Yay! It's Weekend Playlist time again!

My two picks for this week have both been recommended to me by several people over the years, including, most recently, by GOL's very own StoneColdSpider - thanks Spider!


It's another weekend thread with no Bomberman title aside from my usual daily-dose of Super Bomberman R Online, which grows ever-closer to meeting its end and having its features rolled into the upcoming Super Bomberman R 2. I play a lot of Bomberman in general, so I figured that I'd give the little guy a couple of weeks off from appearing in the Weekend Playlists!



My Halloween pick for this week is Castlevania: The New Generation for the Sega Mega Drive, which is the PAL version of Castlevania Bloodlines. I picked this specific version because it retains the original Japanese difficulty-level (the US version was one of many games affected by a fear of game-rentals*) but also uses the altered cutscene artwork from the US version. This game was the first Castlevania title to have its music created by Michiru Yamane, the lady who was also behind the excellent soundtracks for the Rocket Knight Adventures series of games. I'm enjoying this one a lot more than the NES Castlevania games that I've tried in the past.

*I don't know about anybody else, but making a game unfair and badly-balanced so that it couldn't be beaten in a single rental in the hope of encouraging a purchase was actually something that put me off. I've always preferred shorter, fairer games that I can revisit a lot, so being able to get quite far during a rental-period was much more likely to lead to me buying the game if I liked it.



My non-Halloween pick is the delightfully-absurdly-named arcade-game Ninja Baseball Bat Man, from Irem. Irem? They've come up in my posts before with the two Bomberman arcade games that they made under license from Hudson Soft! Here they are again with another game about cute cartoony robots - this time a baseball-themed beat-'em-up with some really eye-catching character-designs. It's goofy, easy-to-get-into fun.

Quoting: itscalledrealityWhat a week, I actually made progress on a lot of the projects at work. I have also gotten some of the best sleep I've had in years. Suffice to say the new location is working out.

That's great news - I take it that the settling-in is going well, then?

G'Day everyone......... its a nice sunny Saturday here right now........ The wether has been a mixed bag here....... 3 days were totally washed out with rain and then we had 1 really nice day and 2 average days........

All though I am not having a good day....... I spent last night in the ER.......... Turns out I have kidney stones........ The pain was so bad last night that if I had a gun I would have shot myself...... So I had to call for an ambulance to take me to the hospital...... The hospital had 4 really cute nurses and 1 nurse whos face you could use to crack concrete........ Im so out of it with the painkillers they gave me that I feel like Monty Burns wondering around the forest glowing green after getting his life extending procedures every week........ Its gonna be fun when I pass the stone later on....... The one stone to rule them all..... OMG theres a big demon behind that Kidney Stone........... I...... I dont think im making it out of the kidney alive.......

I was able to take Maggie out for walks during the nice days....... heres a pic of her at the local menswear shop.........


As for gaming this week....... Its the spooky Halloween season so spooky Halloween games are all on the menu......


Ghostbusters (1990 Sega) - Sega Mega Drive


Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body (1993 Banalex) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The games I played this week were

Arcade

Chiller (1986 Exidy) - Shooter (Light Gun)
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (1994 Capcom) - Fighting
Mutation Nation (1992 SNK) - Beat 'em up - Neo Geo
The Real Ghostbusters (1987 Data East) - Run and Gun


Console

Castlevania Chronicles (2001 Konami) - Sony PlayStation - Platformer
Splatterhouse - Wanpaku Graffiti (1989 Namco) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Ghost House (1986 Sega) - Sega Master System - Platformer
Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body (1993 Banalex) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Ghostbusters (1990 Sega) - Sega Mega Drive - Platformer
Master of Darkness (1993 Sega) - Sega Master System - Platformer
Mutant League Football (1993 Electronic Arts) - Sega Mega Drive - Sports (Football)
Nosferatu (1994 SETA) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Tecmo Super Bowl 2023 (2022 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football)


PC

Terraria (2011 Re-Logic) - Survival

Its been a busy week.........

