Not really an Action-RPG. It's Zelda meets Bomberman. It's basically a sequel to Bomberman Story from 2001, which was indeed released in the west (as Bomberman Tournament). Kind of feels like a spiritual successor to Neutopia. Good stuff, either way.
Got my Saturn in 2020 and recently got a Satiator. Of the ~20 systems I have (more or less) hooked up, the Saturn is the only Sega system among them. (I had a Mega Drive hooked up for a while, but I later realized trying to play the games without savestates is pure agony.)
Not a big fan of either the PS1 or Saturn. The N64, on the other hand, is one of my favorite systems.
My main issue with the PS1 and Saturn is the 3D graphics. The warping and wobbling is just so unpleasant to look at (Can emulation do anything about that?). I already felt that way back in the 90's. No such issue on the N64. Yeah, the framerates are rather low, but I will gladly make that trade-off.
Besides that, I really didn't care for the 'video games as cinematic experiences' angle that became the standard in this generation. If I want a cinematic experience, I'll just watch a damn movie.
Anyway, I haven't played many Saturn games yet, but my favorites so far are: Saturn Bomberman, Cotton 2, Keiou Yuugekitai - Katsugekihen, Madou Monogatari, Tryrush Deppy, Virtua Cop, and Shienryuu.
I'm cautiously optimistic about Legend of Oasis, Mahou Kishi Rayearth, Tengai Makyou - Daiyon no Mokushiroku, and Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon, but I don't know if I'll ever actually get around to playing them. Too many guides to write.
I grew up with this, along with the Nes and, later, Snes. I spent more time with the home consoles, but it was still an important system for me.
Link's Awakening absolutely blew me away, and it'll always be my favorite Zelda.
Regarding the screen, though... Didn't they eventually stop using the green LCD screen? I got my Game Boy in 1993 (it had a translucent shell), and it certainly didn't look very green. I'd played one of the earlier models, one with a white shell, and I do recall the screen looking rather green.
Either way, I don't get the obsession with the peasoup colors. It doesn't look any more appealing to me than the red colors of the Virtual Boy.
I really liked the pseudo-sequel, SWIV, as well, but I never got far in that one. Having done a complete playthrough more recently (only with the help of infinite lives), I now see how horrendous the game actually is. Oh, well. The first few minutes are still fun.
While I didn't really get into it back then, I'd like to do a full playthrough of Bubba & Stix one of these days/years.
The Game Boy is largely overlooked nowadays, but it's understandable. It's a very important system to me - I grew up with it - but I will be the first one to admit the hardware limitations are nasty.
The main two issues are the limited resolution and processing speed. Pretty much every game feels kind of crippled by one or both of those aspects. The lack of color is one of the lesser issues in the end (and using peasoup color filters is not an improvement as far as I'm concerned).
Even so, there's a good number of fun games on it, such as the ones featured in this article. Here are some I would add:
Adventures of Star Saver Bomberman GB trilogy Cave Noire Cosmo Tank Dragon Slayer Gaiden Gremlins 2 Ikari no Yousai 1 & 2 Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru Mickey's Dangerous Chase Miracle Adventure of Esparks Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun - Bangai Rantou Hen Ninja Gaiden Shadow (aka Shadow Warriors) Oni 1-5 Popeye 2 Solar Striker Solomon's Club Tenchi o Kurau Trip World Uchuu no Kishi - Tekkaman Blade Vitamina Oukoku Monogatari (aka Great Greed)
Aside from the Pokemon games (which I only replayed so much so I could transfer certain monsters to my Pearl save file), my most played GBA games were Sword of Mana, Shining Soul 2, and Puzzle League.
I quite enjoyed Lufia - Ruins of Lore. Not sure if I'd ever replay it, though.
Magical Vacation is another nice RPG. I've thought about replaying it with the English patch. The sequel on the DS is one of the funniest RPGs I've ever played.
Oriental Blue - Ao no Tengai seems quite promising. I just need to find the time to actually play it. Same goes for Summon Night - Craft Sword Monogatari 3.
Tales of the World - Narikiri Dungeon 2 was alright, I guess. Not really a Tales fan.
Klonoa - Empire of Dreams and Dream Champ Tournament are quite fun, as are Gunstar Super Heroes and Advance Guardian Heroes.
Altered Beast - Guardian of the Realms is much, much better than the original Mega Drive game. Definitely worth checking out.
