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

[wheelaa]

Touhou Koumakyou - the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. (Touhou 6)

Checking out some Touhou Project danmaku has been on my to do list for a while. Having recently loved the Touhou fangame Luna Nights, figured now was the time to try, and EoSD seemed liked the best 'in'.

Pretty sure I'll delve a little deeper into Touhou Project.

[fuse]

Gone back again to Final Fantasy V Advance, and now at the last boss. After so many attempts to beat this game before over the years, this is going to be the one! Given I last finished IV and VI a looooong time ago, it's difficult to measure exactly where I'd rank this one in terms of difficulty, but it definitely feels like there's a few fights along the way that need either a particular setup and strategy, or just an all-out cheese build. I feel like the job system was probably quite ambitious at the time, and there are pitfalls to that as well as boons.

[Cepp]

Gone back again to Final Fantasy V Advance, and now at the last boss. After so many attempts to beat this game before over the years, this is going to be the one! Given I last finished IV and VI a looooong time ago, it's difficult to measure exactly where I'd rank this one in terms of difficulty, but it definitely feels like there's a few fights along the way that need either a particular setup and strategy, or just an all-out cheese build. I feel like the job system was probably quite ambitious at the time, and there are pitfalls to that as well as boons.

My first playthrough was a Five Job Fiesta run a few years ago which was fun (and reminded me of the Straight Character Challenge runs that were popular for Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day), but I got absolutely destroyed by the final boss. It definitely feels like you could break the game if you know it well enough, or run into roadblocks if you don't.

[fuse]

Yeah I always fancied doing one of those, but given I'd failed to finish the game enough times as it was, I thought limiting my options would just make it even more of a struggle. Last boss is definitely a roadblock, even coming to it prepared with 4 deep pocketed Samurai

[Brad]

Shame to hear about the hd silent hills as that would be my preferred way to play it. I’ll need to seek out a ps2 I guess. Will pal vs ntsc matter for silent hill 2 & 3?

[Atticus]

Shame to hear about the hd silent hills as that would be my preferred way to play it. I’ll need to seek out a ps2 I guess. Will pal vs ntsc matter for silent hill 2 & 3?

I think there’s some optimisation on the pal PS2 Silent Hill 2, plays fine for me. I think pal Silent Hill 3 has a 60Hz option.

[Cepp]

Playing through Ninja Blade. It's quite fun, very jank, levels are a bit full on so I find myself doing one level a night at most.

[fallenangle]

I think there’s some optimisation on the pal PS2 Silent Hill 2, plays fine for me. I think pal Silent Hill 3 has a 60Hz option.

Bit late to this but the best platform to play Silent Hill 2 is on the original Xbox in 480p; that means NTSC on a NTSC Xbox or modded PAL one and a Component connection.

The NTSC version Xbox SH2: Restless Dreams is playable on the XB360 presumably at 480p (backwards support mode) but again that would have to be on a NTSC or modded XB360. The PAL Xbox version(s) should play on the XB360 too. Reports suggest the 'playable' rating comes with a few caveats.

I originally played the PS2 version but I do also have Xbox SH2: Restless Dreams which contains the extra Born From A Wish level and also includes an additional, optional, ending only available in some later PS2 release versions: Directors Cut - PAL/Greatest Hits - NTSC: check out this.

I played Xbox SH2: Restless Dreams last year, the first time I'd been back to the game in over a decade and it still holds up as one of the best survival horror game packages I've ever played. As I'd not done the Born From A Wish level before I started with that and I'd really recommend doing this first too.

It sort of explains why Maria is there and fits in perfectly as a sort of introductory, not training, level for the main game.

The original Silent Hill 3 was a PS2 console only release but I had no problem with the way the PAL version looked in 480i using RGB SCART. I'm fairly sure neither PAL or NTSC version supports 480p but I could be wrong so worth doing some research.

[Cepp]

Playing through Fable Anniversary, I'm finding myself nostalgic for the graphical artstyle in these early to mid 2000 RPGs. Games like Fable, Guild Wars, Lineage 2 and so on. Perhaps just fantasy games in general from that time tbh.

The game itself is simple but fun. I'm playing an evil character for a change and murdering people left right and centre. Doesn't half get a lot of coppers on you in towns who seem to spawn out of nowhere but they're easy enough to deal with.

