Let's talk about things we like!

[Bobinator]

Basically, I think we need a little more positivity around these parts, so here's me doing my part. Basically, just talk about things in retro games you like. Maybe it's just a game in general you really like, and you want to talk about it. Maybe it's a certain thing you enjoyed about a game. Maybe a particular feature, level, character, song, or anything that you liked enough to mention it.

Here's what I've got, in no particular order:

- The hint system from Duke Nukem II. I've been playing through this game some more lately, since I was always a fan of it growing up. There's one thing in particular, however, I've noticed that I really like. Every time you come across a new feature or special item in the game, the game will display a message telling you what it does, which makes getting used to it a lot easier. This isn't the first game to do this, sure, but what's really nice is that the game displays all messages in a little box at the top of the screen, meaning the game never pauses to show you these messages. Simple, unobtrusive, and very helpful.

- Dynamic music from the Star Wars X-Wing and TIE Fighter flight sims. Again, this isn't the first game to do this, but I think it's done so well that it deserves particular note. Basically, during missions, you have a main theme playing in the background, with different cues playing in the song to note different events. For example, if you're playing X-Wing, you get a few notes of the Imperial March to let you know enemy ships have appeared, before it quickly flows right back into the main theme of the mission. There's a lot of other cues, too, depending on how well you're doing or how much you're sucking, and it's actually helpful to learn what each particular cue means. While this isn't the first instance of this sort of music, it sounds a lot more 'natural' than a few other games before it that have tried it. It's just a really creative, effective way to get the player's attention and let him know what's going on, and I appreciate it.

- The 3DO version of Wolfenstien 3D. Honestly, I'd go as far to say that it might just be the best port of Wolf 3D out there, in some ways, even better than the original PC version. I really love what they've done with the soundtrack for one thing, which makes the whole thing sound like a dumb 80's action movie. Which, for the most part, is kind of what Wolfenstien is, so that's OK. Check this out, for example.

Wolfenstein 3D (3DO) - 01 - Title Screen

See, this is pretty much the perfect Nazi-killing music, right here. There's also new weapons, like a flamethrower. The best thing of all, though, is that there's an automap, which for me, automatically makes the game ten times better. It's often really hard to find your way around in Wolf 3D, so a map cuts down HARD on the amount of wandering you have to do. I'm just sad I didn't get to play this version sooner.

- The V-Gun from Wild Guns on SNES. If you haven't played Wild Guns, it's a game based heavily on Cabal from the arcades, with a lot of extra features that make it a lot more playable. One of which is a small meter, that fills up a little every time you shoot the bullets the enemies fire at you. If you fill it up, you get to wield the monstrously destructive V-Gun for a short time. It's a great mechanic that balances how much you want to dodge bullets by how much you want to be able to tear the current stage you're on a new hole, and it adds a lot of depth to the game.

So that's what I've really enjoyed so far from the stuff I've been playing. Remember, it doesn't have to be a feature, just anything from a game you've liked, or any game you've liked!

[TrekMD]

The music for Pitfall II is just one of those tunes I can't get out of my head.  I was very impressed when I first heard the music when I played the game the very first time and I just stayed hooked on it.  I always remember trying to time getting the gold bars so it would play at the faster tempo for longer. 

[align=center:1fbgdsa8]Pitfall II: Lost Caverns Atari 2600 Soundtrack - Main Theme (w/ Death Theme)[/align:1fbgdsa8]

[TL]

What I really like at the moment is the Atari 8-bit range, I now own a 130XE, XEGS and 800XL. I had owned an 800XL one before but just never got into it and ended up selling the machine. But from the first moment I saw a XEGS I wanted one, the system just looks so bloody cool. In the end the lure became too much when I saw one for a great price on eBay. I mainly bought it just because I wanted the machine, wasn't too fussed about the games. But I got 14 games with it and also decided to buy an Atari Max flash cartridge so I could try some other games. With every game I played I liked it more and kept finding more and more games that I loved. Then Retro Gamer also asked me to do an article on the XEGS so I decided to buy a few boxed games for the photo shoot and it just steam rolled from there. I would now say that this is my favourite 8-bit machine by far and easily ranks right up there with my all time favourite systems. What is even better is that I still have thousands of games to discover too!

[sloan]

I like the way the Gamecube controller fits in my hands. IMO, it is the most comfortable controller to date.

[TrekMD]

I like the way the Gamecube controller fits in my hands. IMO, it is the most comfortable controller to date.

I should say the same thing about the Sega Genesis controller.  I love the feel of it. 

[Mire Mare]

Impossible Mission.  Love this game. I have it for my c64 and I have the updated version on the DS.  I bought a PS3 before Christmas and couldn't resist downloading it again from the PS Store.  The updated and original graphics look great on the big screen

[sloan]

Isn't Impossible Mission truly impossible to beat on the 7800?

[TrekMD]

Isn't Impossible Mission truly impossible to beat on the 7800?

Correct.  It has a bug that makes the game truly impossible to defeat.  There is a hacked version, however, that makes it possible to beat it. 

[TL]

Isn't Impossible Mission truly impossible to beat on the 7800?

Correct.  It has a bug that makes the game truly impossible to defeat.  There is a hacked version, however, that makes it possible to beat it.  :4:

[TrekMD]

Is that because they knew of the problem with the NTSC version and addressed it in the PAL version before release?  Do you know?

[TL]

Is that because they knew of the problem with the NTSC version and addressed it in the PAL version before release?  Do you know?

I believe so, yes.

[TrekMD]

Cool. 

[TL]

At the moment I quite like the ColecoVision as I just played through pretty much all its library over the past few days and discovered some absolutely cracking games.

[TrekMD]

At the moment I quite like the ColecoVision as I just played through pretty much all its library over the past few days and discovered some absolutely cracking games.

Glad to hear it.  I played with a friend's ColecoVision when I was in college and it indeed has a nice library.