NecroPhile's game clears and mindless musings

[blueraven]

Ok. I need to get an everdrive now.

[NecroPhile]

Clear #79 - Circus Lido



Every time I'd get stuck just a few levels in, so I never thought I'd beat this one.  I figured I was too dumb to figure out the puzzles, but it turns out I was just too dumb to figure out that you can climb on the usually lethal spikey vines by nabbing a pill bug; thanks to youtube, though, I finally got somewhere!  It's probably explained in the manual, but I can't do moonrunes and who's got time to read anyway? 

Overall it's good fun, but it definitely has its frustrating moments.  Visit Videogame Den for a nice story about the game's odd release history; I'm glad it's no longer teh rarez, so now everyone can easily pick up a copy and save Leon the Chameleon.

The Good:  nice tunes, particularly the end credits track; tricksy puzzles that'll get ya thinking; easy to use password system; no time limits; optional bonus levels; and cute lil Leon.

The Bad:  Leon is often dirt slow, and his controls are a bit clunky - I often threw stuff the wrong way or too far; bland background scenery with little variety, though the animated rain and waterfalls behind the x-shaped vines look nice; the bosses don't appear if you're using passwords to save progress, and the final boss (a sweet looking giant venus fly trap) doesn't seem to appear even if you play straight through sans continues, but they're thankfully accessible with a password.

The Ugly:  cheap, unfair hits from shoddy hit detection.

Full Disclosure - Rather than my usual 1CC, this is another one where I used continues and passwords.  Beating this one in one run would be mission impossibru.


P.S. - My copy is No. 001237. 

[NecroPhile]

Clear #80 - JB Harold Murder Club



The Original Kill Bill? 

The Good:  Lots of nice voice acting, which is easily skipped or turned off all together if you want to speed things along; cool digitized pics; a motley cast of characters; 'tis a good mystery with red herrings and a good plot twist but no silly time limits or penalties for asking the wrong questions; and great jazzy redbook tunes with mediocre background chip muzak.

The Bad:  While they look okay as is, the digitized pics could look a lot better with more colors; the police station background tune has an annoying cymbal 'tsss' that sounds more like a staticy hiss than music; and it's lame how searching locations again after they've already been searched once sometimes magically turns up new clues.

The Ugly:  NA

[NecroPhile]

Clear #81 - JB Harold Manhattan Requiem



More of the same type of game play, but now with FMV intro/confession/ending, improved location pics, and nicer character portraits.

The Good: tons of voice acting, which you can again turn off to hurry things along; a good whodunnit with a couple unexpected plot twists; more fun jazz tunes, which you can play at will in the bar jukebox and look at the album art; lots of characters to talk to, many of which are rather cute; and a mildly entertaining diversion playing weird blackjack (see below).

The Bad: There's only two locations to search for clues, and you again have to search more than once to get everything; earned Blackjack credits seem useless (even if you go broke, you can leave and come back in to start back at 20); and you gotta flip the disc a lot near the end.

The Ugly: NA

The Rules of Blackjack

[ Card combinations ]

1. Special Blackjack
(ace & jack of spades)
BET + BETx15 - defeats even the dealer's Blackjack

2. Semi-special Blackjack
(ace & jack of the same suit)
BET + BETx5 - defeats even the dealer's Blackjack

3. Blackjack
(an ace, and a 10, jack queen or king of any suit)
BET + BETx1.5 - ends in a draw

4. 6cards
(6 cards totaling up to but not exceeding 21)
BET + BETx5 - wins unconditionally

5. 7cards
(7 cards totaling up to but not exceeding 21)
BET + BETx10 - wins unconditionally

6. 8cards
(8 cards totaling up to but not exceeding 21)
BET + BETx15 - wins unconditionally

7. 777
(3 sevens)
BET + BETx15 - wins unconditionally

8. Other
(Having a higher count than the dealer but not exceeding 21)
BET + BETx1 - wins

[ Advanced technique ]

1. SPLIT PAIR
If the two cards are the same number, each card can be bet as a hand.
If the player has two aces, only one more card can be dealt.
In this case, a face card and ten are counted as 21, not as B/J.
(Note This is possible only when the player has the same or higher points than the first BET.)

