I was playing the original Nintendo "The Legend of Zelda" the other day and I walked away wondering just who was Link fighting throughout the majority of the game?
The creatures in the overworld are very likely Ganon's minions, but what of the dungeons? The story presented in the game is that Ganon stole the Triforce of Power and wanted to get his hands on the Triforce of Wisdom but Princess Zelda (somehow) broke apart the latter Triforce into eight pieces and hid them away in monster-infested dungeons before being captured by Ganon.
Are the creatures in the dungeons just random monsters or are they loyal to the ruling family of Hyrule and just never got the message that Link actually intends to defeat Ganon (somehow) using the Triforce of Wisdom? It's obviously not clear nor does it help that many of the enemies you've fought in those dungeons are also present in Ganon's level (with the exception of the Lanmola and Patra which I can assume are the only definite servants to Ganon in the dungeon levels of the game).
If it's the former, then damn Zelda's got some skills, right? She evaded being slain by all that shit and managed to hide the fragments away. But somehow I doubt that. Not because I think Zelda is just a girl or something sexist like that but because the Triforce pieces are clearly being guarded. The rooms the pieces are in are preceded by intimidating monsters like the Manhandala and Gleeok dragons (maybe not so much Aquamentus...).
Zelda II strongly gave the impression the palaces Link fought in to undo the binding spell on the Great Palace were patrolled by parties loyal to Hyrule and tried to kill Link because, well...that's what they do (all while being unaware that by doing so, Link's blood will be used to restore Ganon to life making things even worse...nice job breaking the kingdom, guards!). They're certainly not going to take Link on his word that he's only trying to help and Zelda obviously couldn't vouch for him because she had been rendered magically comatose (apparently there's no King or Queen of Hyrule who could tell these guards to stand down).
Therefore, it's possible to assume that the creatures in the original game's dungeons are loyal to Hyrule and not Ganon. It would then make sense that Ganon kidnapped Zelda in an effort to use her extortionately to have someone else gather the pieces of the Triforce because I guess Ganon is not powerful enough (despite being able to turn invisible) or brave enough to tackle Hyrule's dungeons himself (seriously, what's SUPPOSED to be in those dungeons when they aren't being used to house Triforce fragments? What kind of society is Hyrule?).
Instead he's holed himself up in Spectacle Rock and barring anyone from entering his palace unless they've come bearing the Triforce of Wisdom. Then, he would betray the bearer by sicking his minions on him/her. When the bearer died, Ganon could simply take the Triforce and rule. I'm sure Zelda's fate would not be a desirable one.
Also logic would dictate that if they were loyal to Ganon, why aren't they just taking the pieces of the Triforce to him to begin with? Ganon needs that Triforce to cement his rule. It wouldn't behoove him to leave them lying about for some dickwad like Link to recover.
The only trouble with this scenario is the presence of those same enemies in prior dungeons. Even the entrance is guarded by an old man like the one who gives you a (shitty) sword at the start of your quest. Maybe they're formally loyal servants who have been seduced by Ganon...or more likely, it's the memory limitations of the NES in 1987.
It may have also been an oversight.
But they could have also very well, despite those limitations, put the enemies of the overworld inside that final dungeon and thus not added to the game's memory burden. It could've been guarded by a Moblin instead of an old man demanding the Triforce before letting you enter. Hell...it could've taken the Triforce from you to let you pass (in the same manner as the hungry Goriya and for extra tension, the entryway gate could've slammed shut as the other three sealed doors opened, letting you know you've been tricked and that you're "supposed" to die here).
A lost opportunity...
I also can't imagine the guilt trip Link must have to live with knowing that, over the course of two games, he's slaughtered loyal servants to Hyrule in order to save a single princess. That's gonna be some costly therapy...
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
VIDEOGAME MUSIC
A project I've been enjoying as of late has been making a mix-tape of videogame music, or whatever it is mix-tapes are called today since they're digital files organized on a flash drive.
Videogame music is like the classical music of my generation and thanks to sites like YouTube, Zophar's Domain, NES-SNES-SPRITES, and a few others, it's been possible to compile a collection of soundtracks from the game systems I've owned over the years and even the music from some old arcade games that took many of my quarters years ago.
I've learned that I've played a lot of games over the years. So far I have almost 600 songs from the Atari2600, Atari5200, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, PC-DOS, and arcade systems. I didn't think there would be so many and some, like end-of-game boss rushes were made into medleys. I've almost got everything I can remember. It just can be tedious editing the music for two cycles and a proper fade-out.
But like I said, it's been fun and the resulting USB drive of 8 and 16-bit soundtracks is fun to listen to.
Videogame music is like the classical music of my generation and thanks to sites like YouTube, Zophar's Domain, NES-SNES-SPRITES, and a few others, it's been possible to compile a collection of soundtracks from the game systems I've owned over the years and even the music from some old arcade games that took many of my quarters years ago.
I've learned that I've played a lot of games over the years. So far I have almost 600 songs from the Atari2600, Atari5200, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, PC-DOS, and arcade systems. I didn't think there would be so many and some, like end-of-game boss rushes were made into medleys. I've almost got everything I can remember. It just can be tedious editing the music for two cycles and a proper fade-out.
But like I said, it's been fun and the resulting USB drive of 8 and 16-bit soundtracks is fun to listen to.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
CASTLEVANIA THOUGHTS...
One thing that bugs me about the Castlevania series is how easy it is to upgrade your whip (for the record, I'm talking about Castlevania, Castlevania III, and Super Castlevania IV).
The rules of the game made it so that you needed four (4) hearts to upgrade from the leather whip you start with to a stronger ball&chain whip of the same length and eight (8) hearts to upgrade to the longer ball&chain whip. The thing is, you start each life with five (5) hearts so it's practically impossible to be stuck with the leather whip for any length of time.
The player may as well have started with the ball&chain whip...
This could've been rectified by having either the player start each life with no hearts or making the upgrades at higher heart levels, say eight (8) for the first upgrade and sixteen (16) for the second one.
Another option could've been to adopt the rule from Game Boy version of Castlevania: if the player gets hit, he loses an upgrade. In that game, you could get a chain whip that launches a fireball after two upgrades. One hit and you're back to the chain whip. A second hit brought you back to your standard leather whip.
Either option would've made the game a little harder. Whether it would've made the game better is a matter of debate. It makes me wish I knew how to ROM hack...
The rules of the game made it so that you needed four (4) hearts to upgrade from the leather whip you start with to a stronger ball&chain whip of the same length and eight (8) hearts to upgrade to the longer ball&chain whip. The thing is, you start each life with five (5) hearts so it's practically impossible to be stuck with the leather whip for any length of time.
The player may as well have started with the ball&chain whip...
This could've been rectified by having either the player start each life with no hearts or making the upgrades at higher heart levels, say eight (8) for the first upgrade and sixteen (16) for the second one.
Another option could've been to adopt the rule from Game Boy version of Castlevania: if the player gets hit, he loses an upgrade. In that game, you could get a chain whip that launches a fireball after two upgrades. One hit and you're back to the chain whip. A second hit brought you back to your standard leather whip.
Either option would've made the game a little harder. Whether it would've made the game better is a matter of debate. It makes me wish I knew how to ROM hack...
