Robio's All-New, All-Different, Top 100 of All Time
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I recognized the name immediately. Eternal Sonata I did beat. A weird and enchanting game! I think they also did some of the Star Ocean ports to PSP. I beat all of them as well.
Loved Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse back in the day. Still like it but more in the sense of reminiscing about it. Those stiff controls and precise jumps needed in some areas are certainly frustrating as all hell. 
#90 - Langrisser (mobile)
If I'm being honest, I'm a little bit ashamed of myself to say that I loved Langrisser so much. It's a god damned gatcha game. But I do like it and hey, if you can't be honest with yourself, who can you be honest with?
If anything though, it made me hate the genre that much more. This game deserves way better than being locked behind pay walls, time restrictions, and all of that crap that makes mobile gaming companies billions of dollars each year. I suppose at the end of the day I can at least rest well-knowing I didn't spend very much money on the gatcha fees.
If you're not familiar with the game, it's a turn-based strategy game, somewhat similar to the Fire Emblem series. What made Langrisser stand out a bit though was your characters each control their own set of troops. And the characters and troops all have their own unique branching paths to level up, so depending on how you want to play, you can customize quite a bit of the combat. The story is interesting too. It's sort of a trip through the history of the series. I have only played a few of the early games in the series, so I'm not overly familiar with it, but it's seems to be a good bit of fanservice for those who are familiar with it.
And as an added bonus, the character design is all done by the man who started with the series, Satoshi Urushihara, the "Master of Breasts." Seriously, that's the guy's nickname. Much like Akira Toriyama, he's a very well renowned manga artist, although his work outside of gaming is a little different. Look it up, although maybe use incognito mode. And all jokes aside, the dude is pretty talented.
This is actually the game that pulled me away from Hearthstone, so God bless it for that. I finished the primary story, but every year they open up new ones, to keep bleeding money from players. And see some of the later editions, but sadly I don't have hundreds of extra dollars laying around to keep up with what is more or less expected of the players. Still, as criminal as gatcha games may be, if I could afford it, I'd probably be playing this one a lot more.
If I'm being honest, I'm a little bit ashamed of myself to say that I loved Langrisser so much. It's a god damned gatcha game. But I do like it and hey, if you can't be honest with yourself, who can you be honest with?
If anything though, it made me hate the genre that much more. This game deserves way better than being locked behind pay walls, time restrictions, and all of that crap that makes mobile gaming companies billions of dollars each year. I suppose at the end of the day I can at least rest well-knowing I didn't spend very much money on the gatcha fees.
If you're not familiar with the game, it's a turn-based strategy game, somewhat similar to the Fire Emblem series. What made Langrisser stand out a bit though was your characters each control their own set of troops. And the characters and troops all have their own unique branching paths to level up, so depending on how you want to play, you can customize quite a bit of the combat. The story is interesting too. It's sort of a trip through the history of the series. I have only played a few of the early games in the series, so I'm not overly familiar with it, but it's seems to be a good bit of fanservice for those who are familiar with it.
And as an added bonus, the character design is all done by the man who started with the series, Satoshi Urushihara, the "Master of Breasts." Seriously, that's the guy's nickname. Much like Akira Toriyama, he's a very well renowned manga artist, although his work outside of gaming is a little different. Look it up, although maybe use incognito mode. And all jokes aside, the dude is pretty talented.
This is actually the game that pulled me away from Hearthstone, so God bless it for that. I finished the primary story, but every year they open up new ones, to keep bleeding money from players. And see some of the later editions, but sadly I don't have hundreds of extra dollars laying around to keep up with what is more or less expected of the players. Still, as criminal as gatcha games may be, if I could afford it, I'd probably be playing this one a lot more.
Edited: Sat, 30 Mar 2024 13:14:44
#89 - The Goonies II
I'd like to think that the development of this game started with a conversation that went something like this. "Can we make a sequel to a game that most of the audience has never played, and for a movie that's never existed? And on top of that, can we also have the main character beat up an old lady for a candle?"
Not a lot makes sense in this game, so it's kind of pointless to try and figure it out. But It was still a lot of fun. And in my younger years, beating it was one of my great accomplishments. The whole world that the Goonies II takes place in makes Metroid look like something as simple and straightforward as Super Mario Bros.
But getting lost and accidentally discovering new levels and even finding your missing friends was the entire charm of the game. Whenever you stumbled across something like that, it was a major feeling of accomplishment.
Plus the soundtrack was amazing. It started right off with a chiptune version of Cyndi lauper's Goonies are Good Enough, and kept up that level of quality throughout the game. It's funny how it never ranks as a game with a top soundtrack, although I suspect it was because most players never got that far into it.
I'd like to think that the development of this game started with a conversation that went something like this. "Can we make a sequel to a game that most of the audience has never played, and for a movie that's never existed? And on top of that, can we also have the main character beat up an old lady for a candle?"