Samurai Jack - Amulet of Time is a decent Metroid-esque game that has some really nice visuals if you're into the cartoon.
Bomberman Story and Bomberman Jetters - Densetsu no Bomberman are basically Bomberman meets Zelda. Good stuff.
Surging Aura is one of the few Japan-exclusive ones. Haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but it seems rather promising. There's no English patch yet, but I wouldn't use it anyway, since I need to work on my Japanese.
3x3 Eyes - Seima Densetsu on the Mega CD is another one worth mentioning. (I know the list ignored the Mega CD, but still)
A truly mindblowing experience for the 10-year-old me. It wasn't the first top-down action game I'd played, but it was easily the best - up until that point (and only two Snes games managed to top it).
I'll have to pass up on this one. The sequels seem nice (I picked up 2 and 3 on my PSTV not long ago), but the first one is a bit too modest. Seriously, just look at how much faster the action is in the sequels.
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Re: A Japan-Exclusive 'Bomberman Jetters' GBA Game Has Just Been Fan Translated
Not really an Action-RPG. It's Zelda meets Bomberman. It's basically a sequel to Bomberman Story from 2001, which was indeed released in the west (as Bomberman Tournament). Kind of feels like a spiritual successor to Neutopia. Good stuff, either way.
Re: GameCube Gets Achievements Thanks To The Dolphin Emulator
Puzzle League better get an achievement for breaking 50k in 2D Time Trial.
"meaningless ass pats for doing mundane tasks in video games"
Successfully completing a low% playthrough in Bunny Must Die is hardly what I'd consider a 'mundane task.'
Re: Is It Time To Change The Narrative On The Sega Saturn?
Got my Saturn in 2020 and recently got a Satiator. Of the ~20 systems I have (more or less) hooked up, the Saturn is the only Sega system among them. (I had a Mega Drive hooked up for a while, but I later realized trying to play the games without savestates is pure agony.)
Not a big fan of either the PS1 or Saturn. The N64, on the other hand, is one of my favorite systems.
My main issue with the PS1 and Saturn is the 3D graphics. The warping and wobbling is just so unpleasant to look at (Can emulation do anything about that?). I already felt that way back in the 90's. No such issue on the N64. Yeah, the framerates are rather low, but I will gladly make that trade-off.
Besides that, I really didn't care for the 'video games as cinematic experiences' angle that became the standard in this generation. If I want a cinematic experience, I'll just watch a damn movie.
Anyway, I haven't played many Saturn games yet, but my favorites so far are: Saturn Bomberman, Cotton 2, Keiou Yuugekitai - Katsugekihen, Madou Monogatari, Tryrush Deppy, Virtua Cop, and Shienryuu.
I'm cautiously optimistic about Legend of Oasis, Mahou Kishi Rayearth, Tengai Makyou - Daiyon no Mokushiroku, and Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon, but I don't know if I'll ever actually get around to playing them. Too many guides to write.
Re: Anniversary: The Game Boy Is 35 Years Old Today
I grew up with this, along with the Nes and, later, Snes. I spent more time with the home consoles, but it was still an important system for me.
Link's Awakening absolutely blew me away, and it'll always be my favorite Zelda.
Regarding the screen, though... Didn't they eventually stop using the green LCD screen? I got my Game Boy in 1993 (it had a translucent shell), and it certainly didn't look very green. I'd played one of the earlier models, one with a white shell, and I do recall the screen looking rather green.
Either way, I don't get the obsession with the peasoup colors. It doesn't look any more appealing to me than the red colors of the Virtual Boy.
Re: Amazing "Holy Grail" SNES Mod Fixes One Of The Console's Biggest Problems
"Just enjoy the Pixelart!"
It... makes my eyes hurt.
Re: Best Castlevania Games, Ranked By You
My favorite Castlevania is Maid-san o Migi ni - Shooting Star.
Re: Best Game Boy Color Games Of All Time
Here are some Japan-exclusives (never too late to learn a little Japanese):
Atelier Marie/Elie
Ganbare Goemon - Seikuushi Dynamites Arawaru (platformer)
Ganbare Goemon - Tengu-tou no Gyakushuu (RPG)
Ganbare Goemon - Mononoke Douchuu - Tobidaze Nabe Bugyou (RPG)
Grandia - Parallel Trippers
Metamode
Pocket King
Samurai Kid
Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Children Aka/Kuro & Shiro
Star Ocean - Blue Sphere
Tales of Phantasia - Narikiri Dungeon
Re: Best Amiga Games Of All Time
Had a great time with Silkworm back in the day.