The two best game I played this week that wasnt Castlevania was................. Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body (1993 Banalex).......... Really damn good gamed baised on an anime......... The controls are nice...... The sprites are really nice.......... Lots of variety......... Theres an on rails level and a shoot 'em up level......... Dont know about the story its all in Japanese and no English translation yet........ Well worth playing tho.......

The one one was......................... Splatterhouse - Wanpaku Graffiti (1989 Namco) - Nintendo Entertainment System............ Really good little game this....... Thankfully there is an English patch of this game........ Its a really cute chibi style spoof of Splatterhouse with cute sprites all over the place...... Even the spiders are cute!!........ A lot of the bosses are based on American horror movies........ A Michael Jackson Thriller Dancing Dracula....... Alien....... poltergeist....... The Fly........ The Exorcist and so on......... Its clearly a lov letter to American horror set in a cute chibi world.....

The two worst game I played this week was................ Ghost House (1986 Sega).............. This game is rated C for C.Rap Boys......... Its brutially difficult...... Its boring........ Kill random monsters till one of them drops a key..... get the key and find one fo the 5 caskets in the level...... Open the casket and kill Dracula..... repeat that four more times and finish the level to be rewarded TO DO IT AGAIN........ the levl is the same the caskets are in the same location..... Just the wall colour changes and the monsters get harder......... ITS BORING!!!!

The other one was.................... Nosferatu (1994 SETA)....... I hated this game....... Its so hard to control the guy..... Your inputs have to be very slow and deliberate........to sldie you need to doubble tap forward and then down+attack........ But you cant input that like its a fighting game...... Or a good game....... You have to do it slowly and delibretly....... And if your standing to close to the object you wanna slide under ur just headbutt the object....... And if your to far away you will slide to early and stand up to early and headbutt the object........ The boss fights are rubbish and the whole game just lacks any reason to play it......... AVOID THIS GAME!!!!

I just wanna say a little shoutout to Master of Darkness (1993 Sega)......... This is Segas Castlevania clone......... And its actually not bad......... Its much better than the other Master System game I played........ Its such a Castlevania clone that it even has a clock tower level when you jump on gears and pendulums...... Its not as good as a Castlevania game but its still a good game.....

Next week I will be continuing my Halloween games list......... Still have a ton more to play......

As for non gaming...... I have no idea what I will be doing...... All depends on when I pass this stone.......

Quoting: PenglingMy non-Halloween pick is the delightfully-absurdly-named arcade-game Ninja Baseball Bat Man, from Irem. Irem? They've come up in my posts before with the two Bomberman arcade games that they made under license from Hudson Soft!

I knew you would find a way to mention bomberman
And i

Quoting: itscalledrealityWhat a week, I actually made progress on a lot of the projects at work. I have also gotten some of the best sleep I've had in years. Suffice to say the new location is working out.

Thats awesome news mate....... Im glad its all working out for you.......

Untill next time......... Kidney Stones are not fun......

Last edited by StoneColdSpider on 8 October 2022 at 8:46 am UTC

Got a 3 day weekend since my work owed me (one of several days they owe me).

I tried the Kenshi demo. Took a while to get it working on lutris. I ended up just setting up the prefix manually and then importing it into lutris. Played fine out of the box. Not sure the game though, very slow start. Might try it a little more. Might be more in depth than I'm looking for in terms of time/mental commitment.

Hope you feel better with the stones.

Last edited by denyasis on 8 October 2022 at 6:19 pm UTC

I've just completed Castlevania: The New Generation, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. I never clicked with the NES games, and the "Metroidvania" titles simply don't appeal to me because I don't enjoy that style of game-design, so it was quite a surprise that I got on well with this one! I would very highly recommend it.

EDIT: I've now also finished Ninja Baseball Bat Man, too. What a weird game that was! Fun too, though.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAll though I am not having a good day....... I spent last night in the ER.......... Turns out I have kidney stones........ The pain was so bad last night that if I had a gun I would have shot myself...... So I had to call for an ambulance to take me to the hospital...... The hospital had 4 really cute nurses and 1 nurse whos face you could use to crack concrete........ Im so out of it with the painkillers they gave me that I feel like Monty Burns wondering around the forest glowing green after getting his life extending procedures every week........ Its gonna be fun when I pass the stone later on....... The one stone to rule them all..... OMG theres a big demon behind that Kidney Stone........... I...... I dont think im making it out of the kidney alive.......