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
METROID II THOUGHTS...
In retrospect, one thing that bugged me about Metroid II: The Return of Samus is why did she start the game with so few items? Now, I don't mean fully powered-up because that would be a weird game. I'm talking about the minimum necessary for her to accomplish her mission.
The story of the game has Samus traveling to the planet SR-388 to eliminate the Metroid species. I guess they have been deemed too dangerous to live. Unfortunately the game manual gives away that the Metroid species moults into successively larger forms when permitted to go through its natural life cycle but that's a God's-eye view for the player.
Samus, as far as I know, is unaware of this creature's capability so one would think she would've landed on SR-388 expecting to encounter the same creatures she found in the Tourian region of the planet Zebes. Those Metroids could only be killed by freezing them with her ice beam and pumping five missiles into their now-hardened gelatinous bodies.
Metroids attacked by grabbing onto Samus and rapidly drawing out her energy. That's how Metroids eat, they draw out the life force of living creatures. If this happened to you, you rolled up into a ball and dropped bombs. The bombs would knock the Metroid off you since you could not freeze them from inside.
Based on these attacks and abilities, one would think Samus would go to SR-388 bearing an ice beam, some missiles, morph ball, and bombs. Instead she begins the game with only a standard beam, the ball form, and 30 missiles.
The game had a chance to set up a HOLY SHIT! moment but missed the opportunity. Let me illustrate.
In the original Samus runs around a fairly open and unprotected cave encountering few enemies. At one dead-end is a pool of corrosive liquid through which she cannot pass and the other dead-end is a flashing Metroid resting on the ground and definitely not pursuing Samus. Get within a defined range and the Metroid's first metamorphosis occurs right before your eyes. An Alpha Metroid appears. Your shots have no effect on it, nor should you expect them to because in the original game only the ice beam would stop their advance. Your missiles, however, hurt the creature and five hits later it is vanquished, an earthquake happens, and the previous dead-end no longer has the corrosive liquid allowing you to advance.
Later on you find bombs and an ice-beam among other new and old items.
What I propose should have happened is Samus begins her adventure appropriately armed for killing the Metroids she expects to find (ice beam, missiles, morph ball, bombs). She travels through the same open cave.
The difference is she encounters an ordinary Metroid below several rock layers that one cannot quickly traverse. I'm thinking a couple layers of narrow corridors. Go all the way left, drop a bit, go all the way right, drop a bit, repeat. This is a set-up for the player. Why the Metroid is flashing would be unknown to the player and even easily dismissed as something the Game Boy's limited graphics were doing to make the enemy appear more interesting.
The Metroid would appear unaware of Samus perhaps because of the many rock layers between them the player might surmise. Either way, since this appears to be the point of the game, the player would give chase and the Metroid would dart out of the room further incentivizing the player.
The player then encounters the floor-resting Metroid like in the actual game and the metamorphosis sequence begins.
The player would fire ice beams only to find they have no effect. This teaches the player that this new, lightly armored version of the Metroid has developed a resistance to cold.
The player would also quickly learn these Alpha Metroids don't draw out life energy by circumcluding their prey like the larval forms do. They instead directly attack prey, perhaps drawing out energy via pokes and prods making the bombs she has brought worthless for keeping these new Metroids at bay.
The player would then find only direct missile strikes in the smaller exposed core have any effect. Five hits would kill the creature resulting in the earthquake as before. Game continues as normal but this time the player gets that shock of finding out Metroids are a lot different from what we've come to know about them.
The manual, if it were especially devious, would give no hints about the various Metroid moults and explain them only in an ending sequence or via log entries like Project AM2R has been doing.
Sometimes I wish manuals wouldn't give crap away. In the original game the manual told you how to kill the Metroids. You would think it would have left that for the player to figure out. Too bad they couldn't just be killed with missiles but freezing them with the ice beam would make it easier. The game had a wave beam and you were pretty screwed if you entered Tourian with it. Hell, if you didn't have the manual, you might have thought the Metroids were invincible :-)
The story of the game has Samus traveling to the planet SR-388 to eliminate the Metroid species. I guess they have been deemed too dangerous to live. Unfortunately the game manual gives away that the Metroid species moults into successively larger forms when permitted to go through its natural life cycle but that's a God's-eye view for the player.
Samus, as far as I know, is unaware of this creature's capability so one would think she would've landed on SR-388 expecting to encounter the same creatures she found in the Tourian region of the planet Zebes. Those Metroids could only be killed by freezing them with her ice beam and pumping five missiles into their now-hardened gelatinous bodies.
Metroids attacked by grabbing onto Samus and rapidly drawing out her energy. That's how Metroids eat, they draw out the life force of living creatures. If this happened to you, you rolled up into a ball and dropped bombs. The bombs would knock the Metroid off you since you could not freeze them from inside.
Based on these attacks and abilities, one would think Samus would go to SR-388 bearing an ice beam, some missiles, morph ball, and bombs. Instead she begins the game with only a standard beam, the ball form, and 30 missiles.
The game had a chance to set up a HOLY SHIT! moment but missed the opportunity. Let me illustrate.
In the original Samus runs around a fairly open and unprotected cave encountering few enemies. At one dead-end is a pool of corrosive liquid through which she cannot pass and the other dead-end is a flashing Metroid resting on the ground and definitely not pursuing Samus. Get within a defined range and the Metroid's first metamorphosis occurs right before your eyes. An Alpha Metroid appears. Your shots have no effect on it, nor should you expect them to because in the original game only the ice beam would stop their advance. Your missiles, however, hurt the creature and five hits later it is vanquished, an earthquake happens, and the previous dead-end no longer has the corrosive liquid allowing you to advance.
Later on you find bombs and an ice-beam among other new and old items.
What I propose should have happened is Samus begins her adventure appropriately armed for killing the Metroids she expects to find (ice beam, missiles, morph ball, bombs). She travels through the same open cave.
The difference is she encounters an ordinary Metroid below several rock layers that one cannot quickly traverse. I'm thinking a couple layers of narrow corridors. Go all the way left, drop a bit, go all the way right, drop a bit, repeat. This is a set-up for the player. Why the Metroid is flashing would be unknown to the player and even easily dismissed as something the Game Boy's limited graphics were doing to make the enemy appear more interesting.
The Metroid would appear unaware of Samus perhaps because of the many rock layers between them the player might surmise. Either way, since this appears to be the point of the game, the player would give chase and the Metroid would dart out of the room further incentivizing the player.
The player then encounters the floor-resting Metroid like in the actual game and the metamorphosis sequence begins.
The player would fire ice beams only to find they have no effect. This teaches the player that this new, lightly armored version of the Metroid has developed a resistance to cold.
The player would also quickly learn these Alpha Metroids don't draw out life energy by circumcluding their prey like the larval forms do. They instead directly attack prey, perhaps drawing out energy via pokes and prods making the bombs she has brought worthless for keeping these new Metroids at bay.
The player would then find only direct missile strikes in the smaller exposed core have any effect. Five hits would kill the creature resulting in the earthquake as before. Game continues as normal but this time the player gets that shock of finding out Metroids are a lot different from what we've come to know about them.
