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2019 has certainly been the year of gaming as a service so far. From Apple Arcade to Microsoft xCloud, there are a lot of new things that could change the landscape of gaming and collecting in the future. Well, as we tend to do, RF Generation is wholeheartedly embracing this fully digital future.
RF Generation Channel brings you the best of RF Generation, including the forum, blogs, and even your own collection, streamed straight to you. We have partnered with Google and their Stadia platform to bring this new experience to you in the best possible quality. It's so easy, you won't Twitch when you have to enter new games!
Continue reading Introducing RF Generation Channel
Ninja Gaiden III: Ancient Ship of Doom is the third entry in the classic Ninja Gaiden series for NES, a series known for its unforgiving difficulty, and on the surface, NG3 pushes this over the line when you compare it to its predecessors. Unlike the first two games, there are no 1-ups for points, all enemies do multiple points of damage (and they come in swarms!), any death sends you back to the very beginning of the level (instead of segmenting the levels), and youre limited to 5 continues.
But heres the catch: the more I played NG3, the more I came to appreciate its game design, which is nothing short of ingenious throughout the experience. It also, somewhat surprisingly, might be the most balanced and fair game in the series.
Full disclosure- Growing up, I was a huge fan of the first two games in the series, and still consider NG2 to be one of my favorite games of all time. I rented NG3, and it just felt different. Ryus jumps were floaty instead of quick and crisp, and he now made noise whenever he slashed his sword. On top of that, the story seemed to have nothing to do with the first two games. Suffice to say I was disappointed. Later, as a teen, I discovered Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, and was pumped. At the time, I only owned NG2, so here was a way to play any Ninja Gaiden I wanted, without having to change over any hookups.
I bring this up, because my earliest in depth experience with NG3 was on NG Trilogy, playing it a ton as a freshman in college on the dorms (and boy am I glad nobody knew its potential value back then). It does feel more like the first two, with unlimited continues and taking less damage on hits. I made it deep into the game, and I appreciated NG3 more, but only to the point of it being a good game, but nothing special.
Fast forward to 2019, when I was finally able to acquire NG3 for NES through a friends generosity. I also felt like I kind of owed it to my friend to go through and complete the game, since he knew how much of a Ninja Gaiden fan I was. And boy, did I ever sell this game short over the years.
Lets get the obvious out of the way. Yes, this is a difficult game. But part of that difficulty comes from looking at the game through a misrepresented lens. If you go into the game expecting a platformer based on exploration, similar to Mario Bros or Metroid, the game will seem overly difficult. But likewise, going at this game from a run and gun (or hack and slash in this case) survival style, as was the case for the previous two Ninja Gaiden games, makes the gameplay seem overly unbalanced.
The problem is you have to look at this game as more of a puzzle platformer, akin to Super Ghouls and Ghosts, only about 10 times faster and more fluid. Its about learning how to get through each section taking minimal damage, while still offering high adrenaline action. You have to learn when to wait and when to run, when to take out enemies and when to just move on.
A great example of this element is level 5-1. If you rush over the 1st jump, and enemy will trigger that runs in and likely knocks you back into the pit. Clear that, and a few jumps later you're on a platform with enemies coming from four directions diagonally above and below you. Stay and try to fight off the swarm, you'll probably take a bit of damage. Kill the enemy to the upper right of you and get to a safer spot, you won't take any damage. It's more like finding the right path through a platforming maze, but once you find the right path, it's often fluid and fun, and the difficulty sort melts away.
And when looking at it that way, all those negative difficulty spikes I mentioned earlier become positives, in that the game makes you master each level before youll be able to progress. I can see where this could be a turn-off for newbies, but the payoff for getting good at it is immensely worth it, as it is extremely satisfying to get into a rhythm and just start dominating the levels that had kicked your butt initially.
Recently, in the Shoot the Core-Cast for Zanac, the guys and guests briefly got into why people play video games in the 1st place, and Im paraphrasing but the consensus opinion was how good it feels to be on a power fantasy and plow through everything that stands in your way. As you get good at it, this is a great representation of that type of experience. A great example from my personal experience with it was one of the later levels, which throws swarms of enemies at you while you navigate several perilous jumps from platform to platform, while those platforms start slowly disappearing once you touch them. Didnt have a clue initially how Id get through it, but once I figured it out, its an awesome level to play. As you gain consistency, the more the game throws at you, the more you find yourself grinning at the game wanting to say aloud, What else you got?!
