NES/SNES Classic Editions

Shareefruck

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Same for me. For being a huge fan of the metroidvania 'genre' I'd never actually played the Vania portion of the equation, apart from a little bit of the original NES game when I was a kid. So when I got a Wii 10+ years ago and having always heard great things about IV I got it on the virtual console and... meh. Maybe it's the wrong one to go with if I want a Castlevania 'metroidvania' experience since it's just a straight platformer, didn't really see anything to great about it.

Not sure if I really need to get one of these mini consoles though since I went through a bunch of my favourites on the Wii, but one thing I noticed is while I think a lot of them age well and are highly enjoyable I'm just too good at the games now. Not the Nintendo-hard games like Contra, but the Zelda, Metroid, and Final Fantasy type games. Like when I played Link to the Past on the Wii, even though I'd never touched the game for 10+ years I just ploughed right through it. I found that I remember about 50% of the stuff which made things much easier, but the other half I had completely forgotten offered no challenge either. I 100%'d the game without putting any extra effort into finding secrets.

So while straight up gameplay can still be a challenge the deeper stuff like how to find secrets or how to best utilize and exploit systems/strategies part offers me no resistance.
I can't say that I relate to this. I find that the appeal of a lot of these games have less to do with challenge and more to do with the fact that they're inherently a joy to control and experience, even if you're just breezing through them on instinct.
 
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McRpro

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This dislike of Castlevania IV is disturbing me. One of my favourite games ever! Oh well, I guess we all have different tastes. I myself have always hated Earthbound and I'm sure that's sacrilege to some lol.
 

Shareefruck

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This dislike of Castlevania IV is disturbing me. One of my favourite games ever! Oh well, I guess we all have different tastes. I myself have always hated Earthbound and I'm sure that's sacrilege to some lol.
Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the way that it controls, the animation, and the aesthetic of the sprites and backgrounds, ignoring historical context? Is it an acquired taste that has its own charm to you, or is it just something that you excuse because it does other things better? Poor aesthetics is just something that I can't see past, personally. I can understand if the gameplay is great once you get past that, but I always feel confused when people praise the actual way that it looks and feels.

I like Symphony of the Night, though.
 
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McRpro

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Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the way that it controls, the animation, and the aesthetic of the sprites and backgrounds, ignoring historical context? Is it an acquired taste that has its own charm to you, or is it just something that you excuse because it does other things better? Poor aesthetics is just something that I can't see past, personally. I can understand if the gameplay is great once you get past that, but I always feel confused when people praise the actual way that it looks and feels.

I like Symphony of the Night, though.
It's all fantastic to me. I don't understand how people can have any complaints about that stuff.
 

KingBran

Three Eyed Raven
Apr 24, 2014
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This dislike of Castlevania IV is disturbing me. One of my favourite games ever! Oh well, I guess we all have different tastes. I myself have always hated Earthbound and I'm sure that's sacrilege to some lol.
Not old-school Nintendo but I have never liked the Fallout games. Had some friends want to beat me up for that one haha.
 

Frankie Blueberries

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Jan 27, 2016
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Same for me. For being a huge fan of the metroidvania 'genre' I'd never actually played the Vania portion of the equation, apart from a little bit of the original NES game when I was a kid. So when I got a Wii 10+ years ago and having always heard great things about IV I got it on the virtual console and... meh. Maybe it's the wrong one to go with if I want a Castlevania 'metroidvania' experience since it's just a straight platformer, didn't really see anything to great about it.

Not sure if I really need to get one of these mini consoles though since I went through a bunch of my favourites on the Wii, but one thing I noticed is while I think a lot of them age well and are highly enjoyable I'm just too good at the games now. Not the Nintendo-hard games like Contra, but the Zelda, Metroid, and Final Fantasy type games. Like when I played Link to the Past on the Wii, even though I'd never touched the game for 10+ years I just ploughed right through it. I found that I remember about 50% of the stuff which made things much easier, but the other half I had completely forgotten offered no challenge either. I 100%'d the game without putting any extra effort into finding secrets.

So while straight up gameplay can still be a challenge the deeper stuff like how to find secrets or how to best utilize and exploit systems/strategies part offers me no resistance.

Out of curiosity, did you ever play Shadow Complex?

I actually was never into the 'metroidvania' genre until I got a Wii and played Super Metroid on the virtual console, as well as playing Symphony of the Night on XBLA. Shadow Complex was a lot of fun though, definitely in the same vein as those games.
 

