2018
Alright, what a ride.
Where to start? It's one of the best games I've ever played, period. The content here is unlimited and platform lovers like me will have a great time for sure, twist after twist, the game will take you throughout this journey, surprising you each time, for the good or for the bad.
To summarize, The Messenger transforms itself every time. It starts 8-bit, then becomes 16-bits, it starts as linear platforming, then becomes Metroidvania.
That last one could be a problem tho, cuz it seems they wanted to do too much in just one game. Changing the game's main dynamic out of nowhere can catch people off guard, that was my case since I dropped the game on the first try a few years ago after that twist, I don't know for sure what happened but seems my interest just went away slowly.
Knowing that maybe I was a little unfair, I tried again and bought it on Steam (first was an EpicGames giveaway), and now I'm glad I did it, although the backtracking, the notes collectathon and the prophecy thing were really underwhelming, there is so much great content waiting for the player on the lastest sections, and I needed to reach the trailer music's stage, AKA my fav track before playing the actual level, turned out it was a banger of a level also.
Regarding the gameplay, it's satisfying, I found myself struggling a bit while using several movement elements quickly in short sections, but maybe it's skill issue(?)
The bosses are a great part of the game and very dynamic overall, the difficulty among then was not the most balanced thing tho, with the Final Boss being a bit easy to me with just 2 attempts, I died a lot more in the Mushroom Queen fight. (That final boss is also a great twist and a nice surprise tho)
The graphics are part of the game's core, besides being extremely beautiful, it is directly attached to the lore, the past-future thing with the art transformation is FIRE, I don't know if there is any other game that did something like this.
The game's lore overall is nice and it works with the rest of the game, but not enough to keep you attached to it, the other elements are far more instigating. I like the humor used here as well, it's different than the usual generic, but it's balanced to the point of not getting you annoyed.
SOUNDTRACK RULES. What was that guy thinking? Bro just casually dropped one of the best symphonies in the entire gaming history. Yeah this is another element that they knocked out of the park, and for me it became the reason I fell in love with the game, this is the second game OST ever that I'm buying, the first one was Undertale. Rainbowdragoneyes needs to come back for a possible sequel.
I'm now enjoying the free DLC which is as good as the main game, I shall soon post a separate review.
Where to start? It's one of the best games I've ever played, period. The content here is unlimited and platform lovers like me will have a great time for sure, twist after twist, the game will take you throughout this journey, surprising you each time, for the good or for the bad.
To summarize, The Messenger transforms itself every time. It starts 8-bit, then becomes 16-bits, it starts as linear platforming, then becomes Metroidvania.
That last one could be a problem tho, cuz it seems they wanted to do too much in just one game. Changing the game's main dynamic out of nowhere can catch people off guard, that was my case since I dropped the game on the first try a few years ago after that twist, I don't know for sure what happened but seems my interest just went away slowly.
Knowing that maybe I was a little unfair, I tried again and bought it on Steam (first was an EpicGames giveaway), and now I'm glad I did it, although the backtracking, the notes collectathon and the prophecy thing were really underwhelming, there is so much great content waiting for the player on the lastest sections, and I needed to reach the trailer music's stage, AKA my fav track before playing the actual level, turned out it was a banger of a level also.
Regarding the gameplay, it's satisfying, I found myself struggling a bit while using several movement elements quickly in short sections, but maybe it's skill issue(?)
The bosses are a great part of the game and very dynamic overall, the difficulty among then was not the most balanced thing tho, with the Final Boss being a bit easy to me with just 2 attempts, I died a lot more in the Mushroom Queen fight. (That final boss is also a great twist and a nice surprise tho)
The graphics are part of the game's core, besides being extremely beautiful, it is directly attached to the lore, the past-future thing with the art transformation is FIRE, I don't know if there is any other game that did something like this.
The game's lore overall is nice and it works with the rest of the game, but not enough to keep you attached to it, the other elements are far more instigating. I like the humor used here as well, it's different than the usual generic, but it's balanced to the point of not getting you annoyed.
SOUNDTRACK RULES. What was that guy thinking? Bro just casually dropped one of the best symphonies in the entire gaming history. Yeah this is another element that they knocked out of the park, and for me it became the reason I fell in love with the game, this is the second game OST ever that I'm buying, the first one was Undertale. Rainbowdragoneyes needs to come back for a possible sequel.
I'm now enjoying the free DLC which is as good as the main game, I shall soon post a separate review.
1992
Retro Yearly List #18 [1992: Mortal Kombat]
Right, when it comes to MK, I have to pay attention to how much nostalgia factor I'm putting in my reviews since it should be one of my favorite franchises of all time.
