RFGen 2019 NES Challenge

[zophar53]

I was plugging away at a few more last night. Played some Commando and Elevator Action (two of my favorites as a kid). Played more Tetris as well (the Type-B goal is kicking my butt). I think I "finished" Galaga, but is the completion goal correct? I haven't really played the NES version much so maybe it's accurate, but I that the arcade version definitely keeps getting faster and more difficult after stage 3. If the completion goal is right, then I can show a screenshot showing me at stage 6 and beating the high score. Also, on Elevator Action, there aren't any stage numbers indicated that I can see, but the walls in the office buildings are different colors. Is that how we're determining which stage we're on for the ruling?

I may claim a game few people want to play and take Fester's Quest. Everyone hates on it, but it's always had a special place in my heart. I finished it as a kid and have been dipping into it a bit the past couple of days. I may want to make another go at it, and even have an article in mind for it once I've had more time to dig into it more substantially.

I'm noticing how I'm woefully out of practice for these games. It's been humbling lol. I had a lot more time on my hands when I was 10.

@singlebanana Gremlins 2 is awesome. I rented it as a kid and loved the heck out of it. I don't remember how difficult it was, but I did finish it back then. I know you don't usually notice the music in games; have you noticed it in this one? If not, take a listen next time you fire it up. It's typical Sunsoft, with strong bass lines and melodies that make you bob your head. Great stuff.

[shane]

Started Duck Tales 2 this morning. I'm half done already, so I should have it completed tonight.

[singlebanana]

Claims down for Fester's Quest (zophar53) and Duck Tales 2 (shane).

@zophar53 I'll let Crabby make that Galaga ruling, since he posted the list.

[Crabmaster2000]

Just heading to bed so I'll do a proper reply later, but the Galaga and Elevator Action conditions are correct. Even thought it's only 4 stages of Elevator Action I found that final stage pretty brutal to actually pass.

[shane]

Ducktales 2 done. First time I played through it. When I tried playing it before, I got stuck right in the first stage because I didn't know how to jump and swing the cane. Pulled up the instructions this time around and was able to do it. The trick is to hold the direction against the wall/block until his tail wags, then jump and press b. I'm guessing I didn't get all of the map pieces, because it had a message at the end about not knowing what the treasure of McDuck was.

[img width=700 height=444]https://i.imgur.com/rx68x6Y.png[/img]

[zophar53]

Ducktales 2 done. First time I played through it.

What'd you think of the game? I'm a huge fan of the original, but have never played the sequel. I don't think I knew it had a sequel until I got older.

[Fokakis79]

Yeah been busy with life stuff and been playing PS4 Spiderman. I needed to take a short break from NES to refresh myself for next month's challenges.

I have played mostly new games to me. Probably my most enjoyable experience has been my first time playing Willow. Probably my favorite of the bunch I have played so far. The game wasn't unfamiliar territory for me because it was very reminiscent of Legend of Zelda. Although it has its own charm so it doesn't feel like its a clone.  Had a blast playing it, and wish it was a little longer or that a sequel exist.

Blue Marlin and Black Bass have been totally new experiences for me. I never played a NES fishing game so I wasn't sure what to expect in gameplay.  I actually liked Blue Marlins gameplay and fun factor. The verdict is still out for Black Bass. The mechanics are so different than Blue Marlin I was caught unaware.

I must say I am enjoying this challenge so much. Its awesome to visit this thread everyday and see the progress being made. Thanks for running this Crabby and Banana.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[shane]

Just beat Toki after reading about it in the latest issue of Retro Gamer. I had no idea it was a platforming shooter. Pretty decent, although the boss with the blue hands and feet seems a bit too difficult. There's very little room for error in the jump over the feet as they walk back and forth across the screen. I think I'm going to try out the Amiga version as well, since it's supposed to be near arcade perfect.

[img width=700 height=444]https://i.imgur.com/l6ciOrL.png[/img]

[singlebanana]

A few more down...

MTV's Remote Control
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/IzafhPj.jpg[/img]

Each of the light gun scenarios had a high score of 12,000 points.

Wild Gunman
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/FdwFlcH.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/yBCdsRn.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/YYfGjPg.jpg[/img]

Duck Hunt
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/s9Q5O7K.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/cKH4Udk.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/Hf7fxG9.jpg[/img]

Hogans Alley
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/cW0RCqw.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/XB8gpuf.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/Y61T8wA.jpg[/img]

North v. South
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/QvA99iF.jpg[/img]

[zophar53]

Welp, if they're accurate then I have my first one in the bag.

[img width=700 height=612]https://i.imgur.com/PyKwre4.png[/img]

[zophar53]

One more before bed, Donkey Kong Jr. Still working on Elevator Action. I can get to stage 3 pretty reliably, but yeah the enemies get pretty aggressive.

[img width=700 height=613]https://i.imgur.com/vO2IJrk.png[/img]

[shane]

Barbie complete. What a mess of a game. I had to look up how to beat the last "boss", a jukebox, and the walkthrough on GameFAQs says that there's no way to get through the level leading up to that boss. The writer thought the programmers figured no one could get that far a-la Cheetahmen. Please never make me play this game again.