KingBran

Three Eyed Raven
Apr 24, 2014
6,436
2,284
Same for me. For being a huge fan of the metroidvania 'genre' I'd never actually played the Vania portion of the equation, apart from a little bit of the original NES game when I was a kid. So when I got a Wii 10+ years ago and having always heard great things about IV I got it on the virtual console and... meh. Maybe it's the wrong one to go with if I want a Castlevania 'metroidvania' experience since it's just a straight platformer, didn't really see anything to great about it.

Not sure if I really need to get one of these mini consoles though since I went through a bunch of my favourites on the Wii, but one thing I noticed is while I think a lot of them age well and are highly enjoyable I'm just too good at the games now. Not the Nintendo-hard games like Contra, but the Zelda, Metroid, and Final Fantasy type games. Like when I played Link to the Past on the Wii, even though I'd never touched the game for 10+ years I just ploughed right through it. I found that I remember about 50% of the stuff which made things much easier, but the other half I had completely forgotten offered no challenge either. I 100%'d the game without putting any extra effort into finding secrets.

So while straight up gameplay can still be a challenge the deeper stuff like how to find secrets or how to best utilize and exploit systems/strategies part offers me no resistance.

Out of curiosity, did you ever play Shadow Complex?

I actually was never into the 'metroidvania' genre until I got a Wii and played Super Metroid on the virtual console, as well as playing Symphony of the Night on XBLA. Shadow Complex was a lot of fun though, definitely in the same vein as those games.

You guys should really check out The Mummy: Demastered.

Yes, its based off of the "crappy" new Mummy movie. Don't worry, Tom Cruise is not in it. But its called "Demastered" because it looks and has music like the old Castlevania games. Like old school 8-bit Metroidvania games. It came out last year and its freaking amazing! Don't let the title scare you off.

Its a serious gem that people need to play. Its on Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC.
It actually has a 75 on Metacritic too. Pretty good for an arcade game really.


 
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RandV

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Out of curiosity, did you ever play Shadow Complex?

I actually was never into the 'metroidvania' genre until I got a Wii and played Super Metroid on the virtual console, as well as playing Symphony of the Night on XBLA. Shadow Complex was a lot of fun though, definitely in the same vein as those games.

I think it's on my Steam wishlist but haven't played it yet. I know there's still some very good ones I haven't got yet but these are the 'Metroidvania' games I've played through on Steam/PC:

Aquaria
Axiom Verge
Dust: An Elysain Tail
Ghost 1.0
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
Shantae - Risky's Revenge
Valdis Story: Abyssal City
 

Spring in Fialta

A malign star kept him
Apr 1, 2007
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Montreal, QC
Holy hell, while Yoshi's Island is a pretty easy game - the fact that you have at least 10 seconds to get baby mario back before losing a life makes it far too easy - and I've spoken about the game's artistry and aesthetic being top notch but the world 5 boss is a sight to behold, and the fight's concept is superb.

hqdefault.jpg




So pretty.
 

Spring in Fialta

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Apr 1, 2007
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Started playing Earthbound. Would consider flawless so far if not for the very annoying fact that you essentially have to fight every little goddamn thing, no matter how useless.
 

Shareefruck

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Started playing Earthbound. Would consider flawless so far if not for the very annoying fact that you essentially have to fight every little goddamn thing, no matter how useless.
If I remember correctly, there should be a neat little mechanic that eventually kicks in, where it starts skipping random battles that you're overpowered for and just giving you the experience right away.
 
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Spring in Fialta

A malign star kept him
Apr 1, 2007
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If I remember correctly, there should be a neat little mechanic that eventually kicks in, where it starts skipping random battles that you're overpowered for and just giving you the experience right away.

Yeah, I've had that happen once so far. But damn, it really kind of takes away from the early experience. I mean, I've read that the game is pretty difficult so at the end of the day it pays off not to be able to avoid all these battles but it gets very annoying. I'm currently in the cave after beating the Shark gang at the arcade and it's a tedious enterprise going through that thing.
 

Shareefruck

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Apr 2, 2005
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Vancouver, BC
Some demos of more things worth looking into...

Super Bomberman 1-5 (anyone with a SNES Classic needs a Bomberman on there)


Umihara Kawase (stumbled upon this and was impressed)


Tactics Ogre (better than Final Fantasy Tactics, IMO)


Pocky & Rocky
 
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member 157595

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I've never understood the appeal of Super Castlevania IV, personally. I've always felt that the controls feel gross and the aesthetic is garish and ugly. Even the music/atmosphere, which gets a lot of praise, doesn't do a whole lot for me.

Part of the reason the controls get so much praise is because they were a huge step up from the Castlevania III, which while a great game was undoubtably clunky. Same thing with the difficulty...CV3 is awesome but brutally difficult (at least the NA version is) while SCIV is less unforgiving.