The manual, if it were especially devious, would give no hints about the various Metroid moults and explain them only in an ending sequence or via log entries like Project AM2R has been doing.
Sometimes I wish manuals wouldn't give crap away. In the original game the manual told you how to kill the Metroids. You would think it would have left that for the player to figure out. Too bad they couldn't just be killed with missiles but freezing them with the ice beam would make it easier. The game had a wave beam and you were pretty screwed if you entered Tourian with it. Hell, if you didn't have the manual, you might have thought the Metroids were invincible :-)
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
STEAL THIS IDEA, part XI
I've played several fighting games before and one thing they all have in common is a timer. Each round/match has a time limit. If you don't knock out/kill your opponent before the timer runs out, then the winner goes to the one with the most energy/life remaining. That's fine and all, but what bugs me is that this rule also applies to the final fight.
That guy, Zankuro, a demon samurai warrior, will permit you to defeat him simply because sixty seconds have elapsed. How honorable...but also, how stupid. He's the BAD guy, right? M. Bison, who is trying to take over the world and Shao Kahn, who is trying to rule two dimensions, also possess this bizarre honor code. I could see maybe the non-decisive rounds being able to end by time out. After all, that's how the game's been played up until this point. It would make sense. Even the sub-bosses leading up to the final fight would be fine. After all, we can assume that they were "dealt with" by their leader for their failure.
But what if, in a decisive round, when the timer elapses...the game continues?
Believe me, when you get to these rounds, they're tense. Victory against these brutes can only come from both a patient offense and an especially patient defense, but sometimes it's not enough and the timer is your only ally. Your stress builds up; you're ultra-tense watching in your peripheral vision the timer. Five... Four... Three... Two... One... and because you're ahead, you breathe a sigh of relief. It feels like a cheap victory, but it was a victory nonetheless. At that moment, you relax the controls and loosen up.
Now imagine the game continuing. Maybe the boss taunts you if he speaks or simply laughs as the game continues and he (almost certainly) beats your ass into next week perhaps even with a super-duper special move he was saving for just such an emergency.
It would be awesome, and (for the first time at least) you'd never see it coming.
DISCLAIMER: To anyone reading this, you are welcome to not only use, but claim this idea as your own without giving credit to me. I sometimes have ideas, but I do not have the skills needed to express them. It is more important to me to see these ideas done than to receive recognition for them. That being said, giving me a mention anyway would make me giddy. If this idea has in fact already been done, then I strongly suggest you not actually steal it (at least not without major revisions) :-)
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| Timed out? I guess my dreams of conquest are over... |
That guy, Zankuro, a demon samurai warrior, will permit you to defeat him simply because sixty seconds have elapsed. How honorable...but also, how stupid. He's the BAD guy, right? M. Bison, who is trying to take over the world and Shao Kahn, who is trying to rule two dimensions, also possess this bizarre honor code. I could see maybe the non-decisive rounds being able to end by time out. After all, that's how the game's been played up until this point. It would make sense. Even the sub-bosses leading up to the final fight would be fine. After all, we can assume that they were "dealt with" by their leader for their failure.
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| Is M. Bison making a jerking off gesture? |
Believe me, when you get to these rounds, they're tense. Victory against these brutes can only come from both a patient offense and an especially patient defense, but sometimes it's not enough and the timer is your only ally. Your stress builds up; you're ultra-tense watching in your peripheral vision the timer. Five... Four... Three... Two... One... and because you're ahead, you breathe a sigh of relief. It feels like a cheap victory, but it was a victory nonetheless. At that moment, you relax the controls and loosen up.
Now imagine the game continuing. Maybe the boss taunts you if he speaks or simply laughs as the game continues and he (almost certainly) beats your ass into next week perhaps even with a super-duper special move he was saving for just such an emergency.
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| Is that your best? |
It would be awesome, and (for the first time at least) you'd never see it coming.
DISCLAIMER: To anyone reading this, you are welcome to not only use, but claim this idea as your own without giving credit to me. I sometimes have ideas, but I do not have the skills needed to express them. It is more important to me to see these ideas done than to receive recognition for them. That being said, giving me a mention anyway would make me giddy. If this idea has in fact already been done, then I strongly suggest you not actually steal it (at least not without major revisions) :-)
Thursday, May 3, 2012
VIDEO GAMES AND LIFE
Of all the things that video games get blamed for when it comes to supposedly ruining young minds, there is one feature of these games that goes overlooked and yet it is this feature which gets filtered deeply into our subconsciousness, lingering there...festering...and poised to create a feeling of utter damnation once its trap has been sprung.
Now I'm talking classic games like Super Mario Bros., Megaman, and Castlevania. They all had something in common besides scorekeeping. You got three chances. If you died, you got to start the stage over and try again. You alone retain the experience of the failure; the environment you're respawned in completely forgives you. The enemies, tricks, and/or traps which had, just moments ago, caused your downfall are all reset with no memory of your previous attempt. You're allowed another attempt at success and may do so while not in fear of judgement.
It should come as no surprise that life is in no way like this. You fail and you have to live with it. Not only are you denied that which you had attempted to acquire/master/etc. but you have to make do with it and everyone who witnessed your failure will continue to remember it. You do not get to try again. You stay the way you are and how much older you've become over the course of the failed attempt. There's no second chance to get it right. No chance to figure out what you were supposed to do, what you did wrong, what you should have said or done... In fact, it doesn't matter if you figure it all out because it's too late...it's over...you lose.
I hate seeing how all the mistakes I've made have compounded and there's nothing I can ever do about it because there's no redo. I have to live with them. I have to live with my wasted youth and adolescence. It's all gone...
Now I'm talking classic games like Super Mario Bros., Megaman, and Castlevania. They all had something in common besides scorekeeping. You got three chances. If you died, you got to start the stage over and try again. You alone retain the experience of the failure; the environment you're respawned in completely forgives you. The enemies, tricks, and/or traps which had, just moments ago, caused your downfall are all reset with no memory of your previous attempt. You're allowed another attempt at success and may do so while not in fear of judgement.
It should come as no surprise that life is in no way like this. You fail and you have to live with it. Not only are you denied that which you had attempted to acquire/master/etc. but you have to make do with it and everyone who witnessed your failure will continue to remember it. You do not get to try again. You stay the way you are and how much older you've become over the course of the failed attempt. There's no second chance to get it right. No chance to figure out what you were supposed to do, what you did wrong, what you should have said or done... In fact, it doesn't matter if you figure it all out because it's too late...it's over...you lose.
I hate seeing how all the mistakes I've made have compounded and there's nothing I can ever do about it because there's no redo. I have to live with them. I have to live with my wasted youth and adolescence. It's all gone...
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
NEStolgia
The original Nintendo Legend of Zelda is the best of the Zelda games I have played [FULL DISCLOSURE: I have played (and beaten) the original, Zelda II, and A Link to the Past (SNES) and have seen Twilight Princess in action] and I'm not saying that as some sort of obsessed fanboy or because the game genuinely is better (odds are it's not), but because unlike later entries in the series (and this applies to Metroid too), you are not limited to a set path. Afterall, the game is labeled on the cartridge as part of the "Adventure Series" of games available for the NES at the time and for me, part of the adventure is the ability to not only explore, but to discover the path best suited for you and the original Legend of Zelda offers these options.
