cheeriersandals
2019
Lofi Ping Pong is a simple rhythm game, you play Table Tennis returning shots in an on-going rally with three directional buttons (Left, Centre and Right). Also, you do this to a series of lo-fi hip hop tunes.
There's some gimmicks and puzzle-y elements to work with, for example there's a few stages on a rooftop where shots appear to be heading to the right, but veers to the left due to wind.
I found it really difficult to find a rhythm, the shots you're rallying are often made at random and follow no set pattern and has three strikes before restarting each stage, there are accessibility options available such as no fail.
There's some gimmicks and puzzle-y elements to work with, for example there's a few stages on a rooftop where shots appear to be heading to the right, but veers to the left due to wind.
I found it really difficult to find a rhythm, the shots you're rallying are often made at random and follow no set pattern and has three strikes before restarting each stage, there are accessibility options available such as no fail.
1999
Ape Escape is sick, it's probably most notable for using dual analogue in a fairly ingenious way requiring the right stick to be used to swing a net or spin a propeller, also you can compress the stick to crawl and dive. I like the quirks and adjusted to the controls easily.
The mini-games you unlock use the dual sticks further, like a skiing game where you control where each ski independently to race a course.
Story is straightforward, some ape called Spectre gets a hat that makes him smart, he hijacks a time machine or something and you're tasked with collecting apes and catching up with Spectre to save the day.
The apes themselves are fairly funny, I like that it is a collectathon where you have to strategise a little, going in guns blazing could be chaotic whereas using a stealthy approach may trivialise some ape encounters. I can see how they became a mascot character going into the Eye Toy era, they're also sorta proto-Minion in many of their behaviours.
I don’t listed to much Drum and Bass but Soichi Terada has an absolute belter of an OST, I’d recommend listening to Sumo Jungle and Sun Showered to hear a broader selection of his music.
I had a good time playing through the game originally, but upon beating the final stage you're told to collect all the apes for the true ending... problem is I often prioritised apes sitting at the beginning of a stage, this meant I had to play through full stages to find the remaining apes which is a real turn off, especially given the length of many of the late game stages.
As of April 18th I have collected every ape and finished the second Spectre fight , I have no time for Spectre coins and time trials.
The mini-games you unlock use the dual sticks further, like a skiing game where you control where each ski independently to race a course.
Story is straightforward, some ape called Spectre gets a hat that makes him smart, he hijacks a time machine or something and you're tasked with collecting apes and catching up with Spectre to save the day.
The apes themselves are fairly funny, I like that it is a collectathon where you have to strategise a little, going in guns blazing could be chaotic whereas using a stealthy approach may trivialise some ape encounters. I can see how they became a mascot character going into the Eye Toy era, they're also sorta proto-Minion in many of their behaviours.
I don’t listed to much Drum and Bass but Soichi Terada has an absolute belter of an OST, I’d recommend listening to Sumo Jungle and Sun Showered to hear a broader selection of his music.
I had a good time playing through the game originally, but upon beating the final stage you're told to collect all the apes for the true ending... problem is I often prioritised apes sitting at the beginning of a stage, this meant I had to play through full stages to find the remaining apes which is a real turn off, especially given the length of many of the late game stages.
As of April 18th I have collected every ape and finished the second Spectre fight , I have no time for Spectre coins and time trials.
Got to 10,000 currency at 12 Days.
Decided to pick up a play through of Pikmin 2 given it's 20th Year Anniversary. I like the Wii control scheme where the pointer is used to direct your Pikmin.
Pikmin 2 occurs immediately after the original, Olimar returns after his harrowing experience shipwrecked on an unidentified planet (Earth). The company Olimar works at has just filed for bankruptcy however some stowed away goods from the original game seem to fetch a pretty penny, Olimar returns to Earth with a subordinate Louie to make back his bosses loan.
Talking about Pikmin 2 is often considering what it does compared to the original. Gone is the 30 Day time limit! You've got 2 additional Pikmin including the Purple which can lift 10 and weighs 10 Pikmin and can stun enemies if thrown at them. The White Pikmin are immune to poison, are poisonous and can dig out treasures. Red (fire + building), Yellow ( lightning + heights) & Blue (water) return.
Also new are a tonne of sub-areas, caves that have a degree of randomised floor structures and require strategising Pikmin load-out to solve. These don't have a time limit and save between floors.
