One of the first in the line was Renegade (aka Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun ). I really like how the controls have two action buttons: one to hit left and one to hit right. Really gives it a different feel than a lot of later games in the genre.
ok I played through all the Streets Of Rages in order (full disclosure I ran out of continues v Robot Y or Neo Y or whatever that things name is)
And 3 is **definitely** the best
1 is obviously a little stiff and constrained
2 starts to sag after a few stages and limps to the end. The soundtrack carries it.
3 has imo all the aesthetic high points (the lights flickering in the nightclub sequence eg). Not as overall slick as 4 wrt to movement and feel BUT it's ultimately better in that department too because Blaze can dash and roll in 3
4 I'm sorry, I know lots of work went into the visuals but it looks bad and sloppy. Some visual elements have Ben-Day dots, some are hatched. Some have both. Some visual elements have thin outlines, some are heavier, some are in between. The game makes this feel even more frustrating by throwing in the occasional pixel art stage in that wave attack mode, and then it looks pretty good! Breaking the MST3K rule don't remind the audience of better [games] in your [game]. Blaze can't dash or roll in 4
Has anyone ever been good at convincing people who've never played these kinds of games to try them? Instinctively since I was a kid, I always thought they looked cool (whether they actually ended up being fun to play or not), but then I found out no one I met thought the same. Had a group of friends in college who did give the Scott Pilgrim game a chance and we had some fun, but they mostly only wanted to play fighting games, not beat em ups. Have these kinds of games just never been that popular or do I just have bad luck finding other fans out there?
@“yeso”#p116630 You can set the visuals to always have that pixel look in 4. I get what you mean with the clashing visuals - it reminds me of comics with overdone coloring or sound effect lettering that just doesn't jive with the penciled/inked artwork.
it doesn‘t quite give you pixel art in the proper game. In story mode it’s just a filter with a few sprites here and there
regular line art
[URL=https://i.imgur.com/C63Jsef.jpg]
[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/C63Jsef.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
"retro"
[URL=https://i.imgur.com/FQc1JOF.jpg]
[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/FQc1JOF.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
But this is what I'm referring to in the wave mode
[URL=https://i.imgur.com/ZlIsR1z.jpg]
[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/ZlIsR1z.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
@“yeso”#p116630 I agree with this!
@"Kite006"#p116631 the only way I've done it is to sit someone down with me and put the game in, but they've got to be ready to hit buttons. It is kind of a zone-out format which can be fun in a meditative way solo, but with two players you have to both be ready to play around, make the fun, talk through the repetitive bits, etc. So to me it's all about the mood.
Guardian Heroes is still one of the most brilliant games ever made and every day I wish it would get ported to current consoles. It combines a beat em‘ up with RPG mechanics better than anything else out there I’ve played and has an incredible amount of replay value and depth. There was a random 360 port and if Treasure finally republished the 360 port of Radiant Silvergun on Switch, I have no idea why we can't get a port of that 360 Guardian Heroes port.
@“HeavenlyHalberd”#p116679 Radiant Silvergun is one of a small handful of games owned by Treasure themselves, whereas Guardian Heroes (and all their Mega Drive games, and a few others) are owned by Sega, and my understanding is the X360 version didn‘t sell all that well so they’re hesitant to do anything else with it.
For the unaware, the X360 version goes beyond being a mere port: they re-localized it, added a new arrange mode with a ton of modern game systems (like magic series combos and air dashing and so on), overhauled the versus mode to full 12-player via online/system link with an absurd amount of very granular options (that I'm quite sure is just a debug mode they decided to leave in), etc. It's backwards-compatible on new Xboxes and goes on sale relatively frequently for just a couple bucks.
@“yeso”#p116634 Geez, between this and not knowing the etymology of “belt-scroller” I'm striking out here!
@“gsk”#p116697 I'm so tempted to finally get an Xbox just for backwards compatible stuff.
i‘m very fond of SoR 2 because of a cherished memory involving my mom dropping me off at a friend’s on a snow day, and walking in the living room and seeing SoR 2. it's the first game i got the chance to play for longer than five minutes. having played it many times over the years, and then playing through 3 a couple times as an adult, i think 3 is better on the whole because of how good the combat is all the way through. the “shaking” mechanic introduced in 3 where enemies have a small window of vulnerability after being attacked means you can chain together combos and throws to clear out huge groups of enemies in a very satisfying way. it feels so good to kill 3-4 tiny lifebar enemies in just a few seconds with repeated throws.
3 also peaks a lot higher than 2. the first few minutes of 3 are still some of the most visceral and intense to be found in games, and do a better job of evoking the era and what was appealing about sega than maybe even sonic himself, in no small part because of the music. that said, i do think it drags more than 2 does in the later levels, and some of the music repeats to not great effect, which IIRC does not happen in 2.
i have only played a little of 4 but listened to the soundtrack when it came out and i agree it's the worst in the series (maybe 1 is worse, haven't played)
this thread makes me want haul my ass out to the suburbs to Galloping Ghost to play Growl, The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy, Gunforce 2, and Undercover Cops (and Batrider)
@“yeso”#p116798 that sounds like a good idea to me!
can anyone speak to: is the Spikeout Xbox game decent?
Is River City Girls any good?
@“yeso”#p116909 Spikeout is like $200 now so I have no idea lol. I forgot to buy it at the time.
River City Girls - it's good if you like wayforward games! If you want a good beat em up though I would get something else. I will say it's probably the best wayforward game I've played in terms of feel.