In terms of the side-scrolling Castlevania games, I don't think SCIV has a challenger other than perhaps Chi no Rondo/Rondo of Blood on the PC Engine, though that one is also really hard.

I beat chrono trigger. man what an awesome game. definitely one of the best rpgs of all time.

My favorite video game of all time. :)

Same for me. For being a huge fan of the metroidvania 'genre' I'd never actually played the Vania portion of the equation, apart from a little bit of the original NES game when I was a kid. So when I got a Wii 10+ years ago and having always heard great things about IV I got it on the virtual console and... meh. Maybe it's the wrong one to go with if I want a Castlevania 'metroidvania' experience since it's just a straight platformer, didn't really see anything to great about it.

SCIV is absolutely not a MetroidVania. The first one of those I remember offhand is Symphony of the Night, which is one of the greatest games of all time.

Not sure if I really need to get one of these mini consoles though since I went through a bunch of my favourites on the Wii, but one thing I noticed is while I think a lot of them age well and are highly enjoyable I'm just too good at the games now. Not the Nintendo-hard games like Contra, but the Zelda, Metroid, and Final Fantasy type games. Like when I played Link to the Past on the Wii, even though I'd never touched the game for 10+ years I just ploughed right through it. I found that I remember about 50% of the stuff which made things much easier, but the other half I had completely forgotten offered no challenge either. I 100%'d the game without putting any extra effort into finding secrets.

So while straight up gameplay can still be a challenge the deeper stuff like how to find secrets or how to best utilize and exploit systems/strategies part offers me no resistance.

If you're referring to the original Metroid, that game makes you feel like a rat in a maze. If you think Contra is too difficult (IMO it's not) try Super C on the NES. It's far easier, to the point I have beaten it without a single death (or use of the spread gun) before and I'm not a retro gamer of great skill.

In terms of the retro FF games (you may or may not know all of this):
- the original FF on the NES is very buggy and grindtastic, play a remake
- FFII (the original Famicom version) is BY FAR the worst FF game I've ever played. It makes Mystic Quest look like FFIV by comparison. I don't even think the remakes are worth playing though they are better than the original festering dung heap. Horrible.
- FFIII is great. The original version gets tough toward the end but it's by far the best of the NES/Famicom versions. If you like the job system it's definitely worth playing the original or DS remake.
- FFIV Japanese is my favorite in the entire Final Fantasy series.
- FFV is also great but if you don't like the job system don't bother.
- FFVI is great, maybe the best game in the series but it's definitely not my favorite.

This dislike of Castlevania IV is disturbing me. One of my favourite games ever!

I love it as well.

Oh well, I guess we all have different tastes. I myself have always hated Earthbound and I'm sure that's sacrilege to some lol.

I'm going to pretend I didn't read that, haha.

If I remember correctly, there should be a neat little mechanic that eventually kicks in, where it starts skipping random battles that you're overpowered for and just giving you the experience right away.

Correct.
 

Shareefruck

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Apr 2, 2005
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Vancouver, BC
Part of the reason the controls get so much praise is because they were a huge step up from the Castlevania III, which while a great game was undoubtably clunky. Same thing with the difficulty...CV3 is awesome but brutally difficult (at least the NA version is) while SCIV is less unforgiving.

In terms of the side-scrolling Castlevania games, I don't think SCIV has a challenger other than perhaps Chi no Rondo/Rondo of Blood on the PC Engine, though that one is also really hard.
Would you say that despite being a huge step up from Castlevania III, Super Castlevania IV itself is still somewhat clunky? I wouldn't argue against how it compares against other Castlevanias, I just am not a fan of the way the game feels, playing it today, in isolation.

Does Symphony of the Night not qualify as a side scrolling Castlevania game to you, though? I definitely prefer the aesthetic/feel of that one, and you called it one of the greatest of all time.
 

Bocephus86

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Mar 2, 2011
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Boston
So I just played super mario world for like 4 hours tonight, couple of weird things I noticed:

1. I was such an idiot as a child; you can "mine" old levels for lives and power ups (I think I played the first level you get the feather 30 times today; there's an extra life puzzle too...)
2. I was good at Mario 3, thanks to Super Mario Allstars, but am awful at this game (I lost 27 lives getting through the third boss; stopped after the save)
3. It's weird how "bonus" areas come rushing back. I've got all the secret areas in the first 3 worlds without having to look them up and I haven't played this game since I was 12 (?) 20 years ago...

