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^^^^Welcome! I'm glad to have you! Next update should be Thursday.
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Sep 28, 2016 00:59
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 22:41 |
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Hey, since there seems to be a lot of other people in here that look back fondly on the SMS, y'all might be interested in this thing I stumbled across recently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibKf66tVoFw They're remaking one of my other favorite Master System gems, Wonderboy III : The Dragon's trap. 7c Nickel fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Sep 28, 2016 |
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Sep 28, 2016 01:57
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7c Nickel posted:Hey, since there seems to be a lot of other people in here that look back fondly on the SMS, y'all might be interested in this thing I stumbled across recently. Dude! That's awesome! DOTEMU also released my absolute favorite SMS game on iOS, Golvellius Valley of Doom. I actually own Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Wonder Boy 2) and am considering it as a follow up to this LP once we are done with Kenseiden.
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Sep 28, 2016 13:05
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Okay! The incoming update is waay bigger than I planned (more than 50 screenshots, Two levels, and 5 new enemies!) and getting the research done is taking longer than I planned, so it's going to be going up tomorrow (probably early afternoon depending on work). To make up for the lateness, I will be posting another bonus update this weekend so you have that to look forward to. See you guys tomorrow!
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Sep 30, 2016 04:37
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Part 6 - Smashing Pumpkins Welcome back to MagicPokey Plays - Kenseiden! When last we left our hero, Hayato was crossing a lava-filled cave deep underground in the Nagato Province. Today, Hayato is headed for the shrine in the Kaga province to the east. So let's get started! As we leave the last level we are presented with a choice of places to go next.  We cannot actually reach our destination from here, first we must travel north to the small Izumo province.  As you can see, this province is the Second of Four training stages. And this one is a doozy! This one is a CONSIDERABLE ramp up in difficulty from the last training stage we tackled. So much so, in fact, that we will be skipping this stage until we can come back with a new sword technique. You can exit a training stage at any time by just walking off the screen to the right and not climbing the stairs.  This training stage is ideal for skipping around this part of the map because it borders three other stages and is not dangerous to cross. We are headed east, to the Kaga province. Kaga Province, in the southern half of what we today call the Ishikawa Prefecture, is mainly known for being renamed the Kanazawa Prefecture in 1871. Less than a year later it was merged with the Nanao Prefecture (the former Noto Province) to form today's Ishikawa Prefecture. Historically the most notable thing about the province is that it served as the namesake for a WWII Japanese Aircraft Carrier and a Present Day Helicopter Destroyer. It is perhaps because of this lack of major historical sites that the Kaga province in Kenseiden is home to another corrupted shrine (like we saw back in Part Two). This level, however is a major ramp up in difficulty and represents the beginning of what I would call the hard part of the game.  As you can see, the look of the level is identical to Level 2. However the layout of the shrine is much larger and different.  The music is also the same as Level 2, but it's still great!  Barely two steps into the level and we already have our first new enemy. The Urchin. The Diary of Hayato posted:
Fun Fact: My brother and I used to call these guys "Cowboys" because, as fast as they run across the screen, their upper arm and head looks like a cowboy hat, and the yellow symbol on their chest kind of looked like a sheriff star.  Moving on, we come across more Spiders and the first (of three-ish) palette swapped enemies: The Blue Hawk Demon. The Diary of Hayato posted:
  Ignoring the door for now we see that this level's exit is closed to us. We must enter the shrine and clear out the warlock infesting its depths before we can proceed. The Diary of Hayato posted:I have come across yet another corrupted shrine. This once-beautiful temple is now swarming with evil yokai and positively reeks of their foul magics. I am not afraid, though the steady thruming sound coming from the highest rafters does give me pause...   Back to the open door, and we find ourselves in the interior of the first floor.   Moving towards the platforms we see a few, easily dispatched Skull Fire demons. Followed by even more spiders. Note: If you get knocked off the stairs and fall back down to the first floor, the game will spawn two Blue hawk Demons to attack you. Don't get knocked down.  Up the stairs, we come across a familiar looking statue (and another Urchin). This statue does contain a secret door on top of its head, but rather than lead you to a secret room, it acts as a warp to another statue on the fourth floor. We aren't going to take the warp, because there is more to explore (and a powerup I do not want to miss).  Outside, we once again come across our old friends, the instant death pits. Be careful, these Spiders love nothing more than to drop down on you mid-jump and knock you into the hole below.  After taking care of the Spider, we come across another new enemy. The One-Eyed Blinder. The Diary of Hayato posted:
