Hocus Pocus, now with added bombs!
Happy Halloween, everybody! On Friday I watched my all-time favourite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(1993_film) ; I have no interest in its modern sequel, though, so I won't be watching that one), and then I set about following that up with my gaming picks for this weekend;



First up is Kirby's Halloween Adventure. This is an extensive ROM-hack that builds a whole new spooky-themed game within the engine from the NES classic, Kirby's Adventure. It is superbly-made, and every bit as good as the best of the official games. Easily my favourite ROM-hack of all time, and a truly excellent platformer in its own right.



Second is 1998's Bomberman World, for the PlayStation (not to be confused with 1992's identically-named arcade title - https://bomberman.fandom.com/wiki/Bomberman_World_(Arcade) ). I've been looking forward to revisiting this one for a while, but unfortunately it's not turning out to be as good as I had remembered it being.

Functionally there's nothing wrong with it - my only quibbles are the use of an isometric perspective which makes things trickier to line up than the series' standard overhead view, and the awful English dubbing (I'm playing the US version, and it's not much better than the earsplitting UK-English dub that sounds like someone's teacher is yelling over the game. The real problem is with the presentation - the music, bosses, and stages are all pretty boring, the translation is functional but charmless, the CGI video-clips looked bad even at the time, and the boss-AIs aren't very fun to fight against... If you look at how full of personality its contemporaries on the Saturn and Nintendo 64 are, it's really hard to believe that this game came from the same studio during the same era, as it isn't a patch on those or the titles for the earlier 16-bit consoles.

I would have liked to see what the teams responsible for the Saturn and N64 games would have done with the PlayStation hardware, as this one really feels like a "B-Team" work (or perhaps a work created with the knowledge that the series maybe wasn't welcome on the PlayStation?) - which is odd since the console that it's on was leading the pack at the time. As it is, it feels like it's most noteworthy for reusing some content from the cancelled Virtual Boy title, Virtual Bomberman.

Last edited by Pengling on 29 October 2022 at 5:11 am UTC

G’Day All…….. Its a sunny Saturday here right now……. I just finished giving Maggie a bath……. This week has been a week that happened…. Not a lot has happened….. Been a very quiet week….. Have not done a lot this week……. Mowed the lawns……. Took the dog for walks…… Hit the treadmil and played a bunch of video games…… Not a lot to say this week about what I did outside of gaming…..

One thing I did do was setup PCSX2 while it was raining one day…… So there will be some PS2 games on the list this week as I was testing it out…...

The Denver Broncos continue to stink up the league…… And are now on a 4 gaming losing streak…… They lost to the New Yok Jets 16-9…… In what was one of the worst games ive ever seen….. The worst part is I cant even cheer on the losses and ride the tank to a top 5 draft pick as we traded our 1st and 2nd round draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks for their Quarterback Russell Wilson who was going to save our team……… And he hasnt even come close to saving anything………. At times like this I wish I drank…….

This song somes up what its like to be a Broncos fan this year…….

Not content to just stink up the NFL…….. My Dumpter Fire Denver Broncos have flown over the pond to the sunny land of England……. To play the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembly Stadium on Sunday…… So if you are in England and you smell burning garbage…… Dont panic it just means the Denver Broncos are in town…….

Im looking forward to the end of the NFL season so I can concentrate more on the NHL season….. At least my team is doing better in the NHL at the moment…….

Now that I got that rant off my chest…….. This week I played……..