2. DOUBLE DOWN
Although the player can double the first BET points when two cards are dealt, the player can draw only one more card.(Draw one unconditionally.)
(Note The player needs the same or higher remaining points than the BET points.)

3. INSURANCE
When the card that the dealer shows is an ace, the player can save half the points of the first BET.
In case the dealer's cards are Blackjack, the player gets the insurance BETx3.
If the dealer's cards are NOT Blackjack, all of the insurance BET goes to the dealer.

[ Commands ]

1. HIT - Need another card

2. STAND - Need no more cards

3. DOUBLE - Double the points of BET
(Refer to the section above for a detailed explanation)

4. INSURANCE - Save half the points BET as insurance

5. SPLIT - Try 2 hands by dividing your pair
(Refer to the section above for a detailed explanation)

[ Rules ]

Bet first.
Following the BET, cards are dealt to the player, and then to the dealer, one at a time.
The dealer and player each should have two cards to play the game.
As many cards as the players wants can be dealt.
If the total of the player's cards "win unconditionally" or "defeat the dealer's hand," the game is over.
If the player's cards are "BUST," the dealer wins the game.
If the player's cards are not "BUST," the dealer takes as many cards as necessary, and the player and dealer compare their cards.
If the card totals are the same, the game ends in a draw.
The points of the BET are returned to the player.
(When the dealer's cards are Blackjack, the player loses unless the cards can defeat or end the game in a draw, even if the player's cards are 21.)

[ Supplement ]

1) When counting the winning points, omit the figure below the decimals.

example When the cards are Blackjack at 1 of the BET points.
The points can be figured out
= BET + BETx1.5
= 1 + 1x1.5
= 2.5

However, in this game, the points are calculated as
= 1 + 1x1.5
= 2

2) The maximum points the player can bet at one time are 1,000.

I've never seen such convoluted rules, but at least it pays out with half-nekkid girlies!  It wouldn't be an LA game without boobs, right? 

As far as I can tell, you get normal NY scenery pics if you win 100+ credits in a hand:

Pic 1     Pic 2

Or if you win 1000+ credits, you get girls in lingerie:

Pic 3     Pic 4     Pic 5

Pic 6     Pic 7     Pic 8

It's too bad these pics are transparent overlays with scenery backdrops; it looks goofy.  Also, I can't say how many there are total, but I saw at least a dozen and no repeats.

[esteban]

This is one of the reasons why I want LaserActive.  .)

Ha!

I can't wait to look at those pics when I'm not in family-land.

Also, I just remembered that it was EXACTLY* ONE YEAR AGO that NecroPhile sent me tons of images for a half-finished project.

Now I must put that on my to-do list.

[seieienbu]

I've never seen such convoluted rules, but at least it pays out with half-nekkid girlies!  It wouldn't be an LA game without boobs, right? 

So that's why Laseractives go for so much money.

In all honesty, I've often wondered what the big deal with the platform is.  At some point I'll get around to looking into what unique games are actually on the platform.

[NecroPhile]

The only reason to get it is for the novelty and to play regular PCE and/or FEKA games on it.  The LA games themselves aren't anything spectacular, many of which are on other platforms anyway.

Speaking of boobehs, I counted 76 risque pics, which would require an awful lot of Blackjack to see 'em all:  https://youtu.be/4tVA_ERfgxM


I forgot to mention my best Blackjack hand, one where I won 10,000 credits on a 1,000 credit bet (the maximum).  I won with 3 + 2 + 5 + 2 + A + A + J to the dealer's 9 + 10.  I figure I should've busted, though I could've stopped at six cards (only 14) and won 5,000.  I don't get why it paid out at all, but who's gonna argue when the dealer's trying to give you free monies?

[NightWolve]

Hm, I never would've thought to ever try JB Harold Murder Club. Interesting you found the voice acting to be good.