Oh yikes! Sounds like you've had a terrible time of it this weekend!


Mr. Burns brings you a Get Well Soon message!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderChiller (1986 Exidy) - Shooter (Light Gun)

Fun fact: This one was banned in the UK at the time for being too extreme! Apparently, it may be the only video game to have ever been permanently banned here.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI knew you would find a way to mention bomberman

The sleepy Bomberman picture just didn't seem like quite enough, somehow.

Quoting: denyasisGot a 3 day weekend since my work owed me (one of several days they owe me).

Nice! Enjoy the extra day off!

Last edited by Pengling on 8 October 2022 at 9:54 pm UTC

Quoting: PenglingIt's another weekend thread with no Bomberman title…

Have you ever played Bomberman: Act Zero?

I would like to read a die hard fan’s thoughts on it. Maybe for a future WPL?

Quoting: denyasisHope you feel better with the stones.

Cheers mate...... Im feeling much better at the moment...... But I dont think I have passed the stone yet........

Quoting: PenglingMr. Burns brings you a Get Well Soon message!

Thank you Mr Burns!

And also thanks Pengling

Quoting: PenglingI've just completed Castlevania: The New Generation, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. I never clicked with the NES games, and the "Metroidvania" titles simply don't appeal to me because I don't enjoy that style of game-design, so it was quite a surprise that I got on well with this one! I would very highly recommend it.

EDIT: I've now also finished Ninja Baseball Bat Man, too. What a weird game that was! Fun too, though.

Im glad you liked them both....... I had a funny feeling you would like Castlevania: The New Generation (Bloodlines)..... Its my favourite in the series..... It just plays so damn well......

Ninja Baseball Bat Man........ Im going to be playing that next week.... Its the game I play every year for my birthday...... Its my all time favourite beat 'em up game........ Its a pitty its so unknown and was only released in arcades..... The number of units made was relly low too.....

Quoting: PenglingThe sleepy Bomberman picture just didn't seem like quite enough, somehow.

One Bomberman mention a week for you is never enough

Quoting: itscalledrealityHave you ever played Bomberman: Act Zero?

I would like to read a die hard fan’s thoughts on it. Maybe for a future WPL?

Oh my, how do I answer this...? I haven't played it, but there are many good reasons for that...

Bomberman: Act Zero is the one that everybody without fail, and I mean everybody, absolutely hates. It was a disaster on an unprecedented scale, because they threw out literally everything that the series is in order to pander to a noisy minority that was a (mercifully brief) product of its time - and in so doing, they broke the entire game-design (the cute, colourful big-eyed robot characters and oversized cartoony bombs aren't just for looks - they're crucial for readability's sake). They also removed the catchy audio and replaced it with dull droning sounds and stock horror-movie screams, giving the whole thing the exact same vibe as a tacky early-2000s Flash game. There's no saving your game (so you need to clear all 99 levels in one sitting), and no sign of the vital, series-defining local multiplayer mode either. And on top of that, they kept openly insulting the consumer-base, as well.

All that I can do is point you to this hilarious video (fair warning for anyone watching in a work environment or similar, it contains some swearing for comedic effect), and this article. These both sum it up far better than I can - especially the video!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThank you Mr Burns!

To protect your privacy, external media requires approval to load. Source: 64.media.tumblr.com
View cookie preferences.
Accept & Show Accept All & Don't show this again   Direct Link

And also thanks Pengling

Anytime.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIm glad you liked them both....... I had a funny feeling you would like Castlevania: The New Generation (Bloodlines)..... Its my favourite in the series..... It just plays so damn well......

It really does! I'm really glad to have experienced it.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderNinja Baseball Bat Man........ Im going to be playing that next week.... Its the game I play every year for my birthday...... Its my all time favourite beat 'em up game........ Its a pitty its so unknown and was only released in arcades..... The number of units made was relly low too.....

