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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 5, 2021 19:39:18 GMT
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 5, 2021 19:59:58 GMT
That's awesome news. Thanks! It seems this is my lucky weekend.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 6, 2021 1:15:14 GMT
That's awesome news. Thanks! It seems this is my lucky weekend. Though you may want to watch out. PSNow is also 25% off this weekend, and almost the same price. I bought the wrong one for my sister by mistake and had to get it refunded.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 6, 2021 1:50:14 GMT
That sucks, I can see myself making that mistake. I always buy my Plus from the PS3 to support it. I bought 200 dollars from the Japanese store through Play Asia when they were about to close the PS3 store, and I imagine other people did the same, apparently we saved the PS3 store by doing that because it has remained open since then, so I may do that again this time, and get Plus from my arcade machine, which is my PS3, after all, it works on all systems, once you get it, it is valid on PS3, Vita, PS4, and PS5.
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Cervantes
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Post by Cervantes on Jun 15, 2021 10:01:05 GMT
This week, I was playing through the final Mega Man Game Boy games, and then started a hard playthrough of Ninja Gaiden Sigma (Master Collection - PC).
A few words on this version of Ninja Gaiden:
The Master Collection games are ports of NG Sigma 1, 2 and Razor's Edge. Any online component was taken out and a few extras from the PS Vita ports (Sigma+) were carried over, like extra modes and clothes. The ports run at 4k 60fps, but besides that, there's no new content or anything, and Sigma 2 is the censored PS3 version, with fog instead of blood and less enemies than NG2 (X360). The PC release is very barebones: there aren't any graphic options and it only runs with a controller connected, no kb&m, but I do think it's a competent port in the sense that it runs well, loads fast and I haven't found any bugs nor have heard of them. For games that are this old I don't think having graphic options would matter anyway, although Tecmo could've gone the extra mile and added ultra widescreen resolutions, unlocked framerate and other things that could get people more interested in this port.
That said, it's my first time playing the Sigma version. The graphics are a great upgrade over Black and the dual katanas are very fun to use, as is the option to shoot the bow while jumping and to use potions without opening the inventory. It is an easier game due to it giving out many more potions, and even playing on hard I had already maxed them by Chapter 3, but the enemies themselves are as hard as ever and gave me a lot of trouble at the beginning, as I didn't have many moves and I thought I had to be more conservative with my potions. The levels have some slight redesigns here and there (these are generally seen as inferior to Black, but I'm enjoying the novelty) and there was a nice extra section in Chapter 2 with Ryu going into a house in flames and then fighting Doku.
The most obvious additions are Rachel's levels, and I just played the first one. Some people seem to hate them due to how they break the pace, but again: having played Black many times, it was enjoyable to have a new character. Surprisingly, her controls are very different from Ryu's, with an entirely different dodge move, in which she spins to the side (it can be also used to jump over enemies and attack their backs), wall jumping instead of running, a new projetile weapon and completely new combos for her War Hammer. Again, I thought it was a welcome novelty, and I preferred this approach over how in Razor's Edge the girls play too similar to Ryu. It might get annoying later, I don't know, but her first level was a blast to play. Also, I think this solves the problem of Rachel being presented as this amazing demon hunter that doesn't actually do anything and just gets captured in Black.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 15, 2021 20:23:04 GMT
Because I never played Black I don't know what I am missing. I still believe Black is the best version, and Ninja Gaiden 2 as well. I mean the guy didn't like PlayStation, so it makes sense his vision for the games were the Xbox versions.
And yet, I still end up loving the Sigma ports back in the day, that's how good these games are, that even with a downgrade they can still stand out.
What you are describing is exactly what I want from these games. It sounds all dreamy because these are some of my favorite games ever.
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Cervantes
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Post by Cervantes on Jun 17, 2021 6:17:38 GMT
stratogustav - For the first game, you're not missing much by going with Sigma, it's very similar to Black - if anything, you're getting a new character, weapon and levels; what you miss from Black seems to be just a few puzzles (some of them were replaced by fights in Sigma) and the original, harder balance. The biggest difference is in the second game; in this case, the Xbox experience is completely different, as it focuses on chaotic fights against dozens of enemies simultaneously, while in Sigma 2 the groups are much smaller and the enemies have more HP instead (Sigma 2 tries to compensate for that with a few extra characters and levels). Keep in mind that, if you've already played the Sigma games, the Master Collection adds very little besides a higher resolution - it's just a few clothes, from Sigma+ and from every DLC for the 3 games, a Survival Mode for Sigma 1 and that's it. If you get the Deluxe Edition (I said "what the hell" and went with it), there's the soundtrack and an art book with concept art and videos. But man, these games really do hold up, I'm impressed at how engrossed I am at playing again something that I've already beaten three times at least.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 19, 2021 21:24:49 GMT
I appreciate that. Sigma 1 is already one of my favorite games of all time, it is always on my top 10, so I'm glad I'm not missing much.
It sucks I'm missionary on Sigma 2 because that's a game I also love.
I'm still getting them to support the series, and I haven't played them in over decade. The first time I played Sigma was on a friend's PlayStation 3 back in 2008 because I didn't have a console of my own. That one and MotorStorm are the only games I recall playing from that era of games because he had those.
