What have you actually PLAYED tracker for 2019 (Season 12)

[Opry99er]

I think we're done for the week.

 

 

TI-99:

 

Blasto (30 minutes)

Borzork (20 minutes)

Par Fore! (25 minutes)

Red Baron (30 minutes)

Tunnels of Doom (40 minutes)

 

 

Classic Macintosh:

 

Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (60 minutes)

Enduro (Activision Fun Pak) (20 minutes)

Harry Potter-Sorcerer's Stone (20 minutes)

Lemmings (70 minutes)

Mario Game Pack (100 minutes)

Oh No! More Lemmings (20 minutes)

PAC Man (10 minutes)

PGA Tour Golf (90 minutes)

SimCity 2000 (40 minutes)

SimTower (10 minutes)

Spectre--'Bundle' version (20 minutes)

Star Trek TNG--Officer's Review (10 minutes)

Where/World Carmen Sandiego (20 minutes)

Wizardry VI (120 minutes)

Wolfenstein 3d (45 minutes)

 

 

Another Mac-heavy week.... with my TI mostly sidelined due to a few pesky hardware issues, the Mac is still getting a ton of face time.

 

BTW..... for those of you who have never experienced it, the Wolfenstein 3D on the Mac is SIGNIFICANTLY superior to the DOS versions. Improved SPRITEs, improved graphics, gameplay, and audio. I don't know exactly what they did, but it is a massive upgrade. Warning: it doesn't seem to run on a G4 processor natively. G3, okay.... but for some reason, it crashes on the G4 machines. (Without emulation, of course).

 

Works great on Classic Performa-type machines with 68xxx processors, and runs well on a G3 (although it feels slightly too fast), but I haven't been able to get it running on either G4 machine I have tried. I think it might have just been a bit too far removed from the original development environment.

[Atarian7]

Atari 2600

Kaboom! - 106 minutes

Super Breakout - 297 minutes

Hunchy 2 - 7 minutes

Edited April 7, 2019 by Atarian7

[Eltigro]

Hey guys, I finally played some more stuff! lol

 

Sega Master System/Mark III

Bomber Raid (emulated) - 10 min (A tough shooter. I'm not very good at them, but I like to try them. I'd probably be better if I spent more than 10 minutes at a time with them.)

 

Sega Genesis

Richard Scarry's Busy Town (emulated) - 27 minutes (This is barely a game. It's geared toward the very young gamer, and it shows. But, it's done pretty well and has a lot of digitized voices. Unfortunately there's just not much to do. I played for 27 minutes and did almost everything.)

 

Sega Saturn

Panzer Dragoon - 19 min (Just played til first game over. It's a fun game, but it would benefit from having a Saturn arcade stick.)

Panzer Dragoon Zwei (emulated) - 12 min (Pretty much the same as the above. Played til first game over. Not as familiar with this one, so it took less time. lol)

PGA Tour 97 - 45 min (Got 2 over par on TPC at Sawgrass. There's only two courses and I usually play the other one. There were some putts that I think I was definitely screwed on. Oh well.)

Radiant Silvergun (emulated) - 11 min (This is a rough game. Definitely would benefit from lots of playtime and practice... and a better controller. I'm using my XBox One controller on these emulated games and it's not always the best at playing Saturn games that use six face buttons.)

 

GameBoy

R-Type (emulated) - 12 minutes (This is a pretty darn good scaled down version of R-Type. It's probably best played in emulation to keep from having to deal with the GameBoy's screen. Some of the same tricks on the bosses can be used here. I got to the third stage... it's the stage that's really just a big warship or whatever... it's the stage I always die on when I'm playing the TurboGrafx version and this was no different.)

 

Lynx

Legend of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (emulated) - 20 min (This looks to be a really good platformer... especially for a hand held. It's colorful and has good music. But that's not uncommon for Disney games. The screen doesn't scroll very well vertically. Drop down a hole or jump up higher and the action stops while the screen moves up or down and then play resumes. It's serviceable and has been done in a lot of games, but it'd be nice if it didn't do that here. I played to my first game over.)

 

Arcade (MAME)

Sonic Wings 3 (emulated) - 37 min (This is actually a NeoGeo game, so if there's a separate designation for that, I guess put it there. Vertically scrolling shooter with about ten different planes/characters. Each plane of course has different main weapons and special weapons. Some of the special weapons are crazy (like turning into a giant robot that stomps along smashing stuff). There's cut scenes after stages and the characters say things. The first stage is the same for everyone, but the second stage changes. Not sure if that's based on what character you're using or if it's determined by something else. You can pretty much quarter feed your way through most of the game, but at some point, you no longer continue right where you left off. It might be the last level, but at that point, continues start you back at the beginning of the level, so you have to complete that level on one credit. I didn't make it.)