Arcade

Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire (1997 Capcom) - Fighting


Console

Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994 Konami) - Sega Mega Drive - Platformer
Kid Dracula (1993 Konami) - Nintendo Game Boy - Platformer
Mutant League Hockey (1994 Electronic Arts) - Sega Mega Drive - Sports (Hockey)
NFL Blitz (1998 Midway) - Nintendo 64 - Sports (Football)
NFL Blitz 2023 (2022 NFL Blitz Resurrection) - Nintnedo 64 - Sports (Football)
NHL Hitz 20-03 (2002 Midway) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Hockey)
Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday (1995 Acclaim) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Rumble Roses (Swimsuit Edition Hack v1.0) (2005 Konami) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Wrestling)
Splatterhouse 3 (1993 Namco) - Sega Mega Drive - Beat 'em up
Tecmo Super Bowl 2023 (2022 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football)
The House of the Dead 2 (1999 Sega) - Sega Dreamcast - Shooter (Light Gun)
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 (2006 THQ) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Wrestling)


PC

Terraria (2011 Re-Logic) – Survival

This weeks 2 best games I played this week that wernt Castlevania were……….. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 (2006 THQ)…….. My favourite wrestling game of all time……. Simple pick up and play arcade style of wrestling game…… enough depth to keep it interesting but not to much that is spoils the fun……. Wrestling games are interesting to me cause most of them try to be “realistic” but wrestling is predetermind……. So to be “realistic” the game would have to be all about sucking dick in the office to get wins and good storylines and be given a championship…… Then the in ring action would be all QTEs to pull off the correct moves at the correct times…….. But thankfully THQ just went down the arcade route and made a really good game with an excellent large (for the time) roster…….. And whoever mocapped the moves for them did an amazing job!….. They feel really impactful and painful……

And the other one was………………. The House of the Dead 2 (1999 Sega)……. Althought not fantastic on a controller……. Its still great fun……. The voice acting is terrible but that does add to the B movie charm the game has……. The bosses are designed well and each have there own weak points……. At least the game tells you where the weak points are before the boss fight…. Overall this is a way better game than Zombie Revenge………

The 2 worst games this week……… Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday (1995 Acclaim)…….. This game is a fantastic idea on paper and to be fair the art style is really nice……. But the gameplay suffers so badly…… Porky Pips sprite is way to big combind with the low resolution of the SNES means you cant see much of the levels…… There are a ton of blind jumps in this game…….. Which is always bad design…….. The jumping itself is also not very good…… Its very hrd to pin point where Porky is going to land……. Overshooting a platform is very easy to do………. And there is a lot of precision platofrming to do in this game…….. I did not enjoy this game much at all…… Its such a shame cause a Halloween themed Looney Toons game does sound great on paper……

The other one was………….. Kid Dracula (1993 Konami)…….. I much prefered the NES version over this one…… Its also a remake of the first one….. But not as good……. For some unknown reason they extended the monorail section…….. And the platforming also suffers from being on the Game Boy…….. As this game has a similar problem as Porky Pig……. Kid Draculas sprite is very very large…….. Menaing you cant see much of the levels……. Its not as bad as Porky Pig as the levels are designed better but it is still a pain in the arse……

Special Shoutout to Rumble Roses (2005 Konami)……. This is basically Dead Or Alive Beach Wrestling……… An entire roster full of large breasts women with jiggle physics…….. The wrestling itself is again good pick up and play arcade style…… with some ummmmm “interesting” wrestling moves thrown in there as well……..

Next week I will be finishing my Halloween games……. I have 4 games left to play……. Night Slashers (1994 Data East), Splatterhouse (1988 Namco), Clock Tower (1995 Human Entertainment) and Haunting Starring Polterguy (1993 Electronic Arts)……..

And then it will b back to playing more normal stuff…… Ive got a nice long list of game series I need to start to play thought…. I also need to finish of Castlevania and play Symphony of the Night…… As well as the usual NFL games…….

As for non gaming…… We dont celebrate Halloween here in Australia so I wont be doing anything for that…….. Besides telling kids to get off my lawn!!!……. And watching the original Ghostbusters movie………. Looking at the weather we are going to be getting rain everyday next week……. So I dont think there will be much dog walking this week…… Might have to get on the treadmil a bit more to make up for it……

Quoting: PenglingOn Friday I watched my all-time favourite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(1993_film)

I didnt know horses could be witches......... See you learn something new everyday...…

Thats all from me this week…… Have a good week…...