Not a lot makes sense in this game, so it's kind of pointless to try and figure it out. But It was still a lot of fun. And in my younger years, beating it was one of my great accomplishments. The whole world that the Goonies II takes place in makes Metroid look like something as simple and straightforward as Super Mario Bros.
But getting lost and accidentally discovering new levels and even finding your missing friends was the entire charm of the game. Whenever you stumbled across something like that, it was a major feeling of accomplishment.
Plus the soundtrack was amazing. It started right off with a chiptune version of Cyndi lauper's Goonies are Good Enough, and kept up that level of quality throughout the game. It's funny how it never ranks as a game with a top soundtrack, although I suspect it was because most players never got that far into it.
Edited: Sat, 30 Mar 2024 19:26:07
Back when Konami was good.
That game was passed around many times between our circle of friends. Like a cheap hooker
travo said:That game was passed around many times between our circle of friends. Like a cheap hooker
That's a sign of quality if I've ever heard one.
I can count on one hand how many times my friends and I shared games with each other as a kid. For some inexplicable reason, nobody wanted to borrow my Atari games.
Edited: Sun, 31 Mar 2024 15:38:48
Borrowing games rarely worked out well for me. Earlier in these stories, I mentioned how I lent out Rollergames to a friend who never returned it. Something similar happened with the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES game, although that was just unfortunate circumstances screwing with us every time we tried to get back together so he could bring me the game. I also once traded a bunch of baseball cards for a copy of Bayou Billy. God, fuck that game and its inflated difficulty.
I traded Skate or Die for Zelda. Win for me.
#88 - Sunset Riders
The history of Westerns in this country is really interesting. For 40 years it was the most prevalent genre in all of film and television. From the 30s through the mid-60s we just couldn't get enough of them. But then as the space race over the interest of kids, and oversaturation finally kicked in. It started to go away. Then in 70's Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles pretty much buried it and ensured no one could take it seriously again. And really, since the 80s you can probably count the number of good westerns in film and television on two hands. It's a short list.
In video games good Western games are an even shorter list. You've got the Red Dead Redemption games, Stranger's Wrath, Oregon Trail, and a personal favorite Sunset Riders aka Contra with Cowboys.
Konami definitely knew what they were doing when they made this piece of arcade perfection. Take the counter model, make it a four-player game instead of a two-player game, and make it bright and colorful, just like Marty McFly in Back to the Future 3.
I think it tends to get overlooked on a lot of lists because most people only knew it from the home console versions. The genesis port was okay, but it cut out a lot. The SNES version was a little bit better, but even that still limited you to two players. To play the true game you needed to played in the arcade (or now on one of those arcade classics that pop up on modern day consoles).
If you've never experienced that version, you need to do yourself a favor and track it down. It's absolutely mad fun. Best of all, its not even too difficult, at least by '90s arcade standards. Just an amazing multiplayer experience.
The history of Westerns in this country is really interesting. For 40 years it was the most prevalent genre in all of film and television. From the 30s through the mid-60s we just couldn't get enough of them. But then as the space race over the interest of kids, and oversaturation finally kicked in. It started to go away. Then in 70's Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles pretty much buried it and ensured no one could take it seriously again. And really, since the 80s you can probably count the number of good westerns in film and television on two hands. It's a short list.
In video games good Western games are an even shorter list. You've got the Red Dead Redemption games, Stranger's Wrath, Oregon Trail, and a personal favorite Sunset Riders aka Contra with Cowboys.
Konami definitely knew what they were doing when they made this piece of arcade perfection. Take the counter model, make it a four-player game instead of a two-player game, and make it bright and colorful, just like Marty McFly in Back to the Future 3.
I think it tends to get overlooked on a lot of lists because most people only knew it from the home console versions. The genesis port was okay, but it cut out a lot. The SNES version was a little bit better, but even that still limited you to two players. To play the true game you needed to played in the arcade (or now on one of those arcade classics that pop up on modern day consoles).
If you've never experienced that version, you need to do yourself a favor and track it down. It's absolutely mad fun. Best of all, its not even too difficult, at least by '90s arcade standards. Just an amazing multiplayer experience.
Oh hell yeah! Loved Sunset Riders. Only ever played the SNES version though. Konami should rerelease it in some kind of bundle for today’s systems.
I never played any version of Sunset Riders. The arcade version is on Switch.
Yep, it's part of the Arcade Archives and available for around $8 I think.
Oh wow. I had no idea that Sunset Riders was available on the Switch. Will definitely grab that.
#87 - Woah Dave!
The guys who made bit.trip.beat have really mastered the concept of taking retro game concepts and aesthetics and making them feel fresh and new. It seems like they only make endless runners these days, but before they went down that path they gave us an addictive little gem called Woah Dave!
This time they came up with a game that looked like it could have been in the arcades right around 1981, and even made some really odd arcade cabinet art to go right along with it.