God, best 80 bucks I could ever spend. Yes, I could have probably figured this out long ago with emulators but it just feels so... real.

Once I finally beat this, Zelda is next. Then I'll play the games I never did as a kid (looking at you, castlevania)
 

Spring in Fialta

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Apr 1, 2007
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Montreal, QC
So I just played super mario world for like 4 hours tonight, couple of weird things I noticed:

1. I was such an idiot as a child; you can "mine" old levels for lives and power ups (I think I played the first level you get the feather 30 times today; there's an extra life puzzle too...)
2. I was good at Mario 3, thanks to Super Mario Allstars, but am awful at this game (I lost 27 lives getting through the third boss; stopped after the save)
3. It's weird how "bonus" areas come rushing back. I've got all the secret areas in the first 3 worlds without having to look them up and I haven't played this game since I was 12 (?) 20 years ago...

God, best 80 bucks I could ever spend. Yes, I could have probably figured this out long ago with emulators but it just feels so... real.

Once I finally beat this, Zelda is next. Then I'll play the games I never did as a kid (looking at you, castlevania)

Just get to the Top Secret level in the 2nd world and you can get all the feathers and lives you want. It'd be tedious but if that's how you want to play the game it seems a lot more practical than repeating an actual level over and over again.

With that said, still playing Zelda a little but I've essentially dropped every game in favor of Earthbound. So brilliant, funny, inspired and oozing with charm. Was looking up the quotes and this one killed me (no pun intended).

Sailor: " All you've got to lose are your lives and you got those for free. "

Layered and humorous. So great.
 
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Frankie Blueberries

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Work has f***ed me lately but I need to get back to this thing.
I have never played Chronotrigger or Earthbound, I realize they are completely different games, but what is easier to get into and more enjoyable?
 

Shareefruck

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Apr 2, 2005
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Work has ****ed me lately but I need to get back to this thing.
I have never played Chronotrigger or Earthbound, I realize they are completely different games, but what is easier to get into and more enjoyable?
I feel like Earthbound is more of a one-of-a-kind quirky acquired taste that isn't for everybody, whereas Chrono Trigger is arguably the most approachable, universal, and well paced RPG from all the classics.

Both wonderful games though.
 
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RandV

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Work has ****ed me lately but I need to get back to this thing.
I have never played Chronotrigger or Earthbound, I realize they are completely different games, but what is easier to get into and more enjoyable?

Chrono Trigger should definitely be easier to get into. Beneath all it's quirky charm Earthbound's core gameplay is still an old school JRPG, which can turn some people off. Chrono Trigger on the other hand is a lot more innovative and approachable, and also probably a good bit shorter.
 
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Spring in Fialta

A malign star kept him
Apr 1, 2007
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Montreal, QC
Chrono Trigger should definitely be easier to get into. Beneath all it's quirky charm Earthbound's core gameplay is still an old school JRPG, which can turn some people off. Chrono Trigger on the other hand is a lot more innovative and approachable, and also probably a good bit shorter.

What are the characteristics of old school JRPG?
 

Spring in Fialta

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Honestly, the only thing I find irksome about Earthbound is that avoiding enemies is a major hassle and sometimes almost impossible and you can get swarmed a lot. That stops me from ranking it - so far - above a game like Super Mario World or Zelda, which while difficult/obscure never gives you that sort of very annoying and purposeless frustration.
 

RandV

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What are the characteristics of old school JRPG?

There's a few things but generally it's spending a lot of time in combat screens like this:

Earthbound-Maternal-SNES-Super-Nintendo-Fan-Translation-retro-1994-2.jpg


Been a long time since I played it so I don't recall specifically how grindy Earthbound was... don't think it was too bad but it still uses the old basic combat.
 

Bocephus86

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Mar 2, 2011
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Just get to the Top Secret level in the 2nd world and you can get all the feathers and lives you want. It'd be tedious but if that's how you want to play the game it seems a lot more practical than repeating an actual level over and over again.

With that said, still playing Zelda a little but I've essentially dropped every game in favor of Earthbound. So brilliant, funny, inspired and oozing with charm. Was looking up the quotes and this one killed me (no pun intended).

Sailor: " All you've got to lose are your lives and you got those for free. "

Layered and humorous. So great.
:help:

I never knew how to get there so I completely forgot about that level; looked it up... I remember my sister using it when I was a kid but I was like 7 and she never shared the secret so I forgot all about it. Thank you.

I remember how to get to the star road and not that. Can only imagine how many secret levels I don't know/forgot.

On a side note, what a great game: secret levels that (at the time) you only experienced through trying everything; i bet half the people who played it never saw many of the secrets.
 

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