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thegoldenband

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Posts posted by thegoldenband

  1. Posted

    10 hours ago, wongojack said:

    Colecovision

    Sydney Hunter Caverns of Death 178

     

    I think I'm done with this game.  I made it to level 7 of 10, but every level ends with a sequence where you have to jump from vertical ropes while lava rises below.  The controls are extremely precise and it is incredibly easy to NOT catch the ropes (and die).  Plus, the sequences require you to memorize the layout and enemies to be successful.  That combination of being forced to repeat and memorize while a core game mechanic is extremely touchy makes for some very unenjoyable gameplay.  I just don't think I can make myself do it anymore.

    That sounds very similar to the SNES version, but that one had passwords. Still, those rope-jumping sequences pretty much ruin the game, which is otherwise fun and very nice-looking (at least on the SNES).

     

    And the physics also made no sense, because the enemies scrolled with the screen, rather than with the game world -- a lot like the ghosts in the famously disastrous staircase sequence in Ghostbusters NES.

     

    I don't know why, or how, a game with so much obvious TLC allowed something so fundamentally joyless to be part of the final build.

    • Like 3

  2. Posted

    2 hours ago, Jaguar 2000 said:

    did u beat it in one sitting or used the access code to continue the sector where u left off? the game is quite long and hard to finish in one sitting especially sector 4 and 5

    I did one sector, or 8 (really 9) planets, at a time. I'd never try to do the whole game start to finish in one sitting, it's far too long for that!

  4. Posted

    74. Millipede (NES)

     

    Going by the standards used by beat-every-game projects, I "beat" this by clearing Round 16 on both A and B difficulties, after which the content apparently loops (more or less). Not going to rate it, but it's a moderately entertaining port that's on the easy side -- in both cases, I made Round 25 or so on my first try. n/a

     

    75. Gyruss (NES)

     

    One of the first games I ever "beat", but that was back around 1989 with the 30-life code. This time I did it legit, and boy, did I need every extra life I earned along the way, as I was down to my last ship when I finally beat the end boss.

     

    Up to that point, however, the game really isn't that tough -- I went into that boss battle with 5-6 lives in reserve -- and doesn't deserve its reputation for punishing difficulty: I beat it on only my second attempt. It certainly plays well, but occasionally enemy projectiles were almost impossible to see, and I don't know that I enjoy edge-crowding mechanics or mostly-invulnerable enemy types in a game like this. But that's getting very picky. B+.

     

    76. Jeopardy! Junior Edition (NES)

     

    Happened to have a cart for this, so I thought I should play it. Most of the challenge was in figuring out that you use the D-pad to ring in (so annoying to miss out on answering that first clue!), or in understanding the format the computer expected (if the clue was something like "THIS IS EIGHT OUNCES", the required response was "1 CUP", not just "CUP").

     

    Otherwise I just started hitting the buzzer before I even saw the question...uh, answer...and won by, I don't know, $12k to $900 or something like that (the other CPU player ran out of money before Final Jeopardy). It's competent, but not really meant for me, so how can I grade it? n/a

  5. Posted

    Nice trend happening lately, as GCNDex and FamiThon have returned. Both projects had self-canceled a while back despite putting out a ton of videos, but both are now back in business, with FamiThon putting out a video about Volleyball today.

     

    I also want to give a shout-out to Sega Masters, which is almost done converting its old blog entries into video form, and has covered a few additional games besides, putting it about 2/3 of the way through completing the US library. That series deserves more attention than it's received -- the creator's clearly put a lot of work into it.

    • Like 2

  6. Posted

    15 hours ago, wongojack said:

    The Collectorvision Phoenix is a homebrew console!  Pretty amazing right?  It plays original Coleco carts as well as homebrews that require the Super Game Module or the FA18 upgrade chip.  You can order a Phoenix if you want to from the Collectorvision website.  They are going to do another run of Xhundred consoles to give another set of people to have access.

    I have to admit I'm intrigued, despite the price and lack of analog outs. I noticed that it plays Atari 2600 games as well -- does it do that through the native cartridge slot, or require an adapter? A zero-lag, HDMI-capable system that plays Atari would be an interesting thing to have.