I really liked the pseudo-sequel, SWIV, as well, but I never got far in that one. Having done a complete playthrough more recently (only with the help of infinite lives), I now see how horrendous the game actually is. Oh, well. The first few minutes are still fun.
While I didn't really get into it back then, I'd like to do a full playthrough of Bubba & Stix one of these days/years.
Re: Best Game Boy Games Of All Time
The Game Boy is largely overlooked nowadays, but it's understandable. It's a very important system to me - I grew up with it - but I will be the first one to admit the hardware limitations are nasty.
The main two issues are the limited resolution and processing speed. Pretty much every game feels kind of crippled by one or both of those aspects. The lack of color is one of the lesser issues in the end (and using peasoup color filters is not an improvement as far as I'm concerned).
Even so, there's a good number of fun games on it, such as the ones featured in this article. Here are some I would add:
Adventures of Star Saver
Bomberman GB trilogy
Cave Noire
Cosmo Tank
Dragon Slayer Gaiden
Gremlins 2
Ikari no Yousai 1 & 2
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
Mickey's Dangerous Chase
Miracle Adventure of Esparks
Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun - Bangai Rantou Hen
Ninja Gaiden Shadow (aka Shadow Warriors)
Oni 1-5
Popeye 2
Solar Striker
Solomon's Club
Tenchi o Kurau
Trip World
Uchuu no Kishi - Tekkaman Blade
Vitamina Oukoku Monogatari (aka Great Greed)
Re: Best PS1 Emulators - PlayStation Emulation Made Easy
Do any of these allow you to view the RAM? I'd really like to be able to check some of the hidden values in some games.
Re: Analogue Pocket OS 2.0 Adds A Much-Requested Feature
I just want to be able to remap the controls when playing on a Dock.
Re: Assault Suit Leynos 2 Is The Next Saturn Tribute Title
Definitely buying it, but not sure if it's going to be my version of choice. I expect the input lag to be pretty bad once again.
Re: Best GBA Games Of All Time
Aside from the Pokemon games (which I only replayed so much so I could transfer certain monsters to my Pearl save file), my most played GBA games were Sword of Mana, Shining Soul 2, and Puzzle League.
I quite enjoyed Lufia - Ruins of Lore. Not sure if I'd ever replay it, though.
Magical Vacation is another nice RPG. I've thought about replaying it with the English patch. The sequel on the DS is one of the funniest RPGs I've ever played.
Oriental Blue - Ao no Tengai seems quite promising. I just need to find the time to actually play it. Same goes for Summon Night - Craft Sword Monogatari 3.
Tales of the World - Narikiri Dungeon 2 was alright, I guess. Not really a Tales fan.
Klonoa - Empire of Dreams and Dream Champ Tournament are quite fun, as are Gunstar Super Heroes and Advance Guardian Heroes.
Altered Beast - Guardian of the Realms is much, much better than the original Mega Drive game. Definitely worth checking out.
Samurai Jack - Amulet of Time is a decent Metroid-esque game that has some really nice visuals if you're into the cartoon.
Bomberman Story and Bomberman Jetters - Densetsu no Bomberman are basically Bomberman meets Zelda. Good stuff.
Re: Best Genesis / Mega Drive RPGs And Action Adventures Of All Time
Surging Aura is one of the few Japan-exclusive ones. Haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but it seems rather promising. There's no English patch yet, but I wouldn't use it anyway, since I need to work on my Japanese.
3x3 Eyes - Seima Densetsu on the Mega CD is another one worth mentioning. (I know the list ignored the Mega CD, but still)
Re: Anniversary: Zelda: Link's Awakening Is 30 Years Old Today
A truly mindblowing experience for the 10-year-old me. It wasn't the first top-down action game I'd played, but it was easily the best - up until that point (and only two Snes games managed to top it).
Re: 'Cyber Citizen Shockman' Getting First Western Release Later This Month
I'll have to pass up on this one. The sequels seem nice (I picked up 2 and 3 on my PSTV not long ago), but the first one is a bit too modest. Seriously, just look at how much faster the action is in the sequels.