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Ok, returning Super Mario 64, and we now choose...  F Zero X Platform(s) Nintendo 64 Release JP: July 14, 1998 NA: October 26, 1998 EU: November 6, 1998 (and then there were Wii, WiiU, and NSO releases) Wikipedia posted:F-Zero X is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Nintendo's EAD division, it was released in Japan, North America, and Europe in 1998. In 2000, the Expansion Kit was released in Japan, including a track and vehicle editor. The original game was ported in 2004 to the iQue Player in China. It had Virtual Console re-releases on the Wii in 2007 and the Wii U around nine years later. The March 2022 re-release on Nintendo Switch Online features online multiplayer. ------ I absolutely love F Zero X, and I hadn't even played it until it came out for the Wii VC. I think I was so not a fan of the original (still am not) that back then, I just assumed it'd be more of the same, and WOW was I wrong. This game includes:
This game is wonderful. It's so good that it willed itself to the top of this page. Rupert Buttermilk fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Apr 8, 2022 |
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Apr 8, 2022 11:51
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Commander Keene posted:I'll be honest, even as a teen back in the '90s I preferred 2D Mario, I felt 64 was kinda janky even back then. 
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Apr 8, 2022 14:19
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Commander Keene posted:I'll be honest, even as a teen back in the '90s I preferred 2D Mario, I felt 64 was kinda janky even back then. I still prefer 2D Mario, the levels are tighter and shorter, which I appreciate. I imagine I'd love 3D World, if the stages are structured like that, which seems to be the case. Continuing my rushed play-through: Hazy Maze Cave- I like Hazy Maze Cave better than I like playing HMC. It's probably the first time the camera can be a problem, and it requires you to actually be good at the game. It is a cool concept though and I love how it has different biomes that are all linked together. I think I'd probably rank it lower though. Lethal Lava Land- is a great platformer level marred by that camera again. I really respect the lava ground. It's punishment for a false jump but not the instant death later levels give you. Still the camera is tough on you, as it is on a lot of the Basement levels. The Volcano in particular and the desert's pyramid come to mind. The music is neat but I wish it were different, shame it's the same in the two. Shifting Sand Land- is just LLL but with sand. I think the proximity of the two makes them shine less for it. It is interesting to see this game's take on the desert level, which I remember so well from SMB3. I think both these levels are attempts to take Bob-omb's openness and apply it to a harder setting. It's a start but in the end you get some rather difficult to traverse spaces. Dire Dire Docks- I love the music, I love the use of Metal Mario, and ultimately it feels more dangerous than Jolly Roger Bay, but in a good way. You're tossed straight into the water, and you really have to stay underwater to get the stars. Yes, Metal Mario into the vortex is a pain, but otherwise a great water level. Snowman's Land- This is really annoying. The water is frustrating, it's not Cool Cool Mountain, and honestly, I think I don't like the open wide exploration spaces. They lack the focus of the vertical levels for sure. Wet Dry World- is a vertical Hazy Maze Cave, and it's not just the music. It has all the different biomes, but this time involving water levels (OoT flashbacks huh). It's unique and rather inspired, but certain aspects of it make it more tedious than it had to be. Tall Tall Mountain- Still brilliant, it's what I wanted Whomp's Fortress to be. A tall climb upwards, with multiple paths, tricky platforming. The works. Oh and Monty Mole shows up. It's a really good level. Tiny Huge Island- is another gimmicky painting that's very neat but the execution can be a bit rough. Still it has some fun stars and I really liked how they did the two versions of the size. It's very inspired. Tick Tock Clock- A bitch of a world but genuinely some excellent platforming challenges. The clock hand secret is very cool and useful. I'm not good at it but I love the feeling of accomplishment I get scaling it. It's biggest fault is that it's very much the same path every time so you do get better but if you don't like it you don't have a lot choices. Rainbow Road- Being so much of auto-scroller makes it less fun in my opinion. There's some cool concepts but it's rather nerve-wracking. Going through these again I'd probably lower my evaluation of LLL and SSL and give more credit to JRB, RR, and WDW. That said, I do think the game ramps things up slowly but fairly. I didn't mention the Hidden Stages or Bowser levels but they're all very good. Some nice niche levels and the Bowser stuff is great on that vertical platforming thing that I love about this game. I'm looking forward to F-Zero X. It was a game I only ever rented, and was terrible at but I love the concept of F Zero more than I love the actual gameplay. I'm not good at serious racing games, but the world around it is so cool and the character and car design is very inspired. The music is badass and you really do feel like you're going fast. I was ok at the SNES game, but pretty bad at the GC, so it'll be interesting to see how I fare here.