Take the Dungeon Levels for instance. Yes, they are all numbered 1 through 8 and yes, that is the suggested order but note I said suggested and not required. In fact, the first time I beat the game I went to Dungeon Level 7 last simply because I could not find it (I even remember exactly where I was when I found it too). To this day I don't know what inspired me to play the Flute in the fairyless pond (all the other ponds have fairies) because nothing in the game up to the point ever suggested that playing the flute there would cause the lake to drain revealing the entrance (except for the cryptic clue: "THERE ARE SECRETS WHERE FAIRIES DON'T LIVE"). Later games required you to enter the dungeons in a precise, unalterable order, but in the Legend of Zelda, it was perfectly possible to complete any of the first three dungeons first and in any order. Going after Manhandla first would be a difficult task for a three-hearted Link and his wooden sword (or five hearts and the White Sword if you scout around first), but not impossible. In the First Quest (not as familiar with the second), it would be perfectly possible to assemble the Triforce of Wisdom going through the Dungeon Levels in this order: 3, 4, 5, 7, 1, 8, 6, and 2. And I'm talking completing the Dungeons, not entering and doing a grab-and-dash of the hidden item(s). That makes for increased playability as there is more than one path to your goal. Only certain levels require you to beat another one first.
An additionally enjoyable aspect of the Legend of Zelda for the NES is the fact that it is not required of you to find every item in the game in order to complete. I like the idea of optional and not some fetch quest to go get an item that is only useful in one particular instance (I'm looking at you Quake Medallion and Spell and Thunder Spells!) and while the game does have a few such items (the silver arrow being the most conspicuous as it is needed to defeat Ganon), they do not reach the level of padding that other games in the series manage to achieve. Items you don't need to complete the game include the White Sword, the Magic Sword, the Magical Key (opens an unlimited amount of doors), the Boomerang, the Magical Boomerang, the Letter (as well as the potions you can buy once you present this letter), the Red Candle (can be used more than once per screen), the Magical Shield, the Power Bracelet, the Magical Rod, the Book of Magic, the Blue Ring, and the Red Ring. There are also Heart Containers and additional Bombs you can purchase that aren't necessary for Link to complete the game either. That's a significant amount so how hard you want to make the game is up to you and that pleases me greatly.
When Zelda II: The Adventure of Link came about, this all went away. Now the Palaces had to be completed in numerical order; items could only be acquired in a more-or-less precise sequence; and it was nearly impossible to complete the game without getting every single item in it even if those items were essentially one-use gimmicks. In the Legend of Zelda, Dungeons had locked doors and keys, but it was not always necessary to open every locked door allowing you to hoard keys for later. It was even possible to buy keys from Overworld merchants. In Zelda II and A Link to the Past, every dungeon's locked door was necessary to open and there were only exactly as many keys as needed to open them. There was a skeleton key in Zelda II but it was only available for us the Sixth Palace and the Final Palace. Items like the Blue Mail and Mirror Shield in A Link to the Past were only available in specific Dungeons and only then...never earlier through cunning or luck whereas in the original game, both the Magical Shield (blocks almost all shots the regular shield cannot) and Blue Ring (halves your damage) could be purchased in shops. You could have these things by simply grinding enemies in the Overworld to get Rupees and buying them before entering even the first Dungeon Level. Again, with the original game, options abounded depending on your level of prowess/insanity.
Additionally the Legend of Zelda came with a genuine Second Quest. When you beat the game (or simply cheated by making your character name ZELDA), you were given a new quest. It featured the same Overworld but with different locations for the Dungeons and secret places. It had completely different Dungeon Level layouts. It had additional features not found in the first quest like the Old Man requiring you pay a "door repair" charge and the more sinister "LEAVE YOUR LIFE OR MONEY" which, if you haven't learned your lesson from the First Quest to keep lots of Rupees on hand ("I BET YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE MORE BOMBS") when in Dungeons, you paid dearly for it with the permanent loss of a Heart Container (unless you somehow still only had three hearts when encountering him). It also featured new things like the Flute opening up more secret passages and the ever-strange walking through walls. Some walls in the Dungeon Levels were false and you could pass through them and they could be either one-way or two-way apparitions. They did not reveal themselves with Bombs so you just had to try and see what happened. It gave a whole new element to the game to work with. It also introduced different versions of some enemies like the Stalfos which now shoot sword beams at you and the Bubble which in the First Quest merely prevented you from using your sword for a few seconds upon contact (no damage to Link though). However in the Second Quest the Bubbles came in a red form which permanently took your sword away and a blue form which gave your sword back (you could also get your sword back by having your life restored by either a fairy or by using a life potion - apparently also by playing the Flute...I never knew this). Like in the First Quest, neither Bubble would physically harm Link. Zelda II had a technical Second Quest but it was identical to the First Quest. The only difference is that you started with maxed out Attack, Defense, and Magic which although a letdown in terms of having a new challenge, it is totally fun whaling on enemies in the early Palaces with your overpowered sword breezing through enemies that initially gave you such trouble. The early stages of the Second Quest in Zelda II could easily be subtitled "Link's Revenge". A Link to the Past has no Second Quest.
I've never played later games in the series. I only witnessed my (now ex-) roommate playing Twilight Princess and noticed undesirable features that I find are common in modern games like a guide (in this case Midna) that tells you what you're looking at or what to do instead of having you, the player, figure it out for yourself. In addition to the above-mentioned problems with having a precisely laid out path (despite it being an adventure game) and numerous fetch quests, it also would point out where the boss's weakness was during the fight instead of, again, having the player figure it out. I hate that shit. Early games didn't have this though it was more a consequence of memory being expensive and limited forcing the designers to instruct the player in other more subtle ways. Anyway, so that's it. The original game rules and those are my reasons. I hope you've enjoyed this stupid rant and you win 50 Internets if you figured out the reasoning behind the picture posts before reaching the end. If not, click the link (no pun intended) under the red Zelda and see for yourself.
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| Octoroks! |
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| Tektites! |
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| P-P-P-Peahats! |
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| Leevers! |
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| Zelda! |
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| Zelda!! |
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| Zelda!!! |
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
--- ASSORTED THOUGHTS ---
I can only assume that my roommate's job prospect did not pan out as he is still here keeping the couch warm and the TV from being lonely. He had a call for an interview. I can only presume that he went out for it, but was ultimately not offered the job. Oh well. At least he's been sleeping at better hours (from my perspective) so I've caught up on all my television finally but where oh where can this job be? I'm selfish and I want to pretend this apartment is mine and mine alone every day...at least for a little while.
I've been walking taller for the past week or two now and standing up straight when not in motion, looking ahead rather than down, all in a position as recommended by Anonymous's Life Hacks: a position which in fact, does make me feel more confident for some reason. Perhaps not coincidentally, the lowest part of my back has begun to hurt since assuming these positions. How ironic that a more confident posture would yield back pain. It makes me wonder if I've been keeping my head down for more reasons than simply low self-esteem.
