hydlidian
Newbie
Joined: August 2016
Posts: 21
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Nintendo ID: Hydlidian
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Post by hydlidian on Aug 26, 2016 18:30:48 GMT
Yeah, the framerate is really rough and I can see it being offputting. I somewhat grew used to it. It would be interesting to see how the game would be with a solid framerate; it's hard to imagine. Glad to see you're finding its odd charm at least! It's an interesting exclusive and the last entry in the Hydlide series.
Also: managed to get a 15€ deal for JP copies of Vampire Savior, Enemy Zero and Sega Rally (and I don't have to pay postages). Hopefully I can pick them up soon from the seller.
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Post by The Elite MYT on Aug 27, 2016 15:58:26 GMT
Finished Gex so now I can concentrate on my Tower. I believe there's a bonus world in Gex so I'll do that at some point.... but I don't really know what I need to do. Presumably there are hidden remote(s) or something. Gex is kinda decent. It's a solid platformer, without being great. I like some of the level design, particularly where you can walk on the back surface, but the saving mechanic is a little obnoxious. I suppose it's standard fare for a lot of old platformers, but it still irks me. The bosses in Gex were sorta cool, but Rez was a bit boring. Especially if you miss him as you need to go through another cycle to get another shot. Tower is going well. I'm up to 4 Stars and still going reasonably strong. The Japanese sometimes gets in the way (absolutely no idea how to build this Metro station since the game refuses to build it for some reason), but I usually find out what I need to do eventually! My only gripe is not having a simulation mode to make things go super fast. Waiting for money can take a while. I've left it running while I watch Red Dwarf or something, just to build up a bit of cash. Hopefully my other Jap game arrives next week so I can get cracking on that.
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Post by xDerekRx on Aug 27, 2016 22:01:54 GMT
Yeah, the framerate is really rough and I can see it being offputting. I somewhat grew used to it. It would be interesting to see how the game would be with a solid framerate; it's hard to imagine. Glad to see you're finding its odd charm at least! It's an interesting exclusive and the last entry in the Hydlide series. Also: managed to get a 15€ deal for JP copies of Vampire Savior, Enemy Zero and Sega Rally (and I don't have to pay postages). Hopefully I can pick them up soon from the seller. Yeah when you are Saturn lover, you learn to find odd value in the odd games. I have this weird liking for alot of games that people reviewed very poorly. But Virtua Hydlide has an interesting world to explore despite its problems. But yes, I think something as simple as the frame rate being better would have upped its value.
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akumajobelmont
Advanced Saturn Gamer
Joined: March 2015
Posts: 273
Location:
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Post by akumajobelmont on Aug 28, 2016 13:15:05 GMT
So I've been working through Alien Trilogy for my first video review. I loved this game as a kid, so it was a bit of a shock to return to it properly and realise that all is not how I remember it being. I've given it a small bash here and there over the years, but this is the first time I've properly sat down with it since I was 15...
... and it's pretty janky, haha. I'm having fun though, don't get me wrong, but it only seems to be fun in short bursts - like, an hour or two here and there. Any more than that, and it starts to grate a little.
I started off on Normal mode, and got to level 9. Enemy corpses leave pools of acid, so if you walk over them, you take damage. Only, the corpses started disappearing. At first I thought it may have been some kind of memory restriction... the game could only allow for so many dead corpse sprites on any given level. My opinion changed when I killed a xenomorph, and the body vanished before my very eyes, leaving an invisible pool of acid I had no chance of avoiding. So I hit Level 9, and I was low on Ammo and Health, and I was sick of enemy corpses disappearing. Restarted on Easy (because the acid doesn't hurt you), but now it's too easy. Ahh well, I'll finish it on Easy and maybe return to it one day to complete on Normal. Hard is ridiculous because every enemy is a complete bullet sponge, and I find that too cheap to be enjoyable.
It's not bad at all, but the game has severe problems that I don't remember being there. Aside from the glitchiness, shots rarely line up as you intend them. Seeing the bullets physically was a great idea, but it's an idea that needed much better execution. You can stand in front of a crate and shoot all you like, but unless you're using the Shotgun, you won't hit it. You've gotta move back a bit so the bullet actually lines up with the crate... quite ridiculous.