MK1 was one of my most played cartridges back on SNES times, for my journey here I decided to go with the Arcade version, and I just learned that the port is extremely underwhelming, the lack of blood and censored fatalities take out basically what makes those titles shine. I remember well the first time I got access to internet and all the inputs, and tried to perform the fatalities on my SNES, then I hit Johnny Cage's and was like... W%F was that ?
Talking about the original version, it's pretty good, even though the game was a banger for me in the old times, now I can see the effects of time on the first title.
Gameplay is pretty stiff and slow, and sometimes bugs will occur, you can't combo more than 2 moves here and even that is not that easy to do. Sometimes even special moves will fail to be cast, but fatalities inputs are ok here.
The graphics.. you know, it's a unique style, it blew our child minds when we first saw it, I would say it aged well.
The sound is nostalgic, but like any MK game, it just do its job, which adds to the mystic and shaolin atmosphere
of the time, I also miss that a lot on the recent titles.
The lore here tells the basics of a massive universe that will be formed in the future, it works for the game, already giving the characters personality and personal goals, and their endings are also alright. (Shout out to Raiden's ending epic last catchphrase: "Have a nice day")
Reptile as secret character was a great addition, although seemed to be a pretty rushed feature, it was nice to have something to have kids discussing about and trying to trigger the hidden battle, that's a pretty missed culture on modern gaming.
Difficulty will get on your nerves a lot of times, opponents will instantly unfairly react to your inputs, and oddly, this will happen at random times, regardless of the selected difficulty, but I cannot complain that much, knowing what awaits me at the next adventure.
Right, when it comes to MK, I have to pay attention to how much nostalgia factor I'm putting in my reviews since it should be one of my favorite franchises of all time.
MK1 was one of my most played cartridges back on SNES times, for my journey here I decided to go with the Arcade version, and I just learned that the port is extremely underwhelming, the lack of blood and censored fatalities take out basically what makes those titles shine. I remember well the first time I got access to internet and all the inputs, and tried to perform the fatalities on my SNES, then I hit Johnny Cage's and was like... W%F was that ?
Talking about the original version, it's pretty good, even though the game was a banger for me in the old times, now I can see the effects of time on the first title.
Gameplay is pretty stiff and slow, and sometimes bugs will occur, you can't combo more than 2 moves here and even that is not that easy to do. Sometimes even special moves will fail to be cast, but fatalities inputs are ok here.
The graphics.. you know, it's a unique style, it blew our child minds when we first saw it, I would say it aged well.
The sound is nostalgic, but like any MK game, it just do its job, which adds to the mystic and shaolin atmosphere
of the time, I also miss that a lot on the recent titles.
The lore here tells the basics of a massive universe that will be formed in the future, it works for the game, already giving the characters personality and personal goals, and their endings are also alright. (Shout out to Raiden's ending epic last catchphrase: "Have a nice day")
Reptile as secret character was a great addition, although seemed to be a pretty rushed feature, it was nice to have something to have kids discussing about and trying to trigger the hidden battle, that's a pretty missed culture on modern gaming.
Difficulty will get on your nerves a lot of times, opponents will instantly unfairly react to your inputs, and oddly, this will happen at random times, regardless of the selected difficulty, but I cannot complain that much, knowing what awaits me at the next adventure.
1991
Retro Yearly List #17 [1991: Sunset Riders]
Okay, wow.
This game is often mentioned when it comes to ranking the best SNES games of all time, so my expectations were high, but I was still impressed.
Sunset Riders normally would fall into the status of those "hidden gems" since it's just a one-game title, but it went far beyond that, becoming an undisputed must-play game. I can see the reason: the game is a blast.
The Western atmosphere, which is something not enough explored in games, is pretty well implemented here. For that same aspect, OST does help a lot, and by the way, what a BANGER, Stage 1 theme went right into my top game tracks of all time, I'm listening to it in loop while writing this review.
The graphics are what you expect from SNES, as beautiful as the Arcade version. The gameplay works very well for the way the game is constructed, I just could not get used to the slide properly for whatever reason.
The game's difficulty is most of the time balanced, with a few sections of high unfairness, usually, the first minutes of the horse levels, which are a huge mess that will require you a response time comparable to the bonus stages at full speed.
Chief Scalpem boss is also a pain in the ass, and the final boss is a bullet hell. Those elements didn't take away my satisfaction with the game, though. After finishing this I got instigated to play it again and again, beating it about 3 times, and that was after beating the Arcade version twice.
I've saved the best for the end: The bosses.