I have the PS3 versions now, but since my PS3 became my arcade machine, these type of adventure games get completely neglected, so it is nice to have them on the PS4.
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centipede
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Post by centipede on Jun 21, 2021 8:00:38 GMT
Alternating between Y's Seven, Brandish: The Dark Revenant and Persona 1.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 24, 2021 6:59:29 GMT
Dragon Quest VII on the 3DS - still....eternally The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV for the PS4 (on the PS5) Yakuza: Like a Dragon for the PS5
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Cervantes
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Post by Cervantes on Jul 12, 2021 19:23:21 GMT
I've been playing the Ninja Gaiden Collection a lot, so a quick update:
The PC port has been getting some nice updates: they surprisingly added graphics options (resolutions, v-sync, shadows etc.), a shortcut to quit the game without having to go back to the main screen and also fixed bugs in Sigma 2 (two combos weren't connecting as they should but are ok now). As the games already performed very well, running in 4k even on medium-range machines, the PC port is now very complete and recommended.
About my experience with the games themselves: as said before, Sigma 1 is close enough to Black, it's a matter of preference. The real disappointment was with Sigma 2. I thought it had reduced just the number of enemies in each encounter, but it also drastically reduced the number of encounters themselves. Why is this a problem? The levels in NG2 were designed with lots and lots of enemies in mind, so all the levels are impossibly large to give ample space for many impressive fights. But as Sigma 2 drastically reduced enemy count and number of fights, now we have these huge, empty spaces with nothing to do in them, as NG2 already lacked in exploration; most of the time, I was either in a huge arena to fight just 3 or 4 enemies or I was running through large, linear streets that were completely empty. This all becomes especially obvious in A Captive Goddess and the following levels.
Another bad change was the way that weapon upgrades work. In NG2, you had to buy them. On one hand, there was a strategic decision between spending money on upgrades or buying healing items; on the other hand, this was an incentive to fight better so you could save money for the upgrades. A good player could have all the weapons upgraded soon enough. In Sigma 2, the upgrades became free, but restricted to a single upgrade for one weapon per level, and even then some further upgrades are locked until later levels. Two problems arise: first, there's no "play better = upgrade faster" dynamic and the game forces you to play almost the entire campaign without fully upgraded weapons. Second, now there's an overflow of money that serves only to buy healing items, and the game itself already gives more healing items than NG2 while having less enemies. The result: I played it on Mentor ("Very hard mode") and even then I went through the entire game without ever spending a single dime, so the money becomes either useless or you can use it to cheese the bosses by chugging every health item without worrying about missing them later. Basically, Sigma 2 became too easy while breaking the economy from NG2.
The three new levels with Momiji, Rachel and Ayane are good, have a better balance of enemies, are more difficult and add new bosses. I'm not a fan of the three statues that Ryu has to fight (just one of them was enough), but at least it's new content. All in all, NG2 was already a divisive game, one that I don't even like as much as the others, but Sigma 2 sadly made it much worse. The new content doesn't make up for the changes, so in this case I strongly recommend looking for the original NG2 instead of the Sigma 2 version.
Of course, all my criticism comes from the comparison with the original release; by itself, Sigma 2 is still a fun game with a very solid combat system. Even with its changes and problems, it still ranks among the best action games from that era. Just keep in mind that the original NG2 is the best version of that game.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Jul 13, 2021 1:54:09 GMT
Yeah, I always knew the original Xbox versions were the best, specially when it comes to Ninja Gaiden 2, and I was hoping the collection was going to use those. I still love the Sigma versions, so I'm not complaining, but this was a missed opportunity to use the original games' assets.
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Cervantes
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Post by Cervantes on Jul 13, 2021 3:57:05 GMT
stratogustav - My dream version for the collection would be the Xbox version of NG2 with the Momiji/Rachel/Ayane levels from Sigma 2 (also, keep the infinite arrows and 'jump & shoot' for the bow, as using the bow was a weak point in the Xbox version that Sigma 2 fixed). As for the first game, I would take Sigma 1 as a basis and then put back the missing areas and puzzles from Black. Those would be the definitive NG1&2 experiences to me. But I'm really digging the collection anyway, it's just fun to think what they could have done with it if this release had been a higher priority for Team Ninja.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Jul 13, 2021 6:00:38 GMT
Yeah, I also consider that extra content from the Sigma games important. That would the ideal scenario, but it seems that this collection is still worth it.
It's interesting how we are full circle now as there was a trilogy collection for the Super Nintendo as well, with limitations of course, and here we are again witnessing everything unfolding the same way once again.
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dschult3
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Post by dschult3 on Jul 25, 2021 3:43:49 GMT
Tonight was an old school video game night. scipioafricanus scored over 8 million points in Food Fight on the Atari 7800, while my 4 year old daughter got a chance to play Sonic 2 on the Genesis Mini.
Oddly enough, the 7800 stopped moving on to the next level, so scipioafricanus was stuck on level 125. He earned so many 1ups that every time he died, the life avatar didn't subtract one. I've never seen that happen before. It went on for so long that he eventually quit at over 8 million. My daughter? She actually beat the first boss in Sonic 2. She kept on trying, but kept on dyin'. Oh well.
By the way, taking high score pictures on your phone from a CRT is rather difficult. It is incredibly blurry if you don't take it from the perfect angle.
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