ShaggyTheHippy
The sequel of the legendary game Super Mario Bros. , the Lost Levels offers quite a challenge to those who thought the first one was easy.
From a graphical point of view, it's the same as the first one. They simply reused the sprites of the first one and added some new ones.
The controls are also the same as the first one. Mario has the same momentum and physics than the previous entry.
The level design is where everything changes. They added some more obstacles and enemies so that the game will be harder. Playing this game is like playing a super mario maker level with all the B.S that this games offers. Poisoned mushrooms, trampolines, wind effects, hidden block, you name it. Also, in particular levels, if you don't take the right path, you will go back to previous levels. This is particularly frustrating, since the right path can be well hidden.
I still think that the game is good, even with all the B.S, since it's the same controls as the first one. This game feels like a DLC of Super Mario Bros. If you want a hard challenge and you like SMB, this is a game for you.
Game #32 of my challenge
From a graphical point of view, it's the same as the first one. They simply reused the sprites of the first one and added some new ones.
The controls are also the same as the first one. Mario has the same momentum and physics than the previous entry.
The level design is where everything changes. They added some more obstacles and enemies so that the game will be harder. Playing this game is like playing a super mario maker level with all the B.S that this games offers. Poisoned mushrooms, trampolines, wind effects, hidden block, you name it. Also, in particular levels, if you don't take the right path, you will go back to previous levels. This is particularly frustrating, since the right path can be well hidden.
I still think that the game is good, even with all the B.S, since it's the same controls as the first one. This game feels like a DLC of Super Mario Bros. If you want a hard challenge and you like SMB, this is a game for you.
Game #32 of my challenge
1986
This is one of those games that considered classic back in the time, but I was never really hooked to it.
The story is pretty simple : relive the life of Mappy. While the story is not much mentionned in the game. The only way to know this is that at the end of each ''world'', you will have a screen telling why you were collecting all the items(ex: cheese for the birthday party, rings to get married, etc)
Speaking of collecting, the main goal of the game is to collect many items in the stage before reaching the end. You will have a counter of how many of that particular item that needs to be collected before heading to the far right of the stage. The system is pretty simple, but the task is pretty redundant.
The main mechanics of the game is to use the trampoline between levels without getting touched by the cats. Getting caught by a cat makes you lose a stock and need to restart the level. Some of the enemies can be jumped over, some of them are too big and your only option is to run away. At least, when jumping on a trampoline, you are invulnerable to enemies. So all of you can jump on that trampoline without concerns of losing. However, jumping on that trampoline too many times in a row makes the thing disappears and is now a hole to die into.
There are some traps that can be triggered by Mappy to eliminate the enemies temporarily . Each traps are unique to their stages. The stages, by the way, have a different setting, which makes the game more colorful and they each have their songs.
While the game can be fun at the beginning, the games starts to be really redundant, since you need to do all stages 4 times. I can only recommend people to do only one world just to experience it and that would be it.
Game #44 of my challenge
The story is pretty simple : relive the life of Mappy. While the story is not much mentionned in the game. The only way to know this is that at the end of each ''world'', you will have a screen telling why you were collecting all the items(ex: cheese for the birthday party, rings to get married, etc)
Speaking of collecting, the main goal of the game is to collect many items in the stage before reaching the end. You will have a counter of how many of that particular item that needs to be collected before heading to the far right of the stage. The system is pretty simple, but the task is pretty redundant.
The main mechanics of the game is to use the trampoline between levels without getting touched by the cats. Getting caught by a cat makes you lose a stock and need to restart the level. Some of the enemies can be jumped over, some of them are too big and your only option is to run away. At least, when jumping on a trampoline, you are invulnerable to enemies. So all of you can jump on that trampoline without concerns of losing. However, jumping on that trampoline too many times in a row makes the thing disappears and is now a hole to die into.
There are some traps that can be triggered by Mappy to eliminate the enemies temporarily . Each traps are unique to their stages. The stages, by the way, have a different setting, which makes the game more colorful and they each have their songs.
While the game can be fun at the beginning, the games starts to be really redundant, since you need to do all stages 4 times. I can only recommend people to do only one world just to experience it and that would be it.