They only sold about 50 units in the US, didn't they?

In advance: Have a great birthday!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderOne Bomberman mention a week for you is never enough

Indeed!

Last edited by Pengling on 9 October 2022 at 1:12 am UTC

This was a double excellent time. I had friends and family over a few days ago and we did a potluck dinner and played some board games like -That's What She Said, Cards Against Humanity, Tickets to Ride and DC Deckbuilder. The hit game was T2R. We had about 17 ppl in total and I got to spend time with my youngest 3rd cousin which was a nice. I also gave away a few board games that I owned as my wife and I are moving towards card games to save space as we are moving in Feb to a new home.

I went to a local gaming event with my wife, 2 co-workers, 2 friends and 2 partners. We played Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Air Rescue, Aliens (1990) and a few ticket games at this new location not to far from my house. It's a easy date spot. It's next to a bowling alley and a few restaurants.

I picked up From Hell on Steam and been playing that. It's not as difficult as Vampire Savior is but I do like it and have ended it a few times. I guess this will be my first 100% Steam achievement games as I'm 5 hours in and already almost there. Been watching my wife play Basingstoke and she is like IN THE ZONE with that game. It seems to be her favorite right now which is very unique as she normally does not mess with SP games.

Next weekend we got invited to a gokart racing event and we will be heading to a UT2K4 event soon after.

We are still looking for a good co-op game to get deep into that is not an RPG.

Last edited by Mezron on 9 October 2022 at 8:50 pm UTC

Quoting: PenglingBomberman: Act Zero is the one that everybody without fail, and I mean everybody, absolutely hates.

Ah yes I’ve read about everything from your post from critics at the time. It’s just interesting because no one has really covered it since and I was hoping for a more modern take and analysis.

Thanks for spelling it out for me, seems like opinions haven’t changed.

Last edited by itscalledreality on 9 October 2022 at 8:05 pm UTC

Quoting: itscalledrealityAh yes I’ve read about everything from your post from critics at the time.

Hehe, I almost responded simply with "Edgelords. Todd McFarlane. Bazongas. Go and play with your Hello Kitty toys!", but then I realised that it was better to just link to the video to provide context (which, in fairness, actually does try to be fair to the game, within the scope of the series' focus of analysing why games/movies went wrong), because on its own that would've been a very strange statement. Can't have you guys thinking that I'm even more of a madwoman than I already am!

Quoting: itscalledrealityIt’s just interesting because no one has really covered it since and I was hoping for a more modern take and analysis.

I do know of this one, by Stop Skeletons From Fighting, in their "Is It Really That Bad?" series (as with the other one, there's some swearing - perhaps this game inspires that in people ). It's pretty tongue-in-cheek, though.

There's also a video that tried to find the game's positive points, and a discussion of whether it was fairly or unfairly dismissed, both of which are very fair to it. The second of these is particularly good and is probably what you're looking for, though it's a few years old now.

Quoting: itscalledrealityThanks for spelling it out for me, seems like opinions haven’t changed.

Indeed they haven't... Unfortunately, even putting aside this game's issues with game-design/art-design/removed features/misunderstanding the market/insulting potential consumers/etc., and looking purely at the gameplay (for which the fundamentals were, to be fair, largely untouched), it's arguably the weakest installment in the entire series (there are others that use a similar format for single-player content, but those do more to vary things up), and games like that don't tend to get a second chance like genuinely overlooked ones do.

It probably would have done better for itself had they not applied the Bomberman branding to it (which has happened before with Bomber King/Robo Warrior - the concept of applying the core gameplay to something entirely different isn't new), but even then I'm not sure that it would have ever been well-remembered even so...

Were it not trapped on the Xbox 360, I would've considered going through it in spite of my reservations about it (what've you guys done to me? ), but it was an exclusive that was never released anywhere else; Even the later Bomberman Live: Battlefest had equivalents on the Wii and PlayStation 3, but Act Zero didn't.

Last edited by Pengling on 9 October 2022 at 9:41 pm UTC