I've found some old NES and SNES emulators recently that actually work rather well. Some games like Star Soldier (NES) and Bubsy in Clawed Encounters of the Furred Kind (SNES), both obscure titles, don't emulate well or at all which sucks as I learned to enjoy those games on my still functioning original systems. They make good companion pieces to MAME32, an arcade machine emulator which brings back far too many childhood memories of Showbiz Pizza. I've noticed they actually sell original NES and SNES controllers with grafted USB ports. I'm thinking of purchasing them because the keyboard is not always the best way to control certain games.
I've made my last half dollar purchase for the year at my bank. I got one 40% silver half out of $200 in halves. I'm starting to think the 90% ones I used to find somewhat regularly until mid-2008 is an era that's passed. I won't give up but it's been frustrating. I managed to get four 90% pieces this year: two Walkers and two Franklins. Impaired proofs are some random finds that I've been enjoying. I've gotten enough to justify labelling a Whitman folder in the hopes of completing the set someday. We'll see about that provided my bank doesn't cut me off by ceasing to order half dollars for its customers.
I've been walking taller for the past week or two now and standing up straight when not in motion, looking ahead rather than down, all in a position as recommended by Anonymous's Life Hacks: a position which in fact, does make me feel more confident for some reason. Perhaps not coincidentally, the lowest part of my back has begun to hurt since assuming these positions. How ironic that a more confident posture would yield back pain. It makes me wonder if I've been keeping my head down for more reasons than simply low self-esteem.
I've found some old NES and SNES emulators recently that actually work rather well. Some games like Star Soldier (NES) and Bubsy in Clawed Encounters of the Furred Kind (SNES), both obscure titles, don't emulate well or at all which sucks as I learned to enjoy those games on my still functioning original systems. They make good companion pieces to MAME32, an arcade machine emulator which brings back far too many childhood memories of Showbiz Pizza. I've noticed they actually sell original NES and SNES controllers with grafted USB ports. I'm thinking of purchasing them because the keyboard is not always the best way to control certain games.
I've made my last half dollar purchase for the year at my bank. I got one 40% silver half out of $200 in halves. I'm starting to think the 90% ones I used to find somewhat regularly until mid-2008 is an era that's passed. I won't give up but it's been frustrating. I managed to get four 90% pieces this year: two Walkers and two Franklins. Impaired proofs are some random finds that I've been enjoying. I've gotten enough to justify labelling a Whitman folder in the hopes of completing the set someday. We'll see about that provided my bank doesn't cut me off by ceasing to order half dollars for its customers.
Monday, October 25, 2010
!!!!! BAD JOKE ALERT !!!!!
Last night at work, a girl came in wearing a grey hoodie with the layout of a NES controller printed across it. The D-pad and BA buttons were over either of her breasts. Something tells me that entering the Konami Code would not have earned me 30 lives but rather, 30 to life...
Saturday, October 2, 2010
I WISH I STILL HAD MY LIGHTZAPPER NOW...
I just caught the following in a comment thread after reading a Cracked.com article on video game Easter Eggs that went undiscovered for, in some cases, ridiculously long times. From drysart on Reddit.com
How neat it would've been to have figured that out as a kid!
That's not actually how the light gun works; as evidenced by the fact that if you point it at a light bulb and pull the trigger, every shot is a hit. If it was based on timing the electron scan, as you say, then it'd always be seeing light instantly from the lightbulb when the trigger's pressed, which would lead to the gunfire being registered as being in more or less random place on the screen (whereever the electron scan happened to be at the instant the trigger was pulled), and as a result, would more often than not miss the duck.
It's much more simple than that. The gun detects light. Not color. When you pull the trigger, the screen goes black for a single frame except for the hit region where the duck is, which is white. If the gun sees the light of the white hit region (or the light emitted by the lightbulb you're pointing at instead), it registers a hit. If the gun doesn't see the light, it registers a miss.
Any display where the dark is sufficiently dark and the light is sufficiently light, and the refresh rate is fast enough to show the hit detection frame without bleedover from the previous frame would work. Electron scanning beams not necessary.
It's much more simple than that. The gun detects light. Not color. When you pull the trigger, the screen goes black for a single frame except for the hit region where the duck is, which is white. If the gun sees the light of the white hit region (or the light emitted by the lightbulb you're pointing at instead), it registers a hit. If the gun doesn't see the light, it registers a miss.
Any display where the dark is sufficiently dark and the light is sufficiently light, and the refresh rate is fast enough to show the hit detection frame without bleedover from the previous frame would work. Electron scanning beams not necessary.
How neat it would've been to have figured that out as a kid!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
NEVER MEME OF DYING
I found this on Electronic Cerebrectomy's blog...
1. My favorite genre of game
I would say Action games. I like my video games to only take about an hour to win at most.
2. Favorite Games
Arcade : TMNT, Galaga, Defender, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown IV
Atari2600 : Laser Blast, Seaquest, Super Breakout, Asteroids, Circus Atari
Atari5200 : Missile Command, Vanguard, Space Invaders, Joust, Mario Bros.
NES : Megaman 2, Tetris, Metroid, Blaster Master, The Legend of Zelda
Game Boy : TMNT, Nemesis, Castlevania, Metroid II,
SNES : Super Mario All-Stars, Gradius III, Axelay, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart
Genesis : Thunder Force III, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Road Rash, Splatterhouse 2
3. My hated game(s)
I didn't buy games that I didn't like so I don't have an answer to this
4. My favorite minion enemies
The Kemlus Snake from Vanguard (an unusual enemy that gave you 1090 bonus points if it captured you, but it only worked three times); every minor enemy in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter because you could keep "killing" them over and over again with grenades (they'd arc through the air screaming and leaving a trail of blood even though they were already dead. It was an entertaining glitch to exploit when using unlimited ammo cheat codes); the Nazi-esque soldiers of Metal Slug, especially when they'd laugh over your dead body and then scream (and try to run away) when your character reappeared; the Ironknuckles from Zelda II were fun to fight; the changing Invaders in the Atari5200 version of Space Invaders
5. My Most Hated minion enemies
The Pterodactyl from Joust; the Big Eye from Megaman; the Hammer Brothers from Super Mario Bros., the Reapers from Kid Icarus; the Hunchback from Castlevania; the Red Devil from Ghosts 'n Goblins; the Red Bubble and blue Wizzrobes from The Legend of Zelda; the Eagle from Ninja Gaiden --- later systems tended to lack those truly asshole enemies. It seems like they were more fixated on graphics than challenge; the Revenants from Doom II, not because they were hard but because I didn't like that they shot rockets at you. When they get close, they punch and kick you which is fine enough. The game needed more enemies that didn't shoot. Too many of them did.