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Apr 8, 2022 20:09
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Commander Keene posted:I'll be honest, even as a teen back in the '90s I preferred 2D Mario, I felt 64 was kinda janky even back then. Yeah I've always thought SM64 was trash. Bad music that gets stuck in your head, ugly graphics, Mario controls pretty horribly (at least compared to future 3D Mario). Didn't like it in the 90s, still don't like it now.
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Apr 9, 2022 07:05
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"Trash" is definitely being too harsh for how I feel about the game. It's a bit rough, but every 3D game was back then. It's handicapped out of the gate by the N64 controller, which IMO is pretty much the worst-designed first-party controller I've ever played a video game with, and basically all of the ports I've seen suffer from the limitations of that design. Honestly it's probably better than it has any right to be. Lots of companies failed to properly figure out how to utilize the N64 controller.
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Apr 9, 2022 07:33
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Trash is absolutely an exaggeration, it's playable in a way a lot of those games from then aren't. Booted up F-Zero X last night. That splash screen at the beginning is awesome. The music kicks immediately and you know you're in for a good time. What's interesting how big of an improvement it is to the SNES F-Zero. The tracks are super inspired the roster explodes from 4 to over 24 and it just plays so good. I have no idea what the controls do because, if there's one the the 64 got wrong is the controller. I also don't know how to drive very well. I won the Jack's League easily enough, only getting 5th on Big Blue with the Pink Stingray. How do you unlock other racers?
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Apr 9, 2022 08:45
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While I've always preferred the original F-Zero over the later games, I have to give F-Zero X props for being one of the only N64 games to actually run at 60 fps.
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Apr 10, 2022 23:04
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I learned recently that F-Zero X has a mode with randomly generated tracks, Stop Skeletons From Fighting has a really interesting video on N64 games with randomly generated content. https://youtu.be/I-vusWL2cx4
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Apr 15, 2022 15:48
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I also learned, while to get better at it, which was not possible, that there's a ton of maneuvers you can pull off and they look loving rad, like flying halfway across a track. It's so cool. The cool thing about the N64 version is that it runs really smooth. A remaster could be nice, but it's already at 60 fps right? It's not like it has to look nice or anything.
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Apr 15, 2022 18:50
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Just a heads up, I'll try and update this thread tonight but it might be tomorrow.
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Apr 15, 2022 19:03
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Who's on fire and just discovered this game? This guy! *coughs up lung* The Ignition Factor  Wikipedia posted:The Ignition Factor, known in Japan as Fire Fighting (ファイヤー・ファイティング), is a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System published by Jaleco. The game features firefighters in realistic situations saving civilians in burning buildings, mining incidents, and industrial accidents. It was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on March 1, 2011, in the PAL region on April 29, 2011, and in North America on August 25, 2011, as well as Nintendo Switch Online on December 18th, 2020. Release SNES JP: November 11, 1994 NA: January 1995 Wii Virtual Console JP: March 1, 2011 NA: August 25, 2011 PAL: April 29, 2011 Wii U Virtual Console NA: September 24, 2015 ----- So, I've recent become taken by this game. I've heard there's a better firefighter game out there but I haven't played it, so I can't comment on the differences or shortcomings in comparison with The Ignition Factor. What I do know is that these screenshots are lovely.       but also 
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Apr 18, 2022 20:52
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:
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Apr 18, 2022 21:05
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This is a weird but not very good game. I'm already annoyed at the second stage where I can't save that guy on top of the glass, how the heck does one do that? Running is hard to do, but you certainly can't walk everywhere. It's got it's badly translated charm but aside from that I don't know.
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Apr 23, 2022 14:04
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100YrsofAttitude posted:This is a weird but not very good game. I'm already annoyed at the second stage where I can't save that guy on top of the glass, how the heck does one do that? Running is hard to do, but you certainly can't walk everywhere. I actually, on a whim, used an ax, and that saves him. No idea why. I was actually just being a poo poo and was thinking "gently caress it!", and lo... Saved.