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    Let's remember that our colleague is only 13 (IIRC), so do cut him some slack.

     

    Young folks brimming with enthusiasm may not always perfectly execute every rule of decorum or "read the room" correctly. But they're the force that infuses a scene -- any scene -- with new energy. Without that, it becomes a bunch of old men grumbling at each other about how much better things used to be. :)

     

    And the surest way to stay young in spirit as you get older is to stay inspired by the energy of youth. If you know any people over 70 who still have that light in their eyes (and you know the light I mean), they usually appreciate the young and feel uplifted by their energy, rather than resenting it.

    • Like 6

  9. Posted

    My times for the week:

     

    SG-1000:
    Chack’n Pop -  798 min.

     

    NES:

    Cabal - 54 min.

    Wheel of Fortune - 9 min.
    Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition - 25 min.
    Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White - 49 min.
    Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition - 9 min.

     

    Beat all these games! Thoughts here. Defeating Chack'n Pop at last was a welcome relief -- another one to clear off the replay list -- while Cabal was unexpectedly easy.

    • Like 4

  11. Posted

    68. Chack'n Pop (Sega SG-1000)

     

    Very demanding single-screen platformer with significant puzzle elements. The SG-1000 port of this Bubble Bobble predecessor is much better than the Famicom version in just about every way, but I do wish they'd dialed back a couple of the player-unfriendly elements. In particular, the abundance of "walking dead" scenarios in later levels gets old fast. B.

     

    69. Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition (NES)

    70. Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition (NES)

    71. Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White (NES)

    72. Wheel of Fortune (NES)

     

    After I tried running Gyruss on my EverDrive and got a near-instant crash, I figured I'd run through a Wheel of Fortune game to see if the issue was with my NES. I ended up doing all four, with the same settings across the board: hardest difficulty, 2 CPU opponents, final puzzle solved correctly.

     

    It's bizarre that the NES has four distinct WOF games. Three of them are quite similar, though, with the original game and Family Edition getting a C+ for their superior presentation, while Junior Edition gets a C- for its sparser, cheaper feeling. Family Edition took me about 25 minutes to beat, the others under 10 minutes each.

     

    However, the Vanna White game is a stinker by comparison, with much slower gameplay (it took an hour to beat) and a revised interface that conceals the operation of the wheel from the players. Perhaps not coincidentally, it seems as though the CPU cheats: compared to my 9-10 Bankrupts and Lose a Turns, the CPU only got one.

     

    It also doesn't warn you when you've reached the final round, and...I dunno, it just kinda sucks. D-.

     

    73. Cabal (NES)

     

    Good, clean, mindless fun, this cover-based shooter is an easy game masquerading as a hard one. It'd be nice if there were more to it, but then again sometimes it's nice to have a game that doesn't offer "more". Gotta love the bowlegged victory dance too. C+.

  14. Posted

    4 hours ago, nosweargamer said:

    Time for another Recent Pickups Video.
    This one includes rare games for the Lynx & Intellivision, plus more cool stuff!

    Awesome that you'll be able to do a complete Intellivision review set! I love projects like that. :) They're coming out with a Stadium Mud Buggies re-release as well, which I'm looking forward to picking up.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    66. Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu (NES)

     

    Some unusual decisions went into this action platformer -- right down to the inclusion of a 99-continue code in the manual (!), which I obviously didn't use. One wonders if the designers started out with the intention of making a tough and challenging game, but backed off and ended up offering lavish health power-ups and easy boss fights.

     

    Anyway, it plays well, looks good, and doesn't offer much challenge at all once you get on its wavelength. Funny thing is when I first played the game, I had a hard time with it, but once I sat down on real hardware I beat it on my second attempt. B-.

  17. Posted

    1 hour ago, Steven Pendleton said:

    Genesis/MD
    Lotus II - 13

    I recently learned that this game was not optimized for NTSC, so it runs too fast, but since it's a game about going fast anyway and it doesn't really seem to affect it negatively, who cares?