One-Eyed Blinders are stationary but tough, taking four strikes with a regular sword to kill, and their fireballs move fast as well (not as fast as an Urchin, but quickly enough that dodging them is rough. Also, they will fire another one as soon as their first projectile is off the screen. Also also, they love to appear suddenly in front of you, making their attacks even harder to avoid. Fun Fact: My brother and I always called this enemy a "pumpkin". I'm not sure why. But now you understand half of the update title.  I jumped over the first fireball but the second one caught me as I was attacking. As you can see, the knockback animation is tailor made to drop you down slopes like this and into pits. Do you see what I mean about the game ramping up its difficulty? Following in the very best of the original Castlevania's footsteps: Enemy placement and traps are well thought out, placed so as to be most effective against players who just charge forward blindly. The message here is the same as the underlying message in Castlevania 1. Take it slow, be cautious, be aware of your surroundings.  Past the Blinder (and down a life) we come to the next door. This platform layout is a trap. If you try to jump across the platforms...  ...you are in the perfect position for the hawk demon or the other enemies to knock you into that pit. Like so. Thankfuly, when you die you respawn fairly close to your previous position.  After respawning you can see the Blue Hawk Demon nesting in the rafters like a bat. It's a nice little touch that enemies will settle down and wait for the next player to wander by, it makes the world seem more real.  The trick, of course, is to drop down, jump over the pit, and turn around to kill the enemies that spawn behind you. As you can see, this granted me an extra life. Each enemy and boss in the game is worth points. Points serve no purpose other than you get an extra life every time you accumulate 20,000 of them.  Through the door we find another staircase and an Urchin ready to run at us. As an aside, I really like the animation of the sword strikes in this game, After thrusting forward with his blade, Hayato rears back as though the force of the impact was much greater than it looks. It is also an awesome 'ready' stance, since you can go straight into another swing from this frame of animation if you time the button presses correctly.    Up the stairs we come across another statue. This is not the exit from the first statue's secret passage, instead this one contains a hidden room with another extra life!  Through the door and back outside (we are on the third floor now) we come across even more pits and another new enemy! The Fox Fire. The Diary of Hayato posted:
The Fox Fire is based off of a pretty well known yokai, The Shiranui or "Dancing Lights". Shiranui are harmless apparitions that appear mainly over bodies of water. Shiranui begin with one or two distant fireballs, called oyabi, floating just above the surface. The oyabi sway left and right, splitting apart and multiplying until finally there are hundreds or thousands of fireballs dancing in the distance. Not much of a threat, though they love to spawn in behind you and sneak up.  Crossing more pit traps. I mistimed the capture, but there was another Katana powerup where Hayato is positioned in this screenshot.   Yet another Blinder appears to block the door. With the katana powerup (which I lost when I died before) he only takes two strikes to kill. Much easier. Through the door yet another staircase is guarded by yet another Urchin. You know, this screenshot made me notice something I never did before. The swordfighting technique Hayato uses is based off of a real life sword fighting style. The Shiranui-ryū style which emphasizes speed. You may recognize it by its other name: Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. Which is the sword fighting style utilized by Rurouni Kenshin in the anime and manga of the same name. Anyway...   Up the stairs (welcome to the fourth floor) we come across another statue. This one is the exit from the "warp" staue back on the second floor.    More pits, more enemies, more jumping. This level can seem a bit repetitive, especially if you get confused by the warps and get lost (I got lost a LOT as a kid in this level).  Through the door we come across another staircase. Only notable because this is the first room where we haven't been assaulted by an Urchin as soon as we enter. In fact, there are no enemies in this room at all. Welp. Nowhere to go but up.  Say Hello to the Larva Fly Warlock  <---Same BAD rear end boss battle theme, still worth listening to!  