I love boss battles, even more when they have identities, unique patterns, and personalities, and that's the case here. Everyone here can be easily remembered by their catchphrases, for example. The El Greco easter egg with Cormano on the Arcades is also a genius touch.
Even the main characters have their own characteristics which is incredible, they really put work on this.
Well, so this is what Konami was like at its full power, huh?
Okay, wow.
This game is often mentioned when it comes to ranking the best SNES games of all time, so my expectations were high, but I was still impressed.
Sunset Riders normally would fall into the status of those "hidden gems" since it's just a one-game title, but it went far beyond that, becoming an undisputed must-play game. I can see the reason: the game is a blast.
The Western atmosphere, which is something not enough explored in games, is pretty well implemented here. For that same aspect, OST does help a lot, and by the way, what a BANGER, Stage 1 theme went right into my top game tracks of all time, I'm listening to it in loop while writing this review.
The graphics are what you expect from SNES, as beautiful as the Arcade version. The gameplay works very well for the way the game is constructed, I just could not get used to the slide properly for whatever reason.
The game's difficulty is most of the time balanced, with a few sections of high unfairness, usually, the first minutes of the horse levels, which are a huge mess that will require you a response time comparable to the bonus stages at full speed.
Chief Scalpem boss is also a pain in the ass, and the final boss is a bullet hell. Those elements didn't take away my satisfaction with the game, though. After finishing this I got instigated to play it again and again, beating it about 3 times, and that was after beating the Arcade version twice.
I've saved the best for the end: The bosses.
I love boss battles, even more when they have identities, unique patterns, and personalities, and that's the case here. Everyone here can be easily remembered by their catchphrases, for example. The El Greco easter egg with Cormano on the Arcades is also a genius touch.
Even the main characters have their own characteristics which is incredible, they really put work on this.
Well, so this is what Konami was like at its full power, huh?
2017
Tried this just to check it out and got hooked, but the overall feelings are mixed.
20XX is Megaman+Roguelite, a genre that never interested me but the MM side caught my attention, this is a nice mix of genres resulting in an addicting experience.
I liked the controls here at first, just had some problems with the dash since it seems a bit slow compared to the inspired game, but once you progress to harder levels with challenging (and unfair) platforming will you notice that they could be a lot better.
The random aspect of the elements' positioning here can turn into a huge mess by the latest levels, creating sections that require almost perfect timing to not get hit, those ice and fire turrets annoyed me to hell, and on my last run, I just gave up on trying to beat with Ace after dying at the final boss and during the last escaping phase due to dumb positioning of mechanics like disappearing platforms (which they did not had to bring that from Megaman, geez) combined with the turrets I mentioned above, and everything else. It went from fun to frustrating.
The music is great and does justice to its inspiration, Vaculabs track is a banger.
The graphics are pretty meh and that was the reason I did not try this before, it looks a lot like a Flash game, but it works.
The game's content is huge if we talk about items, upgrades, and game modes, but within the game itself, it has repeated stages and enemies, getting stale quickly. I liked the bosses here although they are not my style, I'm more like robot masters, you know?
Oh and for whatever reason my game was glitched during the cutscenes so I could not get the game's lore, it looks interesting tbh, but who cares? It's all about shooting and slashing everyone while sprinting among platforms, like a true Megaman (X) game.
20XX is Megaman+Roguelite, a genre that never interested me but the MM side caught my attention, this is a nice mix of genres resulting in an addicting experience.
I liked the controls here at first, just had some problems with the dash since it seems a bit slow compared to the inspired game, but once you progress to harder levels with challenging (and unfair) platforming will you notice that they could be a lot better.
The random aspect of the elements' positioning here can turn into a huge mess by the latest levels, creating sections that require almost perfect timing to not get hit, those ice and fire turrets annoyed me to hell, and on my last run, I just gave up on trying to beat with Ace after dying at the final boss and during the last escaping phase due to dumb positioning of mechanics like disappearing platforms (which they did not had to bring that from Megaman, geez) combined with the turrets I mentioned above, and everything else. It went from fun to frustrating.
The music is great and does justice to its inspiration, Vaculabs track is a banger.
The graphics are pretty meh and that was the reason I did not try this before, it looks a lot like a Flash game, but it works.
The game's content is huge if we talk about items, upgrades, and game modes, but within the game itself, it has repeated stages and enemies, getting stale quickly. I liked the bosses here although they are not my style, I'm more like robot masters, you know?
Oh and for whatever reason my game was glitched during the cutscenes so I could not get the game's lore, it looks interesting tbh, but who cares? It's all about shooting and slashing everyone while sprinting among platforms, like a true Megaman (X) game.
For the actual games within the collection, please refer to my individual reviews.