    I don't know about Lotus II, but I know someone who spent weeks and weeks trying to beat Lotus Turbo Challenge on a Japanese Mega Drive, finally did -- and only then realized that they could/should have been playing at the intended speed all along, since they live in a PAL/50Hz region. Apparently the game is significantly harder at 60Hz.

     

    There's a list going at Sega-16 of games that weren't optimized for 60Hz (a list of the opposite, i.e. games that weren't optimized for 50Hz, would be ridiculously long of course). It's not always 100% clearcut but some cases are clearly too fast, like Shadow of the Beast. The vast majority are Amiga ports.

     

    There are also some PAL exclusives that don't work properly at 60Hz; here's a list in progress. One of the most insidious is Smurfs 2, which will reliably crash a few stages into the game. I had to beat that one in an emulator.

    • Like 2

  18. Posted

    At about $171 USD as of today, I'd say that's a very competitive price as long as it works -- I'd jump on it.

     

    I paid about $100 for mine with 1 controller, 1 game with manual + overlay, and a fairly beaten-up box, but that was back in 2009 before prices exploded. The only completed listings on Ebay that sold for $200 or less usually have major issues or missing controllers.

     

    It's a very special system, well worth owning just on aesthetics alone. I don't play mine much but it sure gets a lot of oohs and aahs when I have friends and family over. :) Not that that happens much these days...

  20. Posted

    65. Quartet (SMS)

     

    Has its charm, but the reversal of jump and fire buttons -- something that doesn't usually bother me -- turns out to be a real annoyance in this one, as does the relentless, ceaseless respawning of enemies.

     

    Also, you get the feeling that whoever put the manual together realized that Japanese-style "to win, you must uncover obscure secrets with zero clues" gaming wasn't going to fly in the US, as the booklet gives away just about all of those secrets.

     

    Without that to pad its length artificially, Quartet is really quite slight, and not really that tough once you learn the levels and location of health power-ups. I beat it in well under 2 hours, after only having played it briefly once or twice before.

     

    Perversely, there's a streak of real fun in there -- much more so than in, say, Vigilante or Kung Fu Kid or ESWAT, but still not as much as there should have been. C-.

  21. Posted

    64. Phantasy Star (SMS)

     

    It's good! I get tired of opening chests all the time, mind you, and money doesn't mean much for the last 25% of the game. And it'd be nice to have some way of recharging magic points while on the road, or getting non-garbage item drops from enemies.

     

    But considering how early an effort this is, it's remarkably slick, polished, and user-friendly, and that last 25% is much less of a hassle than I'd expected. A.

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    I decided to put together a list of all the licensed, North American-released NES games that haven't been tracked yet, and it turns out to be a bit over 200 games. No promises for accuracy, but it's probably close:

     