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Apr 23, 2022 14:14
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Ok. Firefighter game is ok with heavy Rewind Abuse, I think it'd be rather intolerable otherwise. It makes me so sad we don't have Rewind on the N64. Save States are good but it's not the same. I tried to put out ALL the fires on the Dino Museum level and was sad to learn that doesn't guarantee a win. It should. The Lvl Up! animation is pretty fun too. Ok good pick, good pick.
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Apr 24, 2022 11:12
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Beat it. It's funny how big the jump was in game length between NES to SNES to N64. Rewind was crucial. It's not a great game, the writing is very silly but the joke wears thin a bit, but it's good enough to see where it wants to go with it. I'm going to drink the Genesis games I never got a chance to play while I wait for a new game. F-Zero was fun, but I am horrible at it. I just love it though for how cool it is.
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Apr 24, 2022 14:24
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Ok, so I think I'm going to update this thread on Sunday, because I generally have way less going on then. So, that being said, out of the fire, into the uhhh... strategic RPG! Shining Force II  Release: Sega Genesis JP: October 1, 1993 NA: October 19, 1994 EU: July 2, 1994 Virtual Console JP: July 15, 2008 EU: October 3, 2008 NA: October 6, 2008 PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 (as part of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection) NA: February 10, 2009 EU: February 20, 2009 AU: February 26, 2009 PC January 26, 2011 (Steam) Wikipedia posted:Shining Force II (シャイニング・フォースII 古えの封印, Shainingu Fōsu Tsū: Inishie no Fūin, lit. "Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal") is a tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console developed by Sonic! Software Planning in 1993. Its storyline is not directly connected to the original Shining Force, although a Game Gear title Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict links the two games' plots. This JUST hit NSO+ so I thought it'd be a great time to jump (back) into it. Everything about SF1 is improved with this, and it really is a wonderful experience. Highly recommended!
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Apr 24, 2022 19:12
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Was this the one that was remade on the GBA? I loved that game and found it to be a great alternative to Fire Emblem, when I had played that one out. The stories the characters tell in the caravan were always really interesting and took ages to unlock. I replayed it rather recently too. I like the world of Shining Force it's a cool mix of people, fantasy tropes, and just beast people.
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Apr 24, 2022 19:54
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Well that's Altered Beast down. I can see how it was a bitch to play without rewind. I graphics are neat though and the tiny headed dude on a buff body is good for a laugh. Not all beasts are equal though. Started up Golden Axe. Went with Tyris and I get it, game is a decent beat 'em up for as old as it is. It's no Streets of Rage but it's pretty fun.
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Apr 24, 2022 20:47
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Shining Force 1 and 2 were huge games for me as a tween. A classmate and I were on opposite sides of the Console Wars, but we became friends instead of enemies. It was a great chance to experience games libraries we each didn't have access to (my SNES, his Genesis). The setting and characters might not look like much now, but as good as the other JRPGs of that generation were, this was a breath of fresh air at the time. SF1 was already a bit wild, with giant death lasers and werewolves and centaurs wielding portable cannons, but SF2 had an engineer driving a loving tank around as an actual controllable unit, a kinda lovely rat thief who redeemed himself and became a badass ninja with flashy spells, a joke turtle character who instantly died to enemy magic, but with a lot of effort became a flying, fire-breathing brick wall. Oh yeah, and a battle against killer dolls at the circus. Mordecai fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Apr 24, 2022 |
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Apr 24, 2022 21:33
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Well that's Altered Beast down. I can see how it was a bitch to play without rewind. I graphics are neat though and the tiny headed dude on a buff body is good for a laugh. Not all beasts are equal though. Tyris has fantastic magic but if you're looking for the best fighter, it's definitely Gilius. The game is pretty good, one of my favourites on the system. Pro tip: always charge attack the knights; they actually don't have any anticipatory attack, so you'll always get a hit. Any other enemy has a chance of hitting you before you get to them.
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Apr 24, 2022 21:52
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Well that's Altered Beast down. I can see how it was a bitch to play without rewind. I graphics are neat though and the tiny headed dude on a buff body is good for a laugh. Not all beasts are equal though. 100YrsofAttitude posted:Started up Golden Axe. Went with Tyris and I get it, game is a decent beat 'em up for as old as it is. It's no Streets of Rage but it's pretty fun. Rupert Buttermilk posted:Tyris has fantastic magic but if you're looking for the best fighter, it's definitely Gilius. The game is pretty good, one of my favourites on the system. https://i.imgur.com/0v7Sk33.mp4 It's possible to go through this entire stage without attacking a single enemy until the end! Anyway, most bosses are vulnerable to dash attacks, but do require better spacing/timing to avoid a fast counter-attack. The good news is that player dash attacks always take priority so if one of those big bald bastards goes for a shoulder tackle, he'll just get a boot to the mouth for his troubles. Speaking of knights... https://i.imgur.com/KMCaCJL.mp4 ^ That's an old vid but the point stands; the Bitter Knights are cheating moonwalking bastards.
