when Dreamcast games were dirt cheap. It doesn't get mentioned much but definitely deserves more recognition. I really like the graphics and it's a lot of fun to play.

[importaku]

Well this is a first, theres a game a REALLY want to play but for the life of me i can't find an iso of it anywhere on the net. While i delve into the ps1 vast library of games i'm coming across alsorts of amazing games i never knew were released. It seems there are some games that are rare as hell, not that manufactured omg "youtube personality" super rare and valuable hype hype. But stupidly obscure games that just quietly vanished, i have looked both on ebay an yahoo auctions nope not a trace.

Kowai shashin is one such game, i have played a game similar to this on DS called mitewa ikenai where you exorcise cursed spirit photographs. I never realised that there was a game just like this many many years before. A game where you are sent cursed photographs and the story behind them and then you have to find the cursed areas and purify them by the power of button mashing in the correct order. Looks like exactly the kind of game i love, will do my damndest to get hold of a physical copy of this game if it kills me. Just a shame that i never tried harder during the ps1's lifecycle to track down games but the net was nowhere near as sophisticated so i probably wouldn't have known about this game even back then.

[fallenangle]

Just finished original Xbox Oddworld: Munche's Oddysee. Genuinely enjoyable game of its type even if it ran out of steam and became repetitive before the end.

Pro: looks good, charming, funny (up to a point), plays very well with a good mix of strategy and puzzle solving used to season the gameplay.

Cons: unchangeable bad controller mapping, particularly the camera dedicated to the d-pad and the weapon use to R3 rather than the R trigger. In the later levels saving the fragile eggs is a seriously tedious and repetitive task. There is also some very obvious enemy AI and gameplay inconsistencies in later levels just done to make the game harder.

[Tobal]

Links Awakening on GBC, gave up during the 2nd dungeon due to some incredibly bad design to force a text box everytime you touch a pot/rock without the strength ring on, and the same on temporary power ups. The equipment switching isn't awful once you get you use to it but does interrupt the gameplay flow, so this switch remake that is coming should correct all the problems.

[DeathAdder]

Been playing Sid Meier's Pirates on PSP. Really good, enjoying it massively.

One of my favourite games - I've finished it about 7 times on the PSP. A great example of a game where the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts.

[importaku]

Today it's been a right old 90's retrofest. Umjammer lammy, ore no ryouri, DDR and geppy X along with a quick blast of tondemo crisis. The PS1 may be old but the games are sure as hell fun as ever.

[Leon Retro]

The PS1 may be old but the games are sure as hell fun as ever.

Yeah, it has plenty of fun games that stand the test of time. I found a mint unopened copy of Gradius Gaiden in my collection a few months ago, which made me want to play it and other PS1 shooters like Philosoma and Einhander again. Such a fun machine to have long sessions with.

[importaku]

I find myself on ebay looking at games i shouldn't that mint unfaded copy of harmful park sat there taunting me lol. Although the £500 price tag is also helping me stay away lol

[Leon Retro]

Although the £500 price tag is also helping me stay away lol

And making you like your PlayStation Classic even more.

[mmmonkey]

Some wonderful looking PS1 games coming up in here. So much I've never heard of.

I've not had time to play games or tinker with any hardware for months (I've got a PSIO adapter that I've not even setup yet!), but have been playing hardware emulated arcade versions of Ghosts n Goblins and Bomb Jack the last couple of evenings. Wow, had forgotten just how hard GnG was, I knew it was tough, but blimey, even on Easy mode it's punishing me. Are the home versions just as tough I wonder? I remember completing Ghouls n Ghosts on the MD back in the day, but I suppose I've aged since then.

Played Burger Time for the first time ever too, just trying a few games out before deciding what to concentrate on.

Playing via MiSTer - https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki

[ZipZap]

I have a Pal copy that I bought a while back when Dreamcast games were dirt cheap. It doesn't get mentioned much but definitely deserves more recognition. I really like the graphics and it's a lot of fun to play.

I agree. It was always one of those games I intended to play, and whilst having a Dreamcast revival a couple of years ago, I finally got around to it. It's less ambitious, but it stands up better than Sonic Adventure in my opinion.

[Leon Retro]

It's less ambitious, but it stands up better than Sonic Adventure in my opinion.

I thought Sonic Adventure was quite amazing back in the day, but I much prefer Magnetic Neo. It's such a well crafted game that feels really nice to play.