Game #44 of my challenge
1988
This is considered the beginning of a beloved beat'em up franchise : The Double Dragon series. While this is the first Double Dragon game, it's a spiritual successor of the game Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun.
First off, the story is pretty simple : girlfriend gets kidnapped, you need to save her. That's about it for the plot of this game. It's basic, but this game was not meant to be played for the story aspect.
The graphics are a little bit better than Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun. The backgrounds are better, the enemies looks more different from one another. So we could say that they improved the visual quality of the franchise.
The soundtrack is also a banger. We could see that over all the games that I beaten so far, they seem to put more time on creating a better OST. This makes the game even more enjoyable.
Now for the controls : They improved them compared to the previous entry. The controls to do certain techniques are easier and the feeling of hitting an enemy feels good. However, there's still the same problem that some attack are hard to align certain attacks. It is also true about the hit box of the enemies. I didn't always knows if the hit will hurt me or not. The bottomless pit were also a real pain in the game, especially when you need to jump over it. The controls were not made to do some platforming in the level.
This game is fun to go through, even if there were some really hard bosses.
Game # 50 of my challenge
First off, the story is pretty simple : girlfriend gets kidnapped, you need to save her. That's about it for the plot of this game. It's basic, but this game was not meant to be played for the story aspect.
The graphics are a little bit better than Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun. The backgrounds are better, the enemies looks more different from one another. So we could say that they improved the visual quality of the franchise.
The soundtrack is also a banger. We could see that over all the games that I beaten so far, they seem to put more time on creating a better OST. This makes the game even more enjoyable.
Now for the controls : They improved them compared to the previous entry. The controls to do certain techniques are easier and the feeling of hitting an enemy feels good. However, there's still the same problem that some attack are hard to align certain attacks. It is also true about the hit box of the enemies. I didn't always knows if the hit will hurt me or not. The bottomless pit were also a real pain in the game, especially when you need to jump over it. The controls were not made to do some platforming in the level.
This game is fun to go through, even if there were some really hard bosses.
Game # 50 of my challenge
I know this game gets a lots of trash talk because it's so different from the others and the difficulty of it. However, it's not as bad as people think of it. Just to be clear, I do not have any nostalgia for this game and I first beat this game in my 20s.
First of all, graphically, the game is not that bad looking. The background are nice to see, the enemies and bosses looks decent and the world map does his job well.
The story is a continuity of the first one. A bad magician wanted to extract the location of a Triforce piece from Zelda, she didn't tell and he put a curse on her and it's your job to save her. Ganon is dead from the first one and his minions thinks that pouring your blood on his ashes will revive him. It's a bit different from all the save the kidnapped girl stories and have a little bit more depth as well.
The gameplay is where it's the most controversial. Instead of a top down adventure, you play as link in a side scroller adventure ''RPG'' game. So you walk in the world map from dungeons to dungeons until you beat the last boss. When walking in the world map, you can encounter enemies. However, they were able to make it different from other RPGs encounters : you can see them in the map and you can decide to fight them or try to dodge them. In any other RPGs of the time, you simply walk and BAM, random encounter. Also, the encounters are a tiny side scrolling part. Once you leave one of the two edges, you are out of it. Even though sometimes, they are annoying, it's a nice change that they tried to create.
Another controversial part is the level up system. By killing enemies and collecting pouches on the ground, you will gain XP. Once you reach a threshold of XP, you can choose if you want to put it in your attack, magic or life that are available. You can simply skip as well. The reason why you can skip is that every one of the 3 stats requires different number of XP. To be honest, it's a little bit clunkly, but at least you can choose what you want to level up. All other games that I beat since I started my challenge were imposed stats and you didn't have a say in it.
Another thing that is considered frustrating in this game are Game Overs. When you get a Game Over, you lose all XP collected and you restart from the starting point of the game, but with all your gear. Also, to put salt in the wound, Ganon laughs at you. I must admit that losing all your XP is BS, the fact that you start at the beginning is not that bad. The reson is that the map is not that big and once you get the Hammer, shortcuts are unlocked and it's easier to move around the map. Also in the last dungeon of the game, having a Game Over only starts you at the beginning of the last dungeon.