Just finished consuming all the collection content, and it was a pretty enjoyable time, after playing those NES games so many times, now I had the chance to try some new stuff behind them.
Regarding the games' emulation, it's alright, although I noticed some response time problems during some challenges, but idk if it's something in my PC. There is an option to turn off the classic input lag when there are too many things on the screen, so that's nice.
If you are having a hard time with those games, they added features like rewind and autofire, but you can always use the old save/load mid game.
There are a bunch of development phase stuff to explore, like artworks and concepts, great for long-time fans.
Challenges are a great addition to this, mixing sections from all 6 games in different missions is something I didn't know I needed, there is just a small recurrence of the same sections in several different challenges, and it can be a little bit bland.
For me, who love boss battles, the boss rush challenges were satisfying, and it's nice that they added some "buster only" ones, since it's something I already do in the original games.
The last challenge, AKA megaman hallownest pantheon, was tough, but I finally beat it, Needle Man boss battle can go to hell tho.
Just finished consuming all the collection content, and it was a pretty enjoyable time, after playing those NES games so many times, now I had the chance to try some new stuff behind them.
Regarding the games' emulation, it's alright, although I noticed some response time problems during some challenges, but idk if it's something in my PC. There is an option to turn off the classic input lag when there are too many things on the screen, so that's nice.
If you are having a hard time with those games, they added features like rewind and autofire, but you can always use the old save/load mid game.
There are a bunch of development phase stuff to explore, like artworks and concepts, great for long-time fans.
Challenges are a great addition to this, mixing sections from all 6 games in different missions is something I didn't know I needed, there is just a small recurrence of the same sections in several different challenges, and it can be a little bit bland.
For me, who love boss battles, the boss rush challenges were satisfying, and it's nice that they added some "buster only" ones, since it's something I already do in the original games.
The last challenge, AKA megaman hallownest pantheon, was tough, but I finally beat it, Needle Man boss battle can go to hell tho.
1993
Although all the flaws this game has, I can say that it has an identity for sure. The last 8-bit entry (for now) brings everything we liked on the formula without changing too much, that's also a usually bad point reported by many, as the franchise became a bit stale at this point.
I really like the bosses here, the country-themed robots and the tournament thing bring a nice fresh to the game, shame that Plant Man boss battle is extremely underwhelming, glad the Power Fighters brought him some justice.
The graphics are the most beautiful from the NES era, and the music is again great as always but does not top 2 and 3.
The new power and flying upgrades are good additions and would pave the way for the ones we have on the next entry.
The Mr. X plot is a little bit dumb but it works somehow..
The charge is satisfying here but it's too powerful, and in addition, the game is too easy, with just rare sections of real challenge.
But, why in the hell they've removed the slide-jump mechanic here? It annoyed me a lot since I was trying to do it several times due to my muscle memory and ended up killing myself, that's a downgrade for me.
It's a nice goodbye to the NES era and a good way to introduce new people to the series without having too much frustration by the difficulty.
I really like the bosses here, the country-themed robots and the tournament thing bring a nice fresh to the game, shame that Plant Man boss battle is extremely underwhelming, glad the Power Fighters brought him some justice.
The graphics are the most beautiful from the NES era, and the music is again great as always but does not top 2 and 3.
The new power and flying upgrades are good additions and would pave the way for the ones we have on the next entry.
The Mr. X plot is a little bit dumb but it works somehow..
The charge is satisfying here but it's too powerful, and in addition, the game is too easy, with just rare sections of real challenge.
But, why in the hell they've removed the slide-jump mechanic here? It annoyed me a lot since I was trying to do it several times due to my muscle memory and ended up killing myself, that's a downgrade for me.
It's a nice goodbye to the NES era and a good way to introduce new people to the series without having too much frustration by the difficulty.
1990
Retro Yearly List #16 [1990: River City Ransom]
For the first beat 'em' up game in my personal list, I've chosen what is considered a hidden gem.
RCR offers a different approach for the genre, adding elements of RPG and almost an open-world experience, since you can walk through the screens back and forth and skip the enemies if you want, but you wanna beat them to collect coins and upgrade your character, otherwise, you will have a hard time beating the bosses, that's the overall system of progressing here, and I kind of like it, but there is a chance you will get stuck with all options you have.
Some bosses are optional but there are a mandatory few to reach the end, they look all pretty much the same, there is no big difference between their attack patterns, in fact, all enemies in the game use just punches, kicks, and weapons to hit you, so there is no diversity on this point.
I liked both the graphics and the music, which are really catchy, with a little great reference towards the end.