[Ghost]

Just got onto the third disc of Final Fantasy VII. Currently at the bottom of the crater just before the final boss but thinking about whether to just carry on and finish the game or go for a complete play through and kill all the weapons and max out all of my characters, which will probably take me another 10-20 hours of grinding.

Have also been playing a bit of Super Mario Advance on my new Pocket. Haven’t really played the game since its original release but Im enjoying it so far, I think the GBA version is definitely the best version of the game.

Lastly been playing a lot of Majora’s Mask on the switch, I bought the original game on release and have had the game about 5 different times on various platforms over the years but I have never been able to finish or really get into the game, probably due to the time travel mechanic that resets everything. Enjoying it a lot more this time around and Im determined to make it through to the end this time. Currently at the snowpeak mountain part and just about to enter the dungeon there.

[fuse]

Stuck on Undercover Cops after getting the Retro-Bit version a little while back. Had never played it or even really seen too much about it before, but got into it very quickly as it does all kinds of neat things that I wasn't expecting for a game of its age. I'm assuming the SNES version is fairly cut back compared to the arcade game, too.

Weapons in belt scrollers often feel like more of a hinderance than anything else, but here they look and feel great - immediately the whopping great big stone pillars that you have to pull from the ground won me over; not only is there a very satisfying swing animation, but the hitbox covers half the screen, hits do a tonne of damage, and it even breaks a piece off the end. You get to the first boss, and at the far end of the screen there's a hydraulic press coming down every 10 seconds or so, along with a timer, so you can try and punt them into it to crush them. Then there's dashes, inputs for special moves... man. It's got a really nice set of ideas, varied and total oddball enemies to fight with, and in general it just feels like something that I am glad I got to tinker with at last. Oh, playing on easy limits you to 3 stages though, and then chastises you. I moved up to normal afterwards and made it to the last stage before dying, boooo.

[Cepp]

Playing Motor Toon Grand Prix and feel like my thumb's about to fall off.

I'm not sure a more realistic driving model was the best choice for a kart racer, it can feel very heavy and sluggish. Its a bit jarring when contrasted against the very cartoony and visually busy tracks.

Items are outright disabled once you select professional difficulty, and it does become more enjoyable when you concentrate on just driving.

Just an odd game all round.

[phillv85]

I’ve been revelling in the glory of Bare Knuckle 3. I’ve had Streets of Rage 3 for years and enjoyed it but it was always a little off. Your characters had pillow fists that did no damage and enemies were brutal. I’d played BK3 on the Mega Drive collection etc. but finally having the cart has been amazing. It became like some weird holy grail for me, despite the fact it’s always available and I could have bought it any payday in the last decade. Finally owning it and playing through the game how it should have been decades after falling in love with Streets of Rage 2 has been great.

Also been playing some Ka Ge Ki, a Mega Drive game I own the arcade board for. With me selling my arcade stuff off I’ve been trying to pick up decent ports of games I’ve got. It’s not a very good game although I really like it. There’s only 9 stages and I’ve now beaten it twice without continues so there’s not much more for it to offer.

The other game I’ve spent some time with is the Mega Drive version of Same! Same! Same! (Fire Shark). I’m playing on the default difficulty which is easy and usually get to stage 6 or 7 before a lapse in concentration loses me a life. Once you lose a life and slow down it’s pretty painful trying to get back up to speed and power so I generally just give up. It’s quite a long time to not be able to slip up, especially with your fire shot covering so much screen real estate, you can lose track of enemy fire.

[wakka]

Since getting AetherSX2 up and running on my Mac, I've been burning up rounds on Outrun2SP (PS2 version) between meetings. I'm using an Bone pad and running it at 4K/60 and it's absolutely glorious. What a game. It never gets old.

Having fun accruing Outrun Miles all over again. You can just lose yourself in it though. It's a perfect 5 minute game.

[Cepp]

On a bit of a kart racing kick atm. Played through Nicktoons Racing and Lego Racers.

Nicktoons Racing is... not good, but it's fun to see all of those old characters again. Boo for no Doug though.

Lego Racers was actually quite fun outside of one track. Not too difficult and I think a lot of the fun comes from customising your own lego character and vehicle but I enjoyed the racing.