No Accounting for Taste - Your Guilty Pleasures and Unpopular Favourites

[SlidellMan]

@Wayler I think that this would explain it all: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6605/

From the author of the patch:

Quote

Turns out, don’t blame the developers for not implementing a save feature, because this game has a lot of stuff to save. The SRAM needs to be 64 KB minimum for just 1 save file and 128 KB to have the standard 3 save files. Why? Because this game keeps track of the state of every single sprite that’s located outdoors. In order to put the game into the same state between play sessions, it had to save every single one of those exterior sprite RAM addresses. Interior sprites are not kept track of anywhere close to as extensively by comparison.

 

[Wayler]

I don't know a single thing about coding but the just reads to me that you should blame the developers for the lack of a save feature. Is there a particular need to keep track of the sprites? 

 

 

And on topic, I remembered another game:

 

Hit the Ice

There's a saying "I went to a fight but then a hockey game happened". Well this is that game. The framerate is so choppy and the controls are borderline unplayable and you can't with the brightest of innocent eyes say skating looks like that. But something about punching people while scoring goals hits deep inside my lizard brain. If only it would play as fluently as Ike Ike! Nekketsu Hockey-bu on the Famicom and we'd have a winner. 

[Biff Burgertime]

39 minutes ago, Wayler said:

I vaguely remember something about this and I guess I could also look it up but could you elaborate on this further. Sounds so weird. 

This save patch's notes seem to explain it: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6605/

 

Turns out, don’t blame the developers for not implementing a save feature, because this game has a lot of stuff to save. The SRAM needs to be 64 KB minimum for just 1 save file and 128 KB to have the standard 3 save files. Why? Because this game keeps track of the state of every single sprite that’s located outdoors. In order to put the game into the same state between play sessions, it had to save every single one of those exterior sprite RAM addresses. Interior sprites are not kept track of anywhere close to as extensively by comparison.

 

Edit: D'oh, too late.😄

Edited February 28, 2023 by Buffalo Biff Burgertime

[randomcat2000]

Battletech (JP)/Mechwarrior (US/PAL): This game is just straight up impressive to me. A full mech sim game on the snes. Even if it gets a bit repetitive, the game is novel enough compared to anything else on the snes to warrant a frequent spot in my sfc.
Circuit USA (JP)/Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing (US): A pretty much fully prerendered racing game. The fps may be low and the graphics a bit monotonous, but i find it unique among console racing games at the time. Unfortunately I only have the gutted sfc version, removing not only the Kyle Petty branding, but much of the extra details like bridges over track crossings.

[Tanooki]

@randomcat2000 What's even crazier, the SNES game is faithful to the DOS original.  I'd say it plays as well if not perhaps just a little bit better even given the control pad works better than keyboard buttons to move and fire and most janky weird joysticks of the year.  For me personally it hasn't aged well, I don't like it on PC or SNES anymore so I dumped my cart last year, but it's solid if you're into it.  Wing Commander has aged far better also from DOS, that one is worth it, even if it uses a stupid password to save (which maybe a benefit to some if you get stuck.)

[Biff Burgertime]

On 3/1/2023 at 12:33 AM, randomcat2000 said:

Circuit USA (JP)/Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing (US): A pretty much fully prerendered racing game. The fps may be low and the graphics a bit monotonous, but i find it unique among console racing games at the time. Unfortunately I only have the gutted sfc version, removing not only the Kyle Petty branding, but much of the extra details like bridges over track crossings.

Maybe it's because I'm a bit behind on sleep but I find the contrast in titles here really amusing. The former is so generic, and the latter so spiced up. It wasn't enough to give it a snazzy name like No Fear Racing, no no. It also needs a celebrity endorsement!

[Bloodreign]

Super Valis 4, a game most people don't seem to like, and one I beat my first try when I rented it all those many years ago. Personally, despite that, I like the game, the music is great, the colors pop nicely, even if the other 2 playable characters from the PC Engine CD version are absent, as well as any story narrative the CD version had (not even any text between levels driving the story forward), but damn it, I can't help but to like it still.