6. My Favorite Enemies (Bosses)
The Regenertoid (Stage 3 Axelay); the Yellow Devil from Megaman is fun to fight; The area 4 boss in Contra III was another good fight where missiles are being fired into the boss and you have to hop from one to another firing at its core before the missiles are destroyed otherwise you fall to your death; Gond of Vanguard because I think it was the first game I had ever played with a boss
7. My Most hated Enemies (Bosses)
The Level 5 boss in Raiden II - it just does not die and fires a fuckload of fast-moving large bullets that are almost impossible to fly through and in a game with no shields and you lose everything you've accumulated when you die...it proves frustrating; The Grim Reaper in Castlevania since its sickles appear and move randomly on the screen even after the boss is killed and by this point in the game, you can only take four hits before dying; the Area 6 boss in Blaster Master - it's a souped-up version of the Area 2 boss: it has longer arms and shoots these fast-moving projectiles that do twice as much damage. It's hard to get close enough to do damage (though easy to kill if you cheat); Bacterion from Gradius III because it's practically impossible NOT to beat him: in fact, if you take too long, he'll kill himself!...very anticlimactic for a final boss
8. Most Loved Good Character
Megaman
9. Most hated good-character
Alucard from Castlevania III. He sounds cool and all since he can turn into a bat and fly around the game's many obstacles but his fireballs are incredibly weak even when powered up. Better off sticking with Grant DaNasty or even Syfa :-)
10. Most Memorable Game
The most memorable game I bought was Megaman. I remember being in Toys R Us with Dad looking for the game Dragon Warrior but they were sold out. Dad, not even knowing I liked the series, wondered if I would like this game. I saw he was pointing to the original Megaman, a game I thought I would never own. I wonder what drew Dad's attention to it considering the game's notoriously awful cover art?
Tetris is the game I was most happy to receive. Nan filled me in with the story on what must've been Christmas Eve 1989. My Uncle was the one who got the game. It must've been one of the last presents I opened and apparently I was very grateful that someone had remembered :-)
Of the games I never asked for that I ended up liking, Rygar for the NES I think was the best - awesome music and graphics with interesting enemies. It was one of the three NES games my brother and me got when we received the Nintendo for Christmas
Samurai Shodown IV makes me think of the gang at college and also the first arcade game I ever won :-)
Galaga was the first arcade game I ever got good at and TMNT was the first arcade game I was ever excited to play every time I saw the cabinet ANYWHERE
11. Least Memorable Game
Some stealth fighter game we got for Christmas that neither of us asked for. It got boring quickly. Golf for the Atari2600 was tedious.
12. Favorite segment of a game
The destruction of the Level 1 boss in Raiden II...it makes for a very satisfying thump :-); Stage 2 from Axelay has some awesome visuals; the "bonus" levels of Lemmings were uniquely designed and had special music. They were generally easier than any of the other levels so they acted as a breather level before getting back into the hard shit; the fire background effect for the Gorgon stage (2:50 in) in Thunderforce III is cool-looking
13. Least favorite segment of a game
Any Lemmings level that relies too much on luck or overly precise timing rather than skillful problem-solving with Mayhem 29 being the best example of this. The level is hard as fuck already taking over six minutes to complete. The problem is right at the end: two metal blocks that stick out only by a pixel so the falling lemming only walks on for less than a moment. Mistime the mouse click and you have to do it all over again. The fact that you have to do it twice makes it all the more infuriating. Lemmings 2 abounds in these kinds of levels too...unfortunately; Stage 4 in the NES TMNT had these instant-death spike walls closing in for three segments and your turtle had to drop down these narrow gaps. Miss one and you'll never make it; Any game that makes you spend oodles of time building experience points in pointless battles like Zelda II; and any adventure game that artificially limits where you can go and when early on. I liked how you didn't have to go through the dungeons in order in The Legend of Zelda. It's not smart to go to Level 3 first, but you COULD. Every other Zelda game prevents this. Dragon Warrior let you wander into territory with monsters way more powerful than you could fight; and most importantly...every Mortal Kombat game in the arcade. How the fuck were we supposed to figure out the key combinations for the Fatalities? How frustrating was it to win the match only to be completely impotent with your flailing opponent? Plus the computer often didn't perform the fatality on YOU when you lost. How cheap. You'd think it'd be the least the game could do to make your losing worthwhile. Plus, no special Goro fatality for your character? Ugh...
14. Most loved storyline
Honestly, I have never really played games with real storylines. I guess I would have to say the Ninja Gaiden series by default.
15. Favorite secret/easter egg/cheat
Infinite shield recharge for Nova 9; the Konami code for 30 guys in Contra and Life Force (I like how it backfired in Gradius III. If you used the code, your ship self-destructed!); pausing Blaster Master while damaging the bosses of Areas 4, 6, and 7 allowed them to keep taking damage until they died (especially helpful in Area 6); saving the animals who helped you out in Super Metroid before Zebes self-destructs was cute
16. How many games you've think you've played in your life
Probably over a hundred
17. How many games you (think) you own?
Unfortunately I no longer have the Atari2600 and Atari5200 systems. Of what I have left, I'd say between 50 and 75 cartridges
18. Favorite Weapon
Although not strong, I liked the concept of the "toothpaste beam" in Raiden II; the Metal Blade from Megaman 2 (this game made good use of the bosses' weapons throughout the stages unlike Mega Man III and up where they were basically only good against the bosses and not the stages - though I should take that back as I've seen videos recently on YouTube which show weapons from Megaman III and IV being used quite effectively throughout); the Spreader gun in Contra; the boomerang in Castlevania and Castlevania III; although an ineffective weapon overall, the Shockwave Weapon in Turok Dinosaur Hunter was fun to kill weak enemies with. When you hit them, they froze in place with this electrical effect around them and darkened before suddenly exploding
18a. Least Favorite Weapon
I felt I should add this one. I'll give it to Link's sword beam from Zelda II. It was completely worthless. First of all, it only travelled halfway across the screen before evaporating and secondly, it only hurt a few enemies like the bots and moglins, never the ones that such a distance shot might be helpful against. In the original game, having the sword beam was hardly a game-breaker...it was more of a relief that you didn't have to fight so dangerously close to the Like-Likes, Wizzrobes, and Darknuts.
The Megaman series is rife with these as well. The Gutsman technique, the Time Stopper from Flashman (you couldn't fire your weapon when using it), the Top Spin and Spark Shock (it froze enemies, but you couldn't switch back to your arm cannon to finish them off like you could with the Ice Slasher), the Rain Flush, etc. etc. etc.
19. Favorite spell/power
I didn't play RPGs so magic spells rarely applied. My favorite though (by default I suppose) was the "Hurt" spell from Dragon Warrior. Probably the most appropriately named spell ever. :-)
20. Hardest boss you've ever beaten
I generally find the stages in games to be harder than the battles themselves at the end. I guess, as a kid, Dracula from Castlevania would count [no pun intended] since it took me quite a while to defeat him. --- The three-eyed crab guarding the Dive module in Area 5 of Blaster Master gave me a lot of trouble growing up. I can defeat him no problem now but as a kid, I needed the NES advantage for both slow-motion and turbo to beat him. --- I could probably also add Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat 2 since I can only defeat him with Kitana and Baraka.
Nowadays, I have to make games harder on purpose by trying to win with lesser weapons and such. Using that metric, I would have to say Elecman and Iceman from Megaman are the hardest. I've beaten them, but I still can't defeat them using only the arm cannon. --- I could also add the final bosses from Double Dragon, but I've never defeated them without the Game Genie giving me all sorts of extra lives and using the NES advantage for turbo.
21. Easiest boss you've ever beaten
Bacterion from Gradius III goes down with barely a fight as does Zelos from Life Force. I think it's actually a tradition in the Gradius games to make the final boss be a pushover for some reason. --- The red Gohma guarding the Triforce piece in the Level-6 dungeon from the Legend of Zelda goes down with a single arrow. In fact if you shoot the arrow the moment you enter the room, you'll beat him before he fires a single shot.