On the plus side, the graphics are better than I remember them being, for the most part. And the soundtrack is still to die for... it's aged really well, and with the passage of time, stands out as utterly unique. Definitely gives me the same vibes as that awesome album, The X Files: The Album (the one released with the first movie)! Also, there is more variety in the levels than I remember, from a visual standpoint.
I'm having fun with Alien Trilogy. It does make me a little sad that it's not as good as I remember it being. That's nostalgia for you though, haha.
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hydlidian
Newbie
Joined: August 2016
Posts: 21
Location:
Nintendo ID: Hydlidian
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Post by hydlidian on Aug 28, 2016 22:10:37 GMT
Hmmm... I actually beat Alien Trilogy some time. I was on a kick to experience old school FPS's then, preferably on Saturn. Thus, I beat Duke 3D, Quake, Exhumed and this. I didn't have the patience for Doom and got Hexen later on but got stuck and bored with it. Maybe some day I'll get further in it.
Back to topic. I thought Alien Trilogy was rather cool in the beginning but it started to bore me out towards the end. The game just gets too repetitive; too much of same enemies and even bosses repeat! It's at the same time funnily stupid and just plain stupid that you have to shoot dozens and dozens of identical-looking soldiers who just keep on coming. When did Riplay kill batallions of soldiers in the movies anyway? And the enemies look pretty dumb most of time. Something about their movements just look nervous and not as good as it could (compared to, say, Doom or Exhumed). Otherwise, the game had some rather nice environments, as well as some quite boring ones. As with the enemies, the environments didn't change as much as I would have liked, IIRC. To summarise, I guess I could call it a tolerable game that can be a nice distraction but, unsurprisingly, pales in comparison to Lobotomy Software's Saturn efforts.
Can't really remember much about that acid pool problem... And can't be sure but I might have beaten the game on hard difficulty. Weirdly, can't even remember anything about the soundtrack. Maybe I should play the game some time again, just to see what it was like and to hear the tunes.
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Post by xDerekRx on Aug 30, 2016 5:01:30 GMT
So I've been working through Alien Trilogy for my first video review. I loved this game as a kid, so it was a bit of a shock to return to it properly and realise that all is not how I remember it being. I've given it a small bash here and there over the years, but this is the first time I've properly sat down with it since I was 15... ... and it's pretty janky, haha. I'm having fun though, don't get me wrong, but it only seems to be fun in short bursts - like, an hour or two here and there. Any more than that, and it starts to grate a little. I started off on Normal mode, and got to level 9. Enemy corpses leave pools of acid, so if you walk over them, you take damage. Only, the corpses started disappearing. At first I thought it may have been some kind of memory restriction... the game could only allow for so many dead corpse sprites on any given level. My opinion changed when I killed a xenomorph, and the body vanished before my very eyes, leaving an invisible pool of acid I had no chance of avoiding. So I hit Level 9, and I was low on Ammo and Health, and I was sick of enemy corpses disappearing. Restarted on Easy (because the acid doesn't hurt you), but now it's too easy. Ahh well, I'll finish it on Easy and maybe return to it one day to complete on Normal. Hard is ridiculous because every enemy is a complete bullet sponge, and I find that too cheap to be enjoyable. It's not bad at all, but the game has severe problems that I don't remember being there. Aside from the glitchiness, shots rarely line up as you intend them. Seeing the bullets physically was a great idea, but it's an idea that needed much better execution. You can stand in front of a crate and shoot all you like, but unless you're using the Shotgun, you won't hit it. You've gotta move back a bit so the bullet actually lines up with the crate... quite ridiculous. On the plus side, the graphics are better than I remember them being, for the most part. And the soundtrack is still to die for... it's aged really well, and with the passage of time, stands out as utterly unique. Definitely gives me the same vibes as that awesome album, The X Files: The Album (the one released with the first movie)! Also, there is more variety in the levels than I remember, from a visual standpoint. I'm having fun with Alien Trilogy. It does make me a little sad that it's not as good as I remember it being. That's nostalgia for you though, haha. The funny thing is I had somewhat of the opposite experience you had! I got Alien Trilogy around my Bday back in 97 and I enjoyed it. Always liked the atmosphere and music. But I just remember getting my ass kicked so much for whatever reason. Then all of sudden last year (2015), almost 18 years later, I wanted to give it a real serious sit down and play since when I was a kid I just skipped around with cheat codes after a while. I actually loved it more last year, than I did upon release. I think the reason was I played the game properly. AT is a solid challenging FPS. You need to consistently clear levels at if I remember 90+ percent to unlock the secret levels every now and then. Those bonus stages I felt were very important in supplying much needed ammo. I remember as kid never bothering to clear the stages at a high enough % to get any of the bonus stages thus I was stuck with no ammo as the games difficulty picked up. So last year I successfully beat it with no cheats, and even tried to find every secret which was very fun. I feel after playing the game perhaps how the developers intended, I felt the balance was right. I really like how it gets pretty damn hard especially in the last episode. Its a good challenge. Alien Trilogy is a very good action run and gun FPS with a great soundtrack and atmosphere. Its also been noted by people here as well as old magazine reviews that the Saturn version actually runs better than the PS1 version. Its odd but the frame rate or something just feels better on the Saturn despite the PS1 maybe having better draw distance and brightness.
