Retro Videogames

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just found one of my old favorite emulators again. It's ActiveGS (for Google Chrome). It's nice and safe and I can play various Apple games through it via Virtual Apple. It has a good selection of games to play on there.

 

Sadly it does not work anymore due to a Chrome update :(.

[potatoradio]

I was an arcade freak back in the day and remember reading the book on how to beat the top 10 video games over and over and over just to see what cool new fruit would come out when you got to the highest levels of Ms. Pac Man. I was annoyed that it was just random repeats of previous fruit. Geez, how about...I dunno...at least a starfruit or pineapple for your trouble?

Entire allowances were spent in a millisecond playing:

• Bubbles
• Frogger
• Ms. Pac Man
• Moon Patrol (for the music - god help me, I had to go Google that just to listen to it again - you people are a bad influence!)
• Q*bert
• Millipede (I think it was easier than Centipede, which I royally sucked at)
• Mr. Do!
• Burger Time

I always liked the Atari homegame of Pitfall! better than the stand up. The joystick was much better at tapping the hero just to the safety point on the alligator's head (was easier to see the pixels!)

And I remember being super cheesed off (and feeling my age) when games introduced super secret "hold down the joystick at a 42.5 degree angle while pounding the hidden blue button behind the game and tapping your toe in time to the music in order to make your character turn into a raging hippo or something" -- my old fart arse just yelled, "dang nab it, I just need navigation and something to fire!"

The bitterness was amped when I was playing Mortal Kombat with my soon-to-be ex boyfriend who knew every single secret and promptly used it. What a romantic getaway THAT was....

Edited April 9, 2015 by potatoradio

[Sandman87]

The old arcade game that I remember most fondly is Gorf. I remember that during my best playthrough I was able to cycle through the entire set of levels a little over 6 times. I stood there a long time.

 

I got pretty good at Battlezone too. I could make a game last at least a good half-hour.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I was looking for information about Paperboy on Twitter and came across this pretty neat blog. It seems nice :).

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just found that the Pro Skater franchise is back! :D Just read the announcement via EW earlier today. Can't wait to get the game for my PS3 if it ends up being as good as previous entries in the series.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Damn it... the newest Proskater can't be played online via the PS3 or the 360.  This sucks :(.

[Dandesun]

So they've released a new King's Quest game! Old King Graham is voice by Christopher Lloyd as he recounts his early days as a knight... and even before that. 

 

I think the setting is gorgeous and while I haven't been able to play much yet (out of town) I've been having a lot of fun with it.

[Izzyboy]

A few retro collections are out/will be out soon for those looking to relive some childhood memories.

 

First is Rare Replay, a collection of 30 games by software developer Rare. Unfortunately the games they're arguably best known for, Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye 007, aren't part of the collection due to licensing issues but its still a pretty impressive list. Its only available for XBox One. This one is already out I believe.

 

Second (and the one I'm looking forward to) is the Mega man Legacy Collection. This will have the first six Mega Man games that came out on the NES. Available for PS4/XBoxOne/PC/3DS. I'm really looking forward to this as those Mega Man games are classics and I've only played 1-3. Unfortunately I'll have to wait a little bit as it doesn't come out until the 25th.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Izzyboy

[Danny Franks]

I'm still waiting for some classic Megadrive and SNES games to be released on the Xbox One. I'd love to be able to play Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, Gunstar Heroes, Road Rash 2, Turtles in Time and Legend of Zelda: A Link in Time again.

 

Also, apparently Resident Evil 2 is being remade. Which is great news. That was the only Resident Evil game that I ever really got into, and it was so atmospheric and fun to play. I still remember the sound of Leon and Claire's footsteps, echoing in that abandoned police precinct.

[Crim]

^ I hope they let you control the camera for RE2. I've never played it, but I tried RE 3, which has the same system, and I gave up due to how awkward I found the movement and combat with those fixed camera angles.

 

I've been replaying Final Fantasy VI. The urge to get more Gau rages is horrible though, keeping me grinding until utter boredom. Like creepy stalker ex-bfs, I really should move on.