Thats where NG3 is a masterstroke in game design. For all the game throws at you from a difficulty perspective, it also in many ways sets you up to succeed. I could go level through level with examples of this, but theres also several general examples of it. Earlier I discussed how I was turned off by the floaty jump mechanics when I first played it as a child. Now that Im through it, this was a necessary change, as levels like 4-1 and 7-2 would be impossible without that change.
It also sets you up beautifully for the boss battles. In almost every level, the last weapon you receive is also the most effective against the boss. Tecmo even throws some other subtle assistance at you, as Act 7 is by far longest level, nearly impossible to complete on one life because of the timer (yeah, theres another element to add to the difficulty), you can pick up two different 1ups in level 7-2. It shouldnt go unnoticed that its the only time in the entire game there is more than one 1up in an Act.
Also, a few things set it apart in the platforming itself. First, a much needed fix from earlier games is the handling of respawning enemies, of which NG1 was infamous for. Respawning is handled in a very fair manner. If you kill an enemy, and trigger its spawn point again, nothing happens. If you avoid an enemy, and it de-spawns by going off screen, then it will respawn if you go over its trigger point. Completely fair.
It also should be noted that this game never asks the impossible. There are no precise, nearly pixel perfect jumps to make, just many that have to be deliberate. Go through technical sections with conviction and a plan, theres very few difficult spots. Go in wildly, or get in a panic, and you wont last long.
Needlessly to say, in terms of game design, this is one of the best games Ive ever played, period. The only downside is that you have to start mastering it before youll realize everything its doing right. And that brings me back to a point about what sets it apart as a great game.
If the difficulty was anything less, it ultimately undermines the overall experience (hence my initial experience with NG Trilogy)
You wont fully appreciate this game until youre good enough to overpower it, and without the difficulty set up exactly how it is, there would be no reason to get to that level of mastery. For how difficult the levels are, theres only two spots in the entire game where you take what seems like unavoidable damage: One of the last screens in Act 5, and the Act 6 boss because of a somewhat random attack. Thatsit. The rest of the time its just about taking the correct route through the game.
This far into the review and I havent mentioned graphics, music, and controls, so lets briefly run through them-
Controls- As fluid and responsive as any game Ive ever played on the NES
Graphics- fantastic looks to the levels and backgrounds, with plenty of variety mixed in. Nicely done cutscenes (though late in the game it incorporates a strobe light effect that may negatively affect some players)
Sound- Absolutely fantastic, plenty of high adrenaline tunes for the levels, mixed with mystery for the cutscenes.
All this isnt to say the game is flawless. From a story perspective, the game does jump the shark. Its by far the weakest story of the three NES NGs, with the only really interesting point coming about midway through the game (dont worry, no spoilers). The environments arent nearly as connected to the story as they were in the first two games.
Also, there is one spot in which the difficulty doesnt seem right: the boss order. While none of the bosses have overly difficult patterns, the Act 3 boss is probably the toughest, next to the final boss rush, while the Act 5 boss is the easiest. None of the bosses, including the final boss rush are anywhere near the difficulty of Jaquio, from earlier in the series.
I went into this having defeated both NG1 and NG2, and Ive played both semi-regularly for nearly 30 years. Ill just throw this out there- for all that is said about NG3s difficulty, its the first in the series that Ive beaten start to finish without using a continue.
In the end, Ill take a soapbox moment and say its sad that NG1 is the game recognized by casual fans, because its the 2nd and 3rd entries that are among the best games on the system. But thats in a way what truly works against it. The more time you put into this, the more youll get out of it, so it hinders it from being a casual gaming experience.
But once you do put the time into it, you find that it wouldnt be as special to overcome its challenge. Ultimately, its because of its difficulty and near perfect game design that its a unique and fun game to play, and the deeper you get into it, the more it becomes one of the most satisfying and rewarding gaming experiences ever made. Period.
[img width=700 height=388]https://i.imgur.com/w8kWpdE.jpg[/img]
Resident Evil fans have been clamoring for a remake of the series' second entry ever since the excellent remake of the initial title. What seemed like a pipe dream for years was finally announced back in 2015, but many fans were skeptical at this point due to the direction the series had been going around this time. Although the positive response to Resident Evil 7 help assuage fears, early footage of the Resident Evil 2 remake still resembled the 'action-horror' titles that are oft maligned. I am glad to say that any fears were unfounded, and Capcom delivered what I feel is the best remake of their survival horror classic that they could have possibly made.
