Board 8 > B8 NSO Crew Plays Every NSO Game - Part 3

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hobo how is your N64 quest going? Taking a break due to Pokemon Stadium rentals being a pain in your derrire?

I try to get a few rounds in every couple of days. Still progressing albeit slowly. I did beat Extreme-G when that came out a few weeks back.

Makes sense. I am still interested in your progress on the N64 quest and wish you luck.

With 4/5 of the Game Boy launch titles on NSO now, Im tempted to play through those next. Probably Tetris and Super Mario Land to start. I wont be surprised if we eventually see the only missing title (Tennis for GB)

I actually opted for more Sonic the Hedgehog. Im learning where all the extra lives are located. Once I can consistently get those and I hopefully earn some continues in bonus stages I shouldnt be too far off from beating it.

Doing so with all the chaos emeralds though that might take a bit. Theres a lot that can go wrong.

the bonus stages in sonic games suck and imo you shouldn't bother with them unless it's one of the games that lock the true last boss behind them.

if you do want to try getting them all, from what I remember you can enter the stage select code and select the special stage to give you as many free tries as you want to get them all. Then when you're done you can just start a new game and you'll have all the emeralds from the start.

Whoa whoa. Whoa. Sonic 2's bonus stage is awesome. It's still not worth the time it takes to get all the emeralds, but it's a super-fun side game, I will not stand for that slander.

wallmasterz posted...

Makes sense. I am still interested in your progress on the N64 quest and wish you luck.

With 4/5 of the Game Boy launch titles on NSO now, Im tempted to play through those next. Probably Tetris and Super Mario Land to start. I wont be surprised if we eventually see the only missing title (Tennis for GB)

The most recent three are the only 3 games that were launch titles in both Japan and NA. It's a bit odd we get them now when it feels like they should have been there from the start but cool update regardless.

I probably progressed a bit less from playing 9 days and 19 topics of mafia un a game I didn't initially intend to sign up for.

Want to complete the Game Boy launch titles and Solomon quite soon.

Ctes has beaten Alleyway.

It's a simple but fun game. Not much to say, additive enough. I mamaged to beat all levels and stoppes after that.

Ctes Game Ranking

Super Mario World
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros.
Breath of Fire
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Baloon Fight
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. 2
Dr. Mario (NES)
Dr. Mario (GB)
Magical Drop II
Adventures of Lolo
Alleway
Gradius
Ristar
Sin and Punishment
Kirby's Dream Land
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Super Dodge Ball
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Bros
Donkey Kong
Super Mario Land
Ice Hockey
Ice Climber
Wrecking Crew
Devil World
Xevious
Clu Clu Land
Soccer
Pro Wrestling
Donkey Kong 3
Tennis
Excitebike
Tecmo Bowl
Pinball
City Connection
Baseball
Doomsday Warrior

So what games have you played some of or attempted to finish during this project but haven't gotten around to yet?

Like I have currently beaten 36 levels of Solomon. I also tried the GB Baseball game a bit.

I think you began Sin and Punishment but didn't finish it?

I'm playing... Majora's Mask right now lol but it's kind of a similar situation to when you played Link to the Past. I didn't really think about it in the context of this topic until just now.

I got stumped in Solomon in the teens somewhere I think? Haven't gone back in awhile. I also played a bit of GB Baseball but struggled a lot more than in the NES one. Played a bit of Alleyway earlier today but lost around halfway through or so.

I totally forgot about Sin and Punishment lmao I should finish that

and of course, Metroid xD

Yeah, Solomon was tougher than I anticipated, I would probably like it a bit better if it didn't have a timer.

I don't think I struggle more with GB than the NES one but despite thinking it's an upgrade I'm having similar issues. Also this might be a hot take or at least a very European opinion but Baseball is a trash tier sport.

Game & Watch Gallery 3 beaten. The modern stuff can be pretty fun, especially Egg and Mario Bros. The classic stuff is the really slow and terrible Game and Watch crap that I've always hated. One of the games, Spitball Sparky, made me realize that I was way too hard on Alleyway.