[PrincessEnnui]

I recently spent most of August without internet, so I broke out my old consoles, a Sega Genesis and a Nintendo 64. To my surprise both were still in excellent condition. I played Streets of Rage, Columns, Golden Axe, Mario Party and Mario Party 2, Yoshi's Story, Cruisin' World, Pokemon Snap, Super Smash Brothers, and Wave Race.

 

Two things about the Nintendo 64.

 

1) The Super Pad 64 is the worst controller I've ever played with. The control stick is awkwardly placed in the middle of the controller. The Z button is on the bottom of the controller. The C-pad is awkwardly placed, sometimes making gameplay in certain games (Crusin' World, Super Smash Brothers) difficult.

 

Its just bad. To say nothing of risking blisters to play Mario Party. Just a mess of a controller. I really hope someone was fired/demoted over that. I don't know why they didn't stick the NES/SNES controller design.

 

2) The AI is cheating bitch in half the games I played on the 64. The worst is perhaps Mario Party where the AI is unfathomably stupid one turn and unfathomably brilliant/lucky the next. In Crusin' World, the AI performs flawless turns and rarely suffers from wiping out. The second place AI will catch you eventually in that game. 

 

Other than that, it was fun to play them all. I can honestly say most games are easier now compared to then, though. My one regret? I didn't see if my Power Rangers fighting game on the Genesis still worked. You know, the one where you can fight with the Zords? *sigh*

[spaceytraci1208]

The "Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt" combo is always #1 in my heart. For Mario, I still remember where the skip-levels and hidden 1Up mushrooms were lol. Duck Hunt, while fun, could be infuriating...seriously, fuck that dog lmao. I'm sure we all tried, in vain, to shoot it when he would laugh at you.

Very close second was "Double Dragon"...even after later being introduced to "Street Fighter" and then "Mortal Kombat," both of which I enjoyed, neither quite matched the experience of "Double Dragon" for me.

Edited January 19, 2016 by spaceytraci1208

[Danny Franks]

Double Dragon is the first game I ever completed. It came in a pack of twenty games with the Atari 520 ST computer that our parents bought for us when we were kids, along with the likes of Space Harrier, Outrun, Xenon, Afterburner, Gauntlet II, R-Type and others. A pretty impressive pack of games, in hindsight. Playing in two-player mode, that twist at the end where you have to fight each other for the girl was inspired.

 

But I have to say, I felt that Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage II really bettered Double Dragon in every other respect. 

[bmasters9]

I have the Fusion emulator for Sega Genesis, and I've been playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles on it. I beat out the game with Sonic, getting all Chaos Emeralds and all Super Emeralds; it's a long, hard haul with Sonic (especially that Doomsday Zone), but it can be done. 

[kittykat]

The Sonic 3/Knuckles combo was one of my favorite games ever.  I remember getting Sonic and Knuckles for Christmas one year (I already owned 2 and 3) and locking those cartridges on was so cool.  It was also interesting how each character ended.  Knuckles' journey ended with Sky Sanctuary (when he finally realizes he's being played).  I think Tails' ended after Death Egg zone so only Sonic got the Doomsday zone.  As frustrating as that was, Sonic 2 Death Egg was worse (Metal Sonic, Robotnik's flying arms, NO FUCKING RINGS, thrown controllers).  Sega Genesis was my jam in the 90s.

[bmasters9]

It was also interesting how each character ended.  Knuckles' journey ended with Sky Sanctuary (when he finally realizes he's being played).  I think Tails' ended after Death Egg zone so only Sonic got the Doomsday zone.  

Right on both those counts! Tails' fight with the Master Emerald robot at the end of Death Egg was also incredibly easy, in that he could fly over that big beam of light that was shot out from it whenever you opened it up to hit it (and even easier if Tails was Super Tails; the flickies could make mincemeat of it).

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just played some Oregon Trail via The Internet Archive! Big thanks to them setting things up so people can play older computer games.

[Sandman87]

I was unaware that they had software at the Internet Archive. Now I just need to find the time to check out everything. Sim Ant! Castle Wolfenstein! Lode Runner! A lot of fond memories there.