22. Favorite System
The original Nintendo Entertainment System. It wasn't my first system nor was it the last but so many good memories have come from it :-)
23. Favorite gaming controller
I think the SNES controller demonstrated the maximum number of buttons one could comfortably fit upon a single controller. It allowed for arcade games like Street Fighter II to be adapted and it gave just enough control options to make other games useful. Also, unlike the Playstation controller, the Y and X buttons were concave and the B and A buttons were convex allowing for tactile differentiation.
24. Best Level Design
For aesthetics, I'll give it to Axelay for the SNES for its numerous creative backgrounds and stage elements of which Stages 2 and 3 excelled. The Casino Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was pretty cool-looking as well. --- For challenge, Super Mario Bros. "The Lost Levels" still makes me curse quite a lot. Several levels in Lemmings and Oh No! More Lemmings featured rather creative puzzles to solve.
25. Console or PC
While PCs are better for graphics and complexity, almost all my gaming memories are from consoles
26. Scariest moment in gaming
I remember jumping when the giant Bot appears out of nowhere and without warning in the final castle in Zelda II :-)
27. Most suspenseful moment in gaming
Whenever I'm in a new area on my last life, last continue, low on energy [or sometimes all three]. Knowing you're in a room full of traps doesn't help either. :-)
1. My favorite genre of game
I would say Action games. I like my video games to only take about an hour to win at most.
2. Favorite Games
Arcade : TMNT, Galaga, Defender, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown IV
Atari2600 : Laser Blast, Seaquest, Super Breakout, Asteroids, Circus Atari
Atari5200 : Missile Command, Vanguard, Space Invaders, Joust, Mario Bros.
NES : Megaman 2, Tetris, Metroid, Blaster Master, The Legend of Zelda
Game Boy : TMNT, Nemesis, Castlevania, Metroid II,
SNES : Super Mario All-Stars, Gradius III, Axelay, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart
Genesis : Thunder Force III, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Road Rash, Splatterhouse 2
3. My hated game(s)
I didn't buy games that I didn't like so I don't have an answer to this
4. My favorite minion enemies
The Kemlus Snake from Vanguard (an unusual enemy that gave you 1090 bonus points if it captured you, but it only worked three times); every minor enemy in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter because you could keep "killing" them over and over again with grenades (they'd arc through the air screaming and leaving a trail of blood even though they were already dead. It was an entertaining glitch to exploit when using unlimited ammo cheat codes); the Nazi-esque soldiers of Metal Slug, especially when they'd laugh over your dead body and then scream (and try to run away) when your character reappeared; the Ironknuckles from Zelda II were fun to fight; the changing Invaders in the Atari5200 version of Space Invaders
5. My Most Hated minion enemies
The Pterodactyl from Joust; the Big Eye from Megaman; the Hammer Brothers from Super Mario Bros., the Reapers from Kid Icarus; the Hunchback from Castlevania; the Red Devil from Ghosts 'n Goblins; the Red Bubble and blue Wizzrobes from The Legend of Zelda; the Eagle from Ninja Gaiden --- later systems tended to lack those truly asshole enemies. It seems like they were more fixated on graphics than challenge; the Revenants from Doom II, not because they were hard but because I didn't like that they shot rockets at you. When they get close, they punch and kick you which is fine enough. The game needed more enemies that didn't shoot. Too many of them did.
6. My Favorite Enemies (Bosses)
The Regenertoid (Stage 3 Axelay); the Yellow Devil from Megaman is fun to fight; The area 4 boss in Contra III was another good fight where missiles are being fired into the boss and you have to hop from one to another firing at its core before the missiles are destroyed otherwise you fall to your death; Gond of Vanguard because I think it was the first game I had ever played with a boss
7. My Most hated Enemies (Bosses)
The Level 5 boss in Raiden II - it just does not die and fires a fuckload of fast-moving large bullets that are almost impossible to fly through and in a game with no shields and you lose everything you've accumulated when you die...it proves frustrating; The Grim Reaper in Castlevania since its sickles appear and move randomly on the screen even after the boss is killed and by this point in the game, you can only take four hits before dying; the Area 6 boss in Blaster Master - it's a souped-up version of the Area 2 boss: it has longer arms and shoots these fast-moving projectiles that do twice as much damage. It's hard to get close enough to do damage (though easy to kill if you cheat); Bacterion from Gradius III because it's practically impossible NOT to beat him: in fact, if you take too long, he'll kill himself!...very anticlimactic for a final boss
8. Most Loved Good Character
Megaman
9. Most hated good-character
Alucard from Castlevania III. He sounds cool and all since he can turn into a bat and fly around the game's many obstacles but his fireballs are incredibly weak even when powered up. Better off sticking with Grant DaNasty or even Syfa :-)
10. Most Memorable Game
The most memorable game I bought was Megaman. I remember being in Toys R Us with Dad looking for the game Dragon Warrior but they were sold out. Dad, not even knowing I liked the series, wondered if I would like this game. I saw he was pointing to the original Megaman, a game I thought I would never own. I wonder what drew Dad's attention to it considering the game's notoriously awful cover art?
Tetris is the game I was most happy to receive. Nan filled me in with the story on what must've been Christmas Eve 1989. My Uncle was the one who got the game. It must've been one of the last presents I opened and apparently I was very grateful that someone had remembered :-)
Of the games I never asked for that I ended up liking, Rygar for the NES I think was the best - awesome music and graphics with interesting enemies. It was one of the three NES games my brother and me got when we received the Nintendo for Christmas
Samurai Shodown IV makes me think of the gang at college and also the first arcade game I ever won :-)
Galaga was the first arcade game I ever got good at and TMNT was the first arcade game I was ever excited to play every time I saw the cabinet ANYWHERE
11. Least Memorable Game
Some stealth fighter game we got for Christmas that neither of us asked for. It got boring quickly. Golf for the Atari2600 was tedious.
12. Favorite segment of a game
The destruction of the Level 1 boss in Raiden II...it makes for a very satisfying thump :-); Stage 2 from Axelay has some awesome visuals; the "bonus" levels of Lemmings were uniquely designed and had special music. They were generally easier than any of the other levels so they acted as a breather level before getting back into the hard shit; the fire background effect for the Gorgon stage (2:50 in) in Thunderforce III is cool-looking
13. Least favorite segment of a game
Any Lemmings level that relies too much on luck or overly precise timing rather than skillful problem-solving with Mayhem 29 being the best example of this. The level is hard as fuck already taking over six minutes to complete. The problem is right at the end: two metal blocks that stick out only by a pixel so the falling lemming only walks on for less than a moment. Mistime the mouse click and you have to do it all over again. The fact that you have to do it twice makes it all the more infuriating. Lemmings 2 abounds in these kinds of levels too...unfortunately; Stage 4 in the NES TMNT had these instant-death spike walls closing in for three segments and your turtle had to drop down these narrow gaps. Miss one and you'll never make it; Any game that makes you spend oodles of time building experience points in pointless battles like Zelda II; and any adventure game that artificially limits where you can go and when early on. I liked how you didn't have to go through the dungeons in order in The Legend of Zelda. It's not smart to go to Level 3 first, but you COULD. Every other Zelda game prevents this. Dragon Warrior let you wander into territory with monsters way more powerful than you could fight; and most importantly...every Mortal Kombat game in the arcade. How the fuck were we supposed to figure out the key combinations for the Fatalities? How frustrating was it to win the match only to be completely impotent with your flailing opponent? Plus the computer often didn't perform the fatality on YOU when you lost. How cheap. You'd think it'd be the least the game could do to make your losing worthwhile. Plus, no special Goro fatality for your character? Ugh...