The Larva Fly Warlock is a GIANT loving CICADA with the head of a DRAGON! This thing is HIDEOUS! Not based off of anything mythological (except for the dragon head, which obviously signifies a mystical origin) this thing really is a giant Cicada. I say this because of the insect like body, the membranous wings and the fact that this creepy thing shits out hundreds of Squat Bugs during the fight. There are over 1300 species of Cicada all over the world. Cicadas are large flying insects native to Japan and many other temperate countries. They are best known for their distinctive very loud "Song" and the molts their larva leave behind. They are also Periodic, meaning cicadas spend most of their lives as underground nymphs, emerging only after 13 or 17 years. In some countries, cicadas are considered a delicacy and are routinely eaten in fashionable restaurants. **Note** This is one of the reasons for the delay in this update. I recorded a video of this boss fight, just like the previous two, but it kept freezing camtasia every time I tried to export it. No matter what settings I used. So no video yet, I will edit this part of this update later with a video when I can work out what the problem was. I hate this thing, because I am deathly afraid of bugs in real life. Which made the research for this update a special kind of hell for me, let me tell you. My skin will be crawling for days. The Diary of Hayato posted:By all that is holy! The thrumming sound I heard was the mother of all Cicadas! Transformed into this terrifying monstrosity by Yokai magics, the Larva Fly Warlock is the progenitor of all the Squat Bugs I have had the misfortune of coming across. Fearsome though this dragon-headed abomination may be, I must press on. My people need me!  the Larva Fly warlock begins the game swooping all over the screen. Dropping Squat Bugs and generally being intimidating. This swooping motion paradoxically makes the boss easier to hit, since as it gets close you can use your Up+1 slashing attack (the Kara Take Wari or "crushing head attack" which we learned from a previous Hidensho) to do a lot of damage. As the Larva Fly Warlock takes hits, it stops swooping up and down, instead moving back and forth, just above your slashing attack, and begins spawning more and more Squat Bugs. This is why I fought Benkei first, because the slashing attack, besides doing more damage, can hit the Squat Bugs on the ground without me having to duck. Making this fight much easier.  Slash away (or jump over) the Squat Bugs and strike the boss in the air like so. **Note 2 - Electric Boogaloo** One of the problems with the SMS is sprite tearing, which causes sprites or parts of sprites to flash or disappear when there is a lot of action on screen. This was also present in the NES (See: Contra) but it was worse on the SMS. More colors and a better framerate come at the cost of less graphical memory, causing problems when there are a lot of objects on screen. But we will get into that in a later bonus update. The above screenshot SHOULD contain 10 or 12 Squat Bugs darting around on the ground, but I happened to catch the screengrab just as they were flashing, so it looks like I am dodging nothing.  Anyway, a few more strikes and the vile thing is destroyed! Dropping another Hidensho.  Houston, we have the second half of the update title! The Kabuto Wari "Splitting The Helmet" is just the slashing attack, but performed in the air. VERY useful for fighting enemies as it increases your area of attack while jumping. It also does a lot more damage than a regular strike. Now that I have this and the Kara Take Wari, I will rarely ever use a regular sword thrust again. This attack can be dangerous though. With a normal strike, you can swing multiple times during a jump arc, but with this attack, you are locked into the final frame of the slashing animation as you descend. This CAN make it easier to get hit on the way down. Still, the technique's usefulness far outweighs it's drawbacks. This is also the attack I was talking about needing for the rest of the training rounds, meaning it might be time to backtrack. The Diary of Hayato posted:VICTORY! The monstrous Larva Fly Warlock has been destroyed! Never to drop it's vile spawn on my homeland again! On top of that, I recovered another sacred Hidensho! Yet another sword technique to use in my battle against the forces of evil. Truly, today is a great day indeed!   After the boss, the game drops you back outside the temple, near the exit to the stage. As you can see, the jumping slash attack will be very useful in my future encounters.  Back on the map screen, we have a plethora of choices. But I think we will be backtracking to that training round we skipped at the beginning of this update. Armed with this new sword technique, Hayato is finally ready to tackle the hardest levels in the game! Join us next time, as Hayato returns to the hidden Monastery in the Izumo Province to continue his training! Now I'm going to go take about Twenty showers... Magicpokey fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Oct 1, 2016 |
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Oct 1, 2016 08:56
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The quick and surprising Urchin is a small child-like yokai that loves to jump out and surprise the unwary traveller. Be quick or you will surely be injured.