[bmoore4026]

I've been playing some spooky scary games now since it's around Halloween, and I just wanted to direct people's attention (both of you) to an underrated gem: The Suffering.

Stan Winston's monster design plus the social commentary on the prison system makes this a game that should have higher precedent. 

And the best thing is there's a freeware version floating about the Internet.  GO PLAY IT NOW and see a near forgotten masterpiece.

[Mindthinkr]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors 

Just thinking of it has made its catchy music start playing in my head...over and over...and over and over...

[bmoore4026]

I did a video project on the game Dead to Rights, which came out this day in 2002.  As unlikely as it sounds, the game had a profound affect on me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewYgV6yKR8w&t

 

Plus, it has Chris Bruno voicing the lead character.  Maybe I should put a link in the soap opera thread?

Edited August 19, 2017 by bmoore4026

[Sandman87]

I found Myth: The Fallen Lords and its two sequels hiding in a box in my closet (a box that they had no business being in) a couple of days ago. Damn, I've only been trying to find them again for the last 13 years.

If you've never played it, it's a real-time strategy game set in a fantasy world, and it's heavily inspired by Glen Gook's Black Company novels. It's as down close to the action as an RTS can get, because you're moving individual soldiers around, setting up ambushes, and so on. Even the tutorials are more enjoyable than normal, since the voice-over instructor is a bit of a smartass.

Took a little time to install them again, along with appropriate update patches, and I've been kicking fantasy setting bad-guy butt ever since. I'd forgotten what a blast it is (pun intended) to have dwarves cover an area with explosives and make it rain thrall chunks. And ghul chunks. And sometimes dwarf chunks. Oops.

Still fun! The controls are a little more primitive than on a more modern RTS and I wish the camera could zoom out a little farther, but it's well worth playing anyway.

[DeLurker]

Atari F;ashback 8 Classic Video Game Console is on sale now ($39.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond).  It includes something like 100 games and the old plug & play joystick.  I am seriously thinking about it...especially with those 20% off coupons I keep getting mailed to me.

[bmasters9]

Have been playing Sonic Mania Plus on PS4 (my nephew gave me his old one for an early Christmas this year, and an early 43rd birthday present for me), and there is one thing I have discovered in multiple playings in Time Attack (practice mode) of Metallic Madness act 2 on Sonic Mania Plus: it has multiple dangerous routes, and you have to plan your overall route through the level to the boss (or in Time Attack, the goal) such that you face as little danger as possible. To that end, when it comes to that part with multiple spiked platforms coming down, only enter that area if you're reasonably sure you can do it without failing, or if you have a shield of some form, or if you're in your Super form; do not enter recklessly without protection (IOW, do not be a daredevil).

The reason why this is is because, if you fail at any point (if you don't get to the shaded area [safe area] in time on any one of the platforms), when the platform you fail on comes down on you, it will pull a Marble Zone act 3 from Sonic 1 (in essence, it will impale you, take your rings, and kill you at the same time, just like the two spiked chandeliers did in the middle of Marble Zone 3 on Sonic 1 if you were unprotected and under them and didn't get out in time). Of course, if you have a shield on or are in your Super form, the only thing that will happen if you fail here is that you simply die (that's why it's best to have a shield on or be Super).

Edited October 25, 2023 by bmasters9

[Anduin]

I found an old game I played heaps, way back when. Adventure Pinball: Forgotten Island. Not your normal table simulator, it incorporates its video game nature with all kind of things wandering across the field, fancy balls, hidden mini-tables, etc. Good fun, and worked on my W10 machine without any fiddling around.

Digital Extremes did several pinball games before they developed Warframe. If they went back to that, I wouldn't complain.

[Anduin]

To my surprise, I finished the game today. Yeah, there's a story mode to unlock all the tables. I remember a couple of them being a real bastard to complete, especially the second last one with the spiders. They were still tricky this time around too, but maybe I've actually gotten somewhat good in the last 20 years.

And I'm planning to go back and replay my favourite ones, or the ones I completed in one go. See what I missed.