RFGen 2019 NES Challenge

[Schlibby]

S.C.A.T. done.

Gross

[Disposed Hero]

S.C.A.T. done.

Gross

[img width=640 height=360]https://media.tenor.com/images/c68648f9a802b44cb6f7d8f9d0818910/tenor.png[/img]

[Schlibby]

Solar Jetman complete

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/7oDk5Am.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/WLqQkQg.jpg[/img]

An interesting game. The concept is similar to pikmin. Land on a planet and fly a little pod around collecting fuel, money and finally a part of a warship; which must be towed back to your ship. The game is based around physics. Different planets have different gravity and towed items will swing around and increase your weight. Some of the physics is questionable though. Hit a wall and come flying off it faster than you hit it :-/

The pods come with shields but these must be turned off when you have to tow the items leaving you vulnerable. If your pod gets destroyed you fly about as a jetman. Much more manoeuvrable but you die in one hit. You can get new pods from your ship though. A questionable design choice however is the fuel and health bars are one and the same. Not sure how this makes sense and means you effectively have two countdowns on the same bar.

Generally the game is quite easy (apart from an area of the 4th planet where there are rapidly spawning infinite enemies right where you need to tow loads of items. Sort of breaks the game). It’s more of a case of putting a lot of time in to get through all the planets than over coming difficulty. Until...

After collecting the last part of the warship you are suddenly thrust into a shmup section. It probably only lasts for 3 minutes. But you die in 4 hits or instantly if you hit a wall. You get one single attempt at this. No lives. No upgraded weapons. No shields. When you die you have to go back to the start of the previous standard level. Brutal

[Crabmaster2000]

Sorry for the super slow update. Been feeling a bit under the weather lately. After a 14 hours sleep last night I'm feeling good again and catching up on things.

@Schilbby - I never would have thought to compare Solar Jetman to Pikmin, but you're right that it's got a very similar concept. It's a very unique game on the NES and seems like it would be far more at home on a PC. Thanks for playing through it!

@Disposed Hero - Great job on SCAT that's one I still need to check out.

I've been playing more Championship Pool lately, but it hasn't been going well. I didn't realize when I picked it how tough it was going to be. After looking into it for some help it seems like it's known as one of the most difficult games on the system to beat since there is an element of randomness to every shot you take. I've made it pretty far into the tournament, but the last couple people you face will clear the table if you make any mistakes and with the randomness it's nearly impossible to not make at least one mistake each game whether it's your own fault or not.

[Ikariniku]

Very quick update from me.  Sorry I haven't been around.  The start of the year has been tougher for me, work-wise, than I expected.  Please void my remaining claims until such time as I can dedicate myself to the challenge again.  I'm sorry it has taken me this long to post this message.

[Crabmaster2000]

Very quick update from me.  Sorry I haven't been around.  The start of the year has been tougher for me, work-wise, than I expected.  Please void my remaining claims until such time as I can dedicate myself to the challenge again.  I'm sorry it has taken me this long to post this message.

No worries. Happy to have you back when you feel like you're ready.

I played a bunch more Championship Pool tonight and I feel like I'm getting worse at it. I'm gonna bring something else to play tomorrow night to take a break from it for a bit.

[Crabmaster2000]

I needed a break from Championship Pool tonight so I beat Snake Rattle n Roll instead. I'm not a fan of isometric games when they are very action heavy. I don't mind them when it's slower paced and puzzle solving. This game was way too heavy on the action side for my tastes. It took a few tries to get used to the awkward controls, but after I did things went pretty smooth.....until I got to the last boss. Got to him and got destroyed. Got to him over 15 more times in a row getting massacred each time until I finally got a victory. What a jerk!

[img width=640 height=482]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32924469677_8634fe05b3_z.jpg[/img]

[Crabmaster2000]

We are getting super close to the halfway mark of the challenge!!

[Misto]

I'd like to take 1943.  I started playing it today.  Got to level 6 before having to stop.  Hopefully I'll get through the rest of it during the week.

[Crabmaster2000]

I'd like to take 1943.  I started playing it today.  Got to level 6 before having to stop.  Hopefully I'll get through the rest of it during the week.

Good luck. It's challenging, but definitely doable.

I played some more Championship Pool tonight and had a couple pretty decent runs, but couldn't quite clear it. Also gave Mach Rider a quick go. From some quick research it seems like 2 of the 3 modes wont be too bad to clear and the 3rd mode will be a nightmare. Might try and tackle the nightmare mode (Endurance) first and then follow up with the easier ones.

[MetalFRO]

Knocked a few more floors off Adventures of Lolo 3 yesterday. This one is a bit of a slow burn because of the puzzles. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to get through the rest of it.

[Disposed Hero]

Dragon Spirit done.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/GtF4kVw.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/XDZLfUO.jpg[/img]

I've never been much of a shmup guy. I like to dabble with them a little here and there, but they rarely hold my interest for me to make it through an entire game. That being said, I really enjoyed Dragon Spirit. I liked the powerups in the game and the fact that it actually had a health bar. It was fairly challenging, but not frustratingly difficult. I can see myself revisiting this one in the future.

[Wempster]

Is it enough to stalemate your opponent in the Chessmaster or do I need to capture their King? I had blacks king solo against my king, white bishop, and a lowly pawn.  He could make no moves without me capturing him.  

[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/a9ng3bf.jpg[/img]

[Schlibby]

Is it enough to stalemate your opponent in the Chessmaster or do I need to capture their King? I had blacks king solo against my king, white bishop, and a lowly pawn.  He could make no moves without me capturing him. 

[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/a9ng3bf.jpg[/img]

If it’s black moves next that’s clearly a win. Obviously black can be taken wherever he moves next. So yeah he’s lost.

If it’s whites move next it gives black a chance to escape and drag things on

[Schlibby]

Thought I’d give Tetris a go.
Did A type easily enough.
B type was a nightmare. Until I discovered pressing select when the first piece lands just wins the game 

I don’t think it would be in the spirit of this challenge to count that