[esteban]

The only reason to get it is for the novelty and to play regular PCE and/or FEKA games on it.  The LA games themselves aren't anything spectacular, many of which are on other platforms anyway.

Speaking of boobehs, I counted 76 risque pics, which would require an awful lot of Blackjack to see 'em all:  https://youtu.be/4tVA_ERfgxM

I love that you counted the pics.

That's what I would have done, too.

Hm, I never would've thought to ever try JB Harold Murder Club. Interesting you found the voice acting to be good.

I like the music in this game (only because it's from JB Harold).

https://archives.tg-16.com/music_database.htm?col=jp&val=JB

Normally, this isn't my cup of tea...but it's from JB, so it's great. That's the power of LaserActive...

[NecroPhile]

Clear #82 - Bomberman


( Good thing you're a robot, eh?  She's touching your eyeball! )

Though '93 and '94 sport better tunes, more enemies, better level layouts, etc., the basic goodness is all here.  It feels primitive by comparison, sure, but nothing is particularly offensive.

The Good:  neat unfolding title screen logo, short but sweet opening and closing cut scenes, cute enemy sprites, okay tunes, multiplayer and 'Express link modes, and tricksy enemies like the bastard Boyons and the final boss battle against the Black Bomberman and his friends.

The Bad:  very little variety in the scenery or enemies, boring rectangular stage layouts, and the only way to use the save/password function is to die.

The Ugly:  NA

[esteban]

My kids are loving Bomberman '93...I should break out the original for them, too.

I'm saving Bomberman '94 until summer 

[Mathius]

My kids are loving Bomberman '93...I should break out the original for them, too.

I'm saving Bomberman '94 until summer 

Bomberman '94 seems to be a fitting game for summertime play.

[esteban]

My kids are loving Bomberman '93...I should break out the original for them, too.

I'm saving Bomberman '94 until summer 

Bomberman '94 seems to be a fitting game for summertime play.

Hell yes.

[NecroPhile]

My kids are loving Bomberman '93...I should break out the original for them, too.

Definitely.  They gotta know their roots!

[seieienbu]

Clear #82 - Bomberman
The Ugly:  NA

I definitely would have said "The box art."  It's like they took the loveable cartoon-y Bombermen and tried to cram them into modern day bomb disposal gear looking at least semi-realistic.  I always found it offputting and would rather they had gone for a friendlier look.

[jtucci31]

How long does this first one compare to 93 and 94? So far I've only ever stuck through 93 to completion. I need to go back to this and 94.

[NecroPhile]

I definitely would have said "The box art."  It's like they took the loveable cartoon-y Bombermen and tried to cram them into modern day bomb disposal gear looking at least semi-realistic.  I always found it offputting and would rather they had gone for a friendlier look.

Heh, true.  That shit is horrible and doesn't match the in-game art at all.

How long does this first one compare to 93 and 94? So far I've only ever stuck through 93 to completion. I need to go back to this and 94.

They're all similar in length.  I've not timed 'em myself, but youtube longplays clock 'em in at 1:20:11 (Bomberman), 1:14:10 ('93), and 1:24:02 ('94).

[PukeSter]

How long does this first one compare to 93 and 94? So far I've only ever stuck through 93 to completion. I need to go back to this and 94.

All 3 are absolute classics. The snes ones don't really compare in my book, though I like 1 and 4.

93 is my favorite, but 94 is the overall fan favorite next to Saturn in the retro circle.

Some of the first Pce games I've ever played as a kid.

[NecroPhile]

Clear #83 - Tenchi Muyo!



The Good:  Cute girlies vying for your attention, sometimes in the buff (there's a lot of T&A for a game that's not Dragon Knight, Hi Leg, etc.); jaunty chip tunes and tons of voice acting; colorful, nicely detailed scenes; several humorous bits; you never get a real game over screen - you're just admonished for fucking up and sent back to the beginning of whatever scene you failed; and it's not completely linear, with branching paths and at least two different endings (see below) for good replayability.