The dungeons are real mazes. It can be really hard to navigate through them, but they are now bigger than the first game. There are some annoying enemies, you can can try to avoid them. Once you complete a dungeon, you gain a free level.
The controls are honestly good since you can jump and attack. You can also choose if you attack high or low, which is nice for that time. The spells that you can cast are also nice as well.
The game is far from perfect, but they tried to add things that no games tried before and I encourage that. The first game that tires to bring new mechanics will never be perfect, but other games can use those mechanics and perfect them. I would recommend this game with save states and a guide to help you to be less frustrated during your first playthrough.
Game #47 of my challenge
First of all, graphically, the game is not that bad looking. The background are nice to see, the enemies and bosses looks decent and the world map does his job well.
The story is a continuity of the first one. A bad magician wanted to extract the location of a Triforce piece from Zelda, she didn't tell and he put a curse on her and it's your job to save her. Ganon is dead from the first one and his minions thinks that pouring your blood on his ashes will revive him. It's a bit different from all the save the kidnapped girl stories and have a little bit more depth as well.
The gameplay is where it's the most controversial. Instead of a top down adventure, you play as link in a side scroller adventure ''RPG'' game. So you walk in the world map from dungeons to dungeons until you beat the last boss. When walking in the world map, you can encounter enemies. However, they were able to make it different from other RPGs encounters : you can see them in the map and you can decide to fight them or try to dodge them. In any other RPGs of the time, you simply walk and BAM, random encounter. Also, the encounters are a tiny side scrolling part. Once you leave one of the two edges, you are out of it. Even though sometimes, they are annoying, it's a nice change that they tried to create.
Another controversial part is the level up system. By killing enemies and collecting pouches on the ground, you will gain XP. Once you reach a threshold of XP, you can choose if you want to put it in your attack, magic or life that are available. You can simply skip as well. The reason why you can skip is that every one of the 3 stats requires different number of XP. To be honest, it's a little bit clunkly, but at least you can choose what you want to level up. All other games that I beat since I started my challenge were imposed stats and you didn't have a say in it.
Another thing that is considered frustrating in this game are Game Overs. When you get a Game Over, you lose all XP collected and you restart from the starting point of the game, but with all your gear. Also, to put salt in the wound, Ganon laughs at you. I must admit that losing all your XP is BS, the fact that you start at the beginning is not that bad. The reson is that the map is not that big and once you get the Hammer, shortcuts are unlocked and it's easier to move around the map. Also in the last dungeon of the game, having a Game Over only starts you at the beginning of the last dungeon.
The dungeons are real mazes. It can be really hard to navigate through them, but they are now bigger than the first game. There are some annoying enemies, you can can try to avoid them. Once you complete a dungeon, you gain a free level.
The controls are honestly good since you can jump and attack. You can also choose if you attack high or low, which is nice for that time. The spells that you can cast are also nice as well.
The game is far from perfect, but they tried to add things that no games tried before and I encourage that. The first game that tires to bring new mechanics will never be perfect, but other games can use those mechanics and perfect them. I would recommend this game with save states and a guide to help you to be less frustrated during your first playthrough.
Game #47 of my challenge
1982
Basic space shooter. You can shoot in front of you or on the ground. There is not much else to it. If you like space shooter, it's a classic, but like any arcade games, it's okay for a short amount of time.
Game #6 of my challenge
Game #6 of my challenge
1983
In solo mode, the game can be repetitve since it's the exact same level display, but with different enemies. The fireball can be annoying if you aren't fast enough. However, the game can be fun in 2 players. You can play it in coop to reach the farthest level, or you can play competitively, which make the game way more fun since you try to screw your friend over.
Game #7 of my challenge
Game #7 of my challenge
1983
This game is really hard to win. Since you can't control any AI on your team. It's basically a game of luck. The only real control you got is to hit the ball, throw the ball as a pitcher and throw the ball to which bases you want to throw. I know it is a game of his time, however I cannot give in good concious give a good score to this game since I had no fun at all playing this game.