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Post by xDerekRx on Aug 30, 2016 5:12:24 GMT
Hmmm... I actually beat Alien Trilogy some time. I was on a kick to experience old school FPS's then, preferably on Saturn. Thus, I beat Duke 3D, Quake, Exhumed and this. I didn't have the patience for Doom and got Hexen later on but got stuck and bored with it. Maybe some day I'll get further in it. Back to topic. I thought Alien Trilogy was rather cool in the beginning but it started to bore me out towards the end. The game just gets too repetitive; too much of same enemies and even bosses repeat! It's at the same time funnily stupid and just plain stupid that you have to shoot dozens and dozens of identical-looking soldiers who just keep on coming. When did Riplay kill batallions of soldiers in the movies anyway? And the enemies look pretty dumb most of time. Something about their movements just look nervous and not as good as it could (compared to, say, Doom or Exhumed). Otherwise, the game had some rather nice environments, as well as some quite boring ones. As with the enemies, the environments didn't change as much as I would have liked, IIRC. To summarise, I guess I could call it a tolerable game that can be a nice distraction but, unsurprisingly, pales in comparison to Lobotomy Software's Saturn efforts. Can't really remember much about that acid pool problem... And can't be sure but I might have beaten the game on hard difficulty. Weirdly, can't even remember anything about the soundtrack. Maybe I should play the game some time again, just to see what it was like and to hear the tunes. Back in 97 I was so into FPS but only had a Saturn so this is pretty much the path I took upon my original Saturn owning days. Luckily Lobotomy saved the day. Duke Nukem 3D and Quake were great. Didn't get to play Powerslave until years later sadly since I could never find a copy back then, but of course amazing. Doom sadly we all know that story to death. A simple playable version of it would have been something Id have gone back to over and over and over but it is what it is. Hexen actually runs great, something that Doom should have had the luxury of but again, whatever. Hexen is the one FPS that I could never get into. Its just a different type of game. I preferred my FPS faster back then with less confusing portal jumping and platforming. There is one other FPS that was only released in the US and that is Congo The Movie. This one is actually quite interesting and I enjoy it. Its insanely too hard which is its greatest downfall IMO. They got the atmosphere and such done right but not nearly enough ammo available for the later levels. There are also no cheat codes to help just let you enjoy the game for a playthrough. Getting back Alien Trilogy I disagree about a couple things as far as your assessment. I personally thought they did a great job jumping between movies in the Alien series as far as the enemies went. I like the detail on the aliens in the game. The levels to me had enough variety. Space themed games generally don't have the most level variety because of where they are. But even in that respect I thought AT did well. The Lobotomy Trilogy are the top 3 FPS by far but to me AT is right there are #4.