Well, I finished my two picks. Kirby's Halloween Adventure is still excellent, and Bomberman World was disappointing but mercifully short. I still can't believe that Bomberman World is how it is, when the entries on the other consoles of the time were as good as they are (and yes, even Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! at its most aggravating was still a better experience than this, since that game still had strengths even though overall it wasn't my sort of thing).

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderHaunting Starring Polterguy (1993 Electronic Arts)……..

I'm curious to hear how this one turns out - I remember the magazines raving about that game back in the day!

I finished Costume Quest 2 which was more varied than the first one mechanically but left me wanting from the story and length.

Quoting: PenglingFirst up is Kirby's Halloween Adventure. This is an extensive ROM-hack that builds a whole new spooky-themed game within the engine from the NES classic, Kirby's Adventure.

I used to be a ROM hacker back in the day. I wasn’t very good but will definitely check this out.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAnd watching the original Ghostbusters movie………

Then watch the sequel and play Ghostbusters: The Game (was based on the official 3rd movie script)!

Quoting: itscalledrealityThen watch the sequel and play Ghostbusters: The Game (was based on the official 3rd movie script)!

I never really liked the sequel...... Once they introduce children im out....... I also have not played Ghostbusters: The Game I should though...... I have heard it is really good.......

Have you played the Ghostbusters game for the Mega Drive/Genesis???
I played it the other week and it was actually really good..... The big head/chibi style art work is really well done.....

Quoting: itscalledrealityI used to be a ROM hacker back in the day. I wasn’t very good but will definitely check this out.

It's definitely worth a look, especially if you're already a fan of the Kirby games, and even more so if (like me) you're not a fan of the direction that Nintendo has been taking them in recently (the current three titles being a dull 3D trudge-around, a bizarre eating/fat-fetish racing game, and an ugly remake that doesn't look as nice as the decade-old Wii game that it's based on) - it's much more in line with the way that the series was before, and it's a real treat.

Quoting: Pengling

Quoting: itscalledrealityI used to be a ROM hacker back in the day. I wasn’t very good but will definitely check this out.

It's definitely worth a look, especially if you're already a fan of the Kirby games, and even more so if (like me) you're not a fan of the direction that Nintendo has been taking them in recently (the current three titles being a dull 3D trudge-around, a bizarre eating/fat-fetish racing game, and an ugly remake that doesn't look as nice as the decade-old Wii game that it's based on) - it's much more in line with the way that the series was before, and it's a real treat.

itcalledreality:Kirby::Pengling:Bomberman

QuoteHave you played the Ghostbusters game for the Mega Drive/Genesis???

I have not but all these retros talked about here have piqued my interest.

Last edited by itscalledreality on 31 October 2022 at 1:05 pm UTC

Quoting: itscalledrealityitcalledreality:Kirby::Pengling:Bomberman

Bomberman and Kirby are my two favourite video game series.

I also love Donkey Kong (neglected into nothingness - look out for a great Donkey Kong Country ROM-hack in my near-future picks!), Star Fox (dead as a doornail at this point), Jazz Jackrabbit (long-gone, but the second game is currently being given away on GOG, and a bunch of others that have ended up in obscurity for various unlucky reasons. It really shows that I was a consoles-person for a loooooong time.

Quoting: itscalledrealityI have not but all these retros talked about here have piqued my interest.

Join us! RetroArch is available on Steam, and it's easy to compile RetroPie on the desktop if you like the RetroArch+EmulationStation experience that's so popular on the Raspberry Pi.

Quoting: Pengling

Quoting: itscalledrealityI have not but all these retros talked about here have piqued my interest.

Join us! RetroArch is available on Steam, and it's easy to compile RetroPie on the desktop if you like the RetroArch+EmulationStation experience that's so popular on the Raspberry Pi.

Yes join us....... We have cookies.....

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderYes join us....... We have cookies.....

And many excellent video channels recommending old games.