[Kirk_Johnston]

1 hour ago, Bloodreign said:

Super Valis 4, a game most people don't seem to like, and one I beat my first try when I rented it all those many years ago. Personally, despite that, I like the game, the music is great, the colors pop nicely, even if the other 2 playable characters from the PC Engine CD version are absent, as well as any story narrative the CD version had (not even any text between levels driving the story forward), but damn it, I can't help but to like it still.

The SNES version at least looks slightly nicer visually. And it looks like it might play a little faster and more fluidly too. But, yeah, it would be cool if it didn't miss so much of the story stuff. To be honest though, most games from that time didn't have much story stuff, and no one really cared, so I don't consider that a major negative on the SNES version. And I often skip all the story stuff in games anyway. Although, the art in the story scenes is rather nice in the PC Engine version, so I might watch it in that case.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Kirk_Johnston

[Tanooki]

I used to own Super Valis for a long time, then last year I found it again locally and for a nice deal too and my feelings on the game have not changed, it's a good game, great?  No, but very good.

 

I'm also a former long time PCE/TG owner, and it has a TG CD release.  Maybe you see where this is going, Dracula X (CD) vs Dracula XX(SFC/SNES) has the same overlap, same concessions for no CD storage or music too.  But both core games share a name, but only some context, and mechanics.  They also both share the usual squad of fanboys who just dump on the cartridge games.  I get the preference I liked the music in some cases the spoken bits, and the little FMV or full screen sorta moving animations.  But both get just crapped on for being bad games, inferior games, accidents that shouldn't exist.  It's crap.  They're really really good titles compared to their brother from another mother games.

 

The SNES game I'd argue at least for Valis if not DX too are slightly more responsive, faster I guess like Kirk said.  I think they feel a margin bit better on control, but Nintendo had the best patented d-pad design around so it could just be that.  Couple in the points from bloodreign there and it sums up the rest of my feelings on Valis.  I like Valis, I sought it out each time I had access.  Duo, then Genesis, then PCE/Duo again, then again now Genesis/Nomad/MegaSg + SWITCH collection too (and #2 whenever some year those dickweeds at LRG will ship their sales.)

[SlidellMan]

Even though I never played Robocop Vs. The Terminator, but I might as well mention that for a couple of reasons:

1. Judging from YouTube footage, the game isn't bad by any means despite the two factors going against it. One of which is it is a licensed game, the other being...

2. Bethesda made it. Before you start arming your weapons of war, I will say that this may be the most functional, least buggy game Bethesda has ever released in that company's history.

[newtmonkey]

Drakkhen

I do believe this was the first RPG released on the system in the US.  As an RPG fanatic, I knew I had to have it, and this was one of the first games I got for the system.  It seemed completely alien to what I was used to; I expected something like Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior... if not those, then maybe Ultima or Pool of Radiance from the computer RPG world.  Nope, Drakkhen is it's own weird experience.  First person smooth scrolling outdoors, point-and-click adventure game controls indoors... the game is just bizarre and totally unique.  How weird is this game?  You cross a bunch of a glowing triangles on the ground, and a dragon SLOWLY drops down to give you advice.  When you explore the world at night, if you look at certain constellations in the sky too long, they will come to life and attack you.  If you mistakenly bump into a grave, a giant cat head appears and shoots lasers at you.  Sometimes you just wander around, and a giant guy climbs out from the ground and attacks you.  It's insane.  The (excellent) ambient soundtrack makes thing even more creepy.

I remember getting the game, playing it for a bit, but not getting it at all.  I put it aside for several months, but then at some point, I gave it another shot and it all clicked with me, and within a month or so I ended up finishing it.  It's janky and weird, but I'd rank it as one of the best RPGs on the system.  I'd love to give the original PC/Amiga version a try sometime.

[SlidellMan]

I might as well give a shout out to Claymates:

This was the best claymation game from Interplay and Visual Concepts. Fun fact: Interplay had plans to put another enhanced version of Clay Fighter 63 1/3 called Clay Fighter: Call of Putty.

[Biff Burgertime]

18 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

I might as well give a shout out to Claymates:Fun fact: Interplay had plans to put another enhanced version of Clay Fighter 63 1/3 called Clay Fighter: Call of Putty.

Also an untitled 2016 sequel with a bit of juicy drama behind it. A disgruntled, anonymous ex-Interplay member wrote some posts explaining his frustrations with Interplay CEO at the time, and their effects on the overall project.