Game #10 of my challenge
Game #10 of my challenge
1984
While the controls are simple, winning a match is really hard. The AI is extremely good and the hit detection is not the best. I had my frustrating time with it, and now that it is over, I can finally move to a better game(I hope).
Game #11 of my challenge
Game #11 of my challenge
1984
Excitebike is a good racing game for it's time. The way you need to manage your engine, bumps, jumps is really fun. The game is however really hard to beat all the other racers in the game and it can be infuriating when you fall off of your bike. The game also have a track creator(I spent no time in it, but it is still a nice feature for those who are more creative than I am).
Game #18 of my challenge
Game #18 of my challenge
1985
The main goal of this game is to get as much points as possible. To do that, you need to roll on some lines with your car.
Your car can jump over enemies (which are police cars and cats) and each stages has 3 differents floors to go to.
The game is really boring since the only thing that you do is to drive the car without hitting anything. The jump timing to go to different floor is precise and getting the stripes on a side of a ledge is really annoying.
I would not recommand this game unless you are curious about it. If you try it, 5 minutes is enough to get an idea of the game.
Game #24 of my challenge
Your car can jump over enemies (which are police cars and cats) and each stages has 3 differents floors to go to.
The game is really boring since the only thing that you do is to drive the car without hitting anything. The jump timing to go to different floor is precise and getting the stripes on a side of a ledge is really annoying.
I would not recommand this game unless you are curious about it. If you try it, 5 minutes is enough to get an idea of the game.
Game #24 of my challenge
1986
This game didn't make it for me. They wanted to have their own platforming style using big jumps and glide, but it was too clunky.
I will be honest that during the whole game, I didn't know what I was doing. I was collecting stuff without knowing what they do. I was woundering in levels to any doors I could find only to find out that sometimes, it brings you back to a same room that you already did. In the later levels, I was to lost that I've decide to use a guide and to my suprise, you can change colors in this game. When I've first started, I tried every button to know what they do and couldn't transform. I guess that collecting something will help you with that.
It was a real pain to complete, wasn't instinctive enough of a game and the controls were awful. This game wasn't for me.
Game #28 of my challenge
I will be honest that during the whole game, I didn't know what I was doing. I was collecting stuff without knowing what they do. I was woundering in levels to any doors I could find only to find out that sometimes, it brings you back to a same room that you already did. In the later levels, I was to lost that I've decide to use a guide and to my suprise, you can change colors in this game. When I've first started, I tried every button to know what they do and couldn't transform. I guess that collecting something will help you with that.
It was a real pain to complete, wasn't instinctive enough of a game and the controls were awful. This game wasn't for me.
Game #28 of my challenge
1987
This game have a lots of things that were really neat for the time. It's a mixture of platformer adventure with a sprinkle of RPG in it.
The platforming part is ok at best. It's not bad, but it isn't good as well. For the adventure parts, the nice thing about it , is that you have some section of side-scrolling and some top view action. The mix of both is a really nice change of pace. The attacks that your character have is really original with his spinning shield. The last part is the RPG element. So, when you beat a whole bunch of enemies, you will gain XP. When you do, you gain a level and your strenght/HP is upgraded. At the time, the XP mecanic is not really exploited yet, so it brings a new flavor to this game.
However, since the game is not fully polish and not that memorable, I can only give it a 3.
Game #29 of my challenge
The platforming part is ok at best. It's not bad, but it isn't good as well. For the adventure parts, the nice thing about it , is that you have some section of side-scrolling and some top view action. The mix of both is a really nice change of pace. The attacks that your character have is really original with his spinning shield. The last part is the RPG element. So, when you beat a whole bunch of enemies, you will gain XP. When you do, you gain a level and your strenght/HP is upgraded. At the time, the XP mecanic is not really exploited yet, so it brings a new flavor to this game.
However, since the game is not fully polish and not that memorable, I can only give it a 3.
Game #29 of my challenge
1987
This game is really simple in concept, but it's so much fun, especially in 2 players. Bubble Bobble is a cute platformer with 100 levels in it.