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Apr 25, 2022 15:44
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Welp, it's time... "Here, we have three contestants.... One.... Two.... Threeeeeeee! So, I give you.... Super! Mario! Brothers! Threeeeeeee!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TscjsNMvnDg Release: Famicom JP: October 23, 1988 PlayChoice-10 NA: July 15, 1989 NES NA: February 12, 1990 PAL: August 29, 1991 And that's just for the original! It's since been re-released on almost every single Nintendo platform, except for the Virtual Boy and N64. It's timeless, it's bombastic, it's... perfect. Yes, friends, Super Mario Bros 3 might actually be considered the Perfect Video Game. Wikipedia posted:Super Mario Bros. 3 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990 and in Europe on August 29, 1991. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHxlok5cDtA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxT6IwUtLSU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_oRCUe9n1Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvLwpnn1F4Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljyyo_iR-qo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2zps0pzrxk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hJYtpEBjxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO49J1Z1htE ------- What can you say about a game that already has been talked about to death? You tell me. No matter what new experiences I have in video gaming, I can't seem to find one to topple this masterpiece from my #1, all-time favourite spot. It is, truly, a work of art. A masterpiece.
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May 2, 2022 12:37
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SMB3 definitely isn't my favorite game, but it's certainly my favorite Mario game, I have a lot of fond memories of playing this game with my younger brothers as a kid. Never actually beat it though, I'm not very good at platformers. I've been playing the version in All-Stars through the Switch Online with my nephew to sort of carry on the tradition, but I don't see him that often, especially since The Plague Times started.
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May 2, 2022 13:12
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A few things worth noting about the Brothers Three. - This was a game that was widely available in pirate cart form in the west, since its Japanese release was so far ahead of its US release, so some people have memories of playing it that way first. - The Japanese version is uniquely harder than the Western versions, because in the Western version if you take damage with any powerup above Super Mushroom, you revert to Super Mushroom and then to Small Mario (so three hits to die) whereas in the Japanese version taking a hit with any powerup brings you straight down to Small Mario (so two hits to die). SMB3 is a bit of annoying game if you have minmax brainworms because there's no saving and some secrets can be missed in ways you can't go back on short of using an emulator with rewind or save states. That said, the GBA version is great for this because when you beat the game you get a free roam mode and can play whatever levels you want. The GBA version was the game that made the most extensive use of the e-Reader. For those who don't know, this was a much-maligned barcode reading cartridge that let you scan printed cards to get your GBA to do stuff. There were some classic NES games released in this form that required you to scan like ten cards to transfer all the ROM data. With SMB3 it was particularly egregious because you needed a separate GBA and a link cable to use it. It was also somewhat tedious to use. That said, you could do some fun things in-game, like you could spawn powerups that weren't normally in SMB3 like the Super Mario World cape. It also had level cards for some special levels that leveraged assets and mechanics from other Mario games like plants and enemies from SMB2. Since the e-Reader accessory tanked in the West we only got a small selection of levels, however the Wii U virtual console version is a specially-hacked version that contains all the e-Reader levels (although you can't spawn an SMB3 cape in the base game anymore).
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May 2, 2022 13:53
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univbee posted:A few things worth noting about the Brothers Three. This was my experience. I still wish the Japanese box art was used instead of the minimal NA version. 
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May 2, 2022 13:57
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I like the yellow box, I think because it's a kind of rare color for that sort of thing and makes it stand out. Whenever I see it I get this sorta nostalgia, picking it up at funcoland and being absolutely loving pumped. I go back and forth on my favorite Mario game. Some days, it's Mario world, it was so much more polished and the world felt more put together. But then Mario 3, it's just got so much crazy poo poo, and the level design feels more wild and creative than Mario world. Mario world is like the very well crafted Disney ride of the series, and Mario 3 is the water park that had to get shut down because too many people died.
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May 2, 2022 14:47
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And in that its advertising included a major Hollywood production for some reason.