For future reference, you need 50 stars to unlock the end credits and you get 1 star for each 200 points you get in a single run up to a maximum of 5 stars per game. Modern games have 2 difficulties third difficulty Very Hard doesn't give out stars I believe and 2 different play types and the Classic games just have the one difficulty with 2 play types. The modern version of games move fast enough, but the classic crap is slooooooooooow to reach 1,000 points.

Pokmon Trading Card Game
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
Alleyway
Game & Watch Gallery 3

4/24 Gameboy games beat

Also in Pokemon Stadium 2 news, I beat all 4 cups in the RNG Challenge Cup and got through the Johto Gym Leader Castle. Just the 4 Poke Cup cups and the Kanto Gym Leader Castle left to go.

Go hobo go!

ctesjbuvf posted...

So what games have you played some of or attempted to finish during this project but haven't gotten around to yet?

Installing RetroArch and signing up for RetroAchievements was definitely a distraction for me as mzero said lol.

I may or may not start Metroid today. Ill let you decide how likely this is!

Ctes has beaten Baseball (GB) and Volleyball

I think I made my stance on Baseball clear enough earlier. Seems to have a few improvements but still sucks for all the same reasons. It doesn't work too well control wise, also once again, Baseball is a trash tier sport.

Volleyball on the other hand is a fun sport. Unfortunately the game is not and doesn't work very well. With the limitations of NES it doesn't work as well as the sports that do not need to incorporate a jump.

They both rank super low. But good think that struggling with Solomon is making me knock out the bottom tier games somehow.

Ctes Game Ranking

Super Mario World
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros.
Breath of Fire
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Baloon Fight
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. 2
Dr. Mario (NES)
Dr. Mario (GB)
Magical Drop II
Adventures of Lolo
Alleway
Gradius
Ristar
Sin and Punishment
Kirby's Dream Land
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Super Dodge Ball
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Bros
Donkey Kong
Super Mario Land
Ice Hockey
Ice Climber
Wrecking Crew
Devil World
Xevious
Clu Clu Land
Soccer
Pro Wrestling
Donkey Kong 3
Tennis
Excitebike
Tecmo Bowl
Pinball
City Connection
Volleyball
Baseball (GB)
Baseball (NES)
Doomsday Warrior

ctesjbuvf posted...

Yeah, Solomon was tougher than I anticipated, I would probably like it a bit better if it didn't have a timer.

I don't think I struggle more with GB than the NES one but despite thinking it's an upgrade I'm having similar issues. Also this might be a hot take or at least a very European opinion but Baseball is a trash tier sport.

Batting-wise I might be a little better in the GB one but pitching is where I'm really struggling. On NES I could consistently pitch a shutout for at least 5-7 innings before giving up a couple runs but now I just get hammered right from the beginning every time lol

That may be true. I think I had the and same feeling that it was kinda random both times.

I think I reached the final level of Solomon's Key.

Also I beat like 10 levels of Dig Dug II. It's kinda rough in a similar way to Solomon though so not the best thing to knock out next to it. But hey, got me back to trying some Solomon levels.

Nice progress ctes, youre doing great.

I need to get back in a groove on this. Or should I say, in a groove at all. I started Super Mario 64 last night just to play something familiar and fun. Well, it wouldnt be fun for you ctes since you dont like SM64 much =P

I might go the hobo route and stick to some N64 games at the moment. Ive played and beaten plenty of NES games but they are sometimes challenging in a way that is de-motivating me right now. I also have limited time to play so dying and losing my progress near a games end also kinda sucks, which I ran into with Sonic 1. I dont mind practicing and dying until I win but.. it kinda stinks playing for a couple days and not having anything to show for it

Oh I love Super Mario 64, I just don't think it aged all too well, which is obviously fair, but I tend to get into arguments with people when they insist it plays as good as ever by today's standards lol.

I played it most recently when All-Stars 3D came out and I still bothered to get 120 stars of which I like 10 or so we're frustrating because of aged controls/camera.

Badly aged 3D Mario is still top tier gaming though and you can get used to it some degree quickly enough.

I don't like Super Mario 64, but I'm very low on the N64 in general. I'm generally of the opinion that gaming has gotten better with each generation aside from that initial jump to 3D. Even games I like (Majora's Mask) can be frustrating at times with the controls and mechanics.

Paper Mario slaps though

MZero posted...