The game offers several options of items to purchase which will give you different abilities, which are just buffed versions of the basic attacks. You will also increase your HP and your status by purchasing them, but the game does not provide details of what you are getting until you do, this can be annoying if you don't know the game, I used a little guide for it and it helped me a lot to not making bad deals.
Difficulty is ok if you know what to do, since you can overpower your character with the right items and farm points. But in any case, if you die you just respawn at the next already visited mall, with half of your cash.
Overall, it's a beautiful game with an innovative approach and a good blend of different genres.
And by the way, wtf are these passwords?
BARF!
For the first beat 'em' up game in my personal list, I've chosen what is considered a hidden gem.
RCR offers a different approach for the genre, adding elements of RPG and almost an open-world experience, since you can walk through the screens back and forth and skip the enemies if you want, but you wanna beat them to collect coins and upgrade your character, otherwise, you will have a hard time beating the bosses, that's the overall system of progressing here, and I kind of like it, but there is a chance you will get stuck with all options you have.
Some bosses are optional but there are a mandatory few to reach the end, they look all pretty much the same, there is no big difference between their attack patterns, in fact, all enemies in the game use just punches, kicks, and weapons to hit you, so there is no diversity on this point.
I liked both the graphics and the music, which are really catchy, with a little great reference towards the end.
The game offers several options of items to purchase which will give you different abilities, which are just buffed versions of the basic attacks. You will also increase your HP and your status by purchasing them, but the game does not provide details of what you are getting until you do, this can be annoying if you don't know the game, I used a little guide for it and it helped me a lot to not making bad deals.
Difficulty is ok if you know what to do, since you can overpower your character with the right items and farm points. But in any case, if you die you just respawn at the next already visited mall, with half of your cash.
Overall, it's a beautiful game with an innovative approach and a good blend of different genres.
And by the way, wtf are these passwords?
BARF!
1989
Retro Yearly List #15 [1989: Tetris]
Tetris may be a difficult game to rate, I mean, it's kind of a genre itself, and there are not many comparisons to make here, so thinking from the perspective of what a game has to be, this one delivers everything needed.
It was innovative like no other, with a gaming style that is addictive even those days, to the point to having it turned into a culture inside and outside the gaming niche, everybody knows Tetris nowadays (at least if you were not born last month).
The music, you probably already know the main one, the classical "Korobeiniki", based on a Russian tone, is simply a timeless and beautiful melody, I did not bother to have it on loop while trying to beat my own high scores. The second song also caught my attention, so was a nice surprise.
This version also has some diverse challenges other than the infinite high-score-based one, allowing you to play the Type-B games which are different levels with finite goals, you can also add to the difficulty selecting a level of "high" which will start your game with a pile of random trash that you need to overcome.
The game has some sky-rocket cutscenes that will appear depending on your score, which is a nice touch, I was not able to get them tho, since my maximum score was 37.000 only.
Tetris has everything you need to have FUN, and that's something that nobody can deny.
Tetris may be a difficult game to rate, I mean, it's kind of a genre itself, and there are not many comparisons to make here, so thinking from the perspective of what a game has to be, this one delivers everything needed.
It was innovative like no other, with a gaming style that is addictive even those days, to the point to having it turned into a culture inside and outside the gaming niche, everybody knows Tetris nowadays (at least if you were not born last month).
The music, you probably already know the main one, the classical "Korobeiniki", based on a Russian tone, is simply a timeless and beautiful melody, I did not bother to have it on loop while trying to beat my own high scores. The second song also caught my attention, so was a nice surprise.
This version also has some diverse challenges other than the infinite high-score-based one, allowing you to play the Type-B games which are different levels with finite goals, you can also add to the difficulty selecting a level of "high" which will start your game with a pile of random trash that you need to overcome.
The game has some sky-rocket cutscenes that will appear depending on your score, which is a nice touch, I was not able to get them tho, since my maximum score was 37.000 only.
Tetris has everything you need to have FUN, and that's something that nobody can deny.
2015
This is Cinema.
Always heard about his game everywhere on the internet for a long time, but just now I realized what it's all about and understand its popularity.
Undertale is an entire experience, it gives you a world and a story that will get stuck in your mind after completing in, leaving you wanting for more, each character is unique and have their own personal charisma, you will most likely make them your friends for real, even if they're fictional.
Gameplay is simple but unique, this was the very first RPG I've beat and not so much comparisons I can make, but I'm satisfied with it, not that difficult tho, but I've heard there is a harder route you can go for, I just beat the first two most recommended routes, to get the "real" ending, but if you want more and if you like those "what if" type of stuff, you can always change your gaming style, changing your actions and getting different stuff, and that's awesome.