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May 2, 2022 15:55
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Nobody needs to find or make excuses to replay SMB3. It's just that good.BrainDance posted:Mario 3 is the water park that had to get shut down because too many people died. 
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May 2, 2022 16:51
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Here's the real question... Super Mario Bros 3 on NES, or Super Mario All-stars SMB3?  I didn't have a SNES growing up, so I have to go with the original, but nowadays, I throw on the SMAS version often.
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May 2, 2022 17:01
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:Here's the real question... Super Mario Bros 3 on NES, or Super Mario All-stars SMB3? I feel like the movement and jumping is a little different in All-stars. I dunno if it's all in my head but something always seems just slightly off with the way Mario moves and jumps in it. But, the art style for All-Stars is so good it doesn't matter too much.
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May 3, 2022 01:24
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:Here's the real question... Super Mario Bros 3 on NES, or Super Mario All-stars SMB3? I played the SMAS version first....so that's my preferred version. Is this an unpopular opinion?
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May 3, 2022 04:42
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Hardware, I'd go for SMAS more often than not because you don't lose all your progress if you have to stop playing (unless the cart's battery is toast, but I digress). There is, however, undeniably ~something special~ about firing up the NES original. Edit: Tried playing both at the same time and it's surprisingly difficult.  The NES version is oh-so-slightly faster so you can't just barrel along mindlessly and GG the pair of them. ZogrimAteMyHamster fucked around with this message at 05:27 on May 3, 2022 |
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May 3, 2022 05:12
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewbKrMvwzQI I just want to take this moment to post what might be my favourite YouTube video ever; the 2017 Games Done Quick Mario relay. It's SMB 1 SMB 2 USA SMB 3 SMB 2 JP SMW This entire video is like some warm mental hug for me. I can't explain why. If you're not into speedrunning, you likely won't care, or this video will turn you into a fan. It's just a full 3 hours dedicated to all things Mario speedrunning. Great stuff. Plus you have Authorblues and Skybilz commentating together, who later got married (I don't think they were married at this point). Just really great stuff to put on even in the background.
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May 3, 2022 11:00
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I grew up with SNES All-Stars, so that's my default, but I had a very very good time beating the NES version recently. SMB 3 is the best one in my opinion. Perfect length for stages (and difficulty!) unique power-ups that change how you play the level, though are (un)fortunately rare to come by aside from the leaf and the mainstays. It's bright and colorful and creative. I always loved the lore about the whole thing just being a stage play, and it's #3 but considering how similar Lost Levels is to 1 and how not Mario, USA is, it's a real sequel and improvement on SMB 1 in every which way. Funnily I never beat it as a kid, I only got to Bowser's world once, and tanked. I'd usually make it to Cloud World or the Giant/Small. That's also as far as I could get shot-gunning it in one go.
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May 3, 2022 11:29
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Here's an interesting look at game length from the same series: Super Mario Bros 1: 32 levels (not counting any weird glitch levels) Super Mario Bros 2: 20 levels (feels longer, but nope... Just 20) Super Mario Bros 3: 90 levels (plus bonus games, special fights, and world maps). It's crazy to think that SMB3 was ~3x the size of SMB1, and 4.5x the size of SMB2.
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May 3, 2022 11:48
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100YrsofAttitude posted:unique power-ups that change how you play the level, though are (un)fortunately rare to come by aside from the leaf and the mainstays. Yeah, it took me probably 25 years before I found out you can kill thwomps and some other hard to kill without a star enemies with the tanooki suit by turning into a statue above them because, for the hundreds and hundreds of hours I've put into the game how much of that was wearing the tanooki suit? Almost none.
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May 3, 2022 11:54
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BrainDance posted:Yeah, it took me probably 25 years before I found out you can kill thwomps and some other hard to kill without a star enemies with the tanooki suit by turning into a statue above them because, for the hundreds and hundreds of hours I've put into the game how much of that was wearing the tanooki suit? Almost none. Same with those spinning, glowing orbs.
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May 3, 2022 12:25
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Hammers also kill basically everything.
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May 3, 2022 13:15
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I know I said that nobody needs to find an excuse to play this game, but finding time is another story... I'll (hopefully) be able to blaze through it before the weekend though; I mean it has already been a year since last time.Commander Keene posted:Hammers also kill basically everything. Rupert Buttermilk posted:Here's an interesting look at game length from the same series:
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May 5, 2022 03:19
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