[img width=700 height=444]https://i.imgur.com/BaAF45N.png[/img]

[Crabmaster2000]

I thought there was no way we were gonna make 150 games in January and then you guys pumped out 9 more completions since last update which puts us to 141 games beaten so far. It's a lot to play in one day, but if we can sneak out 9 more wins for January we will have officially hit 150% of our community goal for the month!! I was so freaking close to finishing Bard's Tale tonight and adding that to the list, but I had a few bad encounters in a row leading up to the final boss that knocked out my team. Good news is that I went up a couple more levels and both my warriors have significantly better weapons now so I'm pretty confident I can seal the deal on it tomorrow night though. I'll see if I can put aside a little time today to beat something short and help push us towards 150 for January.

Even if we don't quite make it to 150 for January I need to thank you guys for such a successful month. The participation and discussion has been really encouraging and a lot of fun to be a part of. Hearing you guys enjoy some awesome gems like Gremlins 2, Willow, Power Blade and Dragon Warrior IV and hearing how much fun you had playing them has been a pleasure to witness. I also get some kind of sick pleasure hearing about your time with oddities like Mystery Quest, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde or most recently Barbie

Here's what my January looked like:

[img width=640 height=244]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7828/46885837712_d82051f905_z.jpg[/img]

I'm pretty thrilled with how my month went personally. Wizardry has been something I've wanted to try for so many years, but it just seemed so intimidating and archaic to get into. Was really happy to have the drive to finally dive in and experience such an early RPG and see where a lot of the roots of one of my favorite genres started. Temple of Doom and Ninja Kid both bested me in the past and I was able to sit down and figure them both out at long last. Some of the games like F15 Strike Eagle and Athena I see as "taking one for the team", BUT particularly with Athena I'm glad I played it through because it was such a unique experience playing such a broken mess of a game. My biggest surprises this month I think were Bigfoot and Sqoon. I really enjoyed both and didn't think either would be up my alley. Sqoon just seems to slow and boring at first glance, but it actually had some cool systems like rescuing people and delivering them safely to a rescue boat in exchange for fuel and power ups. And I have zero interest in Monster Trucks, but still managed to have quite a bit of fun playing Bigfoot and crushing some cars, driving in the mud and towing tractors for short distances.

I'll have a post up later today to outline February's goals (as well as a front page Blog entry very soon), but I can't wait to keep chipping away at the NES with you guys. Hope everyone isn't burnt out yet and still having as much fun as I am.

EDIT: All Claims and completions are up to date

[shane]

Figured I could plow through the Software Toolworks Mario games before the deadline. Here's Mario's Time Machine. Starting Mario is Missing! now.

[img width=700 height=444]https://i.imgur.com/dIidxes.png[/img]

[Crabmaster2000]

With February nearly upon us I should probably update you all on our community and single player targets for the month.

February's Community Goal - 250 NES Games Beaten by February 28th
Single Player Goal -  Beat at Least One Sports Games in the Month of February

Everyone is allowed to CLAIM one additional game this month as long as 1 of their two titles is a sports game also. Let's make another huge dent in the NES library by the end of February!!

Here is a handy list of the sports titles that are currently still available to play. It can always be seen on the front page of this thread in the community goals section so you don't have to hunt down this post if you want to see what sports games still need to be played.

720*
All Pro Basketball
American Gladiators
Athletic World
Bad News Baseball
Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
Baseball
Baseball Simulator 1.000
Baseball Stars II
Bases Loaded
Bases Loaded II: Second Season
Bases Loaded III
Bases Loaded IV
Base Wars - Cyber Stadium Series
Best of the Best: Championship Karate
Black Bass
Blades of Steel
Bo Jackson Baseball
Caveman Games
Championship Bowling
Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge
Dance Aerobics
Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
George Foreman's KO Boxing
Goal!
Goal! Two
Gold Medal Challenge '92
Golf Grand Slam
Harlem Globetrotters
Heavy Shreddin'
Hoops
Jack Nicklaus' Major Championship Golf
Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour
Jordan vs. Bird: One-on-One
Karate Champ
Kings of the Beach
Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
Legends of the Diamond
Little League Baseball: Championship Series
M.U.S.C.L.E.
Magic Johnson's Fast Break
Major League Baseball
NES Open Tournament Golf
NES Play Action Football
NFL Football
Nintendo World Cup Soccer
Pro Sport Hockey
Pro Wrestling
Racket Attack
RBI Baseball
Ring King
Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball
Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge
Skate Or Die
Skate Or Die 2
Ski Or Die
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
Stadium Events
Super Spike V'Ball
Tag Team Wrestling
Tecmo Baseball
Tecmo Cup Soccer
Tecmo World Wrestling
Tennis
Touchdown Fever
Town & Country II: Thrilla's Surfari
Town & Country Surf Designs
Track & Field
Track & Field II
Ultimate Basketball
Wayne Gretzky Hockey
World Champ
World Championship Wrestling
World Games
WrestleMania
WWF King of the Ring
WWF Wrestlemania: Steel Cage Challenge
WWF Wrestlemania Challenge