The soundtrack is an entire symphony, one of the bests I've heard in videogames, I was already a fan of Megalovania and Death by Glamour without knowing what were these about before, that's the power of the soundtrack, they managed to make every single song catchy and immersive, props to them... or should say, him? It seems like Toby Fox made this alone, and that's even more impressive.
The graphics are the only aspect that is not a highlight here, they just get the job done, for what the game is supposed to be, and that's it.
Is never late to find a new masterpiece from the past, and it showed me that.
By the way, it's the first time I managed to buy a game official soundtrack.
Always heard about his game everywhere on the internet for a long time, but just now I realized what it's all about and understand its popularity.
Undertale is an entire experience, it gives you a world and a story that will get stuck in your mind after completing in, leaving you wanting for more, each character is unique and have their own personal charisma, you will most likely make them your friends for real, even if they're fictional.
Gameplay is simple but unique, this was the very first RPG I've beat and not so much comparisons I can make, but I'm satisfied with it, not that difficult tho, but I've heard there is a harder route you can go for, I just beat the first two most recommended routes, to get the "real" ending, but if you want more and if you like those "what if" type of stuff, you can always change your gaming style, changing your actions and getting different stuff, and that's awesome.
The soundtrack is an entire symphony, one of the bests I've heard in videogames, I was already a fan of Megalovania and Death by Glamour without knowing what were these about before, that's the power of the soundtrack, they managed to make every single song catchy and immersive, props to them... or should say, him? It seems like Toby Fox made this alone, and that's even more impressive.
The graphics are the only aspect that is not a highlight here, they just get the job done, for what the game is supposed to be, and that's it.
Is never late to find a new masterpiece from the past, and it showed me that.
By the way, it's the first time I managed to buy a game official soundtrack.
1988
Retro Yearly List #14 [1988: Contra]
Instant classic. This was one of the most popular games featured in those "famiclones", which were very well known in South America, with "100 games in 1"cartridges.
I played this a lot but never get past Waterfall level tho, time to correct this.
Contra 1 is pretty solid and offers a complete experience, the controls are one of the most responsive of games from that time, and even modern games, running, ducking and shooting are satisfying things to do here.
The graphics are good enough for NES, even though they are "nerfed" in US version, I've played the Japanese one instead, which has some additional stuff like animated palm trees and snowstorms. There are also cutscenes at the start and between stages, which were also cut off on US release, sadly.
Difficulty is... well, hard. Not a nightmare, but requires some training to master the game, fortunately, I was able to beat this without the Konami code and not using continues after some tries within 3 days (not straight).
The music is nice and catchy, although they forgot to make the level 7 music so they put the level 1's instead, but nothing that breaks the immersion. Enemies are also a little bit repetitive, with tons of them coming by at random moments and sometimes in places that does not make sense.
The bosses are ok, but difficulty scalability is broken, the Door one is the easiest on the game and it appears among the last levels, the Base2 boss in other hand, is a true pain, on just level 3, even harder than the final boss, which has medium difficulty.
The weapons are also unbalanced, with most of them being useless, and just one alone capable of change the pace of the entire game, Spread Gun is basically the "select difficulty" of the game, once you keep it, you will play the game on easy mode, but with a level of challenge to keep it with you without taking damage, if you do, back to hell mode.
The series started with a massive potential to improvement in the future, but still has extremely solid experience.
Instant classic. This was one of the most popular games featured in those "famiclones", which were very well known in South America, with "100 games in 1"cartridges.
I played this a lot but never get past Waterfall level tho, time to correct this.
Contra 1 is pretty solid and offers a complete experience, the controls are one of the most responsive of games from that time, and even modern games, running, ducking and shooting are satisfying things to do here.
The graphics are good enough for NES, even though they are "nerfed" in US version, I've played the Japanese one instead, which has some additional stuff like animated palm trees and snowstorms. There are also cutscenes at the start and between stages, which were also cut off on US release, sadly.
Difficulty is... well, hard. Not a nightmare, but requires some training to master the game, fortunately, I was able to beat this without the Konami code and not using continues after some tries within 3 days (not straight).
The music is nice and catchy, although they forgot to make the level 7 music so they put the level 1's instead, but nothing that breaks the immersion. Enemies are also a little bit repetitive, with tons of them coming by at random moments and sometimes in places that does not make sense.
The bosses are ok, but difficulty scalability is broken, the Door one is the easiest on the game and it appears among the last levels, the Base2 boss in other hand, is a true pain, on just level 3, even harder than the final boss, which has medium difficulty.
The weapons are also unbalanced, with most of them being useless, and just one alone capable of change the pace of the entire game, Spread Gun is basically the "select difficulty" of the game, once you keep it, you will play the game on easy mode, but with a level of challenge to keep it with you without taking damage, if you do, back to hell mode.