I've been playing the game straight without save scumming and I'm blowing away a tonne of Pikmin, it's cathartic knowing I'm going throwing away little plant men in order to make ends means in a capitalistic world. It's a little disheartening when the game throws a random bomb that kills a tonne of Pikmin off screen.
Will update thoughts when I finish.
25/4 - I'm up to the Submerged Castle and this game has just ass pulled the craziest rogue-like enemy I've ever encountered which wiped me immediately due to poor spawning. I'm not above save-scumming, but I was playing the game organically up to this point. What the fuck!
4/5/24 - Saved Louie, I have a few random treasures to get and a whole dungeon to tackle. Feeling some burn out with the difficulty, I’ll give Pikmin 2 a rest and may return later this year.
Decided to pick up a play through of Pikmin 2 given it's 20th Year Anniversary. I like the Wii control scheme where the pointer is used to direct your Pikmin.
Pikmin 2 occurs immediately after the original, Olimar returns after his harrowing experience shipwrecked on an unidentified planet (Earth). The company Olimar works at has just filed for bankruptcy however some stowed away goods from the original game seem to fetch a pretty penny, Olimar returns to Earth with a subordinate Louie to make back his bosses loan.
Talking about Pikmin 2 is often considering what it does compared to the original. Gone is the 30 Day time limit! You've got 2 additional Pikmin including the Purple which can lift 10 and weighs 10 Pikmin and can stun enemies if thrown at them. The White Pikmin are immune to poison, are poisonous and can dig out treasures. Red (fire + building), Yellow ( lightning + heights) & Blue (water) return.
Also new are a tonne of sub-areas, caves that have a degree of randomised floor structures and require strategising Pikmin load-out to solve. These don't have a time limit and save between floors.
I've been playing the game straight without save scumming and I'm blowing away a tonne of Pikmin, it's cathartic knowing I'm going throwing away little plant men in order to make ends means in a capitalistic world. It's a little disheartening when the game throws a random bomb that kills a tonne of Pikmin off screen.
Will update thoughts when I finish.
25/4 - I'm up to the Submerged Castle and this game has just ass pulled the craziest rogue-like enemy I've ever encountered which wiped me immediately due to poor spawning. I'm not above save-scumming, but I was playing the game organically up to this point. What the fuck!
4/5/24 - Saved Louie, I have a few random treasures to get and a whole dungeon to tackle. Feeling some burn out with the difficulty, I’ll give Pikmin 2 a rest and may return later this year.
1994
Currently Playing for its 30th Anniversary.
It took me ages to get into Earthbound, a friend described the experience as an exercise in mindfulness or taking one's time. Chill out, interact with everyone and mosey through the game. I'm seeing the through-line between Earthbound, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Undertale and more. Having it on Switch is a dream with quick saves, it's an old school RPG for the soul.
It took me ages to get into Earthbound, a friend described the experience as an exercise in mindfulness or taking one's time. Chill out, interact with everyone and mosey through the game. I'm seeing the through-line between Earthbound, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Undertale and more. Having it on Switch is a dream with quick saves, it's an old school RPG for the soul.
1994
Unreal puzzle platformer on Game Boy, starts with a fake-out where you play through the four levels from the arcade original before playing some 90ish other levels of varying complexity. I feel it's understated in comparison to the Mario Minis series, which are also unfairly panned. Nintendo could have remade this for Switch.
1994
30th Anniversary Log / Review
I had a quick play today, I love how fast paced and responsive Donkey Kong Country is, it's meant for a CRT display with blending perfect for the pixelised Silicon Graphics which I'm personally in favour of.
The ice levels are slippery and sorta suck, don't bother with 101%. I probably last beat it when I got a SNES in 2013 and probably another tmie since, this was a childhood mainstay I'd borrow from family friends when they moved onto the PS2. Maybe I'll try out the rest of the series in the coming years?
I had a quick play today, I love how fast paced and responsive Donkey Kong Country is, it's meant for a CRT display with blending perfect for the pixelised Silicon Graphics which I'm personally in favour of.
The ice levels are slippery and sorta suck, don't bother with 101%. I probably last beat it when I got a SNES in 2013 and probably another tmie since, this was a childhood mainstay I'd borrow from family friends when they moved onto the PS2. Maybe I'll try out the rest of the series in the coming years?