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akumajobelmont
Advanced Saturn Gamer
Joined: March 2015
Posts: 273
Location:
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Post by akumajobelmont on Aug 30, 2016 7:27:17 GMT
So I've been working through Alien Trilogy for my first video review. I loved this game as a kid, so it was a bit of a shock to return to it properly and realise that all is not how I remember it being. I've given it a small bash here and there over the years, but this is the first time I've properly sat down with it since I was 15... ... and it's pretty janky, haha. I'm having fun though, don't get me wrong, but it only seems to be fun in short bursts - like, an hour or two here and there. Any more than that, and it starts to grate a little. I started off on Normal mode, and got to level 9. Enemy corpses leave pools of acid, so if you walk over them, you take damage. Only, the corpses started disappearing. At first I thought it may have been some kind of memory restriction... the game could only allow for so many dead corpse sprites on any given level. My opinion changed when I killed a xenomorph, and the body vanished before my very eyes, leaving an invisible pool of acid I had no chance of avoiding. So I hit Level 9, and I was low on Ammo and Health, and I was sick of enemy corpses disappearing. Restarted on Easy (because the acid doesn't hurt you), but now it's too easy. Ahh well, I'll finish it on Easy and maybe return to it one day to complete on Normal. Hard is ridiculous because every enemy is a complete bullet sponge, and I find that too cheap to be enjoyable. It's not bad at all, but the game has severe problems that I don't remember being there. Aside from the glitchiness, shots rarely line up as you intend them. Seeing the bullets physically was a great idea, but it's an idea that needed much better execution. You can stand in front of a crate and shoot all you like, but unless you're using the Shotgun, you won't hit it. You've gotta move back a bit so the bullet actually lines up with the crate... quite ridiculous. On the plus side, the graphics are better than I remember them being, for the most part. And the soundtrack is still to die for... it's aged really well, and with the passage of time, stands out as utterly unique. Definitely gives me the same vibes as that awesome album, The X Files: The Album (the one released with the first movie)! Also, there is more variety in the levels than I remember, from a visual standpoint. I'm having fun with Alien Trilogy. It does make me a little sad that it's not as good as I remember it being. That's nostalgia for you though, haha. The funny thing is I had somewhat of the opposite experience you had! I got Alien Trilogy around my Bday back in 97 and I enjoyed it. Always liked the atmosphere and music. But I just remember getting my ass kicked so much for whatever reason. Then all of sudden last year (2015), almost 18 years later, I wanted to give it a real serious sit down and play since when I was a kid I just skipped around with cheat codes after a while. I actually loved it more last year, than I did upon release. I think the reason was I played the game properly. AT is a solid challenging FPS. You need to consistently clear levels at if I remember 90+ percent to unlock the secret levels every now and then. Those bonus stages I felt were very important in supplying much needed ammo. I remember as kid never bothering to clear the stages at a high enough % to get any of the bonus stages thus I was stuck with no ammo as the games difficulty picked up. So last year I successfully beat it with no cheats, and even tried to find every secret which was very fun. I feel after playing the game perhaps how the developers intended, I felt the balance was right. I really like how it gets pretty damn hard especially in the last episode. Its a good challenge. Alien Trilogy is a very good action run and gun FPS with a great soundtrack and atmosphere. Its also been noted by people here as well as old magazine reviews that the Saturn version actually runs better than the PS1 version. Its odd but the frame rate or something just feels better on the Saturn despite the PS1 maybe having better draw distance and brightness. I've been finding most of the secrets along the way in my second play-through, it indeed leaves you with more ammo and health! I'm enjoying it, don't get me wrong. It's just the collision detection, bugs and sloppiness of the aiming that's dragging it down for me. Had those been on point, the game would have been a hell of a lot better. I mean, Doom nailed the shooting mechanics a few years before hand, there really is no reason to not be able to shoot enemies on different levels and ledges without first having to align yourself on the exact same plane. There is a look button, but for some reason, on the configuration I'm using (and sadly cannot change because whatever control scheme you choose, you're stuck with for the rest of the game), I need to press X+Y to look up, then press A to shoot. It's some ridiculous hand gymnastics that forces me to change the way I'm holding the controller, use my first two fingers to hold down X+Y, then use my thumb to hit A to shoot. The core of the game is indeed great. The way the percentages work is a clever take on a Doom clone, because it directly affects your progression. The atmosphere is fantastic, and the visuals are probably the smoothest in regards to frame-rates for an FPS on the Saturn. If they had just nailed the fundamental controls, and squashed just a couple of bugs though, then it would have gone down as an absolute classic. EDIT: hydlidian I'm 99% sure I got the acid pool bugs and the disappearing enemies captured - I've only played whilst capturing gameplay at the same time, so I'll make sure to put it into my video.