    Spoiler

    10 Yard Fight
    720°
    Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt, The
    Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance
    Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing
    Alfred Chicken
    Anticipation
    Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl!
    Athletic World
    Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
    Bad News Baseball
    Bad Street Brawler
    Bandit Kings of Ancient China
    Base Wars - Cyber Stadium Series
    Baseball Simulator 1.000
    Bases Loaded III
    Bases Loaded IV
    Best of the Best: Championship Karate
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
    Bill Elliot's Nascar Challenge
    Black Bass
    Bo Jackson Baseball
    Break Time: The National Pool Tour
    Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, The
    Cabal
    Caesar's Palace
    California Games
    Captain Planet
    Casino Kid 2
    Castlequest
    Caveman Games
    Championship Bowling
    Championship Pool
    Chubby Cherub
    Classic Concentration
    Cliffhanger
    Cobra Command
    Conflict
    Cowboy Kid
    Cyberball
    Dance Aerobics
    Darkman
    Darkwing Duck
    Day Dreamin' Davey
    Deja Vu
    Die Hard
    Dirty Harry: The War Against Drugs
    Double Dare
    Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
    Dragon Fighter
    Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
    Eliminator Boat Duel
    Empire Strikes Back, The
    F-117A Stealth Fighter
    F-15 Strike Eagle
    Fire 'N Ice
    Fisher Price: I Can Remember
    Fisher Price: Perfect Fit
    Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak, The
    Formula 1: Built to Win
    Frankenstein: The Monster Returns
    Fun House
    G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
    Gemfire
    George Foreman's KO Boxing
    Ghoul School
    Goal!
    Goal! Two
    Gold Medal Challenge '92
    Gotcha!
    Great Waldo Search, The
    Harlem Globetrotters
    Hollywood Squares
    Hook
    Hoops
    Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
    Immortal, The
    Incredible Crash Dummies, The
    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Taito version)
    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Ubisoft version)
    James Bond Jr.
    Jeopardy! Jr. Edition
    Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper, The
    Joe & Mac
    John Elway's Quarterback
    Jungle Book, The
    Jurassic Park
    Kick Master
    Kiwi Kraze
    Knight Rider
    Kung Fu Heroes
    Legend of Ghost Lion
    Lethal Weapon
    Little Ninja Brothers
    Low G-Man
    M.C. Kids
    M.U.L.E.
    M.U.S.C.L.E.
    Mafat Conspiracy: Golgo 13 II, The
    Magic Johnson's Fast Break
    Maniac Mansion
    Mappyland
    Mario is Missing
    Mario's Time Machine
    Michael Andretti's World Grand Prix
    Mickey's Adventures in Numberland
    Mickey's Safari in Letterland
    Might & Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum
    Miracle Piano Teaching System
    Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival
    NARC
    NES Play Action Football
    NFL Football
    Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing
    Nightshade
    Ninja Crusaders
    Nintendo World Cup Soccer
    Nobunaga's Ambition II
    North and South
    Panic Restaurant
    Paperboy 2
    Pictionary
    Power Blade
    Power Blade 2
    Power Punch II
    Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
    Pro Sport Hockey
    Punisher, The
    Qix
    Rainbow Islands
    Rambo
    Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$, The
    Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
    RoboCop
    Rock 'n Ball
    Rocketeer, The
    Rockin' Kats
    Rollerball
    Rollerblade Racer
    Rollergames
    Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
    Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge
    Sesame Street: ABC
    Sesame Street: Big Bird's Hide & Speak
    Sesame Street: Countdown
    Shadow of the Ninja
    Short Order/Eggsplode
    Side Pocket
    Simpsons: Bart vs. the World, The
    Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, The
    Skate Or Die 2
    Sky Shark
    Soccer
    Space Shuttle Project
    Spy vs. Spy
    Stack-Up
    Stanley and the Search for Dr. Livingston
    Star Trek
    Star Trek: The Next Generation
    Street Cop
    Strider
    Super Glove Ball
    Super Spike V'Ball
    Super Team Games
    Taboo: The Sixth Sense
    Tecmo Baseball
    Tecmo NBA Basketball
    Tecmo World Cup Soccer
    Tecmo World Wrestling
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
    Terminator 2: Judgment Day
    Terminator, The
    Three Stooges, The
    Thunderbirds
    To the Earth
    Toki
    Tombs & Treasure
    Top Gun: The Second Mission
    Totally Rad
    Touchdown Fever
    Town & Country II: Thrilla's Surfari
    Treasure Master
    Twin Eagle
    Ultimate Basketball
    Untouchables, The
    Vegas Dream
    Videomation
    Volleyball
    Wall Street Kid
    Wayne Gretzky Hockey
    Werewolf: The Last Warrior
    Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition
    Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White
    Wheel of Fortune: Jr.
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
    Widget
    Win, Lose or Draw
    Winter Games
    Wolverine
    World Champ
    World Championship Wrestling
    World Games
    WrestleMania
    Wurm: Journey to the Center of the Earth
    WWF King of the Ring
    WWF Wrestlemania Challenge
    WWF Wrestlemania: Steel Cage Challenge
    Xexyz
    Yoshi's Cookie
    Zen: Intergalactic Ninja
    Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II

     

    A lot of obvious choices but a few surprises to be sure: no Power Blade 1 or 2? Or -- to stick to common, often-played games -- no Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, RoboCop, Strider, or Xexyz?

     

    The funny thing is, I own a few of those like Thunderbirds and WURM, so maybe I'll move them up on my to-play list. :) Also I'm 90% sure I've played Alfred Chicken and Cabal sometime in the last 10 years, but I guess it was only for a moment or I didn't log the time.