1981
Defender is great.
The best comparison I can conjure is it is an old school Fantasy Zone. You have a map view of your surrounds, your fighter jet can move from left to right with a dedicated button for instant u-turns, shoots missiles and can drop bombs.
It is really difficult though, for a side scrolling shooter that predates contemporaries like Scramble by months and has intense dog fighting requiring clutch movements you can’t really go wrong with Defender, if you want more with a cutesy aesthetic and a general upgrade system Fantasy Zone is the way to go!
The best comparison I can conjure is it is an old school Fantasy Zone. You have a map view of your surrounds, your fighter jet can move from left to right with a dedicated button for instant u-turns, shoots missiles and can drop bombs.
It is really difficult though, for a side scrolling shooter that predates contemporaries like Scramble by months and has intense dog fighting requiring clutch movements you can’t really go wrong with Defender, if you want more with a cutesy aesthetic and a general upgrade system Fantasy Zone is the way to go!
1982
It’s Joust, a single screen arcade fighter thing! I found the arcade original incredibly hard, I enjoy Balloon Fight which has sanded off edges and is tighter in my opinion.
However, Joust is technically more impressive on Arcade than NES. At the second round there’s something like 8 enemies whirling around the screen but it’s difficult to work yourself back to the top, or at an opportune position to take down the enemies. Your guy has the slippery move too fast in the one direction and it’s hard to correct yourself.
Game is designed to take quarters, I feel as though Balloon Fight and later, Balloon Kid tighten up the experience so it is enjoyable for longer play periods.
However, Joust is technically more impressive on Arcade than NES. At the second round there’s something like 8 enemies whirling around the screen but it’s difficult to work yourself back to the top, or at an opportune position to take down the enemies. Your guy has the slippery move too fast in the one direction and it’s hard to correct yourself.
Game is designed to take quarters, I feel as though Balloon Fight and later, Balloon Kid tighten up the experience so it is enjoyable for longer play periods.
1986
Champion Sprint is a direct continuation of overhead racers like Gran Trak 10.
Playing on the PSP is a compromised experience compared to the original steering wheel and acceleration control scheme, but overall I found the experience enjoyable! You can upgrade your F1 racer as well as take advantage of the little shortcuts within the race, makes for a comfort arcade experience.
Playing on the PSP is a compromised experience compared to the original steering wheel and acceleration control scheme, but overall I found the experience enjoyable! You can upgrade your F1 racer as well as take advantage of the little shortcuts within the race, makes for a comfort arcade experience.
1991
Armadillo is a cute sidescroller visually similar to Kirby, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Gimmick.
You control an Armadillo who is fairly vulnerable in his cowboy hat wearing form, however he can ball up, that’s where most of the side scrolling action is as you hold the jump button to bounce higher and higher to make precise platforming movements.
Armadillo feels slow, yet deliberate.
The other aspect of the game is the Overworld design, it is similar to SMB3’s overhead board game style of design. As you move Armadillo across the world, the boss also moves. It’s nifty cornering a boss before beating every level and there are aliens you can save who can fly you directly to a boss skipping multiple levels.
I found I was playing this out of obligation to get to the end and not for personal enjoyment. The control scheme is novel but takes time to build up to full jumping force!
You control an Armadillo who is fairly vulnerable in his cowboy hat wearing form, however he can ball up, that’s where most of the side scrolling action is as you hold the jump button to bounce higher and higher to make precise platforming movements.
Armadillo feels slow, yet deliberate.
The other aspect of the game is the Overworld design, it is similar to SMB3’s overhead board game style of design. As you move Armadillo across the world, the boss also moves. It’s nifty cornering a boss before beating every level and there are aliens you can save who can fly you directly to a boss skipping multiple levels.
I found I was playing this out of obligation to get to the end and not for personal enjoyment. The control scheme is novel but takes time to build up to full jumping force!
1987
Heavy Barrel is a top down shooter, similar to Ikari Warriors.
The arcade original has a rotary joystick, the joystick itself does movement while twisting the stick rotates the guy on screen 360 degrees (but really it’s 8 angles).
The version I played is on Switch has an alternate control scheme consisting of ZR and ZL to rotate the guy, and it works.