The series started with a massive potential to improvement in the future, but still has extremely solid experience.
Retro Yearly List #13 [1987: Punch-Out!!]
This franchise never caught my attention enough to try playing its games, and I never did until now, one nice example of why I'm challenging myself with these retro challenges, hence, now I've just discovered a very nice game.
Some people tend to compare this with Dark Souls, not just because of difficulty, but due to the pattern-learning style of gameplay to beat the opponents, others say that it's a puzzle game disguised as a boxing game. I agree with both definitions, it's more than a sports game, this is a "practice makes perfect" type of game, (or "almost perfect").
Every opponent requires different strategies and will have to learn the hard way: trying and failing, tuning your reflexes in the process, you will have to react fast and faster once you reach the final challenges.
It truly gave me a good time to challenge myself, I managed to beat everyone fairly but Tyson, which I saved mid-match to progress, but I'm willing to try him the right way in some time, considering playing this on emulators is far worse than the original hardware due to the input lag.
Overall, the difficulty is fair and the learning curve is fine, the only opponent that got really on my nerves was Super Macho Man, but I managed to learn his secrets as well.
I just think there is a layer of repetition with the opponents, some of them will return for rematches and others have their sprites reused, even on completely different boxers. But overall the game is pretty good and I now understand its popularity, and I'm glad I finally learned to play this properly.
This franchise never caught my attention enough to try playing its games, and I never did until now, one nice example of why I'm challenging myself with these retro challenges, hence, now I've just discovered a very nice game.
Some people tend to compare this with Dark Souls, not just because of difficulty, but due to the pattern-learning style of gameplay to beat the opponents, others say that it's a puzzle game disguised as a boxing game. I agree with both definitions, it's more than a sports game, this is a "practice makes perfect" type of game, (or "almost perfect").
Every opponent requires different strategies and will have to learn the hard way: trying and failing, tuning your reflexes in the process, you will have to react fast and faster once you reach the final challenges.
It truly gave me a good time to challenge myself, I managed to beat everyone fairly but Tyson, which I saved mid-match to progress, but I'm willing to try him the right way in some time, considering playing this on emulators is far worse than the original hardware due to the input lag.
Overall, the difficulty is fair and the learning curve is fine, the only opponent that got really on my nerves was Super Macho Man, but I managed to learn his secrets as well.
I just think there is a layer of repetition with the opponents, some of them will return for rematches and others have their sprites reused, even on completely different boxers. But overall the game is pretty good and I now understand its popularity, and I'm glad I finally learned to play this properly.
2018
For the first beaten game and review of the year, one of the best indie games of all time. I had already beat this back in 2018 but wanted a second run, now I'm doing new stuff like B and C-Sides and Farewell DLC. That second run just helped me consolidate my first impressions, Celeste does everything, the visuals are outstanding to the point that I stopped my run sometimes just to appreciate the background, the OST is beautiful and makes you forget a bit how hard this game is and even frustrating in some sections, making a great counterpoint. The gameplay is on point, all mechanics work well, and is so satisfying to move around and do all that hardcore parkour, although you can just run, jump and dash, all three combined offer complex gameplay for the hardest levels. The game is pretty hard in general, but the base game has medium difficulty for me, if you are more skilled at platforming games, there are tons of optional content for you to try. And the lore... yeah, it's pretty well written as well, it goes with a more artistic approach and deals with delicate stuff not too explored enough in games like mental health, and it gives you an extremely good lesson about it. Definitely a great piece of art to start 2024.
1986
Retro Yearly List #12 [1986: Wonder Boy]
Man, that was... awful.
The first entry of Wonder Boy is pretty bad, seriously, I struggled to beat this even with save states, the game looks nice at first and the first levels are really fun, the graphics are great, the movement is a bit frustrating, but there are fun sections when you use your running and jumping properly, WHEN the game design allows you to.
After a few levels it gets old pretty fast, the next ones are just recreations using the same assets placed differently and creating new challenges, but using the same stuff, the same mechanics, it's like they have worked hard on the first levels and then used a randomizer to generate the sufficient amount to have freaking 32 levels... yeah that's right, game has 8 worlds each one containing 4 "sub-levels" with repetition until the end, that's the definition of unnecessary. Also the bosses are all the same only with increased difficulty, so that's reciclated as well.
The axe mechanic is a mistake, you will start with it but if you die, you have to beat some sections just avoiding enemies positioned chaotically, without having a chance to knock them out, until you find another axe, the skate power up is just ok, is another hit to take and you will most likely press back to walk slowly with it anyway, there is no room to rush here, although they may have intended to create that feeling, it simply doesn't work since there are enemies everywhere doing hell-pattern movements.