The Bad:  The scenes are mostly static and overlayed with talking heads, making it harder to follow the story for a dumb round eye like me; a few scenes look kind of weird, with detailed and subtly shaded background art but flat shaded / black outlined foreground art; and all the voice acting means lots of loading.

The Ugly:  NA


You're given separate scores for 'achievement', 'display', and 'voice' rates (translations from google translate).  My last known scores were 29%, 30%, and 18% (respectively), but you sadly don't get a final score at the game's end and the last save opportunity is quite a ways before the credits roll; I'm sure I didn't end higher than 50% in any score, though, so there's lots more to see.

I got this ending:

, but there's also this ending:

.  The latter has a fancier sequence at the end, perhaps HuVideo?

[esteban]

HuVIDEO!

[Mathius]

NEC/HE made such a big deal about HuVideo that if they added it to a special ending you'd think they would advertise it.

[CrackTiger]

I love a lot of the artwork and pixelart in Tenchi Muyo, but haven't finished it before. That clip of the fmv looks 32-bit quality. I tried accessing it through the debug mode, but had no luck. :/

[CrackTiger]

After reading through Necro's post again, I now finally understood it correctly that he didn't actually see this in the game, so I don't think it actually is a part of the PC Engine version.

[NecroPhile]

Yarr, I didn't see that clip in my play through, though the final battle and end credits before it were the same.  I only found the FMV when I went spelunking to see if there's different endings; it's entirely possible that whoever made that video clipped something from the anime or from the PC-FX game on at the end.

[NecroPhile]

Clear #84 - Coryoon



A great shewty.  If you like Air Zonk, ya gotta give this close relative a try.

The Good:  super cute lil dragon; nice voices sprinkled about and goodish tunes; a motley group of silly looking enemies, some of which can get pretty aggressive; tons of parallax and oodles of sprites, yet flicker and slowdown are rarely an issue; and it has timed score modes for extra fun.

The Bad:  it's awfully easy with tons of weapon pickups (which let you take a hit) and extra lives handed out (though they max out at 9); while never ugly, the backgrounds lack the variety and detail found in Air Zonk; the fruit can get annoying (but can be disabled with a code), blocking your view of incoming bullets and weapons you might not want; it's not terrible, but it's unfortunate that they blew up the end game screen (above) to big clunky pixels instead of redrawing it to the correct resolution.

The Ugly:  NA

[Mathius]

I never knew there was a code to remove the fruit! I love collecting it but it does get annoyingly cumbersome later on. What is this wonderful code?

This is one of those games I wish I had a real copy of. At least I have an Everdrive. 

[NecroPhile]

Yarr, I'd love a real copy too.  It's a shame it's so pricey. 

Here's all the codes:

Play the following tracks from the sound test:
4 SCREEN MODE: 6, 4, 8, 6, 4, 8, 6, 4, 8
BLACK & WHITE: 1, 4, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6
4 SCREEN BLACK & WHITE: 1, 1, 7, 6, 8, 0, 0, 0
20 LIVES: 3, 7, 3, 5, 1, 8, 8, 1, 4
NO FRUIT: 0, 3, 5, 10, 0, 3, 5, 10
SHOT POWER: 8, 8, 1, 1, 8, 2, 4, 7

[Mathius]

Yarr, I'd love a real copy too.  It's a shame it's so pricey. 

Here's all the codes:

Play the following tracks from the sound test:
4 SCREEN MODE: 6, 4, 8, 6, 4, 8, 6, 4, 8
BLACK & WHITE: 1, 4, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6
4 SCREEN BLACK & WHITE: 1, 1, 7, 6, 8, 0, 0, 0
20 LIVES: 3, 7, 3, 5, 1, 8, 8, 1, 4
NO FRUIT: 0, 3, 5, 10, 0, 3, 5, 10
SHOT POWER: 8, 8, 1, 1, 8, 2, 4, 7

Thank you kind sir.

[NecroPhile]

Clear #85 - J Thunder



This is surely the smuttiest PCE game I've played (easily outdoing Steam Hearts and Basted anyway), but it's sadly not all that fun.

