Had a mammoth MD/MCD sesh yesterday, lasting around 10hrs:
Xeno Crisis - poured quite a few hours into this since getting it and still can’t get beyond the third level. On easy mode as well! Maybe I’m just sh*te but trying to roll around and fire in the right direction when bullets are flying in from every angle just seems a bit too much. Fantastic game though and amazing production values.
Tanglewood - still playing through this. It’s nice to play in short sessions, and a relaxing diversion from Xeno Crisis. Finished a chapter and a half last night to take me up to the sixth chapter and boy does it looking striking with your sprite just a shadow and an amazing, colourful sunset in the background. It’s almost the perfect blend of classic retro gaming with modern design and aesthetics.
Cobra Command - one of my guilty pleasures. Got where I always manage to get pretty much every time without losing a life - The Cave - and then die as the ruthless timing you need to hit the targets seems all too impossible. Almost two decades on from its original release, I wonder if I will ever finish it.
Sol Feace - sorry, another guilty pleasure. Couldn’t get past the third level. A sure sign of my ageing mind and body not having the reactions I once did as I used to get up to at least the fourth level without using a continue. Fantastic soundtrack.
Keio Yugekitai - I don’t know why but the Japanese version seems brutally hard In comparison to the PAL version I used to play back in the day. What is really frustrating is the Gradius effect whereby once you lose a life, you’re effectively a sitting duck stripped of all your power ups. The difference this time is unlike Gradius you respawn instantly, and in order to get your ‘option’ craft you must refrain from shooting for a set period of time. Well during a boss battle where projectiles are flying towards you left, right and centre, and when, like in most shmups, the best form of defence is attack to stop all those bullets coming towards you, trying to avoid it all and not shoot is nigh on impossible, and without those options your ship is grossly under equipped to deal with the onslaught. So sometimes the best course of action is to keep dying and lose a precious continue to put you back to the beginning of the level so you can power up once more. In spite of the frustration it’s still a very enjoyable shmup and a MCD exclusive that is worth playing. I didn’t make it past the second boss and, confession time, never have. Yes I am rubbish at games.
Streets of Rage - gave the original a whirl and remembered it’s quite a bit more challenging than its sequel thanks to how you need to manage crowd control. It’s just a little trickier due to the more limited moveset and lack of melee moves. Still nowhere near Final Fight levels of trickiness, although I do love FF for its need to employ strategy in attack patterns. I bumbled my way to the final level by spamming cop cars on bosses but never made it to Mr Big himself. I still wonder how they got a cop car on the boat level...
Revenge of Shinobi - finished up with this stonking classic of a game. Played it a few times recently as God intended, ie with limited shurikens, and never got past the motorway/bridge level as it requires a lot of super jumps/throws to beat those bloody nuns. Decided f*ck it, infinite shurikens are the way forward and got a lot further in the game this time. It’s much more enjoyable when you can relentlessly super jump and toss stars out like they’re going out of fashion!
Xeno Crisis - poured quite a few hours into this since getting it and still can’t get beyond the third level. On easy mode as well! Maybe I’m just sh*te but trying to roll around and fire in the right direction when bullets are flying in from every angle just seems a bit too much. Fantastic game though and amazing production values.
Tanglewood - still playing through this. It’s nice to play in short sessions, and a relaxing diversion from Xeno Crisis. Finished a chapter and a half last night to take me up to the sixth chapter and boy does it looking striking with your sprite just a shadow and an amazing, colourful sunset in the background. It’s almost the perfect blend of classic retro gaming with modern design and aesthetics.
Cobra Command - one of my guilty pleasures. Got where I always manage to get pretty much every time without losing a life - The Cave - and then die as the ruthless timing you need to hit the targets seems all too impossible. Almost two decades on from its original release, I wonder if I will ever finish it.
Sol Feace - sorry, another guilty pleasure. Couldn’t get past the third level. A sure sign of my ageing mind and body not having the reactions I once did as I used to get up to at least the fourth level without using a continue. Fantastic soundtrack.
Keio Yugekitai - I don’t know why but the Japanese version seems brutally hard In comparison to the PAL version I used to play back in the day. What is really frustrating is the Gradius effect whereby once you lose a life, you’re effectively a sitting duck stripped of all your power ups. The difference this time is unlike Gradius you respawn instantly, and in order to get your ‘option’ craft you must refrain from shooting for a set period of time. Well during a boss battle where projectiles are flying towards you left, right and centre, and when, like in most shmups, the best form of defence is attack to stop all those bullets coming towards you, trying to avoid it all and not shoot is nigh on impossible, and without those options your ship is grossly under equipped to deal with the onslaught. So sometimes the best course of action is to keep dying and lose a precious continue to put you back to the beginning of the level so you can power up once more. In spite of the frustration it’s still a very enjoyable shmup and a MCD exclusive that is worth playing. I didn’t make it past the second boss and, confession time, never have. Yes I am rubbish at games.
Streets of Rage - gave the original a whirl and remembered it’s quite a bit more challenging than its sequel thanks to how you need to manage crowd control. It’s just a little trickier due to the more limited moveset and lack of melee moves. Still nowhere near Final Fight levels of trickiness, although I do love FF for its need to employ strategy in attack patterns. I bumbled my way to the final level by spamming cop cars on bosses but never made it to Mr Big himself. I still wonder how they got a cop car on the boat level...
Revenge of Shinobi - finished up with this stonking classic of a game. Played it a few times recently as God intended, ie with limited shurikens, and never got past the motorway/bridge level as it requires a lot of super jumps/throws to beat those bloody nuns. Decided f*ck it, infinite shurikens are the way forward and got a lot further in the game this time. It’s much more enjoyable when you can relentlessly super jump and toss stars out like they’re going out of fashion!
.....a change of power supply sorted it out! It's not perfect but the value is great enjoying it immensely.
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