I'm generally of the opinion that gaming has gotten better with each generation

I mean this is absolutely true if you take the average. But I think the top tiers are still timeless. Even if mechanics are worse there's usually something about older game design I like more that balances out.

https://retroachievements.org/game/10003

This is Super Mario 64 on RetroAchievements. Havent decided if I want to do a 70 star run for a change, 120 stars or all achievements. Its a cool site.

Ctes has beaten Solomon's Key

I finally did it! To some degree it's trial and error, but I get a bit frustrated in some of the levels where you need precision with enemies to get through them and I can't stop to solve the puzzle. The timer works in similar ways. The puzzle part of the game is easily the besf part at least by 2024 standards, so it's annoying when that goes out of focus. Overall decent enough though.

Ctes Game Ranking

Super Mario World
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros.
Breath of Fire
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Baloon Fight
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. 2
Dr. Mario (NES)
Dr. Mario (GB)
Magical Drop II
Adventures of Lolo
Alleway
Gradius
Ristar
Sin and Punishment
Kirby's Dream Land
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Super Dodge Ball
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Bros
Donkey Kong
Solomon's Key
Super Mario Land
Ice Hockey
Ice Climber
Wrecking Crew
Devil World
Xevious
Clu Clu Land
Soccer
Pro Wrestling
Donkey Kong 3
Tennis
Excitebike
Tecmo Bowl
Pinball
City Connection
Volleyball
Baseball (GB)
Baseball (NES)
Doomsday Warrior

Congrats ctes! Whats next?

I have played some Dig Dug II. Probably gonna need something on the side of that though. Not sure what yet.

Damn I gave up on Solomon around the midteens. How many levels are there?

48 and a special last level.

I haven't played Dig Dug in forever, but on memory it wad better than this second one. This is gonna be tough.

Also next up will be TwinBee.

I like Dig Dug 2, but it definitely needs some tweaking. Enemies move a bit too fast to really make trying to corral them into one place for points a viable option, so you mostly just beat enemies by inflating them. It makes levels with enemies clustered together to make it easier to dump them at once a lot harder than they should be. it would have made more sense to have them gradually speed up to that level after spending some time on a level as a 'hurry up' mechanic.

There's 72 levels before it loops, but it should only take a few hours to do since you can just continue on the last stage you left off on.

some gameplay advice I found out when I played that might help someone

it's actually a lot faster to inflate an enemy by walking towards them and mashing B, than to stand in one place and mashing B. The hose tip gets lodged into the enemy and causes it to instantly inflate one level, then moving causes the hose to dislodge from the enemy, so you can then immediately fire the hose out again and inflate the enemy another level

You can safely walk on the horizontal row below the horizontal row an enemy is walking on towards you because it won't immediately change direction vertically. It will make a U turn to get on the same horizontal row behind you, and chase after you. This is actually a decent strategy for trying to lure 1-2 enemies away from a large group so you can pump them (particularly since enemies seem to prefer to avoid walking on the edge of an island, unless they're chasing you). Walk on the row below them as they walk towards you to get them to chase you, then turn around to walk towards and pump them using the method I mentioned above. You might need to work on the spacing/timing a bit to give you some time to escape if it's actually a larger stack of enemies on top of one another than you anticipated so you don't end up dying while pumping the first enemy.

Thanks for all the advice! Yeah, it's not too long despite I think being like twice the length of the arcade version.

Might still knock out TwinBee inbetween, but yeah.

pjbasis posted...

I mean this is absolutely true if you take the average. But I think the top tiers are still timeless. Even if mechanics are worse there's usually something about older game design I like more that balances out.

I can see that, my favorite game is over 20 years old after all. Most of my top 10 is like 2017 and beyond though. Actually most of it might be from 2017 but that's a different discussion lol

wallmasterz posted...

https://retroachievements.org/game/10003

This is Super Mario 64 on RetroAchievements. Havent decided if I want to do a 70 star run for a change, 120 stars or all achievements. Its a cool site.

I wish there was like an honor system version of this so I didn't have to hack my Switch to join in the fun. I mean I could track it myself but it's just not the same!

As someone who enjoys trophy lists I am honestly not sure if achievements are a net gain for my gaming experience lol. I enjoy not paying attention to it too at least.

