Scrapyard Dog- Anyone actually beat it? (Contains Final Boss Spoiler)

[Stevaside]

Seems it gets alot of hate online & yea, the main character is somewhat a rip-off of Mario...but I always thought the game had its own charm to it & IMO is one of the most advanced games on the 7800....Clearly shows us that the 7800 had potential to bring us it's share of NES-style platformers if things turned out differently.....

 

But anyways when I 1st started collecting in the late 90's I spent ALOT of time trying to finish it..From what I remember, the later levels were pretty hard & maze like, where you had to enter tunnels in a certain order or you were screwed....well I finally got to the last stage, but unlike I pictured the Mr. Big final boss to be, it was a big puzzle with his face on it & you had to rearrange the tiles around to match up before the time ran out (LAME!).....I was pretty dissapointed & gave up ever trying again...

Edited July 3, 2014 by Stevaside

[+MrFish]

...it was a big puzzle with his face on it & you had to rearrange the tiles around to match up before the time ran out (LAME!)...

 

Yeah, this isn't the same meaning I've known since childhood for "I'll rearrange your face".

[Stevaside]

Hahaha.....but seriously, WTF kinda final boss is that?! lol One of my more shocking & disspointing moments in gaming history for sure lol

[+MrFish]

I never could get into it. The final boss sounds like Mr. Big Letdown.

[DracIsBack]

Hahaha.....but seriously, WTF kinda final boss is that?! lol One of my more shocking & disspointing moments in gaming history for sure lol

 

The same. I fracking hated those puzzle games as a kid and i was expecting a big boss, not a stupid puzzle.

 

I don't get the online hate. Wouldn't consider it a legend in the field of platformers, but thought it was solid. To me, its biggest weakness was that it was too difficult in spots.

[Trebor]

I don't get the online hate.

 

To me, its biggest weakness was that it was too difficult in spots.

 

For the same "too difficult" notion, Nintendo provided "Doki Doki Panic" instead of the original/true sequel ("The Lost Levels") to Super Mario Bros in America and Europe. Back in the day, if "The Lost Levels" was released instead (earlier - as the 'real' sequel) and the "Super Mario Bros. 2" as it is known in the aforementioned regions was not released, it could have received a poor reviewing due to its difficulty curve at the time.

 

Playing Super Mario Bros 2j makes the first Super Mario Bros seem like a "teddy bear" (See Ms. Pac & Dig Dug) difficulty of a very similar game.

 

But I digress...Respecting Scrapyard Dog, what could have eased its difficulty in some spots a bit would have been to utilize the 'press down and hold a button for speed', as opposed to the protagonist 'goes faster when consistently moving uninterrupted in the same direction'. Also, people are used to playing platformers of this kind with gamepads instead of joysticks. The end boss is just the icing on the cake that reaffirms their feelings/thoughts about the game overall.

 

Having a platformer that has difficult spots with the control mechanism mentioned and utilizing a joystick instead of a gamepad is too many 'differences' than what many (most?) are accustomed to from platformers of the same era. Throw in the game's 'puzzle' finale and it can ultimately leave a bitter taste as the send off - last thing recalled about it. Personally, I'm fine with it 'as is', although tweaking the mechanics and final boss would be more than welcomed changes.

 

Nonetheless, the new proto cases proven a fine fit for CPUWIZ's VersaBoard will assist to mass deliver us a fantastic platformer for the 7800 on cartridge:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0zXvBwA1fE

[Stevaside]

Wow that Bentley Bear game is an impressive homebrew!...Almost makes me cry thinking about what kinda games could have came out back then for the 7800 if everything wasn't so screwed up..lol....

 

Yea I get what your saying....Stacked up against some of the NES platformers I could see....&although I still think it holds it's own as a decent title despite its flaws, I have to admit my bias. I had the 7800 before the NES as a kid & going by the few games I had for it at the time (Food Fight, Choplifter, One on One Basketball) & the ones I remembered seeing in the commercial that convinced my Dad to buy it...I woulda never thought a game like Scrapyard Dog would be possible...It wasn't til I became an Atari collecting nerd & started doing my obsessive research in the late 90's that I discovered some of the more advanced later titles on the system..haha.....So yea it's not perfect but it felt thrilling to play such a game years later for that system I had as a kid & loved that didn't work out too well. All bias aside, I still think it's a fun & unique platformer, that was worth most of the frustration... just wish the final boss was a character to fight instead of a FREAKIN' PUZZLE! lol.... & The controls took getting used too, yea , but I finally picked up a pair of joypads lately & have found it much smoother to play...The whole reason behind me bringing the game up here was that I've been having thoughts of trying it again....debating whether investing all that time to most likely not solve that puzzle again is worth my sanity this time around tho

[+Mitch]

You could always cheat and resort to the maps.

 

Mitch

[Paul Westphal]

See? The pokey stands up well to the nes sound chip!

[Stevaside]

You could always cheat and resort to the maps.

 

Mitch

Thanks, man..still debating whether to give it another shot after 15 years but if I do i will make use of those lol

[Andromeda Stardust]

That Bentley Bear game is awesome. And did I just see paralax scrolling? Love the Public Domain soundrack too. I recognized several tracks from Nutcracker. Just can't get those "falling blocks" images my brain keeps superimposing over the video...

Edited July 22, 2014 by stardust4ever

[Trebor]

....did I just see paralax scrolling?

Indeed, in many of the rounds - with no additional hardware assistance.

That is base hardware/MARIA chip 'doing her thing' in Bob's masterful programming hands.

[gamecat80]

Indeed, in many of the rounds - with no additional hardware assistance.

That is base hardware/MARIA chip 'doing her thing' in Bob's masterful programming hands.

 

The POKEY music has obviously been added as well.

[Trebor]

 

The POKEY music has obviously been added as well.

The reply was in regards to the parallax scrolling graphics noticed by stardust4ever; again, there is no additional hardware assistance. That's all the MARIA chip doing its thing. Pac-Man-Red's brilliant designed graphics also really shine with Bob's awesome incorporation of them into the programming code.

 

Of course, there is the excellently composed music thanks to Synthpopalooza; implemented into the game marvelously by Bob, utilizing the POKEY chip featured in the original retail 7800 games, Commando and Ballblazer.

[Andromeda Stardust]

And with the "Hokey-Pokey" chip, new homebrews like Super Circus Atariage and Bently Bear will be able to use the enhanced audio.

 

Forgive me since I'm not as familiar with the 7800 hardware as I am with NES, but NES eas designed from the ground up with horizontal or vertical scrolling in mind. Many later NES games used Paralax scrolling techniques, although many of the games that used it needed mapper support. Bentley Bear looks so good, were it not for the slightly fatter pixels and Pokey soundchip (NES chiptunes have too much a distinctive sound with their variable duty cycles), I'd swear I was looking at NES graphics...

 

Proof that in a parallel universe where Nintendo didn't force exclusivity, Trameil not been so cheap, and the stock 7800 shipped in 1984 and had built in Pokey, it could have easily held it's own against the SMS and NES.