     

    Also a few of these have been played as substantially different versions from other regions or prototypes, e.g. Power Punch II (played as the Mike Tyson prototype) or Castlequest (played as Castle Excellent).

     

    BTW I found a couple doubles in the list of NES games that have been played -- 100% my fault, since they date to the pre-Carlsson era: "Atlus Golf Grand Slam" and "Golf Grand Slam" should be combined, as should "Ultimate Air Combat" and "Utlimate [sic] Air Combat".

     

    On the other hand "Magic John" isn't a typo for "Magic Johnson's Fast Break" nor a mythical game about an enchanted toilet, but a Famicom exclusive that I apparently played five years ago...? No memory of it, but then again it was only 2 minutes!

    • Like 4

  23. Posted

    23 minutes ago, carlsson said:

    Sega 32X: 31 games tracked out of your figure of 40 games total

    Sega 32X CD: 4 games tracked

    Vectrex: 67 games of which some should be homebrews

     

    Obviously, the times for the combined cartridge Protector/YASI should have been listed separately as Protector and YASI, just like people don't list times for Duck Hunt/Super Mario Bros as a combined unit.

    Aha, got it. It looks like the number of tracked 32X games hasn't changed since the end of 2018, so here's the word:

     

    Officially-released games untracked on the 32X (cartridge format): FIFA '96 (European exclusive), NFL Quarterback Club, RBI Baseball '95, Sangokushi IV (Japanese exclusive), Star Trek: Starfleet Academy


    Officially-released games untracked on the 32X CD: Slam City with Scottie Pippen, Surgical Strike (Brazilian exclusive)

     

    Unsurprising that it's mostly sports, plus a language barrier game, a super-rare Brazilian release, and the Star Trek game.

     

    On the Vectrex front, it looks like only three original releases are left, and equally unsurprising that they're all 3D games:

     

    Officially-released games untracked on the Vectrex: 3D Crazy Coaster, 3D Mine Storm, 3D Narrow Escape

     

    If I ever get the 3D imager or an equivalent replacement, I'll give them a whirl!

     

    Regarding the Protector/YASI thing, I actually found the post in question, which dates from 2009 when the tracker was young and spring was in the air:

     

    Unfortunately grandcross has under 50 posts, so I assume that poster is long gone, and probably wouldn't remember which game was played back in 2009 anyway. :) I'm guessing Protector, based on the difficulty.

    • Like 3

  24. Posted

    9 hours ago, carlsson said:

    If we look at the Atari 2600, thegoldenband compiled a list of known games not yet tracked of which some 20 titles still remain.

    Just for clarity, that was a list of Atari 2600 games released in North America -- there were still a bunch of PAL games that could be added. There are also some fringe titles that were released in NTSC format but as bootlegs. For the overall list, as far as I know this blog entry from IHATETHEBEARS is still definitive --

     

    -- and it looks like we both use it as a reference. :)

     

    I would think the Sega 32X can't be too far from a complete reckoning, though there is the complication of the four out-of-region exclusives (2 European, 1 Japanese, 1 Brazilian). 40 games total, as I recall. The Vectrex's original release library might be pretty close to 100% too.

     

     

    • Like 2

  25. Posted

    5 hours ago, Jaguar 2000 said:

     

    You are quite right! all attempts i made at a guns blazing frontal assault ended up in disaster- when i found out how to use the radar and approached targets with strategy or 'stealth' i managed to complete the objectives and clear the mission. The little i played of it on emulator, i like it , it's fun- it does have a steep learning curve though. 

    In later missions, you can do a tremendous amount with the mortar to take out enemies before ever seeing them. I'm not sure, but there may even be one or two cases where you're literally required to do that, i.e. you never actually see the enemy building in question because it's in an inaccessible area.

     

    Cybermorph and Hover Strike are very much of a piece, I think -- both games that expect a very cautious, well-planned approach, and if you enjoy that play style, they're a perfect match. If someone goes in expecting fast-paced visceral arcade action, however, they're certain to be disappointed.

    • Like 1
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