The angles are necessary as the game shifts from moving up the screen to sections requiring movement from left to right and vice versa. Has a free scrolling feeling to it.
Heavy Barrel itself is a really difficult game, the best players I saw online have item management down to an art, they’ve memorised what weapons are in each chest, when to use bombs or stick to shooting as well as when it is best to build the “secret weapon” Heavy Barrel.
The upgrades include a spread shot, a fire blast and grenade upgrades that explode on impact instead of bouncing with a timer. Heavy Barrel has incredible range, firing frequency and renders you basically invincible.
You need each of these because in typical Data East fashion, if you’re not thinning out the enemy numbers you’ll easily be overwhelmed with foes, doesn’t matter if you keep on dropping credits into the game. If you’re that overwhelmed it’s a waste of money as you’ll die immediately once the invincibility frames drop.
I’d be curious to see if I could do it with better equipment management but eh I’ll see. I’d like to pull more games from the list and I don’t believe beating every single one is an attainable goal for me. Heavy Barrel is repetitive after a point of time and has Data East style difficulty.
The arcade original has a rotary joystick, the joystick itself does movement while twisting the stick rotates the guy on screen 360 degrees (but really it’s 8 angles).
The version I played is on Switch has an alternate control scheme consisting of ZR and ZL to rotate the guy, and it works.
The angles are necessary as the game shifts from moving up the screen to sections requiring movement from left to right and vice versa. Has a free scrolling feeling to it.
Heavy Barrel itself is a really difficult game, the best players I saw online have item management down to an art, they’ve memorised what weapons are in each chest, when to use bombs or stick to shooting as well as when it is best to build the “secret weapon” Heavy Barrel.
The upgrades include a spread shot, a fire blast and grenade upgrades that explode on impact instead of bouncing with a timer. Heavy Barrel has incredible range, firing frequency and renders you basically invincible.
You need each of these because in typical Data East fashion, if you’re not thinning out the enemy numbers you’ll easily be overwhelmed with foes, doesn’t matter if you keep on dropping credits into the game. If you’re that overwhelmed it’s a waste of money as you’ll die immediately once the invincibility frames drop.
I’d be curious to see if I could do it with better equipment management but eh I’ll see. I’d like to pull more games from the list and I don’t believe beating every single one is an attainable goal for me. Heavy Barrel is repetitive after a point of time and has Data East style difficulty.
2019
I set a lifetime goal to play through every single Mario level conceived by Nintendo, just beaten the Story Mode - however there are easily 40+ more levels for me to play and many thousands more online (of differing quality).
Enjoyed my time with the single player, the 3D World stages are fun and have variety in the foes, final boss is comparable to a NSMB boss as much as is possible.
7/1/24 - Completed Story Mode, my favourite level might be Stone of Despair.
User Courses/Profiles I recommend:
Solarhorse VY4-KLS-C2H
Enjoyed my time with the single player, the 3D World stages are fun and have variety in the foes, final boss is comparable to a NSMB boss as much as is possible.
7/1/24 - Completed Story Mode, my favourite level might be Stone of Despair.
User Courses/Profiles I recommend:
Solarhorse VY4-KLS-C2H
A short form side scroller shooter in the same vein as Gradius or R-Type, you play as Rabio while the 2nd player controls Lepus.
The systems are much more simpler, you use bullets and missiles to take down foes. Get super close to a foe and the rabbit robo throws a punch, most of the time it wipes foes outright. But I find myself colliding with enemies and dying!
There are drops in the form of Carrots (health), Missiles, Ribbons which further power up Missiles and a Tanuki functionally a timed invincibility.
The characters look like stable cute-em-up style, however the enemies are a lot more generic rocks, rockets that rush you and more difficult Gundam mechs. The bosses are a mix between realistic animals, and a random ghost sheet style boss.
It’s a limited game, running for maybe 20 minutes. I had fun with it, but the same exists elsewhere in a more engaging form - however you’d be skipping out on the bunny girls in the process.
The systems are much more simpler, you use bullets and missiles to take down foes. Get super close to a foe and the rabbit robo throws a punch, most of the time it wipes foes outright. But I find myself colliding with enemies and dying!
There are drops in the form of Carrots (health), Missiles, Ribbons which further power up Missiles and a Tanuki functionally a timed invincibility.
