Topic: RetroActive Poll: Genesis Edition

[Jonnyboy117]

All of these games are available on Virtual Console. Most or all of them are also included on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for 360/PS3/PC.

The next poll will be a second-chance round for games selected runners-up of previous console-specific polls.

Feel free to use this thread to lobby for your favorite game. Poll results will remain secret until voting ends on Thursday, 10/22/2009. If you happen to see live results before then, please do not post them in the thread, but instead report the bug to a moderator.

[vudu]

I'm horribly disappointed that Ghouls 'n Ghosts wasn't chosen and a little puzzled by the exclusion of Streets of Rage II.

Here are links to IGN's reviews of each game in case anyone's interested (I only use IGN because they still review all VC games, which is unfortunately a rarity these days).

Shining Force II - 9.0
Vectorman - 8.5
Kid Chameleon - 6.5
Shinobi III - 8.0
Comix Zone - 7.5

I'll be voting for Shining Force II.  I've wanted to play this game for a long time and this will (hopefully) finally give me an excuse to.

[NWR_Neal]

I gotta go with Kid Chameleon. It's hard as hell, but I loved it as a kid. Plus, how many games do you get to play as a big-headed "cool" kid who turns into a skull-shooting tank, Jason from Friday the 13th, and fight a lion.

[Jonnyboy117]

Sorry, we did Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts and that is enough from that series. The games are all quite similar, anyway.

As for Streets of Rage II, I know it is held in esteem, but it seemed unlikely to generate much interesting discussion on the show or on the forums. That's the same reason I didn't include a Sonic game -- they're all pretty good, but they are well-worn territory. I intentionally focused on games that I and most other people probably haven't played, yet seemed unusual or interesting enough to support a good discussion.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Sorry, we did Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts and that is enough from that series. The games are all quite similar, anyway.

As for Streets of Rage II, I know it is held in esteem, but it seemed unlikely to generate much interesting discussion on the show or on the forums. That's the same reason I didn't include a Sonic game -- they're all pretty good, but they are well-worn territory. I intentionally focused on games that I and most other people probably haven't played, yet seemed unusual or interesting enough to support a good discussion.

Thank you Johnny for putting the kabosh on another Ghouls N Ghosts. Is Gunstar Heroes going to be in the poll? Or Altered Beast (J/k)?

[Jonnyboy117]

I tried to avoid games that we have talked about many times on the show, including Gunstar Heroes. This round in particular should be a fresh experience for most of us, and I think that's a good thing.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I tried to avoid games that we have talked about many times on the show, including Gunstar Heroes. This round in particular should be a fresh experience for most of us, and I think that's a good thing.

I heard the Xmen games are pretty good on genesis, and are pretty easy to find. So perhaps one of those if possible.

[Mop it up]

Since there isn't a Sonic game on the list then I can't participate in this RetroActive.

That's the same reason I didn't include a Sonic game -- they're all pretty good, but they are well-worn territory.

I'd just like to point out that the Super Mario World discussion was the largest out of all RetroActives.

[vudu]

Sorry, we did Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts and that is enough from that series. The games are all quite similar, anyway.

Yeah, I know.  I was just kidding anyway.  I actually played GnG a few weeks ago.  I really enjoyed it (although maybe a bit less than Super GnG).  So--if nothing else--that episode of RetroActive is responsible for my discovery of one of my new favorite series. 

As for Streets of Rage II, I know it is held in esteem, but it seemed unlikely to generate much interesting discussion on the show or on the forums.

That's a pretty good reason, I suppose.  After the travesty of Ninja Spirit I probably shouldn't be allowed to nominate any more games, anyway.

[adadad]

I really like Comix Zone, however the difficulty is prohibitive to the point that I can't really recommend it to anyone. I've no idea how many levels there are in the game, but it's rare for me to even get beyond the second level, and frankly I can't deal with having no saves, continues or passwords. For me Comix Zone is a tougher prospect than Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, or Ninja Gaiden, or even Battletoads which at least gave a little continuation leeway. It's such a shame as it's a fun brawler with a great style and an inventive approach to a standard genre. Viewtiful Joe clearly took a lot from it, and to sum the game up in a horribly reductive manner, I'd say Comix Zone is basically Viewtiful Joe minus the time changing abilities.

[Jonnyboy117]

I'd just like to point out that the Super Mario World discussion was the largest out of all RetroActives.

SMW was not well-worn territory, at least on our podcast. We've talked about Sonic many times.

[Stratos]

Shining Force 2 because I already d/l'd the first one and I loves me my SRPGs. I'm just not sure Vectorman would have enough to hold our interests for a full RetroActive.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Shining Force 2 because I already d/l'd the first one and I loves me my SRPGs. I'm just not sure Vectorman would have enough to hold our interests for a full RetroActive.