The art of this game is really appealing, with the cute dragons and enemies. the background is really really simple and doesn't have much. However with some designs of certain levels, they do some nods to others games release before it. Those are cute Easter eggs.
The music is really catchy and the short music loop can get stuck in your head for a while.
The gameplay is really simple : catch the enemies with the bubbles that your dragon spits and burst that bubble afterwards. However, the charm of it comes from how the the stage is designed. It's a still screen, however, if there's a hole at the bottom of the screen, you can jump in it and fall from the hole at the top of the screen. This makes the game feel like a puzzle game. The bubbles creates can also be used as platforms. This gameplay is really clunky and is kind of hard to be consistent with it.
The game is fun, but can be redundant with 100 levels. it's a good thing that sometimes you can skip levels when collecting stuff. Also, just has a heads up, you can only have the real ending if you beat it with two players.
Game #34 of my challenge
The art of this game is really appealing, with the cute dragons and enemies. the background is really really simple and doesn't have much. However with some designs of certain levels, they do some nods to others games release before it. Those are cute Easter eggs.
The music is really catchy and the short music loop can get stuck in your head for a while.
The gameplay is really simple : catch the enemies with the bubbles that your dragon spits and burst that bubble afterwards. However, the charm of it comes from how the the stage is designed. It's a still screen, however, if there's a hole at the bottom of the screen, you can jump in it and fall from the hole at the top of the screen. This makes the game feel like a puzzle game. The bubbles creates can also be used as platforms. This gameplay is really clunky and is kind of hard to be consistent with it.
The game is fun, but can be redundant with 100 levels. it's a good thing that sometimes you can skip levels when collecting stuff. Also, just has a heads up, you can only have the real ending if you beat it with two players.
Game #34 of my challenge
1988
This spin-off of Gradius is a great game that added some spice to the original game.
The graphics are almost the same between Gradius and Life Force, however they added some really nice sprites to this game that makes the game more clean. The background is also neat and are also part of the stage as obstacle.
The gameplay is also similar to the original. They simplified a little about the power up system. The bosses are also really nice to be against. They are menacing and fun to fight against for a space shooter game.
The biggest change between the two is that now, there's some stages that are horizontal or vertical (depending on which stage you are at).
This game is a better version of Gradius and would recommand if you like space shooter.
Game #36 in my challenge.
The graphics are almost the same between Gradius and Life Force, however they added some really nice sprites to this game that makes the game more clean. The background is also neat and are also part of the stage as obstacle.
The gameplay is also similar to the original. They simplified a little about the power up system. The bosses are also really nice to be against. They are menacing and fun to fight against for a space shooter game.
The biggest change between the two is that now, there's some stages that are horizontal or vertical (depending on which stage you are at).
This game is a better version of Gradius and would recommand if you like space shooter.
Game #36 in my challenge.
1986
Another Sports game to the list. This time it's volleyball. To be honest, I had no fun playing this game.
The controls were kind of instinctive. Yet, it was so hard to execute them. The reason for it is that you really needed to be at the right spot to hit the ball. Because of that, it was a frustrating experience.
The only thing that was charming about this game is the intro song before picking your team. Other than that, the game was pretty plain. A crowd, a ref, two team and a net. That's about it. the only thing that was funny to look at is that the players sprites always move their butt back and forth and when getting smashed in your face, the player was doing the turtle move on their back.
If you like volleyball, maybe you would have a chance to have fun for 15 minutes. Other than that, I would simply avoid this game.
Game #38 of my challenge
The controls were kind of instinctive. Yet, it was so hard to execute them. The reason for it is that you really needed to be at the right spot to hit the ball. Because of that, it was a frustrating experience.
The only thing that was charming about this game is the intro song before picking your team. Other than that, the game was pretty plain. A crowd, a ref, two team and a net. That's about it. the only thing that was funny to look at is that the players sprites always move their butt back and forth and when getting smashed in your face, the player was doing the turtle move on their back.
If you like volleyball, maybe you would have a chance to have fun for 15 minutes. Other than that, I would simply avoid this game.
Game #38 of my challenge