I think they are best when they are completing and collecting what the game has to offer. Whenever you have to do something in some obscure way or speed running and stuff it's generally off putting for me.

Pokmon Stadium 2 down.

Hard to fairly judge this due to the Switch version being rentals only. Especially considering that the game kinda expects you to be using your own Pokemon. Had to rely on Pineco Explosions and Wobbuffet to get through some of the opponent bullshit RNG luck. Minigames are still great though!

5 Star Games
Paper Mario
Mario Tennis

4 Star Games
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Banjo-Kazooie
Mario Party 3
Mario Party 2

3 Star Games
F-Zero X
Pokmon Snap
Pokmon Puzzle League
Mario Party
Pokmon Stadium
Pokmon Stadium 2
Mario Kart 64
Super Mario 64
WinBack: Covert Operations
Pilotwings 64

2 Star Games
Goldeneye 007
Dr. Mario 64
Mario Golf
Star Fox 64
Wave Race 64
Sin & Punishment
1080 Snowboarding
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

1 Star Games
Yoshi's Story
Excitebike 64
Blast Corps
Extreme-G

29/32 N64 games

Yeah, we discussed starting Stadium at one point and I was thinking to wait with that until the end in case they somehow find a way to not have to use rentals.

I played most of TwinBee, seems to be 10 levels only where you have to beat each boss twice. Better version of Xevious basically.

I ended up playing the story mode in Wrecking Crew 98 today, as well as doing the 40 stages of Insane stage clear mode and the story mode in Kirby no Kira Kira Kids.

...Well, I'll probably have to play again to get the true endings in both.

Wrecking Crew 98 is really different from the first game... the original was more or less a Lode Runner clone, but 98 is a puzzle game that kind of reminds me of Mr. Driller. (actually that's probably not a bad comparison to make, since Mr. Driller is a sequel to Dig Dug...)

Since Wrecking Crew 98 isn't translated on the NSO, here's a video taken from the fan translation that shows all the game's tutorials in english.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li8no_pTstI

MZero has beaten Alleyway

This reminds me of a brick breaker game I used to play on Neopets way back in the day. I think I liked that one better which is kind of sad! The ball physics seem kind of bad, but it's not like offensively bad. Just kind of mediocre. I'll drop it in C tier right behind Super Mario Land

Gameboy games beaten: 6/21
Total games beaten: 33/246

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/e8dd242e.jpg

MZero has beaten Alleyway and Baseball (GB)

Alleyway reminds me of a brick breaker game I used to play on Neopets way back in the day. I think I liked that one better which is kind of sad! The ball physics seem kind of bad, but it's not like offensively bad. Just kind of mediocre. I'll drop it in C tier right behind Super Mario Land

Baseball is absolute garbage. How is this so much worse than the NES one? The fielders are even worse somehow. The amount of ground balls that just roll right through one of my players is ridiculous. Also, if you try to stretch a single into a double and are too slow, you can just run back to first and the CPU just sits there and watches. They don't even try to get the out, even if they very easily could. And why is it soooooo slow? Everything takes an hour to sit through, especially throwing the ball in from the outfield. Finally, the CPU just hits everything and it's ridiculous. Somehow they lace inside pitches into the outfield while hugging the plate with regularity even though it would be hitting the handle of the bat. Sometimes they just crush pitches a mile off the plate too. It makes no sense. Trash tier game

Gameboy games beaten: 7/21
Total games beaten: 34/246

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/61e49518.jpg

Oh like the quality difference between the two is significant

I mean they're both bad but the GB is significantly worse imo

You guys are bad at baseball

I finally played a 2-player game, and it was pretty incredible after playing about a hundred solo games on road trips

ctesjbuvf posted...

Oh like the quality difference between the two is significant

It is though

AllHeDoesIsWin posted...

2 Star Games
Goldeneye 007

Uhh wtf

I had initially missed that Amazing Hebereke had been added to Western regions about a month ago after having been on the Japanese service for a while. Total should be 249 now.

Ctes has beaten TwinBee

This was pretty fun. Not spectacular or anything but decent. Nice lengtg. It's a good reminder of why going somewhat chronological is nice because playing Xevious after this wouldn't be ideal.