 

https://clayfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Untitled_ClayFighter_2016_Game#Cancellation

 

On topic, I had Clayfighter and C2: Judgement Clay back in the day. Loved both. I sought out the first after seeing it featured in Nintendo Power.

[SlidellMan]

Well, Buffalo Biff, I also admit to liking the ClayFighter games. They had their bugs and flaws, but had a distinct personality.

[SlidellMan]

I will say this about Xardion, it had catchy music:

 

[SlidellMan]

I can't believe that I forgot to mention this in regards to AFV: https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/8457/

This is a quality-of-life hack, but some would say that this was a bit of a frenzied overcorrection.

[davyK]

On The Ball (aka Cameltry) is a really nice port of the Taito arcade game.

 

It takes a bit too long to get properly difficult (and when it does it's very tough) but I've always like the game.

[Kirk_Johnston]

On 4/5/2023 at 5:21 PM, davyK said:

On The Ball (aka Cameltry) is a really nice port of the Taito arcade game.

 

It takes a bit too long to get properly difficult (and when it does it's very tough) but I've always like the game.

Yeah, it looks pretty fun to me. And I've come to appreciate in recent times the really rather great use of sprites to help fake the entirety of the backgrounds behind the main rotating Mode 7 courses. That's just cool.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Kirk_Johnston

[SlidellMan]

I might as well admit that I like Spectre:

This may be stripped down when compared to the Macintosh and DOS originals, but I still liked this arena shooter. This was the only game to my knowledge that CyberSoft and Synergistic Soft did for the Super NES.

[Tanooki]

1 hour ago, SlidellMan said:

I might as well admit that I like Spectre:

This may be stripped down when compared to the Macintosh and DOS originals, but I still liked this arena shooter. This was the only game to my knowledge that CyberSoft and Synergistic Soft did for the Super NES.

NO they did a few, pasting this below from the wiki, but they're all utterly shit games other than Spectre.  A real shame too, Carrier Aces for instance, if that one actually didn't have physically broken airplane fighter controls would have been unique and fantastic for the system.

 

Super NES[edit]

• Adventures of Yogi Bear (1994)
• Air Cavalry (1995)
• Brutal: Paws of Fury (1994)
• Carrier Aces (1995)
• Full Throttle: All-American Racing (1995)
• Spectre VR (1994)

[zylon]

A few that stuck with me

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SlidellMan]

@zylon You have great taste when you have Firepower 2000 and Super Aleste/Space Megaforce in your list of favorites.

 

With that out of the way, I would like to throw in another one of my unpopular favorites: Prehistorik Man

 

This is unironically Titus' best game, and I don't make that statement lightly.

[zylon]

7 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

@zylon You have great taste when you have Firepower 2000 and Super Aleste/Space Megaforce in your list of favorites.

 

These days, I ony have a Retro-Duo 2.0 and a multicart with none of those, lol. However, I had all 4 of those in the 90s, and they stuck in memory as goodies.  Back then, mid-late 90s to early 00s, I worked part time, fixing the junkers that came in at a used game and music store. I used to have everything

[CaptainBreakout]

7 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

@zylon

 

With that out of the way, I would like to throw in another one of my unpopular favorites: Prehistorik Man

 

Wasn't this the game that checks the date on your internal clock and says something like... "Wow!  Someone is playing our game in 20xx?  So glad you enjoy it!"

 

If it's not this one, it's another Titus game.

 

Also, I remember those sprites of the cavemen being in a MAME game of the Adult Qix "Gals Panic" variety.  I think it was a clone of Bust-A-Move with girly pictures.

 

Anyway, the cavemen sprites looked pretty hilarious with their animations in that setting.

 

[jeffythedragonslayer]

26 minutes ago, CaptainBreakout said:

7 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

@zylon

 

With that out of the way, I would like to throw in another one of my unpopular favorites: Prehistorik Man

 

Wasn't this the game that checks the date on your internal clock and says something like... "Wow!  Someone is playing our game in 20xx?  So glad you enjoy it!"

 

If it's not this one, it's another Titus game.

What internal clock?  I just looked at the jwdonal schematic and didn't see anything that remembers the date.