Game design is also atrocious to the point that you have cloud platforms placed in crucial sections, that when you hit them, they fall off and you die, forcing you to do everything again, I did not expect to play I Wanna be the Guy or Cat Mario, but that's it.
The ONLY music that plays on the entire game is nice until you hear it again for the 5th time, it just gets to the point where you don't even bother anymore and just want to finish it.
Let's see how they will improve it for the next entries.
Man, that was... awful.
The first entry of Wonder Boy is pretty bad, seriously, I struggled to beat this even with save states, the game looks nice at first and the first levels are really fun, the graphics are great, the movement is a bit frustrating, but there are fun sections when you use your running and jumping properly, WHEN the game design allows you to.
After a few levels it gets old pretty fast, the next ones are just recreations using the same assets placed differently and creating new challenges, but using the same stuff, the same mechanics, it's like they have worked hard on the first levels and then used a randomizer to generate the sufficient amount to have freaking 32 levels... yeah that's right, game has 8 worlds each one containing 4 "sub-levels" with repetition until the end, that's the definition of unnecessary. Also the bosses are all the same only with increased difficulty, so that's reciclated as well.
The axe mechanic is a mistake, you will start with it but if you die, you have to beat some sections just avoiding enemies positioned chaotically, without having a chance to knock them out, until you find another axe, the skate power up is just ok, is another hit to take and you will most likely press back to walk slowly with it anyway, there is no room to rush here, although they may have intended to create that feeling, it simply doesn't work since there are enemies everywhere doing hell-pattern movements.
Game design is also atrocious to the point that you have cloud platforms placed in crucial sections, that when you hit them, they fall off and you die, forcing you to do everything again, I did not expect to play I Wanna be the Guy or Cat Mario, but that's it.
The ONLY music that plays on the entire game is nice until you hear it again for the 5th time, it just gets to the point where you don't even bother anymore and just want to finish it.
Let's see how they will improve it for the next entries.
1985
Retro Yearly List #11 [1985: Bomberman]
The first ever Bomberman, the classic, the original. ...Except it's not, since I just learned this was based on "Eric and the Floaters" (what?) for MSX and ZX Spectrum.
So this is one of those rare cases where I will play not the first ever, but the most well-recognized/popular version.
Bomberman gameplay is already known, with not too much to say about this version, except that it is EXTREMELY repetitive and tiring, you will see almost all game content by level 10, but it has 50, which will randomize the walls and enemies' positions with an increasing difficult, as expected.
There are a lot of power-ups for Bomberman spread along the stages, and if you manage to gather them without dying, you have an overpowered hero destroying everything in your path, and in that case, the game will be funnier, right?
No. It's just boring.
On ending we will learn that Hudson was ahead of its time and already thinking in multiverse and crossovers.
The first ever Bomberman, the classic, the original. ...Except it's not, since I just learned this was based on "Eric and the Floaters" (what?) for MSX and ZX Spectrum.
So this is one of those rare cases where I will play not the first ever, but the most well-recognized/popular version.
Bomberman gameplay is already known, with not too much to say about this version, except that it is EXTREMELY repetitive and tiring, you will see almost all game content by level 10, but it has 50, which will randomize the walls and enemies' positions with an increasing difficult, as expected.
There are a lot of power-ups for Bomberman spread along the stages, and if you manage to gather them without dying, you have an overpowered hero destroying everything in your path, and in that case, the game will be funnier, right?
No. It's just boring.
On ending we will learn that Hudson was ahead of its time and already thinking in multiverse and crossovers.
1984
Retro Yearly List #10 [1984: Duck Hunt]
Well, you know, you shoot ducks, and an annoying dog will laugh at you if you fail, the game is endless and point-based. You can choose either standard mode with 1 duck at a time or 2 of them, or clay shooting mode which is a bit easier. That's it. Besides all simplicity, it's a classic, that's a game that normally would become an obscure random game due to the unusual NES Zapper technology being the focal point, so is impressive that it survived the time test and is so well remembered to the point of making it into Smash. Well done.
Well, you know, you shoot ducks, and an annoying dog will laugh at you if you fail, the game is endless and point-based. You can choose either standard mode with 1 duck at a time or 2 of them, or clay shooting mode which is a bit easier. That's it. Besides all simplicity, it's a classic, that's a game that normally would become an obscure random game due to the unusual NES Zapper technology being the focal point, so is impressive that it survived the time test and is so well remembered to the point of making it into Smash. Well done.