** Note: In an attempt to discuss all relevant gameplay mechanics, some mild story spoilers may be included. **
Continue reading Resident Evil 2
[img width=550 height=675]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-131/ms/U-131-S-03820-A.jpg[/img]
The Yakuza series has been a long running saga starting on the PlayStation 2. It actually started fairly late in the console's lifecycle, and a lack of marketing made the first two games go overlooked by most of the Western gaming public at the time. On the other hand this was one of Sega's biggest hits within Japan since the Saturn, so they mostly focused on the home market. Western interest in the series was recently kicked into overdrive with the release of Yakuza 0 and the remakes of the first two games, and a remaster of this third game has already released in Japan. I had played the first Yakuza a couple years before the release of its modern PlayStation 4 remake, Yakuza Kiwami, so I saw firsthand what the improvements were, and the only downgrade in my opinion was the remixed soundtrack. The first Yakuza game I had ever played was Yakuza 4, which seems to be the first game in the series that received a decent amount of attention from Western audiences, but still a shadow of what Yakuza 0 and the Kiwami remakes have enjoyed.
Continue reading Yakuza 3
Join me in the bullet dodging adventure that is Neo's "A Brief Look At" series!
This month, we check out Contra: Hard Corps for the Genesis.
Check out more of Neo, and the rest of the RFGeneration stream team at http://Twitch.tv/RFGeneration
In Episode 9, Duke recovers the memory of his comic book collection from his childhood and attempts to repair yet another time fragment. He discusses the themes, the artwork, and even the advertisements. There’s enough 80’s nostalgia in this episode to satisfy even the most die hard 80s fan!
[img width=700 height=213]http://i66.tinypic.com/wmh0le.jpg[/img]
November 13, 2000.
When most in the gaming United States was buzzing about the wave caused by the newly released PlayStation 2, I was grudgingly purchasing Final Fantasy IX. I didn't really plan on getting the game, but through a set of circumstances I was standing at the electronics counter of my local Meijer store, waiting for the employee to get my game from behind the glass so I could leave.
When Final Fantasy IX was originally announced, I was oblivious. Well, I was slightly interested, but more because I was reading a lot of gaming magazines while working on the assembly line at Ford, and that game (as well as the upcoming Final Fantasy X) was the talk of the town. We had been having a lot of multi-hour long "gaps" (empty spaces in the assembly line where a truck should be) and since I read at least three different gaming magazines at the time I guess it was just going to happen. But despite the exposure, I didn't care as much as one might think. Despite wringing some fun out of Final Fantasy VIII, after twenty hours the hormonal angst of Squall Leonhart had driven me away from any JRPG with a passion. I don't hate FFVIII, but dealing with Squall's teenage-isms when I was twenty-two and newly married was about as fun as squeezing water from a rock.
Continue reading A Personal Journey into Final Fantasy IX
[img width=550 height=695]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-005/gs/U-005-S-02520-A.jpg[/img]
Recently I got a call from a good friend asking me to write about how much anger and negativity pervades gaming in our modern era. I reflected the challenge therein, as many of the factoring instigators of such are outside the purview of our humble and relatively focused collector/gaming site. Also, I've spilled much digital ink in various articles over the years championing virtues against such negativity. It is not that more can't or shouldn't be said about the topic, just that there are times and places better suited for conversations that dig deeper into the myriad of problems that are the origin of said negativity.
And yet there are lots of angles about modern gamer anger that can be more readily addressed, if not overcome, by way of analysis and discussion on neutral grounds such as ours. In fact one angle of discussion in particular came to mind by way of my recent reflections playing Fallout 76 and Anthem. These two titles, in their design philosophy, problematic constructions, and correlating critical and commercial reception, pretty much embody the various threads into a cohesive strand of something larger, a specific anger-inducing phenomena inherent to our current-gen gaming.
Continue reading Thoughts On Games As Service, Anger, And Modern Gaming
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I found some writings on Erdrick's Tablet. The writings were this interview with the Playcast co-host GrayGhost81!