The Blue Hawk Demon is more aggressive and more dangerous than their black brothers. Whereas Black Hawk Demons will fly across the sky, content to launch their demonic fire at me, the Blue variety will swoop down with raking talon and stabbing beak, only to throw magical fire at me as they flutter away. More annoying than dangerous, but still they serve as an admirable distraction for their fiendish allies...
The fearsome One-Eyed Blinder, according to my father, is not truly a demon. Instead, this vile creature is the severed head of a powerful Oni who was slain in battle, kept alive through foul Yokai magic this monstrous thing spits fire at all who dare enter the territory it is fated to guard. With it's grotesque size and rock-hard skin, this creature is not to be underestimated!
The once peaceful Fox Fire spirit has been corrupted by the foul warlocks. These flying balls of flame quickly float back and forth, multiplying as they go, trying to engulf the traveller in flames. Easy enough to strike down with a blade, though their movement patterns are erratic enough to be troublesome.
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There was a phase when I was in high school where teenage girls would wear cicada husks. They had them in their hair, perched on their shirts and some, like my sister, put them in their ears like earrings. Just thought I'd share that with you.
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Oct 1, 2016 17:59
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^^^That is an infinitely more interesting fashion trend than the animal shaped wrist bands that we had. I'm still impressed with how nice this game looks, especially compared to the NES.
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Oct 1, 2016 20:40
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marshmallow creep posted:...wear cicada husks. They had them in their hair, perched on their shirts and some, like my sister, put them in their ears like earrings. Gee... THANKS. I guess I won't be sleeping for a few days... *laughs nervously* EagerSleeper posted:I'm still impressed with how nice this game looks, especially compared to the NES. Yeah, the Sega Master System has more graphics memory and a larger color palette than any of it's peers. The bonus update I am working on is a hardware rundown of the SMS and it's controller. Not-So-Fun-Fact: The music I am linking in the LP is not technically what you hear in game. The American Master System has a less advanced sound chip. It produces sounds and music that, while still miles ahead of the NES, was nowhere near as good as the sound from the same games on the Sega Mark III (the Japanese Master System, sort of). There was also an actual Master System manufactured in Japan that came with the superior YM2413 FM sound chip built in, but American audiences got the proverbial shaft as a cost cutting measure. Funner Fact: Did you know you may have played a Master System and not even known it? The only true competitor to Nintendo's dominance of the early handheld market was the Sega Game Gear. The Game gear uses the same ram, processor, and graphics chipset as the Master System. In fact, the systems are so similar that if you bought (or soldered together, not that hard) a pass-through for the differently shaped cartridges, you can literally play Master System games on your Game Gear. A few Game Gear games were also cross compatible, but most of them weren't, since Game Gear games were designed with the fixed LCD in mind, meaning they use up more pixels and screen real estate than a normal TV would allow.
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Oct 2, 2016 03:47
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Hey everybody, quick news! I live on the east coast and Hurricane prep has had me consumed all week. Updates will be back to regular Mon - Thu schedule next week. Sorry for the delay!
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Oct 7, 2016 14:10
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Don't get murdered by weather or looters.
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Oct 7, 2016 22:20
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Oh hey! Guess who just got his power back on? This guy! My house didn't flood but most of my neighborhood did and I've got two other families sleeping in my spare rooms until at least tomorrow. This LP is not dead (despite repeated attempts to kill it) and I will be returning to updates The next update should be up Monday Night and regular schedule will be resumed going forward. Thanks for sticking with me!
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Oct 15, 2016 18:56
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 22:41 |
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Glad you're okay!
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Oct 16, 2016 16:15
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