Tetris (emulated) - 7 min (The Atari Tetris arcade game. Never played this one before... I mean, I've played Tetris of course... who hasn't... just never this version. It's not bad, but again, I think it'd be better with a real arcade joystick. I didn't get far. I'm better at Tetris on my GameBoy, even with the bad screen.)

 

TurboGrafx-16/PCEngine

Gradius (emulated) - 23 minutes (Played this a few times, then figured out how to turn the turbo on in the emulator. That made things a little easier, of course. But I still didn't get far.)

Darius Plus (emulated) - 5 minutes (Darius is such a tough game... mainly because so many things need multiple hits to kill them. The turbo helped, but dodging bullets meant I couldn't concentrate fire on a target and I was quickly overrun. That first level theme, though, Captain Nemo I think it's called, is still one of my all time favorite video game themes.)

 

[Agamon]

NES

Blaster Master (14 min)

Clu Clu Land (10 min)

Gradius (32 min)

Kung Fu (9 min)

Lifeforce (10 min)

 

Got some Nintendo time this weekend. Mostly because I had a hankering for some Gradius, but got a few other games in, too.

[+thegoldenband]

My only gameplay time for the week:

 

NES:

Dragon’s Lair - 860 min.

Got close to beating this: I can make it to the final boss consistently (with max lives, even), and can beat him if I start there from a savestate, but haven't put both of those things together yet. Horrible, miserable, torturous game.

[+wongojack]

 

My only gameplay time for the week:

 

NES:

Dragon’s Lair - 860 min.

Got close to beating this: I can make it to the final boss consistently (with max lives, even), and can beat him if I start there from a savestate, but haven't put both of those things together yet. Horrible, miserable, torturous game.

 

 

That game is soooo bad. Hats off to you for playing it more than 14 hours!

[+wongojack]

Arcade

Donkey Kong 159

Donkey Kong II: Jumpman Returns 4

Donkey Kong Christmas Remix 57

Donkey Kong Spooky Remix 42

Donkey Kong Jr 1

Galaxian 12

GaPlus 14

Mission X 14

Timber 10

SNES

Zelda L2tP 243

I finished Link to the Past! I don't really have that much to say about it. I did have to check a few things toward the end (where's that cloak?), but I didn't reference a walkthrough to guide me totally through a dungeon or anything. Overall, I had fun discovering the game and solving the puzzles in the dungeons. While I was fighting Gannon, I took a break and explored around again. You get pushed out of the fight and have the ability to go run around and heal up and stuff, so I ended up finding the way to reduce my magic usage just through exploration and trial and error - wasn't expecting that. Anyway, it really is a fantastic game.

I also got on a Donkey Kong kick and decided to try and find some of the better known hacks. These hacks are all playable in MAME, and there are even plug-in boards available to add the "Remix" version of DK to an existing cab. There is also a DK Jr. "Remix" which I've logged time for in the tracker, but I don't think the ROM has ever been leaked. It's arcade and in-person only. On top of all those DK hacks, I also played the original version of Fix it Felix Jr. which I logged time for in the modern tracker (its a PC game).

[DragonGrafx-16]

Override (PC-Engine/TG-16) 50 mins (died on the final boss with no continues left)
Twinbee 3 (Famicom) 55 mins - I just beat this game! I think I only had one life left... I was so close to failing lol

[digdugnate]

I'm slowly finishing out my FF7 playthrough- I'd guess i'm about 2/3 of the way through my replay of the game.

 

PS1:

 

Final Fantasy VII -- 753 minutes

[Opry99er]

On DK hacks, Donkey Doo on Mac System 6 is an interesting one.

 

Not good.... but, interesting (is the word I choose to use)

[Skippy B. Coyote]

With company visiting I don't have a lot of free time to do my usual picture and writeup this week, but here's my household's times for the week nevertheless.


Ineligible
Dead Space: Extraction (Nintendo Wii) - 71 minutes
DOOM (Nintendo Switch) - 345 minutes
Night in the Woods (Nintendo Switch) - 60 minutes
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo Switch) - 690 minutes

Arcade
Pac-Man (Played on Namco Museum Arcade Pac for Nintendo Switch) - 10 minutes

Atari 2600
Adventure - 52 minutes
Lead - 10 minutes
Reindeer Rescue - 26 minutes
River Raid 3 - 7 minutes
Super Breakout - 12 minutes

Sega Genesis
Brutal: Paws of Fury - 18 minutes
Golden Axe - 40 minutes
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi - 10 minutes
Streets of Rage - 70 minutes


Total Video Game Play Time This Week
1,411 minutes (23 hours 31 minutes) [245 minutes eligible]

Individual System Play Times This Week
Nintendo Switch: 1,095 minutes
Sega Genesis: 138 minutes
Atari 2600: 107 minutes
Nintendo Wii: 71 minutes

[karokoenig]

Atari 2600

Bank Heist: 6 min

 

Crazy busy last week. And a bad draw for me in this matchup for the first round of the Bronze Medal Challenge at the end of the HSC. I would guess anyone of you could beat me in Bank Heist with a hand tied to the back - and blindfolded...