The Good:  the tunes are okay if rather elevator music-y; nice artwork and cool robots; "good" ADPCM moans and pants of the ladies getting the business; and quite a bit of tits and (censored) ass.

The Bad:  at maybe a half hour in length, it's extremely short; the pedo-esque title screen pic doesn't really fit the rest of the game; there's nearly zero interactivity; and the cut scenes are almost entirely static (see below) and do a poor job of relaying the story, making it far harder for me to follow along and understand the plot compared to other digi-comics.

The Ugly:  stupid crotch pixelization, which is oddly animated while nothing else is.

[Mathius]

Every now and then a pce game gets mentioned that I've never heard of. This is one of them. Too bad it's so smutty and no good. The pic has a Transformers vibe to it. Is it Super CD?

[turboswimbz]

Every now and then a pce game gets mentioned that I've never heard of. This is one of them. Too bad it's so smutty and no good. The pic has a Transformers vibe to it. Is it Super CD?

It's an early unofficial release, yes it is a Super CD. I sadly don't know too much more about it as I only came across this game in a lot that I was thinking of purchasing.  I ended up not. 

Necro,  Seems like that all this thing has is artwork.  Does anyone know who did the artwork?  and why they didn't make an actual game, instead of a picture disc? 

[NecroPhile]

It's worth burning a cd and taking a peek, I guess, but it's definitely not a great game.... or even much of a game at all.  There is a story to go with the pictures, but you need moonrunes skills for it.

Too bad it's so smutty...

What?!?  That's the best part!!!   

[esteban]

Every now and then a pce game gets mentioned that I've never heard of. This is one of them. Too bad it's so smutty and no good. The pic has a Transformers vibe to it. Is it Super CD?

Same here!

I guess I have heard this title mentioned a few times over the years but I never paid attention to it.

Ha!

Sadly, with a title like J-Thunder, I am expecting a shootemup, not smutty non-game.

MOAR PICS would be nice, though.

Damn!

[Mathius]

Yes a few more pics please.

[NecroPhile]

Clear #86 - Deep Blue



Are you a sadistic bastard that's always wanted to dive deep under the waves and kill hordes of lil fishies for no damn good reason?  Now's your chance!

The Good:  half of the tunes are okay; the scenery looks nice and there's even a little parallax, but there's not much variety within stages; lots of different enemies and big bosses; and you can rebuild health when not attacking.

The Bad:  the other half of the tunes are grating; only four levels; and no real ending, it just loops.

The Ugly:  cheep difficulty level where collisions are often unavoidable, making the only way to win to tuck your tail and run away as much as possible.  It's a shewty where you're not supposed to shewt.... who the fuck thought that was a good idea?!?

[NoSexGex]

It's a shewty where you're not supposed to shewt....

When people said this I always thought they were kidding  Probably why I've never gotten very far myself

[esteban]

I was trying to play Deep Blue recently...my kids didn't hate it as much as I did when I first played it.

I HAVE NEVER BEATEN DEEP BLUE.

I MAY HAVE ONLY GOTTEN TO LEVEL THREE.

I am considering replaying this game over XMAS just to see if I can beat it (using the lame hide in a...corner? Is there a safe place I can hide? I usually get hit when I attempt to hide in lower left part of screen.

I do like the fact that you attack sub is called A.N.G.E.L.

[NecroPhile]

When people said this I always thought they were kidding  Probably why I've never gotten very far myself

It's the only way I can get very far.  If I aggressively try to kill everything I can, I get creamed.

I am considering replaying this game over XMAS just to see if I can beat it (using the lame hide in a...corner? Is there a safe place I can hide? I usually get hit when I attempt to hide in lower left part of screen.

Youtube long plays taught me to hang out in the middle (left to right) and near the bottom of the screen but not off the screen; that still leaves you room to dip under frontal assaults or go up over any bottom sneak attacks, and it lines you up to kill a lot of the fishies coming head on.  You'll still get hit a lot, but if you're lucky you'll be spending enough time not shooting to recover more health than you lose.  I think it helps being closer to the right edge of the screen, so you don't have to wait so long for your shot to sail off screen so you can shoot again.