14. Most loved storyline
Honestly, I have never really played games with real storylines. I guess I would have to say the Ninja Gaiden series by default.
15. Favorite secret/easter egg/cheat
Infinite shield recharge for Nova 9; the Konami code for 30 guys in Contra and Life Force (I like how it backfired in Gradius III. If you used the code, your ship self-destructed!); pausing Blaster Master while damaging the bosses of Areas 4, 6, and 7 allowed them to keep taking damage until they died (especially helpful in Area 6); saving the animals who helped you out in Super Metroid before Zebes self-destructs was cute
16. How many games you've think you've played in your life
Probably over a hundred
17. How many games you (think) you own?
Unfortunately I no longer have the Atari2600 and Atari5200 systems. Of what I have left, I'd say between 50 and 75 cartridges
18. Favorite Weapon
Although not strong, I liked the concept of the "toothpaste beam" in Raiden II; the Metal Blade from Megaman 2 (this game made good use of the bosses' weapons throughout the stages unlike Mega Man III and up where they were basically only good against the bosses and not the stages - though I should take that back as I've seen videos recently on YouTube which show weapons from Megaman III and IV being used quite effectively throughout); the Spreader gun in Contra; the boomerang in Castlevania and Castlevania III; although an ineffective weapon overall, the Shockwave Weapon in Turok Dinosaur Hunter was fun to kill weak enemies with. When you hit them, they froze in place with this electrical effect around them and darkened before suddenly exploding
18a. Least Favorite Weapon
I felt I should add this one. I'll give it to Link's sword beam from Zelda II. It was completely worthless. First of all, it only travelled halfway across the screen before evaporating and secondly, it only hurt a few enemies like the bots and moglins, never the ones that such a distance shot might be helpful against. In the original game, having the sword beam was hardly a game-breaker...it was more of a relief that you didn't have to fight so dangerously close to the Like-Likes, Wizzrobes, and Darknuts.
The Megaman series is rife with these as well. The Gutsman technique, the Time Stopper from Flashman (you couldn't fire your weapon when using it), the Top Spin and Spark Shock (it froze enemies, but you couldn't switch back to your arm cannon to finish them off like you could with the Ice Slasher), the Rain Flush, etc. etc. etc.
19. Favorite spell/power
I didn't play RPGs so magic spells rarely applied. My favorite though (by default I suppose) was the "Hurt" spell from Dragon Warrior. Probably the most appropriately named spell ever. :-)
20. Hardest boss you've ever beaten
I generally find the stages in games to be harder than the battles themselves at the end. I guess, as a kid, Dracula from Castlevania would count [no pun intended] since it took me quite a while to defeat him. --- The three-eyed crab guarding the Dive module in Area 5 of Blaster Master gave me a lot of trouble growing up. I can defeat him no problem now but as a kid, I needed the NES advantage for both slow-motion and turbo to beat him. --- I could probably also add Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat 2 since I can only defeat him with Kitana and Baraka.
Nowadays, I have to make games harder on purpose by trying to win with lesser weapons and such. Using that metric, I would have to say Elecman and Iceman from Megaman are the hardest. I've beaten them, but I still can't defeat them using only the arm cannon. --- I could also add the final bosses from Double Dragon, but I've never defeated them without the Game Genie giving me all sorts of extra lives and using the NES advantage for turbo.
21. Easiest boss you've ever beaten
Bacterion from Gradius III goes down with barely a fight as does Zelos from Life Force. I think it's actually a tradition in the Gradius games to make the final boss be a pushover for some reason. --- The red Gohma guarding the Triforce piece in the Level-6 dungeon from the Legend of Zelda goes down with a single arrow. In fact if you shoot the arrow the moment you enter the room, you'll beat him before he fires a single shot.
22. Favorite System
The original Nintendo Entertainment System. It wasn't my first system nor was it the last but so many good memories have come from it :-)
23. Favorite gaming controller
I think the SNES controller demonstrated the maximum number of buttons one could comfortably fit upon a single controller. It allowed for arcade games like Street Fighter II to be adapted and it gave just enough control options to make other games useful. Also, unlike the Playstation controller, the Y and X buttons were concave and the B and A buttons were convex allowing for tactile differentiation.
24. Best Level Design
For aesthetics, I'll give it to Axelay for the SNES for its numerous creative backgrounds and stage elements of which Stages 2 and 3 excelled. The Casino Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was pretty cool-looking as well. --- For challenge, Super Mario Bros. "The Lost Levels" still makes me curse quite a lot. Several levels in Lemmings and Oh No! More Lemmings featured rather creative puzzles to solve.
25. Console or PC
While PCs are better for graphics and complexity, almost all my gaming memories are from consoles
26. Scariest moment in gaming
I remember jumping when the giant Bot appears out of nowhere and without warning in the final castle in Zelda II :-)
27. Most suspenseful moment in gaming
Whenever I'm in a new area on my last life, last continue, low on energy [or sometimes all three]. Knowing you're in a room full of traps doesn't help either. :-)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
DAY 6 - WHATEVER TICKLES YOUR FANCY
I hate when the choice is mine. That's not my strongsuit... Not in the slightest. A blank page is incredibly difficult for me to create on. It's either an ability which has been lost or withered from disuse or simply suppressed through shame. But no matter what the reason, pulling things from the void is a frustrating experience. Throw in any limitation, any boundary, and it becomes that much easier to work with. Mine is a mind whose strength comes from bounded infinities, not unbounded ones. So, on a day like this (and the other days in this meme where I will choose something for my own to do), I will face difficulties. However, this one is overcomeable simply because I can enforce my own limitation: I will base today's entry on one of the previous ones.
Seeing as how it is almost Christmas, I will choose today my favorite Christmas song. And that is "Marshmallow World" as performed by Darlene Love off the album A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector; an album, which in my opinion, contains many of the definitive versions of the Christmas songs we are subjected to each and every year.
"Marshmallow World" as performed by Darlene Love
ADDENDUM: I take that back... I just found my new favorite Christmas song:
"Must Be Santa" as performed by Bob Dylan
(originally posted to That Other Journal on December 23, 2009)
Seeing as how it is almost Christmas, I will choose today my favorite Christmas song. And that is "Marshmallow World" as performed by Darlene Love off the album A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector; an album, which in my opinion, contains many of the definitive versions of the Christmas songs we are subjected to each and every year.
"Marshmallow World" as performed by Darlene Love
ADDENDUM: I take that back... I just found my new favorite Christmas song:
"Must Be Santa" as performed by Bob Dylan
(originally posted to That Other Journal on December 23, 2009)