[+davidcalgary29]

No game time for me this week, although I did stare longingly at the box for Jag Treasure Island Dizzy for about eight minutes. Can I count that?

[carlsson]

I'll consider your staring in case we need a tiebreaker.

[agb]

Times for the week are:

Atari 2600:

Eggomania 157 mins. Broke 40,000 four times

Solar Fox 109 mins

No variety. No variety expected this week either.

[carlsson]

Here's the summary for Week 14, running from April 1 - 7. We logged 4796 minutes of eligible play, playing 92 games on a total of 16 systems.

Top 10:

1. Dragon's Lair (NES/Famicom) - 860 min.
2. Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation) - 753 min.
3. Super Breakout (Atari 2600) - 309 min.
4. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) - 243 min.
5. Donkey Kong (Arcade) - 159 min.
6. Eggomania (Atari 2600) - 157 min.
7. Wizardry VI (Mac OS Classic) - 120 min.
8. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 109 min.
9. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 106 min.
10. Mario Game Pack (Mac OS Classic) - 100 min.

Pre-NES top 10:

1. Super Breakout (Atari 2600) - 309 min.
2. Donkey Kong (Arcade) - 159 min.
3. Eggomania (Atari 2600) - 157 min.
4. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 109 min.
5. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 106 min.
6. T:me Salvo (Atari 7800) - 99 min.
7. Sky Skipper (Arcade) - 90 min.
8. Berks Four (Atari 8-bit) - 81 min.
9. Donkey Kong Christmas Remix (Arcade) - 57 min.
10. Adventure (Atari 2600) - 52 min.

Top 10 systems:

1. NES/Famicom (990)
2. Atari 2600 (835)
3. PlayStation (753)
4. Mac OS Classic (655)
5. Arcade (420)
6. SNES (243)
7. Atari 8-bit (223)
8. TI-99/4A (169)
9. Genesis (165)
10. Atari 7800 (99)

Final Fantasy VII has to settle with second place this week, as Dragon's Lair remains on the lists, just that the TI-99/4A version from last week now has been replaced by the NES version. Although Super Breakout only produces half the gameplay it had three weeks ago, it is enough to win the pre-NES category by 2.5 hours margin over the Donkey Kong arcade game which in its turn barely keeps out for Eggomania in third place. The system list also is a fairly tight race with less than 6 hours between #1 NES and #4 Mac Classic.

 

We have two games celebrating milestones this week:

 

Dragon's Lair (NES/Famicom) becomes member #366 in the 1000 Minute Club with a total of 1078 minutes. This is the second week in a row that Thegoldenband manages to pick up a NES game with fairly low amount of previous gameplay, puts in some 12-14 hours of quality gaming and leverages it right above the 1000 minute margin.

 

Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation) becomes member #22 in the 5000 Minute Club with a total of 5429 minutes, which puts it in 18th place in the all-time stats. It is only 98 minutes away from becoming the most played Final Fantasy game ever, and only 20 hours away from becoming the most played PS1 game ever..

Edited April 9, 2019 by carlsson

[Opry99er]

Looks like we need to pick up our game a bit... the beloved TI-99/4A and our Mac Classic are lagging behind with the huge individual minute counts by TGB and Nate!

 

 

Might be time for a good Legends marathon or a couple full 3-war campaigns on Chuck Yeager on Hard mode.

[+davidcalgary29]

Hey guys, I finally played some more stuff! lol

 

 

Lynx

Legend of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (emulated) - 20 min (This looks to be a really good platformer... especially for a hand held. It's colorful and has good music. But that's not uncommon for Disney games. The screen doesn't scroll very well vertically. Drop down a hole or jump up higher and the action stops while the screen moves up or down and then play resumes. It's serviceable and has been done in a lot of games, but it'd be nice if it didn't do that here. I played to my first game over.)

 

 

 

Wait, what?

[Eltigro]

 

Wait, what?

 

Maybe it was Game Gear? Will have to go back and look...

[+davidcalgary29]

 

Maybe it was Game Gear? Will have to go back and look...

 

I'm going to hope/pretend that you've discovered the Lynx find of the decade.

[carlsson]

All online evidence points to it being a Sega game for the Master System and Game Gear, so I suppose you emulated the later (for which the tracker already had an entry). Usually I don't bother to double check stuff unless it is ambiguous.

[Eltigro]

Yep, sorry. It was Game Gear.

[agb]

Posting my times early this week.

All Atari 2600

Eggomania 118. I got a personal best of 82,926.

Kaboom. 17 mins

Solar Fox 93 mins

Fun Atari week.

[Atarian7]

Awesome Eggomania score! At what score does the difficulty level off?

[agb]

Awesome Eggomania score! At what score does the difficulty level off?

It keeps getting a little more difficult. Once I hit 40,000 I get in a groove. Fun game. Easier than Kaboom for me but similar. Thank you.