The characters look like stable cute-em-up style, however the enemies are a lot more generic rocks, rockets that rush you and more difficult Gundam mechs. The bosses are a mix between realistic animals, and a random ghost sheet style boss.
It’s a limited game, running for maybe 20 minutes. I had fun with it, but the same exists elsewhere in a more engaging form - however you’d be skipping out on the bunny girls in the process.
Link is pulled into some void after visiting or discovering the Triforce, he awakens in a new world where Din the Oracle of Seasons is suddenly abducted by Onox. Use the Season Rod to navigate the overworld by changing seasons, for example water is frozen in Winter and can be walked over.
It’s a decent take on contemporary Zelda of the time mixed with classic 8-Bit Zelda, the dungeons start a little plain like the original on NES and gradually shifts towards LttP quality dungeons but smaller, with some more contemporary Zelda designs - for example the stealth mini-game.
Of the two, I’ve been told this one is more action orientated which Ages sight unseen is probably true, the last dungeon is an absolute pain and Onox is a well designed final boss for 8-Bit hardware.
I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Forget collecting all of the rings and heart pieces. They’re simply not worth the time sink necessary for the task.
I’m onto Ages, the two can be linked to finish off the established storyline in either game… I wonder who the true villain is?
It’s a decent take on contemporary Zelda of the time mixed with classic 8-Bit Zelda, the dungeons start a little plain like the original on NES and gradually shifts towards LttP quality dungeons but smaller, with some more contemporary Zelda designs - for example the stealth mini-game.
Of the two, I’ve been told this one is more action orientated which Ages sight unseen is probably true, the last dungeon is an absolute pain and Onox is a well designed final boss for 8-Bit hardware.
I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Forget collecting all of the rings and heart pieces. They’re simply not worth the time sink necessary for the task.
I’m onto Ages, the two can be linked to finish off the established storyline in either game… I wonder who the true villain is?
1984
Devil World is now available on Nintendo’s Switch Online service, I’ve finally checked out Shigeru Miyamoto’s answer to the Maze genre.
Tamagon is a green dragon infiltrating the Devil World, to advance through stages Tamagon must collect all of the dots in each stage while avoiding walking monsters, however he’s not defenceless - collecting crosses give Tamagon the power to blow fire at foes.
The catch is, the screen moves! On top of the screen is The Devil who is instructing demons to use pulley’s to literally move the screen to the left, right, down and up. This creates an additional layer of complexity, you’re simultaneously juggling the navigation of foes, collection dots and power-ups as well as avoiding being squished against a moving border.
However, this also means you can be left needlessly waiting for the screen to move the direction necessary to collect the final dots. There are also a few Bonus screens that involve collecting Bibles and placing them into a Cross.
It’s easy to see why this was passed on for localisation from Nintendo of America with the religious imagery and themes.
I also think it would have been difficult competing with an already established household name. It’s easy to sell buyers on Tennis, Soccer, Baseball and Donkey Kong. Hard to say, here’s our own PAC-Man.
PAC-Man is a much more immediate maze game that is easy to play but difficult to master, has a simple risk/reward system but has enemy AI and a maze to memorise.
Devil’s World while good, may have a few too many levels of complication in its design.
Tamagon is a green dragon infiltrating the Devil World, to advance through stages Tamagon must collect all of the dots in each stage while avoiding walking monsters, however he’s not defenceless - collecting crosses give Tamagon the power to blow fire at foes.
The catch is, the screen moves! On top of the screen is The Devil who is instructing demons to use pulley’s to literally move the screen to the left, right, down and up. This creates an additional layer of complexity, you’re simultaneously juggling the navigation of foes, collection dots and power-ups as well as avoiding being squished against a moving border.
However, this also means you can be left needlessly waiting for the screen to move the direction necessary to collect the final dots. There are also a few Bonus screens that involve collecting Bibles and placing them into a Cross.
It’s easy to see why this was passed on for localisation from Nintendo of America with the religious imagery and themes.
I also think it would have been difficult competing with an already established household name. It’s easy to sell buyers on Tennis, Soccer, Baseball and Donkey Kong. Hard to say, here’s our own PAC-Man.
PAC-Man is a much more immediate maze game that is easy to play but difficult to master, has a simple risk/reward system but has enemy AI and a maze to memorise.
Devil’s World while good, may have a few too many levels of complication in its design.