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,660
Location:
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Post by sych on Aug 30, 2016 21:15:44 GMT
Having a blast on Saturn Grandia, making more progress and thoroughly enjoying the experience despite the fact I have to keep refering to my translation guide, I'm still fully immersed in the game and seriously can't get over over how graphically beautiful the Saturn version is. It's a masterpiece and I haven't even finished it. Can't wait to see how this will all play out.
Also did some Minesota Fats Pool Legend, Ghen War and Titan Wars over the bank holiday and finished off with some Worms action. As I'll be waving goodbye to Street Racer this week, I gave it a 2 day playthrough before I ship it off to a new home. I debated putting on GunGriffon this week but wasn't in the right head space as the final mission of game is super hard and requires alot of focus. Awesome game though.
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Post by thewhitefalcon on Aug 31, 2016 0:17:12 GMT
I had Saturn Grandia back with my first Saturn but didn't get into it. I need to try again.
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Post by xDerekRx on Aug 31, 2016 3:12:18 GMT
I bought Grandia last year. I tried to play it for an hour but don't think Im ready to play with a guide. Perhaps there is just this nagging feeling when I play it that it should have been translated and brought over here. Certainly want to get back to it someday.
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Post by thewhitefalcon on Aug 31, 2016 4:05:26 GMT
I do have the PSOne Classics version, which, while inferior, is at least in English. I'll download it on my PSP and give it a go.
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hydlidian
Newbie
Joined: August 2016
Posts: 21
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Nintendo ID: Hydlidian
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Post by hydlidian on Aug 31, 2016 8:15:43 GMT
Beat JP Virtual Hydlide yesterday. Quite a fun experience again, although the dark dungeon and Varalys's palace annoy me. But at least you are treated with that boss rush and the last place which looks really cool with its living, pulsating walls and other madness. I noticed a couple of differences to the PAL version.
1. The score resets if you die. 2. The score resets even when you load the game. 3. Might be just me, but there seemed to be more enemies.
I also unlocked the PRO mode, which takes away the map (and the shop as in hard mode), gives you no items in the beginning and lowers your stats, I think. I would otherwise keep the savefile so I could sometime try to beat the PRO mode but... VH is a true memory hog.
Today I'll get back to some more new games I'll be getting.
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Post by barryburton on Aug 31, 2016 8:47:42 GMT
Beat JP Virtual Hydlide yesterday. Quite a fun experience again, although the dark dungeon and Varalys's palace annoy me. But at least you are treated with that boss rush and the last place which looks really cool with its living, pulsating walls and other madness. I noticed a couple of differences to the PAL version. 1. The score resets if you die. 2. The score resets even when you load the game. 3. Might be just me, but there seemed to be more enemies. I also unlocked the PRO mode, which takes away the map (and the shop as in hard mode), gives you no items in the beginning and lowers your stats, I think. I would otherwise keep the savefile so I could sometime try to beat the PRO mode but... VH is a true memory hog. Today I'll get back to some more new games I'll be getting. Thanks for sharing. I think anyone who manages to play through the Japanese version of Virtual Hydlide deserves a medal.
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hydlidian
Newbie
Joined: August 2016
Posts: 21
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Nintendo ID: Hydlidian
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Post by hydlidian on Sept 1, 2016 23:23:36 GMT
Thanks for sharing. I think anyone who manages to play through the Japanese version of Virtual Hydlide deserves a medal. Haha, not THAT big of a feat, really. Got my Action Replay 4M today and tested Victory Boxing and Pebble Beach Golf Links. Victory Boxing was amusing, but didn't really grasp the mechanics yet. Pebble Beach was surprisingly fun. The presentation is so cheesy and fun and the gameplay works. Craig Stadler's comments are the best. Got to keep this post brief: need to get some sleep.
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