Continue reading The People of RF Generation - GrayGhost81
[img width=700 height=480]http://rfgeneration.com/podcasts/shmupclub/images/2019-03-12_shoot_the_core-cast_episode_009_-_zanac.jpg[/img]
This is Episode 009 of Shoot the Core-cast! In this edition, MetalFRO and Addicted look at Zanac, the classic NES shooter that most of us played as kids. Does it hold up? What's good about it? Why is it so well loved? To help us answer these questions, we called upon Collectorcast members Duke.Togo and Crabmaster2000, to weigh in on the game. We hope you enjoy it!
Direct episode link:
http://rfgeneration.com/podcasts/shmupclub/?name=2019-03-12_shoot_the_core-cast_episode_009_-_zanac.mp3
Check us out and subscribe (and rate!) on Apple Podcasts!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shoot-the-core-cast/id1432819542?mt=2
We're listed on Google Play - subscribe and review the podcast over there!
https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iih3vrijcro4yno3yrkeawnx6nu
We're on Stitcher Podcasts now, as well, so if you use that service, have a listen to the show from there!
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/shoot-the-corecast
We have t-shirts! Help support the podcast, and rep the shmup community by buying a Shoot the Core-cast tee!
https://www.redbubble.com/people/jdieckmann/works/34582606-shoot-the-core-cast-podcast?asc=u&p=t-shirt
Here's the thread from the play-through:
http://www.rfgeneration.com/forum/index.php?topic=18934.0
Thanks for listening, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Here's my take on Championship Pool, from Mindscape and Bit Masters. You wouldn't think that you could do justice to a game like pool on the Game Boy's tiny 4" screen, but you'd be wrong. Rather than a simplistic game of billiards, this cart gives you a ton of game modes and options to play with, all backed by the "Billiard Congress of America" so you know it's official. Surprisingly deep and playable, Championship Pool condenses down the sport, without losing any of the rules or technique that you might expect. Even if you're not a fan of the game, this is a title worth looking into, especially for anyone looking for something different from the normal puzzle game fare on the handheld.
[img width=550 height=500]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51kBJRpS1zL._SL1000_.jpg[/img]
When I designed my game room I wanted to have as many systems readily available as possible. To achieve this I had to use several power strips, and video switchers. These along with the consoles and TVs sucked up an alarming amount of electricity and forced me to search for a quick and efficient way to manage the power consumption of my setup.
Continue reading I've Got the Power: How I Solved My Game Room Power Problem
[img width=700 height=569]https://i.imgur.com/NlDYlCY.jpg[/img]
For the past handful of years, 8BitDo has been bringing retro controllers and adapters to its fans at a regular clip. In general their quality has been pretty high, and the combination of retro styling and modern conveniences has made them the aftermarket manufacturer of choice for many gamers looking to add wireless controller support to their NES Classic or get a SNES-style controller with dual analog sticks for their emulator setup.
The M30 is 8BitDo's newest release, and to my knowledge it's the first Genesis-styled offering from them. I own a couple other 8BitDo controllers and have been considering dipping into the Genesis library recently, so I figured the timing was perfect to put the new gamepad through its paces.
Continue reading Review: 8BitDo M30 Bluetooth Gamepad
The RF Generation community of collectors and players has committed themselves to demolishing the entire licensed NES library in the year 2019. Is that even possible you say, with your help it totally is!! Check out the RFGen 2019 NES Challenge thread to see how to join in at anytime throughout the year. There is plenty of opportunity to participate regardless of your skill level, favorite style of game or the amount of time you have to invest. Come over and play with us here:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=18893.0
Although we fell just a little shy of our February community goal of beat at least 250 total NES games we still made great progress knocking down another 72 games in the shortest month of the year. That combined with January's amazing start puts us at a solid 222 going into March.
Our personal goal for February was for every to pick at least one sports title to beat. These are often not the most highly anticipated games to be picked so this was a small effort to get a few out of the way early in the year so that when we dwindle our list down as the year goes on we are not simply left with lots of long seasons of sports titles that no one is particular interested in playing. We saw members tackle some great sports titles such as: Blades of Steel, Base Wars, Tecmo Super Bowl, Skate or Die, and Super Spike V'Ball, and some not so great sports titles like: Bases Loaded IV, Baseball, 720, Championship Bowling, WWF King of the Ring, Jack Nicklaus Major Golf, and Jimmy Connors Tennis.
Continue reading RFGeneration Challenge 2019 March
I was very excited to learn about the new Dororo anime. I was even more excited to find out that I would have enough time to put out a review of Blood Will Tell before it came out. Well, it's a day late, but it's close enough.
Continue reading Blood Will Tell l Review The PS2
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