I'm going with Shining Force 2, never played it and it could be interesting to play. All the other games I've played, and can't say I'm overly fond of them. Comix Zone is probably the only game in that list I'd vote for after Shining Force.

[NWR_DrewMG]

Shining Force II is one of the few RPGs that I've played all the way through.

If it wins, you may want to look online for a code that lets you name all of your characters.  It makes the experience a little more fun.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I stopped playing Shining Force I pretty early on because it was a little crude and frustrating, and I had heard the sequel was better. I hope SFII wins, but whatever the outcome*, this'll be an excellent excuse for me to put that collection disc in my PS3.

*Except for Shinobi III. Dated action games with clunky/sloppy controls on top of already considerable difficulty are NOT my cup of tea.

[Flames_of_chaos]

No MUSHA, no Pulseman (made by Game Freak), no Street of Rage, no Alien Soldier (Made by Treasure!)?!?!?!?! Bah awful!

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Well the last Genesis game was a Treasure game. The lack of Pulseman is disappointing but I imagine they are going for games some people in Western markets are nostalgic for. 

[NWR_DrewMG]

Other Genesis games I loved as a tween include:

Bio Hazard Battle - side scrolling shmup, one of the better ones I've played.
Aladdin - I'd love for it to be on the VC, but that will never happen.
Castlevania Bloodlines - Probably my favorite pre SotN Castlevania
Tyrants - a crude RTS that had you travelling forward in time.  It was known for it's voice acting which was at the time pretty rare in a Genesis game from what I remember.
X-Men - want to finish the game?  Have your reset button handy.  Weird.

I was always the genesis guy in the SNES/Genesis fanboy fights.  It wasn't until much later that I learned, like all fanboys eventually do, that I was ignoring a whole lot of great games on the other system by being a fanboy.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Well the last Genesis game was a Treasure game. The lack of Pulseman is disappointing but I imagine they are going for games some people in Western markets are nostalgic for. 

If that is the case any of the Streets of Rage games should of been included, especially Streets of Rage 2 since that's regarded as the best one. Also these things would be excellent to discover a new game rather than sticking with only the nostalgic ones.

In a way I think that is the magic of Virtual Console, it feeds your nostalgia and you can discover wonderful retro games that might of missed out on.

[Stratos]

I stopped playing Shining Force I pretty early on because it was a little crude and frustrating, and I had heard the sequel was better. I hope SFII wins, but whatever the outcome*, this'll be an excellent excuse for me to put that collection disc in my PS3.

*Except for Shinobi III. Dated action games with clunky/sloppy controls on top of already considerable difficulty are NOT my cup of tea.

It took a bit for my Fire Emblem mind to adjust to the differences in Shining Force, but I like that you can revive your characters because then you aren't constantly resting your game so you are always leveling up your characters. Even if the main character dies you only lose some gold but keep all of the experience you got in the battle. I hate how you don't move all of your units at the same time, but it does add a different layer of strategy to the game because then you have to be more careful with your character deployment.

I'm going to try and beat the first one before we start the second one but I'm not sure how much I have left to go in it.

[NWR_DrewMG]

While the turn order is different in SF than in FE, it is the same across all battles.  After you've been in a battle for a few rounds you'll notice that you'll always have your turn before the same monsters every time.  This only changes when the monsters have an ability to have multiple turns per round.

So if the order is:

Archer
Enemy
Main Character
Priest
Enemy
Mage
Warrior
Enemy
Enemy

Then at least you can plan on that being the same until the battle is over.

[Stratos]

I thought it changed based on speed? Like if you raised your character's speed then it altered the turn order.

[NWR_DrewMG]

Hmm, maybe when establishing the turn order for the battle, you will get higher in the pecking order if you have a higher speed.

[Stratos]

This is from another person who loves the games about turn order so it's where I got all my information on the game.

Yeah, there is no "set" turn order. It's all dynamic, and I believe speed only contributes to a formula (which explains why the same characters don't all go in order and then repeat the same pattern every "turn". You'll get some characters who manage to skip ahead of others in the rotation. Later in the game, it's not uncommon for some fast characters to go twice before another character even gets a move.

It does take some getting used to, simply because it doesn't use Fire Emblem and Warsong's "Player Phase" and "Enemy Phase" system. It's more like Final Fantasy Tactics where everyone uses individual initiative.

Also, this is in regards to the first game, not the second. Were we even talking about the same game?

[NWR_DrewMG]

Maybe I'm wrong - it's been a decade since I played the SF games to any significant degree.

I do remember there being a pattern between "rounds" but it was a flexible pattern that could seemed to be broken mainly by powerful enemies who would go twice per round.  Maybe that correlates with a difference in the speed stat.