Ctes Game Ranking

Super Mario World
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros.
Breath of Fire
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Baloon Fight
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. 2
Dr. Mario (NES)
Dr. Mario (GB)
Magical Drop II
Adventures of Lolo
Alleway
Gradius
Ristar
Sin and Punishment
Kirby's Dream Land
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Super Dodge Ball
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Bros
Donkey Kong
Solomon's Key
Super Mario Land
Ice Hockey
Ice Climber
TwinBee
Wrecking Crew
Devil World
Xevious
Clu Clu Land
Soccer
Pro Wrestling
Donkey Kong 3
Tennis
Excitebike
Tecmo Bowl
Pinball
City Connection
Volleyball
Baseball (GB)
Baseball (NES)
Doomsday Warrior

I have been working on Dig Dug II a bit as well, almost halfway. Crispy's advice helped big time, the first spoiler tag in the post. I had considered giving up before learning that because I wasn't having fun and kept dying quickly lol. It's still not great, I agree with most points, but this makes it doable.

Next up after or next to the will probably be Murasame Castle, which is actually a game I would've probably tried regardless of doing this project, as I have had some curiously about it since it was referenced in Nintendo Land. It wasn't on the service until after this begun.

Also you guys wanna try to tackle that Ghosts n Goblins soon?

Other suggested NES games shared playthroughs would be Mother 1 and Ctystalis.

And of course you two playing Metroid

Ctes has beaten Dig Dug II

That wasn't a great game. Potential is higher than for some of the previous games but enemy movement greatly ruins it imo. It was bearable because of the tip I got from Crispy but yeah. Level difficulty settings a good bit after the initial 32 from the arcade version.

Ctes Game Ranking

Super Mario World
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros.
Breath of Fire
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Baloon Fight
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. 2
Dr. Mario (NES)
Dr. Mario (GB)
Magical Drop II
Adventures of Lolo
Alleyway
Gradius
Ristar
Sin and Punishment
Kirby's Dream Land
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Super Dodge Ball
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Bros
Donkey Kong
Solomon's Key
Super Mario Land
Ice Hockey
Ice Climber
TwinBee
Wrecking Crew
Devil World
Xevious
Clu Clu Land
Soccer
Pro Wrestling
Dig Dug II
Donkey Kong 3
Tennis
Excitebike
Tecmo Bowl
Pinball
City Connection
Volleyball
Baseball (GB)
Baseball (NES)
Doomsday Warrior

At some point I should really do the tiers.

I played some Mysterious Murasame Castle, it's pretty fun! Similar to Legend of Zelda. A bit harder I think.

jcgamer107 posted...

Uhh wtf

It's alright

Also I beat Iggy's Reckin' Balls. I hate it

Ctes has beaten Star Soldier

I don't know, I felt like playing a shooter. This one is for most part not that tough and then the large brain bosses are incredibly rough. Took a good while to beat the one in both stage 12 and stage 16. I feel like they could have made this better. It should have a difficulty curve instead of these spikes for one thing. Also the gimmick of going below things to turn invisible but also not be able to do anything yourself is a cool idea, but would be significantly improved if you had any control over it. Still a decent experinece though.

I think I will put it just below TwinBee but I feel like they are pretty similar.

Ctes Game Ranking

Super Mario World
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros.
Breath of Fire
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Baloon Fight
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. 2
Dr. Mario (NES)
Dr. Mario (GB)
Magical Drop II
Adventures of Lolo
Alleyway
Gradius
Ristar
Sin and Punishment
Kirby's Dream Land
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Super Dodge Ball
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Bros
Donkey Kong
Solomon's Key
Super Mario Land
Ice Hockey
Ice Climber
TwinBee
Star Soldier
Wrecking Crew
Devil World
Xevious
Clu Clu Land
Soccer
Pro Wrestling
Dig Dug II
Donkey Kong 3
Tennis
Excitebike
Tecmo Bowl
Pinball
City Connection
Volleyball
Baseball (GB)
Baseball (NES)
Doomsday Warrior

Well more Murasame Castle to play, which you do it's a blast. Mystery Tower and Might Bomb Jack probably coming up soon.

Also could be starting one of Ghosts n Goblins, Earthbound Beginnings or Crystalis. You guys can have say in that if there is one you want to join.