Basically you play as Dave who runs around breaking eggs, collecting coins, and dodging suicidal monsters who want to knock Dave into the lava. Why is he doing all this? Who the hell knows. Maybe Dave is actually the bad guy and he's the reason why Yar felt like he needed to go get revenge later on.
Whatever Dave's purpose is, the game is short, fast paced, and addictive, just like those early arcade games that it was clearly inspired by. It also moves a heck of a lot faster and smoother than those games. If you could have gotten this in a handheld version, you were absolutely set for something you could pick up for 5 or 30 minutes and have a great time the entire time. I don't know if I spent the most hours on this among all my 3DS games, but I know I played more individual rounds of it than any other game. One of these days I'm going to have to pick it up for another system.
The guys who made bit.trip.beat have really mastered the concept of taking retro game concepts and aesthetics and making them feel fresh and new. It seems like they only make endless runners these days, but before they went down that path they gave us an addictive little gem called Woah Dave!
This time they came up with a game that looked like it could have been in the arcades right around 1981, and even made some really odd arcade cabinet art to go right along with it.
Basically you play as Dave who runs around breaking eggs, collecting coins, and dodging suicidal monsters who want to knock Dave into the lava. Why is he doing all this? Who the hell knows. Maybe Dave is actually the bad guy and he's the reason why Yar felt like he needed to go get revenge later on.
Whatever Dave's purpose is, the game is short, fast paced, and addictive, just like those early arcade games that it was clearly inspired by. It also moves a heck of a lot faster and smoother than those games. If you could have gotten this in a handheld version, you were absolutely set for something you could pick up for 5 or 30 minutes and have a great time the entire time. I don't know if I spent the most hours on this among all my 3DS games, but I know I played more individual rounds of it than any other game. One of these days I'm going to have to pick it up for another system.
robio said:#89 - The Goonies II
I'd like to think that the development of this game started with a conversation that went something like this. "Can we make a sequel to a game that most of the audience has never played, and for a movie that's never existed? And on top of that, can we also have the main character beat up an old lady for a candle?"
Not a lot makes sense in this game, so it's kind of pointless to try and figure it out. But It was still a lot of fun. And in my younger years, beating it was one of my great accomplishments. The whole world that the Goonies II takes place in makes Metroid look like something as simple and straightforward as Super Mario Bros.
But getting lost and accidentally discovering new levels and even finding your missing friends was the entire charm of the game. Whenever you stumbled across something like that, it was a major feeling of accomplishment.
Plus the soundtrack was amazing. It started right off with a chiptune version of Cyndi lauper's Goonies are Good Enough, and kept up that level of quality throughout the game. It's funny how it never ranks as a game with a top soundtrack, although I suspect it was because most players never got that far into it.
I recently saw angry video game nerd video of this, seems crazy and not good. The maze controls blew my mind. Never played this game though.
Dvader said:I recently saw angry video game nerd video of this, seems crazy and not good. The maze controls blew my mind. Never played this game though.
The mazes were not the smoothest idea in the world, but to their credit it was a good way to break up a lot of the platforming action. They were also pretty small in most cases. Really they were barely mazes. For the most part they were usually just a couple interconnecting rooms and nothing you could get lost in.
robio said:#99 Metropolismania
Metropolismania is one of those games that is kind of hard to describe without sounding like an idiot. It's basically a cross between SNES SimCity and Animal Crossing. The social sim aspect of the game actually outweighs the city building.
Theoretically your character is there to build a city. But he's not really building the city so much as trying to keep people who live there happy and keep their bitching to a minimum. Residents of the town or city actually have a complete meter. And each one will have their complaints and will tell you how important the complaint is. Are they mildly irritated? Are they really annoyed? Are they ready to take your life or just leave the city? That meter basically lets you know what the priorities are. And the more you fix things, other opportunities come along, which is a nice way of saying other things get broken.
Sometimes you can just bribe your problems away, but usually you have to fix problems by building something new. The problems range from a small time crime wave, to not enough coffee, to a cult moving into town. Things get bizarre. Ultimately, that's why I loved it so much. The whole game was a pretty strange experience that didn't really exist on a console before.
The game was definitely ahead of its time in its concept of gameplay. That said, it did look like ass. Supposedly it was made for the N64 and based on the visuals, I think It's probably accurate. However, it was also only $20 new, so the good folks at natsumi were aware of its ass aesthetics. And that's probably one more reason why I was willing to pick it up and have an absolute blast with it.
I have that one and the sequel. Never opened them but bought on the premise that I liked SimCity. PLus at that time I was buying everything Natsume put out as I figured it would be collectible at some point.
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robio (2m)
Not really. I had to do a little homework on the developer, but tri-Crescendo was typically more of a support studio. They worked on a lot of the Tales games and with Monolith. They had their hands in a lot of good games, but nothing like this. The one exception might be Eternal Sonata, which sounds pretty interesting, although I've never actually played it.