Also, use the green spirally shot.  It's easily the strongest and widest spread weapon.

I do like the fact that you attack sub is called A.N.G.E.L.

Heh, that is pretty cool.

[seieienbu]

Ugh, Deep Blue.  I'll get to a point where I've got full health and a good weapon and then I'll start trying to shoot stuff because why would I run away when I'm not trying to regenerate my health?  ...and then I always promptly take damage and have to go back to being a coward.

Not my favorite game, sure, but I do enjoy the mood the game creates.

[Mathius]

I MAY HAVE ONLY GOTTEN TO LEVEL THREE.

You know what other game where I've only gotten to level three? Nexzr.


...I may have made it to level four once. Once. 

[shubibiman]

Congrats on this one. I've never managed to clear this game. And it's hard to get any motivation with such a shitty game.

Clear #86 - Deep Blue



Are you a sadistic bastard that's always wanted to dive deep under the waves and kill hordes of lil fishies for no damn good reason?  Now's your chance!

The Good:  half of the tunes are okay; the scenery looks nice and there's even a little parallax, but there's not much variety within stages; lots of different enemies and big bosses; and you can rebuild health when not attacking.

The Bad:  the other half of the tunes are grating; only four levels; and no real ending, it just loops.

The Ugly:  cheep difficulty level where collisions are often unavoidable, making the only way to win to tuck your tail and run away as much as possible.  It's a shewty where you're not supposed to shewt.... who the fuck thought that was a good idea?!?

[turboswimbz]

Yeah that's how i beat it too, duck and keep close enough you can shoot quickly when you need too.

It's just a disappointing game. it good be good, but falls short.

the lack of ending is just stupid.

It's not horrible, I just always feel like there isn't anything particularity good about it.

there is something weird about a game you can finish with less than 100,000 points. it reminds me of the helicopter game AKA flappy bird.  where your only goal is to avoid collisions.

[NecroPhile]

I think the score goes up a good bit as a reward for starting the next loop, but yeah.  100k for one loop and the counter goes to 100 million, so it'll take only 1000 loops to max out the score!

[seieienbu]

Though I never will, that makes me kinda want to play through the game using savestates on emulator to max out the score just as a dumb challenge.

[esteban]

Though I never will, that makes me kinda want to play through the game using savestates on emulator to max out the score just as a dumb challenge.

PLEASE DOCUMENT THIS AWESOME ACCOMPLISHMENT with occasional screenshots of each stage/boss.

I will use the screenshots/footage.

Promise.

[Mathius]

Though I never will, that makes me kinda want to play through the game using savestates on emulator to max out the score just as a dumb challenge.

PLEASE DOCUMENT THIS AWESOME ACCOMPLISHMENT with occasional screenshots of each stage/boss.

I will use the screenshots/footage.

Promise.

He will not survive the process.

[esteban]

Though I never will, that makes me kinda want to play through the game using savestates on emulator to max out the score just as a dumb challenge.

PLEASE DOCUMENT THIS AWESOME ACCOMPLISHMENT with occasional screenshots of each stage/boss.

I will use the screenshots/footage.

Promise.

He will not survive the process.

Hahahahahahhajaha.

Damn.

Suicide mission.

[seieienbu]

I'm not even saying that I'm going for it yet, but I played a bit and up to 200k.  So, .2%.  At this rate, I could be there in a mere 500 days assuming I can find the same amount of time to play every day for a year and a half.

 

[esteban]

I'm not even saying that I'm going for it yet, but I played a bit and up to 200k.  So, .2%.  At this rate, I could be there in a mere 500 days assuming I can find the same amount of time to play every day for a year and a half.

 

IT IS *totally* worth it, but you need to document the passing of time by taking a picture outside everyday (or something like that).

It is worth it.

Even if it takes a decade.

[seieienbu]

If I get to a million I'll make a thread to document my adventures.